Piercing Through the Dark
by 1Speak-th3-Truth

Chapter 6
Next Move

Hospitals always seem to be dark and gloomy. You sit alone in your bed wondering when family or friends will come to visit you. The food seems bad and there just isn't anything worth doing, or able to be done, because it's just too much for you to take. Amy Rose thought of it like that for sometime. But sometime around midnight, a good and strongly admired friend of hers came to visit her. Sonic the Hedgehog. There he stayed with her, and she was able to sleep happily, knowing he was there.

Amy finally opened her eyes. The same feeling, sensation was felt on her wrist. The very same one. She looked over to her side to see Sonic still there. Wide awake and aware of things. Did he even sleep? she thought curiously. She wished she could ask him. But being hooked up to all these machines made it virtually impossible. But she remembered the doctor saying yesterday that if she did well through the night, she could go to heal the rest of her wounds naturally. It was only her chest wound, after all, that was considered a threat to her well being. Everything else was just a cut or scrape that would eventually heal anyway.

If she did get taken off of the dreaded machines surrounding her, she could tell Sonic how much it really meant to her for him to visit on such short notice.

But memories had time to enter her mind. She remembered that mechanical menace that did this to her. She remembered it as if it had just happened a few minutes ago. Who or what was that? Why did it have the nerve to fire at her with no mercy whatsoever. Was this one of Eggman's doings. Amy realized how ridiculous it was to question that. Of course it was Eggman! It was always him behind these kinds of things. He never seemed to bore of them. He always kept springing back with a new suprise. But this time it was serious. This new weapon of his. It could mean disaster for the world if Sonic didn't put an end to it. That's when it came to mind. Am I holding him back? the pink hedgehog thought. It was a deep thought and a hard one to get an anwer to.

Without warning, Dr. Earnright walked in with a checklist. An assistant followed. It was a bee. Charmy?!

"Charmy?! W-What are you doing here?" Sonic asked suprised. "Oh, hey, Sonic. Amy got pretty messed up, wouldn't you say?"

"Charmy!"

"Okay, okay. So Vector told me I had to get us some spare cash. I'm not a nurse or anything, but I can get the doc what he needs."

"Charmy, hold my checklist for a moment, please." said Earnright. Charmy took it off of his hands so that the doctor could examine Amy thoroughly and make sure she was willing to go. Sonic waited patiently, anxious to know if she'd be free from this hospital bed. The expression on the doctor's face was a happy one. Things seemed a-okay.

"Well, Ms. Rose, seems you've really improved in such great time!" the doctor noted. "I think you're ready."

Amy looked to see a smile on Sonic's face. She'd be out of here sooner than she had ever hoped.

...

"Cosmo, wait! You can't go!" Tails ran frantically through the darkness of space. The moment, the moment he lost his friend Cosmo replayed itself before his very eyes. "STOP!!" Tails cried out. But all appeared as no one had even bothered any mind to him. He jumped from one astroid to the other as he saw himself about to fire the cannon at the target he couldn't bare to name. Cosmo stood there with a smile on her face as the beam charged up. Tails jumped in front of the beam, or at least tiried. But he missed and fell into the vast darkness, watching...as she was vanquished into nothingness.

"NO!!"

His scream had woken Cream, and suprised Vanilla. His fur was soaked in his own sweat and his breathing was harshly heavy. He looked around to notice it was all a dream. But he remembered the one scary thing...how real it felt. But now back into reality, it felt so distant in his mind. As if it had never even happened in the first place. The sensation was strange and distorted in a way even Tails couldn't explain it. Now he realized that nightmares weren't just dreams, they were pure horror in your sleep.

"My, my, are you alright, Miles?" Vanilla asked, walking over to the couch and kneeling down. She felt his head, then his chest, making sure he wasn't ill. "Mrs. Vanilla? What're you doing here?" Tails asked. He sat up and shook his head to get the thought of the dream out of his mind. "Shadow dropped us off here. I hope you won't mind."

Tails shook his head, "Of course not."

Vanilla smiled and patted him on the back as a thank you. Cream yawned and stretched out from the bed. The vision of last night was faint in her mind. She seemed to have had a pleasant dream. Tails wondered why Shadow would bring them here. Then the thought came to mind. Eggman! Tails pounded a fist at the sofa, making an imprint in the fabric. Shadow must've brought them here to get away from that android. It all began making sense.

"Good morning, Tails. How did you sleep?" Cream asked, skipping over to Tails, giving him a hug. Tails' eyes were slightly bloodshot, and his fur appeared ruffled abit. Cream already knew the answer after Tails had not answered after so long. She seemed to feel bad for him. In a way, she viewed him as her BEST friend. "Rought night, Tails?" she asked, hoping he'd answer this time around.

Tails sighed and looked at her with a glad smile. "Thanks for caring, Cream. I guess you could say that." was his answer. Just hearing him made her smile. "Okay!" she ran over to her mother in no time at all.

"Would you like some pancakes, dear?" Vanilla came over and asked. Cream clinged to her leg. Tails jumped up with life and nodded quickly. "Would I?!" he ran off to the table, Cream shortly following him. Vanilla smiled. She always knew how to cheer Miles up. Even in the bleakest of moods she always knew what to do.

...

"May I ask where we're heading?" Blaze asked, holding onto Knuckles arm as he ran swiftly through the rocky terrain. Rouge the Bat flew high above them, watching for Knuckles to know where to go. Every time Knuckles started running to the right, she would soar to the left and so on.

"Sorry, Blaze. Run first, talk later. Eggman may have wanted us to get out. You can never be to sure." the echidna explained. Blaze nodded. "I guess so." was all she could say at the time. Rouge lowered so she was hovering above the ground, right next to Knuckles. "Hey, Knuckles. Hey, princess." she teased. Blaze grew angry and the heat produced from her body intensified, making Knuckles pay for it. He felt the burning sensation as soon as Blaze grew angry. "Rouge!" he yelled.

"Sorry," is all she said in reply before heading back up to the skies.

Blaze calmed down, and the burning sensation ended, making Knuckles feel more relieved. "I'm sorry, Knuckles." Blaze said totally embarrassed. Knuckles pardoned her with a wink. "Hey, don't worry about it, okay?"

Blaze nodded with a smile.

They continued down the canyon line until reaching a dead end. A towering wall of rock and dirt and mud stood in their way. Well, for two of them. Rouge simply flew over head, stopping on the other side waiting for the others. "You ready, Blaze?"

"No problem." is all she said before launching a firy wave of power at the wall, blasting it upwards. Unfortunately for Rouge, the waste material splattered at her in range, leaving her covered in absolute filth.

Knuckles and Blaze couldn't help but to laugh.

...

"Now if you would just sign here." Dr. Earnright said. He held out a paper and Sonic began signing his and Amy's name on it. His hand gave back the paper and pen and grabbed the two handles of a wheel chair. Amy Rose sat comfortably on it. "Ready to go, Amy?" Sonic said with a smile. Amy gave him a familiar look in the eye.

"Yeah, but don't you run too fast, alright?" her voice was weak as a result from her hospitalization. But she was glad to be out of there. Being in a hospital in a bed all day long wasn't exactly the place to be. There had seemed to be nothing to do. Finally, Sonic set out from the hospital. To Amy's suprise, he didn't even run. Not once. "Aren't you going to run?" she asked. Sonic just shook his head and continued to walk. "Can't risk it." is what he said. Her cheeks began to blush as he continued to escort her through the city.

"Shouldn't be much longer. My house isn't too far from here." Sonic noted. He's taking me to his house? Amy thought. It seemed her dream was finally coming true. But that didn't erase the thought of the menace that had taken her down. She wondered to herself why Eggman all of a sudden cares about taking them all out rather than just aiming for Sonic. That's when an answer came to mind. Of course, she thought, Eggman knows that Sonic gets his strength from us. Together he could never beat Sonic. But with me, Cream, Tails, and Knuckles out of the way, Sonic will have to fight Eggman on his own...and when that happens--

She was cut off from her thoughts when Sonic spoke softly to her, "Want some ice-cream before we head over to my place? I'm all out of sweets over there." Amy nodded quickly.

Sonic opened the push-in, glass doors of the ice-cream parlor, making sure to push her in safely. While he wanted it to be fun, the blue hedgehog kept an eye out for Sonic2. That imposter would never see the llight again if he ever laid a hand on Amy Rose again. This he swore to his soul. Amy would be safe so long as he saw to it.

...

"Miles, could you please pass the butter?" Mrs. Vanilla asked politely to the yellow fox. "Sure, here you go." he handed over the butter, then the spread knife. "Thank you, dear."

Tails, Cream, and Mrs. Vanilla sat at the table eating their breakfast without a care in the world. Cream loved pancakes. In fact, you could consider them one of her many favorites. Tails, of course, would eat anything. But, when Mrs. Vanilla decided to cook, it was an offer he just couldn't stand to waste. The three finished up and Vanilla offered to wash dishes. Tails didn't want her doing all the work, so he decided to dry the dishes for her. Cream just remained at the table to do a little coloring. Tails had a lot of coloring books that he never used, so when Cream came to visit, he always had one waiting for her.

Cream picked up a red crayon. She was coloring a butterfly on a tree. But before she could get started, she noticed a blue-colored glow coming from somewhere nearby. At first, the young rabbit believed it to be her mind playing tricks on her. She picked up the crayon again, but the same glow struck the corner of her vision. Still, she didn't want to worry Tails of it. One last attempt at coloring once again failed by that blue glow which began to turn into a flash. "Tails!!" she squealed from the surge of excitment. The yellow fox ran into the room to see what the problem was. He too saw the glowing light. "Where is that coming from?" Tails asked. He was even clueless.

"The flower, Miles, dear. The flower." Vanilla pointed coming from the kitchen. "Flower?" Tails asked. He looked over at his plant on the window sill. It truly was the cause of this. The flash began to turn white from the intensifying state of its brightness. "Oh, dear!" Mrs. Vanilla hurried over to Cream, shielding her eyes, and closing her own. Tails put a hand in front of him and motioned his head to the side to see anything he could possibly see from this distance.

But after time passed, the fox was forced to close his eyes as well. Suddenly, a musical sound began playing. Like a chorus playing a sweet bedtime story to them. The sound was so peaceful all of them could've slept right there. But the music faded as did the light. Tails, Cream, and Mrs. Vanilla opened their eyes to a shock in deed.

Tails couldn't help to blurt out from the silence, "COSMO!!"

...

"That android. It's ruining everything." Shadow mumbled to himself. The Ultimate Lifeform walked in a positive manner. But he knew that it was a hurricane in his head. Life was spiraling out of control. Of course, Eggman was to blame for this, too. The black hedgehog pondered on several things as he walked through the forest. The roses blowing in the breeze along the trees reminded him of how Amy might be doing by now. The blowing wind made him think of what Sonic might be doing right now. Finally, the families gathering in the forest reminded him of Cream and Mrs. Vanilla. What were they up to?

The peaceful environment of the forest couldn't even help calm his mind, because everything there reminded him of something. Was this who he was to be? The one who feels pain in himself for the danger others get into? Is this what Maria intentionally meant? To help others with their problems, he'd have to take the fall for them? It didn't quite make sense to the hedgehog. But whatever it meant, he knew he had to do osmething.

"Hey, Shadow!" a voice called out. Shadow looked back on the forest path to see Vector jump out from a bundle of bushes several feet back from where he stood. The muscular figure walked up to him and gave the hedgehog a pat on the back. "How's it goin', buddy?" Vector asked in different words. Shadow just turned away from him.

"What are you doing here, Vector? Where's the rest of your pathetic detective agency?"

The comment didn't anger Vector. Strangely, he would guess Shadow would say something like that. "Come on, pal. Don't be like that." the green and yellow aligator suggested. "Hmf." Shadow huffed and walked on. But the same voice brought him to a stop. "You're after Eggman's new weapon, aren't you?"

Those words brought Shadow to an instant stop. He turned back around to face Vector, and walked back over. "New weapon?" Shadow was interested in this. Vector nodded. "Yep, that's right."

Shadow wasn't sure whether to trust Vector's words. He was known to cause trouble. If he wasn't causing trouble, he may still be lying. But as of now, Shadow would believe about anything. "Tell me about this new weapon," Shadow insisted.

Vector gave him anothe rnod and cleared his throat. "This weapon was launched into outerspace. I didn't see it, but Espio reported back to me. Eggman's base is located in the Forgotten Canyons and-"

"Forgotten Canyons!?" Shadow had heard of that place. Satan's mark on the planet. Hell on earth for the weak minded.

"Ahem...yes...Forgotten Canyons. Anyway, this new weapon is apparently after something in space. Stars, most likely."

"Why stars?" Shadow was confused. Then he gasped when he finally got it in his mind. "Power."

Vector gave him a thumbs up. "That's right. He calls this weapon 'Matter Shot'."

Shadow did not answer from those words. Vector didn't seem to notice and just kept talking. "According to Espio, Eggman made a prototype blaster to some strange android he called K24-Z, and renamed it Sonic2."

"How do you know all of this?" Shadow wanted to know.

Vector just chuckled and broke the branch from a tree like a meter stick a teacher would use. "Elementary my dear Shadow, Elementary...ah...to hell with it...we snuck in last night and read through the doctor's files. We saw Knuckles sneak in, too." With that, Vector walked off not looking back. Shadow didn't know whether to believe anything, but he had to. This was...as of now...his only lead in this crisis. So he dashed off from the forest, and back to the city in hopes of finding someone. Espio.

...

"C-Cosmo, it-it can't...be." Tails was shocked. Cosmo stood right before him, as for all the others, they were just as shocked as he was. He had to be still dreaming. Either that, or he had to be seeing things. But everyone could see her. Maybe they were all having the same dream or seeing the same strange things. "Tails." Cosmo spoke softly. It was he exact voice he remembered. She walked closer. Tails was unable to make any decisions, including that of either fleeing or fighting. What was he going to do.

Cosmo stood right in front of him, and in a quick instant, she wrapped her arms around him, embracing him in a warm and affectionate hug. "Is it really you?" Tails asked softly in her ear. Cosmo broke away from the embrace and smiled. With a nod she said, "It is me, Tails. It really is." Tails was unsure of what to feel. What were Cream and Vanilla doing. Weren't they going to help them out. Then he realized that they must be awestruck as well.

"I-I must be seeing things." Tails said aloud. Cosmo frowned in response. She walked over to him and placed a warm hand on his cheek. Tails grew warm the instant she laid her hands on him. He had felt this warmth before, quite awhile ago, and he never wanted that warmth to leave him again. "I'm real. Please believe me. Do you believe me, Cream?" Cosmo asked, turning to the young rabbit and patting her on the head. "I'd like to, but I do not know." Cream was hesitant in replying. Vanilla had never even seen Cosmo. But Tails had given her a description. And this thing standing before her matched ever detail perfectly.

Tails all of a sudden didn't want to hold his lack of faith on her anylonger, and wrapped his own arms around her. This time, he never wanted to let go. Tears streamed down his eyes, and seemed to stream down even faster from her eyes. "Cosmo, promise me you'll never leave me, again." Tails wished for her garentee. Cosmo smiled and rested her head on his shoulder, "I never did leave you. By the way, the view of outside was quite pleasant."

The yellow fox drew back from the embrace and cocked his head to the side. "That plant. It was you?" Tails asked curiously. Cosmo nodded, "Of course I was. Why else would I have asked you to take very good care of those seeds. The seed you had, was me." Cosmo explained. Tails didn't actually care. All he knew now was that Cosmo was here to stay. But then he remembered the android. The one that could ruin everything just as Dark Oak had before. He didn't want it to happen again. He hoped it wouldn't have to come to it. But he knew one thing for sure, and that was that he had to be prepared for anything. For now, however, he just wanted to spend some time with her.

"My dear," Mrs. Vanilla walked over to Cosmo with an open heart. "do you know where you'll be staying?"

Before anyone could say anything, Tails answered, "She can stay here," he looked over at her with a grin, "if that's what she'd want." Cosmo nodded, her cheeks turned red from her hidden affection. Cream jumped up with Cheese for joy. (Anyone who asks, Cheese had been asleep).

"Yay. Our friend is here to stay!" The chao cooed with merriment.

No one, though, was as happy as Miles Prowler. This had just earned the right to be called one of the best days of his life. Wait until he told all the others about this.

...

All tests and charges complete. Matter Shot now online. the computer in Eggman's base proclaimed. Eggman grew a devilish grin. "Ha! Now let's see what this baby can do!!" Dr. Eggman typed in numerous commands. The rocket in space transformed from a rocket into a mega cannon, larger and more powerful than the Eclipse Cannon. "HO! HO! HO!" the doctor laughed to himself. "Bokkun, prepare the first strike on our little blue friend."

"Yes, doctor." Bokkun entered in the command with out hesitating even the slightest bit.

"Get ready to face your doom, my old rival...now you are my new all-time enemy!!"

...

Amy held the cone firmly in her hand. Sonic didn't get himself one, seeing as in Amy's safety was his own treat. Amy's hand had grown weak, so Sonic helped her hold it steady. Amy never thought hanging out with Sonic in a wheel chair could be so romantic. But she found out, that Sonic really had feelings for her. Just having him there with her, helping her through with some things, that was enough for her. The rest she didn't care about. Her weak hands, eyes, legs. They were just distractions from what this was all really about.

Strawberry was her favorite flavor. Sonic had no problem with getting her the largest strawberry ice-cream cone they had to offer. Just the taste of it made her tingle. The cold on her tongue versus the warmth from Sonic's hand supporting her own. It was an amazing experience. She knew that through all her remaining years, she'd never forget this. Maybe, just maybe, one day if she were to marry Sonic, tell her kids of how they both met. She'd tell a lighter version of it though. No one wants to remember an evil android that might have caused the failure of their existance. So, she'd tell them that part when they got older.

"Thank you, Sonic. I hope this wasn't too much." Amy said. She could already feel her voice coming back. Sonic just winked and kissed her slightly on the forehead. "No problem, Amy." Her blush grew more red than ever. At this rate, you couldn't be able to telll she was ever pink! Her emotions were beginning to sky rocket.

When Amy had finally finished her cone, Sonic escorted her out of the apartment, and back onto the bustling utopia they lived in. He navigated through crowds of people, events, and anything else you can think of. But he kept close watch in the surrounding alleys and so forth. Amy had told him what had happened to her when they were in the checkout area waiting for Dr. Earnright to come with the papers.

Little did Sonic know about the danger that would soon come from nowhere. Dr. Eggman was ready to unleash all of hell on Sonic and his crew. Hopefully, Sonic would be able to disarm him once again.

...

Tails handed a cup to Cosmo. The four of them sat at the table, and Tails poured some juice into it. "There you go, Cosmo." he said, taking the pitcher back to the kitchen. Cosmo took a small sip before setting the cup back down. There apparently was a lot to explain. First thing that all of them wanted to know-other than Cosmo herself-was how she was able to come back. After all, they had all seen her apparent demise. Was this even possible?

Cream was the least caring of all of them. She didn't want to know how Cosmo returned. All she cared about was that she was back and they'd be friends forever.

Mrs. Vanilla did some house cleaning while Tails, Cream, and Cosmo talked to each other for awhile. They had some catching up to do. Tails wanted to sing aloud. That's how joyous he felt just knowing Cosmo was with him again. Fro all the years she was gone, he felt alone. He longed to see her again, and his faith was not misplaced. She had come back, and they could finally be together.

"So, Cosmo, what'd you think of my planet. You've been here before," Tails looked out the window with a smile. "but didn't really get to enjoy it." Cosmo nodded. "You're right. I was so caught up in the Metarex, I hadn't paid much attention to your planet's beauty." she smiled, too. But she didn't smile looking outside. She smiled looking at Tails. She had missed him just as much as he had missed her. It was like a wall between them. Both wanted to get around to see the other, now they could finally do so.

"I must say, Miles," Mrs. Vanilla interjected for a brief moment, fluffing the pillows that were on the couch, and setting them back down, "you take very good care of your workshop. There's not much for me to clean, here." Her comments normally made Tails smile. Since he never knew his real parents(or at least they are never mentioned at all in the games, etc,), Vanilla pretty much acted as a parent. A guardian to say the least. "Thank you, Mrs. Vanilla." he replied. She gave him a pat on the back, and a kiss on Cream's cheek before leaving the room.

Cosmo got up from the couch and walked over into the kitchen. Tails and Cream wondered where she was going, but decided it was none of their buisness, so they remained put. Cosmo, on the other hand, was looking for something. Something she knew was here. It was powerful and most valued on this planet. She opened up one of the floor boards. The noise creaked and banged on all the other pieces of the structure of the workshop. Tails ran in with a shocked expression. "Cosmo! What on Earth are you doing?" Tails couldn't help but to say it a little more sternly than he had planned.

"Just hold on, please." she said. She dug through the dirt under the floor board until finally a red glow a lit from the earthy rubish. "What the-" Tails was a little suprised. Cosmo grabbed an object in her hand, and placed the floor board back into its rightful place. Cosmo opened her hand in front of the others to reveal...A Chaos Emerald! It was the red emerald. The one thing the others questioned was where it had come from.

"How did that get there, I don't understand." Cream said, looking at it sparkle in Cosmo's hand.

"I'm a little confused, too." Tails agreed.

Cosmo giggled before throwing it to Tails, who caught it without a problem. "I saved this emerald for our use," Cosmo began.

"For what use?" the fox still couldn't quite understand.

"We do have a problem with Dr. Eggman. Don't we?"

"How do you know about that?" Cream asked politely.

"I heard you all talk about it."

An image came to Tails' mind as Cosmo continued to explain the situation. "He was pacing all day, and then I saw Shadow, Amy, and Sonic come in as well, Cream, too. Tails, you were saying something about a new weapon?"

Tails snapped out of his thoughts of the events, and nodded. "Yeah, I did."

Cosmo walked over and rested her head on his shoulder. She moved his hand in front of her so she could see the Chaos Emerald. "So, I figured saving one for us wouldn't be such a bad idea." Cosmo then looked at the scratched flooring of where she had retrieved it. She noticed it wasn't the best place to find it and looked up at Tails. "Sorry about the placing, though." Tails just blused and rubbed her arm, next to his waist. "It's alright Cosmo. But how did you reserve one?"

She backed away and said, "It's a long story. I don't think you'd really want-"

"But we do," said Cream, looking at the both of them. Vanilla stood behind Cream, and just listened. This was a matter for them to solve on their own.

"Alright," Cosmo changed her mind fast from seeing Cream make that cute face that worked so well on many people.

"When the Chaos Emeralds are ordered to seperate, their randomized placing isn't exactly random at all."

Tails and Cream, even Vanilla, looked curious from this. "When they are replaced, spirits who have used them in past ages decide where they will be placed. Sometimes they'll pick one planet, sometimes they'll scatter them throughout the universe." Cosmo walked over to them and held out her hand, in which Tails placed the Chaos Emerald. "I convinced them to place it right here. Though I wish I wouldn't have been so specific."

"Why's that?" Tails asked.

"I said 'under my friend Tails' workshop.' which meant I wanted it nearby. But, they took it literally. That's why I checked there, first."

"Wow, Cosmo, you've done a lot recovering in the form of a plant. That is how it was, right?" said Cream. Though she didn't fully understand.

"Yes I have, Cream. Yes I have." Cosmo smiled, giving Cream a hug. Tails finally felt happy since a while ago. Things were seeming to get better.

...

Transformation complete. Matter Shot now in Cannon form. Please enter ID password to varify use.

Dr. Eggman typed in the numbers: 440127. This password allowed him to use Matter Shot at will. The failure to enter this code would lock down the command pad and disable the feature to actually use the weapon. The doctor looked closely at all of the monitors. Each one showed a different diagram of Matter Shot. According to the infromation each one provided, the weapon was a-okay and ready to go.

"Time to aim for our little blue friend. Eh, Bokkun?" Dr. Eggman nudged his little assistant. Bokkun laughed with a blush, and got back to preparing their next move. "Yep. Sure is, doctor." he answered.

I wonder if our prisoners are doing well with Knuckles. They didn't mean a thing to me, anyway.

Suddenly, the monitors changed and Eggman Nega came on screen. "Greetings, doctor. Hope I am not interupting anything." Nega introduced his entry in a cold hissing tone. Dr. Eggman held out a hand and gave his partner a warm welcome.

"Eggman Nega. How nice of you to drop by. What made you want to have a chat with me?" Eggman asked.

Dr. Eggman Nega just regarded that last question and got on with what he wanted to ask, "Where is Blaze the Cat? You had her as your prisoner, no?"

Eggman fidgeted with his fingers nervoulsy. Blast! Maybe I shouldn't of let Knuckles take them off my hand. "Well?" Nega asked again.

"Um...no...I don't. Knuckles...I ah...let him...ah...I let him take them off my hands. Both of them." Eggman explained.

"YOU DID WHAT!?" Nega's calm personality seemed to vanquish with those scolding words. "YOU IDIOT! She holds the key to both of our successes. Do you realize what you've done?" Nega couldn't help but to feel enraged. Though he knew he hadn't told Eggman about it, so it wasn't really all of his fault. He had to hold some of the blame, too.

"Never mind," Nega stopped Eggman from speaking out. "Just listen to me, we need to get her back in our control. If we don't, well..." Eggman Nega trailed off in thought. "Or what? What will happen?" Dr. Eggman asked, worried that he would once again fail, even being this close to victory.

"Or else, or personality switch will not remain perminate. It'll reverse and we'll be back to our original selves again. This could lead us to error and our utter defeat. We MUST find that cat!"

With that, Eggman Nega disappeared from the screen. Bokkun looked up at his worried boss's face, and wondered if he could do anything.

"Ah, sir, would you like me to look for Blaze for you?" Bokkun offered humbley.

Eggman looked suprised at Bokkun. It wasn't usual for his assistant to ask for a job, rather than to complain about it. He seemed to be filled with delight. "Why yes, Bokkun. That's very helpful of you. Could you?"

"Sure. Why not?" With that, Bokkun flew out of the opening windows, controlled by Eggman's control panel. In a quick burst of rocketing speed, Bokkun flew off into the distance. Good luck, Bokkun. Good luck. Eggman thought.

...

Sonic and Amy had finally reached his house. The damage caused by Sonic2 still remained. That included his trashed room, bathroom, and the scared landscape of his backyard. Other than all of that, his house was still up and running in perfect condition. It was then he thought of what might of happened if Shadow hadn't come to his rescue. Things could've turned out much worse than they did.

"Well, Amy, we're here. Sorry about the mess." Sonic said.

Amy looked at the house, then up at Sonic who continued to push her. "No. It's fine." Amy didn't care about the house. She only cared that Sonic would be watching out for her from now on...apparently from now on. Or at least until she was all better. "Well, then," Sonic pushed onwards to the front door, "let's make ourselves nice and cozy."

"Alright! Let's go!" Amy exclaimed happily.

They walked in through the front door, Sonic knew he had some cleaning up to do. But with Amy around, it shouldn't be much of a problem. At leat he'd have company! Cleaning isn't so much of a drag when someone's there to keep you occupied. Or in Sonic's case, on track. But nevertheless, it was more fun when he had Amy around. Carefully he lifted her up from her chair, and down onto the couch, making sure not to cause any unnecessary pain to her healing wounds.

Once she was down and resting, Sonic grabbed a vacccum, mop, and window cleaner for the windows. He decided to do the relandscaping later on when he didn't have company around. With Amy here, he didn't want to have to leave the house at all, unless he could take her with him, and not be in the wide open. He could take her out with him, but then it would become to hazardous with all the physical labor.

"So ah, want anything to drink?" he asked, coming back into the living room. But Amy had already fallen asleep.

He didn't want to wake her, so he knelt down, and kissed her gently on the cheek.

"Sweet dreams, Amy." he whispered.