Chapter 2: Windmill Fighting

"Remember that guy, Chip? He reminds me of Knuckles."

Chip looked at the ice cream vendor, who was scooping ice cream in the shadow of a white tower. "Nope."

"Or this city?" Sonic swung his hand wide, motioning to the white walls covered in vines.

"I don't remember anything. Do you think I ever will?"

"I'm sure of it." He smiled under the cloak, lips visible to Chip as he grabbed his ice cream.

Sonic ordered another sundae, this one with extra banana. Chip notice him wrinkle his nose a little as he received his bowl. He wondered how Sonic could not like ice cream! Sonic had sharp teeth, at least some times, and sharp teeth meant they eat animals, and didn't Sonic like to eat animal stuff? And Ice Cream came from animals, and it was sweet and wet and special…

"Don't you like ice cream, Sonic?"

Sonic looked at him, shocked, green eyes gleaming in the shade of his hood. After a moment, he answered, sitting down at the café table. "Sure I do, Chip. I just don't feel much like eating right now."

"Aww! Why not?"

Sonic sighed. "I don't know. I'm just nervous, I guess, about all this. I've spent almost half my life waiting to make things right. Now it's time… and… so many people are pointing fingers in the wrong direction. But Knuckles forgives me… it's all so complicated. I'm so complicated."

"But you should be happy, right?"

"I still feel guilty."

"Why?"

Sonic stuck some ice cream in his mouth and seemed almost to fight a gag. "Because I made a mistake. I went the wrong way, jumped the gun, and screwed up. If I'd gone the right direction when I chaos controlled years ago, I could have taken out Dark Gaia… I think. I let everyone down, and I let you down."

Chip frowned. "But you did your very best! I… I don't blame you!" Chip flew up to sit on his shoulder. "You did your very best and I'm not sad you lost to Dark Gaia at all except that it hurts you! You're my friend and you take care of me, and I just want you to be happy."

There was a long pause.

"Really?"

"Really."

Sonic's shoulders sagged with relief. "And the truth is… my stomach always goes kind of crazy when I first start changing back and forth. It's not fun, let me tell you, and I guess feeling wonky for a week or two is par for the course. Gaia Sickness, they're callin' it now."

"How can I help?"

"Think you can eat another ice cream while I go get me a cup of soup?"

A hand slid in from behind them and grabbed Sonic's spoon. "Why don't I take this as payment for your passage into the temple? That way it won't go to the little guy's hips."

Chip craned his neck to look past Sonic, into a deep tan valley, and grinned. "You must be Rouge. I think I like you."

"Eyes up here, fairy boy."

Sonic looked down across the rolling field, and sighed. He had last seen it ten years before in stony moonlight, everything washed with an almost ethereal glow. He had learned quickly that that strange beauty in the light was an artifact of Gaia force, one decidedly less lovely when it blocked all light from the moon.

Now, though, he beheld the same path to the ruins in sunlight, harsh in the blue November sun and crumbling more than ever. Particularly gorgeous pillars and walls were torn down, ramsacked, no doubt sitting in some infected human's basement as a testament to both his dissatisfaction and infection. The grass was a strange dull green, darkened by ten years of pale, purple sunlight.

A delicate hand reached around to rest on his shoulder and pull him closer gently. "It's going to be fine. You just have to get through it." She purred.

"What is it with everyone playing parent with me?" Sonic shrugged out of the hug and walked on, his cloak flapping in the light breeze.

Rouge picked up her pace to catch up with him. She looked older, though not as much as Sonic expected, not near as much as most of the others did. Her hair was longer now, tied back in a long braid on her bare back; her skin was paler, no doubt due to the lack of sunlight to maintain her tan. She was beautiful, especially now that she was more covered up. She wore a tight violet tunic with a plunging neckline and back over that black bodysuit she always favored now, and the trim on her gloves and boots, as well as the latters' new laces, were violet to match. The only artifacts he could see of her new title were a large gold necklace hanging low in her cleavage and a gemstone he had never seen before on a ring on her finger.

She glanced over at him. "He's really grown, hasn't he?"

"More than I have."

Rouge smiled. "I was lucky to see that side of him early. He saved me from falling—even though I could have caught myself. I won't say losing you was the best thing that ever happened to him, because he misses you every day. But it made him appreciate who you were, and it helped him understand who he is."

Sonic scoffed. "Who I was?"

"You're hardly the same boy who fought the monsters." She kicked a rock out of her path.

"I don't think I've changed that much. Not for the better, at least."

Rouge stopped, and, with a roll of his eyes, he turned to face her. Chip bumped softly into his back.

"What snapped down there?" She asked him, furrowing her brow. "What went wrong in your head that kept you from winning?"

He crossed his arms, glaring.

"I know you didn't run away, but what the Hell, Sonic?"

He closed his eyes… and started walking toward the cliff.

With a cry of indignation, she followed him. He paused, waiting until she caught up, and then shoved her, sending her falling toward the ocean below.

Rouge screamed, flapping her wings and angling herself to fly upward, but a fierce wind pushed her down. He could just see the look of utter shock on her face, not at being shoved, but at being pushed down by the wind so hard her wings couldn't fight it. He rolled his eyes again and then closed them, grabbing the emerald between her breasts with his mind and pulling it through the cosmic foam into his arms, her with it. She was still screaming, and he pulled her closer, resting a chin on her forehead.

"Shh. I had you the whole time. You're safe."

She reached up and punched him, hard, in the jaw, and instinctively he dropped her.

"What is wrong with you! I could have died!"

"I had you. But I wanted you to see what it felt like." He looked into her eyes, fighting tears.

"How could that be what it felt like?"

"I had to get close to Dark Gaia and the only way I could was by using Chaos Control to fly. You have to… find the right updrafts to keep going up, in a way. I hit a down draft by mistake and went plummeting into the magma. I woke up next to a windmill," he pointed, "about twenty miles that way, with healed burns on my leg and no idea where I was."

"So you screwed up."

"I thought I could do it. I was sure I could do it. But it didn't work out. Someone, I think Chip, saved me. But I was seconds away from death." He sat down next to her.

"I thought I could do it," she echoed, and he raised his eyebrow. She sat up and continued, looking down. "When Shadow first came around. I was trying to investigate him, and to do that I had to get in with Eggman. I had to steal the Chaos Emeralds out of the GUN Vault on Prison Island to win his trust. I said I could do it in five minutes. But I didn't think there'd be an armed Mech. I defeated Flying Dog, but there were only seconds left before Eggman blew up the island."

"And Shadow chaos controlled in to save you."

She nodded.

"So you know what it's like to fail, when you shouldn't fail, because you're the best."

Rouge looked away.

"And it's fair enough for you to judge me in your heart, because it's your life that's screwed up because I failed." Sonic stood up, looking down at her. "But I want you to know something, Rouge. I wasn't getting paid your tax dollars to save the world. No one hired me. I did it because I wanted to, and I did my best. I did way more than any law or any government asked me to. You have no right to berate me for it; keep your backseat demon-fighting to yourself."

Sonic started walking toward the shrine, and Rouge quickly scrambled to her feet to follow. Chip flew up to match pace with him and nodded at him, as if to offer his backing. In response, Sonic took Chip and put him on a shoulder.

She pulled on the lever to turn on the elevator, and after a few moments, it gave, setting them free.

"First time I came through here," he noted, standing, "I got ambushed by Dark Gaia creatures. "

Rouge crossed her arms. "It's broad daylight, Sonic."

"But in Mazuri Chip and I fought one in the daytime. A green glowing beetle."

Rouge stared at him, her jaw dropping, exposing her perfect little fangs. "But Dark Gaia is only active at night."

"Not anymore. Actually, now that I think of it I haven't seen too many Dark Gaia creatures at night."

"What are you guys waiting for?" Chip chirped. "It's just a temple! Let's go!" Chip dropped down into the elevator shaft… and promptly screamed.

Sonic rolled his eyes and hopped down, landing in a crouch and surveying the situation. Chip was running away from what appeared to be a glowing green cat, dodging and weaving behind beautiful marble pillars. Another, similar creature ran over to Sonic and sunk its teeth into his foot.

Sonic shouted and kicked it away as Rouge dropped down the shaft. She flew toward a glowing beetle hovering nearby and spun in the air, hitting it with her heel. Chip slapped ineffectually at the green cat following him, and Sonic reached out to grab it, but found his arms coming a few body lengths short.

"You aren't the werehog!" Rouge shouted, divebombing the creature chasing Chip.

"Thanks for the reminder," Sonic growled, jumping into another beetle.

Rouge threw the Gaia Cat off the balcony, and Sonic spun into another beetle that landed on the ground. It was then that what appeared to be a giant bear-like creature of white light appeared from behind a pillar.

The two larger furries swore, while Chip hid under a crate. The creature simply charged for the crate, roaring.

"It's zeroing in on Chip?" Sonic pondered.

Rouge picked up a crate and flew over toward the bear, dropping it on the creature. Sonic tried to do the same, only to find his strength lacking. Instead, he leapt on top of the crate and used the height to get a headshot on the bear. He glanced off and landed nearby, and stopped to consider it as it tried to find Chip underneath the crate. It was white and tall, with strange curly ears and tiny, undersized arms, as opposed to the oversized hands of the Dark Gaia soldiers. It was reeling a bit, holding Chip's crate with one hand as it rubbed its neck.

"Let's hit it at the same time!" Rouge called.

Sonic nodded and started spinning in place. Rouge cried out, and he let go, driving himself into it. It faded away in a burst of green light. The crate toppled to the ground, spinning, and landed Chip-side up.

"Chip. When we're talking about how dangerous something probably is, don't just charge in, ok?" Sonic scolded.

"Yes sir!" was the sheepish response.

As the sun began to set, he sat down on a stony ledge, groaning.

"What is it?" Rouge asked, turning to him.

"I need a minute," he complained.

"Why? What's wrong?" She walked over, cocking her head to the side.

"He's changing," Chip informed her.

Sonic looked up at her. "After the fight with Dark Gaia, I woke up werehog. I started changing back to hedgehog in the day, and then werehog at night when the moon came back." He started to explain, but Rouge held up a hand.

"I remember when Shadow got sick. The changing is hard. I had a little case before we got some dampeners for the Island. I don't know what it is about you and Shadow that's different, but most of us don't change that much." Rouge looked up, pondering. "I wonder why you two are different?"

"But any changes to you guys might be permanent."

"All the more reason to get this under wraps as soon as possible." Rouge looked at Sonic. "You get some rest. I'll go gather something for a fire. I've got some camping rations; hope you can cook." She grinned.

"I'm sure I can whip up something."

Rouge flew off, and Sonic sighed.

"I like her. She's mean but… she's pretty."

Sonic laughed. "Chip, I had no idea you were interested in girls."

"What? Why wouldn't I be?"

He smiled and lay back on the ground. "Last time you only seemed to be interested in two things: Chocolate, and me."

Chip sat down on Sonic's stomach. "Maybe I'm different this time."

Sonic frowned and tried to ignore the weight. "That was funny, how she was talking about that time people mistook me for Shadow, wasn't it?"

"I don't remember Shadow, so I can't say… do you guys really look that close?"

"Yeah." Sonic chuckled, making Chip move. "Everyone mistook us for one another—even Amy, who thought she was in love with me. Makes me wonder how similar we are. He even married Amy."

"Did you like Amy?"

"I guess. I mean, she was cute, and she was a good hero, but she was so clingy that I didn't want anything to do with it. She'd probably be ok now, but I'd never make a move on Shad's girl."

"Why not?" Chip leaned over, lying on his own stomach.

"It's wrong. Especially after all Shadow's done to help me hide myself." Sonic thought for a minute. "You know. I read a book once… about a guy who wanted to get rid of all the evil in his heart. So he did something that made him turn into this weird monster that looked like a different person, with no inhibitions. …And actually, I think that in the book he used to get really sick to his stomach when he changed. Eventually he lost control of changing and his good and evil started to blend together. Then he died."

Chip blinked, confused.

"I think whoever wrote that book… knew about this somehow. I read in the author's notes that it came to him in a dream."

"You think someone put it in his dreams?"

"Yeah."

"What's that have to do with you and Shadow?"

"You'd think a guy like me would have all these demons, but I really don't. But I wonder how Shad is doing. He's been hurt a lot, has a lot of anger. ..And I wonder, Chip. If you're as nice as you are, what's going through Dark Gaia's head right now?"

Chip thought about that for a moment, and sat back up on Sonic's abdomen, making the hedgehog flinch. "Probably all sorts of evil things!"

"Did it ever run through your head," Sonic noted frowning, "That I feel awful and you're squishing my organs?"

"OH!" Chip flew up into the air, frowning. "I'm so sorry, Sonic!"

"Come down here and lay next to me, not on top. We'll watch the sun go down." Sonic patted the ground next to him, smiling. "And then I'll cook us something when Rouge gets back."

The moon hung low near the horizon when they finally reached the door to the shrine. Chip pulled out half the tablet and then turn to the others. "So uh… do we have the other half?"

Sonic swore, crossing his arms. "I knew we forgot something."

"You didn't forget," Rouge purred, approaching Chip. She reached into her shirt. "You mentioned it a few times. I took care of it before we even crossed paths." She pulled out the other half of the tablet and put them together.

Sonic raised his eyebrow. "How'd you know how to combine them?"

"My old boss taught me. You know he's from outside Empire City, by the Death Ruins? Right by the Temple Eggman built around."

"So that's why he sent all those troops there, when the Black Arms came…"

Chip took the key and pressed it into the door, a look of surprise on his face, as if he were shocked that he knew what he was doing. It opened and Sonic raced in, stretching out his arm and placing the Emerald in the Shrine. It sparkled in the dim glow and the earth began to move.

"I've got to report in to the boss," Rouge told Sonic quietly. "We've all met with the Temple Guardians to learn how, so I don't need to say a thing about you, but he may have cameras, so he might know. You could go anywhere next, but Amy's at her lab in Spagonia—she'd really like to see you."

Sonic grinned. "Is the reason you're so calm in an earthquake because you can fly?"

"No, because we built these temples to last. Sonic, I'm sorry I was rude about judging you, but you need to take a look at yourself. The old Sonic would never have shoved someone off a cliff just to prove a point. And if I hear of you doing that to anyone I care about, you really will be inside the Earth."

He let her walk away and frowned.