Sorry guys, but no time to answer reviews! We have some heavy plot to get to!

True enough. Let's roll!

XXX

Tails' POV:

19 Oct- 01:04 AM

I stared at the digital clock on the wall and tried to feel any sort of emotion that resembled happiness.

General Towers had been kind enough to move my lab to a different room, as my old one had been destroyed in the fight a few days ago. New vials, new equipment, new cabinet smell and everything. On any other year, it would qualify as one of the best birthday presents ever.

This year it fell flat.

I pushed the thought away and turned back to the microscope. I stared at the blood sample from Sonia again, trying to find… something. Biology and medicine had never been my strong suit. If you had a machine that needed patching up, I could fix it in two minutes flat. But an infection? That was different.

Flesh and blood were not equivalent to machinery. Mechanical parts were interchangeable, and if part of it broke, you could replace it with a flick of a screwdriver and nothing would change. You couldn't just replace someone's heart or liver. You had to find a match, and even then there was a chance of rejection.

And to make things worse, I had no idea what I was looking for, what to replace, what the problem was. Where did the body even store Chaos energy? Knuckles gave me this weird rant about blood energy and 'zena'**, but it didn't help in the slightest. All I got of him was that it had something to do with the circulatory system, and decided that was the best place to start. I had thrown myself into learning everything there was to know about blood and viral infections, and had started work examining blood samples two days ago.

So far, I had nothing of value. Sonia's and Knuckles' blood looked exactly the same as mine, and any other picture or blood sample I could get my hands on. Nothing remarkably chaotic or abnormal about it.

I pulled away from the microscope and rubbed my eyes, blinking until most of the blurriness had disappeared. Where were Manic's blood samples? I sent Amy in over an hour ago to get them, despite Manic's new… living arrangements.

It had been over a week since Manic had come clean, and since then, he had been locked in one of GUN's solitary confinement cells with a camera rolling twenty four hours a day. General Towers hadn't been too heartless and gave him a box of old comics and a rubix cube, but after a few days, Manic had lost interest. When I saw him last, he was curled up on the floor in the corner, rocking back and forth and muttering to himself. Every now and then he'd start shouting or pacing around the room, and at one point he randomly started laughing so hard that he almost passed out, but other than that, he remained in the corner of the cell, head in his hands.

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to block that image from my mind.

The main door slid open and Amy walked in, holding a small container. "Got his blood."

I nodded and motioned to the counter. "Put it over there. I'll have a look when I'm done with this slide."

Amy objected. "Maybe you should get some sleep. You've been awake for over twenty four hours."

"I'm fine."

"Miles-"

I groaned. "Look, if I promise to rest after I check Manic's blood, will you leave me alone?"

"...of course." said Amy, squeezing my shoulder, her voice soft. "We're just worried about you."

I didn't answer. Why would anyone be worried about me? I wasn't the one who was slowly being possessed by a demonic evil spirit three stories below my feet. And who was 'we'? Sonia was either sitting outside of Manic's cell or wandering around like a lost sheep, Knuckles was back on Angel Island doing Chaos knows what, Rouge was sitting with Shadow 24/7, and General Towers was preparing for a planet wide catastrophe. There was no 'we'.

Amy left a short time later with the untouched food tray she had brought by six hours ago. I went back to work.

XXX

19 Oct- 04:52 AM

Manic's blood was….different. Which was only partially good news. The bad news was I had no idea what to make of it. All I knew was after two hours of staring at the blood it had turned from red to black, and you didn't need a degree in hematology to know that wasn't normal.

I was missing something. Something big. I just wasn't sure what.

I jotted something down about the shape of the black blood cells. Or at least tried to. Halfway through, my vision started to go cross-eyed and I had to put the pen down to get my bearings back. Maybe I needed glasses...

XXX

19 Oct- 05:17 AM

Amy walked in with a breakfast tray and almost dropped it when she saw me standing over the microscope. "Tails! You promised you would rest!"

"I said I would rest after I examined Manic's blood. I'm not done yet."

She slammed the tray on the counter, making me flinch. "Oh, no. It has been over three hours since I last checked on you. It's about time you took a break."

"For the millionth time, Amy, I'm fine."

Amy groaned, clutching the bridge of her nose. "Tails, you could go shopping with the bags under your eyes, and- wait a minute… D-did you tape your eyelids open?"

"Had to," I said dismissively, refocusing my attention back to the microscope. The darker blood cells seemed to be contaminating the ordinary ones… interesting. I scribbled down my observation into my notebook, not bothering to see if my handwriting had gotten any more illegible.

"When was the last time you actually got some sleep?" Amy demanded. I frowned and tried to remember, but found that my mind was a total blank.

"Um…"

She sighed. "That's what I thought. Bed."

"Are you kidding? I can't stop now!" I protested. "Look at all the progress I've made! I'm on the verge of a breakthrough!"

"A breakdown, more likely," she muttered.

"Very funny. But seriously, look! If you observe the erythrocytes from Manic's blood samples, you'll notice that the pigmentation changes based on how much the cells are exposed to what I think is the Dark virus-"

"Tails."

"-which could be affecting the status of his blood's hemoglobin levels and serve as an explanation for the pigmentation of his infected skin-"

"Tails."

"-if I can figure out a way to forcibly remove the virus from his bloodstream, then there's a possibility that the infection might be halted altogether-"

"TAILS!"

"What?"

"I'm not even going to pretend that I know what you're talking about."

"Amy, don't you see?" I demanded, jumping to my feet and immediately having to steady myself. "I'm finally figuring out how this infection thing works- and more importantly, how to cure it! These blood tests could be the key to figuring out how to get rid of Dark for good, don't you understand?"

"Of course I do!" she insisted. "But this isn't healthy! Besides, they'll be waiting right here for you when you come back."

I almost argued again, but my legs suddenly gave out- Amy caught me before I slammed into the floor, looking like she had expected this to happen. My head was spinning and my vision cross-eyed; Maybe all that time behind the microscope really was taking its toll. Grudgingly, I allowed her to take me away, but only on the promise that she would wake me if Manic got worse.

XXX

19th Oct- 12:53 PM

I blinked at the clock, hoping it was wrong. It wasn't.

"AMY!"

"What?" Amy poked her head through the door, obviously annoyed.

I scrambled out of bed, searching desperately for my research notebook. "How could you not wake me up? Look at all the time I've wasted! Chaos-"

"You only slept seven and a half hours, Tails. Honestly, you should still be asleep," said Amy, arms crossed.

"Yeesh, what is with you and sleep?" I muttered. "Hey, do you know where we keep the rest of the energy drinks?"

She rolled her eyes. "Tails, you can't just run on caffeine and willpower- you will literally die."

"Y'know who else is going to die if I don't keep at this?" I shouted, louder than I intended. I took a deep breath, trying to steady my voice. "Look… Sonic is already out of control, and Manic… he's getting worse every day. This might be my last chance to save either of them. I can't afford to waste even a second. Otherwise, I…" I trailed off, unable to speak with the lump in my throat.

Amy softened, looking less frustrated and more concerned. "You're not the only one who's worried. Trust me."

I glared at her. "You seem just fine."

"Fine?" Amy demanded, a flash of anger in her eyes. "Tails, people deal with stress differently. Not everyone throws themselves into their work while practically starving themselves of basic necessities."

No argument from here on that one.

Amy sighed, "Don't believe me? Well, here's a thought: Rouge is currently in the training room smashing any remaining punching bag to bits. She does this till she's ready to collapse, then heads to Shadow's room until she's ready to start punching something again.

"Knuckles has isolated himself on Angel Island and refuses to be contacted. Dark might attack or destroy the planet and he won't know until he picks up his stupid communicator."

I rolled my eyes and turned back to trying to locate my notebook. I was positive that I had left it on the side table.

"And don't get me started on Sonia- but you think I'm fine? Well, guess what? I'm not! But you know what I do when I feel like this?" she asked, not waiting for an answer. "I clean."

Wait, what? "You… clean?"

She shrugged, "Your house is now completely free of dust and mold and everything's been organized according to color. So is your garage and your old lab that Dark blew up. Every couple of hours I go to Vanilla's and clean the kitchen, top to bottom."

"Every day?"

Amy glared, "At least twice a day, because Cream happens to stress bake. If you ever got your nose out of your research, you might've noticed that."

I looked up with disbelief, "Wait… she what?"

Amy pinched her nose and sighed, "Every available space in the refrigerator and freezer at Vanilla's house is filled to the brim with baked goods. And you know how big their freezer is."

The freezer she spoke of was an old guest room I had converted about a year ago as a late Christmas present for Vanilla and Cream. I attempted to calculate how many cookies would fill its shelves. What I got was… a lot. Holy Chaos.

Amy motioned at the breakfast tray beside my bed, "I didn't make the cinnamon rolls- Cream did. I've had to start storing food at your house, and that's just the stuff I couldn't give away. Everyone- and I mean everyone- at GUN has received a basket of sweets at least twice now. And she's not stopping any time soon!"

"...where is she getting her ingredients?"

"Like I know."

I bit my lip. I couldn't believe I had forgotten about Cream in this entire mess. How much of the situation did she even know? If she watched the news, then some vague facts, but-

Ugh! I plopped down on the bed and but my head in my hands, "What happened to us?"

Amy paused, clearly confused by the change of subject.

I sighed, "Four months ago we were heading off to fight Robotnik with Sonic, and Manic and Sonia were trying to find Maurice. A little over a year ago, Robotnik was just a threat, not some mental case who tried to kill us whenever we were within fifty feet of him. Now look at us. Team Sonic is gone."

"Don't… don't be ridiculous, Tails. We're still a team." said, Amy, her voice quivering.

"Are we?" I asked bitterly. "You already said Knuckles isn't bothering to answer his calls, and I've locked myself up in a laboratory. Team Dark is a mess- or what's left of it, anyway. And Sonic… Did we ever even know him?" I bit my lip and tried to keep the tears from falling. "I mean, I knew his real name but…"

Amy reached out to comfort me, but I pushed her away, maybe a little harder than I should. "We never knew about them! His family, his history with Robotnik, nothing! Even if we do get him back, are… are we ever going to be able to trust him again?"

Amy didn't answer immediately, but slowly made her way over and sat down beside me. Her voice was soft when she finally spoke. "Miles… we all have our secrets."

I felt a tear slide down my face and I quickly wiped it away. "Maybe I'm just tired of all the secrets."

Amy squeezed my hand, "Me too."

I closed my eyes and allowed Amy to hug me, resting her chin on my head. I felt a few tears drip down my cheeks and land on my shaking hands.

"What happened to us?" I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper.

Amy didn't answer.

XXX

19th Oct - 05:23 PM

I was testing how Manic's blood reacted to an old blaster design of GUN's when Cream entered the workshop. The shot went wide and the sample tray shattered on the ground. I bit my lip to prevent some choice words from slipping out-

-and to my shock, Cream beat me to it.

I blinked several times, "...Cream?"

"Sorry," she muttered, looking at her feet. "Mother says I'm not allowed to talk like that."

"No kidding," I grabbed a broom and began to sweep up the glass. "Where'd you even learn to talk like that?"

"Shadow. Mother. Late night TV that I'm not allowed to watch anymore," she shrugged. "I remember a few from my dad… and from when mister Manic stubbed his toe."

I almost laughed. "Forget I asked. What are you doing down here so late?"

Cream placed a picnic basket on the counter and pulled back the cover. Around two dozen vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting were piled up in a neat stack. One had an unlit candle. She held it out to me with a smile, "Happy Birthday, Tails."

I managed to smile, "Can't believe you remembered. Everyone else has sorta spaced. Although I got a notification from my Tweeter."

Cream pulled a small cigarette lighter out of her pocket. She smiled at me, "I have a calendar at home just dedicated to birthdays."

I motioned at the basket, "Not sure if I can eat all of those by myself."

"Sorry," Cream shrugged, "I had a lot more extra batter than I planned for."

"Where'd you even get all these ingredients?"

"The pantry."

"Um… where'd they come from?"

"The store. I give Mother lists of ingredients, and she buys them. Then I give her more lists."

"That's... it?"

"Mother shops when she's nervous."

Well, that explained a lot. Made me wonder how much their grocery bill went up this month alone. A wave of guilt swept over me. "Sorry about not talking to you and your mom since… you know."

Cream smiled half-heartedly. "It's okay. I know you've all been really busy. Amy keeps us posted."

I didn't know what to say after that so I turned back to my sample tray. Maybe concentrated sunlight would affect it…? If Dark was a vampire, maybe. Stupid.

Cream hauled herself up on the counter, putting the cupcake down next to my hand. "What are you working on?"

"Cure for Sonic and Manic."

"How's it coming?"

"It's… it's a work in progress. Maybe. I don't know." I ran my fingers through my hair and groaned. "I honestly have no clue what I'm doing, but here I am. In a lab. Staring at blood."

Cream kicked her legs up and down, gently tapping the counter with a steady 'thump, thump'. "You want to talk about it?"

"What's there to talk about?" I motioned at my notes, "All I see is a load of… garbage."

"Then why are you still working on it?"

I paused. That was a very good question that I wasn't sure I could answer.

I knew that even if I found the cure, nothing was going to be the same. Team Sonic was done, my 'family' was changed, Robotnik was dead, and it wasn't like we could forget about the terrible experiences that had happened. This "cure" wasn't going to fix anything. I said as much to Cream, who listened quietly.

"Who's the cure for?"

"My brothers."

"I thought you only had one."

I hesitated, "I… I do. But… I can't lose Manic either. I mean, we aren't very close and I don't think he sees me the same as Maurice or anything, but-"

"You're rambling." Cream smiled. "Have you ever thought that Manic might want a little brother on top of his older one?"

No. Or at least that's what I told myself every night as I tried to fall asleep- if I did sleep. I forced myself to look back at the sample, ignoring Cream's steady gaze. "Why would he want that? Why would anyone want that?"

"But you want him to want that, right?"

I smiled, "You should be a psychologist."

"A what?" Cream looked confused.

"It's, um… it's a type of doctor. Forget I said anything." I tapped my fingers on my notebook, trying to make sense of the numbers, "I guess I just want him to like me."

"Manic already likes you."

"Well, I want him to keep liking me."

"And you think by making a cure, it will make him like you more?"

I didn't answer. I didn't need to. Or even want to. Cream gently patted my hand, "Tails, it's okay to think that."

"I… I lost my sister when I was only four. I just lost Sonic. I can't lose another brother."

We stood in silence for what felt like eternity. Then Cream reached over and lit the candle on the cupcake. She softly hummed Happy Birthday as she pushed the cupcake towards me. "Make a wish, Tails."

I smiled at her. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

Birthday wishes were something I never really believed in. But this time, I had to believe in something. I thought of everyone scattered and apart; Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Vanilla, Rouge. I thought of Shadow in his coma. I thought of Sonia and Manic. And Sonic.

The only thing I wanted at that moment was for my family to be whole- everyone.

I blew and the light flickered, then died.

XXX

Sonia's POV:

I awoke with a start; I knew I had been dreaming about something, but the memory had been lost the moment I opened my eyes.

I blinked a few times to adjust to the bright fluorescent lights of the security camera screens. Sure enough, Manic was still there, pacing back and forth across the floor of his cell, mumbling to himself. His expression was constantly in flux, from nervous to angry to downright terrified. Every now and then he'd start talking or shouting, but would go right back to anxious muttering.

He wouldn't let me see him. He wouldn't let anyone see him. Said it was too dangerous. I believed it.

I glanced at the clock next to the screens; October 19th- 07:28 PM. I'd been sleeping for less than an hour, which was a little strange. Usually I slept until the security guards switched shifts, which was around ten. I looked back at the screen; Manic had stopped pacing and was now just muttering to himself.

I groaned. The only time he ever stood still was when he was about to have a laughing fit or throw something across the room. Neither of them made me feel any better about the situation.

I turned away to get a drink of water when I felt my hair stand on end. Something was wrong.

Great. I started looking around for the problem. No guard in the room was about to try and shoot me and no one was about to delete an important file (that had been a new one for me).

I glanced back at the clock. 7:29 PM. A guard would be about to give Manic his dinner right about now. For some reason he had requested fish fingers and custard for tonight. He claimed it was something some famous Doctor ate, but I didn't get it.

My fingers were now tingling and I started to worry. Whatever was wrong, it wasn't small.

Manic had stopped muttering to himself and was now sitting on the bed perfectly still, just staring at the door. He wasn't even blinking.

I frowned, leaning towards the console. That was really weird. Manic never sat still. Ever. So why was he-

Something in my head clicked just as the cell door creaked open and the guard walked in. I didn't even have time to open my mouth or try and warn them over their communicators as Manic sprung to his feet and slammed into the guard. He grabbed the plate of food and threw it like a frisbee at the camera in the corner; The monitor went dark.

I cursed as I sprung to my feet. Ignoring any guards exclamations or questions, I sprinted down the hall into the stairwell. I ignored the stairs and vaulted over the railing, dropping about three stories then landing in a summer salt on the basement level.

It was then, and only then, I had the idea that I might need some backup. I activated my com as I dashed out of the stairwell and towards Manic's cell. "Anyone there? We have a situation!"

There was silence for a few seconds and I was about to try again when Tails' voice finally crackled to life, "What kind of a situation?"

I burst into the area where Manic was being held and screeched to halt. Two guards were lying unconscious on the ground beside their station and the door was hanging ajar. "It's Manic, he's-"

That was all I was able to get out before a hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, twisting me around into the wall. My com was ripped off and it fell to the ground with a clatter.

"Wouldn't want you calling for help, now would we?"

I bit my tongue to keep from gasping; I knew that Manic hadn't been quite right since he'd allowed himself to be locked up, but now that he was up close, I would've thought he had just escaped from the looney bin. His eyes were wide and bloodshot, highlighted by circles so dark it almost looked like makeup, and his fur and hair looked scruffy and unkempt. The blackened parts of his skin were dotted with scabbed-over scratch marks, like he had completely lost it and tried to peel off the infection.

Something inside me seemed to snap- and it wasn't anger. "I can take care of myself." I spun around and pushed him back. I drew my gun and let off a few stun shots, which bought me a few more feet.

He growled and stretched forth his hand, like he was trying to claw at me from three feet away. His fingers closed into a fist, and my brain suddenly felt like someone drove a thousand nails into it; I almost screamed from the pain. Manic- Dark- who was he?- took advantage of the distraction and began to punch me in the stomach, hard; I suddenly found myself grateful that we had confiscated all of his knives. After a few blows I managed to shake off whatever that migraine had been and dodged or blocked almost every hit.

I managed to fire off another three stun shots, but only hit him once. Manic dropped to his knees, holding his stomach and groaning. Despite myself, I felt a wave of panic, "Oh Chaos- Manic, are you oka- ARGH!"

I dropped my gun and grabbed my head, which felt like someone had split it open with an axe. I heard movement coming from my left, but the pain blinded me- in every sense of the word. I heard a very familiar click and pain suddenly shot through my body starting from my back and spreading out. Only later did I realize my stun gun had been picked up and used by Man- Dark- forget it- he's Dark Manic.

Maybe he would have continued firing until I went unconscious. Or maybe he would have found the kill setting. I didn't have to find out because the next sound I registered was someone shouting and the pain from my head eased. I forced myself to look up and found Tails shooting at Manic with my gun that he had somehow gotten back.

The kid looked terrified. Dark just started laughing, "I've always wanted to try this."

Tails blinked, "Try what?"

Dark grinned, his eyes wild. He waved his hand towards Tails in a clawing motion, smirking. Something changed in Tails demeanor. His eyes went wide and he started shaking, my gun slipping from his fingers and clattering to the ground. "What… what are you…" He suddenly grabbed at his neck and fell to his knees, screaming. But not even that- they were almost… unearthly. Everything about them radiated pure terror and fear that made my heart jump into my throat.

"PLEASE, STOP IT! STOP, I'LL BUILD IT, I'LL BUILD IT, I'LL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT! STOP! MAURICE! SOMEBODY, HELP ME! MAURICE!" Tears were streaming down his face and he fell onto the ground, clawing at his neck like he was trying to rip off something that wasn't there.

I whirled around, "What did you do to him?"

"Aw, he's just revisiting some old memories." Dark grinned. "You wanna go next? I'm giving out free samples."

"I'll pass," I dove and scooped up my gun, trying to ignore the screams behind me. I took aim for Dark's forehead, hoping that it might wake Manic up- or at least knock him out. But before I could pull the trigger, Dark ducked down and elbowed me in the stomach, knocking me against the wall and making me lose my gun- again.

Dark pressed my wrists against the wall, his grip like iron. He chuckled softly, "That's not the only trick I know. Wanna see?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Not really, no."

"Whoopsie! Looks like I've already started! It'd be rude to interrupt me now!" He reached out his hand with two fingers outwards, inching them towards my forehead. Black lighting curled around his palm and knuckles and something told me I did not want whatever it was in my system.

"Manic…" I said, recoiling from his fingers. "Manic, don't do this, this isn't you…"

"Oooh, and that's where you're wrong," he smirked, shaking his head. "I'm the best 'me' I've been in a long while. You're lucky I'm so nice- I'm letting you have an upgrade too! Just hold sti-"

Suddenly, he froze, his expression changing from cocky to confused. Hs eyes grew wide with shock and he stumbled backwards, releasing me. I hit the ground with a thud, quickly scrambling to my feet and snatching up my gun. Tails' screams suddenly cut off and turned into sobs as Manic lost his balance and started to convulse. He cried out once, the black electricity surging through his veins and coiling around his arms and neck. Dark's arrogant grin stretched itself on his face half a second before it melted off into an expression of pure agony. Manic curled up in a ball, desperately gasping for each breath, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. He sank to the floor, unconscious and completely still.

I felt that twinge of panic settle in my stomach again and I bent down to check his pulse. Manic was breathing and the black energy had faded, thank Chaos. With that out of the way, I hurried over to Tails. He was curled up in a ball, his namesake curled around him like a protective shield. As gently as I could, I pried them back, "Tails? Tails, it's okay. You're safe."

Tails shaking and sobbing slowed, he blinked at me like he was trying to focus, "Lu… Lucy?... That you?... Am… am I dead?"

I frowned, "No, you aren't dead. And I don't know about any Lucy."

Tails blinked a few more times. His eyes widened and he slowly sat up, "...Sonia?"

"That's me."

"I thought you were… someone else. Sorry."

I smiled, "Can't blame you. Whatever Dark did to you sounded awful." I hesitated, "He said something about revisiting old memories. What… what memory was that?- if you don't mind me asking."

Tails stiffened. "That… ugh, Dark is evil. That was the worst week of my life. I was like seven years old when Robotnik captured me for the first time. He made me wear an electric collar and forced me to help him build a really big robot. There was a lot of, um… discipline involved."

I stared at him, not even trying to hide my horror. "You were seven?"

"It wasn't the last time he did it, but that first time… ugh. I still don't like electricity," He rubbed his throat, shivering. "Glad Robotnik isn't around to do that anymore."

I was suddenly really glad Robotnik was dead. If he wasn't, then I might have killed him myself. Tails glanced over my shoulder at Manic, who still hadn't moved a muscle. He might've even seemed peaceful, if not for the look of anguish still etched into his features.

XXX

Manic woke up about an hour later, and wasn't exactly pleased with his new living arrangements. Then again, I don't think anyone would want to wake up strapped down to a table in a maximum security cell with four armed guards holding you at gunpoint. I was sitting in the corner behind one of them, clutching my gun just in case something happened.

Manic blinked a few times, dazed. "Where… where am I?" He tried to lift his hand, but found it shackled to the table. I think that was about the time he noticed the guards pointing assault rifles straight towards him.

"Um… stupid question, probably, but what did I do?"

I got to my feet, walking towards him hesitantly with my hand just above my holster. Manic blinked a few times, looking bewildered.

"Sonia? Um...you mind telling these guys to put down the boom sticks? Please?"

I bit down on my lower lip, shaking my head. "Manic- d-do you remember anything?"

"Uh… lots of things," he replied skeptically.

"Specifically what happened before you woke up," I said, hardly daring to breathe.

Manic hesitated. "I… I dunno. It's all kind of a blur," he admitted, furrowing his brow in thought. "I remember Dark was talking to me, then I just, like… fell asleep or something. It felt like I was dreaming, all out of focus and stuff, y'know?"

I nodded, urging him to go on.

Manic frowned deeper, thinking hard. "For a while I wasn't able to see anything, but I think I could still hear a little... Dark was…" A look of realization crossed his face and he turned three shades paler, looking like he was going to be sick, "Holy Chaos… did I… how did… no..."

All the tension in my body released. "Manic, it's okay. You're okay now. I-"

"Stay away from me!" Manic shouted, recoiling back as far as he could. His breathing was shaky and shallow, like he was having a nervous breakdown. Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes, streaming freely down his cheeks.

"It's all coming back," he whispered, choking up. "I had a feeling Dark was planning something big, but this is… I…"

"It's okay, Manic, everyone is fine-"

"For how long?" he demanded. "He possessed me, Sonia! I was in his head, I know that he was trying… trying to…" He trailed off for a moment, trembling. "He… I tried to infect you, sis. And it almost worked. Don't you understand? Dark is using me to hurt you. I'm… I'm just a puppet."

I felt like someone had punched me in the gut. "Don't you dare say that, Manic, don't you dare-"

"Why not? It's true," he said, refusing to look me in the eye. "As long as I'm around, you and everybody else is in danger. I could be taken over again at any time and wouldn't be able to stop it- he knows that. Not even a government prison can hold him."

I swallowed hard. "So… what? Are you saying you want to leave? Running away would be crazy, you know you can't do that!... right?"

Something in his expression told me that wasn't what he meant.

XXX

We really need to quit one-upping ourselves on the "worst birthday ever" bandwagon. Can't anyone in this story have a happy birthday? Seriously. Just give these cinnamon rolls some friggin peace.

Now why would we do that?

Shoutout to Caisha12 for the AMAZING fanart! I just received the submission on Tumblr, and it has filled me and Era with angsty happiness! Thank you so much!

**Note: Zena is referenced in our previous story, "Miles From Home". All you need to know is that it is a special type of Chaos energy that certain people possess- and is stronger than any physical or mental abilities. Infinite, Mephiles, Dark, and Chaos would qualify as being in that category. Shadow comes close, but does not qualify.

Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed the angst. Review please!