-Pant, pant- Gah, I had to write this all today so I could meet my deadline, since I was busy yesterday, and I didn't have much time to write it today. But what counts, is that I did it! Now read please, so my work will not have been for nothing.

"Finally, I can see what happened," Amy panted. She had just ran all the way back to the memory room.

"What memory are you looking for, chao?" Mic asked. "I can probably help you find it, chao."

"I'm looking for the memory of how you and Aurum got in here," Amy said. "I'm pretty sure that that's what Sonic doesn't want to remember, among most other things. So, can you show me?" Amy looked hopefully at the little hero chao. Mic looked at the floor, not meeting the rose hedgehog's gaze.

"Are you sure, chao?" Mic asked. "I don't really remember it either, but I know it wasn't good."

"Well, Sonic can't keep it locked up forever," Amy replied. "If I know, he'll at least have someone to talk to it about when it's bringing him down. Please Mic, I need to know which one it is."

"Alright," Mic agreed, "Chao, I guess I'll tell you. It's in that really dusty cabinet over there in the corner, third drawer. The memory is the one in the red folder labled, CAUTION."

"Sonic really must not want to remember this," Amy muttered to herself, following Mic's instructions. Sure enough, the memory was in the red folder. Amy reached in, pulling out what looked like a shiny litttle disc.

"What do I do with this?" Amy asked.

"Chao, look over at the desk," Mic answered. Amy did so, seeing what looked like a small cd player. "You put it in there, and it puts you inside the memory, chao. You'll be able to get out once the memory ends."

"Sounds easy enough," Amy muttered, walking over to the device. As soon as she stuck the disc in, the room was enveloped in light.

"What are you talking about Sonic?" Shadow asked. "You know where she is, don't you?" Sonic looked away from his black-and-red counterpart, wanting to avoid this conversation more than anything. Everything was suddenly quiet. Even Knuckles and Gemini had shut up.

"No," Sonic mumbled. "I have no clue where she is."

"Then why did you say it was Amy's fault you fainted?" Shadow asked, turning so he had a direct view of Sonic's face. "Don't lie, because I'll be able to tell. What happened to Amy?"

"Well, uh...she was, uhmm...captured by Eggman?" Sonic did not want to tell them why.

"You're still lying," Knuckles said. "Come on, tell us. We're your friends, aren't we?"

"Well, yeah, but..." Sonic was at a loss for words. "It's not like you can make me tell."

"On the contrary, we can," Gemini stated, an evil look on his face as he took off his sunglasses. "Do you think an accomplished dark mage such as myself does not know a truth spell? If you don't tell, I can simply force you to tell us anything and everything we ask. What's it going to be?" Sonic was about to answer, when his mind suddenly went blank. This only happened when someone was viewing a memory via the memory room. Which meant...

"Dammit Amy," Sonic cursed, causing a look of concern from the others. An image began to come into his head, an image he knew all too well.

"Sonic? Are you all right?" Shadow asked. Sonic was npw moanong, his head pressed against the grass.

"What's gotten into him?" Knckles asked. "Gemini, did you goof up your spell?"

"I haven't even cast it yet," Gemini retorted. "I know just as much as you do on this one, alright?"

"So, what do we do?" Knuckles asked.

"Wait until he wakes up, I suppose," Shadow answered. "It wouldn't be a good idea to leave him like this, but it wouldn't be a good idea to wake him up either. Trust me, I know. We'll just wait for him to cut it out, and then ask what's going on."

Aurum groaned as he got up, still in pain from Amy's kick. He looked around, noting that he must have passed out. Everything was quiet.

"That's weird," Aurum muttered. "I did faint in Sonic's dream processor, right? Then why is nothing here? Either Sonic is unconcious, or..." Aurum thought a little, coming to the conclusion that Amy had probably managed to get into Sonic's memories, and was currently playing one. That would get Sonic's attention, so he'd be paying attention to that, and the dream processor room would be empty. A step outside the portal confirmed Aurum's suspicions, but not in the way he'd like.

Instead of the familiar dark void outside the portal, there was a town. It would have been dark out, for the memory had taken place in the middle of the night. But the whol town was illuminated by bright flames, rising all over the town like weeds, suffocating anything in it's way.

"Aurum!" The gold hedgehog say Amy run up to him, Mic in her arms.

"So, I see you found what memory you were looking for," Aurum said.

"Mic helped me find it," Amy replied. "Where is this, and why is everything on fire?"

"Have you ever heard of Christmas Island?" Aurum asked.

"Of course!" Amy replied. "That's where Sonic's from! He told me that. It used to be a beautiful paradise, but was set on fire by a volcano."

"Well, it was a beautiful paradise, but there was no volcano. Look over there." Aurum pointed his finger, and Amy looked in the direction it pointed, her mouth dropping a little at what she saw.

"Is that...Eggman?"

Cliffhanger! What does Eggman have to do with Sonic's past? You'll see on...Tuesday! If I can, I'll try to get this story finished by Saturday, because I'll be on vacation for a week after that. Though I might have a few chapters left to do...oh well.