Origin: Earth Chapter 2: The Phoenix, a sonic the hedgehog fanfic

TITLE: 'Origin: Earth' chapter 2

AUTHOR: Thalia Evans

RATING: PG for mild language

DISCLAIMER: All the characters are © to their respective owners. (Sega/Egmont Fleetway/ Whoever) Don't sue me. Student. Skint.

SPOILERS: No.

PAIRINGS: No slash, no het, no nothing. Sorry. (bye-bye, readers…. Meh)

SUMMARY: Fleetway. Sonic has finally decided to seek Ebony and Pyjamas' help in the Metropolis Zone, and discovers that things aren't quite as simple as he thought. Meanwhile Robotnik makes his next move.

WARNINGS: Careful you don't fall in a plothole.

TIMELINE: Shortly after Sonic the Comic #184.

Origin: Earth

A Sonic the Comic fan fiction by Thalia Evans

A/N

A few things before we start.

This is a Sonic the Comic (Egmont Fleetway) fanfiction. Don't be put off, though, as I've tried to make it as accessible as possible for those who haven't read the UK comic.

It carries on directly from STC #184, and is not connected with STC-Online in any way.

Yes, I know this is a long and boring chapter. But the first part was just a prologue of sorts, and I like a nice long chapter. So there.

Also, I suppose the motto of this part is "It'll all make sense in the end, and that plothole isn't -really- a plothole..."

Apologies for the…'fan character'… trust me, he's there for a reason. Read chapter 1. Note hintage. You'll see. :) If you know any of this character's back history you'll probably be thinking 'What the hell is he doing here? brain explodes' but don't panic, all will be explained in due time.

And who had the bright idea of calling that water-creature 'Chaos'! Grargh!

So that I don't make everyone's head spin any more than I usually do, wherever I've written Chaos with a capital C in this chapter I'm referring to the monster /Drakon/God of Destruction rolls eyes Chaos, or the Chaos Emeralds. When you see chaos with a small c, I'm talking about chaos energy in general.

Also, bit of a disclaimer here- read into the fic what you like but this is not a romance.

At least for the duration of this story, no one is being paired with anyone else. Okay? No het and no slash, people. Sorry.

(Sonic & co belong to Sega, Egmont Fleetway and all those other people who aren't me. Shade's design and the writing are mine, so don't steal.)

Runs from Super Sonic who is out to get me for making him cute and whiny, Sonic for messing with his head, and everyone else for italics overuse-

(Completed 05/03/05)

Chapter 2: 'The Phoenix'

"I've been watching, I've been waiting in the shadows for my time

I've been searching, I've been living for tomorrows all my life."

The Rasmus

Metropolis Zone City, two weeks earlier-

Sonic screamed out a challenge as he hurtled towards the creature.

The monster turned with a chilling snarl, snapping short, powerful jaws. Its' twisted, vaguely reptilian form altered continually, sometimes becoming more fishlike and sometimes almost insectile as the viscous grey-green fluid it was composed of eddied and flowed.

The translucent thing looked like an escapee from a nightmare, but that didn't explain Sonic's fear as the twin blank globules of its eyes fixed on him. Despite his speed the world seemed to slow to a crawl. He dragged himself forward another stride, his muscles threatening to lock up with each movement that brought him closer to the hissing monstrosity. A silent scream of panic whipped around inside his head.

Turn around! Run!

The waves of terror rolling off the creature were almost a physical pressure. Power radiated out from it, making his skin tingle. He felt his legs begin to falter beneath him. His dark eyes squeezed shut, knowing he couldn't endure the sight of it much longer, that he would break and run.

He couldn't afford to do that. Someone had to stop the creature. Not just someone. Him.

Another nanosecond, another stride, and another surge of fear.

I'm not afraid. I can't be afraid. I'm Sonic the hedgehog, I am NOT afraid…

Blindly, he leaped and curled into a deadly spinning ball, willing himself faster, trusting his trajectory to propel him towards the monster without seeing it.

The thing's messing with my head. It's an illusion. I am not afraid.

The monster staggered back on clawed feet under the force of impact, but did not fall. Its malleable body absorbed the shock, distorting, flowing around and enveloping the blue hedgehog like water. Trapping him inside itself.

I'm… I'm not… afraid…

Bubbles erupted from his mouth as he screamed. Ancient, animal terror consumed him as the creature drew on his deepest instincts and released memories he didn't know he had.

For as long as Sonic could remember there had been a faint impression buried deep in his mind, a fear of drowning that gave him a cold shiver whenever he was immersed in water. Now the long-forgotten fragment rose to the surface, and he was a young child again, thrashing wildly, foul-tasting liquid filling his mouth as he shouted- something…

I can't breathe I can't breathe I can't breathe I cant breathe—

The hedgehog struggled, but the creature held onto its prize despite being pulled in every direction as Sonic tried to break free of its fluid substance.

The monster's energy thrummed in his veins, in his head. Through the fear, he felt another pressure rising from within… it was impossible, but he welcomed it. He had no choice.

Anything to make it stop…even that…

The door was opened. Rage surged forth and he embraced it, channelling it into a weapon to crush the fear. It would feel good to release it after all this time. To not have to hold back anymore. To obliterate this… thing that had dared to attack him.

More bubbles streamed from between his clenched teeth. There was a burning in his lungs, and a more intense one behind his eyes. His struggles intensified as he felt himself begin to change; muscles tightening, fur and spines shifting. There was pain, unbearable heat…

Then suddenly it was gone, and Sonic tumbled to the ground as the monster abruptly released him. The fear evaporated like shadows before a light.

Coughing, covered in oozing greenish liquid, he rolled onto hands and knees and pawed at his eyes. Formless things glowed behind his closed lids.

He heard the weakened creature slither away, and the sound of his friends' running feet. Within moments Amy was asking if he was all right, but there was something odd in her tone of voice…

The blue hedgehog assured her he was okay. He was better than okay- he felt energised. Somehow stronger, more alive than before.

And he had beaten the monster; it was reduced to a slimy trickle that quickly disappeared down a manhole. Globs of the transparent stuff rolled off him, following it as if they had a life of their own.

For a few moments his vision remained unnaturally sharp, and Sonic grinned euphorically as he looked up at Tails, Johnny and the pink hedgehog. They gaped back at him.

There was something in his friends' shocked expressions that struck Sonic as funny as he rose effortlessly to his feet, a quick shake getting rid of the last clinging droplets.

The hedgehog was changed. His body was a little leaner than before, and his quills, although the same deep blue, were a little longer and sharper. But it would be some time before anyone paid attention to those subtle differences. They were more concerned with his eyes.

Where before there had been a brown so deep it was almost black, now there was green fire. Pupils a fraction too small stood out darkly against burning emerald, so that his eyes had a wild, dangerous look about them.

"What's the matter with you?" he said, unable to understand why they drew back from him so warily. He felt fine, there was nothing wrong with him…

He wasn't aware of the door that now swung ajar within his mind. With its onslaught of fear the creature had stirred long-dormant emotions into life, where they hung poised on the brink of creating…something…

If he had known, he would have had one more reason to fear.

Perched atop a building elsewhere in the city, another hedgehog frowned in confusion at the icy chill that had just washed over him. He rubbed a hand across his eyes, consumed by a sudden feeling of dread.

He whispered, "Sonic…?"

The next day he returned to the rooftop, resting his elbows on the low wall that separated it from a three storey drop as he looked out over the city. Thinking, if you could call it that. He'd never been a fan of big cities, but had grown to like this one; and up here was a place where he didn't have to worry so much about who was looking at him.

It was a mild afternoon, but he felt cold. He couldn't remember the last time he had really felt the cold, but now…as burnt out as he was...

It seemed to amplify the feeling that something in the distance was tugging at him; it was very faint but he knew it was there, now more than ever, and it was slowly moving closer to the city.

"I thought you'd be up here."

Super Sonic turned stiffly to face the speaker.

He said quietly, "I think the Floating Island is going to pass over the city soon."

Ebony looked at him, noting how he was yet again pretending that nothing was wrong. And failing. He looked old and worn, even his spines seemed to have lost the will to stand up on their own and drooped limply.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He saw her sceptical expression, knew he wasn't going to get anywhere and corrected himself with a sigh. "…No. Not really."

The hedgehog turned back to the cityscape. His red eyes had been unreadable at first, but Ebony was used to them now. Crimson swirled quickly and tightly around pinprick pupils, like storms seen from above. He was anxious. "I… was thinking about what happened yesterday."

Ebony nodded. They knew little more than everyone else, just what had been on the TV. The first news bulletin had warned of an unknown emergency in the inner Metropolis… Only later did they learn what the emergency was, when a second newsflash updated the story.

A monster loose in the city… the death of the freedom fighter, Johnny Lightfoot.

He lowered his head a little. "I still know when there's a source of chaos energy nearby. I can tell the emeralds are over there somewhere…" a hand indicated north, then dropped to his side. His claws were extended fully within his gloves, a sign that he was upset. "Yesterday I felt chaos in the city. It must have been that creature… but I just stayed here."

"It could have been anything, Super. If you'd gone you might have run straight into Sonic…"

The amber hedgehog nodded tiredly. "Yeah… I thought that kind of thing wasn't my problem anymore. That if it was trouble, Sonic could handle it…" a pause, "This time he couldn't."

"Kid, it's not-"

"I know." Super Sonic started to pace, but halted and leaned against the wall after a few steps as if he just didn't have the energy. "I… I know it's not my fault. Johnny was Sonic's friend and I'm not him… but…" he fell silent, a mixture of guilt and confusion written all over his face.

"But you still have those memories."

"Yes." A nod. "It's fuzzy, but I remember being Sonic. He doesn't remember being me," he frowned, as if the whole idea made his head spin, and felt a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "Thanks, Ebony."

He was silent for a while. He still felt the loss, although he wasn't sure whether Sonic's memories were really his or not.

Once, Super Sonic wouldn't have cared… people were just prey then. Chaos had ruled him, twisting his thoughts, giving him enough power to destroy worlds. Only two things mattered: survival and destruction- the former his own, the latter, everything else's.

That didn't change until the Black Asteroid. Sonic and the Chaotix had trapped him inside the huge rock; he'd had to use all his strength to escape by essentially turning himself into a bomb, charging energy over a long period of time to cause a massive explosion. It worked- and he flew to the Metropolis, intending to take revenge by wiping it off the face of Mobius.

Fortunately that never happened. Maybe the electromagnetic pulse caused by the blast affected him somehow, or perhaps he had simply spent too much energy on blowing up the asteroid. His power faded within minutes, taking the chaotic rage and even his memory with it as he fled into the labyrinth of the city.

Super Sonic didn't find out until much later, when his memory was finally restored, that the power was still there. It lay dormant, but he could tap into it at will. He chose not to, however. He was in control of himself for the first time, and what he had been horrified him. Super Sonic didn't want to go back. He had caved in once and drawn upon chaos to prevent a train wreck. His memory of that was gone, erased, but he had apparently gone berserk within minutes. Never again.

He couldn't deny that part of him missed the power and the freedom, but ignored it as best he could and concentrated instead on what might have happened… he'd had the chance to start again as an ordinary hedgehog, but he had been so desperate to find out who he really was…

There were times, like now, when he wished for total amnesia.

"Hey." Ebony's hand squeezed. "Don't think about it, okay? It's over."

He glanced up at her before finishing the thought out loud. At least he had friends; not many people would have been as understanding as Ebony and Pyjamas.

But he was still denied the normal life he wanted… or thought he wanted.

"I remember now. But… I guess…I'm still not sure who I am." A pause. "As for it being over, I'm not sure about that either."

"What do you mean?"

The hedgehog looked over the city again. "Something must have happened to Sonic, Ebony. Something he couldn't handle. I…I think we must still be connected somehow, because I felt like there was something pulling… or calling me." He frowned. "And the fear… He was terrified."

Ebony nodded slowly in understanding. He had told her what fear and stress used to do to Sonic.

"He tried to change…" she blinked, "He did. There was a picture on TV… his eyes…"

"Green, just like the Master Emerald," Super Sonic agreed. "Lucky for him they didn't turn red, he'd have thrown a fit about that." He managed an ironic smile, but it faded quickly. "And then Johnny died."

"What… you can't think that-" her tail lashed. "Forget it, Super. Even if you had been there, we don't know what would have happened."

"I suppose."

He winced as another shiver went through him.

"It's getting worse, isn't it?" Ebony murmured.

Super Sonic nodded.

"I can't stop it."

He should have been more careful what he wished for. Ever since his…rebirth… he had longed for the power to just go away. Now it was happening. And it was slowly killing him in the process. It was as if his body was gradually wearing out, and Ebony's magic could do nothing to stop it.

… Suddenly there was a shift. He turned, ears straining forward, staring towards a point beyond the city skyline.

Ebony tensed. "What's the matter? Are you-"

And something changed in that distant point of chaos.

"There's something…" the hedgehog frowned. "The Floating Island…? Something's happening."

"What's going on?"

"I don't know." His eyes whirled faster. He leaned further out. Then in a lightning movement that belied his frail state he was facing in the opposite direction, pointing up at the sky. "There!"

She almost missed it, it was so quick. A muscle in her neck protested as her head snapped up.

A tiny scarlet streak cut a line across the sky. It was gone in an instant, and a sound like a faint crack of thunder drifted down.

"And one there-" it was gone before she could finish. A bright green flash, heading away from the position of the island like the first.

Her eyes widened. "Were those…"

"Chaos emeralds. I think so." Super Sonic looked up at her. "They're gone… I don't understand how, but the emeralds have left the island."

"All of them?"

Another nod. "This is bad…something really serious must be going on over there. The Floating Island won't stay in the air for long without the emeralds…" he looked down as if struggling with something, and muttered to himself. "I should… no… I'm not getting involved. I can't."

Ebony was looking thoughtful.

"Super… those emeralds…"

"What?"

"Could you find one?"

He shook his head adamantly. "Even if I could, I wouldn't. You know why."

"But could you?"

The hedgehog sagged a little, and absently picked at a faded yellow quill that had come loose.

"…yeah," he admitted. "They're already too far away, but if I got close enough…"

"Then this is our chance." The cat smiled.

"No way, Ebony."

"Why? It's the same kind of energy as yours. If we could find one of those emeralds, it could help you…"

"I…I know." Super Sonic studied his hands, feeling the claws strain at the material of the gloves. He willed them to retract, and balled his hands into fists. "But I chose not to be a monster. That kind of power could make me lose control… I can't just pick up a Chaos Emerald and take what I need. It doesn't work like that. I wouldn't know when to stop… I don't think I'd be able to."

He moved a few feet away, letting his hand trail along the top of the low wall. "I think it's better for everyone if I just stay here."

"No." She replied fiercely, quickly catching his arm and turning him around. "Look at me, kid- I'm not going to just let you die. I'm going to try to help whether you like it or not," her voice softened, "Because that's what friends do. I won't let anything happen to you. Okay?"

There was a long moment of silence. She could see a mixture of hope and fear in his face. Finally he sighed, very quietly, "…okay."

Then: "I don't want to die…"

It was more than that. Sonic had often turned Super because of the need to survive, so it was now an integral part of him. And there was another part that hated the idea of just letting himself…fizzle out. If he was going to go, then he'd go with a bang. That had probably come from Sonic, too, and was etched too deep to change- despite what his better judgement was telling him.

So he came to a compromise.

He took a deep breath and exhaled, in an attempt to regain some composure.

"Okay," he repeated. "We'll look for the emeralds. We won't be the only ones, but…" he hesitated before finally agreeing, "…we have to try. On one condition."

Ebony looked puzzled.

"What sort of condition?"

"Plans." Super Sonic looked deadly serious. "Sonic never had time for them. But we need backup plans… in case… the worst happens." He drew himself up. He knew how likely it was that something would go wrong. That he was probably condemning himself. "Ebony, you have to find a spell capable of destroying me."

Now-

The spacecraft was called Infinity.

When it first arrived, the Chaos Emeralds on the planet below had vibrated in response. A few individuals sensed the wake left behind by the vessel as it sat in orbit, and wondered what had suddenly woken them from their sleep or made them drop what they were doing to stare at the sky.

One didn't have to wonder. He had sensed changes, other events over recent days that he knew would lead to this point, and could tell as soon as he felt the ship arrive that the years of waiting were over. Even though he had almost convinced himself that it would never happen, that none of what he thought was real… although part of him dreaded it, he knew the time had come to act…

On board their ship, the visitors were unaware that at least one Mobian knew exactly who and what they were. They stared down at the blue planet, so much like the one they had come from.

It was a little larger than their world, although bizarrely the gravity was a fraction weaker. A few communications satellites and pieces of orbiting debris gave evidence of a civilisation on the surface. The smaller of two moons bore geometrical and obviously artificial scars. Just disappearing beneath the far curve of the planet was a tiny worldlet with miniature seas and landmasses of its own, orbiting close to and dwarfed by the larger sphere. The miniature planet looked oddly hazy, as if it might disappear at any moment.

The parent world was a paradox in itself. Concealed in a region of dark matter, it was a miracle they had found it all. In the brief time they'd had to observe the planet it had become obvious there was something strange going on- the sheer amount of debris in the atmosphere and the changes to the moon suggested very advanced space capability, but there was hardly any activity in orbit now. The lights of large, advanced cities were visible on the night side, but vast areas seemed far less developed… it just didn't seem natural that those pockets of light weren't more widespread given the level of technology. Something unusual had happened to this world in the recent past. Perhaps it simply had a small but very active population. Or maybe some areas had had a short-lived technological revolution, pushing them into a state much like 21st or 22nd century Earth. But whatever the catalyst was, it seemed to have slowed down or stopped altogether.

That such an alien yet familiar planet existed was unlikely but not impossible. However, when one of the satellites passed close enough to see clearly, lettering on it proved to be in perfectly understandable English. That was something out of science fiction.

But it was right there in front of them all the same. The planet turned, virtually oblivious to the confused onlookers.

Lines of static broke up the image for a second or two, shattering the illusion of space.

At about the same moment the door to the briefing room swished open and a round figure was revealed, a silver robot at his side. He strode into the room with a metal box clasped under one arm, leaving the guard machine standing to attention in the doorway.

The rotund man's free hand made a wide, sweeping gesture to indicate the viewscreen with its picture of the planet below.

"The natives call it Mobius."

About a dozen heads, all of them nervous looking and several old, grey or balding, turned to face him. Robotnik made his way to the small podium and put down the container, resting his hands on top of it. Behind him, the screen with its view of space made an awe-inspiring backdrop.

He gazed at the gaggle of scientists occupying the room. They were all human.

These were the people who were supposed to be running the ship. They were lost and their vessel was slowly falling apart around them. It had been a long time since it had had a captain, or a crew who knew remotely what they were doing- there were just these scientists now, and they were like a flock of frightened children. The only thing they could agree on was that they needed a new power source desperately.

They seemed to cringe slightly as Robotnik's gaze settled on each of them in turn. He smiled inwardly at that- they were intimidated, which was good. It would make them easier to manipulate. It was all falling into place…

A few days ago he had been past caring, but these people seemed to know him, which ignited a little spark of curiosity. Who were they? Humans were from Earth, and he knew that planet was not advanced enough to build such a ship. Then where had they come from?

As he learned more about them, he also learned more about his own origins. And the little spark grew.

The humans were leaderless and desperate. They had been looking for one of their own on Mobius, a Dr. Ovi Kintobor.

It hardly mattered that he wasn't that particular human anymore. His mind quickly focused on how he could turn the situation to his own advantage, and soon he realised that this was a golden opportunity.

All he had to do was get his story right and they, and their vast- if rather neglected- ship would be in the palm of his hand. And he was sure he could put it to far better use than these fools could.

He adjusted the mirrored glasses he had acquired from the ship's stores and cleared his throat.

It was as if a floodgate had been opened as all the scientists began speaking at once. Most of the questions were in a similar vein.

"Did you find it?"

"What's it like on the surface?"

Robotnik ahem-ed a little louder. The babbling died away.

"Planet Mobius," he repeated. They would know some of what he had to say already, but he had to make this speech as dramatic- and as convincing- as possible. "Perhaps the only other world whose inhabitants have also discovered the power source this vessel relies upon."

A woman wearing an identical lab coat to the others stood, hesitantly.

"Our instruments detected the energy readings, yes. But you said you could provide hard evidence…?"

The fat man smiled. Perfect. Silently, he reached around to undo the clasps on the metal container, and slowly lifted the lid.

Inside, something pulsed with a soft, silvery glow.

The robot wasn't as heavy as it looked.

It was heavier.

Knuckles scowled, bent under the dead weight of the thing as he trudged through the Hidden Palace zone. There wasn't much further to go, thankfully- this graceful subterranean ruin led straight to the Emerald Chamber.

It had seemed like a good idea at the time, taking the destroyed machine with him. If he wanted to know where it had come from and why it had tried to sabotage his island he didn't really have much choice.

But, he thought, it was very, very heavy, and getting back to the Emerald Chamber was taking much longer than he'd thought.

There was no point complaining, though. Not yet, anyway- not until he found the person responsible and then they would find out how angry he was.

Amethyst eyes narrowed. He trudged on.

He was cold and damp and his fur was dull with mud. He'd had to dig his way back out of the half-collapsed chamber, dragging the robot with one hand while the other's claws scraped furiously at the rock and earth and the tunnel continually collapsed behind him. Both the echidna and robot had been in a sorry state by the time they'd got out- it had had dirt driven into the metal seams of its body and the remaining arm dangled limply from a bundle of torn wires- but, Knuckles noticed, the green vial in its ruptured chest still glowed steadily. He was reminded of the Chaos emeralds.

The next problem had been how to get himself and the robot out of the waterlogged Hydrocity. Anyone could tell you that water and electronics did not mix. If any part of the seemingly dead machine still had power, he would be in trouble if he tried dragging it through the flooded chambers- so somehow, he would have to carry it.

As it was the wreckage was too bulky to haul around. Knuckles planted a heavy boot on the torso and pulled at the legs until the waist joint broke apart with a metallic pop, scattering loose gears and wires. He prized open the claw hand, which clutched the robot's energy weapon in a death grip. The gun might have helped identify the machine but he couldn't afford to have it accidentally firing and injuring him.

He had shaken his head at the mess of ruined metal he was leaving behind, which would have to be dealt with later, and awkwardly taken the weight of the remaining parts on his back. With gliding and climbing now out of the question he'd had to take the long way back through the islands' maze of underground passages and caverns, using a convoluted path that avoided fallen bridges and rockfalls that had occurred years earlier. Occasionally, to his annoyance and dismay, the red echidna had needed to backtrack and find a new way around some more recent damage.

Now, some time later, his hands were cramped from gripping hard metal and the robot's claw was skittering across the floor, breaking the silence with a deeply irritating scraping noise and striking the occasional spark from polished blue tiles.

As he walked he tried not to think about his aching legs and back, and instead considered what he was going to do now… firstly, and most importantly, he would check on his emeralds. After which it would be time to think about the fact that someone was sending robots to harm his island. Pointed canines bared in a grimace- in Knuckles' experience that kind of trouble was rarely put to an end quickly or easily.

And then, hopefully, it would be back to the mundane business of repairs, starting with cleaning up in the Hydrocity zone. That room would have to be cleared of debris, the ceiling patched up, and he would have to get a new door from somewhere. If he was very lucky he might find something suitable in one of the rooms used for storage, or be able to salvage a door from some ruined structure.

More likely though, he'd have to find a slab of stone the right size and carve it himself. Not an enjoyable prospect, but he wasn't going to make do with one of those flimsy wooden things they used on Mobius… it had to be as authentic and secure as possible.

He had made compromises before, of course, like allowing Porker to install those new computers. But that only happened after a lot of persuasion, and because they were much more efficient than the failing, eight thousand year old systems they replaced. Otherwise, however, he wanted the Floating Island to remain as close to how his people had left it as possible- so that when they came back, they wouldn't be returning to somewhere unrecognisable.

Then, hopefully, when all that was done, the island would be ready to rise from the sea and resume its normal orbit around Mobius… and perhaps he could find a little time to relax.

The decorative tiling underfoot petered out after a while and was replaced by brown stone slabs inscribed with ancient hieroglyphs as he carried his burden down a series of passages and zoom tubes leading to the Emerald Chamber.

Once there, he let the wreckage clang solidly to the ground with a sigh of relief, and stretched; the echidna had enough stamina to carry a load like that for some time, but that didn't mean it was a pleasant experience. He suppressed a hiss of pain as the muscles protested the treatment he had given them, then pulled off his ruined gloves, flexing stiff and numb fingers.

"I'd better be able to find something out from you after all the trouble you've caused," he muttered at the unresponsive torso of the robot, and flopped into a sitting position on the nearby broken stub of a pillar. Knuckles flicked his long spines back over his shoulders and wiped at his forehead with a wadded-up glove, which did little else but shift the caked mud around a little.

He rested, taking a few moments to get his breath back, and glanced up at the Chaos Emeralds.

He counted six; the large Master Emerald was closely orbited by five smaller floating gemstones, and no doubt the seventh, grey emerald was hidden behind them and would slowly rotate into view in a few moments…

It didn't.

A frown, and a sinking feeling in the echidna's stomach. He dropped the gloves, warily pushed himself to his feet and walked around to the other side of the emerald shaft. He saw a red warning light blinking on one of the control consoles, next to a half dozen steady green ones. Some of the other status lights were beginning to flicker an ominous amber.

And there were still six emeralds.

It wasn't a trick of the light. The seventh wasn't cleverly concealed somewhere behind the others. It simply was not there. And when Knuckles thought about which emerald was missing…

This could be bad. Very bad.

Then he saw the crimson thread snagged between two stones on the lip of the shaft, and suddenly realised precisely what that robot had been. A diversion.

He'd only just got the emeralds back-!

The wordless shout of pure fury echoed round the circular room, and a spiked fist drove itself- almost of its' own accord- into the floor. A stone slab cracked. A vibration travelled through the ground and dislodged a tiny piece of mortar.

Across the room, one of the finely-carved stone pillars finally gave up its' battle against the ravages of time, and slowly crumpled to the ground in a cloud of fine sandy dust.

Knuckles barely spoke a word of the ancient echidna language, but he did know how to swear in it. And he did so.

Repeatedly.

Robotnik smiled as he wondered whether Knuckles realised he'd been tricked yet.

There was another wave of chattering and gasps from the scientists. He looked on, pleased at the reaction.

The box contained a large, finely cut stone like cloudy quartz. It glowed with unmistakable power.

They couldn't know the importance of this particular source of chaos energy, though. He knew the Grey Emerald was somehow different to the others. If the Master Emerald was the brawn of the seven, this was the brains. The only one with the power to control the other six.

He could have taken more than just one, but it was better not to have all his eggs in one basket. And if he guessed correctly the Floating Island would soon be going nicely haywire, giving those irritating Mobians something else to keep them busy- it would buy him time, hopefully enough that they would be unprepared when he made his next move. And with any luck the rest of the Emeralds would end up scattered across Mobius or warped to the Special zone, which would make it easier for him in the long run.

The female researcher coughed nervously, staring at the emerald.

"When you mentioned a gemstone, it was hard to believe… using a crystalline matrix as the conduit instead of a liquid…" she shook her head. "It's amazing. We didn't think of that." A pause. "How much power can it store?"

"Alone, enough to keep most of Infinity's systems running for a month or two. You could also bring your mining cannon online," he couldn't help but smirk at the thought, but there was a disappointed rumble from the group. "But," he continued pointedly, "When drained, it will slowly recharge itself. This takes time, but you must remember that this Chaos Emerald is only one of seven…" His grin widened at the reaction.

"So not only can it contain energy, it replenishes itself too… This could solve all our problems," someone said excitedly. "Like killing two birds with one stone. We wouldn't need to repair the part of the ship that was damaged."

Robotnik nodded. "Precisely. Also, their power is cumulative. It multiplies when combined. With all seven emeralds, it would be practically unlimited. There are stories that an ancient empire once used them to make an entire island fly- but at this point in time, of course, the Mobians have no use for them."

The scientists looked at each other dubiously. It was hard to believe a story about flying islands. But they knew most legends had some root in truth, and could plainly see the aura of power from the gemstone.

Still, a man rose to his feet, holding up a palm-sized device. He looked apprehensive and a little dubious.

"May I…?"

Robotnik glanced at the portable scanner, then nodded and allowed him to step forward. The look on the scientist's face as he glanced at the screen he had pointed towards the emerald said it all, but after checking and double-checking the reading he turned back to his fellows.

"Dr. K…I mean Robotnik, is right. It's nearly off the scale."

More wide-eyed stares as he sat back down. They were all too aware of the battered condition of their ship, the unhealthy vibration in the floor from the struggling engines, the frequent power failures… the solution might be sitting there in front of them in the form of that beautiful translucent stone. And any solution was better than continuing to sit and watch everything fall apart around them.

"So we'll be able to just… collect as many of these 'Chaos Emeralds' as we need?" the woman spoke up again.

Robotnik shook his head.

"Theoretically. But I would advise caution… the creatures that live on the surface may not need the emeralds, but they still guard them jealously-" a dismissive wave of a hand, "Some kind of… primitive religious significance. Not important considering your lives depend on the power they could give you."

There was a consensus of nods, but one of the younger humans hesitantly spoke up after glancing around at his fellows.

"Perhaps we should try to contact the aliens first? We seem to have the same language…"

He was met by a look of disapproval. Robotnik forced regret into his voice as he spoke- he had to be careful now.

"Yes, it's a marvel of parallel evolution. Perhaps they are like us in some ways, and in an ideal world we would be able to communicate…" he hung his head slightly. "But no. It's a miracle that I stayed alive all these years, the natives usually attack offworlders on sight…" he looked up, casting his gaze around the room. "I've already told you how savage these creatures are. You saw the condition I was in when you good people rescued me from the mountainside…" his hands spread wide to show the patched and tattered clothing he still wore under his oversized lab coat- he'd kept it as a reminder to the other humans, to give his story more credibility. "And you can see the extent of the changes I have had to make to myself to be even marginally acceptable to them." To emphasise the point he lowered his glasses. The whites of his eyes had become the colour of obsidian, the irises bright red as if they had filled with blood. He noticed with amusement the badly concealed shudders coming from his audience; they were probably remembering a man named Kintobor who had once left the ship on an exploration mission and not returned, and whether they had known him personally or from pictures in a crew manifest, were comparing his image to the creature that now stood before them.

Robotnik indicated the lone robot standing by the door.

"What you didn't see," he continued, "is how quickly they ripped apart one of the robots you provided me, and with no provocation at all…" Robotnik placed a pudgy hand on his chest, as if in shock. The scientists exchanged dismayed looks at the loss of a valuable robot and its power drive, but quickly relaxed as they realised that the equipment could now be replaced. "It was terrible. I barely got away unscathed… No, there's no reasoning with them. They may have learned to use stolen technology, but they are little more than animals. And when they discover I've taken one of their precious emeralds, they will retaliate."

Scanning the small crowd, he was glad his bushy moustache hid the fact that the corners of his mouth were turned up in a tiny smile. These humans believed he was Dr. Ovi Kintobor- changed, yes, but tests had proved it, even though little physical similarity remained.

However, something- perhaps one of the few trace memories left from his former self- told him he would never have held this much authority with them had he returned unchanged. As Robotnik, he was no longer a gangly, absent-minded professor- one among hundreds on the Infinity- but cunning and purposeful, disturbing to look at, a creature to be feared. Feared- and respected.

From the looks on their faces they were playing right into his hands; it was almost too easy. Robotnik reflected with pride that he had not lost his touch.

But there was a small problem, he reminded himself. The first moment he had been left alone after arriving on the Infinity he had accessed the ship's extensive computer network, which controlled most of the communications throughout the craft, among other things- a huge system, but easily hacked and navigated by someone of his ability. He had retrieved all the information he needed to know exactly what was going on, and how he could take advantage of it, but made an unfortunate discovery at the same time: there were certain people on board that could prove a nuisance. Lacking Kintobor's memory he might not recognise them, but they would recognise exactly how extensive the changes in him were, and that could ruin his deception. The others might be able to accept that his new personality resulted from years on a barbaric planet, but these particular individuals might not. At present only the few in front of him knew about him or his plans, and some careful tampering with certain orders moving through the network had made sure it would stay that way.

Those who already knew who he was had been led to believe he had not made contact because he 'needed time to prepare himself', but at the first opportunity that presented itself he would have to hack more deeply into the system and carefully arrange it so that these annoying loose ends from his past were either imprisoned somewhere they couldn't cause trouble, or otherwise dealt with.

The woman who had spoken first looked up at him, bringing his thoughts back to the present.

"We need those emeralds, Doctor. If what you say is true…" A glance at her companions, "You know this planet better than we do. What do you suggest?"

Excellent. Time to finish it. He flipped the box containing the Chaos emerald closed.

"As well as powering the engines, you should use the emerald to activate more robots. You have more in storage, you said?"

A nod.

"Hundreds. Just not enough charged power drives to bring them online."

"I'm sure you'll soon be able to rectify that," the fat man smirked, briefly, then changed his expression to a more serious one. "The Mobians have a leader, a particularly vicious creature. Capture him and the others will become demoralized, and much less of a threat…"

Robotnik continued to speak, embellishing his twisted picture of Planet Mobius. He suppressed a chuckle as he did so. For much of the time he had spent on the mountainside his mind had swarmed with thoughts of all his past failures, and more importantly all the things he wished would happen to the one who had caused them. And then, in his darkest moment, the perfect tool to make those wishes come true had simply fallen from the sky into his lap.

If world domination was too much to ask for, perhaps he would simply settle for revenge. Revenge and destruction. Not that he would say no to a restored empire, of course… and with this ship at his disposal, that might just be possible…

The madman smiled; it was almost enough to make a person believe in fate. Perhaps he really was destined to win this time.

Metropolis City was huge, almost big enough to have its own micro-climate. A cloudbank hovered over much of the zone, forming a grey drizzle that contrasted with the near-perfect sunshine on South Island and shrouded everything in a twilight-like gloom.

Although he had wished for bad weather earlier, Sonic didn't like the rain, and he had never been keen on the zone itself either. The closely-packed skyscrapers made him feel claustrophobic, especially seeing as they made it impossible to run at full speed. He needed at least some room to manoeuvre and that was exactly what he didn't have in the crowded maze of streets. The hedgehog might have ignored the damage a sonic boom could have caused to cars and buildings if the situation was urgent enough, but he couldn't ignore the crowds and the possibility of hurting someone by accidentally running into or knocking them off their feet. Especially when the pavement was slippery and treacherous with rainwater.

He would much rather have been in the open countryside of the Hill zones, where the only injuries he would have to worry about were his own, and it didn't matter so much if the obstacles couldn't get out of his way. But this wasn't an empty hillside, and Sonic was reduced to what was by his standards a snail's pace- fast enough to overtake the traffic on the roads, but slow enough to be deeply frustrating, especially in this dismal weather. It was enough to make him want to turn around and go home.

His determination was starting to wane, and he found himself wondering why he had thought a coffee-drinking eccentric could help him in the first place.

He steeled himself for a few moments, then turned left down the next street and headed for the core of the city. Most of the inhabitants had given it a wide berth lately, and he had planned to do the same. But he needed to be reminded.

Sonic slowed to a walk in an area of silent streets and narrow, forbidding alleyways where the crowds and traffic had thinned to nothing. The light rain that had been collecting in little globes on his fur had reached the skin underneath; Sonic shook himself uncomfortably, sending droplets spraying off the tips of his spines, and looked around.

The buildings on either side were rundown and oppressive, all sharp angles and slick concrete dating back to Robotnik's rule. The street came to an abrupt stop and opened out to reveal that the old pattern of roads and buildings had been obliterated over a vast area at some point in the past, and the empty spot later filled with new office blocks.

Sonic remembered how it had looked before, when Robotnik's citadel had quite literally glared down at the city from here. The madman always had liked the look of his own face, so had the place built in his own image…

Perhaps it wasn't a coincidence that this was also where Chaos, the Drakon-Prosecutor-turned-demon had first shown himself. The wrecked vehicles had been cleared away and the scorch marks on the ground were slowly fading, but there was still a memory of fear…. And death.

He felt his ears twitch and tensed, eyes flicking to the dark spaces between the buildings as he thought he heard something. His mind warped the sound into a low, menacing snarl, like the noises Chaos had made before it had remembered how to speak- but it was just the sound of some vehicle's engine, probably in the next street and proving the area wasn't quite as deserted as he'd thought. After a few moments the sound faded.

He looked back at the office complex, ignoring the misty drizzle for a few minutes while he stared at the scene. He was reluctant to go any further- he didn't want to see the wreaths and bunches of flowers people had left there- but he'd needed to come back, to remember why he needed to seek Ebony's help. There might be more fear and death if he didn't. With Sonic himself taking the role of rampaging monster.

If he did turn around and go home, he reminded himself, then it would be the same as running away. Which would not only make him a coward, but would do no good at all… he had tried to escape that way before, once after Johnny had died and once a few years before when one look at the damage he'd caused had been enough to send him reeling into the city to hide. He'd eventually found himself in a grimy bar a few streets away. It stood derelict now, with the roof blown out and interior ripped apart, illustrating quite clearly what happened when someone was desperate enough to think they could hide from themselves. It hadn't got that bad this time… yet… but as much as he hated to admit it, hoping it would just go away was probably completely pointless.

"Ahem…"

A closer sound broke into his line of thought- somebody clearing their throat. Quiet, male, just behind him.

Sonic turned to see a figure in the dark overhang of a building. For an instant he thought he was seeing a memory of himself concealed in the shadows, but he dismissed the thought and a closer look showed that the stranger was real enough- the same species as he was, but as far as he could tell the similarity ended there. Between the building's shadow and the rain, the face was lost in the gloom; Sonic couldn't guess how long this person had been standing there. He was instantly on alert. Strange people in deserted parts of town often ranked high on the trouble scale. Especially when they hid their faces.

"I don't like people sneaking up on me." Sonic frowned. "Come out so I can see you."

"Didn't mean to surprise you… I was just trying to keep dry." After a moment's hesitation the stranger stepped out and approached, stopping at speaking distance. He had very long quills that would probably have formed an unkempt mane if they had been dry; now they hung wet and limp down his back. "Forgot it was supposed to rain," he added oddly.

Sonic's frown deepened as he saw a face he recognised- or thought he did. The coarse-furred brown hedgehog could have been any age, and spiny hair hung across his face and would have strayed into his eyes if it hadn't been for a pair of glasses. Rain had covered the blue-green tinted lenses with streaks and spots of water. Puzzled, Sonic stared at the familiar-looking figure and unsuccessfully tried to dredge up a name from his memory.

"You… I've seen you before."

"It's been a long time, Sonic. You wouldn't remember me…" There was an unreadable expression on his face as he turned away from the blue hedgehog and looked towards the offices, avoiding eye contact. "You helped me out once."

"There's a lot of people who can say that…"

"And you can't be expected to remember all of them." Sonic didn't see the amused smirk twitch the corner of the stranger's mouth, but he heard it. "So don't worry about it."

"Got a name? That might help."

"I doubt it." He replied. "I call myself Phoenix. Everyone else… calls me Shade." He looked back, grinning lazily. "Obvious reasons."

"Obvious." Sonic deadpanned, rolling his eyes. "Don't think I've heard it before, though."

"No, I don't suppose you would have." His expression turned serious as his gaze tracked upwards along the tall buildings, towards the overcast sky. He took a step past Sonic and murmured something quietly to himself.

"What'd you say?" Sonic blinked, catching the word 'chaos'.

"Nothing..." A backwards glance, and he gestured towards the silent buildings, around which the wet tarmac was scuffed and bore darker burn marks. "I know what happened here-"

"Doesn't everyone? It was all over the news," Sonic replied, sounding bitter. He looked away. "So you can go ask someone else. I don't want to talk about it."

"You don't have to." Shade was silently watchful as the blue hedgehog scowled into space. He continued after a second or two: "I just wanted to say I wish I could have done something to help. But sometimes… you can't change things..."

There seemed to be genuine regret in his voice, but Sonic glared at him anyway. He gave a brief, angry head-shake as the other hedgehog touched a nerve. He did not want to have this conversation.

"What're you talking about? And what's it got to do with you anyway?"

"More than you'd think, actually."

"Okay, I get it. You're crazy. Talking to yourself, wearing sunglasses in the rain-"

"Everyone's crazy." The insult seemed to bounce off completely- he shrugged and even gave an amused chuckle, as if at some private joke.

"I don't have time for this," Sonic muttered, irritated. Then more loudly- "Listen, you can stay there and talk to yourself if you want, but I've got somewhere to go." Getting no reply from Shade, he turned to walk off- after adding an irate "Don't follow me."

Sonic realised then that he wasn't exactly sure where he was going. Ebony's shop was in the Neighbourhood district, but could be anywhere in that quite large area. He'd never really asked.

"You look kind of lost…" the call came from behind him, echoing his own thoughts. The voice had a hint of amusement in it, which annoyed him even more.

"Just like your mind, then. Go away."

"Know what your problem is, Sonic?" You never know when to ask for help. You just run…"

He stopped and looked back over his shoulder, confused.

"What?" another frown.

The other hedgehog looked at the buildings or the road as he spoke, but never directly at Sonic.

"Sonic, sometimes you need to run away… to know when to forget. But sometimes you have to, well…" another of those knowing smirks, "Ask for directions."

Sonic's eyes narrowed. This was starting to sound a little too familiar… either this person somehow knew what he was thinking or it was a very creepy and unlikely coincidence. His first impression of the guy had been 'harmless wierdo', but he began to suspect there was something else going on, too.

"All right, stop playing games. You're up to something and I want to know what," he said slowly, suspiciously.

The stranger replied nonchalantly. "What do you mean? I'm not 'up to' anything… no offence but it's obvious you haven't got a clue where you're going." Before Sonic could protest, he had shrugged casually and continued, "I know my way around here… if you're looking for something in the Metropolis, I might be able to show you. Like I said, I owe you one." Sonic caught the movement of eyes flicking in his direction for an instant behind clear blue plastic. He sensed that he was being led somewhere with this. He had a sudden flash of insight about where… and irrational as the hunch was, he decided to trust his instincts.

Sonic gave him a searching look.

"I'm looking for someone. They have some sort of crazy themed coffee shop in the Neighbourhood…" he said after a moment of silence.

A nod. "Ebony and Pyjamas' place? I know it. It's not far from here."

It was just the reply Sonic had expected, but he still couldn't help but shake his head a little in disbelief. So this Phoenix hedgehog did know something; he had probably somehow been aware where Sonic would be, and where he was going… so for now he would go along with it and see what else he knew. He was confident he could get out of whatever trouble he was lead into. Besides, part of him still wanted to avoid talking to Ebony, and if he ended up having to get himself out of some situation instead…well, he was in the right kind of mood for it.

On the other hand, the guy didn't look particularly dangerous; this could still be some sort of amazing coincidence, or perhaps just a case of an unusually perceptive fan trying to save him the embarrassment of asking for directions. In which case he had nothing to lose anyway...

The brown hedgehog was heading for a side street now, and glanced back after quickly brushing a few errant strands of wet hair out of his field of vision

"My motorcycle's around the block. I'll take you to your friends."

That at least was the truth, Sonic thought as he remembered hearing the engine a few minutes earlier.

"They aren't friends. And I don't take lifts."

"Then run alongside. You'll get splashed though," he replied, sounding droll.

Sonic looked down at his dripping fur, outlined in a greyish halo of rain. He raised an eyebrow.

"I don't think it matters much now…" he sighed.

Sonic sped through the Metropolis, keeping pace with the growling vehicle easily. Shade surprised him a little by heading straight for the Neighbourhood, when part of him had expected to be lead into some sort of trouble or ambush. It only made him more confused about the motives of his new acquaintance, and as he ran he glanced across occasionally. If they had met before he was completely unable to remember when.

He didn't recognise the motorcycle either. The old-fashioned chopper looked somehow too big for the small hedgehog figure astride it; it was chrome and black, and had a sidecar with a cover that seemed to be doing a good job of keeping out the rain, unlike the tiny windscreen set above the single headlight. The way the drizzle spattered the hedgehog's glasses it was a wonder he could see where he was going at all, let alone drive at that speed. Wearing a damp and slightly oversized denim jacket but no crash helmet, the fearless way he drove suggested to Sonic that he was either insanely confident, or as he already suspected, simply insane.

The expressions on the faces of traffic police they passed as they reached more populated streets were comical. The bike may have been breaking speed limits but with Sonic running escort there was not much they could do about it. You couldn't exactly pull Sonic over for speeding- and by the time they had considered whether that also applied to whoever he was travelling with, both hedgehogs were long gone.

The brown hedgehog's eyes remained fixed on the road for the entire journey. Sonic supposed he would have better luck identifying him once he had seen him without the glasses- the tint rendered his eye colour a nondescript blue, but Sonic assumed they were probably brown like most hedgehogs', although they didn't look as dark as his own had once been. His face had a hassled, weary kind of look that he hadn't noticed before.

Reaching the Neighbourhood, they had to take a roundabout route to avoid the district's many pedestrian-only areas. The district was home to some of the more eccentric part of the Metropolis' population and the sight of a blue hedgehog running alongside a speeding motorcycle brought less stares than it had elsewhere- most of the people had seen stranger things.

The area was mostly pleasant and tree-lined, close to the few remaining open spaces in the city. Sonic had been there before, but not this exact part. He tried not to think about the odd feeling of déjà vu he was experiencing, suspecting now that he probably could have found his way to Ebony's shop even without a guide… the streets were all too familiar, and although Shade made it clear when he was about to take a corner, Sonic already seemed to know. He was almost relieved when the motorcyclist indicated he was stopping, and pulled in to the kerb.

"This is it," he said, pointing to a building a little way down the street after the aggressive snarl of the engine had died. With the doors painted in lurid green and pink swirls, the place stood out like a sore thumb.

"I guess it must be…" Sonic replied, squinting at the garish paintwork. A sign above the doors had the same colour scheme and read 'Groovy Train'. So Shade had been leading him to the right place, he thought as he glanced over his shoulder at the other hedgehog.

The biker's hands rested lightly on the handlebars, a mildly amused expression on his face.

"What did you think I was gonna do, kidnap you?" he grinned, and shook his head. "I happen to like being in one piece."

"I wish you'd stop doing that…" Sonic muttered, hearing his own thoughts repeated out loud.

"Doing what?"

A sigh. "Never mind." He turned away, exasperated. "Thanks, I guess… hey, wait a minute-" he blinked as Shade dismounted and walked past, "Where are you going?"

A shrug, "I'd rather not spend any longer in this rain than I have to. Could use a coffee anyway."

"In other words you were heading here all along."

"Maybe..."

Sonic's eyes narrowed. "So why didn't you just say so in the first place?"

"Would you have trusted me if I had?"

"What makes you think I trust you anyway?"

Shade had no answer to that as he carried on walking, apart from a smile and raised eyebrow that suggested he didn't care in the least what Sonic thought. The blue hedgehog growled softly to himself, annoyed at the apparent complete lack of respect.

"Cocky little…"

Shade heard the muttering and paused mid-step as if something had just occurred to him. He looked over his shoulder with a worried expression that deepened as he saw the dangerous look on Sonic's face, combined with the sudden emergence of a small but decidedly evil smirk. Emerald eyes appeared to be sizing him up.

"Don't do tha- aghh!"

A hand clamped firmly onto his shoulder and another across his chest. Shade was suddenly propelled violently forward as the blue hedgehog broke into a run, hauling the thinner one along.

Anyone who knew Sonic personally was used to his habit of dragging people when they didn't move fast enough for him, but anyone else was likely to be scared out of their wits- as was probably the case with Shade, Sonic thought, grinning to himself as he saw his expression.

As he was forced to run, his boots- not made for sprinting, unlike Sonic's- began to lose purchase on the slippery pavement and go out from under him. Unable to match the faster hedgehog's pace, Shade found himself being towed with his feet off the ground, and hissed though clenched teeth.

"Let me go!" His eyes were tightly closed, ears flattened back against his head.

"What? You offered me a lift…. I'm returning the favour."

"No thanks." A low growl came from the unwilling passenger. Sonic felt him tense his muscles, and wondered what he thought he was doing. Not that he could do anything. The smirk widened slightly.

Behind the tinted glasses, eyes opened to slits and scanned the road ahead; the coffee shop seemed to be rushing closer. They flicked down. Sonic's legs were a blur of blue and red.

Shade looked up. Gauged the speed. It wasn't close enough. Then- it was.

He brought his trailing legs forward, and slammed his heels down against the pavement.

The sudden drag caused Sonic to lose control, yelling in surprise and dismay as he lost his grip on Shade's jacket and went skidding sideways to crash noisily into the Groovy Train's double doors, which rattled alarmingly.

The biker landed in a crouch, one hand resting on the wet ground. Straightening, he rearranged his rumpled clothing, wiped moisture from his glasses with his sleeve, and regarded the blue hedgehog where he sat blinking comically up at him. Disbelief was written all over Sonic's face as his brain registered that he wasn't in the least bit injured… and neither was Shade.

He must have timed it perfectly- How on Mobius…

"Don't do that again," Shade said softly, fixing him with a glare. "Okay?"

"How did you…?" he rose slowly to his feet, met his gaze, and trailed off into silence. Until now Shade had never looked him directly in the eye, so Sonic hadn't seen it.

They were the kind of eyes that appeared ordinary until you looked into them. Then they seemed to burn with a strange inner glow, the pupils just a little too small in the gloomy light. There was something too bright and too feral about them, even behind coloured lenses.

Shade had the same eyes Sonic had seen in the mirror every day since Chaos.

The brown hedgehog looked away almost instantly. He seemed to deflate, that façade slamming back into place to hide whatever it was that Sonic thought he had seen. Shade sighed, and one hand absently rubbed his shoulder where he'd been grabbed.

"Sorry."

Sonic frowned.

"Your eyes…"

"Don't ask." He kept his head down and eyes averted. Rain began to collect on his lenses again.

"But-"

"I said forget it."

Sonic felt a little disturbed. That stare had made a buzzing, a little spark in his mind, almost as if- as if he had touched a Chaos emerald. Shade had said something about chaos before… it would explain a lot…

What if… I wasn't the only one? What if it affected other people the same way?

"When Chaos was loose in the city, it… attacked you?"

He replied with a slow head shake, keeping his gaze on the pavement.

"It's a long story. Trust me, you don't want to know."

"What if I do?" Sonic's own eyes narrowed. Despite his aversion to chaos, and despite the memories his new emerald-eyed appearance brought back, a large part of him was still proud of it. It was another feature that marked him as unique, and he didn't like that challenged. At the same time he was intrigued; perhaps this guy could give him a few more answers about what exactly Chaos had done to him, something no one had really been able to figure out.

But Shade didn't seem keen on giving anyone any kind of answers at all.

"…Tough," he muttered. There was a tense silence until somebody inside the coffee shop opened the doors. He slipped past, almost colliding with the black cat who had come to see what all the fuss was about. Sonic yelled indignantly at the other hedgehog as he barged through the doors and followed him in.

Ebony blinked confusedly after them.

"Wrong answer, pal." Sonic caught Shade's arm, forcing him to turn around.

"It's personal." His soft voice lost some of its composure. He winced, a pained look crossing his face as he tried to pull away. "You should understand that. When you didn't want to talk about something before, I didn't press the point." He jerked his arm sharply, breaking Sonic's hold on it.

"I got the impression you didn't need to," Came the retort. Part of him though felt a satisfaction at having finally touched a nerve. He had begun to think the guy was completely inscrutable.

A few recently arrived, rather damp customers were scattered around the pastel tables. One or two of them looked up curiously at the noise before returning their attention to their food or drink, not wanting to get involved with whatever was making Sonic angry.

Ebony frowned as she approached the arguing pair. As her gaze took them in, she shivered; she couldn't help seeing an echo of Super Sonic in both hedgehogs. The one with the shades had similar coarse-looking fur, and Sonic…. Well, he was Sonic. Her green eyes closed for a moment; she swallowed convulsively and looked again.

"Sonic…"

He stopped glaring at Shade and turned his irritated gaze on her instead.

"…What's happening here?" Ebony asked in confusion, looking from one hedgehog to the other. "I've been trying to get in touch with you, Sonic." Her eyes moved to the brown one. He kept his head turned a little so that strands of his spiny, damp hair fell across to partly hide his face and the eyes that were so much like Sonic's. "And I know you, don't I?" the incomprehension in her face changed. "I remember. You were here before-"

Shade shook his head to silence her. "Not now." He made a small movement with his head, indicating Sonic; what he really meant was 'not in front of him.' Ebony understood, but looked puzzled.

"Great. He's a friend of yours? This just gets better." Sonic's voice dripped sarcasm as he interrupted. He scowled. "So is someone going to tell me what on Mobius is going on?"

Shade quickly tried to steer the conversation elsewhere. "I need to have a word with Ebony," he began, and turned to her. "But that can wait. I think Sonic wanted to see you about something." He shrugged amiably, ignoring the acidic look the other hedgehog gave him.

"Thanks," Sonic muttered.

Pyjamas had been talking to another customer, but now she walked over and stopped by the little group. She was at least a couple of decades older than Ebony, but like the cat she was tall for a Mobian so the two hedgehogs would have to crane their necks slightly to look her in the face. One of those individuals who couldn't be easily classed as any particular species, she looked a little canine so most people called her a 'dog' for convenience. However, her face was bare of fur except for a shock of white hair and apart from a black button nose she could almost have passed for human.

"There you are, Pyjamas; I was just about to…" Ebony began, but soon trailed off, frowning, as she saw the look on her friend's face. She couldn't see Pyjamas' eyes very well though the mess of white hair, but she bet to herself they were glazing over as they settled on Sonic, then moved across to Shade and stayed there. The brown hedgehog wasn't comfortable under the scrutiny, and kept his eyes down.

"We don't have time for this…" Ebony said under her breath, rolling her eyes. She reached over to tug Pyjamas' brightly-coloured sleeve and hopefully get her attention. The older woman twitched, startled. "Snap out of it, Pyjamas."

"But they…"

Ebony shot her a Look, ears canting backwards in annoyance.

"I'm serious," Pyjamas continued adamantly. "I'm getting… something from both of them. And I think… this guy…"

"Not now. We'll talk about it later, ok?"

Sonic loudly cleared his throat, looking confused.

The white-topped face turned to look at him distractedly as if only just remembering he was there. He had only met Pyjamas once before, and was staring up at her like she had suddenly sprouted an extra head.

"I didn't think you'd turn up so soon, Sonic…" she appeared surprised. "I didn't see that one coming. Oh well…"

"Is she nuts?" he hissed at the black cat.

"No, just psychic." Ebony replied while Pyjamas glowered at him. She didn't waste much anger on the hedgehog, however; she was used to it.

"There's a difference now? Nuts." Sonic rolled his eyes. The words 'why am I here!' popped up in his thoughts again.

Shaking her head, the self-proclaimed psychic muttered to her friend.

"I don't remember Super ever being that obnoxious."

"Hey…" Sonic glared at them, insulted, then did a double-take as a little movement from Shade caught his eye. "What do you think you're grinning at?"

"Nothing, Sonic." He answered, biting his lip so that the smirk dropped back into a deadpan expression. One corner of his mouth still twitched, though. "Look, you three probably want to talk in private, right? If you've got an office or something, I'll wait here…"

Ebony nodded.

"I don't know how long we'll be, though," she said apologetically. Shade replied with a shrug, and assured her he didn't mind.

"Wait a minute," Sonic butted in. His eyes narrowed as he pointed an accusing finger at the other hedgehog. "There's something weird about this guy," he said to Ebony and Pyjamas. He folded his arms stubbornly. "I'm not letting him out of my sight until I know what he's up to."

"I told you, I'm not up to anything."

Ebony gave Shade a long, searching look. There was something about him… she frowned slightly, but her intuition told her he didn't mean any harm. She always trusted her instincts when it came to reading people's intentions.

"He's telling the truth, Sonic. I know him… he's okay." The brown hedgehog looked at her gratefully.

"Yeah, and that's what you said last time, too." Sonic snorted, but shook his head dismissively. "Whatever. I've got more important things to worry about than yet another mental case." He pointed at Shade again. "You'd better still be here when I get back. I'm not finished with you."

"Don't worry. I won't be going anywhere."

'I don't doubt it,' Sonic thought as he huffed irritatedly, allowing himself a few moments of being mad at the world in general. He was tired, his fur was still uncomfortably wet and would no doubt start to itch soon, the coffee shop's décor hurt his eyes and on top of it all he appeared to have picked up another stray nutter to go with the other two he had to deal with. Once upon a time, he thought longingly, all he'd had to do was break robots and look cool and there was none of this weird stuff to deal with.

He grumbled under his breath and began to repeat the word 'responsibility' in his head again.

"All right." He sighed a little, "Let's get this over with. But first things first… anywhere I can get dried off around here?"

The clouds that had quickly brewed up over the Metropolis zone had yet to reach Emerald Hill, so it was still bright and sunny as Amy Rose paused to glance at the green landscape around her.

The hedgehog girl was not carrying her crossbow or the usual quiver of arrows slung across her back. It was good that she didn't have to expect to defend herself all the time, although something told her to enjoy it while it lasted; even with Robotnik gone it wasn't likely that her life would remain peaceful for long. It never did.

A breeze tugged at her hair and spines as she resumed walking. Some distance from the village, the countryside was empty except for an eclectic mix of trees, palms mostly with some other kinds dotted here and there, and oddly shaped bits of brightly tiled masonry that protruded from the grass.

Amy felt a little uneasy, but it wasn't because she was unarmed. Sonic had been gone for a while now, and she had no idea where. Nothing unusual in that- he was always wandering off unannounced especially when there was no immediate threat to the zone, when he could be gone for a day or more at a time- but these days it worried her a little. She could see how he seemed to be… drawing himself away from everyone. Amy and the others missed Johnny acutely, but they were slowly starting to get on with their lives. She could laugh and joke again, but she hadn't seen much of Sonic's weird sense of humour lately. He was finding it so hard to move on… and now he was beginning to think he was a danger to everyone, too.

Before, she would have said that Sonic always came back eventually, even when he said he wasn't going to. A person like him needed to let off steam sometimes… and sometimes he just went looking for trouble. But these days she was just unsure enough to be concerned. There wasn't any real point in looking for him though; he could be anywhere, and she knew she'd never catch up with him unless he wanted her to.

She sighed as she moved deeper into the zone. Something caught her eye after a few yards- a movement and a flicker of yellow in her peripheral vision- she stopped briefly, but whatever it was had gone. She dismissed it as some small animal, of which there were plenty around the Emerald Hill area, and headed in the direction of Tekno's secret lab.

The lab wasn't really a secret anymore. But it was built into the side of a hill and nearly impossible to spot unless you knew it was there, so perhaps 'hidden' was a better word. Amy however knew exactly where to find it.

She reached the top of a final grassy mound and paused, surprised.

There was the hill where the lab entrance was cleverly concealed under the turf, and the tree that hid the opening mechanism. An old tiled trackway ran around the base of the hill, and on it was parked an odd looking grey vehicle. That was Porker's mobile lab. Amy knew he was helping Tekno with something- it wasn't like him to travel this far on foot, so she'd expected to see the van. It was the hulking thing that loomed next to it that had startled her.

Her brown eyes widened, a cold feeling starting in the pit of her stomach as her hand dropped instinctively to where her crossbow would usually be. But then she looked again, and saw that the big craft wasn't quite what it seemed. What's more the small figure of Tekno was standing near the back of the thing and didn't appear to be in any danger- as she became aware of the approaching hedgehog, she looked up and waved. Although still confused, Amy relaxed a little.

"I never thought I'd see one of these again outside a scrapyard," she said as she came under the craft's menacing shadow. "This is what you've been working on for the last few days?"

Tekno the canary nodded, grinning around her yellow beak.

"Yup. And it was a surprise for me, too." They both looked up at the wall of metal before them. It was clear that it had once been one of Robotnik's flying badnik transporters; neither aeroplane nor spacecraft, but could be used as either. This was one of the earlier, smaller ones that used to ferry Troopers and other badniks between Mobius and his old base in the Special Zone. It still dwarfed Porker's small van, however. By Amy's estimate the ugly rectangular craft was also more than twice the length of the gypsy caravan she and the others used to live in. Some of the metal panels had been removed from the back section to expose wires and machinery, and at the very rear a roomy cargo compartment yawned open, empty apart from a scattering of old tools and a couple of wooden planks, some straps that looked like they were used to stop objects sliding around, and the smell of oil.

"What are you doing with a badnik transport?" Amy asked, curious.

"It's not mine," Tekno replied. "The owner found it crashed years ago. He's been repairing and modifying it since," she waved a hand- she had real hands, not wings- at the vehicle. The hedgehog saw that it had indeed been heavily patched up; the back half was mainly intact, although bare metal showed where deep-red paint had once been and all the Robotnik symbols had been sanded away. Someone had painted incongruous orange flames down the side of the ungainly vehicle, suggesting whoever owned it had a sense of humour that Sonic would be proud of.

However, the front section looked like much of it had been replaced with parts scavenged from any number of different things. The 'nose' of the craft had the addition of a pair of robotic arms; small in comparison with the main body, they ended in crude grappling claws and were folded like the limbs of a praying mantis. Amy couldn't begin to guess where they had originally come from, or what they were for. She could also just see something black and shiny glinting along the transport's flat top – solar panels, she realised, a feature it would never have had originally.

Something on the ground drew her attention away.

"And what's that?"

It disappeared, a small flash of green a little darker than the grass as Tekno turned to look.

"That? That's his, too. Some kind of pet apparently… It hasn't stayed still long enough to see what it is, though." She shrugged dismissively, turned back to the ship and continued her explanation. "There's still some trouble with the engine, and we need to find a better way to recharge the power cell than those panels. This thing can hover and travel along the ground, but that's about it, and the guy agreed to run some errands for me if I could get it spaceworthy. I know my way around these things," she shrugged, referring to her past as an unwilling engineer for Robotnik. She wasn't hesitant to talk about it; during that time Tekno had fought back in her own way, until she had been found out and arrested. Luckily for her, she was eventually rescued by Shortfuse the rogue cybernik. "With most of the work on the Floating Island done, it's something to keep me busy," she finished.

A soft mechanical whine caused both girls to turn around. A little way up the hill, a rectangle of grass suddenly sank a few inches, then slid aside to reveal an opening. Porker Lewis emerged carrying some small, nameless tool.

"I found it," said the pig, handing the device to Tekno. "This is the right one, isn't it? Oh, hi Amy…"

The canary thanked him, and nodded as she peered at the device. Amy exchanged hellos with Porker, then remembered why she was there and addressed them both.

"Have either of you seen Sonic around?"

"Sorry, Amy." Porker shook his head. "There were a few sonic booms, but that was a while ago." He looked apologetic.

"I don't think he came near this part of the zone," Tekno added. She pointed in another direction. "Over there somewhere, but I haven't heard anything since."

"Thanks, anyway." Amy grimaced a little, but she wasn't surprised. Sonic would be long gone by now. He'd probably come back in his own time, she told herself; he might even have taken her advice and gone to Ebony's, but she doubted it. Most likely he was out running in another zone. She sighed resignedly while Porker went to check the monitors in the cockpit, and Tekno used the tool he had given her to fiddle with the exposed wiring.

"I thought you were a weapons designer, not a mechanic," Amy said to the bird after watching her work for a moment.

"I was…" she looked over her shoulder, a fringe of green feathers flopping over one eye. "But I started out repairing machines like this. Although…" a look of mock thoughtfulness crossed her face, "They did tend to break down again not long afterwards. No one ever did figure out why."

Amy laughed as the engineer turned back to her work, grinning mischievously.

"I'm surprised anyone would want to restore one of these things," the hedgehog mused after a while, glancing along the length of the grounded aircraft. "Not after what they were used for. It gives me the shivers…"

"Waste not, want not, I guess." Tekno replied with another shrug. "Apparently the engine still worked more or less when he found it, and it was easier than going out and buying a new vehicle. Plenty of spare parts for the taking if you can find them, too." She poked at something small and oily until it clicked back into its correct position.

"Whatever Robotnik left behind is finders-keepers for anyone who wants to salvage it," Amy agreed, frowning a little. "I suppose. But still… are you sure this guy was all right? He wasn't a Sky Pirate or anything like that?"

Tekno paused. "No, just some eccentric explorer by the looks of him. I can't see a Sky Pirate bothering with a craft like this, they'd just rip out whatever was salvageable. Besides, this thing's unarmed."

Amy nodded. "You're probably right. D'you really think you can get it in the air, though?" she frowned, looking at the battered metal hulk. Tekno gave a confident chuckle.

"Actually, we've nearly finished." She glanced over at the cockpit and shouted to Porker. "How does it look?"

A pink-skinned face popped though the door.

"Better… I mean, I think so. It's a bit hard to tell, I don't know how accurate these dials are…" he shook his head, scratched an ear nervously. "A lot of these parts aren't like anything I've seen, I've got no idea where your friend found them. I don't think they're original…"

He ducked his head back into the cockpit for a few seconds, then looked back out.

"But, um, yes. I think everything's working in here."

"Okay, good. Let's start it up again…"

Porker gulped audibly, muttering something. But he disappeared inside again, and a moment later Amy and Tekno took several steps away from the old transport as a bizarre grinding noise began to emanate from it. Something sparked in the dark compartment revealed by the missing panel, and the craft shuddered as the sound was joined by a painful squeal of strained metal from the same area. Hedgehog and canary exchanged apprehensive looks, Amy's ears twitching in protest at the noise.

The ungainly vessel's engine hummed, making her spines bristle at the sound that had so often heralded trouble in the past. The back end began to lift from the ground, then the front, reminding both Mobians of an exhausted animal heaving itself to its feet. It wobbled, listing to one side a little, but eventually settled in the air so that it floated a few feet above the ground.

Amy raised her eyebrows.

"I didn't think that was going to work," she said. Anti-gravity was nothing new to her and the wreck must have been able to travel to the lab under its own power, but it had been hard to imagine it actually doing so.

Tekno, however, looked less pleased as she listened carefully. She tutted and shook her head.

"It's still making that noise. That's not good…" she thought for a moment, then suddenly clicked her fingers and laughed. "I bet I know what's wrong." She still sounded amused as she raised her voice above the whine of the engine, telling Porker to shut it down. He did, and the transport lowered itself gently- and almost gratefully- to the ground. Whether the hissing sound they heard as the sound died was something to do with the craft itself or a very loud sigh of relief from Porker, no one could tell.

"What?" Amy queried.

"You'll see." Tekno smirked, stuffing the little device she'd used earlier into her jeans pocket. As soon as it was cool enough to do so, she pushed up her striped sleeve and reached in amongst the wires at the back of the transport, her arm disappearing up to the shoulder. There she rummaged around in the spaces between vital pieces of machinery for a minute or so, frowning. The hedgehog looked on, perplexed.

"Gotcha!" Tekno eventually exclaimed, face lighting up. She pulled something out of the hole and held it out for her friend to see. A long bar with a crescent shape at each end, the object was stained with grease in places and rusty except for one edge where bright metal glinted in the sunlight. It had obviously been jammed against something to polish that edge smooth and produce the grinding sound.

"A spanner in the works!" Amy grinned, shaking her head. "Very funny. How'd you know?"

The canary grinned right back. "I had a few accidents… 'lost' a lot of tools when I was working for Robotnik."

Amy blinked comically. Then realisation dawned. Her jaw dropped a little and she began to chuckle.

"No way! You're telling me that you…" she laughed harder. "I don't believe it."

"I know. This must be one of the transports I sabotaged." Tekno held up the offending tool, and patted the side of the craft almost affectionately. "No wonder it wasn't working properly… But at least I've got my spanner back. I haven't seen it for a while," she said, then also burst out laughing. Porker stuck his head out of the cockpit to see what the fuss was about.

They tested the engine again, and although the humming and whining remained the wobble was less pronounced and the grinding gone altogether. Tekno nodded in satisfaction as the metal bulk touched down again after a minute or so and Porker hopped awkwardly out of the cockpit.

"Still needs some work, but it's sounding better."

"It's sounding loud," the pig complained, rubbing a pink ear.

"You should've shut the door, then," the canary replied. "But you're right, it's loud."

"I doubt it was designed to be quiet. The badniks wouldn't have cared… but my ears are ringing," Amy agreed.

She stiffened then, turning to stare in the direction of the village. Her ears pricked forward.

Porker frowned.

"Wh…what is it?"

"Shh."

Then everyone heard it. That faint whining noise- it wasn't coming from the old badnik transport. Nor was it a result of their insulted sense of hearing.

"That's the Control Tower's emergency alarm. Something's wrong."

Sonic still looked a little bedraggled as he sat in the office, smoothing a bit of mussed-up fur back into place.

Ebony had to fight that seen-a-ghost feeling. He didn't even look that much like Super Sonic; his face was similar but not quite identical, and even talking to him for a few minutes made it clear that the difference went deeper than physical appearance. That, she couldn't understand; they were supposed to be mirror images after all.

But Sonic had the same voice, more or less, and the same expressions and mannerisms. At that moment his expression said he was not happy, and was hiding tiredness or worry or both.

The blue hedgehog also had the same annoying habit of not wiping his feet, and then putting those muddy feet on the desk-

She'd simply zapped the chair out from under Super a few times, but she wasn't about to try that with Sonic.

Eventually the shoes left the desk by themselves as he put his feet on the floor. His brow creased as he noticed her stare.

"…What?"

Ebony blinked. "Nothing…are you sure you didn't want a coffee or anything?"

An odd look crossed the hedgehog's face. He paused for a second, then shook his head.

"I've had enough flipping coffee," he muttered.

They both looked round as Pyjamas entered the office. The door clicked shut after her.

"See, Ebony? I told you something was about to happen." She gestured in Sonic's direction. "I've closed the shop for now, just in case…"

"Good idea." Ebony gave her a nod as the older Mobian found a seat.

Sonic raised his eyebrows and jerked his head in the direction of the door.

"What about Mr. Know-it-all?"

"Don't worry, he's still there," Pyjamas replied, glancing at the door's little glass pane. "Although the other customers weren't too happy about being thrown out in the rain."

"I don't think he'll just sneak off," Ebony said. "Did you lock up?"

Pyjamas nodded. "If he wants to leave, he'll have to ask."

The cat hunted around for a spare chair, found one across the desk from Sonic and gazed intently at him for a moment or two. "There was something you wanted to talk about-"

Sonic hesitated. He was having bad dreams, and he felt a little strange- that's what it boiled down to, but how was he going to go about explaining that without sounding childish and pathetic?

"I don't even want to be here! I thought you wanted to talk to me," he said after a while, finding a way around the problem.

The two women looked at each other.

"Well I suppose that's a start," the younger mused.

"This is serious, Ebony. Personally I think you're both nuts. But since you're the witch-"

"Don't call me that. I don't like the term witch."

Sonic paused a beat. "Well whatever you are, you're the only one who knows how this magic stuff works so I don't have much choice." He leaned forward, his eyes becoming dark and serious. "I need to know what that spell of yours did to me. In case there's a chance that… something could still happen. Then I can get out of here."

There was no question what the 'something' was. Hearing his grave tone of voice, she exchanged another exasperated look with Pyjamas instead of responding to the insults any further. She could see what Sonic was doing, trying to turn the situation around to save his own pride, but at least he was finally willing to face reality. More or less.

If he had waited any longer she would probably be on her way to Emerald Hill herself by now.

Ebony reached down to still her twitching tail where it lay curled in her lap.

"The thing is, Sonic…" she looked away from his intense stare, "I don't really know."

"What!" the luminous eyes widened, registering shock at first, then anger. "But you cast that spell, how can you not know what it did?"

"Why do you think I've tried to contact you so often? I've been trying to tell you," she looked up, "Magic isn't precise, it doesn't always work exactly the same way- depends on who it's working on. And I never had a chance to test it. There wasn't time, I just did what it said in the book, I didn't know it was going to have the effect I expected. I thought it had, at first, but I couldn't be sure…"

Sonic rested a hand on his head for a moment. Amy had told him as much, but he still didn't like the idea of being used as a test subject.

"Great…"

"It's not Ebony's fault." Pyjamas said firmly. "If she hadn't done it you probably wouldn't be here at all. None of us would."

He had to admit she had a point there, but was too stubborn to do so out loud.

"The problem is, it was 'a spell to reunite two halves of a whole'," Ebony continued. "I don't know if that applied to you and Super Sonic. He'd changed since he became independent from you-" she ignored his snort, "And you probably changed, too. I couldn't predict what the magic would do if you weren't exactly the same anymore."

The hedgehog looked a little confused, and sceptical.

"But Super Sonic was just an evil copy of me."

"No, he wasn't. Maybe in the beginning, but eventually…" Ebony shook her head, setting a dangling earring swinging.

"A mind doesn't just stay the same," Pyjamas agreed. "Every experience alters it a little. I'm not the same person I was last year, or last month. Neither are you. Neither was he."

"Why would that affect how the spell works?" he frowned at both of them.

"Because magic works mostly on the mind," the black cat supplied. "Super was composed of chaos energy, so the physical part was easy. The rest was…" she paused while trying to think of a simpler explanation, "…like having two cogs that don't quite mesh together anymore."

Sonic's frown deepened. He looked down for a moment, thinking. He couldn't remember much of the- merging, but he did recall suddenly feeling the other presence in his mind and fighting it, pushing outwards and expanding to fill the space occupied by Super Sonic until the only thoughts left were his own. It wasn't until later that he began to feel that things were… different.

"Hm," he said eventually, and realised Ebony was speaking again.

"…So I tried to get in touch, and Amy told me something was wrong…"

"Amy told you?" He looked up sharply, then rolled his eyes, muttering. "Typical. First she thinks she's my girlfriend, now she thinks she's my mother. I don't know which is worse."

Ebony couldn't help but smile. "It sounds to me like she's just being a good friend. She's worried about you, that's all."

He glared up at her defensively. "You're as bad as she is. I don't need a load of girls worrying about me."

"Somebody's got to."

Pyjamas smirked behind her hand.

Sonic grumbled to himself, something about a pink hedgehog and a black cat and a merging spell, and having one less problem to deal with. Eventually though he slumped a little in his chair.

"At least that gives me less to explain." He aimed one last glare at the ceiling, as if Amy might be up there.

Ebony nodded. "She said you weren't sleeping. Nightmares?"

"Yeah... the same every night." There was a moment of reluctance and a sigh of resignation before he answered. "It's probably nothing-"

"Maybe, but dreams can be important…" Pyjamas voice sounded distant as she lowered her eyes in thought. "They can be a message, or… a warning…"

"A warning? I don't like the sound of that." Sonic's eyes narrowed at the implications. He wasn't finding it easy to believe her, but if she was right…

"Super had nightmares, too." Ebony said quietly, staring at him.

Sonic turned his head away slightly, ears flattening against his skull. "Don't look at me like that…"

"Sorry, Sonic." Ebony caught herself searching his face for something familiar. She quickly looked elsewhere, coughed, and continued. "He used to say the dreams were like… a black void, and something reaching out to grab him. Are yours anything like that…?

"Not… exactly." Sonic shook his head. He was glad the nightmare wasn't quite the same, even though, he thought, Super Sonic had probably made it all up to get sympathy. He hesitated, gazing at the desk surface in concentration, before describing what he could remember of the dream: the Grey Place with its' tower, the vicious storm, and the final, most vivid image. He couldn't stop a little shiver going through him as he told them about the eye. That bloodred orb could only belong to one person.

Ebony and Pyjamas exchanged worried looks.

"That does sound like a warning," the psychic murmured.

Sonic nodded. Part of him recoiled in protest at telling them this, but he reminded himself again that he had no choice. And it didn't matter now- thanks to Amy, they knew about the dreams already.

But it was more than just nightmares and he suspected they knew that, too.

Damn you, Amy...

Sonic had to admit though that it was a relief to get it off his chest. Even if he was bearing his soul to a couple of demon-harbouring wierdos he wasn't quite sure he could trust yet. He supposed Ebony had redeemed herself a bit by stopping Super Sonic, but still… did he want to tell them the rest?

He hesitated, looking up at the two women. His eyes narrowed and he conjured an image of a city in flames in his mind, then one of Johnny.

His gaze lowered.

Of course you do, stupid.

He knew he couldn't tell them everything. Some things defied explanation, and he would sound like a madman trying. There was a burning in his core, radiating out into his limbs and sitting like a hot coal in the back of his mind. Now it was just a small flame but he sensed it would consume him if he let it; he supposed it had been there for all the time Super Sonic had been a part of him. But only now, since his two selves had been separated and reunited again, did he really feel it. It seemed… closer to the surface somehow.

That scared him. But there were at least some things he could describe.

"It's not just dreams." He finally gave up, sighed again, and let it pour out. "I think you were right about the- cogs not meshing properly. It's as if parts of me… aren't me any more." The hedgehog saw the puzzled looks directed at him and shook his head as if he didn't really get it either. "I feel different. I keep getting this weird… déjà vu. And there're things that aren't right…"

"What do you mean, 'not right'?" Ebony frowned.

"Things I wouldn't have done before. I've suddenly got this taste for coffee. When I was on my way here I thought I'd need directions, but I just- knew where this place was. And-" Sonic stopped abruptly, blinking as realisation flickered in his eyes. He stared at his hands as it was joined by shock and a hint of fear.

His gaze lifted, but he didn't meet the eyes of the other two Mobians. "And… I'm talking to you two about this. This isn't like me."

Or was it? Sonic shook his head confusedly. He couldn't be sure anymore. He knew he wouldn't have given in so quickly normally, but he had good reason… didn't he?

Perhaps he should just leave now. He had decided to go through with this, but now he couldn't know whether that was really his decision or not.

Ebony and Pyjamas had both seen that look of helpless bewilderment before. The cat bit her lip and gave her friend a sidelong glance. Pyjamas looked sympathetic- she knew how easy it was to get 'lost' in someone else's mind, and the confusion it generated. Sonic was a non-psychic so it must be even harder for him, she thought. Actually she was surprised that he was coherent at all, and if any part of Super Sonic still remained separate… what must he be going through?

"Gah. Get a grip, Sonic…" the hedgehog muttered to himself, rubbing his forehead. He was Sonic. He would just have to be more careful, and spot the…changes when they happened. "I don't like this, I don't like it at all…"

"Just try not to think about it," Pyjamas suggested.

Ebony tilted her head thoughtfully. "You know... I think there's a pattern. Everything you described seems connected with us somehow... Maybe Super Sonic was trying to tell you something, guiding you here." she smiled a little, pleased by the idea.

Sonic wasn't. "What, controlling me? No way." He scowled.

"Not controlling, influencing. Or maybe it's just coincidence," Pyjamas added.

"I still don't like it. So what are we going to do about it?"

"We've been working on a few things," Ebony said vaguely. She didn't want to mention anything yet about the plan to reverse the spell and hopefully get Super Sonic back- not his demon form but his real self, her friend.

She didn't think Sonic would take the suggestion very well. The hardest part, she thought, would not be the spell casting but the convincing him to go along with it.

But first she needed to find out if it was even possible. The thought that it might be too late for Super gave her a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach, and she closed her eyes for a second.

"Pyjamas has a way to see how your mind and Super Sonic's were affected by the spell," she continued after a while. "We need to know that before we can 'do' anything."

The older woman nodded in agreement as Sonic studied her dubiously.

"What? Read my mind?" he gave a sceptical snort that was almost a laugh. "You don't actually believe that 'psychic' nonsense…"

"Sonic, there're a lot of people who would say running at the speed of sound is nonsense." Pyjamas sniffed, looking annoyed. "And magic is nonsense too, isn't it?"

Okay, he thought, maybe she was just a bit sharper than the dotty old hippy she appeared to be.

"Point." He leaned back in his seat. "Something's telling me to believe you, but I'm not sure I can trust it. Besides…" he tapped the side of his head with a gloved finger, "Even if you can read minds, I don't think I need anyone else in here."

"It's the only way, Sonic. And if it doesn't work, what have you got to lose?" Ebony shrugged, her glossy black tail emphasising the movement with a flick.

The blue hedgehog eyed her. It wasn't the fact that it might not work that bothered him, it was the possibility that it would. Part of him knew somehow that Pyjamas did indeed have the power to read minds, despite what logic said.

On planet Mobius what logic said rarely carried that much weight.

And the idea of laying his feelings and memories open like that, to someone he didn't know… the thought made him shudder inwardly.

But Ebony was right- what did he have to lose? Apart from one extremely nasty alter ego he'd be better off without.

A sigh. "Fine. Desperate times…" his eyes went to Pyjamas. "So what exactly are you going to do to me?"

"It's called a mind link. I'll be looking for traces of Super Sonic, but I'll try not to go into either of your memories too much…" Ebony saw her shiver and winced herself, knowing her friend was taking a risk. Pyjamas had already discovered how unpleasant Super Sonic's memories were, and from what she'd described Sonic was lucky he didn't remember. "It won't hurt you, and I'm not going to alter anything."

"Isn't that a relief." His voice oozed sarcasm. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Just sit still..." She walked around to his seat, his eyes watching her intently.

"This looks familiar," Ebony observed to herself. Sonic gave her a glance and a little frown.

Pyjamas lightly placed a hand on either side of his head, just where fur began to give way to quills. She concentrated, reaching out.

At first Sonic felt nothing except the touch of her hands, but then the pressure seemed to move inwards. He inhaled sharply, eyes becoming unfocused.

Something moved through him, gently but insistently probing his defences. It didn't exactly hurt, but as he felt his mental armour begin to weaken an overwhelming need to protect himself washed over him.

Pyjamas looked a little surprised, and said "Ah."

Sonic reacted as if he had a half-healed wound and someone was trying to prod it. The pressure became unbearable. He couldn't help it, he simply had to jerk away and attempt to push the invading presence out.

He wasn't even aware of resisting until everything suddenly snapped back into focus. He blinked, realising that his hands were around Pyjamas' wrists, and that he must have reached up, moved her hands away from his forehead and broke the contact.

Sonic remembered he was holding his breath and released it, along with her hands.

"…whoa."

Pyjamas looked just as confused as he did. She took a step back.

"That's never happened before..."

"What's the matter?" Ebony frowned.

"He broke the link." She shook her head. "His mind just… kicked me out."

Sonic looked up from gazing at his hands. "I did?"

She nodded. "I've never seen defences like that. Like running into a brick wall…" Pyjamas stared at him, astonished. It was as if he existed within an armoured shell, one strong enough to bounce her straight back out of his mind.

The cat tilted her head quizzically. "What does that mean?"

"I think he's somehow built a shield around himself." Pyjamas shrugged her shoulders.

"Hey, are you trying to say there's something wrong with my head?" there was a growl in Sonic's voice as he said it.

"Don't know yet. I lost the link before I could find anything. I think I'd have better luck if I tried again…"

The hedgehog looked uncertain. His hand involuntarily went to the side of his head. "I'm not sure... That felt- really weird…"

"Sonic," Ebony began.

"Yeah, I know. There're no other options." He sighed and let his hand drop to his side, appearing a little sheepish as he regarded Pyjamas again. "So I guess you really are psychic..."

They all knew that was the closest to an apology she was going to get. Sonic didn't disappoint; he changed tack, glancing at the door, a sly look appearing on his face. "Hm. Our mystery man seems to think he can read minds, too. Maybe you should ask him."

Pyjamas followed his gaze, frowning as she was reminded of their other 'guest'.

"I can sense something from him, there's no question of that…"

The blue hedgehog snorted. "Yeah, an ego problem. Thinks he's cooler than me… going around wearing shades, calling himself Phoenix… what kind of name is that, anyway?"

Two pairs of eyes turned to stare at him.

"Now what?"

"Phoenix?" Ebony repeated slowly. She was sure she'd heard that before somewhere.

"Yeah." He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "I thought you said you knew him?"

She batted the question away. "Not by name-" she noticed her friend's expression, "Pyjamas, what's wrong?"

"I knew it." The psychic's face was haunted, but then she smiled triumphantly. "I was right. It's got to be him- the one in my vision."

"Of course…" Ebony remembered, nodding. The vision. The past, present and future colliding, and a phoenix rising in flames… It had slipped her mind, what with Sonic turning up.

"Would you two mind telling me what you're going on about now?"

She nodded. Surprisingly, Sonic appeared to believe the quick explanation she gave him about Pyjamas' foresight. Ebony assumed it was because of the partially successful mind link, but actually he had recently encountered an echidna with the same power to see clouded flashes of the future. It was therefore a little easier for him to accept.

"So we've got our phoenix… but what about all that stuff about time?" the cat looked up at the other woman. "And the threat you sensed…"

"Something's coming, Ebony. Something else is going to happen, I know it... and that guy is involved."

The dark feline looked grave. If one part of the premonition had proved true, the rest might be accurate too… "I should go and talk to him."

The psychic agreed. "Good idea. You might as well do it now," she looked at Sonic, "Because I think this is going to take a while."

Amy and Tekno crowded around a small screen in the hidden laboratory while Porker hung back a little, looking frightened.

The display was split into two unequal parts. A box in the top right held Dr. Kintobor's computer-generated face, and the rest was occupied by the image of a small fox. Glimpses of the Control Tower's computer room could be seen past his agitatedly twitching tails.

"I didn't know where you all were, so I hoped the alarm would get your attention." His young voice issued tinnily from the speaker.

"Good thinking, Tails." Amy smiled briefly. "Are you all right over there?"

He nodded, and peered a little closer at his own screen. "You're at Tekno's, right?" a little frown. "Is Sonic with you?"

"No, I don't know where he is…"

"Oh." The cub's brown eyes were worried. "I hoped he'd be back. Because-"

A second display winked into existence, shrinking Tails' image and seemingly shoving it out of the way.

"-The Grey Emerald is missing!"

The new voice was like an angry roar in comparison. Tails looked slightly hurt.

"I was getting to that, Knuckles."

Static flickered across the echidna's face and crackled loudly. Despite the interference and the small picture, he looked muddy, exhausted and most of all enraged.

The three Mobians in the lab exchanged glances. Porker winced.

"Oh, dear…"

"What happened?" the canary asked.

"Robotnik happened! -distracted me and took -emerald."

"Knuckles, you're breaking up. Did you say Robotnik?" Amy shook her head. Why was the transmission so bad? She could barely make him out.

Tekno's beak clicked together as she frowned. "Are you sure it's not still there somewhere?"

Knuckles snarled.

"-sure. -robot sabotaged the Island. -time I stopped it, the emerald -stolen."

"But it couldn't be Robotnik. He hasn't been seen since Perfect Chaos," Tails' voice was much clearer, and more bewildered. "You saw what he was like. He just… gave up, completely lost it."

The screen flickered, and Knuckles was holding up something crimson in one paw.

"Well, he's back. -found this."

"That might be from one of Robotnik's shirts. Or from anyone else on Mobius who wears red," Amy eyed the scrap of fabric.

"Who else would send a badnik? -not like anything I've ever seen, but it could -new design…" He moved aside, revealing a mud-streaked gunmetal and silver lump. On closer inspection it turned out to be the dismembered torso of a robot.

"Wow, you really made a mess of it…" Tails' eyes widened, impressed.

Tekno squinted. "It could be new… I don't recognise that model. Could Grimer have built it?" Robotnik's green-skinned assistant had also disappeared into thin air, but not before making it clear he was not interested in being the former dictator's lackey anymore. Perhaps he was acting on his own now…

Porker leaned further in for a better look. "I can't see much from here, but it doesn't look like a badnik to me…they're are usually more… uh…"

"Flashy?" Amy frowned. He was right, the thing did not resemble anything they had come across before at all. Even the tiny, grainy image of the robot appeared more angular and stripped-down than she would have expected. This was a utilitarian machine. It was meant to do a job, not look pretty, whereas anything Robotnik or Grimer had designed was usually more fanciful. Most badniks had been modelled after an animal or a monster and designed to terrify, or on the other end of the scale create a false impression of harmlessness.

"I don't get it." Tails looked puzzled. "We know there haven't been any badniks produced for months. We've seen nothing like this before… but if this thing is new, where did it come from?" he chewed his lip. "There aren't any badnik factories left that could have built it."

"That robot wasn't manufactured by anyone on Mobius, but I believe Robotnik did take the emerald. Or at least had something to do with the theft."

All eyes focused on Kintobor's small image.

"What? Kintobor, do you know what this is?" the hedgehog asked. The disembodied head onscreen appeared to sigh.

"Knuckles," he began, "Did you notice a small vial of liquid in its' chest cavity?"

"Yes," a nod, "How did -know?"

"I've seen these robots before. I didn't think I'd ever see one again..." Kintobor's eyes lowered. "After all this time, they must have come back for me… I had a locator chip implanted, it probably lead them straight to Robotnik. If they think he's Ovi Kintobor… this could be bad, very bad indeed."

They all exchanged glances. That didn't sound good, but one question was in everyone's minds.

The pink hedgehog voiced it.

"Led who to Robotnik?"

"I should have told you all about this a long time ago. I… I'm afraid have a lot of explaining to do."

"You're telling me-"

"Explanations can wait." Knuckles raised his clawed fists. "All -need to know -how do I get my emerald back?"

"We'll think of something, Knuckles…"

"-Don't understand? It's the Grey Emerald that's missing! Why do think the static -bad? The Island needs it now!"

Tails looked confused. "What do you mean?"

The echidna said something, but it was obliterated by the interference.

"The Grey Emerald is important," Porker explained anxiously. "It acts as a…. a kind of stabiliser. Without it the other six start to go out of synch…"

"-losing control of Island's systems," Knuckles agreed, glancing at the six floating gemstones behind him. " -do something, fast."

"I do not like the sound of this." Amy glanced at the pig and canary behind her. Just when things were starting to get back to normal…this happens.

A sudden bleep turned all their attention back to the screen. "Huh? What's going on?"

"Something just entered my sensor range." The Kintobor Computer paused as his circuits processed the information. In three different locations on Mobius, there was a hush as they waited expectantly. "There's an energy blip descending towards South Island." Another pause. "It's a ship."

No one needed any further prompting. Porker cringed, and Amy's mouth set in a grim line.

"Whoever these guys are, they might just be saying hi. But it could be an attack, especially if Robotnik's involved..." She looked at the fox onscreen. "Tails, we're on our way back. Get the biplane and the Air-pod ready, you'll have to take Porker to the Floating Island to help Knuckles." A nod to Tekno, "The two of us should go and check out this ship before it gets here. And someone needs to guard the base, so-" she realised what she was saying and went silent. She'd almost said 'so Johnny had better stay here.'

The young hedgehog paused a moment, then shook her head. Quietly, she murmured, "this isn't going to work, is it…" and looked up at the red echidna's image on the screen. "Knuckles, do you think you can hold out for a while?"

He gave a nod.

"-can do my best. -don't know for how long though."

"Okay. Porker, you stay behind and let us know if anything happens. We don't know what else Robotnik has planned."

He gulped, but reluctantly agreed to keep watch.

As everyone piled into Porker's mobile lab, Amy paused to gaze at the otherwise deserted landscape. "Sonic, where are you…?"

Pyjamas tried to keep her mental touch light, so that Sonic wouldn't be so conscious of it. She had almost been fooled the first time, entering a mind that was incredibly sure of itself, where 'right' and 'wrong' were outlined clearly in black and white, and there was no room for doubts or fear. In short, exactly what she expected from him.

But that was just a surface layer. Beneath it his confidence solidified into a wall.

Sonic wasn't what he seemed. He faced the world through a mask- his real self was hidden behind thick mental armour, and she would somehow have to get past it if she wanted any answers.

This time she hesitated before touching the wall. Sonic's awareness brushed against her thoughts; she could sense him trying to hold back, but knew there would be a powerful backlash if she went any further.

And now she could 'see' why. The wall must have taken a long time to build, years perhaps, but it wasn't as strong as it had first appeared- in fact it was coming apart at the seams; as one section was repaired, cracks appeared in another. Wisps of something appeared to be leaking through in both directions here and there.

Something had tried to break Sonic's defences and now he was struggling to stop them collapsing altogether as stress gnawed away at them. By trying to get though she had touched his mind in a 'sore spot'- his reaction had been an automatic reflex, an attempt to prevent more damage. He wouldn't have been able to control it, the same way he wouldn't have been able to stop himself jerking his hand out of a fire.

Sonic lost a friend… that must have hit him hard. Being merged with Super Sonic was a second blow right on top of it…he just hasn't been given the chance to heal…

Pyjamas winced in sympathy at how he must be suffering. Now she knew what to expect, she believed that with a little effort she could slip though one of the cracks and not make anything worse in the process. But wasn't sure she should.

'Sonic…' she thought at him, intensifying the contact. A wave of surprise rolled off the hedgehog. It was easier to think the words than physically speak them in a link like this, so she was glad he could 'hear' her, even if he wasn't sure how to respond. She let him 'see' the mental image she had of herself so that he had something to focus on.

The impression that formed behind his eyes was of a much younger woman, but still recognisable with her white hair. 'Sonic, I know you can't help it but your mind is still trying to break the link. I can probably get through, but I don't think it'll be pleasant for you. If you want me to stop now…'

She sensed his reply. He didn't like the situation, but he had to know whether he was a threat to those around him. He could handle it.

'I understand.' Her image nodded. 'If you can, try not to resist.'

Sonic just wanted her to get it over with before he thought better of it.

The psychic let the image evaporate and poured all her concentration into reaching through the barrier. She couldn't afford to tread lightly now; as she found a weak point and pushed, it pushed back. It was like moving through treacle.

"Nghh…" Sonic made a wordless sound, wanting to twist his head away from her hands. He had to fight the urge do so or to just reach up and knock her arms aside, so locked his fingers around the sides of the chair until pains began to shoot through them… if he could focus on that, maybe he wouldn't feel the pressure in his head anymore.

That Sonic's attention was no longer concentrated only on Pyjamas made it a little easier for her. The onslaught weakened, and suddenly she was through- as if she had threaded a needle, a line trailed behind her that she could follow back when the link ended.

The hedgehog let out a relieved breath. He relaxed slightly as the pressure eased to a still uncomfortable, but bearable level.

Pyjamas found less resistance on the other side of the barrier. In her mind she called out to Sonic again, but this time he didn't respond. He could probably still feel her there, but this was a deeper place where much less conscious thought could reach. She still had to be careful, though, in case she came across another instinctive defence.

As she went further she began to understand the purpose of the wall. Sonic had barely reached adulthood and he had already carried the fate of Mobius on his shoulders many times. He had led the resistance against Robotnik since he was a teenager. Sonic had been just a cocky kid from Emerald Hill once, but after everything life had thrown at him he had needed to create that tough exterior just to survive. And Mobius' people had come to depend on the heroic image he presented to them.

But there was another side to him apart from the arrogant hero, and the only way he knew to cope without going insane was to bury it: the grief over Johnny's death was just as powerful here as it had been on the surface but the guilt and anger were much stronger. This Sonic was not sure of himself, and did not believe he was invincible. This Sonic was frightened- for the lives of his friends, and for his own.

Pyjamas was tempted to back out there and then: she was trespassing, and felt she didn't have the right to be seeing this. Did anyone else know about the person behind the shell? Did he?

She oriented herself- and had a revelation. This place… she knew it.

Pyjamas had mind-linked with Super Sonic a few times, the first when trying to restore his lost memories. If a mind was like a building, then chaos had left his a gutted ruin that had begun to be rebuilt from the foundations up… with his blue counterpart it was like looking at the same structure before its demolition. And that structure was a fortress. She threaded her way through a labyrinth of more blocks and barriers; here all the emotions Sonic couldn't handle were hidden away from himself as well as the rest of the world.

She suspected that Super Sonic's barriers, his inhibitions, had always been weaker. He was an emotional creature, born from the rage that Sonic held back and chaos released… in Sonic that massive armoured shell was damaged, but when she had probed the mind of his other self it hadn't been there at all. In its place Super Sonic had built something not as strong but far more fluid.

Perhaps, then, the 'good' Super Sonic was what Sonic might once have been?

She pondered this as she searched. Pyjamas could now see that the 'layout' was the same; anything identical in their minds had overlapped and memories lay on top of one another, forming new links and connections where there had been none before. That could explain a few things… like the déjà vu… but what about the dreams?

And what about the part of Super Sonic that wasn't like Sonic, and had made him a person in his own right? She saw no sign, and that frightened her.

Eventually she had a brainwave, remembering how she had cured Super's amnesia. His memories had been locked away deep in his subconscious- maybe if she looked at the same location in Sonic's mind…

Pyjamas descended into a place where instinct ruled and the hedgehog's darkest emotions swirled restlessly.

She was now barely aware of standing in the Groovy Train's back room, so she didn't feel the shiver that went through her. Sonic also reacted; the chaotic heat in him seemed to stir, disturbed by the itch inside his head. He shifted uncomfortably.

She saw only the void. It was like a vast dark stain, tendrils reaching out to infiltrate the rest of the hedgehog's mind. All the anger and frustration here belonged to Sonic, and it was a moment before she noticed that something else was being masked and enveloped by it. There were bright, delicate filaments reaching out to connect with a memory here and another there, much like the lifeline she was leaving behind her. Among them she caught a hint of something…aware.

.Her thoughts began to create a picture of the mental landscape: storm clouds boiled overhead, the ground was shrouded in a thick layer of grey ash, plumes of smoke drifted up as if it might all burst into flames again at any moment. There were remains of yet more walls that had been created, destroyed and rebuilt over and over again…

Hair-thin lines of faint golden light crawled through the devastation, all pointing towards the core. And at that point was a beacon. It was a whisper that said 'I am', defiantly flashing brightness into the low sky. Pyjamas began to move towards it.

The storm overhead moved too, with a thunder-like snarl. It knew she was there.

In the shop proper, Ebony took a moment to study the strange hedgehog who had arrived with Sonic before speaking to him. He was lean and wiry, and his fur was drying to a light, almost sandy colour except where he had the same tan markings as Sonic. However, where the blue hedgehog's quills grew in several thick and relatively neat clumps, the brown one's formed an untamed mass with several individual spines sticking out in odd directions as they dried.

By the way the hedgehog sat, with his head slightly lowered and eyes closed, he could almost have been dozing. An empty mug rested on the table in front of him. His jacket was flung over the back of the chair, but he still hadn't taken off those glasses.

Ebony wondered why he had appeared in Pyjamas' vision. The premonition could still be a dud- it may simply have meant they would encounter someone called Phoenix and nothing more would happen. On the other hand it could be foretelling a disaster. She didn't feel threatened by him, though.

She said, "Another coffee?"

"Huh…?" the hedgehog opened startlingly bright eyes and looked up at her, then smiled and shook his head. "No, I'm fine. Thanks."

The slender digits of his right hand unwrapped from around the coffee mug. Where his fingerless black glove ended at the wrist, she noticed the fur was slightly thinner than it should have been. The patchiness continued up his arm, almost as far as the shoulder.

"You look like you were miles away," Ebony observed, pulling up a chair.

"Yeah…" he nodded wearily. "Things're going a bit too fast right now."

"I know that feeling." She glanced towards the back room and sighed a little before looking back. "Your name's Phoenix, right?"

"Right. Call me Shade, everyone else does. I gave up correcting them a long time ago… like I said to Sonic, obvious reasons." He shrugged, pushing his sunglasses with a finger so that they sat more snugly against his muzzle.

Ebony looked at him curiously. "Why do you wear those all the time?"

His ears went back and he gave her a sideways look as if to say, can't you see? She caught another flash of an eye that glowed behind the blue-green tint.

"Come on, I've seen stranger eyes than those." She watched him intently, but her face quickly fell as he seemed to wither under the scrutiny. This time it was she who apologised. "Sorry, Shade. You don't have to say anything."

He kept his gaze on the table and brown hair fell across part of his face, but he dismissed the apology with a movement of his hand. Ebony waited while he was silent for a long moment.

"My eyes are… sensitive to certain things…" he said finally. "It's not something I want to talk about."

The cat drew back a little, nodding slowly. He hadn't struck her as particularly image conscious, but she had made the same assumption as Sonic and expected it to be a fashion thing… no wonder he was so touchy about it…

"…I didn't mean-"

"It's okay. Everyone asks eventually." The hedgehog glanced up, smiled briefly and changed the subject. "I haven't thanked you for getting Sonic off my back earlier."

"No problem." She smiled ruefully. "He does, well, take some getting used to."

"You can say that again." The hedgehog gave a slow head shake. Ebony got the impression that Sonic's attitude both amused and annoyed him.

She chuckled. "I take it you know him?"

"Yeah… sort of. It's a long story, but basically he needed some help and I owed him one…"

"Along with everyone else on Mobius…"

He raised an eyebrow. "True."

She paused, fiddling with one of her earrings. He seemed a bit more relaxed around her, but it seemed somewhat forced. She noticed a strange tension and hesitancy in Shade's voice and movements- the best word she could come up with was careful, as if he was nervous or holding something back. And although he made eye contact more with her than he had done with Sonic, he still turned his face away uncomfortably if she looked at him for more than a few seconds.

"I do remember seeing you before," she said after a while, "but I don't think we've spoken much." Super Sonic had, though. The cat thought back- she recalled Shade being in the shop once or twice, usually alone and looking silently thoughtful. Other than ordering food or drink he had never said a word to her, and only stuck in her mind because Super Sonic had once been there at the same time- both hedgehogs had looked surprised to see each other and a long, intense conversation followed. She never found out what it was about, however.

"You said you wanted to talk to me." Ebony gestured at the 'help wanted' sign pinned to the door. "Is it about the job? Because it might only be temporary, just until my other…employee gets back…"

Shade closed his eyes for a moment. "…No, it's not about that." A pause. "This is- Well, it's complicated." He frowned and was silent for a few seconds, as if weighing something up in his mind. Then he nodded once to himself and looked up. "It's easier if you just assume I know everything… the reason you have a job vacancy, the situation with Sonic… all of it."

"What! But how…" her green eyes widened, then narrowed thoughtfully. "So… when you were here before, you must have-"

"Recognised Super Sonic, yes. Afterwards I just put two and two together."

"And- and you didn't tell anyone about him?"

"Why would I? He wasn't doing any harm. If there's one thing I believe in it's second chances." he went quiet again, becoming introspective.

Ebony smiled sadly. "Thanks. He would have appreciated that." She tilted her head, frowning slightly. "Actually you remind me of him, a bit."

He scratched an ear almost nervously. "Eheh… It's the hair, right?"

Ebony returned the grin, although his had seemed a little false. "No wonder you and Sonic had a difference of opinion… but what did you want to speak to me about, Shade?"

"That's just it. There isn't anything else… I'm sorry, but I just needed a reason to stay." He paused. "This is going to be- hard to explain." The hedgehog smoothed back his quills as he pondered. The black cat frowned.

"I have to wait here to see if something is about to happen. I can't tell you much else without sounding crazy. You'll understand soon, but if I said anything else now…"

"What do you mean?" she felt the end of her tail start to twitch.

Shade shook his head. "Have you ever known a certain event is about to happen, but couldn't tell anyone in case it changed that event for the worse?"

"Now you're starting to sound like Pyjamas. Don't tell me, Sonic was right and you are psychic…"

He made a sound that was almost a laugh. "No, it's nothing like that, but I might as well be. I just have some information… I've known about this for a long time, and I'm not even sure if I'm right. What I'm trying to say is, just trust me. If I am right about this, everything will work out… and I apologise for having to be so vague."

Ebony shook her head. His expression was genuine, and very serious. Whether what he had said was true or not, he believed it. And Pyjamas thinks something's coming, too…

"So you think the future is already set, or something…"

"No." He frowned pensively. "At least, it won't be after today."

Ebony blinked at the cryptic remark. "You're a very strange guy, do you know that?"

The hedgehog looked somewhat relieved. "I try," he quipped, and fell silent again.

She thought his sudden, visible shiver was to do with whatever was going through his mind. But then his ears perked forward and his head snapped round to stare towards the office.

He made a hissing sound and squinted as if someone had shone a torch in his face, blinked and looked away quickly, and muttered "Uh oh…"

Then a scream erupted from behind the closed door. The voice was distorted almost beyond recognition by shock, pain and wordless fury. And it was Sonic's.

On board the craft approaching Mobius, an alarm sounded. Eyes took in a set of readings, and a mouth twisted into a malicious grin.

"There you are…"

The ship began to turn.

Amy and Tekno were scanning the sky above the Emerald Hill coastline when Kintobor contacted them again.

Their tiny aircraft travelled in a long, slow circle. The Air-pod was 'V'-shaped when viewed from above, with two elliptical, open 'pods' either side of the nose cone, each just large enough to seat one. Amy and Tails took up the inner two pods with the fox piloting, the outer left was occupied by Tekno, and the other was empty.

There was no sign of the unknown ship, but Kintobor's estimate said it would be coming this way.

"See anything?" Tekno glanced across, her emerald feathers moving in the wind. Her pod looked a little cramped because of the apparatus sitting across her lap, brought from the lab in the hope that it might prove useful. Amy had also grabbed her crossbow and arrows from the Control Tower.

The pink hedgehog shook her head. "Nothing yet…"

There was a beep, and Kintobor's image appeared on a small screen in front of each of them.

"I've been monitoring the ship, and it seems to have changed course," he said hurriedly. Amy frowned at the look of dread the computer-generated face displayed.

"Where is it heading now?"

"A few moments ago there was an chaos energy pulse right on the limit of my sensor range. The first blip is moving towards it."

Tails slowed the Air-pod to a hover. "Another ship?"

The pixellated head shook gravely. "The signal is different. This one… matches Sonic."

"Oh, no…" the fox stared at the two girls, his already huge eyes wide and frightened. "Is it…?"

"I hope not, Tails." Amy shook her head and looked at the screen. "Kintobor, get us the coordinates of that pulse. Now."

A small map replaced the professor's picture an instant later.

"That's in the Metropolis…" she frowned, then looked across at the fox. "let's go, Tails!"

Amy held on to the edges of her pod and apprehensively bit her lip as he banked the aircraft and headed for the clouds shrouding the massive city.

Sonic, what have you done…

Anger shrieked through him, filling his veins with fire.

He had to release it. His body and mind felt like they were being ripped apart from within, unable to contain a rising tide of power.

Sonic staggered blindly. His shoulder slammed into a wall, hard. He reeled away and collapsed onto his side, curling into a shuddering ball.

-his deepest rage. His deepest hate. Locked away for so long, but now rising… welling up like magma… forging along the path of least resistance towards the surface, towards existence-

Ebony and Shade burst into the room and saw that some of the chairs were overturned, and Pyjamas had fallen onto hands and knees.

"Pyjamas, what—"

"I'm… I'm all right, Ebony-" the psychic coughed. "Help Sonic."

The black cat hesitated, then nodded and rushed to where the hedgehog lay, kneeling by him and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Sonic! Sonic, can you hear me?"

His muscles had gone stiff and trembled under her hand. Heat boiled from beneath the blue-and-tan fur.

"He's like a furnace… what the…"

The hedgehog's eyes were tightly shut, and his voice came between laboured gasps. "Ghh…Get away… from me… I-I'm—"

A convulsion wracked his body, arching his back and forcing Ebony to jump out the way. His eyes snapped open as another tormented scream ripped itself out of him.

Ebony gasped.

The whites of his eyes were darkening around blazing amber irises; tiny, ivory pupils stared unseeingly…

Golden eyes…?

He curled again, arms wrapping around his head.

-chaos rising, flowing… the mindless fury is Sonic's own, but something shatters…stirs… lashes out with its own anger, its own need to live-

"Grrrrhhh…" his hands lowered, the eyes opened. They changed again- more familiar now, blood-crimson irises breaking up, swirling… Little points of light began to appear all around him, drifting outwards and disappearing or exploding into miniature showers of sparks.

She saw his contorted features begin to change- pain being replaced by malice, rage overriding fear.

"What the hell did you do, Pyjamas!"

"I'm not sure… must have triggered something, another reflex…" she leaned heavily on Shade. "Ebony, you have to try to stop it…"

Sonic lurched to his feet and staggered a few steps away from the others, bracing himself upright against the wall. Around his eyes and chest the fur began to change in a vein-like network. The lines split and branched as the effect spread, the hairs standing up as cobalt shifted towards sulphur yellow.

Ebony's hands outstretched as she called upon magic, shaping the spell in her mind as the power built-

Stop!

She realised she was remembering the instructions for the separation spell. Don't know if it's safe. Got to try something else! She hastily began to mould the magic into another form.

Sonic growled, slamming his fists against the wall. "NO…!"

-his mind torn between two opposing forces-

The energies she had drawn cascaded down her arms and out of her hands, enveloping the agonised hedgehog in a flash of healing green.

Sorry, Super… we're not ready for you yet…

She knew the basic sleep spell wouldn't work on Sonic now, but if it calmed him enough…

He held himself rigid for a few moments, the yellow flickering wildly.

Then he slumped, sliding down the wall to the floor. A last few sparks crackled and popped in the air, but his fur began to settle back to its usual dark blue.

-they tear at each other as they sink back down, rage unspent… so close, so very close…-

For a few moments Ebony didn't dare move or breathe.

Eventually, she murmured "Sonic…?"

He was still conscious, just barely. The hedgehog moved his head a little to look at her. His eyes were glassy and half lidded, but had returned to their usual green. His chest heaved.

"That was… too close." Sonic struggled to get up, but his limbs were shaking so badly from shock that the cat had to help him. She righted a chair by the desk and managed to get him into it.

"Take it easy, Sonic…"

The hedgehog shook his head, pawing at his eyes as if the light hurt him.

"I'm okay… just… give me a minute…"

Ebony quickly checked on Pyjamas. The canine was in better shape than Sonic was- she looked shaken, but otherwise unharmed. Shade had got her a chair but now stood well back and out of the way. The tawny hedgehog appeared preoccupied… no, it was more than that. He was visibly anxious, his features tight with discomfort.

After what he just saw I'm not surprised. I'm Super Sonic's best friend and it disturbed me… but he seemed to see it coming… was this what he was talking about just now?

She suddenly noticed he had his jacket on. He must have taken it with him. Does he think he's going somewhere?

The cat frowned.

Sonic leaned into the back of the seat, pressing a hand against his chest. He could feel his heart thudding far too hard and too fast against his palm, and took a couple of deep breaths as he willed it to slow. His vision blurred in and out as strange, glowing after-images traced patterns across his retinas. Pain stabbed deep into his head when he tried to bring the shapes into focus; he grimaced and shook his head, blinking hard until his eyes cleared.

"I… I guess that answers my question… but it never used to hurt like that …"

Sonic closed his eyes again for a moment, and swallowed, shivering at how close he had come to losing control. His brain still buzzed with the memory of power, making him feel weak. This time, with Ebony's help it had subsided, but he had been close to the point of no return- there was always a moment when the lure of that power became so great that he didn't want to fight the change anymore. After that point, he was lost and would remember nothing.

He had hoped he would never have to go through that again. He shook as he put his head in his hands. "…ugh. My head… Damn it, Pyjamas, what did you do to me?"

"I- Ebony, I found Super…"

"I noticed," Ebony started to speak, but the hedgehog looked accusing and cut her off.

"I thought you were trying to find out if I would change again… not make me do it." His fingers rubbed his forehead. "Don't…ever… do that to me again. Ever." Another shudder went through him, "I…I could've killed all of you..."

"I know. What happened was an accident," She looked up, eyes hidden under her hair. "But I understand now… The grey place you described… I found it." Pyjamas hook her head, "I think it might be where Super Sonic first came from. He's gone back, hidden himself there…"

"So he's okay?" Ebony asked eagerly.

Pyjamas frowned. "At the moment, I suppose." She turned to the blue hedgehog. "There's something very wrong. I think those dreams were a warning… telling you not to access that part of your mind-"

"…And someone didn't listen…"

"I'm sorry, Sonic, but I didn't know. There's a conflict going on inside you..." She looked grave. "Your mind is very closed, you bottle up a lot of emotion… I think you used to release that whenever you turned Super. But when you were separated it just kept on building, filling the space Super Sonic left. Now it's attacking him and you're stuck in the middle. That –new force- is what lashed out at me..." She hugged herself as if the room had suddenly gone cold, then stared at him, horrified. "I've never felt… such terrible fury…"

"No…" Sonic shook his head wearily. "You don't get it… that is Super Sonic. He's evil."

"Sonic, when are you going to understand?" Ebony sighed resignedly before looking back and forth between the two of them. "We have to do something. And quickly by the sound of it."

It sounds like this is threatening Super and Sonic… If we're going to save both of them I'll have to act fast.

She would have to talk to Sonic about attempting to reverse the merging spell. Somehow she had to convince him to let her try… and she had to be sure it would work.

They would all need to prepare. If the spell did work, they would most likely have an angry, demonic Super Sonic on their hands- and would need Sonic's help to deal with him. Ebony and Pyjamas had successfully changed him back to his peaceful self once before, but the cat didn't know how drained the spell would leave her.

A new voice broke in. "We have another problem."

Everyone looked at Shade. He had been so quiet it was easy to forget he was there at all… now the brown hedgehog practically hummed with tension. He didn't look at them; instead, his eyes were directed upwards.

"What now?" the cat frowned.

Then Sonic felt it. His head was already spinning, but now there was… a pulling. Like a magnet resonating in response to another, he found his gaze following exactly the same line as Shade's. "What… what is that…" he recognised that same buzzing in his head again. Slowly, Sonic rose to his feet. Dizziness threatened to bring him back down, but he shrugged it off as best he could. His ears came forward.

"I think we could be getting some visitors." Shade glanced across at the two women as a bizarre whining sound became audible from outside, gradually swelling in volume. "Ebony, Pyjamas… is there a way up to the roof?"

They looked at each other as a shudder went through the floor, followed by another and another. Dust drifted from the ceiling.

Ebony ran to a curtain of beads concealing another door. "This way."

"The ship is at the coordinates," Kintobor intoned, paused for a moment, then continued less calmly. "I'm picking up laser fire. They're attacking."

Amy grimaced, and clutched her crossbow. "Tails, can you make this thing go any faster?"

The fox looked across at her and frowned determinedly. "I can try." He punched in a few commands and the aircraft shrieked as it hurtled towards the Metropolis Zone.

To be continued

Sooooo, do you see where I'm going with this yet?

Super: heh heh heh… I think I can guess…

Sonic: I think I'm going to kill her. Seriously.

Is anyone reading this? If so, thank you very very much or plowing through this monster of a chapter. bows

Knuckles: You're talking to yourself again…

Shut up, you. .

(A few more notes:

This is my own take on the Sonic the Comic universe, so I've made a few assumptions in this fic that I might as well explain now. As far as character ages are concerned, let's assume that Sonic was 14 or 15 when Robotnik first took over Mobius and is 20ish now. Also let's say that Robotnik possesses Kintobor's technical knowledge but not his memory. (STC wasn't too clear on that and did contradict itself once, but I'm going to ignore it.) Eye colours follow STC exactly, therefore Amy and Tails have brown eyes as opposed to green or blue, Super Sonic's are swirly, etc. This isn't a mistake. All other characters have the same eye colour as in the games.

That is all. :p )