HOLY CHAOS HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO GET TAILS'S POV BACK? No, seriously, why did it take so long…? It's been what, 42 chapters? It's nice to get back to the sassy lil' fluff-ball, though.
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DarkPugLord23: Well, what will really happen is [SPOILERS], not mention a little bit of [SPOILERS]. Oh yeah, and a whole load of crazy insane [SPOILERS].
StarlightSparks: In that case, hope you enjoy this update!
Hawkfeather: Heh, the chili dog cart thing ain't a bad idea… and what Sonia was drawing about Rouge wouldn't give you nightmares. It'd give you PTSD. So happy that someone remembered Havoc, and even happier to have so much positive support from our readers!
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Msyafinas: Oh no, Rouge won't be doing any operating… Too messy for her taste. Nah, she's rather watch Manic squirm.
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That Speedhunter: *wipes sweat from forehead* Oh good… I was afraid that we scared you off! Glad you're still here! Sonic's situation will start to make more sense soon.
Luna Hedgefox: Well, as a matter of fact, it's actually [SPOILERS]. Hope that clears up any confusion! XD XD XD
HDDNeptuneFTW: Hear, hear.
Tails' POV:
One month. It had been one month. I'd done the math.
Thirty days.
Seven hundred and twenty hours.
Forty-three thousand, two hundred minutes.
Two million, five hundred and ninety-two thousand seconds.
Two billion, five hundred and ninety-two million milliseconds.
No sign of Sonic.
You could say I was officially freaking out.
This wasn't like him. Shadow had told me that Sonic probably just needed some time alone to collect himself. Okay, sure. I get it. He was having a hard day and Robotnik was being more of a jerk than usual. Some time by himself wasn't too much to ask for.
But something was up; Even if he was having it rough, it wasn't like Sonic to disappear for weeks at a time without at least messaging one of us to let us know he was okay- unless he wasn't okay.
Which is why I was currently in the air circling Station Square and looking around for any sign of my adopted brother. Amy was on the ground, navigating the streets on her skateboard I tricked out a few months ago (which included a hovering feature that she loved when speed was required, which was often now that Sonic was gone).
Knuckles was also down in the city on his extreme gear, Rouge flying in loops around him. I still found the idea of them "dating" revolting. Fake dating, according to Knuckles, which had backfired horribly from the looks of it. The Guardian wouldn't stop complaining to me about Rouge being a little too close for his liking. Apparently her… whatever he was, kept stopping by whenever the two were taking a break from searching and she'd kiss him. On the lips.
I shuddered just thinking about it. That was absolutely disgusting. Amy thought it was "sweet" how Knuckles had tried to make Sofia jealous- but she didn't exactly approve of his tactics. Or Rouge's motivations. But Amy seems to be the type to constantly need to squeal over something- unless she's looking for Sonic, in which case she metaphorically transforms into a dead serious bounty hunter slash bloodhound.
Speaking of which... "Tails reporting. I don't see him."
"Same here," Amy said over the radio, sounding more than a little annoyed. "Where did he go?"
"Wish I knew," Knuckles's voice was angry. "Then I wouldn't being followed around by… her."
"Aw, hon. Don't be like that," chimed Rouge. "You love me, remember?"
I mentally threw up and turned by attention back to the tracer on my watch. Still no signal. Sonic may have turned it off, or something happened to it. "Maybe we should check with Robotnik…" I commented absentmindedly.
"Where do you think Shadow went?" Rouge asked casually, although I could hear a hint of worry in her voice.
"Shadow can take care of himself, Rouge. Quit panicking." grumbled Knuckles.
"I'm not panicking, sweetie. I'm just asking. I ain't seen him since street rat and prima donna showed up at my door and that's usually not a good sign."
A sudden growl and scuffle was heard from Knuckles's radio, but I wasn't able to catch the words. I had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with Sofia. I groaned.
"Okay! Time for a break!" I called over the radio. "Meet outside the hot dog place for lunch." I hung up before Knuckles and Rouge started arguing again over something small and insignificant.
This was why I didn't do romance.
XXX
Manic's POV:
"I hate this city."
"Can we like, not be related, please?"
"Manic."
"Sonia."
"Manic, I'm serious!" replied Sonia. "What is it about this pigsty that you can't get enough of?"
'The City is Awesome/ The City is Horrible' argument was a topic me and Sonia couldn't seem to get away from. My guess was that all that extra time Sonia spent in the sticks brainwashed her into thinking that anywhere that wasn't the middle of nowhere was evil and wrong. I held the firm opinion that the city was great and that Sonia was being an uptight knucklehead.
"What's so bad about it?" I asked, knowing perfectly well what her answer would be.
"Well, for one thing, it smells-"
"Like heaven." I interrupted.
"Like a dump. There's litter everywhere, it's noisy, it's crowded, the people here are unbelievably rude-" Sonia was cut off by a smart car zooming past that would have run us over had she not jumped out of the way in time and pushed me to the side.
"Watch where you're walking!" hollered the driver.
"Watch where you're driving!" I shouted, throwing in a couple choice swear words and obscene hand gestures. After I had gotten it out of my system, I regripped my Extreme Gear board and shoved my free hand in my pocket, continuing as though nothing had happened. "Sorry 'bout that. You were saying?"
Sonia gaped at me in disgust and confusion. "You do realize you're only proving my point. People here have no respect for anyone!"
"Welcome to life."
As per usual, we both eventually gave up trying to persuade each other to our points of view and moved on from the subject and moved on to something a little more important: Finding Maurice.
Yeah, that was still our mission. Things had always been slow going before, but it felt like we had come to a total standstill. We probably would've taken off by now if the visions we've been having hadn't been showing specific places in Station Square. If Maurice was anywhere, this was the most likely place.
Still, it had been a whole month in Station Square and we had turned up with exactly nothing. It was just the tiniest bit infuriating- unless Maurice had decided to take a spontaneous vacation to the middle of nowhere, there was no reason why he shouldn't be in Station Square. All the evidence Sonia and I had collected to pinpoint his location directed us to here.
So where was he?
It was as if he didn't exist. Me and Sonia had spent weeks trying to look him up- checking for any variation of his name in old phone books and even hacking into the city records to see if anyone with his description had a rap sheet. And you know what we found? Nothing! Absolutely nothing!
Last night we attempted to trigger another vision, and saw Maurice hanging around near the movie theater in the mall… being kicked out by a very angry usher. Someone else was with him- his girlfriend, maybe?- but the vision was so fleeting we couldn't make out her face. It was impossible to tell if this particular memory happened last week or last year, but we figured it wouldn't hurt to ask if anyone had seen a blue hedgehog hanging around.
What I was having trouble understanding is that every time we asked anyone about a "speedy blue hedgehog", they'd either laugh or look at us like we were idiots.
"You're kidding, right?" asked the magazine kiosk salesman with a frown after we asked if he had seen anyone with Maurice's description. "I don't stock any gossip rags about that arrogant little GUN puppet. Not since he had his diva tantrum and disappeared off the face of the planet. Nope, I try to keep things PC around here. Can I interest you in the latest issue of 'Mobius Monthly' ?"
"Um…" said Sonia, looking just as uncomfortable as I felt. "Sir, I don't think you understand. He's not-"
"As impulsive and stupid as the press makes him out to be? Maybe. But I can tell you he ain't that big-hearted hero either, so you fanbrats can either buy a 'zine or take a hike."
"How do you know that? Do you know him?" asked Sonia quickly, sounding a bit too on the eager side.
The salesman rolled his eyes. "Sorry, princess. All I know is that there ain't no such thing as a hero or celebrity or whatever that doesn't let the fame get to his head, and if there's any celeb out there who needs to be cut down a few notches, it's Sonic the Hedgehog. And if you ain't gonna buy anything, then beat it."
Sonia looked like she wanted to keep arguing with this guy, but I was able to drag her away.
"What in the world was he talking about?" she wondered aloud. "Who's 'Sonic the Hedgehog' ?"
I stopped walking and stared at her incredulously. "You mean… you don't know?"
"... I know he's friends with Knuckles, but other than that, no. Should I?"
"Well, he's only saved the world, like, a billion times," I answered. "He's always in the news for saving a city or fighting off aliens or something. Never read any of the tabloids, but from what I hear, he's got an ego the size of a skyscraper and cheats on his girlfriend- who I think is actually just some crazy stalker who pretends like they're meant to be or whatever. But hey, if he's keeping that Robotnik dude from killing us all, he's cool in my book."
"Then why did that guy think Maurice was this 'Sonic' guy?"
I shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe they look similar or something. ...Come to think of it, I've never actually seen a good picture of Sonic the Hedgehog. Sometimes the newspapers have something, but it's always blurred. The guy can't stay still for a good photo."
"Sounds kind of like Maurice…" said Sonia thoughtfully, creasing her brow. "But there's no way. He'd never want to be famous."
"I dunno, sis, a lot can change over eleven years."
"That's true, I guess," she agreed halfheartedly. "But still, I seriously doubt that Maurice could ever be this big of a celebrity and neither of us have been able to figure it out that it's him yet. Plus, if Maurice were famous, wouldn't we see him getting swarmed with paparazzi in our visions?"
"You're right. It ain't him."
"Not a chance."
XXX
Maurice, you son of a gun, you are officially an expert at covering your tracks. I applaud you, wherever you are. I also curse you to the depths of the underworld…
Three hours of asking around and, as usual, all we turned up with was empty stomachs from skipping lunch. It was early in the afternoon now, and neither of us were really in the mood to continue. Sonia recommended we eat before planning our next move, which I heartily approved of.
'Course, that was when our day went from bad to infinitely worse. We were heading back to our van and Sonia had just stepped out of an alleyway when she totally rammed into someone spilling the contents of her purse all over the ground. I let out a curse before kneeling down to grab a rolling hand-mirror.
"Omigosh! I am so-" Sonia's voice suddenly cut off. I looked up and was just as startled as she was; The knucklehead was back.
Knuckles was holding Sonia's purse, his face etched with shock. Sonia looked like she wanted to melt into the ground, her face turning bright red. She forced a smile, "Well… this is… familiar."
"Yeah…" Knuckles rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, handing the purse back and refusing to make eye contact.
Rouge swooped in out of nowhere and pulled the echidna back into her firm grip. "Are you alright, hon? Nothing broken?" she said in a mock-compassionate tone, her voice dripping with subtle disdain. Sonia clenched her teeth and forced a pained smile; I could feel the hatred between these two.
Instinctively, I turned away- I had been avoiding Rouge all month for a reason. I was still working on the whole organ thing, but was nowhere close to finishing what I had in store. I knew what she was capable of, and how she reacted to broken promises. Instead, I directed my attention to the other two idiots from her apartment who were right behind her.
"Hey Knuckles, we'd better get back to…" started the small fox, glancing at me and Sonia with confusion. "Who are… wait a minute, you're those people who-"
"Yes, yes we are," said Sonia quickly, gathering everything back into her purse and slinging it over her shoulder. "This seems like a good time to, um… get going. Matthews- let's get out of here."
"Gotcha."
We hurriedly began to walk in the opposite direction when Knuckles called out after us.
"Sofia, wait! Don't… um…"
Sonia turned around; this was all going according to her plan. Beneath that casual expression was a being of pure evil, I swear. "Yeah?" she said sweetly.
"U-um…" Knuckles stammered, his face now resembling a tomato. Rouge glared at him with such ferocity I would've thought he'd back down, but all he did was shake her off his arm. "You, uh, wanted to ask me that, um… Guardian question…?"
"Oh, don't worry about it," she replied, smiling. "I don't want to trouble you."
"No! It's, um… it's fine! No trouble. None."
"Really, it wasn't important-"
"Seriously! It's okay! You can ask me anything!"
Sonia raised an eyebrow and I heard a low growl from Rouge. Knuckles gulped nervously. "I mean… We are friends, right?"
I almost fell on the ground laughing. Sonia must have been having a field day as Knuckles practically handed her the friend-zone conversation on a silver platter.
She gave another sweet smile, "If that's what you'd like, then yes. We can be friends."
In the background, pink hedgehog facepalmed. She looked up and without meaning to we made eye-contact. Her expression and message was clear, 'Are they chaos friggin' serious?'
I shrugged in response, before my mental reading kicked into full gear.
Alright, pink hedgehog on Team Sonic, which would make her the hammer swinging girl in red. Something with an "A"... Ash… Annie… Amy! Amy Daisy. Something with a flower, I think. Seemed pretty sweet and was a total romantic- and was internally screaming while the two hotheads argued. Had some issues with her parents and has a huge crush on Sonic the Hedgehog, which she was in total denial about.
Suddenly, a spike of pain in my right hand cut off my focus. I inhaled sharply, but shook it off; I had put some burn cream on my hand this morning. It was probably still healing from the gem that burned me a while back. Chaos, I wish we had never grabbed that thing.
"-I'm just saying that I was a little, um… rude to you when we last saw each other and I'd like to try and make up for it."
Sonia put on a thoughtful expression. "You were rude? I don't remember. But honestly, it's fine, Knuckles. As your friend, I don't want to trouble you with my problems." Was it just me, or did "friend" sound a little louder than everything else?
My eyes flicked over to the yellow fox, who looked more than a little annoyed that they were being held up. They were all Team Sonic members, so… this must be that kid, Tails. Sonic's… sidekick? Brother? Protege? My instincts told me it was a weird combination of all three. Really smart, but also really sarcastic. Crazy daddy issues. Good with machines.
I avoided eye contact with Rouge and slowly circled around Sonia and Knuckles, who were still chatting awkwardly, stopping by the other two. "Uh…" I started, shoving my hands in my pockets. "Sorry about... this."
Amy smiled, "It's fine. Matthews, was it?"
"My friends call me Matt." I shook her hand, my finger brushing up against her ring. Even with just a second of contact, my readings went off like an alarm and I pulled away a little too hard from the surprise, almost dropping my Extreme Gear. Amy frowned slightly, "Are you alright?"
"I- Um… Yeah, I'm fine." Mentally, I began to curse in every language I could think of, real or made-up. This chick had a voice in her head. Okay, not a voice exactly, more like another person…? If that makes sense…? It didn't feel like it was evil or anything, but still! How do you react to that?
I blinked and forced a smile, "Nice to meet the both of you- I mean, you both- I mean!" I grabbed the fox's hand rather quickly, pumping it hard, "You two! Both of you! "
Tails winced and yanked away, "Chaos, that's a grip!" he muttered.
"Oh. Sorry, Miles."
He froze, eying me suspiciously. "How did you know my name is Miles?"
"Uh…" Crap. "You said, didn't you?"
"No."
"Really? I could have sworn you did." Stupid, stupid, stupid...
Miles (or Tails? Who cares, same person) shook his head slowly, "No, I really didn't." A thought came to him; he raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, "How in the world did you know my… Are you with GUN?"
"What? No!" I put up my hands in a helpless gesture. Dang it, I really screwed up this time. "I just… um… read it somewhere. You're Miles… or Tails, whatever, and you're Amy Rin. Rose! Amy Rose!"
Amy's face drained of color for a second, her hand flying to her right wrist, instinctively shielding the bracelet. "Um… yeah! Amy Rose… That's me."
"Yep!" And that was my cue to leave. I whirled around and grabbed Sonia's arm, "Uh, sis? Can we go now?"
She looked at me a bit confused, "I was just about to ask Knuckles about the-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know, but I, uh, I just remembered! We have an appointment with… um… a doctor! Remember?" I said nervously, gritting my teeth at the last word. Sonia's expression grew very confused. "You can call him about it later or something. We're going to be late for the doctor!"
She only looked more perplexed. Turning to the group, she flashed an apologetic smile and pulled me aside.
"Man- Matthews, what are you playing at?" she hissed, gritting her teeth. "You know I need to talk to Knuckles! This Guardian info could be our key to finding Maurice!"
"I know, I know!" I replied, feeling flustered. "But these people are nuts!"
"Come again?"
"I just read pinky and the kid. Both of them are friends with this Sonic dude and think I'm crazy or something because I might've let a few things slip-"
"What?"
"Nothing about Maurice," I said quickly. "Just some of their… personal details. Oh, and I'm ninety-nine percent sure that pinky has some sort of voice in her head."
Sonia froze. "What, is she a schizophrenic or something?"
"I dunno! I panicked and lost concentration. But whatever is going on with these weirdos is beyond me, and we need to hit the road, ASAP!"
"After I talk to Knuckles!"
I glared at her and she glared right back. We kept up the staring contest for almost a minute until I blinked.
"Ha! I win! We stay," Sonia said, grinning triumphantly. Jerk.
I crossed my arms, scowling. "Fine. But make it quick. I don't like how they're looking at us."
Sonia turned back to the group and was promptly shocked at the expressions I had been noticing for the last five minutes; confusion, restlessness, and worst of all: curiousity. The pink one seemed especially interested in our conversation. Snoop.
"Sorry about that," said Sonia in a sing-song voice. "Matthews was just worried about us being late to the… doctor, but we'll be okay. You were saying, Knuckles?"
He was about to open his mouth to speak when something passed overhead, enveloping the city in a dark shade. Everyone looked up; soaring above us was a gargantuan spaceship-like thing, small metal objects being dropped from its cargo.
The kid- Tails, was it?- grimaced angrily, clenching his fists; clearly, he was not in the mood for this.
"REALLY? REALLY?" he shouted at the spaceship. "You choose NOW to attack? YOU COULDN'T HAVE AT LEAST WAITED 'TIL WE FOUND SONIC? COWARD!"
"Tails, calm down-"
"I will not calm down!" he snarled. "We're supposed to looking for Sonic, and Robotnik goes and interrupts everything! Fine! FINE! WE'LL PLAY YOUR GAME!" he yelled up at the ship, sounding slightly unhinged. "AND WE'LL WIN, JUST LIKE WE ALWAYS DO! SONIC OR NO SONIC!"
Knuckles sighed, looking frustrated. At least he wasn't shouting, like certain other people.
"Okay, we're gonna have to detour and help out before GUN shows up, just to make sure no one gets hurt. Sofi, you and your brother are going to have to go. Get yourselves someplace safe. I'll call you when this is all over."
"I'm sorry, what?" Sonia asked skeptically.
Knuckles groaned, "Look, I don't have time to explain in detail. Just trust me. You do not want to be here when he gets down here."
"When who gets down here?"
"Someone who needs to be taught a lesson. Get going." Knuckles made a shooing gesture at us before turning back to his friends. The four took off down the street like this was the most normal thing in the world, leaving me and Sonia on the sidewalk.
Oh, and remember those metal things that the spaceship had been dropping?
As it turns out, they were robots out for blood. Specifically the blood of innocent civilians.
All of this was so funny, I forgot to laugh.