A/N - Sorry this is a day late! I was so busy yesterday, and by the time I finally stopped I was too tired to proof and post. On the upside, I aim to have a Christmas Special out this Wednesday.

Thanks so much for all reads, reviews, faves and follows!

Chapter Seven

Amy had been out like a light as soon as her head hit the pillow. Refreshed and relaxed, she stretched and yawned, pushing herself up from the mattress. Snoring filled the room, loud and rattly, and she looked down at Tangle lying on her back atop her sleeping bag, limbs splayed across the laminate floor.

Amy chuckled to herself and clambered out of bed, careful to avoid stepping on the sleeping lemur. No sign of Whisper, but the scent of frying oil filled Amy's nose through her closed bedroom door.

A quick freshen up and something to wear.

Amy frowned into her wardrobe as she shimmied through her outfits. Mostly pink, red or blue. Her eyes fell on a lone dress tucked away at the end of the clothes rail. A black dress, with a green and pink chipboard pattern criss-crossing around the hem. She remembered that. Infinite had picked it out weeks ago, and she'd never even tried it on. Just stuffed it away in her wardrobe, never to see the light of day again.

She didn't generally like black. It was too dark a colour, and not one she thought she looked good in. Yet Infinite believed it would actually work. At the time, she'd strongly believed he'd just been rushing her, and had bought it to save argument. But after her client's reaction to her autumn range - orange. A colour she'd never have considered, despite it being a huge autumn theme - maybe the jackal actually had a point.

She tugged the dress off its hanger and stared down at it. Its strappy back, and the extension of the pattern trailing up the front of it to form a chipboard heart. It wasn't horrible. In fact, she quite liked the neon pink and green. Did Infinite even remember it? If so, he'd hidden any offense at her never so much as taking the labels off. Oh well, she could always try it on.

She tucked it over her arm and marched towards the bathroom, careful to close the bedroom door quietly behind her. She was pleased to find the bathroom vacant, and after a swift shower and freshen-up, she decided to venture the dress.

A quick twirl before the mirror, and she found herself liking it. The pink and green worked to take an edge off the black. Infinite really did have an eye for colour.

As she left the bathroom, she smoothed out the faint creases the dress had collected from being stuffed in a wardrobe for too long. The smell of cooking grew stronger when she entered the living room, and she found Whisper standing over the stove in the kitchenette.

"Good morning!" Amy said cheerfully to the living room.

"Morning," said Whisper quietly. "Made breakfast."

The wolf set a plate of pancakes on the breakfast bar.

Infinite was too busy folding the sofa back into place to give either girl much notice. The little blanket lay folded neatly beside him. He looked up as Amy trotted towards him to gather up the blanket. The look on his face caused her to falter, and his jaw went slack as he trailed his eye up and down her outfit.

The hedgehog felt her cheeks heat up and she tore herself away from him to gather up the fluffy bundle in her arms.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I kind of forgot about it."

Infinite cleared his throat and returned to setting the cushions back in place. "I told you it would suit you."

"Well you were right."

Amy hastily put the blanket away in the storage closet, then joined Whisper by the breakfast bar. The quiet wolf set out another plate of pancakes, popping them beside Amy just as Infinite settled on the stool beside her. He reached for a jar of peanut butter that had been set out in preparation, either by himself or Whisper Amy had no idea. He unscrewed the jar and promptly began emptying its contents onto his steaming stack of pancakes.

Amy turned away and reached instead for the maple syrup.

"Good morning!"

Amy promptly dropped the bottle as Tangle's voice dominated the silence. The lemur appeared beside her and flashed her a toothy grin.

"Wow, Amy! You look smokin'!" Tangle snatched up her pancakes as Whisper slid them along the bar towards her. "You going out somewhere or somethin'?"

"No," said Amy. "I was actually just going to stay home and work on my designs."

"That's fair." Tangle licked syrup off her knife and tucked into her breakfast. "I've got an interview at that pizza place, so I'll be off out after this."

"That's a relief," muttered Infinite.

Amy's quills bristled along her spine and she turned to fix the jackal in a glare. But Tangle just burst out laughing and hammered her fist onto the tabletop.

"Argh, you're a riot!" she said. "Yanno what, Niffy?"

Infinite's lone visible eye turned a livid shade of orange.

"You and I," Tangle pointed her fork between them. "We just need a day of fun. Get to know each other. Whaddaya say?"

"Pass." Infinite slipped from the bar stool, taking his 'pancakes on peanut butter' with him to the sofa.

"Huh." Tangle watched him go then turned to Amy. "Was it something I said?"

"No." Amy fired a glare at the back of the jackal's head. "He's just grumpy."

"Well, it was how Whisper and I got to know each other," Tangle said quite loudly. "And now we're thick as thieves!"

Whisper gave them a shy smile as she joined them with her own plate of pancakes.

"You know what they say," said Amy. "Opposites attract."

"And you don't get much more opposite than us three, eh?" Tangle stuffed a fork-full of pancake into her mouth.

"You're telling me," said Infinite. "It's like an apple, an orange, and a giant, obnoxious megaphone all tried to grow on the same tree."

Tangle laughed again and shook her head. "Who are you callin' obnoxious, Grumpy Guts?"

Whisper and Amy both chuckled, but the latter wasn't with amusement. Infinite muttered to himself as he pretended not to hear the lemur.

"So what's the plans for this evening?" Tangle asked. "I'm thinkin' another movie! Maybe one with guns and robots!"

Infinite dramatically flopped onto the arm of the sofa with a loud, drawn-out groan. Amy fired him another glare, then sighed and poked at her breakfast.

"Maybe we could go out this time?" she said. "There's a little bar not too far away from here. It even has a pool table."

"Wow! A proper one?" Tangle gasped.

Amy nodded.

"You don't see many of those anymore." Tangle's eyes practically sparkled. "They're usually just holograms now! Neat! All right. Let's do that. Niffy! You and me? First game!"

Infinite jerked his head around to sneer at the lemur. He dug his fingers into the back of the sofa cushion, his tail swishing like a flag.

"You call me that one more time…" he growled.

Tangle didn't remotely care. She merely flashed him a playful grin before stuffing the last of her breakfast into her mouth.

"All right! I gotta fly!" she said. "You're still meetin' me after the interview, right Whisper?"

"Of course," said Whisper.

Tangle licked the remains of syrup off her plate and popped it into the sink before scurrying from the apartment. But not without a big, joyful wave and a cheery 'see ya!'

"Thank goodness for that!" Infinite leant back against the sofa. "Peace and quiet at last!"

Amy and Whisper gave him a mournful look, and the wolf exchanged glances with her friend. She gathered up her empty plate, and Amy's, and took them to the sink to wash them.

"You don't need to do that," said Amy. "You've done enough."

"It's fine," said Whisper.

So Amy waited at the bar, sipping a coffee she'd not previously noticed was beside her plate, while tapping her fingers on the marble. Once Whisper had dried her hands, she gave Amy a fond smile and moved from the kitchenette.

"Quick shower," she said as she left the living room.

Amy watched her leave then slipped from the bar stool. She rounded on Infinite, drawing his gaze from the remains of his breakfast.

"All right, you," she almost growled.

"What did I do?" he asked.

"You can't treat my friends like that!" she said.

"The wolf is fine," he said. "It's just that Tangle girl."

"What's wrong with her?"

He blinked up at her, as if questioning why on earth she would ask such a ridiculous question. Then he sighed and lifted a hand in a shrug.

"She's very loud for such a small person," he said.

"That doesn't give you reason to be rude to her," said Amy. "Good grief. Have you never had a girlfriend?"

Infinite turned to kick his feet up onto the sofa and closed his eye. "Not especially, no."

"Then that explains your attitude. It's like you haven't got a clue how to treat a girl. And that's including the way you've treated me before."

"Hey!" He fixed his golden eye on her. "I have you know I could be the perfect gentleman to the right girl."

"You'd be a lot more popular if you were a perfect gentleman to every girl."

Infinite's eye sparkled and he flashed her a playful grin. "Really? Wanting me to treat you right, are you?"

Amy's cheeks flushed and she stamped her foot. "That is not what I meant!"

He rolled his head back and laughed. Then regained himself with some abruptness. "I'm not looking right now anyway. But if I found the right girl, I'd treat her like a queen. Us jackals take that thing real seriously. We mate for life."

"Really?" Amy gasped. "That… sounds sweet, actually."

"Of course you'd think that. You've been fawning over the same guy for how many years?"

"See?! This is exactly what I mean!" Amy hugged her arms around herself and looked away from him. "You just don't know how to talk to or treat a girl at all. You'd just be pushing them away!"

His expression turned unreadable as he stared at her. "Have you ever thought that might be exactly what I'm trying to do?"

She shook her head, bewildered. "Why? Because what you're doing is hurtful! You're hurting my friends, and me!"

His lips turned down in a sad frown. "I don't intend to hurt you… or your friends."

"Then why try to push us away?"

He scratched his muzzle beneath his mask and turned away from her. Silence. So he wasn't going to answer her? Her mind wandered back to the previous night, when she'd been wondering if something had happened to his family. Or if he'd left them behind all those years ago.

She took in a wobbly breath and absently rubbed her arm. "So you haven't found her? Not even back in your world?"

"Nope." A blunt answer. No emotion in his voice at all.

"Then that explains why you're treating us the way you are doing. You clearly don't know what love feels like."

He raised an eyebrow and his lip curled with confused amusement. "What does that have to do with the way I treat your friends?"

She shrugged and gave a defeated sigh. "I'm just trying to work you out."

"No, you're not." He pushed himself up off the arm and kicked his legs over the side of the sofa. "You're prying, like your little lemur friend was trying to do last night."

She hugged herself again and looked away from him, at a loss for words. She had been prying, and she'd not even realised she was doing it. And his staring was making her feel incredibly uneasy. She backed away slightly from his intense gaze, but he rose from the sofa and approached her slowly, backing her into the wall.

"Okay, I'll play," he said with a smirk. "You're right. I don't know what romantic love feels like. But I was always told I know when I felt it."

Amy's heart pounded frantically, and she placed her hands on the wall behind her, groping for a non-existent door. Something to slip through to separate herself from the jackal towering over her.

"My pulse would race, and I wouldn't want to leave her side," he went on. "I'd feel weak yet like I could move a mountain. I'd want to do anything for her, even give my life to save hers if I had to. No words would be able to express my feelings, so voicing them would be pointless. But believe me, she'd know. She'd see it in my eyes. Hear it in my voice. Feel it in my touch." He was almost nose to nose with her at that point. He lowered his voice to almost a whisper. "Does that sound about right to you?"

Amy's legs trembled and she stuttered over the first letter of her next words to an embarrassing extent. "Pretty much…"

"Perfect." He stood back from her and straightened up again. "Then I guess I passed your little test?"

"What test?" Amy's voice still wavered and she fought desperately to quiet her racing heart. "I wasn't testing you."

"You were," he said. "All this started because you were concerned about the way I treat your friends."

Yes, it had. How on earth had it escalated into all that? She trailed her fingers through her quills, still leaning back against the wall. Her legs shook so much she feared she was going to slide down it onto her bottom.

"You asked me if I'd ever had a girlfriend," he went on. "But you never asked me anything about having any friends. I had those in abundance, sugar. Friends joke with each other." He fixed her in a one-eyed stare. "They don't dote on each other."

She finally found the strength to push herself back from the wall and idly smoothed out her dress.

"So that's what you were doing?" she asked. "You were joking with Tangle when you insulted her?"

"No. Truth is, I can't stand her." He raised both hands in a shrug. "But… if it means so much to you, I'll make the effort to… put up with her." He said the last words through clenched teeth. As if the sheer thought pained him.

Amy frowned up at him, locking her eyes on his. "I appreciate it."

Whisper appeared in the doorway to the corridor and looked between the two of them, a look of confusion crossing her dainty face. Then she beamed.

"Coffee?" she asked.

Infinite let out a small grunt and turned to watch the wolf as she busied herself by the coffee machine. Only two mugs. Years back, Amy would have questioned Whisper on that. But she knew her all too well. She'd always be willing to do something for others before rushing out to run her own errands.

Amy said a quick thanks as she pulled out her computer, wanting to do anything to take her mind off the conversation that had just unfolded between herself and the jackal. Her friends had always called her a romantic. Obsessed with shoujo light novels and rom-coms. Always probing to find out which of her friends had a crush on who. And now she could feel the awkwardness descending over them like a blanket. Although Infinite didn't seem to care. He was occupying himself by assisting Whisper in the kitchenette. Had he actually taken what she'd said to heart?

Amy shook it off and flopped onto the sofa, bringing up the news site out of habit. She was actually wanting the celebrity news, to see what Mainframe's most famous were wearing. An insight into what styles might suddenly be in demand. But instead, her eye was drawn to the top headline.

'Inside the Deranged Mind of Mainframe's Heartbreaker.'

Her brain didn't process the word 'deranged' until she actually brought up the news article. Once again, she'd been more fixated on the word 'Heartbreaker'. Once again, her obsession with the romantic taking over before she could even realise the article was actually about a serial killer.

Three recent, registered deaths. Along with the suspicion he'd killed at least two others before any victim had actually been discovered. Each one made to look like a suicide. How had all that flown under her radar? Of course… she'd been too fixated and bogged down with her house move to pay much attention to the news headlines. And it had only become public knowledge two days ago, if that.

Amy's mouth hung open as she read over the news article. Nothing went untouched. The mysterious method the killer used, the locked rooms with no clear indication as to how the killer had come or gone, a spotless crime scene, mind-boggling puzzles that were not easy to discover or decipher. As she drew closer to the end of the article, she became aware of her racing heart.

Then a hot cup of coffee found its way into her hand. She looked up into a lone, orange-tinted eye just as the door opened and Whisper muttered a 'g'bye!' before closing it behind her.

Off to meet Tangle. That had been what she'd announced while Amy was deeply, and fearfully, transfixed by the news article.

Infinite stood watching her, cradling his own mug in his hands. "You've lost some of your pinkness. Are you feeling okay?"

She rubbed the back of her head and lowered her computer, trying to avoid his probing stare.

"I… erm…" Her voice choked and she paused to clear her throat. "There's a serial killer lose in this city."

"Ah, yes. I've heard about that." He sat down beside her, causing her to scoot towards the other end of the sofa. A small frown appeared on his muzzle and his golden eye narrowed. "Why are you moving away from me?"

"They think the first one happened three weeks ago, only a few miles outside Central City. But everyone thought the guy took his own life." She paused to take in a steadying breath. "Isn't that when you escaped from GUN?"

Infinite flashed one of his canines, and the fur stood on end along his spine. Amy had to fight the urge to whip out her mallet.

"You think it's me?" The calmness in his voice didn't match the rage in his eye at all.

"I don't know," she gasped. "But… everything seems to… have you even read this?"

She turned her computer towards him and he immediately abandoned his mug to the coffee table to snatch it from her. He scanned over it, lips moving silently to the words as he scrolled through the article. Then he lowered the computer and stared at the far wall.

"See?" She gave a small shrug and let her hands flop onto her lap. "You can't really blame-"

"Why do you think it's me?" he asked.

"You just read it," she said. "The tidiness… no clear breaking or entering. And as for the cause of death, there are no powers like that recorded anywhere in Mainframe. Can't you-"

He tossed her computer discourteously onto the table and rose to his feet. For a fleeting moment, Amy thought he was about to leave, but instead he paced back and forth between the kitchenette and the coat stand, muttering to himself.

She pushed herself from the sofa, but didn't move towards him. Instead, she wound her hands together, once again considering grabbing her hammer just perchance she might need it.

"If it isn't you, then who?" she asked.

"I don't know!" He stopped and threw his arms in the air. "Someone trying to frame me? I can't…" He began pacing again, and actually removed his mask to run his hands down his face. "You actually think it's me?!"

"Can you blame me?" she gasped. "I've only known you for three weeks! And during that time you have killed people! Lots of people!"

"In self defense!"

"That's beside the point! You also dragged me around on a chain and called me names! For all I knew, you only saw me as some convenient meat shield!"

"And what I said yesterday meant nothing to you?!"

He fell backwards into the breakfast bar and covered his face with his hands. She couldn't tell if he was crying or not. With the sounds he was making and the way his shoulders were shaking, he could easily have been laughing. Laughing at the absurdity of her assumption.

"Of course it did," she said.

"I meant every word."

She hugged her arms around herself. "So did I."

"Then why? Why are you accusing me of this?"

"I'm not accusing you," she said softly.

"You are. And it's pretty clear you're worried I might make you into a victim."

She clenched her mouth shut and looked away from him.

"I said I'd never hurt you." His voice cracked slightly and he cleared his throat to mask it. "I meant that."

"I know." She blinked back tears from her eyes. "But for the past two weeks, you went out without me a lot. With all the evidence laid out right there, can you see why I might be concerned?"

"It's not me, Amy," he said flatly. "It might look like it, but it's not."

He trailed off and replaced his mask, refusing to look at her.

"Then someone really wants it to look like it's you," she said. "Unless…"

He tensed, tail bristling. She took it as a sign to choose her words carefully.

She licked her lips and leant back against the arm of the sofa. "You told me the Phantom Ruby has some level of sentience. Could it be… acting out?"

"What? Making me do something with no memory of it?" he spat.

"Is it really such an absurd idea?"

He lifted his hands in a feeble shrug. "No."

"You said you fell asleep on a park bench," Amy went on. "And that was the night that little girl died."

Infinite took in a sharp breath through clenched teeth. Crimson light surrounded his hands and he brought his fist down into the counter top with a mighty smash, sending small cracks exploding across the marble surface. "It isn't me!"

Amy stifled a squeal as she leapt back from the sofa, staring wide-eyed between the jackal and her cracked breakfast bar. He stared at it with a matching expression of shock and horror, his breath coming in quick bursts. Then he turned from it and made a bee-line for the door.

Amy gave herself a mental shake and took off after him, grabbing him by the wrist. "Wait! Please…"

He faltered in the open doorway, avoiding her emerald gaze.

"I believe you," she said. "If you don't remember it, then how can it be you? And if something is controlling you, you'd just be a puppet."

"Nothing is controlling me," he spat.

"It doesn't matter either way. You're my friend, and I want to help you. Because if someone is trying to frame you, then… then you could end up back with GUN. Or Gadget."

He closed his eye and let out a weak sigh.

"Please?" She tightened her grip on his wrist and screwed her eyes shut. "I'm sorry I leapt to conclusions like that. Neither of us really know each other, but I shouldn't…" She trailed off and swiped her hand over her eyes.

He let the door close and turned to face her as much as her death-grip on his wrist would allow. He trailed a hand over her quills and she looked up at him, finding a half-smirk on his muzzle.

"Allow me to put your mind at ease," he said. "When I had a target, I wanted to make sure my face was the last thing they'd see. And I didn't care about the mess."

Her jaw went slack and she felt an odd chill run down her spine.

"This killer's method?" He gave a small shrug. "It really isn't my style. Now…" He released her and looked over at the breakfast bar. "Drat, it looks like I broke that during my little tantrum. Do you want me to fix it for you?"

Amy made a thoughtful noise and forced a smile. "It might be a good idea, otherwise I won't be seeing my security deposit."

He chuckled and made his way back to the bar. A frown tugged at his muzzle and he placed his hand upon it, tapping into his Phantom Ruby. A flash of red exploded out over the top of it, causing all the cracks to vanish. But once the light subsided, they reappeared in the exact same pattern. He leant forwards on it, taking a few deep breaths.

Amy rushed to his side and placed a hand on his back. "Are you okay?"

He waved a weak hand and pushed himself back up again. Another flash of crimson light. This time, the cracks didn't return.

Infinite clutched the edge of the bar, panting as he dragged himself onto one of the bar stools.

"Infinite, what's going on?" Amy asked. "This isn't-"

"I know," he growled, leaning his head on one hand and pinching his muzzle. "I've been trying to work it out."

Amy stared at him for a moment and licked her dry lips. "Is it… broken?"

He snorted and shook his head. "It feels more like I'm constantly using it." He looked up at her then, taking in her stunned expression. His mouth turned down in a sad frown and he dug his fingers into the marble. "That's why I got so upset when you accused me. I knew about those killings. I spent a lot of time in the Chaos Network over the past few days. And hearing you put it into words… Part of me… is worried you might be right."

...

Rough's ship was still hovering over the Beatdrop Capital, shrouded in its cloak. Tumble had lurked around beneath it for a good few hours before vanishing once again into the shadows.

The space pirate captain had barely slept a wink, fighting to stay awake while Gadget worked meticulously on his gravity weapon. Rough had ran over various fictitious renditions of their conversation in his head. Reasons as to why Gadget hadn't told him the gun was broken. The wolf would have lead them both to their deaths, unless he'd had some plan to have Rough die at the hands of his brother. A plan that had gone wrong. But then why reveal to him his weapon was broken?

So far, Gadget had shown no desire to take over his ship. He also hadn't revealed to him why the weapon was broken. Just that it had been dropped recently.

The wolf worked with an intense focus, occasionally muttering to himself - or to the gun - as he fiddled around with its insides. Rough's entire bridge had been turned into some kind of morbid mechanical butcher's room. Screws and fine slips of plastic lay strewn around it, amid a tangle of wires some of which had been burned out. Rough knew very little about the makings of technology, but he was fairly certain wires shouldn't burn like that inside the very machines they are meant to be operating. He was also fairly certain a mere drop wouldn't cause that. The insulation should have been enough to protect the wires from any overheating. Right?

The skunk scratched his mohawk and leant back against the wall. "You almost done, doc? 'Cos I wanna fly this ship outta this joint. She could use some fuel."

"Then fly." Gadget didn't look up from his work. Still crouching over it with his tongue poking out between his lips.

"You sure?" Rough grunted. "'Cos last time I tried to get past, you told me if I stood on anythin' you'd chop off me legs."

Gadget pushed himself up enough to beam at the skunk. He waved his hand towards the captain's seat.

"If you can get through here with the grace of a ballet dancer, then be my guest," he said.

Rough narrowed his eyes at him, trying to work out if he should actually take up the wolf's challenge. But in contrast he actually had as much grace as a cannonball in a mosh pit that had had a bit too much to drink. So he let out a sigh and waved a dismissive hand.

"Fine, just hurry it up," he said. "Otherwise we won't be in the air for much longer."

Gadget sat back on his haunches and rotated the body of his gun in his hands. "How much longer do you estimate?"

"I dunno." Rough shrugged and brushed back his mohawk. "Probably have enough fuel to last until tomorrow sundown."

"Then we aren't exactly in a rush, are we?"

"Refuelin' station is at Pulse City, doc. It'll take us about six hours to fly there!"

"My estimates is that Violet Station is closer." Gadget looked up from his gun to smirk at him. "Four and a half hours, if you fly at hyperdrive."

Rough balled his hands into fists. "I ain't welcome at that space station."

"Well I'm not welcome anywhere." Gadget returned to jabbing at the guts of his gun, with a little more violence than Rough deemed necessary. "And I have you and your little friends to thank for that."

A chill shot down the skunk's spine, and for a fleeting moment he actually considered grabbing the wolf by the back of his trench coat and tossing him from his ship. Rough rubbed the bridge of his muzzle and stifled a groan. It was beginning to cross his mind, and not for the first time, that there was more to Gadget's 'help' than one could see on the surface. Some kind of elaborate revenge, maybe? Well… Rough needed him. No… Tumble needed him. And if there was any chance he could get that help off Gadget then he was taking it. And so long as the wolf was unarmed, Rough had the upper hand.

He pushed himself back from the wall and strode over the mess on his floor towards his chair. Gadget let out a pained wail as a tangle of wires crunched beneath the skunk's boot.

"You don't need the burned ones," Rough said as he flopped into his seat.

Gadget's protests were drowned out over the roar of the engine, and the little black ship rose further into the sky. Hyperdrive would take up way too much gas. But the next step down might get them to Pulse City in less time than he'd previously guessed.

The ship lurched forwards, and the roar became a steady hum. Peppered by the clattering of screws and bits of plastic and metal skittering across the floor of his bridge.

"You moron!" Gadget spat as he clambered across the floor to gather them back up. "I had that all organized!"

"Aye, an organized mess," Rough retorted.

He caught Gadget's livid eyes in the reflection of his windscreen.

"You try anythin', doc," he warned, "then you'll find out just how high up we are. Eh?"

"Are you threatening me, pirate?"

"Pot, kettle, black." Rough sat back in his seat and tucked his hands behind his head, keeping one eye on the wolf's leering reflection. "Besides. You might find one or two things to fix your gun in Pulse City."

"You really think I'm going to waltz around in a city filled with mercenaries?!"

Rough flashed his canines in a small grin. "How about I trade you some cloaking technology for your obedience?"

Gadget's features softened and he lowered his gun. "I'm listening."

Rough chuckled and glanced back at him over his shoulder. "Pulse City's a hot-spot for cloaking technology. Ships need it. But it's mighty expensive. You promise me you'll save my brother and spare both our lives, I'll scoop up some plans for ya and let you go." He lifted a finger as Gadget opened his mouth to speak. "And! You never come after either of us ever again. Or my friends."

Gadget narrowed his eyes. "Which friends?"

"Team Datastream."

Gadget's tail swished behind him and his lips turned up in a smile. "All right. You have a deal, pirate."

"Excellent." Rough settled back in his seat. "You know what, doc? You'd make a pretty good space pirate."

Gadget spat, his entire focus on his gravity weapon. "Say that again and I'll turn you into a throw rug."

...

Review Replies:

Rycorop - Hmm, he's certainly found something key. Shadow might make a pretty good detective ;)

A/N - Fun fact - there's a Friends quote somewhere in this chapter. Did you find it?

Thanks for reading everyone! =D As always, please R&R!