Chapter 19

11:30 p.m.

"Is that... us?" Rouge asked. Knuckles grabbed a pair of tongs from a rack next to the fire and carefully removed each of the five small figurines.

"I don't know, how many humans do you know here?" Josh asked, reaching down to grab the figurine that looked like him. He pulled back quickly, the figurine burning him, still being hot from the fire.

"How did those get there?" Sonic asked.

"Our ghost friend sent us them." Knuckles said, motioning to the Ouija board, still in the fire.

"Guys, it's moving again!" Rouge said. Everyone quickly gathered around the fire, with the exception of Josh.

P-L-A-C-E-O-N-T-H-E-B-O-A-R-D

"I think it wants us to put the pieces on the Ouija board." Knuckles said.

"No." Josh said from the back. Josh was staring at the other game board. Josh picked up the pieces and walked over to the board. "We're not playing Ouija..." Josh placed the six pieces in a large area on the side of the board marked Parlor. "We're playing Clue." The five small figurines began to slowly slide across the board, the four animals arranging themselves around the fire and the human standing near a table.

"What is that?" Sonic asked, walking over to the table. As he did, the small Sonic figurine moved across the Parlor to the table.

"The pieces are responding to our movements." Josh said.

"The ghost's speaking." Scourge said, watching the planchette.

F-O-L-L-O-W-M-E

"How can we follow it? It's a ghost!" Rouge said.

"Guys?!" Josh called from the table. Knuckles, Rouge, and Scourge quickly ran over to the table. The five figurines were moving. The Knuckles, Scourge, and Rouge pieces were moving to the kitchen, while the Sonic and Josh pieces were moving to the Lounge.

"We go to where the pieces go." Sonic said. "Whatever it is wants to help."

"Why?" Rouge asked.

"Do you really want to argue with a ghost?" Scourge asked.

"Don't give me attitude." Rouge shot back.

"Come on, let's just go." Scourge rolled his eyes and walked out. The room sat in silence for a moment.

"How much longer until the rain stops?" Rouge asked the group.

"Not soon enough. Come on." Knuckles said. The two walked out, following Scourge.

"Does this whole thing seem fishy to you?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah. Out of nowhere, a ghost just shows up out of the blue, wanting to help us." Josh said, thinking. "Now I really think this was set up."

"Should we listen to it?" Sonic asked.

"For now, why don't we." Josh said. The two nodded and made their way to the lounge.

…...

Josh stepped into the dimly lit Parlor.

"Ah, our young detectives." A calm voice called from inside. He had a clear British accent, and a proper one at that. "Any leads?"

"Professor... Plum?" Josh asked, walking in, Sonic following behind him. Josh coughed slightly, as the room was thick with smoke from cigars.

"At your service." The Professor replied, taking a quick puff from a cigar. His yellow fur shone through the smoke like a beacon. He sat, leaning in an arm chair.

"Could you put that cigarette away?" Josh asked, waving away the smoke in front of him. The Professor shrugged and snuffed out the cigar in the nearby ashtray.

"So, what can I do for you?" The Professor asked, standing up. Sonic and Josh looked at each other.

"That... is a great question." Josh said, turning back to the Professor.

"Did anything, I dunno, strange or supernatural happen to you before we came in?" Sonic asked.

"...No, not to my knowledge." The fox said. "The only strange things I've seen is the attempted murder of John and Scarlet's new... er... well, let's just say she had some work done." The fox chuckled a bit. Josh nervously cleared his throat.

"We could interview him." Sonic suggested.

"One step ahead of you!" Josh said, smiling and pulling the tape recorder out of his pocket. "Professor, if you don't mind."

"Not at all." The Professor motioned the two to sit at a couch, while he sat at an armchair. Josh set the recorder on the table, and pushed record.

…...

Interrogation 003

…...

"Name please?" Josh asked.

"Didn't we just discuss this?" The Professor asked.

"It's just for information's sake. So we can refer to it later." Sonic explained, chuckling.

"Ah, right. How stupid of me. Ah, Professor Travis Plum."

"Alright Professor." Josh said, jotting down a quick note. "What is your... Professor... degree in...?" Josh said, searching for words.

"My Professor degree?" Plum asked, chuckling.

"I think he wants to ask what you teach." Sonic said.

"He isn't a scientist?" Josh asked, somewhat shocked at the news.

"No, I'm a Professor of Biology at Lawrence College." The Professor answered.

"Lawrence College? As in The Lawrence College?" Sonic asked.

"Is there any other?" The Professor asked with a smile.

"I'm guessing this is a big college." Josh said.

"You have to be incredibly smart to get into it." Sonic said.

"...As I recall, you did at one point." The Professor said, studying Sonic. "Although, you weren't in my class."

"You went to college?" Josh asked.

"Yep. Got my Four-Year degree. Sorry Professor, I don't remember you." Sonic said apologetically.

"Super smart, musically talented... don't tell me, he's psychic too." Josh thought to himself.

"That's fine Sonic. I wouldn't expect you to, you never had my class I believe." The Professor chuckled. "Oh, look at me, rambling on like an old man, you have an interview to get to!"

"Right." Josh said. "So, how well do you know the Boddy family?"

"Very well!" The Professor exclaimed. "Me and John met in college, I was the best man at his wedding, and I was there for the birth of his sons and daughter."

"Where's the wife?" Josh asked, taking a note.

"Dead. For about 3 years now." Professor Plum said sadly. "Maria was a wonderful woman. Very kind."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Sonic said.

"What about his kids, what can you tell me about them?" Josh circled something on his paper.

"His youngest is his daughter, Mary. He named her after his wife. She's only about 16, at a friend's house right now I think. Arthur is the next oldest. He's going to college right now, studying to be an artist. His oldest, Atticus, went off to pursue a career in acting." The Professor sighed. "They've grown up so fast... I have some photos if you'd like to see them." The Professor pulled out his phone and brought up a screen full of pictures. He gave it to Josh, who busied himself studying them.

"Where were you when the shooting happened?" Sonic asked.

"I was with the other four, Scarlett, James, and Delilah. We were trying to help Scarlet find the powder room." Plum rolled his eyes. "That woman..."

"Okay, I think we have what we need. Thank you Plum." Josh said.

"We do?" Sonic asked Josh as Plum stood up to leave.

"Yeah!" Josh showed Sonic the notes he was taking.

"...You're kidding." Sonic said.

"No, I think this is the answer. He's clever, I'll give him that. He created plenty of red herrings. But I think we've got the real culprit this time. We just need our other little group to find the weapon." Josh said. "And we have to do it before midnight."

"What's at midnight?"

"The time safe, it's going to unlock."

"You think he's going to take the Emerald?" Sonic asked, standing up.

"Yes. This was never about murder." Josh said, pressing stop on the recorder.

…...

End of Interrogation 003

…...

Rouge, Knuckles, and Scourge walked into the kitchen. It was simple, and rather empty.

"So what are we supposed to do here?" Rouge asked, going over to the sink and picking up a dirty dish.

"Beats me." Knuckles said, as he inspected the refrigerator. Scourge busied himself by leaning against a wall and putting on his sunglasses. Rouge looked over at the hedgehog, a look of annoyance plain on her face, before going back to examine the room again.

"Quit stuffing your face Knux, the food's not yours." Rouge called over tiredly. Knuckles looked out from behind the fridge door, a piece of cake sticking halfway out of his mouth. "Any you," Rouge looked at Scourge, "You could at least try to help. The murderer could be after you next if we don't catch him."

"I am helping." Scourge said, looking around the room. He walked over to the far wall and knocked. He smiled. "X-ray specs." Scourge said, motioning to his glasses. "Among other things..." Scourge trailed off as he stared at Rouge...

"...My eyes are up here." Rouge said coldly, walking over and ripping the sunglasses off of Scourge's face. She held them out in front of her and looked through the lenses. "A secret passageway." She murmured. She shoved the glasses back at Scourge. "You may be useful after all."

"So how do we get in?" Knuckles asked between cake bites, walking over to the wall to join the other two. Scourge studied the wall for a moment, then looked at the floor. Scourge knelt down and examined the tile closely. He could see scratch marks, indicating the wall could be dragged out. Scourge felt for something to grab onto, and found a small notch near the corner of the wall. He gave a sharp pull, and the wall slid out slightly. A small whirr was heard, as something dragged the wall to the right.

"...And that's how he or she did it." Rouge said, crossing her arms and looking at the end of the secret passageway.

A small and simple contraption stood at the end, a tripod with a small revolver on top, and a string wrapped around the trigger. The string was fed into a small black box with a timer on it.

"The killer set this up so they could kill Mr. Boddy without being anywhere near the scene of the crime..." Scourge said, walking up to the contraption and picking up the gun. "The timer goes off, the string tightens, boom." Scourge slipped the string off the gun and put it in an inside pocket of his jacket.

"...And what exactly do you plan on doing with that?" Knuckles asked, eying the new lump in Scourge's jacket. Scourge just sneered and walked off.

"...Anyway, where does that leave us?" Rouge asked, walking out of the passageway.

"Without a suspect." Knuckles said crossly. "If the attempted murder was remote, it could have been anyone."

"We only have part of the puzzle right now." Rouge reminded Knuckles. "Josh and Sonic are interviewing, they might know something we don't."

…...

11:45 p.m.

"Okay, so we only have to interview Ms. Scarlet, right?" Sonic asked.

"Uh, no, I really don't think we do." Josh said quickly.

"I agree, let's go." Sonic said.

"Oh boys." A silky voice called from behind them. Josh and Sonic stiffened and slowly turned to look at the other end of the hallway. Scarlet was leaning on the wall, her head gently resting on a red gloved hand. "Aren't you going to interview me?" She started to walk down the hall. "I've been a naughty girl you know."

"Uh, we've got all the information we need, thank you very much." Josh said, his face turning a bright shade of red.

"But then you wouldn't be doing your job right." Scarlet walked up to Josh and put her hands on his chest. "Please? It'll just be a short interview." She brought her face close to his. "Unless you want it to go longer." Josh froze, stammering.

"Fine." Sonic pushed his way between them. "One quick interview, then you quit hitting on him." Scarlet smiled, satisfied, and walked into the closest room.

"Thanks." Josh said quietly, shaking his head.

"I'm here for you. You just leave the talking to me." Sonic said.

…...

Interrogation 004

…...

"So, Ms. Scarlet." Sonic started.

"Please, call me Natalie." The cat purred.

"...Ms. Scarlet," Sonic continued. "Where were you when the shooting happened?"

"I was looking for a bathroom." Natalie said. "I was with the Professor, Ms. Peacock, and Mustard if you want proof."

"No, I think we're fine." Sonic said, pretending to write something down.

"If you ask me, I think Reverend Green is the killer." Ms. Scarlet said, taking off one of her silk gloves and inspecting her nails. "He would be the type. Rumor has it he's been jealous of the property John owns."

"No, he was with Mrs. White." Sonic said.

"But remember, she was knocked out." Scarlet pointed out. "He could have done that to her."

"Then why didn't Mr. Boddy say it was the Reverend?" Josh asked, feeling a bit brave.

"Maybe he was being black mailed." The cat suggested.

"No, even then, there was enough people, Mr. Boddy could have said something, and we would have subdued Reverend Green very quickly." Josh said. "The fact of the matter is, all of you are innocent."

"...Excuse me?" Natalie looked at Josh, eyebrows raised.

"All of your alibis check out. So, unless you all tried to kill Mr. Boddy, the only other option is that someone else in the house tried to kill him." Sonic explained.

"It had to be one of us though! There's no one else here!" Natalie exclaimed. Josh smiled.

"Then my hunch is right." He said. "All we need now is the gun. Thank you Natalie." Josh hesitated for a moment, then leaned down and kissed the cat on the cheek. "Oh, you were right about one thing, he is being black mailed!" Josh said, leaving the room. Sonic and Ms. Scarlet stared at the door for a moment.

"...Does that mean he's interested?" Natalie asked.

"No." Sonic quickly said, following Josh out the door.

…...

End of Interrogation 004

…...

Scourge, Rouge, and Knuckles walked out of the kitchen, just as Josh and Sonic were running up to them.

"What did you guys find?" Josh asked out of breath. Scourge took the gun out of his jacket.

"The killer put this thing on a timer." Scourge said. "It could be anyone."

"But it isn't." Josh said. "We know who did it!"

"Who?" Rouge asked, curiously.

"Sonic will explain later. Right now, get everyone gathered in the parlor!" Josh said, checking his watch. "And hurry! Scourge, come with me!"

"What? Why?" Scourge whined.

"No time, come on!" Josh yelled, grabbing Scourge by the jacket and pulling him along.

…...

11:50 p.m.

"All right, thank you for coming everyone." Sonic said. He stood in the middle of the parlor, surrounded by the suspects. "After some time, we finally have a culprit."

"It's Scarlet, isn't it?" The Colonel said gruffly. "It's gotta be, she wouldn't be here otherwise."

"Hey, you seem pretty suspicions yourself, Mr. 'I'm a war hero and should be getting more money!'" Scarlet shot back.

"Hey! Neither of you did it!" Sonic yelled, quieting the two down.

"Well, someone tried to kill him!" Mrs. White exclaimed. "I wouldn't put it past those two."

"Nobody tried to kill him! He was never meant to be killed!" Sonic said. The room went quiet for a moment before everyone started talking, one over the other.

"Everyone, please! Quiet down, and I'll explain!" Sonic yelled over the noise. The room eventually quieted down. "Thank you." Sonic began to pace around the room, slowly. "There is someone in this house who wants something from Mr. Boddy here." Sonic said, looking at the husky. "An Emerald." Sonic continued walking. "Someone here was blackmailing Mr. Boddy this whole time. He helped stage a fake shooting to distract us, while the criminal would sneak upstairs and steal the Emerald."

"Well, who is it?" The Reverend asked. "We want to know!"

"Arthur." Sonic said simply.

"That's impossible!" Mrs. Peacock exclaimed, "He's at college right now!"

"Right." Sonic said. "Someone was posing as Arthur. He panicked when some extra guests came to the door."

"Your group." Scarlet said.

"Exactly." Sonic replied. "He needed a cover, so he posed as Arthur."

"So who is it?" The Colonel asked.

"In good time Colonel." Sonic said. "We need to wait for a bit."

"For what?" The Professor asked.

"Midnight."

…...

11:55 p.m.

A lone figure stood in the billiard room. His gray fur bristled, anticipation building up. He checked his watch and smirked.

"Nothing can stop me now." He said quietly. He pressed a hand to his ear piece, listening to the conversation in the parlor.

"What's at midnight?" The Professor asked.

"The safe containing the Emerald will unlock." Sonic said. The criminal stiffened. What had he missed? Were they really onto him? He relaxed. It was too late to stop him. No one could. All he had to do was reach in and take the Emerald. It would be easy.

"...Where's Josh?" Scarlet asked, her voice full of worry. The wolf pressed a hand against the ear piece again.

"Right now, he should be upstairs with the criminal, with a little help. In fact, Atticus, I think you'll find them very, very close." Sonic said. The wolves eyes widened. They knew who he was!

"Atticus was behind this?!" Reverend Green exclaimed.

"And you're talking to him, when he's not in the room?" Scarlet asked, sounding more amused than shocked.

"He had Josh's shirt bugged." Rouge said. They found the bug! Atticus started to panic. It would only be a matter of time before that human kid found him. Then, Atticus remembered something, something that relaxed him greatly. It didn't matter if they came. He had a backup. The door opened behind him.

"So, you figured it out, did you?" Atticus asked, turning around. He was slightly surprised to see not one, but two people at the door.

"It wasn't too hard." Josh said, crossing his arms over his bare torso.

"Seriously, I could have come up with something better in my sleep." Scourge said, sneering. The two walked into the room.

"Well, I hope you're ready for a fight." Atticus said, his own sneer crossing his face. He looked down at the floor. Just a few more feet...

"What's he looking at?" Josh thought, seeing Atticus' gaze. He followed it to the ground in front of them.

A trip wire. Josh followed it to a hole in the wall. He saw Scourge walking toward it. Josh thought for a moment. The green hedgehog would probably try to kill him after they got rid of Atticus. It would be the perfect time, no one would be around to stop him. If he let Scourge walk into the trap, he wouldn't have to worry about the green menace anymore.

And yet...

"Scourge, wait!" Josh grabbed the hedgehog's arm. Scourge gave Josh a sour glance, before noticing he was pointing to something.

"...Clever." Scourge said, noticing the wire. Scourge gently pushed Josh back a few feet, then carefully yanked the wire. A bullet fired across the room, embedding itself right where Scourge would have been if he had activated the trap. "Where were we?"

"About to kick some husky butt." Josh said, walking forward again.

"This won't take long." Scourge said, walking forward.

…...

11:59 p.m.

"You were right." Josh said. "That was a short fight!" Scourge threw Atticus to the ground and grabbed a nearby rope.

"Thanks for the 'help.'" Scourge said, tying up Atticus.

"You know I can't fight. That's why I brought you." Josh said.

"But why did you need to come with me?" Scourge asked, sounding annoyed. A click was heard in the room.

"...That." Josh said, looking around. "The safe is open."

"Well... where is it?" Scourge asked, looking around.

"I don't know..." Josh said, studying the room. Scourge rolled his eyes and flipped his shades down.

"...I don't know what that safe is made of, but it's jamming the signal on my glasses." Scourge took off the sunglasses and hit them a few times, before trying them again. He grunted, before taking off his jacket and throwing it at Josh. "Put this on." He said gruffly.

"Uh... thanks." Josh quickly zipped up the jacket, confused at the kindness Scourge just showed him. "We have 40 seconds left."

"Where is it?" Scourge mused. Josh looked at the walls, looking for any sort of crack, when his attention was diverted to the paintings.

"...Scourge!" Josh excitedly called the hedgehog over, pointing to one painting. "Look!"

Scourge looked at the painting. Two dogs were playing a game of billiards.

"Yeah?" Scourge looked at a clock. 20 seconds.

"The room in the painting is the same as this one!" Josh waved his arm around the room. "Except for one part, in the back." Scourge squinted and looked at the painting. A small detail was added to the background, only about the size of your fist.

A safe.

Josh reached up and slid a fingernail under a small slit in the canvas of the painting, and peeled it back, revealing a gray box. Josh looked at Scourge, then pulled on a small knob on the box. The room filled with a red glow, as Josh's ring started to react to the Chaos Energy. Josh reached in and grabbed the Emerald.

The world faded away in a sea of red.

…...

Josh found himself sitting in what looked like Congress! At least, from the pictures he'd seen, it looked like some sort of Congress...

"Anger." A voice said from next to him. Josh looked over to his right. Standing next to him was an echidna, a very strong looking echidna, wearing nothing but a torn pair of jeans. "It can provoke people to do many things."

"Yeah." Josh said, leaning back in the chair he was sitting in. "Like black mail your own father so you can get rich."

"You seem defiant of me." The Echidna said, glancing down at Josh.

"From my experience, all anger has brought to anyone is trouble." Josh said, looking down at the men and women, both human and Mobian, yelling at each other over something or another.

"All?" The Echidna smiled. "What about your older brother?"

"What about him?" Josh asked, wondering where the Echidna was trying to go.

"There have been many times an anger has provoked him into action, the most recent being to protect you." The Echidna said. "Anger is not what you think of it. It doesn't have to be negative." Josh thought about what the Echidna was saying carefully.

"When Sonic found something unjust, he became angry, but he acted on that anger in a positive way." The Echidna said. "Much like these people here." Josh listened as what sounded like the leader of the Congress declared a law to come into effect. "They acted on their anger about something in a way that was non-confrontational. A debate."

"...Who are you?" Josh asked.

"You may call me Viha." The Echidna replied. "You must go. Now."

"Why, what's wrong?" Josh asked. "The other spirits usually let me stay for a while."

"You are in danger." Viha said. The world flashed red again.

…...

Josh came to, leaning against a wall. He quickly jerked up, searching for any sign of danger.

He quickly found it.

Scourge was pointing a gun right at him.

"S-Scourge... I know you were sent to kill me, but you don't want to do this!" Josh said, shakily. Scourge simply glared. "Where'd you get that gun?" Josh asked.

"This is the gun Atticus used to fake the shooting. I thought it would be fun to kill you with a gun that was only made to scare people." Scourge said, no hint of emotion evident in his voice.

"Please... don't do this!" Josh said, looking pleadingly at Scourge. His eyes scanned the room for somewhere to hide, but he realized quickly that it wouldn't be any use. Scourge was blocking the door. Any hope of escape was out the window. Josh felt the sense of impending doom return for the third time since he arrived. Josh suddenly remembered the Emeralds... his wishes! He began to slowly move his hand over his ring.

"Don't move!" Scourge yelled. "I don't want your little Chaos Spirits or whatever they are to get in my way!" Josh gulped and slowly returned his hand to his side. He squinted his eyes shut, and waited for the bullet.

He heard the click.

He heard the bang.

And, to his surprise, he heard a whoosh sail right past his head. Josh opened his eyes to see a hole in the wall behind him, right next to his forehead. Josh turned back just in time to see Scourge's foot leave the room. Atticus stood, white faced, staring at Josh.

"H-He missied." He said shakily, obviously frightened at what had happened.

"...Yeah." Josh said, staring back at the opened door, a good deal frightened himself. "I guess he did."

Sonic quickly rushed through the door.

"Where is he?!" He yelled. "Are you okay?" Sonic walked up, looking at Josh, checking for any injuries.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Josh said. "Scourge missed." Josh looked at Sonic.

"...Missed?" Sonic looked at Josh. Josh nodded, giving Sonic a "Something's up" look, as he began fiddling with the zipper on Scourge's jacket.

…...

Is it on? He-Hello? ...Okay, it's on. Hey guys, I'm back! Quite the crazy night we just had! But it's all over... for now. The Police came by early this morning to pick up Atticus. Poor Mr. Boddy was heart broken. He sent us off quietly, as he called the real Arthur to come down from college to visit. It was a very somber visit.

"Now where are you three headed off to?" Rouge asked once we were outside.

"I don't know." I replied, holding my ring out in front of me. I looked around for a while before determining that the Dark Blue Chaos Emerald was the closest. "Whatever's that way I guess!" I said pointing off.

"Well, good luck. Stay out of trouble." Rouge said, smiling. "Maybe don't get caught up in any more murder mysteries." She said, wagging a finger. I chuckled.

"Good idea." I said. I walked up to her and gave her a quick hug. "Thanks for helping." She hesitated a bit before returning the hug. We let go, she waved, and just like that, she was gone. Knuckles stood for a minute, watching her leave.

"...Hey, if you look close you can see little hearts in his eyes." I said, pretending to stare deeply into the Echidna's eyes.

"Yeah, you're right." Sonic said, mirroring me. Knuckles blushed and turned away.

"Come on, let's get going." He said gruffly, although we heard him snickering a bit too, probably realizing how love-struck he looked.

"Just a sec, I need to talk to Josh for a bit." Sonic said, looking at me with a sudden seriousness. I nodded. He started to walk off towards the grassy hills we ran across on our way up to the mansion the night before. I quickly followed. Once we were a considerable distance away, Sonic sat down under a large, shady tree and motioned for me to do the same.

"It's nice out here." I said, feeling a nice breeze brush past my face.

"Yeah... it is." Sonic said, smiling a bit. He sighed. "You know, Scourge doesn't just 'miss.'"

"I figured." I said. "Which is something I don't get. He was sent to kill me, and he had the opportunity to do it."

"You must have made a good impression on him." Sonic said, smiling a bit more.

"I guess." I replied. "...He didn't even take his jacket back." I said, raising an arm. I got my old clothes back, but over my white collard shirt, I wore the leather jacket. I had no where else to put it, it wouldn't fit in my backpack. "Is this why you wanted to talk to me?"

"Partly. I also just wanted to make sure you're okay." Sonic said.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I replied. "Shaken, not stirred."

"Are you sure? You were mumbling last night, sounded like you were having a nightmare." Sonic said, looking at me worriedly. I shrugged.

"I don't remember my dreams or nightmares, so yeah, I'm fine." I said honestly. Sonic smiled, and mussed up my hair for the umpteenth time.

"You ready to run again?" Sonic asked, standing up.

"Yeah, I actually have a question about that." I said, standing up with him. "How can you get out of the way of trees and stuff if you run at the speed of sound? Isn't it a bit hard to react sometimes?"

"I haven't run at the speed of sound yet!" Sonic said.

"But, when we first met, you broke the sound barrier I thought!" I replied, surprised.

"No, I didn't. You wouldn't have an arm if I were running super sonic with you in tow!" Sonic said, grabbing my hand. He stopped for a moment and thought. "Do you want to?"

"Go super sonic? I thought you said I would lose my arm!" I said, confused at the mixed messages. Sonic laughed and shook his head. He then gently picked me up, carrying me in his arms, like when he caught me.

"Better?" Sonic asked. I smiled.

"You sure you can run that fast with me?" I asked.

"Please, you're light as a feather." Sonic said, smirking. I laughed and shook my head.

Then it began.

Sonic started slowly, but began picking up speed. Soon the wind really began to pick up. It stung my face a bit. The world below Sonic's feet soon became a blur, and I soon couldn't look forward for too long without my eyes stinging. I turned to look at Sonic, who momentarily looked at me and smiled.

Then I heard it. For sure this time.

A loud boom.

The world went silent, as we ran faster than sound. I tried to say something, but no sound came out of my mouth. I smiled, and closed my eyes, partly because it hurt too badly to open them, and partly because I just wanted to feel the rush. It was amazing, feeling the wind on my face, the pure speed. I rested my head on Sonic's shoulder.

This was the best feeling in the world.

And not just because of the speed. I was with my brother. And, even if it was for just a moment, it was only us two.

After about three minutes, too soon in my opinion, Sonic slowed down to a stop. He gently set me down.

"How was that?" Sonic asked.

"Amazing!" I gushed. "We should do that more often!" Sonic laughed, then layed down in the grass. I layed down beside him. "...This too." I said, closing my eyes.

"You don't get to relax that often, do you?" Sonic said.

"I haven't had that much time. I've had two jobs, plus high school, and house work. I had next to no time to relax, especially not in a place like this." I smiled. It felt so warm, the grass was soft, and the air was crisp and clean. "I'm just glad we didn't have to fight anyone this time." I said, listening to the birds in the trees.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Sonic, are you okay, your voice sounds kinda horse."

"That wasn't me." Sonic said. I opened one eye, to see Eggman floating above us in his Egg-mobile. I quickly jumped up and backed away, while Sonic lazily yawned and slowly stood up. "Oh, it's just you." Sonic said sleepily, stretching out.

"You know what I want Sonic, now give it to me!" Eggman demanded.

"A new wig?" Sonic asked. "Sorry, I don't usually carry those with me."

"No, you blasted hedgehog!" Eggman yelled, pounding in anger on his control panel. "The ring!" Eggman pointed at me.

"Are you sure you don't want a wig?" Sonic asked, putting a fist on his hip. "I think you'd like it. Might cover up that... er..." Sonic motioned to the top of his head, mouthed "bald spot."

"It's not balding!" Eggman covered his head defensively. "It just... takes a while for it to gro- WAIT A MINUTE!" Eggman yelled in anger. "GET HIM!" Eggman screamed, pointing at me. From the sky, a giant robot dropped down, looking a bit like a ball on four legs.

"I've seen that before!" I exclaimed.

"Where?" Sonic asked, looking at me.

"It was from... ah..." I squeezed my eyes shut and started snapping my fingers, a habit I have when I'm trying to remember something. "Shadow the Hedgehog! It's called the Egg Dealer!" I said, running up to Sonic. "I liked this boss, 'cause it involved gambling." I said, smiling. Sonic face-palmed.

"For once, your gambling problem might help us." Sonic said, watching the Egg-mobile lower itself into the cockpit of the Egg Dealer. "How do we get rid of it?"

"There are three slot reels on the back." I said, pointing. "If you can stop each of them, the robot will attack itself."

"Really?" Sonic asked, looking at me with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, I really don't get why he makes it so easy for you." I said. "It's like he built the robot so you could beat i-WOAH!" From behind me, something grabbed my shoulders and jerked me back.

"Metal Sonic!" Sonic sounded surprised.

"What, you didn't think I came without an elaborately thought up plan, did you?" Eggman asked.

"Most times you don't!" I called out, while being dragged away by Metal Sonic. Sonic started to chase after me. "Sonic, I'm fine, I got this!" I yelled. "You take care of Eggman!"

"How do you got this?!" Sonic asked, stopping.

"I've got all my wishes!" I called out. "Plus, I'm your little brother! Winning runs in the family!" Sonic thought about that for a moment, then smiled. He turned back to Eggman and began running behind him.

"Now, what to do with you." I said, struggling against Metal Sonic's grasp. I managed to get one of his claws off me, but he simply picked me up and threw me on his shoulder, like a sack of potatoes. "Hey, lemme go, come on!" I struggled more, but that did next to nothing. I looked tiredly at Metal Sonic. "...You don't talk much, do you?" No response. I stopped for a moment, realizing how calm I was for being dragged away by a Metal Hedgehog. Shouldn't that freak someone out? ...Must have gotten some of Sonic's bravery when the Spirits gave me some of Sonic's energy.

Or I'm just nuts. Either way.

I tried to reach my hand over the ring, only to realize that the way Metal Sonic was carrying me prevented me from moving my arms. At all.

Problem!

I began to struggle again against the metalloid's claws.

"Can't I just grant a wish from here?!" I grunted, contacting the Spirits. "I mean, I'm touching the ring, which is touching the Emeralds!" Metal Sonic looked at me briefly, somewhat confused, before focusing back on his running.

"It's a fail-safe we implemented!" Ilo apologized. "If we followed your train of logic, everyone could use our powers. The ring is touching you who is touching the ground which is touching pretty much everybody. You need to be directly holding the Emerald to make a wish." I groaned and went limp.

"Hey, can you let go please?" I asked Metal Sonic, sounding annoyed. "This isn't a good time!" Metal Sonic kept on running.

Well, running, that is, until he was suddenly full of holes.

The robot broke down, and I fell to the ground with a thump. I stood up and rubbed my sore keister, straightening myself out. I looked down at Metal Sonic.

Definitely bullet holes. All of them skillfully placed to miss me.

"Am I gonna have to do all the fighting for you?" A voice said from behind. I turned around.

"Scourge!" I said, surprised. "You... you saved me."

"I couldn't let the metal freak kill you, that's my job!"

"You had the chance to. Why didn't you take it?" I asked.

"I did, remember?" Scourge said gruffly. "I missed."

"'Missed?' Those shots," I said, pointing to Metal Sonic, "Could only have hit where they are if there was a professional behind the gun. You were shooting at me from point blank, and you somehow 'missed.'"

"I didn't want to get blood all over my jacket." Scourge said quietly. He was totally lying. I removed the jacket and gave it to him.

"I'm all yours." I said, taking a step back and spreading my arms out. "Go ahead. Do it." Scourge tried to suppress a brief look of shock. He frowned, and aimed the gun at me, his hand trembling ever so slightly. Seconds passed, and those seconds slowly turned to minutes.

"...I can't." Scourge said, lowering the gun. He turned and walked away.

"Wait!" I called out. Scourge stopped. I chose my next question carefully, figuring it would be the last one I asked him for a while. "...Why can't you kill me? Even though you were ordered to?" Scourge looked back ever so slightly.

"You saved me. You knew I was trying to kill you, you knew I could have just been a figment of your imagination if I went through that tripwire. But you saved me."

"Okay? And?"

"Now we're even." Scourge walked off. I stood there, dumbfounded. It wasn't that simple, he was hiding his reason. What was it? Why couldn't he take that shot? I was so deep in thought, I almost didn't hear Sonic run up.

"Wow." Sonic said, staring at his metal counterpart. "Looks like you got him good!"

"I... had some help." I replied. "Scourge... 'missed' again." Sonic looked at me in shock, and a slight mix of confusion. "I don't know why he keeps sparing me. He seemed... conflicted when I saw him."

"Keep an eye on him." Sonic warned. "Who knows what his next move will be." I nodded.

"Let's head back, Knuckles won't be happy waiting this long." I said. Sonic rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Oh, by the way, how did the Eggman fight go?" I asked as we started walking.

"It was easy. You were right, I think he does want us to win!"

Well, there's some food for thought for you.

Josh: WHAT THE HECK MAN?! Where have you been?!

JJ: School. AP finals stink. Like crap.

Josh: ...So, are you gonna be writing again, or are you gonna bury me in trash like last time?

JJ: I didn't mean to! -_-' I'm going to try to write again, as much as I possibly can. We'll see if I can get more chapters out quicker. I'm sincerely hoping so.

Josh: And those other stories you promised?

JJ: In the works. I have almost a chapter for the Pokemon story-

Josh: Oooh, a whole chapter. l=(

JJ: ...And I'm trying to get a good amount of puzzles for my Professor Layton story.

Josh: Just hurry up, you spend too much time with me.

JJ: Too much time?! You were just complaining about how I don't spend enough time writing!

Josh: Just end this! Read and review guys.

JJ: Dirty rotten change grubber flack doodle...