Chapter Nine

Amy was shaking as Sonic and the others reached her.

"I'm so sorry Sonic." She gasped. " I couldn't get through to him."

Sonic looked up at the sky where the two tailed fox was floating off over the horizon. He felt panic rise up inside him. Where was Cythraul going? Sonic had to find him if he stood any chance of saving his friend.

"He'll be back before long." Knuckles said calmly. "Bad guys seem to gravitate towards this place."

"And then what?" Amy demanded. "How do we get that thing out of Tails body?"

Sticks answered with her usual dramatic flair. "An exorcism!" She proclaimed, wiggling her fingers like a magician performing a trick. "I've not done one personally but I heard all you need is rainwater collected under the light of the new moon, some juniper berries from the first bloom of spring and a feather from an angry Ostrich."

Amy shook her head impatiently. "Sticks," She said through gritted teeth. "We need to be rational about this and.."

"Sticks is right." Sonic said suddenly.

The others stared at him with their mouths open, including Sticks.

"We need to go back to the graveyard." Sonic said. "Hopefully Myfanwy can repair the vase and then Gethin can perform the spell."

His friends were looking at him the same way everyone usually looks at Sticks. He remembered that they had not been with him and Tails when they met the Mystic Moles. Sonic had not yet had the chance to fill them in on what had happened up there. He brought Knucks, Amy and Sticks up to speed as quickly as he could. Amy still looked a little skeptical but there were no objections from the group as Sonic led the way back into the forest.

When they had been walking for a while Amy dropped back to speak with Sonic.

"Are you ok?" She asked softly.

Sonic shrugged. He was worried that saying how he felt aloud would seem stupid. He knew realistically that it hadn't been his fault. The only person truly to blame was Cythraul but still Sonic couldn't help but feel that he had neglected Tails recently and that had allowed his little buddies insecurities to open the door for the Troll ghost. He had been too focused on his relationship and on himself. Sonic didn't dare say this to Amy though. The last thing he wanted was for Amy to feel guilty to. She was already angry at him for not telling Tails sooner. Perhaps if Sonic had done what she said they wouldn't be in this mess.

Amy seemed to be able to read his mind.

"This isn't your fault." She said softly.

Sonic was ashamed to find angry tears forming in his eyes. He sighed deeply and looked up to the sky.

"I should have found a way to keep him included." Sonic said. "Its just hard to find the balance. I love you Amy. I really do and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. But he's my brother and whether intentional or not, I let Tails feel left out. I'll never forgive myself for that."

"You will make it up to him." Amy said quietly. "You will save him, You will talk to him and you will make sure he knows how much you care. We will find a balance between our relationship and our friendship with him and the others. Now that you and I are out in the open it will be much easier."

Sonic blushed at the memory of the entire village staring at him and Amy locking lips. But in spite of how embarrassing it was and the fall out with Tails, Sonic had to admit, it felt good not to be hiding anymore. Up ahead the others seemed to have picked up on Sonic and Amy's whispered conversation.

"What are you two up to back there?" Knuckles called in a teasing voice.

"Planning your next date?" Sticks beamed at them.

Sonic felt his face growing very hot as he tried to avoid looking at Amy. He could see her quills bristling with anger.

"Fine." she snapped at the others. "Yes we are dating. We have been for some time and intend to continue doing so for some time more. So tease away. Get it out of your systems because, quite frankly, we have more important things to worry about at the moment."

Sticks and Knuckles looked uncomfortably at eachother. Then the stupid questions started;

"Are you worried about Sonadow shippers being upset?"

"Does this count as headcannon or cannon as it has technically been hinted at in the past?"

"Where do babies come from?"

Sonic groaned and kept trudging forwards up the hill.

Xx

In the doctors lair Orbot and Cubot clung to eachother as something large hit the control room door with such tremendous force that it left a sizable dent in the reinforced metal. Behind the cowering robots Dr Eggman was desperately pushing buttons on the large console.

"Why is nothing responding?" The doctor wailed. "All of the beebots and bearbot are showing offline but I can see them on screen two patrolling outside the entrance."

"What's outside the door?" Cubot called, pointing to the large dented door.

"Obliterator bot." Eggman snapped.

This was not the news that Orbot wanted to hear. Up until half an hour ago things had been pretty routine in Eggmans lair. After he and Cubot had returned from the woods the doctor had screwed Cubots head back on. Happy that Sonic and his friends had the ghost situation under control the evil genius had set about plotting his next attack. They had all been happily engrossed in re designing snakebot to spit venom when things had started to go wrong.

The proximity alert was the first indication that something was amiss but when Orbot examined the external cameras he wasn't able to see anything there. Even Sonic at his fastest usually showed up on the cameras. Orbots next thought had been the ghost but the sensors outside did not show any drop in temperature as with the ghosts previous attacks. They had all been willing to put it down as a technical error until the beebots had begun acting strangely. One by one they had turned on the doctors fortress, eliminating the lairs defenses. They had taken out most of the cameras but allowed some to remain so that Doctor Eggman and his henchmen could see their doom looming ever closer. Orbot remembered with a shiver that this ghost fed on fear.

The large metal door separating them from Oblitorator bot gave another loud groan. Orbot, Cubot and Eggman all backed away slowly. With a third and final thud the door fell forwards towards them. Once the dust had settled a small orange figure strutted forwards into the brightly lit room. Orbot watched as his creators shoulders relax and his expression change from terror to outright indignation.

"You!" Eggman snapped. "What's the big idea? That's the second door you've broken this week Tails."

The fox didn't move and glared at the doctor with a menacing look in his eyes.

"Tails?" Eggman repeated. A little uncertainly this time. "What's going on? And what have you done to my robots."

"They are no longer your robots." Tails said simply.

Orbot felt uneasy as the fox spoke, there was something about his voice which seemed different.

"What do you mean?" Eggman demanded angrily. The change in Tails demeanor had clearly gone over the doctors head.

"I mean that they are now my robots." Said Tails menacingly. "They are my new army. Now step away from the control panel."

"How dare you!" Eggman protested.

Tails didn't wait for the doctor to continue his arguments. With a wave of his hands he commanded Oblitorator bot forward. "Seize them" The boy genius ordered.

Orbot shook as he held onto his yellow friend. Then it all went black.