CHAPTER XII – WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

The wind wasn't nearly as bad on the south side of town. There weren't nearly enough buildings for the gusts to travel around nor were they as elevated as the north end. It was gravely quiet, par for the course in South Res just after midnight. Not that many gangbangers were out looking for trouble. There were next-to-no drug deals in progress, at least not out in the open. All the kids who dreamed of getting out of this hellish neighborhood were sound asleep, waiting for another day of learning.

As Scourge flew by each rundown apartment, he landed at the intersection of Ucla Drive and Bruins Street. As his suit's wings folded into the backpack, he jaywalked to his safehouse and quickly opened the door. The moment he shut it, he let out a sigh of pride. He reached out his arms, thinking of the praises he would be getting from Sonic's enemies. He had done what they couldn't. He was the new king of the city, and he made damn sure that everyone saw their champion fall hard.

"5-2-0-0-6," he reminded himself.

The shoddy, rundown first floor couldn't hold back his smile as he made his way toward the staircase. But all the dust did annoy him as he sneezed out a wad of crap that was better than the crap that he'd thrown Sonic in.

Scourge then put the code in and hopped up the stairs. This was some night. A delicious act of payback, and now he'd be sleeping with no one to keep tabs on him. All of Fiona's Destuctix were sporting injuries and a shiny set of cuffs. "At least Blue did one good thing tonight," he told himself as he was all alone.

Or so he thought.

The second floor was strangely lit up. Scourge wondered to himself if he had forgotten to kill the lights before leaving as he walked to the kitchen to fix himself a glass of cold water. Within seconds, he downed his drink victoriously and slammed it on the countertop.

"While you're there, you mind fixing me a 7-and-7?" Mildly spooked, Scourge quickly turned around toward the couches and found his employer reclining with her arms crossed. That explained the lights.

"A what?"

Fiona scoffed. "A 7-and-7. Y'know, 7-Up and Seagram's Seven Crown?" He continued to look at her with a puzzled expression, earning a sigh from her. "Fine, I'll make it myself." She got up and stormed to the bar and pulled out a glass and the whiskey. "Can't believe you've never heard of a 7-and-7."

"I lived on an oil rig for years and spent the last few months… well, you know."

She stopped. "Right. Since you're closer, mind grabbing me some ice and a 7-Up from the fridge?"

He nodded and quickly got the colder materials out, bending the tray to break the ice. She plucked the items from him and mixed herself and him one. With a stir, she handed him the cocktail and held up her glass. Scourge wasn't sure what to do with the drink. This was the first time he would have alcohol in his life, but he mimicked her by holding his glass up in a toast.

"Never thought you could do it, but here's to better business and Sonic pushing daisies."

He smiled. "To my big brother's death."

CLINK!

Fiona took a small sip of her drink, sighing refreshingly. "Delicious."

Scourge, still not totally sure what to do, did like a drunkard and downed the cocktail in one hit, garnering an astonished look from Fiona. When all was gone, Scourge shivered and made an uncomfortable face, making her smirk.

"You act like you've never had booze before."

He put the glass on the counter. "Because I haven't," he replied. "How much whiskey was in that?"

"Half, maybe more. I like my drinks tall. You had about four shots of whiskey in that. Care for another?" Scourge shook his head no. "More for me then." She then took another sip, sighing at its refreshing qualities.

"What did you mean by 'better business?'"

"Hmm? Oh, that. After you offed Sonic, Mordred called me and expressed interest in doing further deals. Said he was thinking about stepping in for his cousin and taking over his gang."

Scourge looked confused. "So you're willing to partner with a hated competitor?"

"Mordred and I have nothing to beef over. Lyric was a different story."

"But I heard that you were willing to partner with Lyric because of Sonic."

She stopped mid-sip and raised a finger. "That was survival. I would've turned on him sooner or later. He probably would've done the same. Lyric was a fossil who was on his last legs anyway. Mordred's the same way."

"You're gonna take him out too?"

"Who knows? Mordred's pretty damn old too, so it's not out of the question. Still, there is Rouge, but that sex symbol can wait."

"Huh."

Fiona's ears picked up the disappointment in his sigh. "Something wrong?"

Scourge shook his head. "Y'know, anyone in your position with Sonic gone shouldn't be pushing off shit like this for another day. You're on the verge of being numero uno, but you say, 'Eh. Later.'"

"Are you questioning how I run my business?" she asked as she took another sip.

"It's just that you don't seem like that kind of lady."

What little smile she had left quickly vanished. "And what do you mean by that?"

"You wanted my brother gone, but you didn't bother going after his supporting cast. Y'know, the ones who helped him get where he was?"

She shot him a scowl. "If this is about Amy—."

"It ain't. You're only going after the big problem but not the extra stuff on the side. You shouldn't be taking any chances with the bat or that Tails guy. Put 'em out to pasture before they can retaliate. It's like a cold: you have to keep blowing your nose and sucking down hot soup to get rid of it, but you don't stop when it's almost gone. You do that, then you stay sick and miserable longer than you want to."

She had enough. "Is there a point to this?" she asked with crossed arms and nasty glare.

"Depends on if you want to hear my two cents." Fiona gestured as if to tell him to get on with it. "You lack the spine to finish the job."

Fiona had more than half her drink left. But his words didn't sit right. To bandage her bruised ego, she chugged the rest of her liquid courage and slammed the highball glass on the counter. Her temper tantrum made Scourge titter for a second, but not when a harsh right hand turned his cheek pink.

SLAP!

He didn't take a step back, but he did grimace and rub his stinging face. What came next out his mouth sounded like he was more inconvenienced than anything… and it was another verbal challenge. "Now I know where 'hit like a girl' gets its meaning."

It took every ounce of her being to not hit him again. Instead, she verbally responded. "You think I don't have what it takes? I'm the biggest crime boss in the city!"

"Sure, by default," Scourge coldly reminded. "The competition was forced out, and it certainly was not by anything you did."

"Doesn't matter!"

"Bullshit it doesn't! Your family was literally the city's OGs. And lo and behold, you only became the big dog the other night. Four other kings had to fall before you took the top spot. I take what I said back. You don't lack the spine. Your family does."

SLAP!

Now the right cheek felt a poignant sting. His aching face's color matched Fiona's. Sorta looked like she'd erupt at a moment's notice.

"And you embody it to a tee."

"If you say another—!"

"Your family is weak," he interrupted. "You aren't fit to run an operation like this. You're just trying to be like the others before you, and you're doing a terrible job at it. Case in point, if I hadn't showed up at the airport, you'd be trying to make bail. If I had to guess, sugar tits, you never wanted this job, did you?" Her furious countenance vanished quickly. Replacing it was one looking like a chord had been struck in her heart. Clearly he had touched a nerve. "Looks like I'm right. What happened that made you like this?"

RING! RING! RING!

The vixen shook her head, almost like she'd exited a trance and was a stunned for a moment. Then she realized the noise was coming from her iPhone. A feline ally was giving her a call. She sighed and appreciated the break in the action.

"I'm shocked the pigs didn't confiscate your phone, Lightning," Fiona said as she answered the call.

"You're choosing now for puns? Ugh, never mind. You have to see the AMG news now."

"Why would I—?"

"Boss, trust me. You need to see it."

"Fine." She hung up and stormed to the TV, turning it on and flipping to the correct channel.

"What's going on?" Scourge asked.

Channel 61 was the AMG. Not some easy-to-remember number like 4, 5, 6, or even 12. Sixty-freaking-one. But that wasn't important. But what was on the TV? Very much so. In a bigger box on the left side of the screen was inside the studio as Ken Khan and Sally Acorn looked to the viewers with a certain grateful air about them, like they were relieved about something. Same went for their companion in a smaller box on the right side but with more visible panic and dread that was starting to get over. The pink lady was still reporting live from Times Square with other members of the press corps in the background taking questions from the commissioner.

"Again, if you are just joining us," Sally started, "Amy Rose is with us at Times Square in Amusement Mile. Sonic the Hedgehog was horribly injured and thrown into the sewers after losing to Scourge, but we can confirm that he was saved by a crew of city maintenance workers."

Oh… no.

That was what went through the fox's and hedgehog's heads at the Sally's report. Scourge looked on in shock as the unthinkable had happened. Fiona marched off in stone-cold silence and fixed herself another drink, keeping a hand on a metallic piece holstered to her belt.

"Amy, is there anything else that you can share with us?" Ken asked.

She shook her head. "If there is, Commissioner Rouge or the officers here haven't told me yet. All we know is that Sonic was rescued from the sewage below the streets and rushed to the emergency room. Which E.R. is the question, but Rouge has told me that they will withhold the exact hospital's name for fear of Sonic's safety as well as the medical personnel."

"Were you able to talk to the people who saved Sonic? What were they doing before the rescue?"

Fiona had come back silently, keeping a deathly grip on her glass and staring down the stunned man beside her as he kept his eyes glued to the report.

"Ken, the city workers were doing their monthly maintenance check on the electrical wiring that runs parallel with the sewers when they found Sonic. To save him, a large spool of wire was brought down from a truck on the surface and given to a worker. That man then jumped in and swam through the disgusting mess to grab Sonic as his coworkers waited to pull both of them out. The workers in question declined to be interviewed and wished to remain anonymous."

"That was very brave of those men to save Sonic," Sally said with a certain redness in her eyes. "Amy, we'll talk soon. If anything comes up, get a hold of us."

"You know I will, Sal."

CLICK!

The green brother clenched his fists as he took in a deep breath. Fiona silently reached for the remote and shut off the TV.

Scourge shut his eyes and prepared for the worst. At any moment, Fiona was gonna start yelling and telling him off, maybe even threaten him. Any moment now. Any… moment now. Why hadn't she spoken yet? Why weren't his ears going deaf at her screaming? She wasn't moving around. It sounded like she was standing perfectly still. Maybe she'd give him a pass?

"Threw him… down a sewer. And I'm the spineless one?"

He exhaled loudly and told himself to take it like a man. He took it like a bitch. He opened his blue eyes to meet hers, and before he could respond, all he could see and feel was whiskey headed straight for his corneas.

"AHHHH!" he yelled, clutching his face. His breathing was erratic and labored, common for people that had straight alcohol thrown in their eyes. Scourge tried to open them, but they instantly flared up and started the agonizing process all over again. "What did you do to me?!"

Fiona then smashed the glass on his head and threw him into the TV. Scourge crashed first, and the television followed on his face. Fiona them violently grabbed the big screen and hurled back on his face, sending a painful yell throughout the building. He chucked it off him and tried to find Fiona. He found her alright. Just her pointed, high heel boots repeatedly in his stomach and on his hands.

"Do you know what you've done?!" She swung her leg again. "You made me a fucking target!" KICK! "Y'know, I gave my word that I had a guy who'd take care of Sonic, take him outta the picture! And what does that guy do?!" Another kick, but this one was across his face and rolled him over into the wall. "HE DOESN'T FINISH THE GODDAMN, FUCKING JOB! AND YOU CALL ME WEAK?! YOU HAVE THE BALLS TO ME CALL ME SPINELESS?!'" She then knelt down broke his nose with a mighty blow.

"GAHHH!" he screamed as he tried to hold his nose and look at her through crying corneas. "I thought—!"

WHAM!

"You know what happens when you assume shit? It makes an ass outta 'u' and me! I promised to Mordred that I'd help him get even. Thanks to your worthless rear end, no one's gonna take me seriously! I was having enough problems with that before you and your damn brother came around!" She then slammed his head into the wall and stormed back into the kitchen, pulled out a water bottle and flung it at Scourge's head. "Clean your eyes out and look at me."

"I underestimated him," he forced out as he reached around and grabbed the bottle. He swiftly dumped its contents over his blue eyes and felt some relief, but not much. He did his best to look at her volcanic demeanor, but his eyes were twitching from the liquor. "I won't make that mistake again."

She pulled out her sidearm and aimed it Scourge. "I know you won't."

BANG!

Scourge yelled again and gripped his right arm, feeling the warm blood run across his fingers. A warning shot if there ever was one.

She holstered her weapon and grabbed his head to catch his eyes. An unholy noise arose from her sinuses and—.

SPLAT!

"Ugh!" Another warm liquid ran down, this time on his face. No need to guess what that was. As if there wasn't enough crap in his eyes. "Enough, okay? I get it! I fucked up."

"That's a nice way to put it!"

"I'll kill him. I promise I will."

She shook her head. "You haven't proved that you can." With one last motion, she fixed his nose, garnering a loud CRACK and moan from the hedgehog. "I need to mull another plan. 'Til then, you'll suffer alone in here. I'll have a few of my boys arrive in the morning."

"Just let me find—."

"You heard Amy. They aren't giving anyone his location. Not that matters since I clearly can't trust you with anything now."

Scourge scowled through his pain. "Do you know what I'm capable of?"

"Not doing as he promised, by the looks of it." She then got up and picked up her coat from a nearby chair. "Enjoy your reward, Scourge."

SLAM!

Thankfully, she left, leaving him battered on the floor. He cautiously and carefully got up and tried to find the nearest bathroom since he was still partially blind. He felt each wall, trying to find a door. Finally, he found it and turned on the faucet. He splashed ice cold water for what seemed like an eternity trying to regain his vision. With the pain starting to subside, he looked at the mirror, finding his enraged face staring him down. Without thinking, he punched it and cracked the mirror, splitting his face dozens of times over. All of them had the same pissed look on them, and he wondered how he was gonna kill Sonic. He could add Fiona to the list now too.

How dare she do those things to him?! Scourge was far stronger than her, and she still kicked his ass across the apartment. It didn't sit well with him, and he wondered how to make her pay. He'd kill her eventually, but like with Sonic, torturing her first would make him feel loads better. So… how could he do it?

He stared into his pink and red eyes as if waiting for the answer to magically appear before him. Physical? No, too easy. Psychological? It worked with Sonic, so why not her? What was her Achilles' heel? He continued to look into his bloodshot eyes. The whites of his eye meshed with his red vessels made for a disturbing image when paired with his enraged expression. It was a shade of pink that conveyed—.

Wait… pink. As in a certain pink-furred reporter that Fiona explicitly said she didn't want to involve.

"Yeah…," he trailed off as he smiled wickedly. "Amy."

Finally. Some time off to see him. Just getting off an all-nighter at her office with a quick nap thrown in that was approved by Max and Alicia. Not the most comfortable set of Z's she'd ever gotten, but at least it was something.

"3012, 3013, 3014…," She hurried to his room, racing down the halls in a brisk walk while scanning the door numbers. "3015, 3016—. Finally!" Room 3017.

Stopping herself, she took in a few deep breaths. Chaos knew she was anxious to see him, but she didn't know if this was because of her feelings for him or if he knew about Fiona. Oh, who was she kidding? Sonic knew about her and Fiona. Tails had already given her that warning. But… maybe he'd be understanding about the whole thing? After all, what had happened between the two girls was ancient history. She sighed. No, he'd be mighty pissed knowing him. Would you act all nice if your friend carried damning information and didn't tell you? But what if it wasn't important in the bigger picture?

Amy hesitated to reach for the doorknob. She prayed to any higher power she could think of so that he would not be livid. Hell, she'd take him not being awake to receive his scorn.

"No," she told herself. "I'm not running away from this." She was a big girl after all.

Oh, this was going to be splendid.

With a slight creak, she opened the doorway to see the dimly lit room and her hero on the far side. The room was built for two, but its closer mattress, if you could call it a mattress, was vacant. The moonlight from that evening's first-quarter moon shined gently on his face as he gazed into the lights of Amusement Mile and Knothole in the distance. The various tubes he had been hooked up to were to the side no longer in use given his more stable consciousness. He seemed so peaceful, all silent and mysterious. Amy wondered what he was seeing. Maybe it wasn't anything at all. Or maybe he was brooding about everything that had gone on in the last week.

Closing his eyes, he turned around and let Amy see his grassy green daggers. And they were daggers alright, looking straight at Amy with obvious contempt, piercing her heart and soul. He slowly raised an eyebrow as she timidly got closer to him. The way he was reading her, it was no question that she was scared of what he was thinking. A look of disappointment if there ever was one.

"H-Hey," she timidly said.

Sonic choked down whatever negative thoughts he had at that moment and returned the greeting. "Hey."

She softened a bit at this. "Good to see you in one piece… and clean. I sort of thought you'd smell worse than a public toilet."

He scoffed. "They made damn sure I was sterile before they worked on me. Inside and out."

"Pumped your stomach, did they?"

He nodded. "And sanitized every square inch. Apparently there were disinfected scars and wounds I didn't know I had. Do you know how disgusting the taste of piss and crap is?"

"What did you mean by 'they worked on you?'" she asked, wanting to avoid the answer to his question.

He calmly threw his blanket further down the bed and showed her the stitches. She wasn't horrified by the sight. She knew he had fractured a rib, and it looked like it had been successfully treated. Still, it was mildly unsettling to see a part of his fuzzy belly shaved and patched up.

"Fifteen stitches," Sonic said. "They screwed in a plate for my—."

"The fracture," Amy stated. "Any other wounds I should know about?" He simply kept eye-contact with her and pulled the covers back up. A moment of tense silence followed as he tried find the best words.

"A broken sense of trust."

Oh, Amy could hear the venom in that remark. She pinned her ears back and looked away. "Why are you here?" He then quickly looked behind her. "And where's Tails?"

"At… At the lab. Working on CREAM's new body. Look, Sonic, about Fio—."

He put his hand up quickly to silence her. "We're not talking about her now. I want Tails to be there for that conversation. Now, why are you here?"

She swallowed her damaged pride and replied with, "I came to take you home. The doctors said you're free to go but to take it slowly."

He nodded and began to slowly take off the sheets and scoot out of bed. She offered a hand to the obviously aching hedgehog, but he refused, determined to do this without her assistance. Besides, he wasn't sure if he could depend on her for anything.

With a deep breath, he put his feet down and rose off the reclined bed, sending a shock of pain throughout his body. Obviously, he needed another round of medication. With an agonized face, he grabbed the bottle of drugs on the table near him and swallowed a pair of powerful pharmaceuticals.

"No water?"

He shook his head. "Let's go."

She then glanced at his feet. All that was on them was a pair of socks the staff had given him. His signature red and white sneakers were missing. Not that surprising since he'd been cooped up in a bed all day, but those shoes were not in the room.

"Not gonna lace up?"

"Shoes aren't supposed to handle millions of gallons of sewage."

Amy nodded in understanding as she made her way to the door. Once again, she offered to help him, but he rebuffed her. She dreaded the ride home. She could tell he wasn't going to say another word until they got together with Tails. She thought it best not to try. There would be plenty of time for that later.

Amy only glanced at her rearview mirror a few times to catch his face. Yup, still deep in thought, probably going over what he'd say to her and Tails. Her car came to a stop, and she wished that she could drive all night if it meant not incurring his wrath, but this long overdue.

Sonic, being the shoeless wonder, walked in off the cold concrete with only thin socks to shield him from the unforgiving, manmade stone. Good thing the opioids he took were taking the edge off. He barely felt the icy chill of early November on his toes.

He was quick to open the door with Amy following soon after. His "discussion" with the siblings could wait a few minutes. He had to verify Fiona's claim, but before that, he took in the warmth of the apartment. His feet may not have sensed the nippy outdoors, but the rest of his body did. The temperature outside had to hovering around the freezing point.

Sonic slumped onto the couch and crossed his arms, slowly rubbing them to generate some body heat. As one might expect, it had its mixed results. His forearms felt fine. The rest of his body? Not so much.

Amy hesitantly went to the grandfather clock and unlocked the secret passage. Then she heard the quick sound of high-speed running leaving and re-entering the living room. She turned around to scold him for doing something so careless given his injuries, but she stopped when she saw that Sonic was holding a green scrapbook with gold accents, the very one Fiona had told him about. Granted, Amy wasn't around to hear that part of their conversation over the comms, but she knew in an instant what Sonic was paging through and what rested inside.

The flipping of pages eventually stopped as Sonic shot her a look that was not at all flattering. His face was some cross between betrayed and disappointed with a healthy dose of contempt. Then he put the book down for the moment as Amy looked away as if to not tell Sonic what she was feeling. Too bad for her that Sonic could read people well.

"Tails is downstairs," Amy said trying to get this over with. Sonic nodded and got up, stretching out his back, then his legs, then his arms, then his ankles, then his—. "Are you done yet?" Amy asked in annoyed tone. Sonic paused immediately and gave her an evil eye, making her more uneasy than already was, but then he cracked his knuckles and saw her face go flush.

He sighed. "Okay, too far." She nervously eyed his fists. "I don't plan on getting physical," Sonic said sharply. "Especially with you."

In a really messed up way, Amy wasn't sure if she should've been intimidated or weak in the knees. Maybe that was his way of saying he cared about her. He could've said it a little nicer, and—. Amy shook her head and quickly went down the passageway, leaving him alone for the moment. He let out one last breath of frustrated air.

"Now or never," Sonic remarked.

He took the slow stroll to the staircase where the bookcase closed behind him. His pace was quick, purposeful. He made sure when everyone else saw him that he was the most important man in the room. In fact, he was so important that the basement hideaway was silent as if he were the pastor coming out to the pulpit moments before beginning the sermon.

Three sets of eyes were trained on him at all times. One was artificial. Two were organic. To say the siblings were intimidated would be underselling it. They could've sworn footprints of fire were coming from his socks as he made his way to them.

They hadn't been this anxious toward any one person like this in a while. Their minds went back to a few weeks before the Roses' tragic murders. Amy had uncharacteristically failed a major test and was in need of a turnaround. Tails was tasked to help her, but they fought over physics constantly. She hated it, he was fluent in it. He berated her for not getting it, and she was getting pissed that he wasn't teaching it so she could understand. It reached its boiling point when the two started to tussle around the living room, knocking over a lamp like a pair of brawling toddlers. Old Man Rose finally broke up the fight before any kind of WWE moves came out. After that… goodness. The kinds of words that Buckingham Rodell Rose used that night would not have been used in a UFC press conference.

Amy simply sighed sharply as she continued to look at Sonic's eyes, preparing herself for the worst. If he wanted a fight, she'd defend herself and her decisions. Tails couldn't be more her opposite as he gripped the arms of his seat, squeezing the life out of the cushions. Finally, there was CREAM. She'd seen Sonic get pissed with her, yelling and the like. It was gonna be a welcomed change of pace that Sonic's outburst wouldn't be directed at her, though she pitied Tails and Amy.

After looking at his sister one last time, who shot an equally frightened look back at him, Tails was the first to speak. "Sonic, I—."

Sonic stopped and raised his hand to silence him. He closed his green eyes for a moment and pondered his next words. He needed something to take the edge off. "CREAM, I'm going to ask you to do two things. Can you do that?"

"O-Of course," the robot said. "Name it."

"I'd like a quick glass of water, and I want you stay out of this. It's between them and me."

"Uh… sure," she responded and made it so that a bottle of high-quality H2O arose from Tails's private minbar. He would've preferred had a glass of Jack Daniel's to go along with this talk, but given the stupidly powerful meds he had taken at the hospital minutes prior, it wouldn't have been a good or safe idea. At any rate, Sonic opened his eyes and calmly walked to the small bar where he fashioned himself a quick drink.

"I guess we all have our secrets," Sonic said lowly, avoiding any kind of eye contact. "Even with your best friends, there's shit you don't want to talk about, probably because it'll hurt too much." Then he raised his head. "Or maybe you thought it was better to keep me in the dark." Then he glared at them with wicked ferociousness. "But what I can't wrap my head around is how you two could keep something like this from me, considering we were supposed to, y'know, be working together at full capacity?" Silence. They were looking at him like two kids in trouble with mom and dad, but at least they had enough respect to not look away. Sonic then motioned his arms in exasperation and shook his head. "Nothing? I get nothing from either of you? No defense? No response?"

Amy was the first to speak up, keeping that trademark spunk of hers. "What if it wasn't your business to know?"

Sonic's eyes shot up. Amy closed hers and waited for the fireworks.

"It wasn't my fucking business to know?!" he barked. "Let me get this straight. We've worked how many cases together, saved the world, took down the four biggest crime lords in the city… and you think that it's not my business to know that you and Fiona-fucking-Fox were pretty goddamn close?!"

"It's not like that," Tails defended.

"You're full of shit, Miles!" the hero screamed. "I have poured out my body and soul to get this city out of the control of people like Fiona and Eggman! I am willing to die for you if it means you stay alive! I helped you when you needed it, and you've done the same for me. We have done so much good, and you still thought that I didn't deserve to bet in on the secret? Huh? After all we've been through?! You decide now is a good time to not bring up the elephant in the room?! When we are this close to bringing her in?!"

"Okay, then," Amy said directly. "Why do you think you've earned the truth?"

CREAM knew Sonic would never hit an innocent woman, Amy especially, but the robo-rabbit wished she could've slugged Amy for that brazen quip.

With such anger, he punched the desk and broke a few buttons, earning a small shriek from Tails. "Because I gave you everything!" Sonic stormed past the fox and toward Amy getting up close and personal. "If I hadn't come to you, we'd all be dead because of Eggman! It would've been his world! If I hadn't given you that information about me, Green, and the clones, we'd all be fucking DEAD! I gave you the greatest story in years, and I saved your life twice, Amy! How on Chaos's green Mobius is that not good enough for you?!"

You could hear a pin drop. Cut the tension with a knife. All those clichés. All the pent-up frustration he'd been saving all night was out there. Sonic got his big fight. He had said what he wanted to say and took a few steps back to read their body language. Amy was standing in there like a champ while taking everything he was dishing out. But there was no way he didn't deserve the truth. Amy knew that, but the problem was she still would not spit it out for some prideful reason.

"Because it was my decision. Mine and Tails."

Oh, that was it! The fox couldn't take anymore.

"Amy, he has to know," Tails rebuked. He then turned to Sonic and let out a loud breath of air. "It's true. Everything Fiona said was absolutely true. We've known her for years. She and Amy were best friends. I thought she had the body of an angel." He looked away timidly for a moment. "I guess I still do." Then he looked back to Sonic. "And yes, she offered to avenge her parents' deaths. It's all true. You have my word, Sonic." With a slight nod from Tails, Sonic accepted his confession. Amy glared at him as if he'd done something unforgivable, like betraying her trust. Tails merely shook his head. "He was going to find out sooner or later."

"It still doesn't justify both of you keeping your traps shut all this time." Sonic then walked back to the siblings. Amy still hadn't gone back to face him. "But why?" They noticed how his voice changed to that of a lower one. "Why didn't you trust me enough?" Tails opened his mouth. "Miles, don't," Sonic said, cutting him off. "I've heard it from you. Now I want to hear it from Amy." He then turned to her, but she still didn't extend the courtesy back. "Why? Amy, I deserve that. I want to know why." His voice was much calmer than before. This was more than a want. He needed to understand. Chaos, if she really did love him, she had to spill the beans. "Amy please," he begged.

But for reasons known only to Chaos, she wouldn't budge.

He sighed, hanging his head as the bitter air left his mouth. "Fine," he said with a hardened heart. He tilted his head with closed eyes and let out an annoyed sound as he turned and walked toward the workbench. "Are the new shoes ready?"

Tails nodded. "The magnetic insoles were added earlier in the week. They work the same as your old ones."

Sonic crouched and opened a small door revealing his next pair of high-durability sneakers. They were more valuable than any pair of Nikes and just as flashy, if not unforgettable, as his old sneakers. Looking as if the old shoes had gotten modernized, his new kicks were that same shade of bright red that Sonic was known to love with a white stripe across the tops, albeit of a slimmer variety. Gone were the gold buckles. Brass fasteners had taken their place. A more distinguished tongue was also visible in the same shade of red. That's where the similarities ended because the codenamed "Hi-Speed Shoes" had yellow outsoles that were on top of light grey bottoms. Unlike the old ones, these pumps had red recesses (those are the small arches you'd find on the bottoms of your Jordans) to match. The final difference was that Tails and CREAM had successfully implemented an air mechanic that would allow Sonic to slow down faster and safer than before as well as improve his turning fluidity (more drifting for turns with less braking), the same mechanic that would've been used in the Air Shoes but was never successfully installed. In all, Sonic's new kicks were meant to be a stronger, more dependable upgrade that would be harder to destroy in a river of shit.

Sonic's need for footwear caused him to hunch over and slip on his new shoes, and—. Oh… the feeling of his new sneakers made him briefly smile. They had the perfect level of comfort. Just the right amount of support in the bridge and sides of his hard-working feet. It didn't hurt that they looked flashy as hell, or ostentatious depending on your definition. Sonic would certainly get some good mileage out of these babies.

However, breaking them in could wait another day as Sonic turned back to Tails and Amy who observed how content Sonic was with his new kicks. Without a doubt, it was the highlight of his night. Still, there was a certain level of contriteness in their eyes, not unlike former significant others breaking up and instantly regretting it. Sadly, there was a parallel to be made. He stood up straight and plucked out a few items. Some contacts, a pair of wrist grapples, the Fluff, and a new pair of magnet-inserted gloves with that last item making Tails remember something.

"Before I forget," Tails began, "CREAM and I were able to fit in an upgrade to your magnetic gloves and shoes." Tails then held up his left, gloved hand, pointing to the bottom of the thumb joint with the other hand. "There are now specially made sensors at the thumb joint where you can physically turn the magnets off and on. Quickly tap the joint three times with that hand's thumb to activate and another three to deactivate. It's a failsafe in case you can't do it audibly; whether it be you need to be more silent in the field or if the audio sensors can't pick up your voice for whatever reason. For the shoes, you'll need to quickly squeeze the shoes' tongues three times as well."

Sonic raised an eyebrow and slid the right glove on. Three taps to the thumb joint, right?

TAP. TAP. TAP.

Sonic then looked on the bench for something made of iron. Like a ¾" Craftsman wrench. With a quick aim of his hand, the wrench flew and stuck to his hand as he looked like a magician doing it. Sonic then tapped the joint another three times, making the wrench fall harmlessly back onto the workbench with a soft clang.

"Thanks," Sonic said honestly, but his betrayed face stayed returned. The way he paused and looked at the ground told Amy and Tails that he was thinking about what to say next. Amy especially waited with bated breath. "I think we need some time apart… to clear my head. Y'know, for a few days."

She swore she felt her heart stop. Him… leaving? Leaving her?

"Hold on, Sonic!" Amy exclaimed. But Sonic merely turned his back and made his way up the stairs. Amy took a few steps herself before Tails stopped her by putting his hand on her shoulder. "What are you doing?!"

"Amy, maybe it's for the best." Man, she wished he could slap him for that. It sure would make them even in her eyes.

"Excuse me?!"

"We screwed up," he said with a guilty tone. "We screwed the pooch big-time. Whether or not you want to admit it is your business."

"But he lives with us!"

"Amy," CREAM interjected, "In his defense, Sonic is at home when there are people that he can trust. And if I may be blunt, he makes a damn good case for not trusting you right now."

Ouch.

The reporter took that to heart. She didn't have much of a choice since the words pierced her self-esteem like a hot skewer. "You trust me. Right, CREAM?" Amy asked.

"Are you seriously asking me that?" CREAM retorted. "I can't believe it! Whose trust is more important right now? Mine or Sonic's?!" Silence from Amy. The reporter shook her head and looked away, crossing her arms and turning her back on the computer in shame. "If you love Sonic like you say you do, then there's no reason why you shouldn't have been up-front with him in the first place! Doesn't loving someone mean that you can be completely open with that person about anything and everything? Including your past?"

"Wait, Amy loves Sonic?" Tails asked quietly.

"Tails, quiet."

This was going to hurt. This was not gonna be pretty. There were so many other ways that she wished she could tell Sonic how he felt about him, but this was the worst possible situation. But with that said, she caved in and admitted defeat.

Heading up the stairs and through the living room, Amy heard the slight rustling coming from his room that stopped as she made her way up the second flight of stairs. Down the hall she walked into his room where a duffel bag had been filled with a day- or twos-worth of clothes for… well, she wasn't sure why he needed any clothes besides his shoes and socks. And by the bookshelf on the right side of the room, there stood Sonic paging through that green and gold scrapbook again, the same one that Fiona described to him.

He could hear her enter, but he still paged through until he found those bountiful section of photos again. These shots were taken all around their school at different times of the year. Some were more obvious than others—like homecoming week and the setup for the junior prom—but he found what he'd been looking for since he didn't get that good of a peek the first time. There were a few dozen pictures of Fiona Fox and Amy Rose posing together throughout the years. The pics were purely platonic, not a scent of romance that he could tell, but the book showed them off with their arms around each other's shoulders with dumb, young faces as they posed for the cameras. There was an undoubted feeling of happiness that came from them, fitting since their childhoods seemed like an easier time. However, there was a slight need from Sonic to be included due to him having a much different type of childhood. He couldn't think on that for too long as he had seen what he wanted to see and because there was a woman staring at him in silence.

He snapped the scrapbook shut and returned it to its home on the shelf before turning around to see Amy once more. There was something dissimilar about her from the basement. It surely wasn't the guilt; that was still as obvious as her nose. No, she looked like she wanted to say something major, to get it off her chest.

"Yes?" he asked.

She folded her arms and sighed. "You were right." He nodded in understanding. "I should've told you."

"I'm aware of that." He looked away and clicked his tongue before saying, "Is that all?" Sonic sounded inconvenienced, almost impatient.

Amy shook her head and replied, "Not everything with Fiona was bad. Really, it's how we went our separate ways. We had a bad split, but she and I had a lot of good times. And no, I wasn't hush-hush about her because of some loyalty to her after all this time. I'm not in her employ."

"Then what was it?"

She gathered her thoughts and tried to focus. "Sonic, have you ever wanted to protect someone by not saying anything?"

Sonic gave her an incredulous look as evidenced by his disbelieving eyes. "You mean to tell me that's why you didn't say anything about Fiona?" She nodded, prompting him to scoff. "Amy, you don't need to protect me."

She stormed up to him and grabbed his wrist. "Yes, I do." He still wasn't buying it. "I mean, look at you! You are in no shape to fight."

"I'm fine," he said brushing off her grip. He turned back to a duffel bag which he zipped up and started to leave with. That was until Amy grabbed his wrist, snatched the luggage away, and tossed it back on the bed.

"YOU ARE NOT FINE!" Her loud tone could've broken a window, and you can bet she had his attention. "You got the life squeezed out of you! Your brother came back from the dead and beat the hell out you twice! You broke a rib! Fuck, you nearly drowned in a sewer!" He opened his mouth, but she clasped his lips shut, earning a pained squeak from Sonic. "You're too rash, and you aren't thinking straight. You wanna go out there with a broken body and an angry mind? You do that, you die! This whole week you've been obsessing over Fiona and Scourge like it's the only thing that matters! I've seen obsession, Sonic. I was so consumed hating Eggman and Lien-Da that I almost died a few times because of it."

Sonic freed his lips by forcing her hands off. "It's not consuming me."

"You sound so sure of yourself! Alright, if you are so sure of yourself, then why haven't you beaten Scourge and Fiona yet? Oh, I know why! Because your ego won't let you stop for five goddamn minutes to heal itself!"

"I can work through this! Someone like Batman can do it, so why can't I?"

"BECAUSE THIS ISN'T SOME FUCKING COMIC BOOK! Even Batman as a character has limits! His body and mind can only take so much just like you, Sonic! You can't keep running and fighting every day! You will tire, and people will prey on that and end your life when you're at your most vulnerable! You need to stop every once in a while to let yourself rest! When I was the Rascal, I knew I couldn't snoop 24/7, so I took breaks. I cleared my mind, I patched myself up, and I rested when I needed to. When was the last time you did that?!"

He… He didn't really know what to say. He wasn't sure if she'd cut him off again or if she'd let him defend himself. But she did have good points. Was he being too hard on himself? Was he gonna end up dead because he wouldn't shut it down from time-to-time? No, he was sure he was doing the right thing.

She sighed and cupped his face. "Sonic, you're free from Eggman. You don't have to work and fight all the time anymore." Her tone just did a complete 180. Gone was her sharp tongue. What took its place was gentler tone like that of a kindergarten teacher. "I know that it's all you've ever known, but you need to slow down. You can still fight crime. If I was in your shoes, I'd be compelled do the same. But… please, you gotta find a balance and live your life from time-to-time. To me, you're working yourself to death. There's no shame in stopping to catch your breath and get your mind off Fiona and Scourge. They're winding you up. Take a few minutes and watch a TV show or something. Jog across a field, do a crossword puzzle. Anything to clear your head. Stop fixating on them and stop fixating on your job." She then paused before saying one last thing. "I'm trying to tell you to not let it consume you. And I'm telling you to give your body time to recover. I did what I did to try and protect you, because sometimes we need protection from ourselves."

There was an undeniable passion that he noticed in her eyes and from the way she spoke. He had no choice but to be silent and listen. Every word was on point. So far, she had countered each of his arguments before he could counter himself. Amy really did care for him deeply. But what did he think? He was convinced he was doing what was right, but maybe Amy had a point with balance. Oh, he wasn't sure anymore.

He nodded and calmly walked past her to grab his duffel bag. She could scarcely believe it. "After all that, you're still leaving?" There was an undeniable sound of heartbreak in her voice to go with the welled-up eyes.

"Thanks for finally giving me a straight answer, but I need to figure this out myself. There's…," he began gesturing to his head, "too much input up here. I don't know what to think. Are you right? Am I right? I can't tell. Just give me some time to mull it over, okay?"

She tried her best to keep an open mind. She wanted what was best for him, and he sounded so sincere. Amy conceded and nodded. Sonic smiled and hugged her with bag in hand, soothing her for the time being. He wasn't naïve to the fact that his touch made her swoon. So strong and firm, yet gentle. She hated to admit it, but she wanted to tell him she loved him, and that was why she lied to him. She got off-topic, but perhaps it was for the best. She'd tell him her feelings another day.

Breaking away, he made his way down the stairs and to the front door. He heard the sound of Amy's feet follow him down and stop near the kitchen. Just then, he thought of something. Turning back around to see her heartbroken face, he asked, "Amy, the way you were talking… you sounded to me like you were more than passionate. It was more than heated." She got reeeeeeeal nervous. "Amy, I want to know something." He then looked her directly in the eyes. "Do you love me?"

And just when she thought this conversation would be for another day…. Amy was nothing short of terrified. Those words… those four freaking words sent her heart into a storm. Little did she realize that her blood was pumping faster and faster, unable to keep up with the fireworks show in her head. Only he could do this to her, but the situation was all wrong! She was supposed to tell him tht she loved him, that she pined for him and him alone. Now he had down the typical male thing and turned it on its head, putting her on the spot with no way out. What could she do? Hell, what could she say? Okay, she knew that answer, but could she get it out?

No, Amy couldn't. She bowed her head and hid her crying eyes from him, goading him to leave and not say another word. Sonic nodded understandingly. This wasn't the time to talk about it.

"I'm sorry," Sonic admitted. "That was… was… I should go now."

With guilt in his voice, he opened the door and was greeted by the harsh November winds again. He could not leave the house fast enough, because when he shut the door, Amy sprinted to it and locked it. Unable to contain herself, she dashed for the staircase and blasted through her door, ending with her bursting into tears as her pillows and blankets caught the salty sting they carried.

"Of course, I love you, Sonic!" she screamed into her pillow. "You stupid piece of shit! I love you!"

It was the same words over and over again. "I love you, Sonic! I love you, Sonic!" It felt like an eternity before she wept herself to sleep on the damp bed and dreamed of his arms going around her body once more. Only in her dreams could he console her. Only in her dreams could her greatest fantasies become reality.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Looking back, I think the first part of this chapter would've gone over better had it been attached to the end of the previous chapter. Welp. Too late for that!

Anywho, onto more pressing matters. Sonic. Why on God's earth are you asking that now? Of all times, why now?! That's not the kind of bomb you should drop on your way out, you insensitive prick! Not that he's the only insensitive one since his two of his biggest friends decided to keep quiet about Fiona until their confrontation. The fallout from this will continue into the next few chapters, but for now... woof. Sonic and company have a lot of hashing out to do. Until then, maybe time alone might do everyone a little bit of good... hopefully(?).

Also, Sonic's new kicks are here! And before you ask, yes, they look exactly like the Soap shoes Sonic sported in Sonic Adventure 2 (Soap being the company that actually sponsored the shoes in the game if memory serves me right). I had to look up shoe anatomy to get the "Nike" nomenclature right. Because I had to suffer with that research, so do you. But hey, at least you now know what a shoe's recess is. Maybe it'll help you if it comes up in pub trivia. Oh, and that air mechanic? We'll get back to that in due time.

Before I depart, Chapter 13 will be out on 5/25 with Chapter 14 on 6/5. Special thanks go out to jurrassicdinodrew and 000Marie198 (x2) for leaving reviews on Chapter 12. If you guys had college exams last week or the week before, I hope everything went well for you and that you didn't bomb your final projects (I'm so glad I don't have to deal with those anymore!). Have a happy (and safe) summer!

As always, the characters used in this story are the property of SEGA, Sonic Team, and Archie Comics. Everything in the story is being used strictly for entertainment purposes. And as always, I will talk to y'all later.