"So what happened yesterday?"
"Hmf?"
"You came home and asked Knuckles to step outside. And when you both came back a few minutes later, you were both upset."
"Ohh, that..." Miles replied, trying his hardest to stall his answer. Since Sonic passed out in the middle of their conversation, the fox had no choice but to keep the second hedgehog in the kitchen company. Otherwise, she would have come to get him on her own. Wanting to avoid that outcome, he sat with her at the table as she ate breakfast. "Well?" the girl quietly, yet sternly prompted. Despite her feeble appearance, there was still a hint of authority in Miss Amy Rose. "Amy, do we have to talk about this? It's too early..."
"Well alright then. I just wanted to know, but I guess we are all entitled to keep our secrets." Her visible disappointment was enough to make Miles talk. The guilt searing at his heart was just too much. "Alright, you want to know? We just had a talk, a little man-to-man talk that a woman wouldn't understand!" the fox fold his arms across his chest assertively. Unimpressed, Amy giggled in his face. "You're a horrible liar Miles," she claimed while twirling a knife in her fingers. "I-I'm not lying!"
"It's okay, I understand. You're an adult now and I shouldn't pressure you anymore."
"But I'm not..." the fox whined and slouched over in his chair. "I'll just let you know now, Miles," Amy stood up with her empty dish. "Whatever you're keeping from me will come back to get you later." The smile on her face was murdered by a serious frown. The blond fox simply looked away; the irony of her statement made him feel worse. Luckily, Amy had turned around and missed his regretful reaction. She had placed her plate on a counter top and was now searching through a cupboard. At last, she pulled out a tea pot. "Would you like some tea?" she asked sweetly, but still with a tired tone. "Sure..." Miles answered. Maybe tea would relax his nerves...
...
The blue blur awoke to his face lying in a puddle of drool. Fortunately, this meant his dream of drowning was indeed a dream. Sonic turned the pillow over to a dryer side and planted his face in it. He would have gone right back to sleep if it weren't for a sudden crash and sharp yelp. The hedgehog peered over the side of the pillow and witnessed something he wished he hadn't. The chair to Miles' desk had fallen over and the lamp that sat on the desk was smashed into bits on the floor. Sprawled in the middle of the mess was a pale furred child. Sonic immediately sat up and glared at the sight in confusion. Upon hearing the mattress squeak, the child looked up at the hedgehog. Their eyes locked in a death-stare that seemed to last for centuries. Finally, the little furball sprang to its feet. "You're that guy form the picture..." it mumbled in awe. "Whaa?" Sonic was at a loss for words. Right in front of his eyes stood a white, curly-haired child. It remotely resembled an echidna, a detail that made him most nervous.
The child scrunched its little face into a fierce frown. "You're supposed to be dead," it growled lowly. "So I've heard..." the hedgehog replied nonchalantly. "What're you gonna do about it, whitey?" Sonic's involuntary name-calling quickly enraged the child. It stamped its foot on the floor and exclaimed: "I'm telling on you!" Recalling his childhood, Sonic was filled with horror. Being "told on" was not a fun experience, especially in his current situation. "The hell you are!!" Sonic shouted and jumped off the bed. The child scrambled out of the room as its blue pursuer was met with nasty surprise: socks and broken glass don't mix. Sonic yowled and fell to the floor, falling on more glass and then some. "YA LITTLE BRAT, GET BACK HERE!" the hedgehog roared with anger as he attempted standing up. The throbbing pain in his leg only allowed him to kneel on the ground. Instead, he began to pick the pieces of glass out of his hair. Not even a minute later, Sonic's ears were met with excited snickering and a fearful gasp. He looked up and saw the child that caused his rude awakening, however his thoughts were more focused on the person the child's little hands clung to. "...Rouge?"
...
"More tea?"
"Just a little bit." The blond fox watched the brown liquid flow from the spout of the pot and into his cup. The scent was lovely and the taste just as rich. "It's like with every sip, the flavor is enhanced," Amy began while taking her cup away from her lips. "Don't you just love tea?"
"Um, yeah..." Miles reluctantly answered her. Years ago, something as simple as tea probably wouldn't have been any interest to her. The fox sighed, his mind only occupied on the taste of sweet tea and a decade long past. "Amy..."
"Hm?"
"Are you happy?" As quick as the words that passed his lips, Amy's expression became one of melancholy. Realizing what he had asked, Miles tried to set things right. "Ahahaha--I mean, more tea??" The fox scooped up the tea pot as an anxious smile appeared on his face. Neither were smiling as a quick shriek rang through the adjoining hall and into the kitchen. The tea pot slipped from the fox's hands and thudded onto the table. "The hell was that?" he muttered. "It sounded like Rouge..." Amy said before taking another sip of her tea. "Must've been a spider or something."
"A spider? Well she should be happy! I can't remember the last time I saw any kind of bug." The hedgehog grabbed the tea pot and poured herself a second cupful. At the same time, Miles stood up. There was an anxious look in his eyes. "You better not, Miles," the girl sternly commanded. "Rouge can handle a spider."
"Well, what if it's not a spider? And maybe a snake...with two heads!" An annoyed scoff escaped from the girl's lips. She rolled her eyes, then drank more tea. "Fine. Help little Miss Muffet then," Amy waved him away, setting the fox free. He marched rather quickly out of the room, fearing the worst had taken place. Stepping into the hallway, Miles found a living hell unraveling before him. Standing in front of his open room was the cocaine-white child. Its head slowly turned as the blond approached. "What did you do now?!" Miles vehemently questioned. "Nuthin'," the child calmly replied. "But there's a zombie in your room." Miles nearly bit his tongue in half. He shoved the child out his way despite its loud protest and sped into his room. The sight was comically yet unsettling. In the farthest corner stood Sonic, shaking in fear and shielding himself with the chair of the Miles' desk. In front of Sonic, plus wielding a fairly large stick, stood a white haired bat clad in black pajamas. Both were screaming so loud that their speech was almost unintelligible. "TAILS. MILES. WHOEVER YOU ARE, TELL HER TO BACK OFF!!" the hedgehog managed to yell as he watched his friend run through the door. This unhappily diverted the bat's attention away from Sonic, and towards Miles. "Yooouuuu..." the woman snarled while slowly slapping the stick into her free hand. The fox began: "Rouge please, I know what this looks like, but just listen to me!"
"LISTEN? YOU WANT TO ME LISTEN?!" the crazed bat swung the stick in Sonic's direction. "HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LISTEN WHEN YOU HAVE THIS HORRIBLE, TWISTED RECREATION OF YOUR DEAD FRIEND SITTING IN YOUR ROOM? IS THIS WHAT YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME, BRING DEAD PEOPLE BACK TO LIFE!?!"
"I DIDN'T MAKE HIM, HE'S REAL! HE WAS NEVER EVEN DEAD!"
"YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THAT!"
"YES! AND WILL YOU STOP WAVING THAT STICK AROUND!" Out of pure rage, the fox latched his hand onto the stick, commencing a heated game of tug-o-war. Back and forth the stick went, while it's two holders continued to scream at each other. Suddenly, Miles lost his grip, giving Rouge complete control again. Incidentally, she too lost her grip as the stick simply flew into the air, and crash-landed into Sonic's face. The hedgehog collapsed and all was silent. "YOU KILLED HIM," the child at the doorway finally blurted out. "Stop yelling," Rouge coolly spoke. "And go get your father."
"But he's sleepin--"
"DO AS I SAY!" With that, the child ran off, leaving Miles to fend for himself. "Rouge, please. Knuckles will kill me!" The fox's pleading made no difference. His worried gaze was met with a cold glare, but the bat said nothing to him. She shook her head in disappointment and left the room quietly. "What have I just got myself into?" the blond whispered to himself. He glanced at his friend's motionless body in the corner. The hedgehog was definitely out cold and would require a fair amount of strength to be moved. Miles began to lift Sonic up, figuring he could possibly move the hedgehog outside before anyone else could noticed. It was too bad that today was not his day. "Miles?" a horrified voice called out. Miles froze and turned around, only to be met by an appalled, pink hedgehog. He immediately dropped Sonic's body in a last minute attempt to clear his name. "Amy. Wait. I can explain."
"What kind of sick joke is this?!"
"It's n-not a joke. Well, I mean, it wasn't meant to be--" the fox shook his head. There was only way to do this. "Amy, what if Sonic was never dead?"
"...What?"
"What if he was alive for all these years and he just....just suddenly came back?" By now the fox had walked up to this hysterical girl. Her shaky hands made their way to her face as tears streamed down her cheeks. Despite the urge not to, she stared Miles in the eye as he asked, "What would you do?" Amy sobbed uncontrollably, yet she somehow managed to strike up enough strength to slap Miles across the face. He stumbled to the side and she shrieked, "YOU SICK BASTARD!!" Before he could do anything else, the blond watched his distraught friend storm away from his room. The fox stood up straight and walked back over the blue hedgehog's unconscious form lying on the floor. For the first time in the past twenty-four, he wished the hedgehog wasn't there.
