Author's note: Two months. Get out you cast iron skillets, ya'll! I am sorry about the wait, but I am doing a lot right now, and then there's writer's block. /shudders/ Horrid, I know.

Also, ages! Knuckles: 23, Espio: 23, Charmy: 13, Shadow:?? Sonic: 22, Tails: 18, Vector: 27, Ceaira: 23… I think that's it. If I missed one, please remind me!

Chapter Two: What Happened to Us?

I sighed. Why was Espio finally being nice to me? Did it have anything to do with what we went through? If anything, he should be very angry at me, not happy to see me alive. I shook my head as I was lead into the kitchen of the agency. It was weird to be there. I hadn't stood in that kitchen in over four years. Vector glared at me. "I thought I told you to leave," he growled.

"I invited him in," Espio snapped. Vector glared at him.

"He's not welcome in this house while I'm here."

Espio smiled. "Than leave, hot shot," he returned. Vector growled, but he knew he would lose either way.

"Fine, but I want nothing to do with him," and he was in the living room.

Espio sneered after him and then turned to me. "Thirsty?" He asked. I nodded and he got out a glass and filled it with water. "So, what's your story?"

I shook my head. "Where's Ceaira?" I asked quickly before I could lose my nerve. Espio sighed.

"She's still alive, if that's what you're asking. I found her after Sonic rushed you to the hospital after she stabbed you." He shrugged and tried to remember what had happened. "I helped her up, got her some medical treatment. She was at your funeral." I shuddered. Your funeral… The words echoed in my head and I shivered slightly. Espio hadn't missed a beat with his story. "…and we couldn't find her after that."

"Repeat that," I asked politely.

Espio nodded. "Sure thing. She was at your funeral. After that, we all had a little talk. Sonic had apologized to her for what he did, and she apologized for killing you. We never saw her after that. When Angel Island fell a week later, we were all concerned as to why it did. Sadly, none of us bothered to check your grave. If we had, I'm sure most of this heart-ache could have been avoided."

I had to ask, but I couldn't. It wouldn't come out. I had practically detached myself from them and now I was supposed to act like I remotely cared for them? And who's to say I did care for them anymore? I shook my head. I couldn't pretend that I didn't care for them anymore. I couldn't just smile and say 'Hey! Nice seeing you guys! Sorry I left, but I had to. So, yeah, time to hit the road again!' I couldn't fake it anymore. I opened my mouth to ask, but a knock on the door saved me the trouble. "Espio! It's for you!" Vector called.

"How's Sonic and Tails?" I blurted out as Espio stood up.

"I'll tell you when I get back," Espio said and ran out of the kitchen. I sighed and looked around the kitchen. They had changed it since the last time I was there. The table, which used to be in the very center, had been moved to the back wall. The refrigerator had been moved to the other side of the room. The dishwasher, though, stayed in the same place. I looked down at the table and was shocked to find it an entirely different table than it was the last time I came over. I sighed. It was cherry wood now. It was oak the last time I checked. As I looked around, I noticed other things. The walls were no longer white-washed, but a painted brown color. My eyes widened.

"Yeah, we got enough money to do some renovations on the place." I jumped and turned to see Vector standing in the doorway. "Don't look so shocked. Business boomed during Sonic's grieving period over you." He actually chuckled a bit. He shrugged. "There wasn't much we could do for him, you know. He blamed himself for what happened. Tails had refused to be anywhere with a five mile radius of him and Sonic was alone in the world. You should see him now." I stared at Vector, expecting a description. Vector chuckled again. "You'll see, gosh."

"Why can't you just tell me?" I growled.

"Oh, so you actually care about him now, huh?" He snapped.

"I never stopped caring," I retorted weakly.

Vector shook his head. "He stopped excepting help after a while. He locked himself in a hotel room."

"But… I came once and heard laughter in Tails' house. That wasn't him?" I cocked my head in confusion.

Vector sighed and sat down beside me. "Knux," he said. I was shocked he was using my nickname. I had longed to hear it for so long. "Tails has moved on. He hasn't spoken to Sonic since the day he told Sonic what happened in the future." He shook his head. "Tails has a lot of friends now. I can assure you that was not Sonic in his house. Whoever it was, Tails was enjoying himself."

"But where's Sonic?"

Vector shrugged. "Haven't seen him in six months," he said with a sad sigh. "He's wasted. Sure, he'll show up is someone needs savin', but no one sees him in between those times. No one's seen him in six months. Some say he finally went over the edge. Others say Ceaira got him, while some still believe he joined Eggman." Vector laughed. "You want the truth?" I nodded. "The guy's lonely."

"Lonely? What about Amy?" I asked.

Vector laughed. "She got tired of waitin'. Haven't seen her in over a year, though no one on your side really talk to us much anymore. We lost touch with a lot of folks after you left. Got a letter from Mighty a few weeks ago." He laughed. "He was apologizing for ditching Sonic in the woods. He came up with some weird story about a black echidna running around and went after it. By the time he got back, we had hauled the hedgehog out." I snapped to attention. Vector noticed. "Wanna see the letter?" He asked. I nodded He grunted and stood. "Espio!" He called. There was no answer. I was beginning to wonder who was at the door this late at night. Vector shrugged and walked to a drawer. After a moment of rummaging, he found the letter. He threw it at me and went out of the kitchen. I heard the door open and then close and figured he had gone to see who was at the door. I opened the letter and read.

Dear Chaotix

I heard about Knuckles, I'm sorry that that happened. Well, what's done is done. I wish I could have been at the funeral, but it had taken me this long to track ya'll down. Sorry. Look, this letter is more for Sonic, but I knew he has no set residence, so I was hoping you could pass this on. If not, at least someone will know what happened that day. I'm really sorry for ditching the hedgehog that night. I woke up to see a black figure kneeling over him, dumping some weird chemical in his wound. Either the chemical had knocked him out or he's just a heavy sleeper, but I got up and yelled at the figure. It stood up and I nearly fainted. The figure was a black echidna. I gulped, thinking it was Knuckles, but when it spoke, I knew it was a girl. She smiled and put a finger to her lips as if to say "be quiet." I shook my head and lunged toward her. As I did, I was able to get the chemical bottle from her. She instantly fled and went after her. When I came back, Sonic was gone. I took the chemical to a lab. Sonic, you were drugged. The chemical wasn't one any scientist had ever seen, but after a few tests, they came to a conclusion that it was a chemical (they refused to call it a drug) that gave a wound the appearance and pain of an infection. A nasty side affect, they found, was that it cause brief madness at mental stress. I can't say much more about it. I totally forgot about telling you guys until I saw in the news that Sonic had gone missing. I figured you knew where he is, so I sent you this letter. Get it to him, please. I would hate to think that that chemical caused something horrible for him.

Your friend, Mighty

I shook my head. Black echidna… Another one of Ceaira's species? Another mystery surrounding this blasted plot. Every wondered if someone was writing your life because they hate you? That's how I felt right about then. So, Sonic was wasted? I couldn't imagine him turning to drugs, but I figured wasted was he had just let himself go. I couldn't imagine Tails having other friends. Was he happy, or was he just acting like it? And what about Amy? How far did she move on? Did she finally find a boy who would chase after her? Or was she just acting strong to try and influence Tails? I didn't have the answers. I looked around. My eyes fell on something. I stood up and walked over to it. It was something wrapped in white tissue paper. I picked it up and slowly pulled away the paper. In my hands was the emerald shard. I shook my head, feeling sick. My blood, Sonic's blood and Ceaira's blood stained that one emerald shard. Would it every not haunt us? I doubted it.

Vector walked back in. He looked at the shard. "Espio wouldn't let me get rid of it," he muttered. "Look, I'm sorry for acting like such a jerk to you." I smiled, unsure what to say. "I just didn't want to admit that I missed you. I put on the tough guy act because Espio was crushed at your death. We've grown so far apart. The fact that he lied to me about what you did to him turned me against him. I never did trust him again." He shook his head. "Charmy has run away at least six times since you left us."

"Was all this really my fault?" I asked quietly.

Vector shook his head. "Nah, you just helped. Sadly, we did this to ourselves. I can't believe this."

"Who's at the door?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

Vector shrugged. "Kim," he muttered.

"Kim?"

Vector nodded. "Kim…" He shook his slightly.

"Who is Kim?"

"Espio's friend. He met here last year. I never really thought he'd get serious about anyone."

I jumped. "Girlfriend?" I asked.

"Nah, just a really good friend. Pretty nice, I guess. I haven't really spoken to her." He sighed.

"Can I meet her?" I asked hesitantly.

Vector nodded. "Espio! Why don't you bring Kim in to meet Knux?" He yelled. The door opened and a few seconds later, Espio walked in, followed by a beautiful red hedgehog. She smiled sheepishly. I smiled back. She was wearing green shorts and a yellow t-shirt. "Kim, this is Knuckles. Knux, Kim." Vector said, pointing to us both.

I stood, not entirely forgetting my manners. "Pleasure to meet you," I said as I offered my hand. She took it and we shook firmly. Espio was smiling. I sighed. Not much could ruin this moment. I was among friends. But I knew I needed to find my other friends and make sure they were okay. Tails would be first, then Amy, and lastly, Sonic. My only hope was that he wasn't too far gone...

Author's note: Like I said, I am REALLY sorry about the wait. This story is really confusing, so I had to gather my thoughts. Before you continue, EVERYTHING is important. I don't think anything in this chapter was just filler information, except maybe the stuff about how the kitchen changed. /Braces for impact/ I pormised that ya'll could whack me with a cast iron skillet if I took two months to update, so, whack away!