Fiona opened her eyes. She sat up and glanced around. Scourge lay dead in the next room, his legs cut off and a knife buried deep in his chest. Fiona slowly crawled over, fearing that the Hedgehog might be faking… somehow. She nudged him. He was cold and stiff. There was a knock on the door. Fiona stood up slowly and headed to the door, making sure the chain lock was on. She didn't want anyone finding a corpse in her house. She opened the door the few inches it would allow for. In front of her stood Tails. She swore and ran.

Tails reached in through the crack and unlocked the chain. He swung the door open and ran after her. "Fiona, wait!"

She slid through the kitchen and ran out the back door, swearing some more. She tripped and fell down the stairs behind the house, swearing yet again. Tails ran through the kitchen, accidentally bumping a CD player. It started playing some sort of blaring music. He jumped out the back door, landing on top of Fiona. He held her down as he tried to explain.

"I'm not going to hurt you! Stop struggling! Listen, I'm here to help you." She finally settled down. He sighed with relief. "Okay, listen, last night Scourge attacked you. He knocked you unconscious. Whatever he was going to do to you, he never got to it because I stopped him." He paused, trying to read her face. He gave up when he realized it was impossible. "Now, what do you say to someone who just saved your life?"

She pretended to be about to thank him. Instead, she hit him in the shoulder, knocking him off her. She stood up, pointing at him. "And yet, you saw fit to leave me out on the floor without even cleaning up your mess." Her ears perked up. "And you've been messing with my CD player." She walked past him and back into her house. He heard her mumble something that was barely audible. "Thanks."

He smiled and stood, watching her walk into her home. The music stopped abruptly. He could barely suppress a smile. He stepped into the house. Inside, Fiona was busying herself with making something to eat. She pointed at the body on the floor.

"I'm not feeding you until you dispose of that. It's your mess, not mine."

Tails nodded and began searching for a way to discard the corpse. He eventually ended up stuffing the body into a garbage bag. He tied it closed and sat down in a chair next to the table. Fiona glared at him.

"I refuse to believe Sally hasn't taught you about washing your hands. You'd probably be better off taking a shower, though." She pointed across the hall to the stairs. "The shower is up there. Go! You're covered with blood." She watched him disappear up the stairs. She sat down, cradling her head in her arms. "What am I doing? He's chasing after me again. When is he going to learn?" She sighed, sat up straight, and stared blankly at the wall. She waited until he came down the stairs, the bloodstains cleaned off of him.

He sat down across from her. "Thanks for letting me use your shower… and for the meal." He glanced at the table. There was food on it, but he couldn't recognize some of it. "What… is it?"

"Would you believe Hedgehog meat?"

"Uh… yes, actually."

"Well, it's grilled cheese and rhubarb pie."

Tails watched the pie suspiciously. Once he determined it wasn't going to move, he poked it with his fork. "It's purple." He shrugged and took a bite.

Fiona watched him carefully. "Do you like it?"

"Tastes a bit weird, but not bad."

"Weird indeed." Fiona started eating her own serving. "I was busy making it when Scourge interrupted last night. Retard deserved what he got for messing up my rhubarb pie."

Tails watched her as they ate. All of her previous traits seemed to have disappeared. Fiona seemed calm now. She was cooking food. It took him a short while, but Tails finally put his finger on it. She had grown up. He thought hard, trying to think of something to say that would tell him what he wanted to know without offending her. "I, uh… notice you've changed your costume again."

She looked up from her meal. "Costume, Tails? This isn't a costume. I'm wearing a shirt and pants. That's what normal people wear. That's why I'm wearing it. I'm done with whatever you or Sally or Scourge want me to do."

Tails nodded. "Okay. I see. Then I guess you're not interested in finding out what I'm doing here, are you?" Fiona went silent. Tails smiled. He knew she was curious. "Or are you?"

She sighed. "Oh, hell… what are you up to, Tails?"

"I'm here because I'm hunting down and killing people like… Scourge for instance. High on my list of targets is Bean, Bark, and Nack."

Fiona became very interested. "Nack… you're going to kill him?"

Tails nodded. "Eventually. But I wouldn't mind some help."

Fiona shrugged off what he was obviously trying to indicate. "Why don't you get help from the other Freedom Fighters?"

"I'm not a Freedom Fighter anymore. I left them to do this. They don't understand why we need to get rid of these people."

"And why do you?"

"Because…" He gathered his empty dishes and stood up. "Because every time we get Eggman, someone else messes it all up and he escapes. I'm clearing it all up a bit so that they can actually permanently defeat him."

Fiona stood and dumped her dishes next to the sink. Tails placed his beside them. Fiona leaned on the counter, mentally deciphering what he had just said. "So… you're not going after Eggman." Tails nodded. "But you are going to eliminate all the others." Tails nodded again. "And I'll get paid for helping you?"

Tails paused. "…Payment?" The idea hadn't even occurred to him.

Fiona walked past him. "Well?"

Tails shook his head. "I have no money to pay you with."

She simply sat back in her chair, crossing her legs. "Maybe not money… but I'm sure I could come up with some sort of payment. Either way, we'll get nothing done just sitting around here."

He glanced at her. "What did you have in mind?"

She grinned. "Well, I happen to know just where to find…"

Tails jumped ahead of her. "Who? Nack? Bean? The Destructix?"

Fiona shook her head, laughing. "No. Someone who'll actually pay us for what we're going to do anyway."