Jason finally calmed down but his chest still hurt.
"Where's Wave?" he asked.
"She left to go chase someone." Sonic answered.
Jason sat up to get out of bed but, instead, fell to the floor. He grabbed on to the bed and picked himself up. He then stumbled out into the living room and grabbed his board.
"You going out there?" Blaze asked.
"I have to."
"Why?" Blaze asked.
"Because, I..." he started. "Because she's my friend and I promised her that I'd never let anything or anyone harm her."
Blaze nodded to signal that she understood. Jason hoped on his board and took off. He flew until he saw an open sewer drain. He dropped down and landed next to it. There was black slime around the rim of the manhole. He jumped down and found Wave.
"Wave!" he yelled.
He ran over to her to help her up. When he got to her, she had already started to try to get up. He helped her the rest of the way and she leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.
"Are you okay?" Jason asked frantically.
"Yeah." Wave said with a cough. "I think."
"Let's get you back to the hotel."
He grabbed her Gear and they headed back to the hotel.
She awoke the next morning with a headache. She put a hand to her head.
"Hey." She looked over. Jason was sitting in a chair next to her side of the bed. "How you feeling?" he asked.
"My head hurts." she answered. "Other than that, I'm fine."
"You had us worried."
"Sorry." Wave apologized. "I don't know what happened."
"You don't have to apologize. Everyone makes mistakes."
"I know. But what if the next mistake costs someone their life?" Wave asked.
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that. I can't stand to lose any of you guys." He reached out and took her hand. "Especially you."
"Really?" Wave asked.
"Yeah. You're the closest thing I've to a friend since... ever."
Wave smiled but then the smile soon faded away. "Did you mean what you said earlier about me being useful?"
"Of course." he answered with a smile.
Mephiles attached a thin hose to a test tube. In the test tube was Mekkaku's final experiment. Mephiles took a syringe with a 10-inch needle and inserted it through a tiny hole in the side of the test tube and inserted it into the experiment's arm. He drew some of the experiment's blood and pulled out the syringe.
"Mephiles." a female voice came from behind.
"Did you do it?" Mephiles asked without turning around. He transfered the blood from the syringe into a beaker.
"Yes." she answered.
Mephiles put the beaker into a mechanical device that was attached to a larger machine. It was similar to the test tube only it was more mechanical and there was no way to see inside. "Good girl." he said.
"Is there anything else you want me to do?" she asked.
Mephiles pushed a button and the machine started up. Mephiles then flipped a switch and the test tube lit up like a house on Christmas. "No. Everything's in place." He turned and walked away from the devices and down a hallway. The female joined him.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"Yes. you're work is done for now."
"So I have to go back to the others and continue playing along?" Mephiles didn't say anything. He was getting tired saying "yes". "But... I don't..."
"Listen." Mephiles said, stopping and turning to face her. "I've chosen you for this mission. This can't work without you. You're the key. Do you understand?"
She nodded. "Yes."
"If you fail, we all fail. If you succeed, we all succeed. I will not survive long enough to finish the process. Not with Jason alive. This is why you must finish it. You must carry on my work after I'm gone."
"I understand." she said.
"Good." Mephiles said. "Now go. I have work to do."
"Right." she said, starting to turn around but stopped. "What about Zephiles?"
Mephiles started walking away. "He won't succeed, either."
She watched him leave and then left, too.