Oh, this chapter… It's all the feels, I swear to Chaos. Reviews (and this time, it will be responded to in ten words or less)!

Hawkfeather: *laughs* fanfic of fanfic. Rouge story will probably happen.

ultimateCCC: Try telling that to Manic.

Megaman07: Uh… *spoilers*

MelGamingPlays: True. Very true.

SharpDragonKlaw: Dark Manic equals problems and angst.

Detta: The Flying Fruit Bats Fly Again!

Autumn: Thanks, and have fun with no school!

Infinite's Ruby: Greetings and thanks! Hope to see you around!

That Speedhunter: All good points. Now to wait and see…

tailsBOOM1992: *blinks repeatedly* Uhh….. *scratches head* Alex will-*spoilers*

StarlightSparks: Not a bad idea. Had to reread the vision myself.

Guest #1: Update will come right now!

Faso: Dark POV is tricky, so not likely. Rouge backstory? Check.

KrazyCat6167: Long time no see! Glad you are enjoying. AHHH! (;

I really liked doing that. Maybe I will do it every time…

Now the moment you have been waiting for… possibly.

XXX

Sonia's POV:

I stared at the chessboard for another moment before moving my last knight. Only then did I look up. "Can you tell me all of that again… in smaller words?"

Shadow didn't look too happy about that. Then again, he never looked happy about anything.

It was a few days after Robotnik's death and after several hours of attempts, I had finally managed to… "call" Shadow. He didn't seem excited to see me, but he wasn't annoyed either. The chess board was still set up and not a single piece had been moved. We had played a few pieces as I updated him on current events.

His response to Robotnik's death was pretty neutral. There was no celebratory cheer or even a smirk. He didn't shed a tear or even change his tone. Shadow just 'hmmfed' and motioned for me to continue.

When we got to the question of a cure, he looked up from the chess board for the first time. I was able to see a lace of shock, but it faded as quickly as it had come. "I can attempt to explain the Chaos field, but it is difficult to understand."

"Go ahead. I'm all ears."

The next hour was Shadow talking, which that alone threw me off. Then throw in the sciency talk I couldn't understand a word of and that brings us back around to the present.

Shadow didn't speak for a moment, his eyes fixed ahead but his focus clearly something else. "Look at the chessboard."

I stared at him. Uh…

If Shadow noticed my confusion he did not acknowledge it. "A chess set consists of one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns."

I nodded, still unsure where this was going.

"Chaos energy is similar to this in its own spread."

I blinked twice. Shadow sighed. "The Master Emerald is the king. It is the position of power, the thing you protect. A King in reality holds the power and delegates it out to others. Several millennia ago, Chaos infused thousands of Mobians with Chaos energy. Some Mobians discovered their connection, some did not. Think of the pieces as those infused with the energy."

He pointed at his queen, "The queen would be the guardians of the emeralds. A rook, bishop, and knight would be different types of chaotically empowered Mobians. Pawns would be your simple Mobian- no abilities whatsoever. A little less than half the population discovered it's connection- the others did not. As generations have passed the equation has changed based on discovery. Your energy in your blood is like a muscle- if you do not use it, it fades."

"So it's genetic."

"Genetics are just part of it." Shadow poked at his pawn. "In chess, your pawn is a simple piece that possess no special move. However, it is still an important piece. It can turn into anything you require if it can transport it to your opponent's side of the board. Sometimes Chaos energy manifests in Mobians who have no history of Chaos energy in their family line."

"So..." I smirked, "Chaos is chaotic?"

Shadow nodded. "That is rule number one: The user can never fully control the Chaos field. You can learn how to use it, but in the end, it uses you."

I frowned, trying to picture an invisible energy controlling everything I did. All that popped in my head was a puppet on a string. "Ugh. Suddenly, I agree with my Uncle. These abilities aren't worth it."

"Rule number two: your abilities are a gift, not a curse. If you start to think otherwise, then it can have some... unpleasant side effects. Think of it as the relationship of the player to the piece," Shadow placed his arms on the table and leaned forward slightly, "I can choose where to move the piece, but the nature of the piece controls how I move it. I can use chaos energy, but Chaos has rules on how you can use it. If you break the rules, it can result in elimination from the game."

My brain was starting to hurt again. "Back to the cure. How would we make one?"

Shadow moved his bishop across the board before responding. "In order for something to be genetic, it has to be written into your DNA. Your first step towards a cure is to isolate that gene. Tails could use samples from you, Knuckles, and myself."

I frowned. "What about Manic? He has Chaos abilities too."

Something changed in Shadow's expression. It was only a slight change and I couldn't quite place it.

"Yes. You will need Manic as well. It will enable you to isolate the dark energy."

I frowned, "Dark energy? Manic doesn't have dark energy. He's the last person in the world who would go Dark."

Shadow tilted his head at me, "Has Manic been acting... different? More violent? Rash? Angry?"

My frown deepened. "A little, I guess... but you know what things have been like, he's been under a lot of stress lately! There's nothing-"

"Sonia," Shadow interrupted, "Something is wrong with him. You just don't want to admit it."

"That… that is not true." I protested, starting to feel tense. "Manic is fine. He's just... different than the rest of the team, that's all. I know my brother, Shadow, and he is the same he's always been."

He raised an eyebrow. I opened my mouth to argue again when the room's lights suddenly flickered. I looked up at the fluorescent bulbs just as they started surging. "Uh… Shadow, I don't mean to sound rude, but… did you pay the electric bill… for your dreamscape?"

I heard the sound of something falling to the floor and snapped my gaze back to the hedgehog. He had fallen out of his chair and was now lying on the ground on his side. He clutched his stomach, his face contorted in pain. The lights above us suddenly shattered, pieces of glass raining down over our heads and passing right through us. I was just glad this was only a dream.

I hurried around the table and crouched next to him, "Shadow! What's wrong?" I reached out to grab his shoulder, but his hand snapped up and grabbed my wrist with a death grip. His eyes were wide with- was that panic?

"You need to wake up. Now!" Without waiting for an answer, he let me go and smacked me across the face.

XXX

Getting smacked back into reality is not something I would recommend to anyone. For one, it hurts, which didn't make a lot of sense since I had not physically been with Shadow. Unfortunately, that was not the main concern I had.

Alarms were blaring and some electronic voice was over the speakers repeating, "All systems, red alert- This is not a drill" over and over again. I stood up from the guest chair and walked over to the door. When I poked my head out, I couldn't see anybody, but someone had dropped a medical tray and the equipment was all over the floor.

What in the world was going on?

Something stirred inside my stomach, like butterflies when you get nervous. But instead of butterflies, the feeling pulled me back to Shadow. He looked the same when I first came in, but something had affected him. I checked the monitor; his brain activity had spiked somewhat, but it didn't look like anything serious.

The feeling tugged at me again; out of instinct, I reached behind the bed and pulled out a chaos emerald. Rouge or one of the doctors must have hid it here to speed up his healing process or something. Made me wonder how many Chaos emeralds we have here and how many Dark has gott-

Something clicked in my brain and my emerald in my hand seemed to glow slightly brighter. My sixth sense kicked into high gear and I felt like running a marathon and punching something at the same time.

Oh, you have got to be kidding-

I dove behind the bed just as the outside wall imploded.

Hours after the incident, General Towers and Knuckles would question me on how I was able to move so fast; I honestly couldn't tell them. After some debate, the three of us determined that the Chaos Emerald in my hand enhanced my abilities, making them almost three times more sensitive than usual.

I was able to see about thirty seconds in the future, which, looking back, was the only way I could've been able to duck under Dark's grab at me and spring up on the opposite side of the room, the emerald still clutched in my hand.

Dark stood up straight, giving me a smirk, "Well, well. You're quicker than you look."

I didn't say anything, but shifted my grip on the emerald, holding it tighter. His eyes flicked down to it and his smirk turned into a scowl. "Looks like you've got something that I need."

"Sorry, it's not for sale." I snapped back.

Dark chuckled, shaking his head. He took a few slow steps towards me, "Does it look like I'm asking?"

I suddenly got the impression to jump upward, flipping over the now speeding Dark; He missed me by only a few inches. I somehow managed to keep out of Dark's grasp long enough to pull my gun out and hit him twice with a stun setting. Not bothering to wait and see the results, I sprinted out of the hospital room down the hall.

I felt like I was moving faster than normal; the hallways were almost a blur. I almost slammed into Knuckles and Rouge, who were running towards Shadow's room. I narrowly avoided running into them, turning the corner and grabbing their wrists to drag them in the opposite direction. Knuckles let out a shout of surprise. "Sonia, what are you-"

"Run!" I shouted, pulling them down the hall.

"What about Shadow?" Rouge protested, sounding frantic.

I raised an eyebrow, "What about Shadow? He's the Ultimate Lifeform, he can take care of himself!"

"He is in a coma!"

I didn't answer but kept running, flinging open the stairwell door and jumping over the railing. I fell two stories before grabbing the railing with a grunt, then dropping the last three stories and landing in a somersault. Rouge and Knuckles glided down and landed next to me.

"Who are we running from?" he shouted.

I opened my mouth to respond when the door we just came out blew off its hinges; we hardly had enough time to duck before Dark let out a yell and jumped down after us. I stunned him three more times, only making him lose his concentration for a moment.

Knuckles grabbed my arm and yanked me through a door, Rouge already up ahead. He looked grim. "Nevermind."

The three of us sprinted down the empty hallway, running into another room before slamming the door shut. I raised my gun with one hand, the other still clutching the jewel. It was a moment before I noticed that the room we had run into was the makeshift workplace Tails had set up.

Tails looked up in confusion from his workbench, Manic standing behind him. My eyes fell on the item they were studying and I suddenly felt like cursing; The other emerald we had was sitting out in the open with no security whatsoever.

"Uh…" said Tails. "What's going on?"

Knuckles and I exchanged a look before something slammed against the locked door. All of us took a step back from the door and I tossed the emerald to Knuckles, using both hands to steady my gun.

Knuckles spoke quickly, "Manic, take Tails and that other emerald and get out. We'll hold him here."

Manic didn't seem to understand for a moment. The door slammed again, and something seemed to click. "Hold up, are you sayin' that Dark is-"

I interrupted, "Too late." I pulled the trigger before the door was even off its hinges and shot three times; it hardly phased him. I swung the butt of my gun around and slammed it into Dark's forehead, shoving him back a few paces.

Knuckles jumped in and managed to punch him twice while he was still dazed. Dark caught his third punch and threw him almost effortlessly across the workshop. Rouge swooped down and kicked him in the back of the head, sending him right in my line of fire; the two seconds I took to reload allowed him to get up and dodge the table Knuckles had tossed at him.

I stood to help, ready to shoot, when every nerve in my body suddenly felt like lead. I fell straight back down, grabbing my head, my vision swimming. Knuckles lobbed an empty cabinet at Dark, then ducked back behind the counter next to me. "What's wrong?"

"I…" I stuttered, my head throbbing. "...I don't feel so good."

His eyes widened in panic. "Were you infected?"

"I don't think so..." I trailed off. "I think I'm just tired."

He grimaced. "The Chaos Emerald- you must not have been using it properly. If you don't wield it correctly, it drains you." The sudden sound of breaking glass and twisted metal caught his attention; we peeked over the side of the counter and saw Dark ripping a counter into pieces. Someone screamed from behind it and Manic shot out and dove behind another one.

"Ah, the 'pièce de résistance'!" Dark chuckled "I've had just about enough of you. It must be my lucky day, cuz it looks like your defenses have all but run out. Tell you what: I'll make it quick."

My heart seemed to stop and I almost screamed. I didn't know how but I instinctively knew Dark was talking about Tails.

Knuckles must've had the same thought; He looked over to me and squeezed my shoulder before jumping over the counter and charging at Dark.

I managed to crawl to the side and peer around the corner- just in time to see Knuckles get slammed back into the same counter he had just jumped over. He slumped to the ground, either unconscious or too dazed to get up; there was another crash and I heard Rouge cry out in pain, then go silent.

"Like I said, kid: you're all out of defenses!" Dark laughed. "And you're running out of time."

I summoned the last pocket of energy I had left in me and stumbled over to the wrecked doorway, searching desperately for the emerald I had given Knuckles. If I could find it, then maybe I'd be able to stand a chance against Dark, at least long enough to hold him off…

Tails was curled up on the ground paralyzed, his face white with fear, clutching the emerald against his chest. Dark was inching closer and closer to him, looking almost gleeful.

Out of nowhere, a blur of green jumped in, sweeping Dark's legs out from under him. He fell to the ground with a hard thump before a hard, swift kick to the head knocked him to the side.

Manic stood over Dark, looking angrier than I had ever seen him in my life, cracking his knuckles with a grimace.

"Back off, creepy. You ain't touching that kid."

Dark jumped to his feet, annoyed. "Oh, I think I am."

"Wanna bet?"

In the blink of an eye, Manic whipped out his switchblade and ducked just as Dark lunged at him, slashing Dark's ankle as he slid beneath him. Dark whirled around, hardly fazed.

"Wrong move, pal," he smirked, looking little more than annoyed.

Dark shot forward in a blur of movement, zipping in front of Manic and pounding at his chest. Manic was knocked back, skidding across the ground on his back. He jumped back up, brandishing his blade with a snarl.

It was almost like watching two wild animals, if one of the animals had a knife and the other could move at the speed of sound. Dark's punches and blocks were quick and speedy, with Manic somehow keeping up. Dark knocked the switchblade out of his hand, his leg flying into Manic's stomach. It was hardly a second before Manic whipped out another blade from his jacket, expertly hurling it at Dark's leg; it missed its target, but still managed to nick a small cut in his thigh. He pulled out two more knives from his belt, wielding them between his fingers like claws.

"How many knives does he have?" Tails demanded to no one in particular.

Manic lunged forward, grabbing hold to one of Dark's quills and yanking it back. Dark latched onto his forearm and heaved him forward just as Manic sliced a deep gash in his ear. He hissed, clutching the wound as spurts of blood gushed between his fingers; Manic smiled, picking himself up off the ground and bounding back towards Dark, blades at the ready.

He flung one knife expertly towards Dark's head; Dark dodged, catching it by the handle as it whizzed past his face. He grinned, zooming up close to Manic and stabbing him clean in the shoulder. Manic cried out once before gritting his teeth and slicing off part of Dark's largest quill; He would have kept hacking at him if Dark hadn't grabbed hold of his right wrist and twisted him forward, slamming Manic against the wall.

"You've got a lot of nerve, don't you?" he snarled, mere inches away from Manic's face. "Have it your way- if I have to go through you to get to the kid, I will."

Manic gasped and shoved Dark away from him. But instead to charging back in, he grabbed his wrist, his face contorted in pain. Had Dark broken something? I hadn't heard anything snap…

But Dark looked just as perplexed as I felt. He stared intently at Manic, his focus switching between Manic's hand and his head. A smile crept slowly on Dark's face; he snickered, then laughed.

"So that's your big secret, huh?" he sneered, shaking his head. "That's rough, brother."

Manic looked up in contempt, breathing hard. "Don't you dare call me that, phony. Stealing Maurice's body doesn't make you my brother."

Dark chuckled. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no! You misunderstand. Your real brother's gone- but you and me, we still have a lot in common. We're practically family." he grinned, leaning in closer. "And you know what families do?" he asked. "They share!"

Dark grabbed hold of Manic's right arm and squeezed; Manic howled in pain, dropping to his knees. Even from my position on the ground, I could see the sparks of chaotic electricity surging from Dark's grip; each particle of energy embedded itself into Manic's bare flesh like it was some kind of sponge. I wanted to move, to help fight Dark, to do something to get him off Manic-

BANG-BANG-BANG

Dark's cried out, releasing his grip on Manic; He grasped his shoulder as scarlet blood dripped between his fingers and onto the already blood-stained floor. Manic sank to the ground, twitching violently for a moment before he stopped moving entirely.

I turned around to find Rouge, leaning against some bent metal lump, her finger still on the trigger of a smoking pistol. She was breathing hard, her eyes wild with fury.

Dark examined his three still-bleeding bullet wounds, then glared at her; his expression morphed into a serene smile that felt more than a little off.

"It won't matter. Not in the long run," he said, his tone sending a shiver down my spine. There was suddenly a bright flash of light and a loud crack, then he was gone.

Rouge fluttered over to where Manic had fallen, turning him onto his back and pumping her fists over his heart, counting under her breath. I felt a sudden surge of adrenaline and forced myself to my feet, limping over to Manic's side.

"Is he breathing?" I demanded, not bothering to keep the franticness out of my voice. Rouge looked up and for a moment, our eyes met.

I've learned from experience that you don't always need words to communicate. Sometimes all you needed was a gesture, or even just a look. It really didn't take much to convey a message.

I didn't like the message I was being sent.

XXX

Manic's POV:

When I opened my eyes, I couldn't see.

I was lying on my back on a ground that didn't feel entirely solid; it was like fog, but I couldn't sink through. Slowly, I got to my feet, blinking a few times to adjust to the darkness, and after a moment, I was able to make out the shape of my hand through the mass of black smoke enveloping around me. And even though I was standing on it, I couldn't feel a thing. I couldn't even hear anything besides my own shallow breaths.

Was… was I dead?

"Not quite, pal."

I whirled around in surprise; a minute ago, there was no one here but me.

Well, I wasn't wrong.

I thought for a second that I was looking in a mirror, until my reflection started walking towards me. The temperature suddenly dropped, and as the other me drew closer, the details came into focus. Every feature, down to the most indistinguishable details… it matched me exactly. Almost.

His fur, while still green, was such a dark shade that it looked almost black. Both of his arms looked like they had been dipped in tar, the color petering out into spidery black veins that crept over his chest and all the way up his neck. He and I might have had the same face, but his grin was nothing like mine; it was colder. Meaner.

"So, you're Manic…" he smiled, stepping closer; I wanted to back away, but my legs were rooted to the spot. "Thought you'd be shorter."

"...'Scuse me?" I said, growing more confused with every word.

"It's just that I've been spending so much time in Maurice's head, I've gotten used to his perception of the world. His memories make you seem so much younger."

"What are you talking about?" I demanded.

He chuckled. "Oh, that's right! You don't know me yet. Where are my manners?"

I felt an energy spike surge from the fake me and stumbled backwards, suddenly out of breath; I was right. It really was Dark.

"But you… you've been in my head for months," I said, my voice shaking. "Why are you only showing yourself now?"

He grimaced. "Let's just say that I've been a little… preoccupied. I can only be in so many places at once these days. But lucky for you, your brother's all taken care of, so you and me are gonna be spending quite a bit of time together. Don't worry!" he said, all too cheerfully. "I'm gonna make it lots of fun."

I had the feeling it was going to be the opposite of fun. "Nightmarishly Horrific" seemed like a more appropriate description. I forced a laugh, "Nice try, dude, but that ain't gonna be easy."

"Really? I think it will." Dark walked closer and I took a few steps back. "Because I'm you."

"Uh, no, you're the dude that lives in a rock and possessed my brother."

"You don't know how this thing works, do you?" Dark chuckled. "I'll let you in on a secret: Everyone's got a dark side. Sometimes they just need a little help to set it free- that's where I come in. I'm your friend here, Manic! I'm the you you've always wanted to be!" In the blink of an eye, Dark morphed into the black smoke surrounding us, reappearing behind me.

"I'm smarter… I'm cooler…" he crooned, his grin widening. "I can do anything I want. You wanna know why?" he said as he phased beside me, whispering into my ear. "Because there's nothing holding me back."

Dark's smokey form evaporated again into the void then reappeared at my side, leaning on my shoulder.

"I can help you, Manic," he said. "With me on your side, you'll be stronger than you've ever been in your life. No more rules, no more boundaries… the world's our oyster." He disappeared into the fog and re-formed in front of me, holding out his hand. "So whaddya say, brother? We on the same team?"

I stared at him for a moment before slapping his hand away. "Are… are you kidding me?" I asked in disbelief. "I'm a lot of things, dude, but I'm not an idiot. You're not me- you're the guy who's been messing with my brother and who's been doing nothing but to try to hurt me and my friends. And you really expect me to believe that you're on my side? Gimme a break!"

Dark's smile hardened into a scowl. "Oh, I'm the guy who hurts people? Take a look in the mirror, pal!" He dissolved into smoke once more, appearing just behind me. He swept his leg under my feet, sending me toppling to the ground face-first. Before I could get back up, his foot was pressing down on my shoulder blades, pinning my chest to the floor.

Just below my face, the fog that carpeted the ground began to swirl into a vortex of hazy colors and shapes, settling on an image of a kid, a girl who couldn't have been older than twelve crying on her bed, a piece of paper in her hand- Wait. I knew that face.

"Look familiar?" Dark sneered. "Or were you too wrapped up in your adventures as a street urchin to think about what you were doing to our sister? Selfish," he spat, digging into the back of my neck with his heel. "It's a wonder she even bothered to see if you were alive at all. I know I wouldn't have."

"That's ancient history, man!" I shouted, my voice strained by the pressure on my chest. "Sonia forgave me for that a long time ago."

"Maybe," he said. "But it's not like you've changed since then." The vision shifted out of focus, replaced by an image of me hiding in Rouge's closet. "She saved your life and kept you from going off the deep on while on that acid trip, and you forced her to lie for you. All because you were too scared to face one guy."

"Hey, that one guy happens to be half alien, and he works for the feds," I protested. "It would've been suicide to let him see me!"

"So many excuses…" Dark said with a yawn. With a flick of his finger, the scene changed yet again, but didn't stop. I was taking cover while gunshots rang around my head... I was hiding while the others were on the battlefield… I was letting a soldier take the fall when I could've helped him. In every image I looked scared and pathetic, ready to run away at any given second.

"You're a coward," said Dark, his voice stone-cold. "All you've ever cared about is your own safety, and if some other sap would take the fall for you, you'd let them." Dark kicked me once in the ribs, knocking the wind out of me. "You're nothing but a loser and a cheat who doesn't even deserve to lick the mud off your teammate's boots. You make me sick."

It was a moment before I realized that my hands were trembling. I didn't want to see this, but I couldn't turn away; Dark wasn't making this up. These were my memories. I didn't wanna admit it, but… a part if me almost agreed with him. I was a coward. I couldn't count how many times I'd let some bystander get nailed for my crimes while I slipped away, even after I left the gang. It wasn't even a conscious decision at this point, it was practically instinct.

Except…

"No," I said, my voice firm. "You left something out."

"Pray tell."

"You think you know me, Dark? Think you can see right through me?" I asked. "Then riddle me this: who's the person who I owe a lifetime to? Who I'd kill and die for without hesitation? You might've gotten it right when it comes to randos on the street, but you got no idea what I'd do when it comes to my sister- or anyone else on the team, for that matter. Or did you miss our little scuffle back there when you were still inside Maurice?"

Dark smiled, and before I could process what was going on, he had grabbed me by the scruff my collar, lifting me off the ground. His calm expression never faltered; he shook his head slowly, chuckling lightly.

"Oh, you poor boy- you think you aren't able to hurt them? That's cute," he said. "Don't you get it? You're the worst thing that's ever happened to them. A walking disappointment. Take my word for it- you're gonna end up hurting them worse than your naive mind can even imagine."

"You… you don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure about that?" Dark smirked, letting go of my shirt and dropping me to the ground. I jumped to my feet in a fighting stance, ready to knock that jerk into next week- but he was gone.

I felt a gust of wind and the vapor on the floor suddenly started to churn and circle upward, billowing into a tornado around me. When it finally died down, the dark landscape had vanished; I was standing in the corner of a sparse, dimly lit room that I didn't recognize. A kid laid in the middle of the floor, not moving, not breathing; All I could make out in the light was a pair of twin tails.

I felt like my heart had stopped. I rushed to Tails's side, shoving him gently.

"Tails?...Kid? Kid, you gotta get up, please-"

"Manic… how could you?"

I jerked up at the sound of the familiar voice; behind me stood Sonia, looking at me like I was some kind of monster.

I shook my head, breathing hard."Sonia, I-"

"Don't!" she shouted, making me flinch. "I can't… I can't even look at you," she said, turning away, her tone dripping with disappointment.

I wanted to say something, to go after her, but only moments after the thought entered my head, the swirling tornado of smoke swallowed up the room and the scene changed; Sonia was backing away from me, shaking in terror.

"Manic…" she said slowly, holding out her hand as if to ward me off. "Manic, don't do this…"

"No! Sonia, I'm not-"

She screamed, stumbling backwards in fright. I took a step back; what was I doing? Why was she afraid of me-

"KNOCK IT OFF!" I shouted to the sky, gritting my teeth. The vapor enveloped me once again and I was suddenly back in the dark, smoky room on my knees, Dark standing above me.

I looked up with a glare. "...Now you're just making things up."

"All I did was give you a sneak peek to what's inevitably gonna happen," he said casually, examining his fingertips. "Face it, punk- you're an accident just waiting to happen. One day you're gonna screw up, and BAM!- it's all over. They're gonna get hurt and you'll have no one to blame but yourself. The kindest thing you can do for them is to disappear."

"You're… you're lying…"

"We'll see about that," he said, smiling calmly. "If you ever decide to see reason, just say the word… I'm always available." Dark's form evaporated into the fog, leaving me alone in the shadows.

I suddenly felt something hot and realized that a blinding white light was growing above me, burning my flesh and forcing me to shut my eyes. It was like being hurled into the sun; I screamed, but couldn't hear anything over the ringing in my ears.

Until all at once, it stopped.

XXX

I gasped for air as I jerked awake, only vaguely aware of the figures huddled around me. My vision was blurred and I felt like I had an army of spiders crawling over my skin. A reddish blob popped up in front of me and said something I couldn't quite hear; I panicked, curling my fingers into a fist and delivering my best left hook.

"OW!" shouted the blob, which was slowly coming into focus. I blinked a few times and rubbed my eyes; Knuckles had his hand clutched over his nose, looking taken aback.

"Manic!" cried Sonia, throwing herself over me in a tight embrace. "Thank Chaos-I thought you were… that Dark… you're okay!" she exclaimed, stumbling over her words. Behind her were Rouge and Tails, looking just as relieved to see me.

"Don't get your hopes up."

I flinched, startled, but I managed to force a smile, "Hehe... 'Course I'm okay! Takes more than some demon to get me down."

"That's rich."

Sonia pulled away, looking concerned. "What did Dark do to you?"

"It's nothing, I'm fine! He just… gave me a few shocks, that's all," I quickly stood up, checking to make sure my sleeve and glove were properly in place.

She raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure? Here, let me see your arm-"

"No!" I took a step back, trying to keep my emotions in check. "I'm fine, sis. Really."

Knuckles stepped in, "I was unconscious for most of that, but from what Sonia described to me, it sounds like something I need to check out. Lemme see your arm."

"Manic, we're just trying to help." Sonia took another step towards me and I took another step back.

"And I'm telling you that I'm fine." I looked over at Rouge for some back up, but she refused to make eye contact. Great.

Sonia folded her arms, falling into her 'tell me the truth' stance that I hated. "When I was talking to Shadow, he told me that… there might be something wrong with you. I'm worried, so just let me-"

"You talked to Shadow again?" I interrupted. "Did he have an idea for a cure?" I began to run a mental checklist of topics that could take the spotlight off of me. At this point, literally anything would be better than talking about my fight with Dark.

Sonia shook her head. "We didn't have a lot of time to talk before Dark showed up, but he did suggest isolating the Chaotic gene inside Knuckles and myself. He said we'd need your DNA too, but for another reason." She took another step forward, "Do you know why?"

Crap- didn't work. I tried to shrug casually, but even I could tell that it was stiff and obviously forced, "No idea. I'm kind of exhausted, though, so I think I'm gonna go get some shut eye." I turned around to leave but someone grabbed at my right arm. Pain flared up and I had to bite my tongue to keep from screaming.

Knuckles was holding my arm, his expression clearly suspicious, "Manic, we need to run a routine check-up just to make sure Dark hasn't done any permanent damage."

"Depends on his definition of damage, I suppose."

My anger flared and the pain isn't helping. I yanked my arm away and glared at the echidna, "Dude. I said I'm fine. Back. Off."

Sonia pulled Knuckles back, "Manic, just let me-"

"I said no!"

"Aw, big sis is worried about her baby brother... how sweet."

"I'm worried about you-"

"For the last time, sis, I'm fine. Leave me alone." I turned away again, trying to make my escape.

"That's right. Run away. It's not like you're good at anything else."

Sonia grabbed my arm, "Manic, for once, please be reasonable-"

"See? Not even she trusts you. I told you you were the worst thing that's ever happened to them."

I've never understood what they meant when someone saw red, but at that moment, something in me snapped. I was hardly aware of what I was doing, only that I wanted to lash out, to make them leave me alone, to make the voice in my head be quiet-

"Shut UP!"

I felt a stinging in my palm and heard Sonia cry out in pain, slamming to the ground on her side. I suddenly felt weak in the knees; it was like all the oxygen had been sucked out of the room. When she looked up, I could see tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes and suddenly felt sick to my stomach.

My ears were ringing; I heard the muffled sounds of movement, someone was yelling at me, but the words meant nothing to me- it was just sound. Blank noise. I clutched my head and tried to calm my pounding heart, but somehow that only made things worse.

"Nice one, Maniac. Awesome job proving me right."

"Go away…" I muttered, gritting my teeth. Dark laughed, high and cold, making me shiver.

Someone was tapping on my shoulder, I turned my head and found Tails standing behind me, his eyes wide. "...Manic?"

"Look at 'em. You think they're your friends? Please. Like they'd want anything to do with you now."

I looked up and found Rouge staring at me. Her expression was blank, but when we made eye contact, I could sense the disappointment. I took a step away from the scene. Knuckles was down next to Sonia, shouting something at me that I couldn't hear. He stared at me almost without blinking, and I couldn't tell if he wanted to kill me or run away as fast as he could.

And Sonia. Chaos, I'd never seen her like this before. An overwhelming flood of her emotions was rushing into my brain; outrage, shock, confusion… fear. Sonia was afraid of me.

"And you're surprised?" Dark scoffed. "It's about time she opened her eyes. Don't say I didn't warn you."

My head was throbbing and black spots were forming in the corners of my vision, like I sinking back into that dark, smoky nightmare. Dark was laughing; it was low and quiet at first, but getting steadily louder until it was all I could hear, all that felt real-

"MANIC!"

My eyes flew open and I gasped for breath; Sonia's hands were on my shoulders, shaking me back to reality. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and the side of her face was red from the place I'd slapped her. She looked… worried. Scared- not of me, but… for me.

"What are you, blind? Wake up and smell the coffee, stupid! The fact that you exist puts these 'friends' of yours in danger! Geez, it's like I'm talking to a wall-"

"Zip it!" I snarled. "I'm done listening to you!"

Sonia looked at me, her eyes wide. "Manic?"

"Woah, woah, woah- what do you think you're doing?" said Dark; for the first time, he sounded almost nervous.

I glanced over to Rouge, biting my lower lip. "I… you guys… there's something I need to tell you." She nodded and Dark began to rapidly try and explain why I was making the wrong choice. I did my best to shut him out, even as he began shouting.

"I… I think I already told you, when Sonia and I got the black emerald, it... burned me. But… it wasn't a burn. At least, I don't think it was," I choked out, trying to find the right words. I dropped my gaze and stared at the floor for a moment, before summoning the courage to look back up at their wide and frightened gazes. "I…"

"Are you INSANE? If you fess up, they'll kill you where you stand!"

I swallowed hard, "I… I'm sorry, I should have told you forever ago, but I didn't want to make you worry, or… or distract you, I just… I thought I could handle him."

Knuckles raised an eyebrow, "Sorry, him?"

"You're running out of time, idiot- get out while you still can!"

I almost laughed. Guess you underestimated me, Dark. I took a deep breath and turned around to unbutton my flannel and pull off my right glove, gently pulling the shirt off.

Sonia's voice was the first that registered, "Manic, what are you- oh Chaos…"

Rouge gasped and cursed under her breath, which didn't make any sense to me. I mean, she had seen this before. I glanced down at my arm- holy crap.

The blackened part of my skin had spread rapidly since I had last looked at it; It was now halfway across my chest and down to my waist on my right side. This morning it had barely covered my shoulder blade. The veins still tingled with energy, stinging my skin like hundreds of tiny needles.

"Whatever Dark did to you…" said Rouge, stepping forward. "It… he… he made it worse."

"...You're infected?" Tails whispered, his voice barely audible. After a moment's hesitation, I nodded, staring at my shoes.

"I…" I locked eyes with Sonia, her expression frozen in place. "I… I'm so sorry. I should've told you, I just couldn't... " I trailed off, staring down at my hands and trembling so badly I thought I was going to fall over.

Knuckles pushed past Rouge and Tails to face me; even if I wasn't able to face him, I could tell he was furious. "Do you have any idea the kind of danger you've put us in?" he seethed, tightening his fists. "All of us?"

"Of course I do!"

"Well, at least we agree on that."

"Shut up!" I shouted, gritting my teeth.

Knuckles raised an eyebrow; I quickly interjected, "Not you, him." I said, pointing at my head.

Any color left in Sonia's face drained to a sickly shade of grayish white. "You… you mean you can hear him?" she murmured, her voice hardly above a whisper. For once, I wish she'd scream at me and tell me what an idiot I was. Anything would be better than seeing her look so confused and betrayed, and knowing that it was all my fault.

"She's not the only one, y'know-"

"Enough!" I growled. Sonia and Tails flinched, and I immediately felt horrible. Dark snickered; I almost wished he were in front of me so I could deck him.

"We have to do something about this!" Knuckles growled, jabbing his finger at my forehead. "If Dark's inside Manic, then no wonder we've lost so many of the emeralds! He knows every move we're gonna make!"

"I don't think that's how it works, Knux-" I said, stepping between him and Sonia, who looked about ready to punch him in the nose. "But…" I inhaled sharply, closing my eyes. "You're right. I can't stick around here. I'd only cause more problems for you guys."

"Huh. 'Bout time you listened to reason. Better split while you still have their guards down."

"Manic, if you're seriously suggesting that you leave town, I swear to Chaos, I will end you," Rouge hissed, arms crossed. Sonia whirled around to face me, looking like she was on the verge of a panic attack.

"What? No! That is not I meant!" I insisted.

"Uh, are you CRAZY? That is totally what you meant!"

I grimaced, but didn't respond. I turned my attention back to the team, "You need to find a cure, right?" I asked Tails. He nodded slowly, the horror still evident on his face. I gave him a grim smile, "Well- looks like you just got your first test subject." I stepped forward and held out my wrists in surrender, refusing to look at Sonia.

"Take me away, officer."

XXX

Can I just say that when I pictured Dark and Manic going mano y mano, all I could see was Steve Rogers vs Winter Soldier (the one right before Cap removes the mask and realizes it is Bucky). But in a weird twisted turn of events- Manic was the Winter Soldier and Dark was Cap. Then again, it isn't super strange, since every time I want inspiration for Dark Manic I go listen to the Winter Soldier theme. Great. Now I need to go watch that battle/movie again. Not that that's a bad thing…

Next chapter coming… whenever it's done.

Today's review question courtesy of Halo: What does Shadow do all day in his head? I mean, it's not like he can play chess by himself... or can he? IDK

Review, please!