The city was huge and loud and bright. It was also on fire.

Pretzel shrank against the cement, futilely trying to escape the waves of heat by hiding under her wings. Screams stabbed through the air. She sniffed the air and grimaced at the acrid taste of smoke. Still, she didn't smell death or the now familiar stench of burning flesh and fur, so what were they so worked up about? Dumb humans.

Behind the irrational fleeing noisy humans, red flames licked hungrily at blackened buildings. It reminded her of… ah. There he was. The dark red aura, though it seemed brighter and lighter than she remembered, gliding through and around and behind the rubble. But what was he running fro—

A blast of sound tore through the air. Pretzel lunged back towards the tunnel, pressing herself against the wall as invisible claws tried to crush her pounding heart.

"Shadow!" Rouge's voice reached her clearly, and she peered out warily to see her flying overhead, the blinding sun casting her shadow dark and long. Her grey aura shone energetically. Everyone was just so bright today. "What did you do!?"

The black hedgehog skated up, sliding to an easy stop next to Sonic, who backed away uncomfortably. Shadow looked up at Rouge, frowning. "I did not do anything."

Rouge huffed and landed, putting her hands on her hips (Pretzel took note of the pose for future use.) "Oh, I'm sure, Mr. I'll-Start-An-Alien-Invasion-And-Not-Tell-Any-Of-My-Friends."

"I didn't start it!" Shadow protested, offended. "And I did not do anything. This was all GUN's doing."

"Really?" Rouge looked around with renewed interest. "Now why would they do that?"

"They were… upset that I was not following orders." The flickering of his aura suggested this was a gross understatement.

Rouge rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.

"Well, at least they've stopped shooting." She glanced down the street. "I suppose I'll have to speak to them if we want it to stay that way."

Shooting? Was that what the loud noise was? Was there going to be more? Pretzel tried to press herself further into the ground, but jumped up with a hiss as she realized how hot it was even in the shade. This city was trying to boil her alive.

"Here." Rouge handed Sonic that thing they were always looking at. It had a funny sort of energy and made Pretzel uncomfortable in the same way as the sharp angles and hard surfaces of the city. "This should show you the… Oh." She hit it a few times and frowned. "Your energy's confusing it. Maybe it would be better if Pretzel held it." Pretzel felt an involuntary shiver run down her spine when Sonic's gaze immediately snapped to where she was hiding. Rouge followed it and offered the thing to Pretzel. "This will show you two the way to the hotel. I'll stay here and help clean up Shadow's mess." She cast a glare at Shadow that didn't hold any malice. He hmphed and turned away sulkily.

"Good luck," Sonic laughed. There was something funny about the sound that Pretzel couldn't quite place. She didn't have time to ponder it as Sonic darted down the street, raced back again to check the map over her shoulder, and ran off once more.

Pretzel was occupied trying to hold the extremely unwieldy map-thing and walk at the same time. The weight didn't bother her, but holding it meant standing on two legs, which was uncomfortable and impractical. She tried flying a few times, but her cargo kept throwing her balance off, and she had to drop to the ground again and resume her bad monkey imitation.

As they moved out of sight of the others and away from the fire, Sonic stopped running ahead and started walking beside her. He was quiet, which would have been a relief if it wasn't so suspicious. Calm didn't suit him. She kept waiting for him to attack her or crack a joke or something, but he was just… quiet. It felt wrong.

"I'm sorry," he said suddenly.

Pretzel almost fell over, but she caught herself with her wings and looked up at him sharply.

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "I'm sorry I tried to kill you and I'm sorry I burned you and I'm sorry I forgot about you. That's what I should have said earlier."

They walked in silence for several moments more. Finally, she said, "I'm used to it. I think."

Sonic laughed. It sounded bitter and wrong. "Well. You shouldn't be."

They were both quiet the rest of the way to the hotel. The receptionist immediately directed them to the rooms Rouge had checked out.

"There are three others coming, correct?" The human checked.

Sonic dropped his gaze. "No. Just two."

The human nodded, wrote something down, and scurried away.

The room was all white sheets and cream carpets, and Pretzel walked tentatively, afraid she might stain them with her presence. Sonic, too, moved carefully, uncomfortable in the neatness of the room. He dragged back the coverings on one bed—Pretzel had to help—and thumped around the pillows a bit. Evidently this put him more at ease, as he sat down and kicked off his shoes. He pulled a face, tugged off his hideous socks with a vengeance, and tossed them on the other bed. Then he flopped into the first bed and pulled the coverings around him in a nest. Pretzel perched on the headboard. She pulled her wings around her, doing her best to block out the light, and closed her eyes.

The quiet lasted for all of a few seconds before Sonic leapt out of bed again, darting over to the windows and yanking the curtains closed. He zipped to the other end and flicked something on the wall, plunging them into darkness. Pretzel watched in amusement as Sonic (or his aura, at least) stumbled towards her, tripping over everything possible, before finally falling face first into the bed.

"Good night, Pretzel." he mumbled into a pillow.

Pretzel smirked and slid down onto the other pillow, wriggling until she was comfortable. "It's day."

"It's always night time somewhere," Sonic muttered. It was a pleasant thought.

She was almost asleep when Sonic shot upright with a yell. She startled and nearly fell off the bed, digging her claws in just in time. Well, hopefully no one would notice the scratches.

"What if the Moray took Blaze to Light Gaia!? And what if Light Gaia is brainwashing her right now!?" Sonic was bolting to the door before Pretzel could process what he said. She pulled herself fully onto the bed and glared at him.

"You're supposed to be sleeping."

"But it could be—"

"Could. Wait for Rouge."

Sonic sighed in frustration and flopped dramatically onto the bed. While he wriggled around, Pretzel studied the blankets. Her claws hadn't left a mark. She glanced up at Sonic, writhing around like a two-year-old throwing a fit. A two-year-old with very sharp quills. Huh. Hedgehog proof blankets. Made sense.

"I can't sleep." Sonic announced loudly after five minutes of thrashing.

"I gathered," Pretzel growled dryly. "Have you tried staying still?"

Sonic flung out his hands in frustration, nearly hitting Pretzel's nose. She glared at his fingers, sorely tempted to bite them. "I've been trying! Part of me is exhausted and wants to sleep, and another part of me is full of energy and wants to just— run!" He kicked the bed for emphasis, or maybe just because he was an actual child.

"The energy is artificial. You need to sleep."

Sonic huffed and rolled over. "Tell that to the magic caffeine."

Pretzel considered for a moment, then stalked across the bed and sat beside him. She ignored the burning feeling and focused on his aura. It was bright and hot and writhed with energy. Artificial. A mask. She focused on her own shadow, making it spread its wing. She imagined it splashing over the flames like ice water. She imagined it as cool shade on a hot day. She imagined it forcing Light Gaia away from Sonic, just a little bit.

Something brushed bright and warm against her mind. Colors and sounds echoed faintly and then were gone.

Sonic flopped on his pillow, still grumbling but growing steadily quieter and stiller. Pretzel smiled and curled up to sleep.

Outside, the city was still on fire. She couldn't care less.