A/N: You... guys... are... so... AWESOME! OVER 200 FREAKING REVIEWS! It... it just makes me want to... bawl my eyes out! DO YOU KNOW HOW FREAKING HAPPY THIS MAKES ME? IT MAKES ME VERY HAPPY!

You are all so great. Really. Thank you very, very, VERY much.

Enjoy the chapter!

Dedicated to Marianne

"After the meeting, Doon walked back to the hotel feeling vaguely uneasy. Tick must be right, but somehow Doon didn't feel wholehearted about being a warrior. Was it because he was a coward? He didn't want to be a coward. He didn't really think he was one. What was his problem, then?"

-"The People of Sparks" by Jeanne DuPrau

He tapped the glass with is thick, gloved fingers, but the figure in the capsule did not stir.

Of course, he hadn't expected them to awaken – at least, not really. He may be what many considered a "mad scientist," but he certainly wasn't that far gone. And by that, he meant that his mind was still intact, that he could still think, and that he could still do what he wanted. He wasn't the insane, "follow the voice in your head" type. Sure his ideas were dangerous, deadly; maybe even far-fetched. But that was what being a mad scientist – any scientist – was all about: turning far-fetched ideas into reality. Taking over the world wasn't that impossible.

It was far more possible than bringing back the dead, anyway.

'But back to the point…' His dark glasses flashed as he tapped the glass again, none too gently. But who needed to be gentle with the dead, especially your dead enemy?

He frowned. 'Bringing back the dead…' Yes, that was what Tails wanted, even if he didn't say it out loud. All of his ideas, his goals, his plans – all of them were for the dead rabbit in the third capsule to his right: Specimen 3-1 – Cream the Rabbit.

She was the only reason in the whole world that the fox would throw away all his principles and morals, and join up with his "big brother's" eternal rival – Doctor Eggman.

Doctor Eggman blinked, stroking his mustache thoughtfully. Strange – he had just thought of the dead ones in the capsules as "enemies," but thought of Sonic as a "rival." Hmm… maybe he was more far gone than he had thought he was. 'Or maybe I'm just getting old. Yes, that must be it.'

He quickly raked his eyes over the machine, built by Tails and Eggman together. It was strange working with the fox. His steely silence was almost unnerving. Now that he thought about it, he could only think of one memorable conversation he had with him, which was back on the ARK after defeating the Biolizard. Hadn't he been… bubblier, sunnier, back then?

And now… all this nonsense about bringing back the dead…

'Irrational,' he thought to himself, irritated. Why had he accepted the fox's invitation, anyway? Well, not invitation – he had practically shoved himself in the doctor's face.

'Bah… bringing back the dead… nonsense…' He traced a new wrinkle on his forehead. 'Sonic, you left the fox much too early. You really should've stayed. At least… you made things interesting. Now I'm bringing back the dead…'

His finger stopped mid-way down the wrinkle. 'You really should've stayed…' Did he really just think that, and of Sonic of all people?

'… I'm just getting old, that's all…'

Because never, ever in a thousand years, could he ever want to see that blue hedgehog's face again. Ever.

"Doctor Eggman?"

He turned around, and was met with Tails's piercingly-blue eyes. He felt his heart leap nervously, though he made sure he didn't give his feelings away. Ridiculous – how could a fifty-something year-old be afraid of a ten year-old?

"How's Ruby doing?" Tails asked, but not out of concern. It was in the off-hand voice of a scientist asking if the pet rats that he was experimenting on were reacting as predicted. No… Tails was not feeling remorse for what he did, nor did he feel sympathy for a child's pain.

Not that the doctor himself did either, of course…

"Fine," the Doctor answered curtly. "…Just as we expected."

Tails just nodded. "Good. I think it's time to reveal our findings to Rouge."

Doctor Eggman nodded, but his mind was elsewhere. As the fox turned around, he found himself trying to bore holes into the back of Tails's head. Though they were working together, he only knew half of Tails's thoughts. And even though he did not know all of the boy's plans, he could feel that he was planning something.

Something big.

And when it happened… he would be there to stop it?

'What could this child possibly be planning?'

The Doctor was scared of him.

He almost laughed at the thought. It wasn't really that surprising, of course. The Doctor had always been weak, had always held back. He wasn't like Tails – he wasn't ready to give up everything, everything, for his cause.

That was why Doctor Eggman always lost.

He clenched his fists, suddenly angry. Why was he stuck working with such a weakling? Bile rose in his throat, and he almost turned around and struck his old nemesis across the face. Without the old man holding him back, he could be getting somewhere. Cream could be by his side by now… but the fact remained that he just didn't have enough technology and equipment to do much on his own. Working with Eggman supplied him with everything that he needed.

He snorted silently as he passed through the hallway, the sound of Doctor Eggman's footsteps always half a step behind him. 'Stupid Doctor… I'd never be as weak as him…'

A door at the end of the blank, white hallway immediately leaped aside for him. He smirked as he walked passed, leaving the brightness of light bulbs behind him and throwing a blanket of darkness over him.

"Tails!"

The Doctor openly flinched at the furious snarl, but Tails just smiled calmly.

"Hi, Rouge."

As his eyes adjusted to the dimness, he could make out Rouge's bedraggled form, chained up against the wall as she struggled ferociously. The chains whined and snapped as they restrained her, cutting deeply into her ankles and wrists.

The old him would've sobbed at the sight, but an icy calmness seemed to radiate from his chest, helping him think clearly.

"What do you want from me, Tails?" Rouge snarled again, her pointed teeth barred at him. Blood ran down her arms as her wrists bled, blotching her pure-white fur.

Right on cue, Ruby screamed.

Rouge suddenly stilled, and she cried out along with her daughter. "Let me go Tails!" She kicked furiously, but even her strength couldn't break the chains. "Y-You…" She choked, as if the chains had caught themselves around her throat. "I can't believe I trusted you… for all these years…"

Tails smirked again. "Yeah… you thought you knew me so well, didn't you?"

"I-I…" She shook her head, thrashing back and forth with all her strength. "You can't keep me here forever!"

"I'm not going to, Rouge."

"Oh yeah?" Her eyes narrowed with a burning hate. "Are you going to experiment on me, like you are to my daughter?" she spat.

"Of course I'm not," Tails answered. Suddenly, he shook his head, and for a second, his old voice returned. "Please, Rouge. I'm not going to hurt you if I don't have to. If you just came when I asked-"

"I'd still be here, minus the chains." Rouge lifted a wrist, showing him the blood-stained metal cuff.

Tails shook his head sadly. "Rouge, you don't understand…"

Her eyes flashed angrily. "I understand, Tails! I know what it's like to lose a loved one! But there's always still something to live for! Others don't have to suffer for me."

Tails looked away from her, his eyes closing. Suddenly, she was just too much to look at. "Do you really think that crap is going to get through to me?"

"But bringing back the dead, Tails?" He heard the creaking of metal, the contempt in her voice that brought a raging fire of anger coursing through his veins.

"Don't make it sound like it's impossible!" He opened his eyes, meeting her contempt with his. "I was there with you when he… it… brought Ruby back to life. I saw it! I know it's possible!" He could feel himself shaking with agitation, his pulse beating at the very thought of the wild things he could accomplish. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "But that's not what I'm here to tell you about. I'm here to help you."

"H-help?" Rouge spluttered in indignation. "I'm chained up against the wall, and you've kidnapped my daughter, not to mention that I had to hear your stupid plans for bringing back the dead, and now, you want to help?"

"They're not stupid!" He swore loudly, a string of profanities leaving his mouth. His fury broke through him like a tide washing over the top of a cliff. "You don't understand, Rouge! We've been lead on; lead on for years because of… of those two!" He couldn't bring himself to say they're names – saying them hurt, like trying to swallow thorns. "They've kept on giving us false hopes – first that they could come back, then that the twins might not destroy the world after all. And I've seen you, Rouge…" He marched up to her, jabbing her hard in the chest. She hissed in pain. "… I've seen you be happy, grow stronger all those years because your daughter had been brought back to life. Well guess what, Rouge? She's going to die again!"

A profound silence rang in the air. Tails saw a dozen emotions flash by her face – pain, disbelief, outrage, and finally, horror.

'Got you.'

"What… are you talking about?" she whispered, as if all of Tails's yelling had sucked the volume out of her.

The Doctor suddenly cleared his throat, making the two jump up. They had forgotten about him.

"Rouge… Tails told me that Nathaniel brought your daughter back to life, correct?"

Rouge nodded dumbly.

"You see, all Nathaniel really did was send a strong jolt of Chaos energy through Ruby's body. It's acting as her life-stream – blood, you might say – at the moment. But unlike blood, it won't create new blood cells to replace the dead ones." The Doctor stroked the front of his suit, staring intently at Rouge. "Her body uses up that Chaos energy to keep itself running. But since her body doesn't know how to create new Chaos energy, her body will eventually use up all the ones that Nathaniel gave to her. And when it does…"

"… Ruby will die…" Rouge finished in a whisper.

"And you'll have nothing left to live for, Rouge." Rouge jerked her head up to meet Tails's eyes. For a moment, he could see a shadow of grief in her eyes, the same one that he could feel beating loudly, insistently with his heart every second.

"It… it can't be… true…" Her voice broke, a sob escaping. "But… I just got her back…"

"And you need to help us, if you want to keep her Rouge." He held her tear-glazed eyes with his. "I don't want her to die anymore than you do. Doctor Eggman and I have found a way to use Nathaniel's energy so that we can keep her alive indefinitely. But her time's running out. You need to decide now Rouge – your daughter…" He paused. "… Or a little boy you barely know."

Rouge's lid swept over her eyes, shielding herself from his view. He saw a few stray tears escape and disappear into the ground. "You… bastard… Tails…" she managed to croak. "I don't… really have a choice on this… do I?" Her form fell limp, and the chains seemed to sigh with relief. "… What do you want me to do?"

"… We need you to track them down for us. Bring Nathaniel to us. We'll need him… If you want to save your daughter."

Rouge shook. "You… I hate you…"

Tails merely turned away from her. The Doctor had already walked out and was at the door.

And even as the first cries from Rouge reached him, he couldn't help…

… But smile.

He had won.

It wasn't fair.

Amy closed her eyes, her cut stinging as she tried to clean it.

It wasn't fair.

She had thought that she'd left it all behind – the supernatural powers, the legend, her past – everything.

And now… it was back.

'It's not fair!'

She had worked so hard! For two years she had run, desperately escaping from the darkness that clung to her, taking the kids with her.

But she might as well been trying to run from her own shadow.

And then that day… when the Chaos Emerald appeared… it had brought everything back. After two years of hopeful bliss, it cracked her life wide open.

She opened her eyes again, her own pair of eyes staring straight back at her. Her hand clutched around the box of bandages, crushing them into the lid popped open and bandages spilled everywhere. Her hand turned white from the strain.

Why did it have to be her? How come that stupid legend haunted her wherever she went?

'Why won't it just leave me alone?'

She took a deep breath. 'No, it doesn't matter,' she thought to herself. 'I'd decided that a long time ago – legend or not, I'm going to take care of them.'

Abruptly, she turned away from the bathroom mirror. She couldn't look at herself anymore.

"Amy?"

She forced herself to smile. "Yes, Nathaniel?"

The little boy stared back at her, eyes wide as he peeked around the doorframe. "Umm… Naomi says she's sorry."

"For what?" Her question came out sharper than she'd intended. "I mean, there's nothing for her to be sorry for," she said, trying to soften her tone.

"… She said that she wanted you to be happy…" Nathaniel smiled tentatively at her, fidgeting with his quills.

Amy pressed her lips together, something other then her cut starting to sting. "I'm not sad, Nathan."

Nathaniel just stared at her, his eyes going even wider. "… Umm… Sorry I made you sad too…" he said, as if she hadn't spoken at all.

"Y-You didn't…"

"Me and Naomi thought of a even better present." His lips pulled back into a smile, as he put something down on the floor.

"I s-see…"

Nathaniel tilted his head, looking at her quizzically. "Umm… Amy?"

Amy breathed in deeply again. Everything seemed to be stinging all of the sudden. "Yes?"

"Be happy, Mommy. Please?"

He turned away before she could say anything.

Her vision was starting to swim, and she angrily wiped them dry. What was she doing, crying anyway? She was done crying.

She bent down, her pink hair falling softly around her face as she picked up Nathan and Naomi's "present." Her heart stopped.

It was a small black book. The one she had started keeping three months after they had first run away from everything – her home, her friends, her entire life.

It seemed so long ago. She couldn't imagine her own hand depicting the things that she had written in these pages. They seemed to be from a different person – a happier, more naïve person.

A corner of one page had been turned down in it. Hesitantly, she opened the black cover.

Immediately, she wished she hadn't.

He was staring back at her, his picture glued onto the page. He was smiling at the camera – smiling at her, the trees vividly green behind him, the sunlight bright as it bounced off his form. His teeth glinted brightly, his eyes un-shadowed by hardship and sadness. She silently traced the picture. She couldn't quite remember his face so alive…

On the bottom, she had written just one sentence.

"When the sunlight hits his face just right, his eyes match the tops of the trees around him – maybe that's why he likes them so much."

She stopped breathing. When had she written this? And why was she reading it now?

Why couldn't she just get away from it all?

Why wouldn't he just leave her alone?

A/N: And that's it. It doesn't quite go to our usual 3000 word chapters... but it's close enough... right?

Sorry, I'm a little sick right now, and the medicine makes me hyper... or high. Well, it makes me kinda sleepy too, but hyper at the same time XD

Anyway, THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR REVIEWS! Over 200 reviews... I honestly never thought it'd go so high. So on behalf of the two of us, THANKS!

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