The Long Road Home

by Oceanera12

No one ever said that families were easy. There are fights, sorrow, lies; don't forget the missing/dead siblings, adopted little brother, and the mad-man determined to kill you. But how far are you willing to fall for your family? That answer is something Sonic is about to find out. No matter how much he wishes he could run in the opposite direction (Rated T for action & intensity)

63. The Waiting Game (Part 1)

This chapter is going to be a long one. And a little confusing. (Kind of like Endgame… No spoilers here, but CHAOS, that was NOT okay…)

Comments on reviews!

gwencarson126: I mean… '06 so technically he has returned from the dead before. Then again, I have no idea if '06 happened in our timeline. Halo? It most certainly did NOT. Kay, then no. Sonic has not done this before.

NeckBreak: Now I'm just thinking of Kingdom Hearts. I cannot believe those words just came out of my head. Gag me.

ultimateCCC: Praise the Chao! Did you mean Chaos or Chao? Because either works for me!

StarlightSparks: Yeah, it's crazy how time flies. We've been here in LRH for almost three years… wow, that is actually kind of depressing. Yeah, the three of them would definitely be changed personality wise. Omega probably not a lot, but Cream and Hope would have some drastic personality flips. Especially if Sonic was repossessed…. Okay, I'm going to quit thinking about that. And CHAOS. Halo! Let's try and finish this on June 23rd! We can do it! (Actually, after this last chapter we definitely cannot do it. Oh well.)

MelGamingPlays: *tilts head as I read from the review* "pretty much takes before the last chapter with Tails P.O.V." What? Hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

ShadAmy1Fan - Shylan McVey: No problem. Not dying in this story is considered a success. The outcome will be worth it. Promise. And figuring out all the different reactions to their "deaths" was quite fun for Halo and me.

Avengers Guest: Man, I'm starting to have difficulty trying to keep this all straight. So here's what we got: Tony Stark- Tails. Pepper- Cream. Nick Fury- Uncle Chuck. Captain America- Sonic. Bucky- Shadow. Peggy Carter- Sally Acorn. Thor- Amy. Loki- Scourge. Quicksilver- Manic. Scarlet Witch- Sonia. Falcon- Jet. Black Widow- Rouge. The Hulk- Knuckles. Hawkeye- Nack. Spiderman- Sonic Forces OC (which you called Gadget and I like that name so we'll stick with it). Doctor Strange- Silver. Captain Marvel- Blaze. Thanos- Robotnik/Eggman. Am I missing anyone? (As I realize we have no Guardians of the Galaxy characters. *facepalm* Welp. So much for that fanart idea….) On a semi-separate note: flipin' Endgame. 'Nuff said.

Guest #1: I also prefer this ending to the "everyone died" ending.

Autumn: Everyone here just needs a hug. *hugs all the characters*

KiraraKitaoji: I'm guessing you liked the chapter. Thank you for the review!

Gokuu the Carrot: …. *is laughing* Sorry, but that cracks me up. I mean, it's the most appropriate reaction I've seen so far so!

Shapeshifter 14: Kind of. It was actually Sonic who did the resurrecting. The Dark Emerald was just shattered as a result/Sonic was done with the thing and never wanted to see it again. So he smashed it.

AStoryTeller: ….I'm not sure what you mean. Then again, I have not read Divergent soooo…. That is most likely the problem.

Faso: I love how Alex Prower is upon the same level as Jar Jar Binks, Umbridge, and Scrabby-Doo (although that last one never really bothered me too much. Sure, he's annoying, but he also makes me smile. Meanwhile, Umbridge and Jar Jar just make me want to kill something). And liking The Last Jedi is not a crime. It really isn't. I liked it… mostly. It was better than Attack of the Clones (at least better than Anakin and Padme's scenes. I mean, Obi-Wan was great. Everyone else….eh).

That Speedhunter: You can try and come up with another username. I think yours is cool, but hey. Whatever floats your boat. ENDGAME. Oh gosh, I'm still not over it. It was amazing, and beautiful, and UGH. And yeah, I guess we did pull an Endgame… except this was planned before Endgame so they actually stole it from us (just kidding). And yeah… Endgame has me paranoid about plot twists too. I keep reading things and waiting for something really bad to happen. *reads the second review several times* This. Just… this. I have no words. Mostly I'm just dying from the fact that Halo and I are now a channel. Well, the channels are back online and ready to transmit your signal. Hope we came back in time…

ShazPLUS: GREETINGS NEW REVIEWER. Yeah, the story was on hold. We've been busy, but I'm hoping we'll pick up (mainly me. Halo's been great). For the AU, the enemy would probably be remnants of Dark… and maybe someone else, but that's not important at this point. Don't worry, we ain't discontinuing this. We have about five chapters left. And that would just be rude to leave it like this. And hey, be my guest to leave a review on MFH. I love when people randomly review it because I know there are people who are still enjoying it.

A reader: LOL that made my day.

Guest who did not like Sonia and Manic: Thank you for saying it so respectfully and your criticism is noted. Not sure if you're still reading or if you will ever see this but thanks for not being a jerk about your displeasure in characters. Hope you like this update.

Okay, let's just get this over with...

---

November

Sonia's POV:

Everything was fine.

Sort of.

We had radioed for help and it was barely twenty minutes before a swarm of GUN choppers came to pick us up from the Valley, equipped to try and kill us in case we all were possessed and it was a trap- which explained why we had the equivalent of a small army arriving on the scene. The officers present insisted to know what had happened; none of us were really sure how to explain. It wasn't like they'd believe us anyway.

(We claimed to have been brutally murdered by a literal demon, yet there wasn't a scratch on any of us. I wouldn't have believed it either.)

The minute we arrived at the hospital, Maurice was immediately transferred to the ICU, no questions asked- that is until the doctors cornered us in the hallway with demands to know what in Mobius had happened to him.

"Um, well… see… that's, uh… that's a tricky question." Manic stammered, desperately trying to avoid eye contact with a scowling, very impatient doctor. Amy wasn't doing much better; the two had let it slip that they were the last of us to die and every person with any sort of rank- surgeons, GUN officers, you name it- was practically attacking them for information. Not even Shadow could scare them away.

I almost considered grabbing Manic and leaving- anything to get away from the bare white walls and the shouting officers and the nurses who wouldn't stop trying to examine me for injuries, despite me showing them multiple times that I was in perfect health. The other members of the team seemed to be having the same idea I was; Amy was quietly sobbing onto Tails' shoulder, while he seemed to be lost in a state of pure shock, mumbling under his breath so softly and rapidly I couldn't understand a word. Knuckles was pacing around, clenching his fists so hard his palms began to bleed, dripping onto the glistening white tile.

Rouge was keeping the officers busy with her field report- she seemed pretty unfazed by it all, but I caught Manic staring at her with that look that meant he knew more than she was letting on. Across the hall, Shadow and General Towers were having a conversation in lower tones, but based on the General's grimace, he was clearly unsatisfied with the answers. Shadow himself looked more stoic than usual, his eyes glazed over as if his thoughts were a million miles away.

But none of these distractions were enough to make me forget about Maurice. No one, and I mean no one was allowed anywhere near him. All we could do was wait.

I hated waiting.

---

It was nearly twelve hours after we arrived at GUN before we were told anything about his condition.

"I'm afraid he's not coming along as well as we'd hoped," said the white-coated doctor, his gaze skitting around nervously as Shadow's, Knuckles', Tails', Amy's, and Manic's glares each intensified. Knuckles, in particular, looked like he was going to rip off this guy's head if he so much as thought of delivering anything but good news; I held onto him a little tighter.

"You see, well…" the doctor stuttered, staring intently down at his clipboard. "A-although he is physically unhurt, Sonic's brain activity is incredibly erratic. He's undergone several seizures in the last few hours- but he's fine," he quickly added. "However, there's been some, er… complications, so to speak."

"What kind of complications?" Tails asked sharply, narrowing his eyes.

"Well, I… uh, you see, it's a bit, er… I mean to say, uh… p-perhaps I should come back later–"

"Spit it out already!"

The doctor stared wide-eyed around the hostile room, gulping hard. "His brain activity is… irregular, to say the least. No one is really sure what to make of it. The seizures he's suffering from don't have any apparent triggers, and at one point, he… well… flatlined."

"He WHAT?"

"...twice."

The doctor leaped backward as Manic whipped out his switchblade and as Tails and Knuckles jumped to their feet, shielding himself with his clipboard. "HE'S OKAY! We revived him! His heart rate is back to normal now!...r-relatively speaking, that is. He seems to be going through a cycle of extreme brain activity and none at all. We're not sure how to bring it back to normal yet, but the seizures are becoming less frequent. At this point, we believe he has fallen in a comatose state and… we aren't quite sure when he'll wake up. Please don't worry, we have our very best working on him–"

"That's not good enough!" Tails shouted. "How could you possibly not know what's the matter with him? If you don't know what the problem is, you can't help him! IT'S YOUR JOB TO HELP HIM–"

"Tails, they are helping him–"

"Stay out of this, Amy!" he snapped.

Amy shot him a glare, arms crossed. "Tails, be reasonable. Sonic would be dead right now without them. Just... just be grateful he's alive." She took a deep breath and turned to the doctor. "Thank you for all you've done. Are… are we allowed to see him?"

Hesitantly, the doctor nodded. He had no time to step aside as we all hurried forward, nearly trampling him in our desperation to leave.

The rush of air in my face as I sprinted down the hall felt oddly refreshing after being cooped up in that stuffy waiting room for so long. Startled nurses screamed and jumped out of the way as we rocketed through the doors, down the hall, and into the room where Maurice laid–

We stopped.

The rhythmic beeping of Maurice's heart monitor pierced me like a knife; for a moment, I felt like I couldn't breathe. Three or four medical attendants stood in the corner, discussing the contents of a clipboard in hushed whispers. One stood at attention next to the defibrillator, ready to activate it at any second.

At first glance, Maurice looked almost… peaceful. If it weren't for the tangle of tubes and needles sticking out of his skin, one might've thought he was sleeping.

Just sleeping. He's okay, he's just sleeping, the doctors know what they're doing, he was just sleeping–

"Mister Sonic?"

A soft voice from the hallway door broke me out of my almost hypnotic state; Cream brushed past me as she wandered into the room, her chao (Cheese, I think?) floating just above her head. She clutched the end of one of her ears, wringing it anxiously as she pushed through the mass of people standing by her unconscious friend.

Amy moved towards her, but Cream just ducked out of the hug, hurrying to Maurice's side and gently nudging his arm. "Mister Sonic? Are you awake? It's okay, sometimes I pretend to be sleeping, too–"

"He can't hear you, Cream." Shadow firmly interrupted, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Cream ignored him as she sat down in a chair next to the bed and took Maurice's hand in hers. "Mister Sonic, it's so nice to see you again. Mother and I were really worried when you didn't come back from when Robotnik attacked the city so long ago," Cream smiled, "You've missed quite a lot since you were gone. Mister Manic and Miss Sonia were looking for you all over the place, and they were ever so excited to hear you were alive. I know you've never properly met, but I think you'll like them a lot- I know I do, even if Mother gets angry when I repeat what Mister Manic says. And one time, Miss Sonia said some words that are so bad, I don't even know what they mean." Manic nudged me in the arm, a smug grin plastered on his face. I scowled, but somehow, a hint of a smile managed to inch its way up the corners of my mouth.

"Mister Shadow got hurt, but he's alright now. The doctors here were able to fix him, which means that they can fix you too!" Cream said, brightening. "Oh, and Tails had his birthday a few weeks ago. I brought him some cupcakes. When you wake up, you'll have to make it up to him, you know. It's not nice to forget people's birthdays like that."

The lump in my throat begin to build as Cream continued to cheerfully fill my brother in on what had happened since he had disappeared, carefully avoiding anything about what Dark had done while possessing him. It only took a few minutes, not a sound heard except for Cream's gentle tones.

"–I hope you get better soon. Until then, we'll wait until you're ready to wake up." Cream patted Maurice's hand. "And when you do, I expect you to spar with me."

...Wait, what?

The sullen mood encompassing the room broke and Amy's, Knuckles', and Shadow's heads each snapped up in surprise. Manic glanced at me, eyes wide; he wasn't expecting this, either. Rouge only smirked, shaking her head knowingly.

Tails stepped forward, eyebrows scrunched in thought. "Um… Cream? Since when–?"

Cream turned away from Maurice, crossing her arms across her chest. "You know, ever since I could remember, I've been watching all of you run off to fight the bad guys," said Cream, her voice clipped and shaking. "Every time, I have to wait and watch the news to make sure you're all okay. Do you know how… how scary that is? To watch all of you risk your lives, knowing I can't do anything about it?"

"Cream–"

"I am almost twelve years old!" she pleaded, her hands tightening into fists. "Sonic was ten when he started fighting Robotnik! You," she pointed at Tails, "were only seven! This whole thing is the last straw. Now I'm gonna start helping, whether… whether you like it or not!"

"Bu-but…" Amy stammered. "What… what about your mom? Is she seriously okay with this?"

Cream froze, pursing her lips. "Mother… Mother and I have very different ideas of what I should be devoting my time to, and that's… fine. But this isn't her decision."

No one moved for a second.

"Cream," Shadow began carefully, "You must understand… Robotnik is gone. Dark has been eliminated. I see no reason–"

"GUN will still be around after this, right, Mister Shadow?"

Shadow paused, nodding hesitantly. Cream jutted out her lip, meeting his eye with a look of defiance.

"Then that means there are still bad people in the world. And I'm going to help fight them."

Shadow opened his mouth to speak, but said nothing; Cream smiled, looking pleased with herself. "I've made all the arrangements with the General, and I expect to start my training no later than January," she stated, standing up and smoothing down her skirt. "This is not up for debate."

Cream turned to leave, casting a melancholy glance down at Maurice before pushing through the doorway, Cheese trailing close behind her.

---

"It's started snowing… I wish you could've seen it. Tails says you always loved watching the first snow."

Outside the window of Maurice's hospital room, snowflakes were raining down in sheets and clinging to the leafless trees, so blindingly white it made me go cross-eyed. Manic said winter here usually came around late November, but for some reason, Mother Nature saw fit to send it right in the middle of the month, which irritated me beyond belief.

I didn't know why I wanted to talk to Maurice. I knew he couldn't hear me, but… it was comforting, somehow. To talk to him. Keep him posted. Amy and Manic seemed to think so too, judging by how frequently they visited and how many times the nurses had to remind them to keep their voices down.

"It took me forever to drive here, there's been a bunch of snow backing up the highway all week," I continued, staring transfixed at his still, unresponsive features. "We all went to see the new Montana Badger movie last weekend, and we almost missed it because of the traffic… Knuckles thinks the movie was a bit of a letdown, though."

Tails was the only one I never heard talking to Maurice. He visited almost every day, but he just… sat there. In silence. For hours. And when he wasn't at the hospital, he was hunkered down in his garage, tinkering as loudly as he could on a project he didn't want to talk about.

It was a little concerning.

"Vanilla invited everyone over to her house for Thanksgiving this Thursday," I continued, gripping the tops of my knees. "Knuckles said he'd teach me and Manic all about your team's traditions. This…" I said, breathing deep. "This'll be the first real Thanksgiving me and Manic will have in… well… a long time. Uncle Chuck wasn't too enthusiastic about the holidays. Not sure if you'd remember much about him, but, well… he's a lot grouchier than he used to be–"

An abrupt knock interrupted me, followed by a tired-looking candy striper peeking in through the door.

"Um… madam?" he asked, sounding anxious. "Just so you know… visiting hours are almost over for the day. We can't let you stay much longer."

"I know, I know…" I murmured, slowly rising from my chair. "Um… I'll come to see you again soon, alright?" I asked, maybe a bit more timidly than I should.

It had been almost a month since the battle with Dark, and Maurice's condition still hadn't changed. The doctors had gotten him on some medication that helped with the seizures, but they had no idea when he'd wake up. Or if he'd wake up–

No. Don't think like that. Maurice was going to be fine.

He had to be.

---

When Manic and Amy heard that I was heading out visit Maurice again, I didn't have the heart to remind them that someone should probably stay home with Tails, who was busy hammering away at something in his workshop. Besides, I appreciated the company.

(and Manic was still avoiding Knuckles.)

"Look, it's not like I meant to knock over the turkey!" he insisted. "I told you, it was an accident!"

Amy smirked. "You're just lucky you didn't knock anything else over. Why did you think it was a good idea to catch that football?"

"Rouge said to go long, so I went long!"

"And landed on the table."

"I wasn't aiming for it!"

I stifled a snort; in hindsight, Knuckle's reaction to his perfect turkey splattering on the ground was kinda funny. So was him chasing Manic down the street with a spatula.

After Knuckles had calmed down a bit, we ended up ordering a pizza and watching the parade on TV. Manic hid in the attic all night.

"Well, at least this'll be a year to remember," I offered, grinning at Manic's indignation; he scowled, but I could see the smile behind his eyes.

---

I had been filling in Maurice on Manic's turkey escapade when Amy popped in, Rouge close behind her, looking bored (as usual).

"You coming, Sonia?" asked Amy, smiling brightly.

I frowned, "Where are we going?"

Amy laughed, "KC Jennys, obviously. It's Black Friday, and there's this adorable red blouse I've been eyeing–"

"Why would you go to a store during a blackout?" I raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that a little counterproductive?"

Rouge snorted. "That's not what Black Friday is, hayseed. ...You have heard of it, right?"

I clenched my teeth; ooohh, the nerve of her and her stupid, pretentious face– "Of… course. Who hasn't?"

"Mm-hm... sure thing, sweetheart."

"I have!" I protested, "Manic and I heard some ads promoting it on the radio last year. He said it was a place where desperate soccer moms go to die."

Rouge rolled her eyes, "Maniac would say that."

Amy took pity on my confusion, "Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and it's kind of like a jumpstart to the holiday season. There are some really good deals on clothes, and electronics, and all sorts of things! Everything is on sale!"

"Most things are on sale," Rouge snarled. "I'm still mad about Stacey's revoking their seventy-five percent off deal on ruby-encrusted stilettos."

Amy rolled her eyes, turning back to me. "Rouge and I usually go together, but since you're here, we thought we'd invite you!"

Rouge smirked; Amy shot her a glare. "Okay, fine, I thought I'd invite you. But seriously, come on! It'll be fun!"

I hesitated. It had been several months since I'd had anything close to a shopping trip that didn't involve Manic's cringey jokes and his attempts to steal everything that wasn't nailed down.

"It's also a good way to… relieve some stress." Her gaze drifted to Maurice, a flash of sadness flickering over her eyes. "It can be a girl's night! Manic and Tails will be here, and Tails promised he'd call if there are any changes."

Rouge didn't look too ecstatic about the idea, and to be honest neither did I. An entire day with Rouge was right at the top of my list of things I never, ever wanted to experience, along with contracting the plague, or being eaten alive by a family of hungry ocelots.

But… Chaos, I needed to get out and do something productive. Carrying on this one-sided conversation with my comatose brother every day was taxing on my mind. At least, that was what Shadow and Manic kept telling me.

I smiled. "Let me just grab my purse."

Amy's face lit up. "Great! I'll park my car out front- meet you in five!"

Rouge followed her out of the room, shooting me a look of disdain. Oh, how I loathed her...

I sighed, turning back to Maurice. "Wish me luck with the she-demon. And Rose too, I guess. But she's alright."

Part of me wanted desperately to stay; what if… what if he woke up, and I missed it? What if there was another seizure? What if he flatlined, and the doctors weren't able to save him, and–

"Hey country girl, you coming?" Rouge called, sneering as she popped her head back in the room. "Or do you wanna buy your tacky shoes at full price?"

I gritted my teeth; oh, she was going down.

---

December

Amy's POV:

"Your sister is... well… terrifying."

I shifted uncomfortably in the stiff hospital chair, resting my cheek on my fist. "I mean, no offense, she definitely knows how to have fun, and she can hold her own in any situation involving evil robots and possessive demons, and is a scary good sharpshooter, and... all those things I just said only add to her terrifying-ness."

It was early morning, December first, a little less than a month since… everything. I realized that it was the first time I had been able to see Sonic without anyone else around, so I decided to take the opportunity to verbalize my scattered thoughts.

And... it felt nice to talk to Sonic again.

"Okay, so Black Friday, right? I invited her to come along with me and Rouge. I was half expecting the night to be full of them just constantly sniping at each other… which it was, at first. Seriously, what is their deal? Just bickering, all the time! But then they both saw this huge mega sale going on at the mall–" I paused, closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "The rest of the night was basically Rouge and Sonia tag-teaming through every sale they could find. I have no idea how it even happened, but we all ended up having a pretty good time… at least, I think we did." I shrugged. "I got all of my holiday shopping done, so I guess that's what matters."

I fell silent for several minutes, fidgeting with my hands, mind racing. "I, uh… I need to tell you something, Sonic. And maybe… maybe saying it now will make it easier for when you're actually conscious."

I took a deep breath, "When… when we first met–" I smiled, "Actually, the second time we met, I helped you fight Metal Sonic. It was only a little swing, but I knocked him to ground. You were a little surprised, but you didn't ask how I was able to summon a weapon out of thin air. Actually, you never asked. Not once. You just accepted it, that that was something I could do. And that's one of the things I loved about you… that I still love about you."

I bit my lip. "But… sometimes I wished you would ask. Then I could just tell you about… about Rin."

My eyes fell down to my hands. "Rin is… was my mentor of sorts. She's the one who gave me my hammer and strength. Without her, I'd still be stuck back home, with my parents. I'd probably never have left. But…" I felt a lump start to build in my throat. "During our fight with Dark he… he got to her. And he–"

A sob broke loose and the tears started to fall; I quickly wiped them away, "I'm sorry, I just… I haven't been able to say anything to anyone about her since… well, she lived in my head. She talked to me, she helped me, and just… well, she was my friend. I hated having her at first, but then she… she grew on me. And now…" I fingered my right wrist, free of the gold ring since I had found it all those years ago. "She's gone."

I leaned back in my chair, looking up at the ceiling. "And everyone keeps saying, 'Sonic saved us all' and 'no one was lost' and 'everyone survived the fight, be happy'. Uggh, I wanna march up to them and get in their face and tell them that that isn't true, but I… I can't. Because no one knew about her. She died a hero and–" I bowed my head, the tears now falling freely, "No one knows but me."

"Correction: no one knows but us."

My head snapped up; Manic was leaning against the doorway, arms crossed and a smile quirking at his lips. He entered, closing the door behind him for some privacy, then settled into an empty chair. "Hey, Pinks."

I flinched and jerked my head down, eyes locked on my trembling hands. Why did he have to use that name–

"You don't have to talk if you don't want to," Manic hurriedly reassured. "I swear I wasn't spying or nothing, I was just coming to tell Sonic about the latest design of the new plane. Tails ain't sold on it yet, but I think I can convince him that the transformer-thing would be way cooler than just your standard biplane. I didn't even know you were here."

I rubbed my eyes, trying to stop the rush of tears. Come on, get it together, Amelia, get a grip–

Manic stared at me with an expression I couldn't quite read. "Amy... it's okay to cry for her. She'd understand." He cracked a smile, " 'Course, she'd want me to keep my 'foot out of your business', but you know how I am with my witchcraft."

I cracked a smile, then felt the last of my defenses fall, burying my face in my hands as I cried for Rin. The sobs were painful and my gloves were becoming soaked by the minute. I felt Manic's arms wrapping around me and I almost wanted to pull away but ended up hugging him tighter than I had ever hugged anyone. Rin was gone, she was gone, and she was never coming back, and we were the only people in the world who'd ever remember her.

I couldn't tell you how long it was before I ran out of tears, but eventually, I grew quiet. All I could hear was the low beat of Manic's heart pressed against my ear, the sound of the clock ticking in the corner, and the heart monitor beeping its steady, endless rhythm.

---

I was cold, wet, and soaked to the bone, but I couldn't stop laughing.

On the ground at my feet, Manic was lying on his back, performing the most dramatic "death" imaginable. "Oh, the pain! I have fallen, dear brothers. Tails! Avenge me, young warrior! Tell the world my story!"

Sonia didn't seem to find the show as amusing as I did, instead choosing to drag her brother across the snowy ground into our snow fort, which was currently being guarded by Cream. "Here's your first prisoner, Cream. Make sure he stays put."

Cream saluted like a proper soldier, Cheese hovering above her head following suit. "Of course, Miss Sonia. How goes the war?"

Sonia and I smiled at one another. "We'll be winning very soon. Then we'll go get some hot chocolate and put on some dry clothes."

Manic brightened at the mention of hot chocolate, "Do prisoners get to go in early?"

Sonia shook her head, "No. They get hot chocolate last and are given the responsibility to shovel the forts back into their respective snow banks. We're still in a parking lot, after all."

"You are a cruel, despicable woman and I will not rest till I get my revenge."

We girls laughed then left to finish the game.

It had started when Tails and Cream had gotten bored during one of our visits to Sonic. You couldn't blame them, really. We'd already caught the hedgehog up on the events of the last week and had resorted to watching the line on the heart monitor. Cream came up with the idea of building a snowman and invited Tails to join her. He'd gone (with a little prodding from the rest of us) and the two ended up constructing forts at the edge of the hospital parking lot. Manic then dragged us all outside and ended up throwing the snowball that started the war. It quickly became Girls vs. Boys when Cream and Amy sacrificed their scarfs so each team could have a flag to capture.

On Team Y-Chromosome: Manic, Tails, and Knuckles.

On Team Winner: Sonia, Cream, and me.

It's safe to say the boys were outmatched, though I don't think they realized it until Sonia started dodging the snowballs. And Cream as a guard was the best decision ever, as Cheese was her eyes in the sky ("That's cheating, Cheese is a guy!" "Shut up, Manic. They're a package deal.") and she had a pretty decent aim.

Also, no one wanted to really hit her because if anyone gave her so much as a bruise, Shadow would have some… words.

I flinched as the hospital doors behind us banged open and out marched a very agitated nurse. "WOULD YOU KIDS KNOCK IT OFF?" she shouted, shivering from the cold. "This is a HOSPITAL, for goodness' sake!"

We froze in place, and one by one, we each dropped our snowballs from where we stood. Oops.

"Thank you!" she said, exasperated. "Now, would you kindly clean up this mess? We need room for the ambulances to park!"

She turned and hurried back inside with a huff, leaving us standing sheepishly in the snow.

"So…" muttered Tails. "Would this be a tie?"

"Who does she think she's calling a kid?" Knuckles seethed, completely ignoring Tails. "I'm almost twenty!"

"So it's a tie."

"Yeah right," I smirked. "We had you dweebs beat by a mile."

"Whatever, guys," said Sonia, snatching up one of the scarves. "Let's just clean this up."

---

"Happy birthday to you… happy birthday to you... happy birthday, dear Cree-eam... happy birthday to you!"

Cream grinned, her face illuminated by the warm yellow candlelight. She took a deep breath, snuffing out the twelve candles on her cake amidst everyone's quieted cheers. Cream had requested that everyone be present for her party, so, after promising the medical staff that we'd keep it down, we'd strung some balloons and streamers around Sonic's hospital room. As Vanilla began passing out slices of cake, I began to notice how… tired she looked. It was odd; Vanilla smiled brightly, but there was a cloudiness in her expression that I couldn't put my finger on.

Come to think of it… Tails wasn't nearly as chatty as he'd usually be during someone's birthday, and even the boundless aura of energy Manic normally provided seemed strained. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't feeling it, too; even as I laughed along to a joke Knuckles just told, there was a dull, achy feeling lingering inside me that grew bigger with every bite of cake.

Almost absentmindedly, I found myself glancing back at Sonic, allowing myself to imagine that he was here with us- not just in the same room, but here, talking with us, goofing off, just being… Sonic.

"Amy?" asked Cream, tapping my elbow. "You… okay?"

For a moment I froze, then quickly shook myself out of it. Not the time, Amelia.

"I'm fine. Hey, have you opened the present I got you yet?"

---

Tails volunteered to host Christmas dinner at his house, which came as a bit of a shock- the closer the holidays came, the quieter and more withdrawn he seemed to become. The traditions we'd been doing for years no longer seemed to interest him, and every time we had tried to invite him along to something, he'd mumble some lame excuse before disappearing into his workshop. Not even Manic could figure out what had prompted Tails to come back into the open, but whatever the reason, we were just happy to see him.

Sonia had asked me to come early to help set up some decorations, so, clutching the plate of brownies Vanilla had asked me to deliver, I knocked on the back door and shivered as an icy wind blew past me. Come on, Tails, open up, it's freezing...

Out of nowhere, an ear-shattering blast shook the ground beneath me and I nearly toppled off the porch; Sweet Chaos, what had just–?

"No, stop! STOP! COMMAND SYSTEM OVERRIDE, SHUT IT DOWN, SHUT IT DOWN–"

The door swung open and a cloud of smoke puffed out into the formerly pristine winter air, making my eyes water and throat sting. I stumbled back, out of the way of the smoke, and just in time, too- a string of charred Christmas lights shot out the door like a missile, crumpling against the fence with a bang. Tails emerged from the mist of inky soot, coughing and swearing as he ambled out the door.

"Scrap–blasted–urrgh, stupid defective engine, always overheats, the microchips are probably fried, gonna have to reprogram the entire circuit board, why, why, WHY am I such an IDIOT..."

Tails whipped around, yanking off his goggles and pitching them at the fence in frustration before slumping down to the ground, head in his hands. I stood a few feet from him, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. Hesitantly, I stepped forward, tapping him lightly on the shoulder. Tails' head snapped up in alarm.

I gave him a weak smile. "You, um… you want a brownie?" I asked, offering the plate forward.

Tails grimaced, clutching his forehead. "Not now, Amy, I… I gotta go fix this. Just tell everyone the-the dinner is, um… postponed. Yeah." Tails got to his feet and stepped over the badly-damaged screen door, disappearing back into the smog without another word.

Yeah, that's not happening.

Setting down the brownies on the porch rail, I hurriedly followed after him, ducking my head to avoid breathing in the rising smoke. Whatever had gone wrong in there, it couldn't have been that–

...bad.

Oh, Chaos.

What used to be Tails' living room now looked more like if someone had dropped a bomb on the North Pole. Brightly colored ornaments lay shattered on the floor, covered in specks of ash. Evergreen garlands were flickering with sparks, and what must have been a bunch of poinsettias were crushed beneath a fallen, flaming Christmas tree. Furniture lay broken and smoking, and every photo that had hung on the walls had been knocked down, the glass in their frames cracked beyond repair.

I flinched as the sudden sound of a fire extinguisher filled my ears; through the gradually dimming smoke, I could see Tails attending to the mess of tiny fires scattered around the room, grumbling to himself.

"Um…" I piped up, more than a little concerned. "What the heck just happened?"

Either Tails didn't hear me or I was being ignored. Hmmph. Fine then.

Stepping over the piles of rubble, I made my way to the kitchen, grabbing a broom and dustpan. No point in standing there and doing nothing.

Tails wiped the machine grease from his face, scowling when he saw what I was doing. "Amy, stop," he grumbled, picking up a wrench from his toolbox. "I don't need anyone's help. I can fix this by myself."

I kept sweeping. "Before six? It's five o'clock now, Tails. That's impossible."

"I told you, we'll just… we'll just postpone it!"

"Till when? January?" I smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Come on, Sonia and Manic already said they'd come early. We can clean this up together."

"No! You don't understand! I need to do this myself, okay?" he shouted, sounding like he was on the verge of tears. "Just… trust me! I can do this! I-I've got some old badniks in the garage, the ones confiscated from Robotnik, I… I can r-rewire them to be sanitation bots, it'll only take a few minutes, this… it'll all be cleaned up in no time, just–"

"Tails!" I interrupted, clapping my hands on his shoulders. "BREATHE."

Tails stopped short and for a moment, I half expected him to start yelling again. Instead, he looked me dead in the eye, biting down on his lip for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"Good," I said softly, releasing him from my grip. "Now, answer my question: what on Mobius happened here?"

Tails pursed his lips, staring at his feet. "It… I… I was trying to… it was a machine. To decorate. So… so you guys wouldn't have to." Tails looked up, glaring at the hunk of distorted metal that was still spouting clouds of soot. "But I– I screwed up, I disregarded too many design flaws that I thought weren't a big deal, I didn't program it correctly, and now everything is… well, look!" Tails burst out, exasperated.

I could see his point- The floor and walls were covered in a thin layer of ash, scorch marks lining the area where his machine had backfired. Along with the more tinder-than-tree in the corner and the string of fried lights, it looked like a regular Home Alone disaster.

Tails sucked in his breath, staring in loathing at the wreckage. "This was a mistake."

I gulped, letting out a nervous laugh. "Well, everyone has an off day–"

"Not that, this! This whole thing! Offering to have you guys over, trying to pretend like things are normal, I never should've–" Suddenly, he went quiet. "...nevermind. Forget it."

I stared at him for a moment. "Tails–"

"I said, forget it!"

He ducked away, storming back off to hammer at the remains of his machine. I couldn't help but stare- I was pretty sure he was just banging on it to let off steam. I felt my stomach churning; some part of me wanted to join him.

---

After some mumbled agreement from Tails, the dinner was relocated to Vanilla's house. It was a little harder to convince him to join us, but eventually, I was able to drag him out of the ruined living room (and got him to wash some of the machine grease out of his fur). Thankfully, Vanilla was more than happy to have us over; something about company tended to lift her spirits.

Much to Knuckles' chagrin, Shadow made the ham again. Nobody was complaining- his cooking skills were legendary. Once Manic learned that it was Shadow who was in charge of the meal this time, he took every precaution possible not to mess it up.

"Maybe you've got a point about this vegetarian thing..." he muttered to Sonia, edging a little farther away from the ham.

Conversation was minimal that evening; Tails hardly said a word and scowled at anyone who questioned why part of his hair had been singed off. But apparently, Sonia had gotten a job as a salon receptionist and had returned to renting an apartment, and Manic was back to living out of his van, so I doubted they would learn about the mess at Tails' house until after he'd cleaned it up.

Gifts were handed out with barely a passing thought before we hurried out the door, each of us carrying a box or envelope. It was a close call to get to the hospital before seven, but we managed to arrive ten minutes before visiting hours closed for the holidays. Our visit was short, to say the least; we each left the presents at the foot of the bed and wished Sonic a Happy Holiday, the mood more somber than cheery. Out of the goodness of her heart, the nurse arrived to kick us out five minutes later than she technically should've. That was nice of her.

Or maybe her watch was just slow.

---

January

Tails's POV:

I shut the door behind me, my eyes fixed on the steady pulse of the machine.

(I'd overheard the reports. The doctors weren't optimistic.)

With a sigh, I sank into one of the hard-backed chairs next to Sonic's bed (why were they so uncomfortable? This was a government-funded hospital, couldn't they spring for something easier to sit down in– whatever. Who even cares.)

"So..." I tapped the side of my leg impatiently, "I hit another snag in the repairs. Apparently, we don't have the right wrench for the particular engine we've been restoring, so… specialty order! With a two week waiting period, that means we have another month-long setback."

Add it to the list of things going frustratingly wrong. Rebuilding a plane from the ground up with only scraps of the original blueprints was more difficult than I anticipated. At least once a week, I found myself taking a trip down to the GUN flight range, where I'd snag any repair job available, roll up my sleeves, and pray that whatever was wrong with this model would somehow give me the inspiration to overcome the latest issue in the building of the…

Twister? Tornado II? X Tornado?

Even the name was being difficult.

I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Manic's been trying to help around the shop. Emphasis on trying. Don't get me wrong, he knows way more about mechanics and repair work than you ever did. But like… he's more of a handy, do-it-yourself MacGyver type. No PhD in aerospace engineering or anything like that, which means I have to talk him down from a duct tape solution pretty much every day."

I flinched at the sudden prick of pain in my forehead, gritting my teeth; why wasn't the aspirin kicking in yet? I had taken it more than an hour ago.

"Plus there's Knuckles and his stupid drama," I seethed, crossing my arms. "He's been pacing all around our house for the last three days, trying to figure out how to ask Sonia on a date. Pfft, please, like he's never gone out with her before. And he keeps asking me for ideas on how to impress her! Do I look like someone who can fix a relationship?"

I realized I was gripping the armrests of the chair so hard the tips of my fingers had turned white; I sighed. Okay, to be fair, it was their first official date since they broke up, but still. I work with machines. Don't talk to me about girls.

(or anyone, for that matter. I'd all but given up on trying to understand people.)

"Most of the time, I just tune him out," I muttered. "I can't stand talking to him when he's being so weird."

A sudden knock on the door made me jump; glinting turquoise eyes met mine and Rouge sauntered through the door, glancing at me in surprise.

"Oh. Hey, kid," she said casually, taking a seat across from me. "Didn't know you were here."

I grimaced; great. Just what I needed today. "I'm not a kid," I muttered, folding my arms in front of me.

Rouge smirked. "Whatever you say, hotshot."

"Do you want something?"

"What, can't a girl visit her comatose friend?"

I glared at her, fighting the urge to curse. "Since when was Sonic your friend?"

Rouge's eye twitched and her grip on the chair's armrest tightened, but her smug expression never faltered. "I take it you're not in a very cheerful mood."

"No, ya think?"

She narrowed her eyes. "What's your problem, junior? I don't recall being on your bad side before now."

A sharp, throbbing sting suddenly pricked at my forehead and I grit my teeth; I did not need this, I so did not need this, I had enough on my plate as it was…

"Just… ugh. Nevermind." I mumbled, rising from my seat. "I've got work to do. Later." Just get out, get some air, it's fine, it's fine–

A second later, I was on the ground, rubbing my aching skull; what the…? Since when was that door frame there?

Rouge snorted. "Ha! Smooth move, kiddo."

"...shut up."

"Yeah, yeah."

I picked myself up, trying to ignore the dull ache behind my eyes; maybe I didn't take enough aspirin.

---

Logbook - January 28th

Current Projects:

*Parenthesized words in the following line are supposed to be crossed out.

(-The New Tornado- -Tornado: The Sequel- -The Tomato- -i hate my life- -The Tornado 2-) whatever the heck i decide to call it i dont care anymore i dont care I DONT CARE

Repair decorating machine (maybe)

That's it. That's all I have.

Looking at that list, I felt a little disappointed in myself. Two months ago, I at least had a purpose. Now even that was gone. My life had gone from smashing robots on the weekends to trying to prevent possessive demons from taking over my family's bodies to sitting in a workshop doing… nothing.

It was time for a new project.

I had already tried to look into making a stronger headache medication but found that, once again, medicine was not my strong suit (seriously, I was lucky to make that cure to Dark and that was with Hope helping with her own crazy genius brain). Not to mention that my handwriting was getting steadily worse, to the point that even I had trouble reading my notes.

No, I needed a project that had nothing to do with anything I had done in the past. No planes, no failed machines, no cures or medicines. Something… new.

Now came the tricky part: figuring out what.

Glancing at the clock, I bit back a groan (how was it was only one in the afternoon?). Another prick of pain convinced me to put my head down and close my eyes. In the dark and silence, I was finally able to think.

Alright, options. One, head home. I'm sure there's a long-forgotten project buried in the garage. Maybe I could try and fix my decorating machine before the next holiday season. Either that or lay down and try and sleep off this headache (as if that worked the last time). In any case, I had no interest in sleeping for the rest of the day anyway.

Two, visit Sonic. I'd already sat in his room for three hours this morning with Manic, who spent the time reading his new comic book aloud to both of us (apparently, someone from the Kingdom of Acorn had decided to cross the events of their ongoing civil war with Team Sonic's escapades. It honestly wasn't that bad, even though it was basically a crossover fanfiction about two completely different wars, so I found it pretty ridiculous). Going back so soon would be like rubbing salt into the wound. Every time I saw him like that, I just… I… I couldn't. Not right now.

Three, head down to the training grounds and take down some practice targets. I hadn't been down there since we went to fight Dark. There hadn't been any real reason to. Maybe the target practice would be good for me. Take out some of my stress on things that couldn't feel.

(that must be nice.)

My mind made up, I got to my feet and the room began to spin. I sighed; Aspirin. I'd just take another aspirin.

---

There are several things I never thought I'd see in my lifetime. Unfortunately, I'd been proven incorrect on many of those and had learned to just accept them as they came. But there were still a couple that I was positive would never, ever happen.

For instance, I never thought I'd see Shadow attacking Cream.

So you can imagine my surprise as the doors to the training area opened. Cream was currently flying through the air, her chao right beside her, dodging laser blasts as Shadow played target practice with a blaster.

My first instinct was to panic. Maybe we hadn't caught all of Dark's influence, or he'd just biding his time inside of the hedgehog and was just now manifesting himself. I was ready to run in and try and tackle him to the ground, allowing Cream to make a clean escape–

And then Shadow stopped shooting, lowered his gun and ordered the rabbit to return to the ground. "Not bad for your first flying session. However, we need to work on your speed and agility in the air."

Cream was positively beaming, bouncing from one foot to the other as soon as she landed. My panic died down somewhat as I cautiously entered the room. I fingered my gun, clearing my throat loudly. "Uh… what's going on in here?"

The two turned their gazes to me. Cream smiled brightly with Shadow remaining stoic as ever.

"Tails!" Cream waved, "Are you here to train with me? Mr. Shadow is an excellent teacher!"

I let out a sigh of relief, my hand dropping away from my gun. Right. Cream had somehow convinced everyone to let her properly train to fight… Well, just fight, I guess.

"I'm sure he is, Cream. But I actually came down for the firing range." I patted my blaster. "Wouldn't want to interrupt your lesson, so, uh... don't mind me."

Cream's smile fell a little. "Oh. Of course. I understand."

Scrap.

Okay, Tails, quick- Think of something that will make her smile. Or... apologize. Or–

"We were just about to move on to the firearms," Shadow folded his arms, "It would be good to have the distraction for both of you. Sharpens technique."

Cream's smile returned and I felt another wave of relief wash over me. "Uh… sure! I'd like that."

Five minutes later, Cream and I were lined up, earplugs in and guns at the ready. Shadow stood between us as he explained the exercise. "Five targets each at differing ranges. Your goal is accuracy, not speed. Take your time, aim true. Better to have one perfect shot then seventeen rushed ones."

Cream nodded, shifting her stance slightly as Cheese fluttered above her. I adjusted my weapon, ignoring my still-throbbing headache. What was the matter with the medicine I'd been taking...?

"Begin."

The first target was really close. Maybe a few feet. I aimed and pulled the trigger, hitting in the yellow center. The next target was a little further. Another shot, still near the center, but not quite as clean or easy.

It was the next target I started having issues. I aimed, squinting to see the rings. The headache flared and my shot went wide.

"Keep your aim up."

I glanced over and found Shadow watching me. "I thought this was Cream's training."

"No reason not to sharpen your own skills. Keep your aim up."

I rolled my eyes but obliged. This time, I hit the target, but wasn't sure if it was in the center or not.

Beside me, Cream took her last shot at the furthest target. "Finished."

"Wait until Miles finishes, then we will take a look at your results."

My cheeks flushed, turning my attention to the next target. This one looked even worse, my headache making my eyes water. I lined up and shot, then took a reckless shot at the furthest target, putting my gun down. I rubbed the water out of my eyes, blinking rapidly. "Sorry. I've got this killer headache."

"Your enemy will not care if you are in peak performance," Shadow pushed a button on the control panel, bringing the targets forward to the front. "You have to find a way to either adapt or change the situation."

"Hey, I've taken like, four aspirins this morning. There's not much else I can do."

Shadow didn't seem impressed. "Well, you successfully took down one of the targets. Two were injured but would have still been in a good enough condition to fight. The last targets would have been grazed, or you would have missed them completely."

A rush of anger filled my chest, but with one look from Shadow, it died almost instantly, replaced with… was that shame? Oh Chaos, Shadow was making me feel ashamed of my shooting. Kill me now. At least Cream performed better than me… kind of.

"You successfully hit all of the targets. For your first time, that is very good. However, you did not take any of the targets out of the fight, meaning you still have five very active, very angry enemies to deal with."

Cream's expression fell slightly, but she nodded, looking determined to do better next time.

"Now, show me how fast you can load your gun."

---

An hour later, Cream and I were sitting on the sidelines of the sparring court. Shadow had been called away for some undisclosed reason (my guess was General Towers needed a spy or something) leaving the two of us alone to chat.

"So…" I cleared my throat, "How long has Shadow been training you?"

Cream finished off the last of her water before responding. She had clearly been working hard, sweat glistening her forehead and her cheeks slightly flushed. "Today was actually my first day, and it was more of an assessment. Well, that's what Mister Shadow says, anyway."

"What'd you get assessed on?"

"Speed, agility, strength, stealth, flight, accuracy… just the basics." Cream gave Cheese her empty water bottle. The chao immediately flew off in the direction of the water fountain to refill it. "He said he wanted to see my strengths and weaknesses before he really started our sessions."

I smiled. "Makes sense."

Cheese handed Cream back her now filled water bottle and she gratefully accepted it, taking another swig of water before tucking it back in her bag. "So how have you been doing?" she asked curiously, wiping her mouth. "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

"Oh, I'm… fine." I lied, darting my eyes to the opposite end of the room. "You know me, just… keeping busy."

"With what?"

"Y'know…" I floundered, starting to feel anxious. "Science… stuff. Lots of science."

Cream raised an eyebrow, giving me a quizzical smile. "Sounds interesting."

"Oh, it is. Positively riveting, I tell you."

"Uh-huh…" Cream smirked.

I glowered, "You don't believe me."

"No, not really."

I opened my mouth to retort but found the words were missing. "Okay, fine," I mumbled. "I haven't really been doing anything lately. Happy?"

Cream smiled softly. "Are you?"

"...what?"

"Are you happy?"

I stared at her for a moment, trying to detect any hints of an underlying agenda. "Uh… y-yeah, I guess."

Cream's smile tightened. "Tails, I've seen you shoot before, and it's never been this… well… bad. What's going on?"

I pursed my lips, staring at my shoes. "Nothing, Cream. I'm fine."

"Tails. Come on."

"I'm serious, I'm fin–" Suddenly our eyes met; one glance at her and any desire I had to lie melted away. I bit down on my lower lip and sighed.

"It's just…" I started, not really sure what to say. "Nothing I do is right anymore. I don't have any new ideas for projects, and anything I do work on, I… I just screw it up. So I just don't do anything, but when I don't do stuff, I feel bad because then I'm just dead weight, but at least then I'm not making things worse than they already are but I still feel bad anyway, and my stupid head won't stop hurting no matter how many pain killers I take, and…" I stopped myself. "I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"No, you're fine, it's–" Cream sputtered, looking concerned. "Do you want a hug?"

I blinked in surprise; that was just about the last thing I expected her to say. Against my will, I found myself nodding my head and immediately, Cream had wrapped her arms around me in a tight embrace. Moments later, I was hugging back.

And for a minute, I forgot all about my headache.

---

I was bored.

The Tornado's repairs were on hold for the foreseeable future, I'd upgraded GUN's security measures for threats that no longer existed, and T-Pup had been updated twenty-seven times in the last week. I had organized and reorganized my lab in my backyard (it was clean. I haven't had a clean workspace since I was seven.) and was now alphabetizing all my old blueprints.

Unfortunately, around the "C's", the pain in my eyes flared to a level that was so unbearable I had to stop. (On the bright side, at least I'd have something to do tomorrow...)

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. It was almost dinner time anyway, so I'd have to leave that for tomorrow. Amy had invited everyone over to eat on this fine evening. And when she "invited" it sounded more like an order than anything. I was too afraid she'd pull out the hammer if I said no, so I agreed to come.

I shut my currently blank notebook and left it on the work table so it would be the first thing I'd see tomorrow morning. The lights were flicked off and the door closed then locked. I slipped the key into one of the pouches on my belt then headed next door.

---

The table was covered in food. And I mean covered. There were plates of burgers topped in all kinds of condiments with sides of salads, fruit, and fries, along with a giant bowl of onion rings right in the center. Add several hot dogs covered in chili and cheese, the grilled cheese platter, the six different salads and the four pots of soup, you had a regular buffet table.

Amy looked exhausted, her apron filthy and her cheeks red from the heat, but her eyes were bright and her smile was big. "So? What do you all think?"

I wasn't the only one surprised at the abundance of food. Knuckles scratched the back of his neck, a large frown on his face. "Uh… no offense Amy, but I thought it was going to be just us. This is enough to feed a hundred people."

Rouge examined the three cakes on the counter and the several plates of cookies, "What's the occasion?"

"Well…" Amy motioned at the table. "I'm thinking about starting a restaurant. And I need to make sure that I'm serving things people like. I just need you guys to try as much as you can. Then tell me what you think."

Manic had already begun tackling the table, his face covered in barbeque sauce from his half-eaten burger. "This. Is. Amazing."

Amy grinned, "I'm thinking of calling that one The Buzzbomber. A half-pound burger patty, dipped in a sweet barbeque sauce, topped with onions all on a honey glazed bun."

"Mph-mhy-mh!" Manic's mouth was too full to understand, but I think we all got the message as he took another big bite.

Rouge picked up a different burger, examining it and it's contents, "What do you call this, Rose?"

It took Amy a moment to identify her creation. "I was thinking Early Morning Flicky. It's your basic club burger. Hamburger, egg, bacon, tomato, lettuce, and my special sauce."

"Mmh." Rouge took a tentative bite, chewing slowly. "Not bad… could use some more sauce."

"I'll write that down."

My curiosity was piqued and I picked up the closest item, which appeared to be a basic burger. Onion, ketchup, patty, nothing else. "How about this one?"

"Oh, uh," Amy's face turned a shade redder, her gaze flicking over to Shadow, "I call that one Basic ARC."

Shadow raised an eyebrow, "Basic ARC?"

"Write what you know?" Amy smiled nervously, "You like plain burgers, right? And it was either Basic ARC or Fifty-Year Throwback."

I couldn't prevent the snort that came out, before quickly handing the burger over to Shadow's outstretched hand.

Manic had long-since finished his burger and was now looking around the table, a huge grin on his face. "Didja name one after me?"

"Technically, yes." Amy reached over and picked up a plate of chicken fingers covered in ketchup and mustard, "Say hello to Thieving Fingers."

Manic took one and popped it into his mouth. "Hmm… add some relish and I'll allow it."

"Knew I forgot something!" Amy facepalmed before racing out of the room, plate in hand.

While she was gone, everyone dug into the mountain of food. The main highlights were the names based on one of our teammates. There was a cheese-dog, covered in nacho cheese, sprinkled in cheddar and bacon bits that Amy called Tailspin (I appreciated that), a vanilla cupcake with cream cheese frosting named The Sweet Rabbit, a green salad called The Meat Dodger, a barbeque chicken sandwich creatively named Knuckle Sandwich, and a spicy white soup with chicken dumplings dyed different colors, which Amy had dubbed the Emerald Snatcher Medley.

Knuckles was laughing so hard at that one that he could hardly stand up. Rouge returned the snorts with a scowl. "At least mine is creative! A knuckle sandwich, indeed!... and since when do you chuckle?"

We all ate until we were stuffed, leaving half a table of food along with enough left-over desert to last the rest of the week. Amy cleaned up the dishes before returning with a notepad. "Alright. What did you like and what do I need to change?"

"Everything and nothing!" Manic burped, reaffirming his statement as he reached for another Emerald Cookie (sugar cookie cut in the shape of a jewel and frosted to look like a chaos emerald).

Sonia slapped his hand away, before responding to the question, "There was a bit too much dressing in your Angel Island Salad, which made the leaves at the bottom more liquid then leaf. I also wasn't a big fan of your Chao Garden Fruit Smoothie. The flavor just seemed… off."

"Less dressing and change the flavor. Got it." Amy scribbled something down on her notebook.

"Other than that," Sonia smiled, slapping Manic's hand away from the cookies again. "It was delicious. I especially liked your Black Arm Donut Holes. ...Come to think of it, who are the Black Arms, anyway?"

Knuckles shook his head, "You don't want to know." He picked up a fry and used it to point to his plate, "Good grilling on all your meat, really enjoyed the barbeque sauce. And these onion rings–" He picked one up, "Are the best I've ever had. My only complaint is the lemonade. It was way too sweet."

"Less sugar in Gold Ring Lemonade. Alright." Another jot on the notebook.

"As much as I hate to say it," Rouge pointed at one plate that had hardly been touched, "I'm sorry, but you have to forget about your Solaris Sandwich. It's just… awful."

"Already forgotten," Amy said as she scribbled it down in her notes. "Anything else?"

I raised my hand, "I'm with Knuckles on the onion rings. Don't change a thing on them. Loved your Angel Food Cake and Green Hill Salad. My personal favorite burger was the Sonic Heroes." I grinned. "Close second was your Freedom Fighter Burger."

Amy wrote something else down. "Shadow? Any feedback?"

The hedgehog had been in the back of the action most of the night, so I wasn't expecting much from him.

Yeah, I really need to stop assuming things about Shadow.

"Well, to start…" he began, examining the food on his plate with a scrutinizing eye. "For one thing, the Whisp Salad is a bit dry. Too heavy on the croutons. The ARC Burger's patty is a tad undercooked, and the Deadly Six Mac'n'Cheese should not have any variety of peas in the mixture. That is wrong. I was pleasantly surprised by the Guardian Sunday, as I do not usually enjoy nut toppings. However, the salted caramel sauce mixed with the fudge balanced out the palette quite nicely."

I had no idea how to react to that so I turned my attention back to the table of food.

"So, Amy," Sonia began, slapping Manic's wrist away from the cookies again.

"WOULD YOU QUIT THAT?"

"What are you going to call your restaurant?"

Amy frowned. "That's the one thing I can't seem to get right. Any ideas?"

Manic immediately piped up, grinning in a way that only spelled trouble. "I got it- take the word 'hammer' and mash it with 'burger'. So… Hammerger– Hammbererger– Hammer-burger– Hamm–"

"Don't hurt yourself, Manic." Sonia shook her head. "And if you can't pronounce it, then it is a terrible name."

"Fine, how about Rin's?" Manic raised an eyebrow at Amy, who seemed to go a shade paler.

I frowned, "Rin's? Why that?"

"No reason," Amy replied quickly. "Anyone else have an idea?"

"Amy's Place?" Knuckles suggested.

Amy scrunched her face, "Yeah, no."

"The Hammer," Rouge smirked as she examined her nails. "No need to add a 'burger' in it." She smirked in Manic's direction, who mumbled something under his breath.

Sonia raised an eyebrow. "Is it a bar?"

"No." Rouge frowned slightly. "Although, Rose isn't the only one thinking about starting a business, so maybe my mind is still on club names."

Sonia rolled her eyes. "How about The Chaos Emerald?"

"Too cliche," Rouge argued back. "Uh… Red Dress?"

"Not a clothing department!" Sonia practically sang.

"Can it, pinky."

Cream finally piped up, her voice soft but it carried. "How about… The Red Mallet."

Everyone paused, exchanging looks.

"Works for me."

"I like it."

"Hammer and also a tool used in cooking!" Amy beamed. "Perfect."

I smiled, glancing at the food again. "So… what are we going to do with all this food? I mean, we can't just throw it away. And I don't think we'll be able to eat it all before it goes bad."

"Easy," Manic leaned back in his chair, "There's a homeless camp down by the train tracks. I can take the food in the van."

"Where?" I asked, trying to recall any section of the rails that could sustain a camp.

Manic shrugged, "Just downtown, near the harbor. I lived there for a while a few years back. A lotta good people live there and trust me, they need this way more than we do."

"Sounds good to me!" Amy smiled, "I'll get some containers." She left to the kitchen, leaving us for a moment. I began to load the remaining food onto the same plates and stack them. Sonia began to help as well as Manic and Knuckles took dishes into the other room. Cream talked with Shadow about the delicacy of the meal (she was a cook herself) while Vanilla went to help Amy. Rouge continued to file her nails, ignoring those around her.

Near the back of the table, I lifted a napkin and found a plate of untouched food that must have been missed by the group. "Hey, Amy!"

"Yes?" she poked her head in the room.

"What do you call these?"

Amy's gaze fell to the platter and her ever-present smile slid off. "Oh… I thought I had left those in the kitchen."

"They look delicious,"

"It's not that, Tails," Amy hesitated, "It's what they are."

My brow furrowed with confusion for a moment. All I saw was a plate of perfectly cooked chili dogs–.

Oh.

The temperature seemed to drop about ten degrees and silence fell in the room as reality came slamming back to the forefront of our minds.

Amy bit her lip. "I had hoped… well, I made them. Just in case."

"What… what do you call them?" I asked, swallowing down the sudden lump in my throat.

Amy smiled. It was small and filled with a sadness that, for the first time in a long while, had been absent.

"Sonic's Favorite."

---

February

Knuckles' POV:

I was enjoying the sunrise on Angel Island when my peaceful morning was interrupted by a loud, unearthly sound that I hated more than anything else in existence.

RING… RING… RING…

I looked down at my phone, a little confused. Who would be calling me at six in the morning? True, I was usually up by four at the latest, but–

Incoming Call: Sonia Hedgehog

Despite myself, I felt a smile stretch across my face. "Good morning, Sonia."

"Morning, birthday boy." Sonia's cheerful voice came through the speaker making my smile grow. "I'd sing to you, but we both know how that would sound."

"Your voice isn't that bad."

She giggled. "It is, you're just too nice to say so."

I laid back, closing my eyes. "Maybe."

Sonia laughed. "Well, I have a birthday surprise for you. But you need to come down from your island to get it."

"Mmm… tempting. Do I get any hints on what this surprise is?"

"No. That's why it's called a surprise."

"Is it bigger than a bread box?"

"Knuckles, you're not getting any hints. If you want to know, then you have to come down." I could picture Sonia rolling her eyes.

"Alright, alright, I'll be down by say… ten?"

" 'Kay. Meet me in front of my apartment. Oh, and make sure you bring a hoodie."

"A hoodie? Why?"

"Knuckles…"

"I'll be there, don't worry."

"Alright, see you there."

"See you."

---

Two o'clock sharp and I was standing next to the snow-covered steps leading to Sonia's apartment, a white hoodie on, waiting for her to emerge. As much as I disliked the cold- Angel Island was usually pretty warm- I couldn't help but be excited for what she had planned. Knowing Sonia, it was something special.

Chaos, I missed this. Being with her, that is. No life or death situations, just… life. Together.

"Hey, you!" said a familiar, sing-song voice behind me.

I turned to face Sonia, feeling my face split into a grin. "There you are," I said. "So what's the big surprise?"

She grabbed my hand, leading me to the shed where her bike was parked. "Hop on and you'll find out!"

The icy February wind whipped through my quills, but Sonia made sure to go slow, thank Chaos. I couldn't see much through my helmet, but from what I could tell, we were heading downtown.

I began to speculate. Maybe we were headed to some restaurant to have a late lunch. Or maybe we were headed to the park for a walk. In the snow. ...Okay, maybe not that. There wasn't much else downtown though. The movie theater? But the next Montana Badger movie wasn't supposed to come out till next winter… maybe there was another movie she wanted to see with me? Perhaps it was that one Tails kept begging me to go with him to (something about a superhero movie saga that had been going on for like eleven years, but it held very little interest for me).

Thankfully, Sonia drove past the movie theater and past the park. Instead, she pulled up to a very large, unfamiliar looking building. We had to park in one of those parking garages, which was packed to the brim before walking a block to the front entrance.

The main sign read, "Station Square Museum of Mobian History", with banners hanging down announcing the main attractions. "Artifacts of the Ancients", "History and Culture of Soleanna", and "Beyond the Cosmos: Planet Whisp" were the current main attractions.

"You may want to put this on," Sonia dug around in her purse before handing me a green beanie hat.

I frowned, but did as I was told, "Any reason why?"

"Well…" Sonia pushed the front door open and I suddenly found myself staring at myself.

Three large banners were hanging from the ceiling with a single banner strung below. The first banner was a picture of Sonic, Tails, Amy and myself, with the words 'Team Sonic', scribbled along the bottom. The next was Shadow, Rouge and Omega with the tagline 'Team Dark'. Finally, Robotnik surrounded by a few random bots he had built over the years as 'Team Robotnik'. "Sonic Heroes: A Hero's Journey. Coming soon!"

"Never mind," I raised an eyebrow at the sight.

Sonia laughed a little nervously, "If we get swarmed by fans, I am so sorry."

"I'm used to it… kind of." I shifted from one foot to another. To be honest, I was more used to Sonic being swarmed by fans, but since he was… MIA, there had been an increased amount of press pressure on me. Fortunately for me, I was much harder to spot than Sonic mainly due to the fact that I did not run at the speed of sound. That, and I was much more stealthy than the hedgehog.

(Still, that didn't stop last week's gossip magazine having the front cover of Sonia and I eating dinner together. "Knuckles Echidna and Mystery Hedgehog?" Thankfully, Sonia had chosen that day to wear her big sun hat which had shielded half her face so the press wasn't hounding her. Yet.)

"Come on," Sonia dragged me towards the entrance, "I already have our tickets."

The next several hours was the two of us wandering through the exhibits, commenting on anything interesting, and adding any other tidbits we happened to remember from where ever. It was a lot of fun, talking about history again.

"...and that is why the Guardians cut off any further relations with the Ancients," I pointed at the ancient tablet on display.

"Seriously?" Sonia raised an eyebrow, "Because of a stupid love triangle?"

"There were more reasons, but the love affair was the final straw," I shrugged. "My ancestors had a temper."

Sonia shook her head, but she was smiling. "And you don't?"

"Maybe."

"Knuckles!" she gently whacked me with her purse, but the smile never faded.

I turned my attention back to the tablet's printed translation on display. Whoever had transcribed it had done a pretty good job. However, they had mixed up a few glyphs–

"Chaos!" Sonia yanked on my arm, pulling me away from the display. "We're late!"

I glanced down at my watch. "It's only two fifteen. Vanilla told me we weren't doing ice cream until seven."

"Not that!" Sonia hurried through the exhibit towards the back of the museum. "We're late for the tour!"

"What tour?" I asked, confused. We'd already made our way through most of the exhibits on our own. Why would we tour the entire museum again?

Sonia didn't respond, yanking me through the crowd with hurried apologies. The people began to thin out as we came to a grinding halt in front of the entrance to the unopened Sonic Heroes exhibit.

An elderly-looking Overlander, maybe around seventy or eighty years old, was sitting outside. He had white hair and wore a brown suit, and in his hand he held a… was that a cucumber sandwich?

"Professor Pickle?" Sonia asked, out of breath.

Professor what?

The man looked up from his sandwich, "I simply must talk to the cafeteria about their cucumber sandwiches. Look here, do you see this sorry excuse for a sandwich? The bread should be no less than three-quarters of an inch thick. Upon it, one tablespoon of mayonnaise and a pinch of black pepper. The contents, FRESH cucumber, sliced THINLY, if you please! Am I quite right, Miss…?" He frowned slightly. "How rude of me, I never asked for your name."

"Sonia. We talked on the phone. I'm friends with Tails."

"Ah, yes! How is that intrepid young fox? I haven't seen him in ages." Professor Pickle got to his feet before placing his barely touched sandwich down on the chair.

Sonia smiled half-heartedly. "As well as he can be."

"Excellent, excellent," Professor Pickle patted his pockets, "Now… what is it you wanted again?"

Sonia motioned at me, "You recognize him?"

Pickle turned his narrow gaze on me, "Mmm… can't say that I do."

"Knuckles. The Echidna."

Pickle continued to gaze at me blankly for a few more seconds. Then he suddenly smiled, "Ah, yes! The famous Guardian! Here to see a sneak peek of the new exhibit. Now I remember."

I looked over at Sonia, who explained. "Professor Pickle is one of the museum's curators and is an old… acquaintance of Tails'. He pulled some strings, and ta-da! Private tour of the exhibit!" She leaned a little closer, dropping her voice, "Besides, I thought it would be fun for you to point out everything they got wrong."

I thought about it, then smiled; That did sound like fun.

"Enjoy the presentation, and please don't touch the giant emerald replica. It hasn't been completely stabilized yet." Professor Pickle unlocked the main door allowing us into the dark area. The quick flick of a light switch fixed that.

Okay, I'll admit it right out of the gate. The exhibit was, as Sonic would put it, cool. There were sections dedicated to each of the members of Team Sonic and Dark, including a very interesting biography on Doctor Robotnik (apparently, he graduated from the Mobius Institute of Technology with seven PhD's. Who knew?), not to mention the mini-replicas of some of our toughest battles (Chaos, the Death Egg, Black Doom, etcetera). In the center of the room was a pretty good model of the top of the Master Emerald shrine, with a giant fake emerald and everything.

Sonia let out a low whistle, "They certainly know how to catch your attention."

"Not bad," I examined the replica shrine. "The runes are wrong, obviously, but not bad."

Sonia giggled, sliding her arm around mine, "Alright, give me the tour."

"Where should we start?"

"Mmmh… how about the Black Arms exhibit? No one has told me what they are yet and it's driving me crazy!"

I shook my head, "Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you. You're never going to look at Shadow the same way again."

---

Another two hours later, we finally emerged from the museum, hand in hand.

"Alright," Sonia looked at her watch, "We've got three hours to kill. Where should we eat?"

"Doesn't matter to me."

"It's your birthday, so you get to pick."

"Alright, alright. How about that fried chicken place down by the theater?" I smirked at her obvious displeasure. "Don't worry, they have salads too."

The scowl vanished, replaced by a playful smile. "Jerk!"

I smirked, "Well, that wasn't very nice."

"Oh, you love me and you know it."

I paused, feeling my cheeks begin to heat up; I… was not expecting her to say that. Sonia must have been surprised by it too- her gaze immediately darted downward and I could see her face begin to redden.

"I… it's, um… I didn't..." she stammered, shuffling her feet. She set her jaw, looking me dead in the eye. "Oh, I'll just say it. Knuckles, I really, really like you, and I… I miss you. I miss being with you. And I… I was wondering if… y'know… we could…"

"Y-yeah!" I answered, feeling slightly out of breath. "Yeah, that's… that's exactly what I was thinking, I… I miss you, too."

Sonia's face broke into a grin and I felt a sense of relief wash over me. This was happening, after over a year of being apart, she wanted to get back together again, this was happening, it was happening and I'd never felt so good–

–until I was hit in the back of the head with a snowball.

I whipped around just in time to see a head of messy green quills duck behind the museum steps; Oh, you have got to be kidding me. It was-

"MANIC!" Sonia shrieked, balling up her fists. "YOU'RE DEAD!"

"Only if you lovebirds can catch me!"

Manic bolted across the street and darted behind a building, laughing maniacally. I stood dazed, not really sure how to react.

Sonia glanced up at me with an expression I couldn't read. "Wanna get him?"

"...yes."

We ran after him, following the sound of his crazed laughter. Turning the corner, I expected to find him trying to hide, but instead, he stood with his arms clasped behind his back, grinning like a madman.

"Oh good, you followed me!" he beamed, a strange glint in his eye. "Just like I thought. Tails, now!"

A snowball the size of my head sailed above me, splatting unceremoniously against the wall of the building. I turned around and looked up; Tails was flying above us holding some sort of cannon.

Manic buried his face in his hands. "Dude, remember what we said about aiming? You remember? It was kinda important."

"Tails, what are you doing?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Um… nothing?"

"It doesn't look like nothing–"

"TAILS, HIT HIM AGAIN!"

In seconds, Sonia and I found ourselves being bombarded with a blizzard of snowballs, Manic's insane laughter echoing between the walls of the alleyway. I covered my head with my arms to shield my face, running for cover under the museum's shrubbery. Tails kept wildly firing his snow cannon, not seeming to care where or what he shot.

Sonia grimaced. "Those dirty, scheming-! UGH!" she seethed, yanking at her hair in frustration. "I swear, I'm gonna-"

A barrage of snowballs landed at our feet; Sonia shrieked, then growled, reaching down to the snowy ground and packing together a small sphere. She narrowed her eyes for a moment before lobbing it up at the fox, landing a direct hit.

Sonia smirked. "Come on, Knuckles! They started this, so let's finish it!"

I paused for a moment before returning her smile, gathering together a small arsenal of snowballs beside me and hurling them one by one at our attackers. In the corner of my eye I could see Manic trying to sneak away; he was immediately bombarded with at least eight snowballs.

"Alright, fine, we give!" Manic shouted as I wound up to throw another snowball. "Tails! Retreat!"

"No way, I've almost got 'em–" Tails protested. Suddenly, his cannon began to sputter, coughing up drips of snow until even that stopped. Tails gulped. "On second thought… yeah, retreat sounds good." He dropped his cannon and zoomed off after Manic, dodging snowballs left and right.

I collapsed in the snowbank, laughing so hard my chest felt like it was ready to burst. Sonia fell to her knees beside me, her cheeks red from laughing and the cold. Eventually, we both quieted down, staring up at the cloudless twilight sky as the constellations began to blink into existence. I don't know when, but somehow Sonia's hand curled around mine, warming my freezing fingers better than any kind of fire.

This was a good birthday.

---

The following week, I was meaning to talk to him about his and Manic's antics with the snow cannon, but when I found him he was hovering about six feet in the air, covered from head to toe in machine oil. Cream was standing below him, covered in grease up to her elbows, tool box in hand. Tails' head was stuck inside the engine of his new plane muttering something under his breath.

Something snapped from the inside of the plane and Tails swore, jerking his head up and slamming it against the plane with a thud.

I winced in sympathy. "How, uh… how's she coming?"

Tails rubbed the back of his head, grimacing. "Almost done. Cream! Can you hand me the socket wrench?"

Cream cheerfully grabbed the tool and flew up to his outstretched hand. "Here you are."

"Thanks." Tails barely looked at her as he ducked back inside. A few seconds later, I heard metal hit metal as the fox continued tinkering, using the wrench as a hammer. Classic Tails.

Cream landed next to me, wiping the sweat off her brow. "He's been at this for a week now. Since his new wrench came in, he's been a total workaholic."

"I can tell," I motioned to the large contraption. "Last I saw it, it was just a metal frame with parts lying everywhere. Now…"

As far as I could tell, Tails had done a great job. The biplane looked amazing, almost identical to the original, minus the blue and yellow paint. Instead, the metal plating remained a plain silver with the only color coming from tinted lights. All of the innards had been placed out of sight, wherever Tails had found them to fit.

"So…" I banged my fist on the side of the plane, "You going to paint it, or leave it silver and shiny?"

The hammering continued for a few seconds before Tails pulled himself completely out of the underbelly. "Uh… I'm leaving it for now." His twin tails swished behind him nervously, "Sonic and I always painted it together and… I'm not ready to give up that tradition yet."

Cream smiled, "That's really sweet, Tails. I'm sure Mister Sonic will appreciate the gesture."

Tails returned a small smile, "Thanks." He closed his eyes, massaging his temples. "I'm going to test the engine before calling it. This headache is killing me. You can go on home, Cream. Thanks for your help."

"No problem," Cream waved. "See you tomorrow, Tails! Bye Mister Knuckles!"

"Bye, Cream."

She dashed off without another word.

"You might want to stand back," Tails spun his namesakes, lifting himself into the cockpit. "I never know how these things will react anymore..."

I did as I was told, backing into the corner of the workshop. As I watched the fox mess with gears and switches grumbling to himself. He looked way too unhappy for doing the thing he loved. Might have something to do with the hedgehog that still hadn't broken out of his coma.

It had been three months since Sonic went under and… well, I wasn't exactly optimistic about the whole thing. A few months ago I had finally managed to contact Tikal after her sudden silence, but when I approached her about a cure for Sonic she had been… less than pleased. I had to avoid the blast of Chaos energy from the Master Emerald by diving over the edge of the shrine.

Her words still shook me… that Sonic had brought this on himself, how he was on his own.

Sonic had purposefully put himself in a coma and almost killed himself? What happened after we… died? (No matter what Tails said, I knew we died. We had all died.) I almost asked Tikal, but the angry green energy spilling from her hands changed my mind. Chaos, I sometimes forget she's the literal bodyguard to… well, Chaos.

The loud sputtering of an engine brought me back to the workshop as Tails started up the engine. Or tried to. It let out a roar, spewing out puffs of black smoke. Tails quickly lunged for a lever; the engine quieted down after a moment, but was still emitting liberal amounts of smoke.

Tails grit his teeth and banged his wrench against the side of the plane. "DANG IT!"

"Can you fix it?" I asked.

"Of course I can fix it!" Tails threw the wrench across the room. "I can fix ANYTHING except this stupid headache! ERGH!"

Um… okay...

"Tails, how about we go inside? I'll throw some chicken on the grill and we'll have a regular barbeque and then we can watch one of your TV shows."

Tails groaned into his hands.

"I'll break out the honey barbeque sauce…"

"... Fine. Let me put my tools away. I'll meet you in the house."

"Sounds like a plan." I headed towards the house, pausing to check the grill in the back. It would do for two people. In the kitchen, I found the chicken drumsticks from the freezer and hunted through the spice cabinet. Tails joined me ten minutes later to help. The grilling and dinner went by in relative silence, with some small talk here and there. One four-hour Space Truck marathon later, Tails finally nodded off, leaning against my shoulder and looking more at peace than I'd seen him in a long time.

I was never the best with words. Losing Sonic would be hard on all of us, but I worried especially for Tails. One day he'd realize that his adopted older brother wasn't going to wake up.

The least I could do was be there for him when he does.

---

Rouge's POV:

Valentine's Day was a touchy subject for me.

My birthday had come and gone three days prior (not like anyone celebrated it with me- I'd gone to some crazy lengths to keep my teammates from knowing anything more about me than they needed to, and birthdays weren't exactly a matter of life or death). I wasn't really in the mood for more celebrations, especially ones that butted into every corner of my life from New Year's Day to the end of February.

But that didn't mean I wanted to spend it alone.

I sighed, pulling out my phone and scrolling through my (admittedly short) list of contacts; Knuckles was probably out doing something sappy with his hayseed girlfriend, so he was out. Shadow was always an option… except that his training with Cream had become something of a daily occurrence, and hanging out with kids wasn't exactly in my comfort zone. Amy was still working out the details of her restaurant thingie (did not want to get involved with that), and Tails was probably still crying over Sonic's comatose body.. So that left–

PING

My phone screen lit up, signaling that I'd received a text from… Maniac? I raised an eyebrow; maybe it was a lapse of judgement, or just morbid curiosity, but I opened it.

hey. im bored.

I smirked; typical Maniac.

Same

what are you doing rn?

Not much. you?

eating child

OMC I MEANT CHIPS

stupid autocorrect

anyway you wanna come over?

im tails house btw

I laughed despite myself, needing a minute to calm down before typing a reply.

idk, I think I'm in the mood to eat some children. Got any?

LOL

so is that a yes

yeah sure

I'll be there in 10

:D

I shut off my phone screen and tucked it in my pocket before pulling on my trench coat and throwing open my window; I'd rather fly than deal with Valentine's Day traffic.

In minutes, I had reached the front porch of Tails's house, and just in time- it was starting to snow. A wave of warm air washed over me when I opened the door, along with the scent of stale chips and… were those cookies?

"Oh, hey!" Manic said cheerfully, poking his head out from the kitchen. "Check it out- Amy just brought over her cookie samples for her restaurant, and they are amazing. Here, try one." Manic handed me a steaming double chocolate cookie that was just begging to be eaten. I bit into it, letting it melt in my mouth; holy Chaos, this was good.

"I know, right?" said Manic excitedly. Seconds later, his grin faltered. "...sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

I stared at him for a moment, feeling like I'd missed something. "Done what?"

"Erm… read your mind." he said sheepishly. "It's a habit… sorry."

"Don't sweat it- I think I've gotten used to it by now," I said, taking another bite of my cookie. "But hey, if you wanna make it up to me…"

Manic glanced in my direction, his lips curling into a sly smile. "Oh, yeah?"

"Let me read your mind a little," I smirked. "What have you been up to? Besides eating children, I mean."

Manic rolled his eyes, his grin only growing more crooked. "Oh, you know, this and that. Sonia wants me to get a steady job or something. Like that's possible… who do you know that wants to hire an ex-gangster with a rap sheet as long as his arm?"

"Depends," I said casually, examining my nails. "Can that ex-gangster read minds so easily he can do it without even trying?"

"Oh, ha ha," he replied, crossing his arms. "Right. Bold of you to assume I'll be telling the manager at Burger Prince that I learned all about his affair with the cashier just by looking at him."

"As much as I'd love to see that happen, that's not what I meant."

"What then?"

"Well…" I smiled. "I'm sure GUN would love your help in their criminal interrogations. Maybe even on the espionage team, what with your talent for breaking the law."

I'd never seen the color drain from someone's face so quickly. "W-what? I don't–Me? Working for the feds?" he laughed nervously, his eyes darting around as if unsure where to focus on. "No, that's– no. Trust me, that's a… that's a really bad idea."

"Whatever, Maniac," I shrugged. "I'm just saying, if you're so bent on being an 'upstanding citizen', doing a couple jobs for the government isn't the worst place to start."

"Uh, judging by your criminal history, I ain't sure if GUN's gonna keep me on the straight and narrow," he said with a glint in his eye. "Or have you forgotten about Stephanie's?"

I laughed and opened my mouth to fire back a retort, but before I had a chance to say anything, what sounded like a box of fireworks exploded outside, making me flinch.

"Um…" I said, raising an eyebrow. "What in Chaos was that?"

"That was our cue to leave," said Manic, standing up and making a beeline for the door. "Trust me. Tails is gonna come storming in any second now, and he is not gonna be a happy camper. Better for us to get lost before he comes inside."

Knowing what a grouch Tails could be, Manic's prediction didn't seem too far off. Sure enough, only moments after I shut the front door behind me, I heard someone enter from the back of the house, loudly bumping into things and swearing like a sailor.

"Yeesh," I muttered. "Is he always like this?"

Manic shrugged. "Nah, just when he blows up another invention. It's weird, though…" he trailed off, shivering from the cold. "Accidents like this used to be pretty rare. Now we can count on them happening like once a week. Never knew Tails to be this sloppy."

"Can't you just, y'know, read his mind and figure out what's wrong?" I asked.

"Honestly? I can't even get close enough to try these days. Everytime I talk to him, I feel like he's trying to set me on fire with his eyes."

Before I could stop myself I let out a snort; Manic grinned. "Ah, I see my plight amuses thee, fair lady. Pray tell, how might I continue to please thee?"

"Oh, I dunno…" I smirked. "Surprise me, o gallant Jester."

"Jester? The lady wounds me!" he said dramatically, clapping a hand over his heart. "I am but a humble servant of thy court, but if but if 't be true thee wanteth, we might wend some excitement on yonder city. Dost thou desire a tasteful delicacy of the frozen variety?"

I blinked. "Come again?"

"You wanna go get some ice cream?"

For a moment, I froze; was– was he asking me out?

I smiled. "...y'know what? Sure."

Manic grinned so wide I thought his face was going to split. "I know a great place downtown. Come hither!"

He ducked around the side of the house and grabbed his Extreme Gear, hopping on and gesturing for me to follow. I rolled my eyes but flew up after him, feeling the icy wind sting my face pink. Manic's quills were blown back, revealing deeply-etched scars and scratches around his neck and face. There was a nick on just his left ear that I'd never noticed before, and another just below his eye. It was odd; the longer I stared at them, the less ugly they seemed.

Huh.

I grimaced; get it together, Rouge, you don't have time for this, you're only hanging out with him because there's no alternative–

"So what's up you not having any plans for today?" Manic asked, interrupting my thoughts. "I'd figure that someone with your dating options, you'd have a full schedule on Valentine's Day."

I stiffened a bit before realizing he wasn't teasing. "Oh… y'know. Just slipped my mind. Never was much of a fan of this holiday."

"Aye, 'tis a most irritating celebration, ain't it?" he said, flashing me an impish smile.

I eyed him for a moment. "Where in the world did you learn to talk like that?"

"Oh man, you would not believe how many Shakespeare scripts people throw out. I've read like fifteen of his plays, and that's just from raiding the high school's dumpster every June. I dunno why everyone hates him, I think he's hilarious– there's the place!"

Manic nosedived down to the sidewalk, landing in front of a hole-in-the-wall ice cream parlor with a fading sign above the door. A neon open sign flickered weakly in the window, casting an artificial glow over the sidewalk.

"Okay, so I know it doesn't look like much…" said Manic tentatively, walking over to hold open the door. "But trust me, this place is the best. I'm pretty sure there's some actual witchcraft going on here, but whatever it is, it's awesome. Come on in!"

Why not?

I had to admit, the inside was certainly nicer than I expected it to be. The air was sweet and oddly warm for an ice cream shop, and a row of trinket dispensers and bubblegum machines lined the back wall, and though it was a bit crowded for my taste, it felt… cozy. In a few minutes we had ordered our ice cream and sat down to eat, chatting about, well… everything. When he wasn't shamelessly flirting with me at every chance he got, Maniac was actually a pretty good conversationalist. Before I knew it, our ice cream was gone and it was time to pay.

"Yeah… 'bout that…" Manic said sheepishly.

"Of course."

"Hey, in my defense, even if I did remember to bring my wallet, all I've got is three rings and a Mina Mongoose trading card."

"That's your defense?"

Manic's eyes flicked over to the matronly old vixen behind the counter, staring at her with a piercing gaze. A mischievous smile curled at his lips as he slowly stood up from his seat.

"Hold on a sec– I've got an idea," he whispered. Before I had a chance to ask what crazy scheme he was trying to pull, he had already begun to maneuver around the crowded tables, heading for the wall of bubblegum dispensers. What in Chaos...?

With a grin, he turned back around, scurrying back to where I was sitting. He leaned over, whispering so softly, no one else could possibly have heard.

"Just trust me."

My confusion turned to shock as I watched Manic bend down on one knee, opening his hands just enough to reveal a plastic ring with a fake pink gem in the center. Several of the patrons had already begun to stare, which only seemed to encourage Manic even more.

"Stephanie, sweetheart, since the moment we first bumped into each other, I knew you were special," he said earnestly, his voice loud enough to grab the attention of everyone in the shop. "I know that you're the one for me, the one I want to spend the rest of my life with, so I've just gotta ask…"

Manic opened his hands wide enough for the whole shop to get a good look at the ring. "Stephanie, darlin'... will you marry me?"

An elated gasp rose from the crowd as they turned their gaze on me; I felt myself begin to heat up, and though every instinct I had told me to say something, anything… I couldn't. I'd froze–

Manic winked.

It was as if whatever shock had taken hold of me had finally released its grip; I plastered a girlish grin on my face, clasping my hands together in imitated delight.

"Oh, Matthews!" I exclaimed, almost wincing at how fake my voice sounded. "I've been waiting so long for you to ask me!"

"Oh, Stephanie!"

"Oh, Matthews!"

Now listen– I really don't know what came over me. Temporary insanity, let's call it. But the next thing I knew, his lips were pressed against mine, and when both of us opened our eyes, Manic was in my arms and we were surrounded by at least a dozen cheering romantics congratulating us on the happy occasion. Manic seemed almost too shocked to move, but within seconds had gotten back on his feet, gazing into my eyes with that sappy fake smile.

"Oh, darlin', I love you too much to wait!" he blurted out. "Who needs a fancy wedding? Let's run to the courthouse and seal the deal right now!"

A roar erupted from the crowd as Manic snatched up his Extreme Gear and grabbed my hand, pulling me back outside not slowing down until we had run at least three blocks from the shop. I collapsed against the wall of a brick building, laughing so hard I my stomach ached. Manic had fallen over on all fours, wheezing and banging on the ground.

"That was… oh my Chaos, that was priceless!" I cried, wiping away a tear. "I can't believe those idiots actually fell for it… Did–did you plan this?"

"No way!" he shouted between whoops of laughter. "I mean, I figured they'd be the type to be distracted by the romance, but MAN, I did not think they'd be that gullible! Holy Chaos, that was awesome!"

---

I was a little concerned when I heard a nurse scream down the hall.

I was more concerned when I found Manic and Tails standing over Sonic, a stack of random items at their feet. Manic was currently piling ice cubes on Sonic's bare chest while Tails crashed symbols together and blew on a kazoo.

After taking a moment to process what in Chaos was going on, I finally worked up the nerve to speak. "Hey, uh, question: is there a reason you're disturbing the peace, or are you two just amusing yourselves?"

"Fear not, Rouge, there is a method to our madness," Manic said as he attempted to balance an ice cube on Sonic's nose.

"Care to explain?"

"The doctors are doing a sucky job of waking Sonic up, so Tails and I have taken it upon ourselves to do it for them."

"By raising like, all the hospital alarms?"

"Necessary evils. Plus that nurse was a wimp."

Beside me, a tall Overlander woman pushed her way into the hospital room, gaping in horror at the scene before her. "What the–? What are you doing?"

"Our best."

The woman stormed past me, marching up to Tails and yanking the kazoo out of his mouth. "What is the matter with you two? Sonic is in an extremely fragile state! Your meddling could have very well killed him! What were you thinking?"

"Well, we're kinda desperate at this point," Tails muttered, blowing a strand of hair out of his face.

The woman turned to the fox, glancing him over with a critical eye. "You're… Tails, aren't you?"

Tails stared up at her incredulously as he set down his pair of cymbals. "Well gee… I dunno! Am I Tails? Let's see…" Tails turned around, grasping for his namesakes for a moment before grabbing hold of them. "One–two! Yep! Multiple tails! Must be me!"

I snorted, but the Overlander didn't seem amused. "Very funny. My name is Dr. Andersen. I've been receiving some concerns from your loved ones about some migraines you've been experiencing. I'd like to run some tests to see what's wrong, just to be on the safe side."

Tails bristled; that must've hit a nerve. "With all due respect, Doctor, I believe the serum I invented was more than capable of neutralizing the threat of Dark, so if that's your concern then I don't think there are any real problems here."

"No, it's more of a general concern for your health," she replied. "Constant headaches aren't normal, Tails. I'd just like to examine you to make sure there's nothing serious going on."

"Doctor Andersen, I'm fine. It's not a big deal."

"Regardless, if you'd allow me to run some tests–"

"I really don't want to."

"Come on Tails, just do it," said Manic, gathering up the pieces of ice that had fallen to the floor. "It's just a check-up."

"I said I'm fine! If I wanted a medical examination, I'd ask for one. So, Doctor," he said, turning back to Andersen. "Your concern is noted, but the answer is no thanks."

She pursed her lips, peering down at Tails with a stern look. "Mr. Prower, this is a matter of your personal health in regards to your eligibility as an agent. What with how long you've apparently been enduring these headaches, I'm afraid this is not optional."

"I know my rights!" Tails insisted, balling his hands into fists as his cheeks reddened with frustration. "I don't have to examined by anyone unless my lawyer approves it!"

Manic smirked. "Dude, you're like thirteen. You don't have a lawyer."

"Not the point. We're done here."

Tails whipped around and marched out of the hospital room, leaving all of us a little stunned. Manic stood next to Dr. Andersen, arms crossed. He glanced up at her before speaking, "Don't take it personal, Doc. These days, he's just a little… on edge. I mean, who can blame him what with-" He motioned at Sonic. "Y'know."

Dr. Andersen frowned, "I'll need to see the General about this. Even if his serum was as good as he says, there's no telling what its side effects might be, or how they've affected him. And even if it has nothing to do with his cure, ongoing migraines are no laughing matter," Andersen glanced over at me. "See to it that he makes it to my office?"

I shrugged. "Whatever you say, Doc."

Andersen nodded as she left the room, not bothering to look back. Manic looked at me, that impish grin on his face, "Five bucks says it's gonna take the Ultimate Lifeform to reel that kid into the doctor's office."

"...No deal."

---

GUYS. GUYS. GUYS.

This is PART 1 of the current SIXTY-TWO page original chapter. I promise we have not been sitting around doing nothing. We have been typing. It's just so long that It' STILL NOT DONE. We just hit the half-way mark (or finished to the half-way mark) and will hopefully be done in… I'm going to say two weeks. So this was The Waiting Game Part 1. Part 2 will be uploaded soon.

Guess you nerds are gonna have to… WAIT (hehehehe i'm hilarious)

CHAOS. Nope! Denied!

Also, there are so many references in this chapter I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE TO START. If you want to count them, be my guest. I lost track a long time ago.

So Happy Birthday to Sonic the Hedgehog and Happy Flippin' Three-YearAnniversary of this story… on June 23rd (which is tomorrow for us, but might be past for you).

I cannot believe it has been three freakin' years of this story!

You and me both. I'm so done… Anyway, THANK YOU ALL for the patience and for the random reviews that made me go, "RIGHT. We have a SIXTY-TWO PLUS PAGE CHAPTER to finish."

ALSO, THERE IS A POLL ON MY (Oceanera12) PROFILE FOR VOTING ON THE NEW PLANE NAME BECAUSE HALO AND I CANNOT DECIDE. So… pick your pick.

*holds up a rock pick*

NOT THAT KIND OF PICK.

I am so tired. Review please.