Here beith the final resting place of next chapter. Read and review, or I will eat your spleen.

Sonic walked miserably through the streets. That's right, walked. Odd, isn't it? Maybe it was the fact that he didn't want to get to his destination any sooner than he had to. That could of been it; without a doubt. Or maybe he didn't want to stray from Amy's protection. That could have very well been the reason. Or maybe he was still exhausted from the recent turn of events and simply did not feel like running.

But those matters are trivial, for the outcome was the same;

Sonic certainly would not be running to the very place where he had nearly died.

"Hurry up!" Shouted Fliara from overhead, swooping down low from the skies. The dragon had to do an excessive amount of loops and turns to keep the rest of the gang from falling behind, and she was now annoyed with the exhaustion of the extra effort. She couldn't glide slowly enough no matter how she tried. She constantly had to turn around, flapping madly, go against the wind for a while, turn around, go up, go down, turn around again, ...

...As you can imagine, it was needlessly tiring. She again frowned upon the blue hedgehog below her. Fliara was used to Sonic running at top-speed. Fliara often raced him, flying low to the ground to make it fair (elevation difference can effect how much ground you cover) and it was much less agonizing to fly in one straight direction. All this needless flapping was putting the dragon in a rather offensive mood. She again swooped low, playfully swiping her clawed feet a few inches over Knux's head, not unlike a predator bird after fish. Knuckles ducked, soon standing upright to shake a fist at his little sister. Fliara simply chuckled, finally discovering a way to ease her boredom. Next up was Shadow, but when she flew down at him, he almost caught her claw and flung her to the ground. She flapped away playfully, giving an annoyed squawk. She decided to leave him alone.

"Damn kids." Grumbled Shadow, looking over at Alexi. She was again huddled up in her robe, her face invisible in the shadow that the hood cast. Shadow knew better than to expect an answer from her. But, he still liked talking to her. "Do you think that thing that attacked Sonic was dangerous?" Shadow asked. Alexi did not face Shadow or do anything else, but did answer.

"Whatever it is, I hope I find it. This is one of those soul-sapping monsters. I intend to get it to kill me." Alexi said. Shadow couldn't help feeling terrible at that answer. Of course he knew that Alexi's only wish was to die. But... he didn't want her to die. The words she had said awakened so many emotions that Shadow thought he had learned to repress. Guilt for being the reason she was created. She was a prototype of none other than himself, made to learn about genetic experimentation, about ultimate life. And that same sense of duty, somehow feeling responsible for her. And there were again those mixed feelings of defeat and sorrow. He had once thought that Alexi was improving, that maybe she was beginning to enjoy life. He now realized it had once again been an illusion and again was depressed. He felt this sorrow because he would never hear Alexi say "thank you." For the things he tried to do for her, day to day. There were many things he wanted Alexi to eventually experience; happiness, and peace, being a few, but Shadow knew that she no longer cared for those things. He sighed, and found himself walking a little closer to her, somehow feeling that she felt comfort at his presence. Shadow knew that it was no more than some fantasized illusion on his part, but it was all he had.

He was secretly desperate for any interaction with the leopard. He wanted her to heal.

Meanwhile, Knuckles, Rouge and Tails walked in the middle of the group, every so often either looking back to check on Sonic and Amy or in front to make sure Alexi wasn't trying to kill something. When they weren't on the lookout for emotional explosions from either of the two, they were talking, mostly about the tarot reading.

"Knuckles, how can Amy protect Sonic from the ghosts? It doesn't make any sense." Said Tails. The fox had a point. I think we all know that Sonic is usually the one doing the protecting. And now, he was helpless, and Amy was the only person to run to. Sonic himself didn't seem to mind, but Tails wasn't sure if he could really look at his hero the same way again. After all, he had nearly cried, could you believe it, cried about the idea of Amy leaving his side for more than three seconds. Tails didn't care how scary the 'attack' had been; it shouldn't give Sonic the right to turn into some sniveling weakling.

Or that's what the fox thought, but his understanding wasn't deep enough. Perhaps he had obtained one of Fliara's classic faults, judging too fast.

Tails' train of thought was broken when Knux answered the question.

"I think that we all know the answer to that, Tails." Knuckles said. Tails shook his head.

"No I don't."

"You're a little young to-"

"I am not!" Protested Tails angrily. Knuckles sighed, but looked like he was going to answer the question.

Then knuckles went into such a long and boring explanation that I shall skip it and give you the gist of it right now.

Amy, due to one of her ancestors, has siren blood. Yes, the mythical creature. She hasn't quite mastered the 'voice' yet, but having the blood of a mythical creature gives her a bonus on the fields of magic and supernatural things, such as ghosts. She even knows a few common siren-spells, as in blessing water, (it will instantly cure any nausea or virus- she does this in one of my stories) and a small spell for warding off nightmares. And although she doesn't quite have it mastered yet, there is a spell that can begin to lull a person to sleep. However it won't work without the voice-powers, which Amy won't master until she is 19.

Ghosts are attracted to severe emotions. Some ghosts feel more comfortable around a person who commonly expresses or receives feelings of love. However, some ghosts would rather hang around a person who often feels or receives hate. And there are some ghosts or spirits that actually feed off certain emotions and have energy drained from others. The one that attacked Sonic was a spirit like that, using the energy deprived from Sonic's fear to do things such as turn off the lights, open doors, make loud noises, and even harm Sonic. Some spirits can also get their energy elsewhere, like from the earth itself. This means that the ghost attacking Sonic must feed off fear and is blocked by Amy's love for our little blue "hero". Corny laziness to the rescue.

Knuckles would have continued on with this boring answer when finally Fliara announced "we're here!"

Sonic instantly looked up from his feet, slightly alarmed. He was still uneasy. Amy, noticing his distress, gently rubbed his back and he decided that he would have to do this, whether he wanted to or not. He did, however, move a little closer to Amy, wanting to be nearer to her comforting aura.

Fliara glided to the ground, glad that the reasonless fluttering had come to an end but was still sad to land anyway. Fliara's home was in the sky and she would always be sad to leave it. The group looked at the now familiar building, no evidence of the attack present on the brick walls. It was a one-story, with a couple of apartments on the first floor. There were a few doors seen there. One led to the lobby, where the front desk resided, as well with information about the building. She walked to the door of the apartment Sonic lived in and attempted to open it, but made no progress, finding the door was jammed. After melting the doorknob with a fire-enveloped claw, (destroying the lock) she forced it open and walked inside, the rest of the group following her.

A few decided not to comment on how she simply could have asked Sonic to unlock the door, deciding that it would bring no benefit.

Many members of the group gasped as they entered the room, including Sonic, for this was not how he had left it.

The wallpaper and drywall itself was slashed, as if monstrous claws had cut into the walls wherever they could reach them, even the ceiling and floor had similar cuts and gashes, all of the furniture destroyed. The items that had once lain unbroken on the ground were now shattered; every thing in the house had seemingly been destroyed. Fliara walked slowly into the room, not a flicker of emotion on her face.

"T-this isn't how I left at all..." Sonic said, looking around panicked. Fliara turned to look back at the group for a moment, but soon turned and walked towards the kitchen, examining the damage.

Surprisingly, Sonic walked a bit from Amy's side, kneeling next to a photograph that lay on the floor.

It was the same one that Sonic had stepped on yesterday, only this time the glass was shattered and it was clawed to pieces. Sonic reached down to pick it up, but once he touched it a shock of cold ran through him, like lighting, hurling him into an ocean of blinding pain. He jumped back and practically ran to Amy, clinging to her with one arm while he starred, terrified, at the photo. The cold had felt so similar to the claws that had dug into his chest. Sonic was scared, confused; ...he just didn't want to hurt anymore... He clung to Amy, and the pink hedgehog responded by walking over to one of the nearly destroyed but still functional chairs, and sitting down, cradling the traumatized Sonic in her arms like an infant. She gently ruffled the quills on his back and used her other hand to pull Sonic closer to her.

Fliara looked around, sighing heavily. She walked into the small kitchen and saw that all of the electrical sockets had exploded- as if someone had stuck a wet fork into the outlets. She looked around the destroyed kitchen, the plates shattered and spread across the floor, the cabinet doors blown off and the contents littered though the room, the broken glass on the floor and the bugs that crawled around it. The dragon became slightly uneasy. Fliara was certain that she was dealing with something more powerful than she could have expected. She turned and went down the hall, and into Sonic's room, where there was even more destruction than in the rest of the house. The window was smashed, (although Fliara thought that was odd-, since she hadn't seen that it was smashed when she entered) and the furniture was no longer in one piece. Traces of steel and cotton from the bed were strewn about the room, wooden splinters covered the floor and stuck from the walls like arrows, and occasionally there were the porcelain shards of a lamp, shining lightly in the mid-morning sun. She also saw two large holes in the wall, but they stopped at the brick of the outer wall, unlike some of the slashes that actually made dents into the solid brick. Fliara assumed these were where the 'claws' had burst from the wall, as Sonic had described. At that moment, she knew that the attacker was either severely magical or definitely a strong spirit. Fliara then turned and headed back to the living room, where everyone else awaited.

"What's the matter?" Asked Amy, temporarily looking up from the blue hedgehog in her arms. Fliara shrugged as she walked in the room, looking back and forth between her comrades. She walked to her backpack, and removed a device resembling a scale from the back pocket, soon removing a small glass jar as well as a small sack of lavender-colored powder.

"Something definitely happened here. Sonic certainly didn't do all of this himself." She said, placing the scale on the floor, and sitting in front of it. The members of the group crowded around her, save for Amy, who remained in the chair with Sonic in her arms. "I think that the spirit here could be an extensively powerful one. Or it could be a great quantity of small ones. I'd just like to know what I'm up against." She held up the sack. "Powdered lavender, along with some other plants rumored to be good for medicine and spiritual matters. Also salt; it's always been used in the fight against evil. You know, witches, werewolves, vampires, every one of them-hated salt." Fliara explained as she spread it out in a circle around the scale, then pouring the rest on the left-hand side of the scale. The scale slowly descended, but the other side stayed in it's levitating position. It wasn't really a scale, they realized, because the two sides weren't connected at all, rather the two dishes were their own set of scales, without the other side. She then placed the glass jar on the right dish, and the scale dipped down to mirror it's opposite half. "Glass has often been used to detect evil spirits. Once I set down the talisman, we will watch for cracks in the glass. Any glass would do, but this is the cheapest thing I could find." She said, thumbing through the talismans in her pocket. "The more cracks in the jar, the more powerful the spirit. Or spirits." Fliara said. She picked a talisman from the pack, and set it in front of the scale, waiting for a result. The group watched in silence and anticipation, tension flooding the room like the morning light from the windows. It was nine am, and most people were already on their way to work or school.

"What happens if the spirit is powerful?" Knuckles asked. Fliara sighed, thinking carefully over her answer.

"I'll take the necessary steps to exterminate it. I might take a while, considering it has very specific intentions. Whatever it is, it's not going to give up easily." Fliara said, watching the glass intentfuly. Nothing was happening yet, but Fliara didn't seem phased.

"I-is this safe for Sonic?" Asked Amy, holding the hedgehog closer to her. Sonic did not protest. He liked being held like this; it was calming and comfortable.

"It should be. The only danger is him stepping on a piece of glass if the jar breaks." Fliara joked, still watching the scale.

"It could break?" Asked Shadow incredulously. Fliara nodded.

"'Depends on the power of the spirit." She explained, still watching.

Suddenly, a small crack appeared on the glass' edge. A silence filled the room as the group held their breath, except for Alexi who scoffed lightly, only to receive a gentle glare from Shadow. She ignored him. The crack slowly grew only to stop halfway down the jar, and a collective sigh of relief passed through the room.

The relief was destroyed as quickly as the glass jar.

Suddenly, cracks sped up and down the glass' surface in terrifying agility, just before the jar itself burst into fine powdered glass. Fliara and the others had just a quick enough reaction time to shield their eyes as tiny dust-sized knives stabbed through the air, biting into their limbs and scattering across the ground. A gasp was heard from Knuckles but all responses were soon cut short by a maniacal scream that seeped into the room, it's sound distant but poisonous none the less. It thundered through the halls and down the heroes' spines, chilling the air with it's defying malevolence.

Suddenly, the room was flooded with darkness, the door slamming shut. The group shot to their feet, startled, as they heard dark, rolling laughter echo through the halls once more.

"What's going on?" Whispered knuckles, panicked. Fliara shook her head, and stammered-

"I-I don't know!"

Shadow backed against the wall and placed his hand on what he expected to be the wood of the door. He was puzzled at what he found.

"The door's gone." Shadow muttered under his breath.

"Quiet!" Said Fliara, holding up a claw. Soon everyone understood why. Footsteps could be heard, approaching slowly from Sonic's room. Amy felt Sonic press into her, crying.

"T-this is just like before... just like before... Amy, help me!" Sonic begged, clinging to her.

"Not so loud!" Snapped Fliara, trying to listen for the footsteps. Another wave of maniacal laughter went through the halls as the entire apartment shuddered at the deep, chilling noise. Sonic could be heard whimpering. Nobody blamed him. Rouge looked around, then said to Fliara,

"Shouldn't there be light coming from the windows?" She asked. Fliara nodded, looking around nervously. Fliara tried to squint through the thick darkness, but dragon eyes, with all their superiority, were not made for the dark.

"I know, Rouge." Fliara said. "Do you see anything?" She asked the bat, knowing that she could find her way in the dark with echolocation.

"I can't. There's something interfering." Answered the bat. Other frequencies were making the picture far too blurry.

Fliara swallowed nervously. This ghost knew what it was doing. Fliara decided that her only option was to illuminate the room with flame. It was risky, she didn't want to upset the ghosts, (any sudden moves could set them off, and then her and her friends might not stand a chance.) but it might be their only hope of escaping. She inhaled deeply, she had been doing this 'fire-making' all her life but it still might not listen to her. She snapped her fingers hopefully and was relieved as a seed of flame formed around her fingertips, illuminating the room slightly. Soon the flame grew, but the group refused to believe what they saw.

The walls dripped with black ooze, with a metallic, oily, purple sheen. The floor and ceiling had turned black but did not ooze any viscous fluids, and something stood at the hall entrance. It could not be seen due to the dark shrouds around it, but a deep growl was heard from the black fog. Amy, closest to the hall, stared at it, terrified, and felt Sonic grow cold, out of fear, in her arms. Amy looked from the beast, to Sonic, and then to her friends.

Sonic was in danger. These were the monsters attacking him. If she did not defend Sonic from them now, there would be no Sonic left to defend. She clutched the little blue hedgehog to her, her gaze becoming calmer as she stared at the defying blackness surrounding the 'spirit'

It could not be seen very well, darkness shrouded its decayed form, but a tattered cloak surrounded a half-rotted claw, the only thing of the beast that could be seen. Hoarse breathing could be heard from the monster, it's eyes a bright red, but otherwise nothing was seen about the awful creature.

It did not take long for them to notice that two more stood in the kitchen, walking slowly towards the chair that Amy sat in. The pink hedgehog soon was glaring at the monsters and began to stand, trying to get Sonic away from them.

"Don't move!" Warned Fliara as Amy attempted to leave. Fliara did not want her to set the monsters off; otherwise they might leap onto the pair like starved lions, ripping them to shreds. Amy acknowledged the warning and slowly sat back down, pulling Sonic closer to her.

"Oh god... dear god it's happening again... please no, Amy please no..." muttered Sonic, pulling closer to Amy. The pink hedgehog gently smoothed Sonic's quills, attempting to calm him. Fear pulsed through her, but it was not for herself. She stared calmly and hatefully at the beasts nearing her, the beasts that threatened her, the beasts that wanted to take her Sonic. "D-don't let them take me!" Sonic begged, his voice reduced to a mere whisper.

"I won't." Answered Amy, not removing her eyes from their glaring hold on the monster nearing her. Soon, the beast in front of her reached out a claw and slowly wrapped the sharp, decayed fingers around Sonic's waist. The blue hedgehog would have screamed at the pain racing through his limbs but his voice did not agree with him, his cry of agony reduced to a muted whimper. Amy was about to attack the monster but Fliara signaled 'no!' afraid that it would anger the beasts into a stronger attack than they could drive off. Amy wrapped Sonic more tightly in her arms, in efforts to comfort him in his pain. Again Sonic tried to scream but he only managed a weak stammer. The lengthy claws attempted to pull Sonic from his place in Amy's arms, but the fingers tore at more than his flesh. Sonic could feel the same cold, the same pain, the same vitriolic sensation that his soul was slowly being torn from his body. Sonic screamed, and this time there was nothing to stop the noise. It was too much. Amy couldn't take it. Her mallet formed in her hand and she struck the beast attempting to take Sonic, a defying shriek was heard but then all three monsters lunged upon the two hedgehogs, screaming and shrieking in protest.

Fliara's hands suddenly burst into white, hot flames that roared around her arms and nearly up to the ceiling, illuminating the room. Black, undefined shapes dashed down the hall, away from the two hedgehogs, screaming in irate defiance. Fliara ran to the hall, picking up a talisman and shouting something in a foreign language, throwing the talisman to the ground. A burst of light flooded the room, and everyone shielded their eyes, save Fliara, who muttered something else in a language unfamiliar to her friends, and then there was another shriek heard and the light faded.

Light flooded once again through the now broken windows and filtered gently down onto the scene below. Other than the past destruction, no evidence of the recent feud was present. The walls no longer dripped ooze, and the door had reappeared. The group paused, looking around, relief washing over them as they realized it was over...

...For now.

Fliara gave out a moan of exhaustion and sank willingly to her knees; the use of so much energy had been frightfully draining. Her brother instantly ran and helped her up, worried.

"What happened?" Knuckles asked as the dragon regained her balance, panting slightly. Fliara swallowed and answered:

"I managed to get it to go away. But it's not leaving for long." Fliara said. "Thank Amy, she gave it quite a scare." She walked to the middle of the room, looking around to make sure that everyone was okay. Rouge, Tails, and even Shadow were immensely freaked out but Alexi seemed to have enjoyed the whole thing. Fliara smiled lightly as she realized she had successfully preformed her fist extermination spell. But the monster would be back, ad that speedily dampened her hopes.

"Th-there's something wrong with Sonic!" Shouted Amy, looking up from the blue hedgehog to answer the stares of her friends. "He's not moving! He won't answer me!" The group crowded around Amy to see if Sonic was indeed hurt. The poor hedgehog was deathly pale, cold sweat matting his fur and running down his forehead. He lay, limp in Amy's embrace, except for his right hand, which had Amy's arm in such a firm hold that it was rather uncomfortable. It was so tight that it was actually starting to hurt the pink hedgehog, but Amy ignored that, wrapping Sonic up in her arms. (She found that there were no blankets nearby.) Amy discovered that she was frightened, the hedgehog's heartbeat was so hurried and his skin so pale that she was almost scared that he would die right there in her arms, just of fear. She found herself placing Sonic's head on her shoulder and whispering into his ear:

"Shhh... Shh... It'll be fine... Sonic, it's gone... you're safe." Amy murmured to him. Sonic moved slightly but otherwise did not respond; the poor boy had not even blinked since the claws had wrapped around his chest. Amy turned to Fliara, who looked almost as terrified as the blue hedgehog. "What's wrong with him? I- is he okay?" Fliara swallowed nervously, but then shakily stammered:

"Get him out of here." Fliara said to Amy, pointing to the door. "We should all leave. Right now. It was a mistake to come here." Fliara said, her voice unsteady. The others followed without protest, Amy carrying Sonic.

Yay, more Sonic torturing! Aren't so happy now, are you, Sonic? No! And it's because you almost had your soul eaten! And we get to figure out why next chapter!

Questions that will be answered next chapter;

1. What are the things attacking Sonic and why?
2. Why in the nine hells did it take komodo so long to write these chapters?
3. What is an okapi?
4. Why aren't you people asking me rediculous questions about Shalexi yet?

Good night, and have a good tomorow. Or else.