-Tails-

We're heading for Sonic's cell. Amy had me hack into the computer to find out where he was, so we know where we're going now. I got the location of the Chaos Emeralds, too.

I can still hardly believe Chess is gone. Just like that... and suddenly, she wasn't here any more. Like Sonic, only there's no way she'll ever wake up again. I keep thinking about her waiting for us back at the hideout, and every time I realise that she isn't, that she won't be, and I remember kneeling by her on the floor, looking into her eyes and not seeing her look back.

She's still back there. There wasn't anything we could do, except move her to one side of the corridor. This isn't what was supposed to happen! Ever since Sonic ran off, everything's gone wrong – he was supposed to make things all right, not make them worse! I always believed that one day he'd save us... he will, won't he?

"This is it," Blaze says. He's been up ahead of us, watching out for robots and traps. I run up to the door he's stopped by and start work on the keypad. I don't want to admit it, but this is my last hope. Sonic, I still believe in you... you've gotta do this, you've just got to!

Everyone else has caught up with me by the time I'm done. That was a pretty tough lock! I take a deep breath and open the door. For some reason, I'm almost afraid it won't be him, but there he is, standing in the middle of the room.

"Tails!"

Even though his fur is still flecked with dried blood, and his ear's a mess, he sounds so cheerful, so normal, that I can't help but feel better. Of course he'll get us out of this, of course he can do it. Everything's gonna be okay now.

But then his expression changes, afraid, maybe, something I can't quite place in his eyes. He's not quite looking at me any more, he's looking past me. I turn reflexively, but all I can see is Shadow and Amy, with Knuckles, Rouge, Blaze and Crossfire standing around us keeping watch. When I look back to Sonic, he's normal again, but I can't forget what I just saw. What's wrong with him? I stopped myself from thinking about it before, but now I can't help it... what if I was right? What if he's going insane?

"He's approaching, Sonic."

I spin around to stare at Blaze. What's he talking about? If Sonic really is cracking up, then surely he can only be making it worse! I look back to Sonic just in time to see him shake his head.

"No, he's not. He's dead."

I try and figure out what Sonic's talking about, what Blaze is talking to him about, but I've got no idea at all! Who's dead? Why would Blaze talk about someone who's dead?

"He might be dead, Sonic, but you'll have to stand and face him one day."

"Hey, I don't need advice from you or anyone else! I can take care of myself!" Sonic snaps, looking away from him. I still don't understand what he's talking about. How could Sonic possibly stand and face someone who's dead? Blaze isn't making much sense, so why does it seem to mean something to Sonic?

"Tails, are there any Emeralds in this place?"

My thoughts interrupted, I pause a moment before replying.

"Yeah – both the other two are here. This place is pretty important."

"Right, then let's go get them!" Even as he says that, he's walking out, past me, speeding up to a run, and I chase after him. He's gotta know what he's doing, right? Blaze overtakes me and catches up to Sonic. His voice is pretty quiet, but I've got good hearing, and I can just about make out what he says.

"The price you paid for waking up is that if you keep on running, it'll destroy you."

If Sonic says anything back, I don't hear it. Blaze has just confirmed everything I was afraid of. Something's been badly wrong with Sonic ever since he woke up, and it's gonna get worse. There's gotta be something I can do, some way I can help him; I – I have to try! Blaze drops back as I speed up to catch up with Sonic.

"Sonic, what was Blaze talking about?"

Sonic doesn't even falter as he runs, but he does pause before answering me.

"It's... it's nothing, Tails."

"It's not 'nothing', Sonic! Blaze said if you didn't do something, it'd destroy you!" He can't just tell me it's nothing! We're supposed to be friends; why won't he let me help? Instead, he just snaps at me!

"I said it was nothing, Tails! I can deal with it!"

And he speeds up, pulling ahead, moving just fast enough so I can't catch him. Why won't he let me help?

As I run along behind him, I remember... we may have been friends, but he never did. He never let me see when anything was wrong, and even when it was bad enough that I did, a few moments later he'd shrug it off and carry on like nothing had ever happened. I helped him fight, though he didn't really need me, but I couldn't help with what he was feeling. He never let me so much as know what it was. I should've remembered that, but I've got so used to everyone else...

All I want is to help Sonic, somehow. But how can I, if he won't even tell me what's going on? And how can I – how can any of us – trust him to get us out of this now? I know if I tell Amy what Blaze just said, she could well call the whole thing off and get back to base, certainly won't let Sonic tell us what to do any more. She's probably thinking about it already, after what we saw when we rescued him. Should I tell her what Blaze said? Or should I just keep quiet and trust Sonic like I always used to?

I hope I'm making the right decision...