Aria: Finally! I finished Part Five, so now I can put Part Four in! And, because has added the QuickEdit feature, I can use italics and bold!

Twister: sitting with eyes half-closed in boredom Whoop-de-do... It's a miracle.

Aria: rolls her eyes at him Unless you have something constructive to say, be quiet.

Twister: flicks his tail defiantly Don't have to. I'm supposed to be a brat. I am a feline muse, after all.

Aria: tosses a catnip mouse to him Here. Shut up.

Twister: pounces on catnip mouse takes a long sniff gets a goofy look on his face Caaaaaaaaaatniiiiiiiiip...

Aria: folds her arms with a smirk on her face So easily amused... Anyway, thank you to SSBM Master and Crystalstorm21 for reviewing. Sorry for not updating sooner, Crystalstorm21. I hope this update is as pleasing to you as the previous parts have been, SSBM Master. Why don't we get the new part started now, so everyone can enjoy it? snaps her fingers

(Disclaimer: Aria Zephyr does not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any related material)

Aria Zephyr Proudly Presents...
A Matter of Life or Speed: An Archie Sonic Fanfiction

Part Four: Getting back to Normal...Or Not...

Sonic shot up into a sitting position. Where was he? He looked around and saw that he was back in his hut. How had he gotten here? Where was Taimat? What happened?!

Suddenly the door opened and revealed Sally, with an exceedingly troubled look on her face. She saw Sonic sitting up in bed and a smile of relief crossed her face. She rushed up to him and hugged him fiercely. "Sonic! Don't ever do that again! We got worried when you never came back and then we found you, knocked out cold in the forest!" she cried. Sonic looked at her in shock. "Sal..." he began, but the girl cut him off with a kiss before he could finish. Sonic's eyes widened and he stiffened slightly. When Sally pulled away, her eyes were full of tears.

"I was so scared when we found you... You were so pale and cold... I thought that maybe...maybe...something happened and...you might've died," she whispered. Sonic looked at her wordlessly. "I had Bunnie keep Tails busy while we brought you back and Doctor Quack looked at you again. I...didn't want him to think that you weren't okay..." she continued. Finally, the tears lost their balance on the lower lids of her eyes and fell down her cheeks, leaving streaks of salt.

Abruptly, Sonic raised a hand and wiped the tears from her face. "Sally...you know I hate it when you cry... It's not like you... Please stop, please?" he said softly. Sally sniffed and rubbed her eyes to get rid of the salty droplets. "What happened to you?" she asked. It was a good thing for Sonic that the light was dim or she would have seen him pale. "I...think I lost my balance and hit my head..." he said, trying to sound vague, as if he couldn't remember.

"So...do you think you'll be all right?" Sally asked anxiously. "Yeah," Sonic said, trying to muster a convincing grin. Sally finally smiled and said, "Well...because Doctor Quack says your bum ankle isn't healed just yet and we don't want you fainting on us, the raid I was planning for tonight is cancelled." "Awww..." Sonic said, trying to sound disappointed. Sally grinned and slapped his shoulder playfully. "Oh, come on, Sonic; there will be other times," she said. Sonic rubbed the shoulder she had hit as if it ached. "Ow... You hit too hard... Meanie..." he said pathetically. Sally laughed and said, "Want me to kiss it and make it all better?" "Yes, mommy," Sonic replied in a childish voice, tilting his head appealingly. Sally laughed and kissed his shoulder quickly.

"There! All better?" she said. "Yes, dear!" Sonic said playfully. Sally laughed again and said, "I'll see you at dinner, speed-demon." Then she walked out of the hut. When she was gone, Sonic was thinking despondently to himself, If only a kiss would make it all better, Sal...

When the smell of food became too alluring and his stomach mutinied against staying in the hut any longer, Sonic left the hut, only to get tackled to the ground by a blur of orange fur and twin tails. Sonic landed on his back with a loud "Oof!" and a cloud of dust blew up on impact. When the dust settled, Sonic pushed himself up on his elbows and grinned. "Hello, Tails," he said to the fox, who was sitting on his stomach, staring at him directly eye-to-eye. Tails moved his head back after giving the hedgehog a scrutinizing look. Then came the questions...

"Where were you? Where'd you go? Why? What were you doing? Were ya talking to anyone? Were you spying? Why did you make Aunt Sally worry? How come they made me leave you alone while you took a nap?" Tails said, firing off questions as fast as he could think of them. He kept rolling off questions, despite the dumbfounded look on Sonic's face. When the boy fox at last stopped his barrage, Sonic burst into hysterical laughter. Now Tails was staring in astonishment as Sonic laughed so hard his sides hurt and he rolled onto his side, dislodging Tails and clutching his sides.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha...I'm...ha-ha...sorry...ha-ha-ha...Tails... It's just...he-he-ha...when you started...ha-ha-he-ha...talking so fast...ha...I couldn't help it! Ha-ha-ha-ha- ha!!" Sonic gasped. Antoine came out of one of the huts and looked at Sonic and Tails critically. "Sonique eez obviously feeling better..." he said, his voice dripping with disdain. "Sure is!" Tails said brightly, grinning widely at the coyote. Sonic's laughter subsided as Antoine gave him another critical look. Sonic threw a lopsided grin at him, to which Antoine raised an eyebrow. Finally, the coyote sniffed and walked back into the hut huffily. When he was gone, Sonic and Tails looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"I declare! I thought I'd nevah heah this much laughtah outta you two! What's so funny, boys?" Bunnie said, walking up to them. "Oh, Ant's just being himself," Sonic replied. There was a muffled sound in the hut Antoine was in, followed by a loud, "My name eez not 'Ant', Sonique! How many times must I tell you?! My name eez 'Antoine' not 'Ant'!" "See what I mean?" Sonic said. Bunnie smiled softly. "Aw, Anty darlin', Sonic's just teasin' ya," she called. "'Anty'?" Tails said. Sonic coughed and choked at the nickname, trying to muffle a laugh.

"Anyway...I came heah to tell ya'll that dinner is a ready," Bunnie said. "Oh boy! Dinner!" Tails yelled. He immediately spun his tails around and took off, flying away. "Tails! Wait up for the rest o' us!" Bunnie yelled after him. "More energy than Dulcy-girl, that one," she said to Sonic. Sonic shrugged. "Can't blame him. He's huuuuuuuuuuun-gryyyyyyyyyy," he said, stretching out the last word. Bunnie laughed and picked him up off the ground with her robotic arm. "You're a comin' with me, Sonic," she said, following Tails's path as Sonic squirmed in her grasp. "I can walk you know!"

Later...when everyone had finished eating and were all still gathered, Sally laid out a map on a table. She pointed a finger at a place on it. "This," she said, "Is a very strategic point for Robotnik. It's an energy core that operates all the SWAT bots in one-forth of Mobius." She paused to look at the faces of the Freedom Fighters gathered. "If we knock out this energy core, it will greatly cripple Robotnik's control on our part of Mobius and he'll have to draw from other areas to make up for it," she continued. Rotor spoke up. "Who found out this?" he asked. Sally's face looked like stone and she replied, "Sir Charles."

Silence...

"Is Uncle Chuck okay?" Tails asked quietly, looking up at Sonic. Sonic smiled slightly and ruffled the young fox's hair. "I'm sure he's gonna be just fine," he said reassuringly. Tails grinned and smacked Sonic's hand away. "No touching," he said. A small titter passed through the group. Sally's face softened and she smiled.

"So...Sally, you said that the energy core near us only covers a part of Mobius. What about the rest of it?" Dulcy asked. "There are other energy cores in other parts of Mobius and the other Freedom Fighter groups are now looking for them," Sally replied. "But first, we have to knock out this one, so that the others will know the best way to approach the other energy cores," she added. "So, what do we do, Sally-girl?" Bunnie asked. "Sir Charles is now trying to locate the reactor of the energy core. If he can find it, all we have to do is set off a reaction in it and the entire energy core will blow up," Sally said. "Won't that be dangerous? I mean, won't that release a lot of energy?" Rotor said. "It will," Sally replied, "But this core is in an area where no one lives." "Where eez zat, princess?" Antoine asked. If she wasn't a furry, Sally would have paled. "Murk Swamp," she said.

Quotes from Part Five: Perils

"Spread out and search! Find the intruders!"

"SWAT bots aren't supposed to fly!"

"This is a war, after all. We have to expect the worst all the time."

Twister: is lying lazily on his back with the catnip mouse between his paws and the goofy look still on his face Caaaaaaaaaatniiiiiiiiip...

Aria: covers a smirk with her hand He's still enjoying the seventh heaven produced by his kitty-marijuana. He'll be angry later when he realizes how ridiculous he looked.

Twister: is lying asleep on the floor, drooling Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Aria: grabs a camera and takes a picture of him Hehehe...this will make good blackmail for that sassy brat. Anyway, I've started work on Part Six, so I'm hoping to have another update soon. smiles slyly Though, if I get enough reviews, I could have it sooner. Sound like a good deal, everyone?

Twister: snores, and rolls over in his sleep, getting drool on his fur

Aria: That's everything for now. See you all in the next update. Until then, happy reading and reviewing! vanishes with muse in whirlwinds