A/N: You know what you should never do? Leave review-replying to the last minute. It is BAD. You will start to babble like an idiot after a while. So I'm sorry to the people that I just replied to, who are wondering, "... What the heck is Chibi trying to say to me?!"

Anyway, the next chapter is finally here! Please enjoy, and Merry Christmas from both Aces and I!

"I promise you, I'm always there

When your heart is filled with sorrow and despair

And I'll carry you when you need a friend

You'll find my footprints in the sand."

Lyrics from "Footprints in the Sand" by Leona Lewis

The halls were filled with the musty scent of flicky feathers and rabbit fur, cooped up for far too long in one spot.

Sonic knew that this base was the last place that they ever saw.

He couldn't imagine that. Dying in this cold, iron prison, watching your life dulling out in the reflective metal plating around them. Like eyes… so many helpless eyes, and you couldn't even tell if they cared anymore…

Sonic clenched his fist. "Tails…" he whispered.

His name drifted through the hallways like a quiet warning.

Amy put a hand over his fist. "Not like him," she answered.

'We won't let Nathan and Naomi die like him.' It didn't need to be said out loud.

And still, his name echoed through the hallways, a keening crescendo leading them on…

There had only been one time in his life when Nathaniel had not been holding onto his sister's hand.

He had been so young that the memory probably shouldn't even exist in his mind any longer. But it had been so vivid that he could dredge up the old memory as easily as remembering the colour of his eyes.

Naomi had walked out of his line of sight for just a second. Just one second – not that he had known how long a second was back then. He should've gone with her, but the next thing he knew, she was bleeding all over the grass, and Amy had been there, clutching onto her, refusing to let go.

He had been so confused back then. Why wouldn't she let Naomi go?

And then, he knew why. When he had touched Naomi's skin, and Amy had drawn back abruptly… It was his fault, right? If only he had been watching, hadn't been so careless… And now Amy thought that he would hurt her. Right?

Something had changed that day. It was as if Amy had pulled herself far, far away from him. He could hold her, but she wouldn't really be there.

And there had been hands stroking his quills, telling him how everything would be okay.

How he hated those hands.

He couldn't remember who they belonged to, but he could remember a deep, burning hatred for them. They had fixed his sister, and then went and fixed his mother. Something that he hadn't been able to do. His blood had pulsed with jealousy, his eyes flashing with anger. He didn't want them near him, or his family.

He had vowed from that day on that he would beat those hands. That he would show them how much better he could be, how much stronger he was, how easily he could win the hearts of his mother and sister…

How he would never let them go, no matter what.

Nathaniel walked on, his sister in tow. The icy walls around them reflected their image, thousands of eyes staring back at them. He wondered if they were friendly.

Suddenly, Naomi shrunk into him.

Nathaniel looked down with alarm. "What is it?"

Naomi started to shiver. Slowly, with shaking fingers, she pointed straight ahead, and her grip turned vice-like. "There…"

Nathaniel followed the direction of her finger. He couldn't see anything, just a yawning pit full of shadows that crawled onto the edges of the light behind him. If he looked at them a little longer, the shadows seemed to form little dancing ghosts, their hands waving back and forth in time with the beating of his heart.

And for a moment, it was all he could hear. His heart beating steadily in his chest.

Nathaniel blinked. Was he still listening to his own heartbeat? Something ahead seemed to be pulsing as well, but he couldn't tell if it was just an echo he heard, or something else. Maybe they were the same thing. Could someone have two hearts?

He heard Naomi cry beside him, but ignored it. When had he started running? He was still holding onto Naomi's hand, but she was starting to stagger as he started to go faster and faster, until he was almost running, impatiently dragging his sister back up when she tripped.

It was getting colder too, he noticed. Like he was outside, watching the snow pile up in thin slices on the ground. But this was a different cold, as if he had swallowed up ice and it was now running in his veins. He hadn't realize that it was now very dark, and there was a screaming sound in his ears, the shadows that he couldn't see around him starting to wail silently, their hands reaching towards him, trying to yank him backwards. He waved his free arm, beating them back, watching them leap away as if his touch had burned them. The world around him blurred black as he ran blindly ahead, following his heart beat.

A door flung open at his touch.

Nathaniel's eyes widened. He couldn't even hear Naomi wheezing beside him. The shining gem in front of him was so white, whiter than Naomi's skin, brighter than the sun. But he couldn't stop watching it.

And he wanted it.

He started to step forwards, but Naomi's grip tightened.

Nathaniel turned around in annoyance. Stupid sister, thinking that she was smart, that she could get in his way…!

Before he knew it, she was on the ground, a dark bruise on her face.

For a second, the shock jolted every fiber of his body. He shook his head, his thoughts suddenly a jumbled mess. The wailing was so loud, and he could see dark spots spinning dizzyingly before his eyes, and he was so, so cold…

He turned to face the gem, and everything quieted, with one, clear, resounding thought in his head.

He wanted to take the gem.

For the second time in his life, he let go of his sister's hand.

"Oh, poor girl. Poor, poor girl."

Naomi blinked, her mind blank. She couldn't understand anything that was happening, only that her brother had struck her across the face. And even though it didn't hurt, it had felt like her chest had shattered into a million pieces.

Robotnik appeared, shadows draped casually over his shoulders. "Poor girl," he said again, shaking his head and smiling in sympathy. "It looks like your brother likes the Chaos Emeralds more than he loves you." He sighed deeply. "A shame, quite a shame. I had expected more of a fight out of him, but he practically threw himself in here."

Naomi got shakily to her feet, one eye on her brother. He was completely still, standing in front of the white gem, his eyes unwavering. She turned away with a shudder when the white crystal seemed to be draining the colour out his eyes.

"Are you afraid, girl? Afraid of your brother?"

Naomi flinched. Afraid of her brother? Was she?

Naomi clenched her fist and straightened her back. In a high, clear voice, she uttered one word, and her soul seemed to resound in harmony with it.

"Never."

Robotnik stared for a moment. Then, he chuckled. "'Never?' A big word, for someone of your age. Children cannot even begin to comprehend the meaning of the word "never." No…" He shook his head slowly, moustache quivering. "It is much too big of a word for someone as little as you to wear."

Naomi said nothing. She glanced again at Nathaniel, who didn't seem to hear a word of what they were saying.

"Little girl… I know how you feel."

Naomi looked back at him in surprise.

"You feel so useless, don't you? Like you can't do anything, like you brother is so much stronger than you. You're always the one getting sick, you're always the one falling over, you're always the one who was in the way."

Naomi stared at him, her tongue numbed by muteness.

Robotnik's eyes glinted in the light. Or was it the shadows? "You want to feel useful, don't you? You want to be the one helping your brother for once, is that right?" Robotnik smiled ruefully. "So easy to read, children. Fascinating, but easy to pull back the layers of the flimsy little façade that you put up."

Fear bubbled up her throat, urging her to scream. But she couldn't – the man's words seemed to pop every bubble that emerged.

"Naomi…" His words drew her on, even though she wanted to clamp her hand over her ears and run. "What if I told you that you are important? Maybe more important than your brother?"

'Don't listen… run… run, Naomi, run…'

"Naomi… you don't have powers. But do you really think that it's superpowers that make you special, or important?" He laughed. "Superpowers do nothing but give your ego an undeserved boost, a crutch to lean on. But you… you've been fighting all your life. Fighting to be strong, whereas Nathaniel… He had the gifts handed over to him, even though he doesn't deserve it." Robotnik let his eyes roam indulgently. "There is a reason that you two are twins, two halves of the same whole. When one half is gone, the other crumbles, and descends into madness."

'Run. Run. RUN!'

"How would you like it…" Robotnik smiled, and flourished something that shone darkly at her. "… if you could help me take over the world?"

Amy couldn't shake off the feeling that they were going to be late.

They were running now, down the hallways. Sonic seemed to almost see an invisible path that she couldn't, and she felt a small pang. Could he really be so connected to them, even though he had been gone for so, so long?

Sonic turned to her, as if reading her thoughts. "The Chaos Emeralds are nearby," he whispered, as if he would disturb something if he spoke any louder. "Something's going to happen if… if we don't hurry…"

Fear made her breathing quicken. The floor blurred under her, and if she didn't know any better, she might've been running in the same place, unable to move, a rat trapped in its wheel.

Through the darkness, a light appeared, blinding her.

Several things happened at once, so quickly that it took her a moment to catch up to her body.

She saw Nathaniel standing in front of a Chaos Emerald, its white light making him look like a marble statue.

Robotnik was tackled by Sonic – she heard something explode, and felt something whiz inches by her face, her skin feeling like it was blistering from the friction in the air.

And Naomi was in her arms, so quiet that she might've been…

Amy tilted up Naomi's head, letting the eerie, white light shine on her face. She gasped at the dark bruise on her face, and growled. 'Robotnik,' she thought.

"Naomi, are you all right?" she asked, careful not to touch the bruise.

Naomi stared at her for a moment, then, slowly, very slowly, shook her head 'no.'

"None of you will be "all right" soon enough!"

Amy looked up. Robotnik glowered at them, a gun – Amy shuddered – in his hand. Sonic stood in front of them, panting, with a cut above his eye. Robotnik cocked the gun, his right eye purpling and swollen.

"Losing your touch, hedgehog? I wouldn't have thought that three little robots would be enough to get you away from me."

Amy's eyes traveled to the ground. She could see scraps of metal where Sonic had destroyed them. Behind Robotnik, one robot had somehow managed to survive, though the only things that were in tact was its head and one leg. It chirruped weakly at her, and she had to tear her eyes away.

"What have you done to Nathaniel?" Sonic snapped.

Robotnik leered at him. "No games this time? Fine. Let's cut to the chase." He tilted his head towards Nathaniel. "As you can see, he seems to have a thing for the Chaos Emeralds. Perfect knowledge to exploit, is it not?"

Sonic's eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me that you're after raising the dead as well?"

Robotnik's smile disappeared. "I'm not a fool like that fox brat of yours. I know better than to dirty my hands with the matters of the dead." He walked slowly towards Nathaniel. "What I'm interested in is the living."

Sonic's eyes followed his every movement, his own body twitching slightly as it adjusted to an anticipated attack.

"This boy… he has powers. And if I could harness those powers…" Robotnik smirked. "Well, an immortal ruler with unlimited power sounds like something that I could get used to."

Sonic growled. "And what did Naomi have to do with this?"

Robotnik was silent for a moment. "Had it ever occurred to you what might happen to Nathaniel if any harm were to come to his sister?"

The blood drained out of Sonic's face. His mouth formed a silent, negative "no" of comprehension.

"The power he would release… If even one of my machines were to collect it, I would have the world in the palm of my hands. But wait…" Robotnik spread out his arms in a dramatic gesture. "Should I say, the fox boy and my machines?"

Sonic kept shaking his head, despair constricting his heart.

"That's right, Sonic." He stroke the barrel of the gun with a tender hand. "In exchange for a bit of my resources, he agreed to build me a machine. In fact, I might have never even thought of this idea had he not mention immortality. Of course, he went off and had to test on his own… But a scientist like I know not to try unless you are 100 per cent sure of the results." He sneered. "He was useful while he lasted. Overconfident fox boy, he was."

Sonic tensed. "You know nothing about Tails," he spat.

Robotnik merely shrugged. "True, perhaps. I never bothered to know his thoughts. But even I need no research to predict the little boy's reaction to his sister's… death."

"You'll never touch her."

Robotnik hid his surprise when both Amy and Sonic spoke as one. 'Little rats…'

"Oh, I won't. But maybe… Nathaniel will do it for me."

Sonic froze. "What…"

"Nathaniel," Robotnik interrupted Sonic. "Do you want the Chaos Emerald?"

Sonic couldn't believe his eyes when Nathaniel nodded. Behind him, Amy drew a half-breath, shaking her head as tears started to stream down her face.

"Would you kill your sister for them?"

And at that, Nathaniel paused. For a second, Sonic felt a rush of hope.

"Why the hesitation?" Robotnik asked. "Oh, I see. You won't do it for one… But how about for two? Or three? Or… seven?"

The room suddenly lit up. Sonic could finally see that they had been standing in a narrow tube with walls, a claustrophobic prison for those who would never again see the outside. In the walls, covered with glass, glowed the rest of the six Chaos Emeralds, so bright that the artificial lights in the ceiling seemed to be driven away.

Nathaniel turned towards them. Behind Sonic, Naomi was utterly still, frozen in place by her brother's sightless eyes.

He paused again, and then stared right at Sonic.

There was a cry… or many cries. He could hear Amy's voice, and maybe even Naomi's. Perhaps Nathaniel was crying too, but he wouldn't have known. He wanted to believe that Nathaniel didn't know what he was doing, or at least… didn't want to do what he was doing.

As Sonic watched, transfixed, Nathaniel's hand glowed brightly for just a moment, before a beam of light shot towards him.

And Sonic didn't move.

He closed his eyes. Love. Such a hopeless thing that fluttered and racketed empty songs inside of him. How easily Nathaniel's hate had ripped out its throat and silenced it with just one action! So hopeless. Hopeless.

After all, how would he defend himself against his own… son?

Simple. He wouldn't.

Sonic smiled as the world started to melt away into blackness.

A/N: So, hope you liked it, and I promise you review ASAP instead of a month later when you have no idea what I'm talking about...

And for those who are like, "Huh? What accident? When, what?!" I don't blame you, I'm referring to a chapter from a long time ago. Look back at the last part in Chapter 9 and the entirety of Chapter 10.

Merry Christmas once again from Queen of Aces and azngirlchibi!

Anonymous Reviews:

Ytin: Thanks, and yeah, you haven't been on in a while DX Glad you're back, and stick around for the rest of the story!

kimari: LOL, thanks for checking frequently, but if you get an account, it'll be a lot easier XD Thanks for reading!

Queen of Aces

azngirlchibi