Tails ran up to the door, almost tripping on the steps. In fact, he wobbled, then did trip, and the shopping bags banged his shin painfully, but...nothing could spoil his day! Today the bandages would come off, and, he hoped, Sonic would be able to act normally again.
He dashed up to the door, practically bashing into it. "Oof!" he squeaked, as the bags crashed into him. That couldn't help the eggs...
Nope, nothing could go wrong! He shuffled through the shopping bags for the keys.
Where were they?! They must be there somewhere...! Aha! Behind the apples...he bounced up again, and knocked his head on the door handle. "Eek!" he stammered, falling over the bags and back down the steps.
He rolled down the path in a tangle, ending in a heap on his tails. Behind him, two oranges rolled out of the bag and made a bid for freedom into the grass. He sat up, blinking and seeing stars.
Nothing could go wrong! Wait...maybe it was a bad idea to think that...now, slow down. Do it properly.
The rest of the entry passed without event, and he made it to the lab kitchen.
He threw the bags on the counter, not caring about the eggs anymore. He was almost jumping with excitement.
He ran to Sonic's room, in the back. The door was slightly open. He rushed in, and...the bed was empty. He blinked stupidly for a few seconds. Where was Sonic? He poked his head into the bathroom. Nothing.
"Sonic?" he called. Sonic would be around somewhere, he would be...had he gone with Amy? No, nothing could make him go to the Chao with her again, not after last time...he smiled at the memory.
He called again. "Sonic?" His tone was a little less joyful this time, a slight hint of worry coming in. Where was he? He wandered back into the kitchen. Nothing. Fear started now.
He ran all through the lab, calling. Then...he saw a note, tacked to the wall.
When is a door not a door?
He blinked in confusion, then looked up. He knew that joke...the front door creaked, ajar. He raced outside. There he paused on the step, looking around. Nothing desturbed the sleepy quiet of late afternoon.
He drooped slightly, then...something leaped at him from behind a hedge.
He squealed in surprise as it hit him, knocking them both over. "Tickle Attack!" Sonic cried, tickling the fox mercilessly as Tails squealed with laughter.
..................................
Amy stumbled back, the two chao flying alongside her. She made it to the front door, and entered. Boy, she missed her flat, she kept going to Central City and having to circulate back...still, she had to stay with Sonic. Especially now.
If he was blind...well, that was sad, but...she grinned evilly. He would need some kind of guide, wouldn't he? Had Sonic known her thoughts, he might have jumped off a cliff at that point.
She went to the kitchen, and tutted at the shopping bags spread everywhere. Well, she wasn't tidying them up. She sifted through them for chao fruit, eventually surfacing with a couple.
Now she had the challenging task of finding Cheese and Chocola. She eventually found Cheese in a suspiciously empty yoghurt pot, and then Chocola poked her head out of a trifle, looking so innocent that Amy had to laugh.
Now, she thought, when the chao were settled, for the serious time. She walked along to the shut door of Sonic's room, and opened it. Then she looked. Nothing. With a slight frown, she looked all round.
No blue hedgehog in sight, and she prided herself on spotting them, even if their fur was horrible. She frowned and turned back to the hallway. Nothing. Had Tails taken him somewhere?
She walked out to the inventing room, and quickly backed away from the mess of machinery. Then she went to the main computer room. It hummed slightly, and then clicked. She looked at it in surprise, and bent closer; the screen was quite small since it had overloaded from Emerl.
Writing appeared. B-e-h-i-n-d Y-o-u. She settled for a nice, "Huh?" and turned round. Sonic smiled at her, clean blue fur shining.
"SONIC!!" she squealed. Was it really him?! His fur was almost immaculate, not even any dust from running. Of course, he wouldn't be able to run for a while. And his lovely green eyes were focusing straight at her, with a sparkle.
She threw herself towards him. It was impossible...but it was him! She attached herself to his neck, and he winced, smile fading a bit. Tails poked his head out from behind the computer, and smirked.
"Uh...um...hey, Tails, help me out here!" The hedgehog cried, waving his arms frantically. Tails grinned. "Revenge is sweet. Mwahahahah!" It was a very passable imitation of Eggman.
They all smiled, and knew. It was over.
....................................................
Chaos: Mwahahahah! Not quite! The ::sequel::'ll take care of that!
Flower: Yeah, well, this chapter wasn't the usual angst, but I looked over it and felt so mean that I had to finish on a happy note.
Chaos: Just one more chpater now, and that's the epilogue. See you next week! (waves)