Author's note: Not much to say here! Hope you are enjoying this story. Just to let ya'll know this will most likely be the longest story in the KA series.

Chapter Five: Shadowed Curse

"Well…" I asked. Vector took a deep breath, but shook his head. I knew he didn't want to be the one to tell me, but it seemed that he had been chosen to do so.

He stood up. "Come on," he muttered. "Amy, can we use your room?" Amy nodded and mouthed "good luck" to Vector. He chuckled dryly. He put his hand on my shoulder and led me down the small hallway. We entered the room behind the last door to the left. I shook my head and looked around. It wasn't anything fancy or anything like that. It was nice, I guess. I couldn't complain because I hadn't been in a bedroom in so long. "You might wanna sit down, Knux," he said. I sat on the bed.

"That bad?" I asked.

"Worse. Much worse." He sighed and sat down on the chair next to the computer. "Your death shook our world. Sonic cracked, completely. He and Tails had a horrible argument. Tails tried so hard to explain exactly what happened in the future and Sonic didn't want to listen. He blamed himself and he didn't want to hear what Tails had to say. He screamed and walked out."

"So, Tails' story was the truth?" I asked. He nodded. "You lied to me! What was your plan, huh?"

"We were going to lie to you until we could find Sonic and get him to go into court for the murder and plea insane. We knew he would be let off easy if he plead insane."

"And what were you planning on doing with me while you were off trying to make sure that Sonic stayed out of the electric chair?" I snarled angrily.

"We were hoping you wouldn't ask questions. No one really stayed with it except me. I tried to be the voice of reason during all of this. The only mystery that still remains is Ceaira and the Shade."

"No! That isn't the only mystery! What in the world happened? Why was there even a murder?" I yelled, standing up. Vector stood as well and tried to get me to sit. "No! Tell me what happened!"

Vector sighed. "Sonic went to the hotel where he was staying. Obviously he wasn't living with Tails. Well, Amy went to go make sure he was okay. The hedgehog was still hot from his fight with Tails. Amy apparently came at the worst time. Sonic struck her, four times. One was a slap, two were punches and the fourth was a kick. He fled at that moment, leaving Amy standing alone in the hotel room. He ran into someone in the street. The man was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sonic started yelling at him and the rest is on the news. He didn't mean to do it. He just pushed the man to the ground and his head hit the curb, cracking it open. The man was dead before the cops ever arrived. Sonic had fled. He ran into Chaotix agency hysterical. His mouth moved faster than his feet. Espio was out at the time, trying to find Ceaira after she disappeared. He told me everything. I smuggled him out of Station Square and got him into Westopolis where he hid. Sure, he'll show up every now and then if there's a huge crime and help the cops, but he's always gone by the time we start looking. I went to visit him about three months after I smuggled him out. He was gone. I have no idea where he's hiding now. We would see him every once and a while and then he stopped coming. Six months ago he showed up in Station Square, met with the police chief, and took off. I think they were going to arrest him. I was called. By the time I got there, he was gone. The chief said that he was trying to talk some sense into Sonic. He said the hedgehog was jumpy and nervous. He showed all the signs of someone being followed. Sonic got scared and no one's seen him since."

"And you told me everything was all right? You moron!"

"We have it handled, Knuckles!" Vector snapped.

"HANDLED!" I screamed. "This doesn't seem too handled to me! This seems like a disaster to me!"

"Okay, so yeah, it's a bit of a disaster, but we're working on it."

"And you were planning on keep me out of the know until you found Sonic and got him into court? And then what? You were planning on telling me that nothing is wrong? I thought I could come home! It seems I don't have one anymore!" I walked out, slamming the door. I walked into the kitchen.

"Didn't go well?" Espio asked.

"How long were you planning on lying to me?" I asked angrily.

"Knuckles, we were trying to protect you from the pain of this. We knew you were under stress, so we figured we could have this settled and then tell you about it so you could focus on finding Ceaira."

I rubbed my head. "You honestly think I care more about finding Ceaira than my friend? Why does everyone think I don't care anymore?"

Espio stood up. "Maybe because you left us!" He yelled. Kim stood and put her hand on his shoulder. He shrugged her off angrily. "We're trying here, Knuckles! We're trying!"

"You're not trying hard enough!"

"You haven't tried at all, so don't tell me about enough!" Espio snapped.

"Espio, calm down," Kim said.

"Knuckles, deep breaths," Amy whispered.

I took a deep breath and walked toward the door.

"What are you going to do, Knuckles?" Espio called. "Run away again? Run from your problems! Forget it! I tried to give you a second chance, but sometimes I guess people…" I didn't hear the rest. All I heard was a door slamming as I slammed it. I didn't want to hear it again. I had told myself those things dozens of times. I didn't want to hear it all again. I sighed. I knew I'd have to go back to them sooner or later, but now I just wanted to walk. That was how I had gotten rid of my problems when I was on the road. I walked and now I wanted to walk.

The sky was very bright and I shielded my eyes as I put on my hood. "Good to see you… Alive," a voice snarled. I took a deep breath and turned around.

"Ceaira?" I asked. The strange green hybrid beast smiled a wicked grin at me. "One stab through the chest won't kill me," I snapped.

"I can see that, Knuckle-brain," she said.

I rolled my eyes. "Not today, Ceaira," I muttered.

"What's wrong Knuckles? Not feeling well?"

"No, actually. Wanna try tomorrow?"

Ceaira smiled. "I've been waiting three years for this, Knuckles," she growled and threw a punch. I groaned and jumped back. "Nimble as ever. You haven't missed a step," she said. I punched out and felt the hit make its mark. I smiled and continued to punch. Ceaira grabbed my hand and threw me against the wall. "Not nimble enough to escape." I pushed off the wall and rammed her. She groaned and fell into a moving vehicle. She snarled and ran toward me.

I did a back flip to avoid the punch I knew was coming, but I wasn't quick enough. I gagged and tasted blood in my mouth. I head butted her and she snarled and bashed my head against the pavement. I growled weakly. My vision was swimming. "Looks like you've gone soft on us, Knuckles," Ceaira growled.

"Us?" I asked dimly. In my fading vision, I saw a black gloved hand grab my mouth. I couldn't breath. I struggled against the hand, but Ceaira had my arms. The hand was strong and it gripped me hard. My eyes searched for the face of the one who held my mouth. My vision was fading. Then I saw it. I couldn't believe who, and what, I was staring at. I knew the face. The black echidna. I struggled horribly, trying my best to escape the grip the held me. I bit down on the hand. The echidna let go and stared at me. She held up a fist. "Quiden…" I whispered as the black gloved hand punched me between the eyes and fell into her arms.

Author's note: Uh, yeah… It does make sense, I promise! If you don't remember Quiden, reread Space, Time and an Echidna. That might help you remember who Quiden is. Like I said, it ALL makes sense, sooner or later. If you don't understand the title chapter, then that's okay, but that does make sense too!