Chapter 4 - Problems

Sonic, Sally and Tails met for breakfast in the cafeteria hut the next morning.

This was a leftover habit from the Freedom Fighter years, when their little band took meals together to stay in touch and plan missions. Sonic and Sally ate a peculiar blend of granola, heavy on the nuts, while Tails made himself a tuna sandwich.

"For breakfast?" said Sonic, wrinkling his nose.

Tails shrugged, chewing. "Why not?"

The outer door opened, and Spark entered, followed by Slasher. Spark walked to the rear counter out of habit, and Slasher had to show him the new pantry in the rear. Spark smiled sheepishly and stood gazing into the pantry, searching for something to eat. Slasher poured herself a glass of water and ate nothing, and walked out to sit beside Sonic, Tails and Sally's table. She was so large that even sitting on her haunches, her head and shoulders were level with everyone else's.

She bared her teeth in a smile. "Tuna for breakfast, Tails?"

He grinned. "Everybody finds that weird. How come you're not eating?"

"Taking me a while to digest my last meal," said Slasher. "Carnivore metabolism, you know. You guys doing okay?"

Sally nodded. Sonic said, "Can't complain." He watched Spark, observing the way his brother's once swift motions had slowed down.

The group followed his gaze. Sally murmured, "He doesn't act very sick ... just tired."

"Spark never gets tired," Sonic muttered. "Not like that."

Spark had leaned against the pantry's doorframe, his body weaving with each breath as if he had run ten miles.

"He's not wearing his headband," Tails pointed out. "Maybe he listened to you, Sonic."

"That's a first," said Sonic, taking a bite of granola.

Serena appeared in the kitchen, having entered through the back door. She pounced on Spark with a hug, her violet spines making a contrast against Spark's green and black ones. She dragged him into the pantry, and they emerged moments later with packages and dried herbs that Serena had cured herself as homework assignments. Spark looked sheepish as she bossed him around, preparing an odd mix of fruits and vegetables for his breakfast.

The group out at the table was distracted, however. They had been so busy watching Spark and Serena that nobody noticed Amy until she was sitting beside Tails. "Hi Tails!" she said brightly, her shrill voice making them all jump. "Nice day today, isn't it? Want to go shopping with me today?" She completely ignored Sonic, Sally and Slasher.

She had pulled up her chair so close to Tails's that she was almost sitting in his lap, and he inched his chair away from her. "Uh--I don't know, Amy, I have a bunch of work to do--" Tails looked to Sonic for help. Sonic merely watched, a hint of laughter brewing in his eyes.

Amy frowned. "It's not like a date, you know. It's just to go somewhere. You stay in your workshop too much, and you treat that plane like it's your girlfriend."

Tails knew that he preferred the Tornado's company to Amy's. He wondered how long she could continue to ignore Sonic, Sally and Slasher. Slasher and Sally were trying to pretend that this situation was not awkward, but Sonic was openly staring.

Tails waffled. "Well, Amy, I am really busy, I mean, no offense or anything, but shopping isn't really ..."

"They just opened that new hardware store in New Mobitropolis," said Amy, smiling. "I'll go with you there if you come with me to Jessica's."

Jessica's was a trendy clothing store, and Tails would rather be dragged through the street and hanged. "Um, that sounds nice, but--"

"Ah, go with her, Tails," said Sonic. His eyes were dancing with barely-contained mirth. "What the Tornado doesn't know won't hurt it, huh?"

Tails gawped at Sonic, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly--Sonic was siding with Amy?

Amy pretended not to hear Sonic, but grabbed Tails around the neck and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Oh Tails, I knew you'd go with me! You're so nice! I'm gonna go get my purse." She dashed out of the hut, leaving Tails looking as if he had faced down a steamroller and lost.

"Assertive, isn't she?" said Slasher softly.

Tails glared at Sonic. "Why'd you tell me to go? Now I have to!"

"No you don't," said Sonic, eyes shining with that crazy light. "Run for it while her back's turned. I'll tell her that you're meeting her in town." He motioned to the rafters overhead.

In two seconds flat the fox spun his tails and shot up into the rafters, where he flattened himself behind a stud bigger around than his whole body. He began to pant, because he could not sweat, and tried to keep quiet as Amy returned.

"Where's Tails?" he heard her ask.

Sonic said, "Oh, he said he'd meet you at the hardware store. He was so excited that he left early."

There was a long silence. Amy said suspiciously, "Is that the truth, Sonic?"

"Oh yeah," said Sonic. "He couldn't wait to get out of here."

Tails scrunched himself closer to the beam and hugged his tails to his chest. He knew that Amy was taking a good look around the hut. "All right," she said slowly. "But if he doesn't show up, Sonic, I'll know you had something to do with it. He really does like me, you know."

Tails didn't inhale until the door had closed behind her, and he saw Amy trotting away. He peered down at the table and saw them all looking up at him. Sonic beckoned to him, grinning.
Tails parachuted down and sat in his chair again, watching the windows for a glimpse of Amy. "Sonic, she's gonna be really mad ..."

"So?" said Sonic. "I'm not afraid of her, and you shouldn't be, either. After all, 'you really do like her, you know'." He imitated Amy's voice, and Tails smirked.

Sally frowned. "Sonic, you shouldn't provoke her like that. She'll make Tails pay now."

Tails looked desperately at Slasher. "What should I do?"

Slasher rolled her eyes. "What you should have done in the first place. Tell her you don't want to go out with her, that you're not interested."

"That's not that easy," said Tails wildly, imagining the look in Amy's eyes when she came for him. "I gotta get outta here before she comes back." He bolted for the back door in the kitchen.

Sonic grinned after him, but Sally clicked her tongue. "Sonic, really ..."

"What?" said Sonic innocently. "Just helping the kid out, is all."

Serena and Spark emerged from the kitchen, where they had watched everything. Spark was carrying a plate of something that smelled like baked apples, but looked like unappetizing brown slop. He sat in Tails's chair, and Serena moved Amy's two feet to the right before sitting down.

"I forgot about the drama that goes on around here," grinned Spark. "Boy, is it good to be home."

"Sonic, you're making Amy worse," said Serena, glaring at her brother. "She wants you to take her seriously, and you're obviously not. She's going to escalate until you do."

"Amy needs to grow up," said Sonic.

Serena turned to Spark. "Fry him for me, will you?"

"Can't," said Spark with his mouth full. "No headband."

Serena huffed a sigh and got up from the table. She crossed the room to where a purple porcupine had just arrived with a plate, and sat with him. The group watched this, and Sonic and Spark exchanged glances.

"Hey Sonic," said Spark, "you forget to tell me something about Serena?"

"There's nothing to tell," said Sonic, but his eyes narrowed.

Spike was a nice-looking porcupine with two feet of quills and a white patch of fur on his chest. His hairdo would have been a mohawk had it not covered his entire head in tall rows of spikes. Unlike the hedgehogs, he had a bushy quilled tail that made sneaking up behind him a dangerous exercise. He and Sonic had gone from fierce rivals to uneasy friends over the course of time, but it looked as if the rival stage was due for an encore. Sonic liked Spike well enough, but not well enough to let him date Sonic's sister. Spark shared the same sentiment, as both brothers watched their little sister with dark eyes and clenched jaws.

"Really, you guys are impossible," said Sally with a half-laugh. "You think Tails and Amy is funny, and Serena and Spike isn't"
"Tails and Amy won't work out," growled Spark. "That's the difference."

"She's just eating with him," Sally pointed out. "That's not serious."

"It might be," said Sonic. "Spark, you'd better live long enough to help me break them up."

Spark started to agree, but hesitated. "What if Serena's treatments work, then she gets mad and stops?"

"That's a risk we'll have to take," said Sonic. He looked at Slasher. "Don't tell her."

Slasher was unhappy with the entire situation, and was preening a wing with her teeth. She looked up and said, "I don't keep despicable secrets like this one. If she asks, I'll tell her."

Sonic muttered under his breath and rose from the table. "I gotta go to work. Bye, everybody." He kissed Sally and left, throwing dark glances at Serena and Spike across the room.

Puddles stood along the Sapphire City roads, and the streets had a gleaming, freshly-washed look. A tall, silver-furred dog stood on the sidewalk, holding his blue robe around him for warmth. Chill and damp had never bothered him before, but he was amused to see that his breath steamed.

Drasyre had spent the night in Vector's office, stretched out on a visitor's couch. Vector stayed out all night, and reappeared at dawn, looking grimy and tired. He escorted Drasyre to a coffee shop, and explained that the Chaotix Detective Agency was trying to open a branch in Sapphire City. The trouble was that Vector was also working on a case to follow some guy's wife all night, and had spent nine hours parked beneath her apartment, during which nothing happened.

"Your case is easier, though," said the crocodile, leading his companion off the cold street and into the warm, coffee-scented shop. He ordered two double espressos, and handed one to Drasyre.

Drasyre sipped it gingerly and said, "How so?"

"Your thief was dumb enough to take the train," said Vector, pouring his entire cup into his mouth and smacking his jaws a few times. "All the police have to do is match his description to the passenger list. We'll check the station next."

Drasyre licked his lips. "Would it be possible to leave now?"

"Sure." Vector led the way out of the shop and down the sidewalk. Drasyre followed him, matching the crocodile's long strides and careful to avoid the thick tail.

"So," said Vector as they walked, "this thief stole a diamond from you. Must be a pretty expensive diamond."

"It is one of seven," said Drasyre. "It is actually an oddly-colored emerald."

Vector gave him a long look. "A Chaos Emerald?"

"Yes." Drasyre didn't want to mention the name for fear that Vector might try to take it, himself.

Vector only frowned. "A Chaos Emerald. Hmm." He said nothing else for two blocks.

Vector was a detective, which meant that he made a living by solving puzzles. The pieces of his puzzle concerned him. A Chaos Emerald? A hedgehog thief who had used Chaos Control to escape? There were few people on Mobius who could teleport the way that Sonic could. It was one of his signature moves. What if Sonic was complicit in the theft? Vector didn't want to drag a friend to trial over this, but he had volunteered to help this strange dog, and he was committed now.

Vector's face grew even longer at the police station. The police detectives had matched Drasyre's description to the passenger list of the 2 o' clock train. The thief was named Spark Hedgehog.

"Spark," said Drasyre, running the name through his teeth. "Not his real name, surely?"

"Probably a nickname," said Vector, whose green scales were a tad greener. "Hold on Drasyre, I need to make a phone call."

The crocodile secreted himself in the police station's bathroom, and dialed the Chaotix's number on his cellphone. Espio answered. "Yo Vec, what's up?"

"Espio, I have a problem up here," said Vector in a low voice. "Remember Sonic's brother Spark?"

"Yeah. What's wrong, he turn up dead?"

"No, worse. He stole a Chaos Emerald from this really irate guy, who hired me to track down the thief."

Espio laughed. "You're kidding me! Spark's been missing for years, and he turns up and pulls this?"

"Yeah." Vector rubbed his forehead, where a pain was developing between his eyes. "Espio, what do I do?"

Espio was silent a long moment, thinking. "Stall him. Say ... say they've traced Spark as far as Riverbase, and take at least a week to get him there. I'll see if we can get a call through to Sally and find out what's up. Maybe Spark will return it, who knows?"

"Sounds like a plan," said Vector. He and Espio discussed handing Vector's current case to one of their partners in the police force, then hung up. How did he get himself into these messes?

He walked back into the police office and forced a grin. Drasyre was looking at police sketches, trying to put together an accurate image of Spark.

"Good news," said Vector, as the dog and police officer looked up. "My partners say that Spark's hiding out up north in Riverbase. They grant amnesty to Robians. It'd be the perfect place for him to hide with that mechanical arm of his."

"Excellent." Drasyre straightened up. "When do we depart?"

Vector checked his watch. "Around noon, I think. I have to contact another detective to cover my case while I help you. Then we'll catch a taxi up there. No trains go that far north."

Drasyre nodded, and for a second there was a red smouldering glint in his eyes.

As Vector and Drasyre emerged from the police station and strode down the street, a black hedgehog gazed at them from the window of a neighboring apartment. Shadow recognized Vector, and stood with hands clasped behind his back, watching. Mekion's eye tracked the crocodile and his companion, judged them no threat, and fixed on the horizon. Shadow's natural eye continued to follow them, and when his binocular vision split, he blinked and rubbed the line where his flesh merged into cold metal.

"I wish you wouldn't do that, Mekion," he thought.

Mekion said nothing. He rarely spoke these days, which made Shadow nervous. Gone were the endless arguments, the bickering and whispered threats. Instead, Shadow found himself blacking out and waking up in strange places. This morning he had awakened on the apartment complex's fire escape, kneeling and peering through the railing at a passing human. If the setting was unsettling, it was even more unsettling to realize that he had interrupted whatever Mekion was doing.

Shadow and Nox were alone in Nick Karabian's apartment. Nick had gone to work, taking Mecha's debit card and promising to return with groceries. There was little food in the apartment, but this did not concern Shadow. Hunger was a passing complication, and he and Nox had eaten the night before.

Nox sat on a couch behind him, looking through a nanotech magazine, of which Nick had stacks. The room was chilly, because Nick couldn't afford to run the heat much, but Shadow didn't care.

He was thinking about the Chaotix and his own adventures in Rio del Fuego the previous summer. Danger and intrigue and freedom. He recalled grinding down a train rail toward the oncoming engine, daring Sonic to do the same. He smiled at the memory. Now that was living. Of course, Mekion had battled him every step of the way, but that was more acceptable than this silent switching back and forth between them. Shadow had no control over this new stage.

A voice whispered in his head. Shadow turned his head to the left, as if trying to look at Mekion, and thought, "What?"

Mekion said nothing.

Shadow shrugged and returned to gazing out the window. Mekion was probably infiltrating more of his subconscious or something.

Another voice, this time louder and crystal-clear. "Hmah estlven parse naugh!"

Shadow jumped. "Mekion?"

"No danger detected," Mekion replied. "Otherwise do not interfere with me."

"Mekion, what was that transmission?"

"No transmission detected."

It had not been Mekion's voice. It was a new voice: harsh, masculine, angry. Shadow stood with his head tilted, as if listening with his ears rather than with his audio network. It was speaking again, but the volume had dropped to almost nothing--he could hear a vague hissing whisper, but made out none of what it said. Not that he could understand it anyway. It wasn't speaking New Mobian or the human languages. Maybe it was code. But why wasn't Mekion tracking the transmission? Couldn't he pick it up?

But if the voice wasn't coming from Mekion ... that left only Shadow.

He stared out the window, pressing his natural hand against the sill. They said that hearing voices was a symptom of insanity. Were the voices emanating from his living brain as his synapses misfired? Had Mekion's cold dementia affected Shadow's mind, as well? He knew so little about things like insanity. For one wild instant he considered sending a transmission to Mecha--Mecha would know. He could help.

Then Shadow wondered what would happen if he made contact with Mecha, and Mekion took control. Was it possible to hurt someone through an audio network? If there was a way, then Mekion would find it. No, he couldn't call Mecha, even though the thought sent a surge of hope through his heart. Shadow missed his friend and master. As soon as he acknowledged this thought, homesickness rose and filled him with gnawing emptiness. He missed the chill darkness of the underground bunker, and Mecha's abrasive, cutting wit. He missed, too, the warm feeling when Mecha let his mask slip and showed tenderness to Aleda, and Shadow, himself. Mecha's development was continuing, and Shadow was no longer part of it.

As he stood at the window, gazing out with his mismatched eyes and feeling sorry for himself, he heard a patter of footsteps and felt Nox's cold paw on his leg. "Shadow?" said the chao, looking up at him. "What's the matter?"

Shadow stooped and picked up Nox, feeling a rasping pain in the back of his throat as he moved. "Nox, I'm hearing voices." Forcing his vocal chords to work was so painful that he had to rub his throat, wincing.

Nox gazed at him soberly. The chao's eyes were dark blue with white pupils, making him look blind and otherworldly, as if he could see things hidden to other eyes. But for their weird coloring, they were bright enough, and scrutinized Shadow's face. "Hearing voices?" said Nox. He reached up and touched the metal half of Shadow's face, then the living half. "Mekion is just cold, like usual," said Nox. "And you ..." He gazed into Shadow's face for a long time. "You're afraid. And lonely. And ... I don't know how to describe it ... you're hurting somehow ... because something's gone?"

"Homesick," whispered Shadow, and coughed, turning his head away.

Nox nodded in comprehension. "Oh. You want to go home. So do I." He hung his head.

Shadow cleared his throat and forced his aching voice to whisper, "What about voices?"

"I only feel your feelings," said Nox. "I can't hear thoughts."

"But nothing ... different?" Shadow's voice caught, and he coughed again.

Nox tolerated this, and when Shadow had recovered the chao said, "No. I only feel the feelings from you and Mekion. There's nobody else there."

This was a relief, but even as he stood there, Shadow heard them again; a low muttering in a corner of his mind. It was like hearing two overlapping radio stations, an unintelligible noise. He looked at Nox, but the chao was looking out the window, oblivious. Schizophrenia didn't affect a sympath, it seemed.

Shadow sighed and rubbed Nox's head. If only his throat didn't hurt so much ...