A/N: Hey, gang! It's your favorite soldering author! Good news! I got less than three weeks until I'm back in the states...

Sonic: locks and loads his M4, aims at me What! You left that Sonamy scene in there! Oh, that's it! Your tragedy comes now! pulls trigger, nothing happens ... What the!

Me: looking smugly, holding up a firing pin Yeah, your weapon won't work well without a firing pin in that bolt.

Sonic: ... Oh, that's okay. I can throw a bullet at you!

Me: ... Right. Anyways, let's get on with it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing at all except my M249 SAW... no wait a second! I was issued that. I don't even own that!

Miami, Florida U.S.A. Sonic's apartment. December 25, 2003. 0715 hours.

The fog of sleep drifted out of Amy's mind when she realized she was no longer leaning onto the warmth of Sonic's body. The girl slowly opened one emerald green eye, brushing her now mid-back length head quills out of them, then opened the other one excitedly and sprang off the couch when daylight from the balcony screen door filtered into the room. Christmas mornings always seemed to infuse her with a well of vigor and cheer that even this morning's light drizzle could not slay. Add to the fact that this would be the first one with her and Sonic together, and absolutely nothing short of an apocalypse would break her mood. Now speaking of her boyfriend, where was he? A quick glance into the apartment's kitchen confirmed nobody in there, so that probably left his room. With a small smile hopelessly tugging at her pink lips, she skipped down the hall, and to his room. What she saw when she got to the doorjamb made her both shake her head and giggle at once. There was Sonic standing in front of his bed, clad in just a pair of Miami Heat basketball shorts, getting dressed with his back to her with headphones on completely oblivious to her, trying to sing along with Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony's "Mr. Bill Collector", and doing a horrible job of it as few people both knew the lyrics and could follow along at the group's fast pace. Her smile turning mischievous, she walked quietly up to him, and ran her hands lightly down his sides.

"Ahhh!" Sonic yelped, ripping off his headphones, juggling them in his hands briefly and nearly falling onto his bed from the start. He was about to spin around when he felt Amy's body heat through her shirt against his back and two arms embraced him from behind. He let the headphones fall onto his mattress, and grinned sheepishly. "How long were you watching me?"

Amy could not disguise the amusement in her voice. "Long enough." Her hands moved to his shoulders, massaging softly. "Really, Sonic. You are about the only person who'd listen to Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony over Nat 'King' Cole on Christmas." She sighed in mock exasperation. "I don't know what to do with you sometimes."

Sonic smirked. "Which is why you love me." He turned his head to capture her lips in a lingering kiss.

Amy's knees almost gave out on her every time the two kissed. This time was no different, as she had to latch back onto his waist to steady herself. Man, there's gotta be someway to make him melt… "Merry Christmas, sweetie." She breathed when they finally separated.

His smile had turned lopsided. "You, too… now can you let me go so that I get dressed?"

The mischievous smile returned full force on Amy's face. "Nope! I guess you'll have to go as-is."

So, his girlfriend wants to play, huh? So be it. "Wrong answer—hey!" He had planned to grab one of her arms and deposit her on the bed for probably a good tickling, but Amy was one step ahead of him, somehow grabbing hold of both of his hands and pinning his arms to his sides. His attempts to free himself were only token. What was she up to?

"Right answer." She whispered in her boyfriend's ear before her soft lips lightly kissed the nape of his neck, smiling when she felt Sonic's knees buckle slightly and he gasped trying to cringe away from her. So, ticklish there too, huh? Time to have some fun. "Found a sweet spot on you, did I?"

"Pshhhhh! There is no such thing on me!" Crap! Hold the line, Sonic! He tried to think manly thoughts. SCUD launchers, carpet bombings, Tomahawk miss—crud! Her lips this time found the spot where his neck and his shoulder met, and the combined kiss and tickle sensations was driving him up the wall. Line nuked. So this is what they meant by being killed softly. His mind was stuck between trying to escape her ministrations and letting her continue.

"No such thing, you were about to say?" Amy giggled, and slowly stroked the other side of his neck with a lone fingertip. "About to lie to me, huh? Shame on you!"

This battle was lost, and Sonic knew it the instant her now free hand started tickling the side of his neck. Now cringing his neck to one side completely opened the other side to her ministrations, and even though one of her arms held both of his, he didn't even have the will to resist. Heck, his knees had probably completely buckled because now he was sitting on Amy's lap on his bed. He either giggled, or gasped depending on which side was unprotected. "Ames, yohohou beeeetter ehehenjooooy this, 'cause whehehen you let meeee go, your trahahgedeeeey will come!"

"Say what you want, love. You know you're enjoying it."

Fortunately for Sonic's sanity, a half asleep Knuckles chose this time to stumble out of his room in just his bath robe. "Hey, what are you two… oh, my God! Close the freakin' door next time!"

Amy stopped her attentions, dropping her arm, and she and Sonic blushed a deep crimson. Amy was the first to recover. "Well, Merry Christmas to you too, Scrooge!"

Knuckles just folded his arms across his chest. "Hey, I'm jolly! I got the holiday spirit! It's just when I see my roommate getting it on—WHOA!" In retaliation, Sonic grabbed what he deemed the weapon of choice to throw at Knuckles, which happened to be a tennis ball, and launched it at him, not even caring that it merely hit the doorjamb.

"Just have your half of the rent by the end of the month, and you can talk." Sonic muttered.

Knuckles laughed. "Now look who's Scrooge, Ames!"

"Oh, shut up—"

"Enough, you two!" Amy ordered. Yeesh, things will never change between these two. For friends, the two do a lot of infighting. "I thought we agreed there would be no arguing between you two today."

Sonic sighed. "Fine. Knux, go ahead and wake Tails up. I'm about to cook some breakfast."

Knuckles arched an eyebrow. "Oh, no you are not cooking my food! You probably got mono from what you and Amy were doing—"

"Oh, that's it. I'm gonna kick your ass!" With that, Sonic bound out of Amy's grasp to bring pain to a retreating echidna. The status quo is maintained in apartment #1203.

Boa Vista, Brazil. 0815 Atlantic Time.

"So, one hundred thousand American dollars just for a salvage run in the jungle?" A newly emancipated Nack the Weasel leaned back in his chair smoking a Cuban cigar, his booted feet propped up on the table in front of him. Just four days ago, he had escaped from one of the PoTCW's detention camps and fled to neighboring Mongolia, where he had gotten in contact with a favored former employer from Columbia, who had referred him to this contact for the Consortium of Brazilian Liberation, or CBL. "What can you tell me about this downed bird? How long ago was it shot down?" He spoke in Spanish, what he thought Brazil's official language was

"Less than twelve hours ago," the female CBL agent answered. Her wing of the CBL, the Brazilian Liberation Army, or BLA, was comprised of an all female leadership that looked down on all males as inferior. However, Nack's reputation as a marksman and as a shrewd tactician had to be respected by even the BLA. "It stormed all night last night, so the crash site should still be undisturbed. Our own forces have tried to search the area, but the mud-ridden jungle has made passage all but impossible."

"And what makes you think I'll sign on the dotted line?"

"The aircraft had G.U.N. markings." She answered, giving Nack pause. "Your friends in Columbia told us about your relationship with G.U.N., and how they owe you 30 million American dollars. If we do not want whatever was on the plane, you can simply pocket the cargo, and ransom it back to G.U.N. for a price of your choosing."

Nack considered for a moment, and then sat up in his chair, dropping his feet to the floor and taking a swig of his drink. "I'm in."

"Excellent news, Mr. Weasel. One word of warning: I suggest you do not waste time getting to that wreckage. Word has it one of Dr. Robotnik's egg carriers is heading for Brazilian airspace. Within a few hours, it'll be all over us. By the way, our official language is Portuguese, not Spanish."

Nack just looked at her. He thought she was just talking a different dialect of Spanish. "Why didn't you tell me beforehand?"

"Because I am able to understand the small nuances between the two languages." The woman replied with an amused grin. "Now, I suggest you get going."

Miami, Florida U.S.A. Sonic's apartment. 1130 Eastern Time.

Meanwhile, in a moderately more peaceful location, a firm rapping on the apartment's door interrupted a spirited game of Halo.

"Hey, is someone gonna get that?" Sonic asked, still fully tuned into the game. Amy had to be camping somewhere on this map… "Hey, can you get that, Knux?"

"Wha… why do you think I'm gonna get it! You're the one who has barely moved the past minute!"

"Because you're in dead last—oh, son of a…" Sonic got a little careless, and ended up falling off the narrow catwalks of Hang'em High, and to his death.

Amy laughed. "Well, since you committed suicide, you now have plenty of time to get the door." She said sweetly.

Sonic rolled his eyes, got up, and quickly walked to the door. "Yeah, yeah. Y'all just want me to quit bringing the pain." He opened the door to see Rouge on the other side, a stack of presents comparable to her height to her left, and a stack of food to her right. Sonic smiled. "Hey! Merry Christmas! Glad you made it!" He said before the two comrades shared a hug. Almost immediately, everyone else abandoned the X-BOX and joined the hug line, with Amy in front and Knuckles bringing up the rear.

"Hey, guys! Merry Christmas!" Rouge smiled as she walked through the hug gauntlet, and when she got to Knuckles, wrapped him in a tight embrace. "So, how've you been, Red? I've missed you."

"Likewise. Merry Christmas." Knuckles said when they broke the hug.

"You too." She turned to Sonic, who was helping bring in the goods she brought. "Oh, and Boss sends his regards, Sonic."

Sonic smiled at the mention of Rouge's partner in crime in the CIA. "Scott Dowell, huh? How's he doing?"

"He's doing fine. Decided to stay in Baltimore with his family. So, who else is coming?"

"A friend of Amy's and her little sister." Knuckles answered, reclaiming his seat on the couch.

Tails sighed with exasperation. "That's just great," he muttered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "In that case, I'm hiding out in my room. Anyone who wants to come in, mind the tripwire in the doorway."

Amy just shook her head, placing a casserole dish full of macaroni and cheese on top of the stove. "Tails, just what do you have against Kristen?" Tails was about to start calling the flags he had against the fox girl when Amy continued. "Okay, maybe she was a little overboard with the affection thing when she first you, but hey! With your fame, you're not exactly an average kid, and besides that, you're an all around sweetie!"

"Gee, thanks a lot." Tails groaned, rubbing his temples to cover up the fact he was trying to hide a blush.

Amy giggled. "Okay, getting to the point, even you admitted that she's become likable ever since she learned to control herself around you."

"… Well, yeah… but—" Tails was at a loss for words.

"So?" Amy offered up with a knowing smile, looking the fox right in his eyes. "Can you still look me in the eye and say you have no feelings for her whatsoever?"

Tails tried, really tried to look Amy in the eye, but for some reason, his gaze ended up on his shoes. "… I hate you…"

Amy laughed. "Aw, you do like her!"

"What! No I don't!" Tails exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.

"And you're blushing, too!" She said, pointing at his face. "That's too cute!"

"I—"

"Don't bother, brother." Sonic grinned. "Trying to argue with her about this lovey-dovey crap is a Catch-22 in and of itself. Your best bet is to ride it out and take it like a champ."

"Oh, you shouldn't be talking?" Rouge laughed. "If I understood Amy right, it took having your apartment burn down for you to see the light!"

Sonic spun around to Rouge. "Stay out of this, you! I don't need help losing arguments!" That got everyone laughing for a bit. "So, all we're missing are Tanya and Kristen—" As if on cue, rapping from the apartment door interrupted him. "Or maybe not. I'll get that." He moved to answer the door, but Amy's embrace from behind halted him. "Or maybe not."

Sonic just smirked when Tails got up to answer the door. "Unbelievable, Ames. You just set the kid up… then again; he and Knuckles did set me up during Valentine's Day. Payback in progress."

"Now, why is being 'set up' a bad thing to you guys?" Amy asked behind him, feigning hurt. "It wasn't so bad with you, was it?"

Sonic watched Tails answer the door, then share a mutual hug with the fox girl on the other side and exchange small presents. "I never said tha—" he cringed again when he felt Amy's lips brush the back of his neck. "Amy…?" He started, leaving the threat hanging in the air."

"What?" She asked, sounding completely innocent, grinning when he shivered slightly when she kissed the back of his back again.

"Do it again, and—!" He gasped when she did it again.

"And—hey!" Amy squealed when Sonic suddenly crouched, hooked her denim-clad legs in his arms, lifted her up piggyback style, and carried her back into the living room. "No fair! Put me down!"

Sonic grinned. "Now, if you do it now, you kiss carpet!"

Rouge just shook her head at the couple. "Man, those two are hopeless… Hey, Red!" She smiled at the echidna still sitting on the couch. "You eating with us? I'd really hate to have to eat for you!"

"Hold on! I'm coming!"

Washington D.C. U.S.A. White House, Oval Office. 1200 hours.

This was no way to be spending Christmas, Scott Dowell thought as he absorbed the attendants of the meeting. President Dugan sat behind his desk, combing his thinning, gray hair back, while Defense Secretary Cummings and all four major military branch's chief of staff sat on one of either of the adjacent couches. Dowell himself, had decided to brood by himself against the back wall. Man, the wife would not be happy with this. And why did he have to be the only field operative that Director Wade could contact?

"Alright, men. I deeply apologize for forcing you away from your families on Christmas, but we now have a situation." Dugan began. "My counterpart in Brasilia contacted me about an hour ago. Apparently, last night, a G.U.N. cargo plane was shot down over Brazilian airspace. This morning at around 0930 hours, Dr. Robotnik and Thomas Bloodman made contact with President Vargas, and demanded they an explanation for the demise of the bird, and to recover its cargo. When he refused, Robotnik responded by sending on of his bigger Ravana-class egg carriers, designation: Leviathan, into the region. Once again, Robotnik made his demands. Once again, Vargas refused, and he reports that close to three thousand troops have landed so far in central Brazil. In addition, the Leviathan has imposed an arial blockade of the entire country with its onboard airwings. Needless to say, Vargas is asking for our help. General Wilson? What's our army's troop strength?"

"Sir, unfortunately, most of the Army's combat strength is either in Iraq, or Afghanistan, and we're stretched thin as-is." The Army's Chief of Staff lamented.

Dugan rubbed his temples. "Indeed… hmm…"

"Sir, the USS Abraham Lincoln and its battle group should still be in fair proximity to the region, but it will still take them about three days to get into effective combat range." Admiral King, Chief of Staff of the Navy reported with a bit of a southern drawl. "There are two Marine brigades attached to the battle group, more than enough to drive out the current force there."

Dowell took this time to make himself heard. "Excuse me, Admiral. You know that a Ravana-class carrier has the capacity for about five maneuver brigades, right?" Now he had the full attention of everyone in the room, Dowell continued. "What I'm saying is before anyone jumps to any invasion conclusions, keep in mind that one, three thousand troops is nowhere close to a Ravana's troop capacity, and two, three thousand is nowhere close to enough boots on ground to occupy a country as big as Brazil. But, it is enough to search that rainforest for that downed bird." The bloodhound allowed a pause to consider the best course of action… and mentally cursed up and down when he came to the same conclusion. "Evidently, whatever was on that bird is important enough to violate Brazilian sovereignty. We need to find out what was on that bird, and if possible, find it before Robotnik does. For that reason, I recommend we send an advance intel team ahead of the Lincoln's battlegroup. If the military gets involve now, Robotnik will simply up the ante." Dowell sighed. Man, did he need a Newport right about now…

Silence filled the room as all of the high-ranking officers mulled Dowell's proposal. Then, SecDef Cummings spoke. "I concur, Mr. President. If we do need to send in the Marines to assist the Brazilian government, it would be smart to have some intelligence assets on the ground in advance."

Dugan's gaze panned around the room, receiving a concurring nod from each of the high-ranking officers. "Then, it's settled. Dowell, find your partner in crime, and get your asses down to Brazil."

Dowell just blinked. "But, Rouge is down in Florida visiting Sonic and his friends, sir." He answered.

Dugan smiled. "Even better. I'm willing to bet that Sonic will be very interested in what's happening down south. If you can, see if you can enlist Sonic's help on this. I'll instruct Director Wade to send an entire support team with you. I'll give you three hours to prepare. Dismissed."

Listlessly, Dowell made his way out of the White House. "Why does shit have to go down during Christmas?" He moaned to himself, the chilly air biting though his heavy coat. "Well, time to make some calls that's sure to piss some people off…" With that, he lit up a cigarette, pulled out his cellphone, and called first his family, then Rouge.

Miami, Florida U.S.A. Sonic's apartment. 1220 hours.

"So, let me get this straight," Rouge began, addressing Sonic. Everyone had already opened up presents, eaten, and were now in the living room, either watching the Orlando Magic/Cleveland Cavaliers pregame show, or just chatting. "At Amy's college Christmas party last year, you say she got a little happy with the mistletoe—"

"Wrong," the hedgehog corrected from his seat on the living room's dirty white carpet. "She got very happy with the sprigs." When Amy gave him a disbelieving look, he reiterated. "Don't even try to deny this, Ames! You had a proverbial minefield in that place!"

Knuckles laughed. "Hey, I remember that! An hour in, I see Sonic in the building's halls, walking around looking only at the ceiling, holding a Zippo like a weapon! I didn't know what he was doing until I walked past him to the bathroom and I saw a burnt mistletoe sprig hanging pitifully in a doorway!" His mind had reconstructed the scene with unerring precision, and he burst into hysterics.

Realization now dawned on Amy's face, and she pointed an accusing finger at Sonic, smirking. "So, it was probably you who tripped up the sprinkler system, because next thing I know, it kicks on, and everybody runs out the building in terror!"

Sonic couldn't help but smile. "Yeeeah. Let's just say I had to hide before one sprig burned enough… needless to say, I didn't get back to it in time, and… yeah." He just left it there while the gang got a good laugh from the memory.

It wasn't until Rouge felt her cell phone vibrate when she stopped laughing. She quickly excused herself, and headed towards the quieter back rooms. She checked the incoming caller's number, and furrowed her eyebrows. She talked with Scott earlier before she left her hotel. Why is he calling now? She hit the speak button. "This is Rouge."

She heard a sharp exhale from the other end before the bloodhound responded. "Hey, kid. I got some shitty news to tell you. Our Christmas is over."

"What the hell is this about, Boss!"

"Hey, don't get angry at me." Dowell snapped, sounding hurt. "I've already been cursed out by the wife for a good ten, fifteen minutes… Now, I just had the displeasure of meeting the President and his top military advisors at 1600 Pennsylvania. Are you aware of what's going on in Brazil?"

"Well, no. Aside from a popular resistance formed by some drug cartels? No."

"Sonic's house has satellite TV, right? Have him flip it to CNN."

She turned around, only to almost run into Knuckles. Apparently, he had heard her outburst. "Is everything okay?" He asked.

"I really don't know." She answered back with raw uncertainty as she walked back into the living room. "Hey, Sonic. Can you please turn the channel to CNN?" When Sonic gave her a questioning look, she explained. "Boss is on the phone."

"Oh, hell… ow what!" Without further hesitation, he changed the channel from the basketball game to CNN, and nearly swallowed his own spit when he saw the headline: Robotnik/G.U.N. forces land in central Brazil. "What the hell! Rouge, toss me the phone."

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me…" Amy murmured, her cheerfulness stunted for the first time today.

Sonic just gave her a sympathetic look. "Yeah, I'm not looking forward to this either." He caught the phone that Rouge tossed to him, and spoke into the receiver. "Dowell, what the hell is going on up there?"

Dowell groaned. "Yeah, I'm not real thrilled about this either. I'm supposed to be picking Rouge up at the airport down there, then flying straight to Brasilia. Anyways, a G.U.N. cargo plane went down in the Amazon, and I'm guessing Robotnik wants whatever was on that bird badly. Us, and a support crew are trying to recover the cargo, and probably lay down intel for the Marines to help Brasilia expel the egg's troops."

A soft hand on his shoulder let him know Amy was trying to listen in on the conversation, and Tails was shamelessly leaning an ear toward the phone. His mind was already made up. "Can you divert your bird to 'The Strip'? If that cargo is that important, it's a good idea that I get in on this."

A soft sigh of relief escaped Dowell's lips. "Good to know. My crew's getting on the bird now. I'll see you in three hours."

Sonic sighed. "Right. Three hours. Out." With that, he hung up, lobbed the cellphone back to Rouge, and addressed everyone else. "Alright, people. Shit's hit the fan, so I'll be out of town for about a week."

Amy groaned. "Just as I was afraid of." She embraced Sonic again. "Sorry, Sonic, but I can't let you go alone."

Sonic gave her a look. "What do you mean 'alone'? I'm tagging along with Rouge… unless you're saying you want to come along—"

"You think I was kidding when I once said I was willing to stick with you wherever you go? If you're going, I'm coming with you!"

"Great." He muttered with a smile. "Knux, Tails? What about you two?"

"Why are you even asking? You know I'm with you!" Tails concurred.

Knuckles just shrugged, pointing at Tails. "What he said."

"I don't know what to do with y'all…" Tanya muttered. "Ames, you better take care of everyone." The two friends shared a brief hug.

"Tails, the Hurricane is good to go, right?" Sonic asked.

Tails nodded. "Yep. Basic load is already mounted." He noted the look of sadness on Kristen's face, and against his better judgment, wadded over to the girl and patted her shoulder. "You okay?"

Kristen nodded, offering a small smile to her two tailed contemporary. "Just disappointed, that's all. It's a shame this had to happen on Christmas." Without warning, she sprung up to her feet, catching Tails off guard, and embraced the twin-tailed fox tightly. "Take care of yourself, Tails. I wanna see you again." She said after she let him go.

"Sure."

"Well, I guess Christmas is cancelled now." Sonic muttered. "Anyone who has had a hand in saving the world at least once, meet up at 'The Strip' packed up and ready to go by three. Business has picked up.

Yep, the mood is about to change. Please leave a comment or two in the form of a review. I may be able to get a third chapter done before I go to Kuwait next week. Out!