Metal: To think I'd live to see the day this story turns sixteen chapters old! *sheds a not-so-manly tear*

PoC: Your overly-sentimental displays disgust me! PenFullofChaos819 doesn't own the characters, but does happen to own the plot.

Metal: I can't help it *sniff* I'm so dang happy!

PoC: Cut the crap and start writing Pen…wait…WAIT! What happened to our NAMES?

Metal: Huh? Oh, that is odd. No matter, it's just a little typo that's all.

PoC: Just a LITTLE typo? It's my name! My pride! My dignity! My-hold it… Does this mean…I have the power now?

Metal: ? No, not again! Leave my story alone, gearbox!

PoC: Heh-heh! Silence Metal! The Pen holds the power! Mwhahahahahaha!

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Sonic's Advice

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"Now that…" Sonic said heavily "Was too much excitement, even for me." the hedgehog stretched out, glad to be near a place of rest. Crazy time's he'd had, but how often did he almost kill his friend, find a whispering emerald, make a truce with a long-time foe, and talk to a girl who should be dead, all in the same day?

"Can there be one normal day in this topsy-turvy world?" Sonic wondered.

"Well it's not usually like this." Tails unexpectedly answered "Most times it's pretty peaceful, except for the regular rise in crime, or the occasional climactic battles with Knuckles. You know, stuff like that."

Sonic closed his mouth tight, realizing he'd been thinking out loud. The mishap had, inadvertently, encouraged the hero to be more open with his 'new' buddy. As he went to open his mouth again, the blue-blur could form no words. There was still a lingering doubt that this Tails wouldn't be as understanding as his was. So, instead of speaking, the hero just cleared his cotton-mouthed throat.

"I guess that question wasn't for me, huh?" Tails seemed to understand "It's hard to talk to someone you think you know, but don't know, you know?" Sonic arched a puzzled eyebrow at the vulpine, who corrected "What I mean is, I think it's safe to say we're both uncomfortable right now."

Sonic hadn't thought of it like that. He had assumed that since this Tails was always so much colder and calculating than his, that he didn't really worry about conversation that much. Seeing him now, it was pretty obvious how nervous the two-tailed fox really was.

"It's not you Sonic, it's me." Tails sighed "I've always been really bad at expressing myself."

Now this was something new; Tails having trouble expressing himself? That was quite a substantial difference for him. Indeed, in Sonic's world, the difficulty was getting him to stop expressing his feelings! This made the blue-hog wonder how growing up must've been for this Tails. As far as Sonic knew, this Tails was the 'shining' example for the other Sonic. By extension, this Tails likely had high expectations placed on him. Naturally, it was hard to imagine, but it made sense why Tails had repressed a lot of his openness.

"Here we are." the fox pointed to a short wall, which the pair hopped over easily. With weighty eyelids and sore legs, the spent duo climbed the stairs up to the familiar apartment.

"Got a question for you bud." Sonic stopped before they reached the door "Where will you and I be sleeping?"

"Well, here of course, where else? I mean, I'll probably head for my place." Tails didn't grasp his spiny partner's point.

"Uhh… That's all well and good but…" the hero rubbed his quills and shuffled his feet in discomfort "Won't Amethyst be staying here too?" the hero knew if that wouldn't make his point, nothing would.

"Oh…that's right." the fox's expression became noticeably stiff as he said "Amethyst offered to let you stay here, since my place is a bit of a mess right now."

If that tone didn't harbor a masked threat, then Sonic wasn't blue. One thing was certain; Tails had never had to compete with anyone before, least of all, a friend. Sonic didn't like this arrangement either, but for different reasons. Up until now, the hedgehog knew he'd have a hard enough time bridging the gap between them. The last thing he needed was Tails accusing him of something ridiculous.

"Don't worry, I trust you." Tails said, but failed to sound convey confidence. Sonic saw the fox's left fist clench tightly as his right unlocked the door.

"Why can't I just fight Maasawd and spare the drama?" Sonic thought, this time, making sure he didn't say that aloud.

The dark dwelling was a bit cumbersome to walk through. Thankfully, Tails found a light switch after some persistent fumbling. The place had a pungent smell about it that Sonic was sure hadn't been there before. Tails heard a soft snoring near the table and laptop. Placing his hand gently on the nearby seat, he saw Amethyst, lost completely in a deep sleep.

"Hey Tails, check it out." Sonic kept his voice low, as he directed the vulpine to a pair of very real-looking emeralds. Two of them were so much alike that Tails had to scan them to know which was which.

"Two fake emeralds made in half a day's time?" Tails gasped quietly "I've never seen the process finished this quickly! Truly impressive." he marveled.

Unbeknownst to the two heroes, a half-smile spread across the 'sleeping' vixen's face.

Yawning now terribly, the fox propped his hand on the cold countertop "We better get some rest. Tomorrow, the last two emeralds will be ours, and then we can finally help Rouge." his eagerness was apparent even in his exhausted state. Getting up as best he could, Tails stumbled his way towards the front door.

"Goodnight Tails." Sonic said, kindly opening the door for his friend "And don't let it worry you, we'll be getting those last emeralds in no time flat."

"I hope you're right." Tails replied "I don't want to imagine what would happen if we got there too late." the dreary fox was given a surprise slap on his back from the grinning hedgehog.

"Then don't think about it." Sonic advised "Thinking too much only gets you in trouble. Just get some rest and stay positive, bro."

Tails found himself smiling too after small time "You're right, I'm being too negative. Thanks again for, I don't know, the third time today? I've got to ask, do you make a habit out of cheering people up?"

That compliment lifted the hedgehog's spirits high. It was good to know his upbeat attitude hadn't gotten lost during his troublesome visit "Aw… I just do what I can."

Losing his smile quickly, Tails turned to leave. He had taken a few steps out, but not before halting to say "Um… Sonic?" he spoke with that same child-like uncertainty Sonic had seen after they met Robotnik "I…uh…well…" Tails continued to stall "I… Need you to keep an eye on the emeralds for me!"

Sonic almost laughed at the poor cover-up, but still gladly accepted the powerful gems "No problem, Tails. I'll keep'em safe for you. And thanks for trusting me."

"Ah! I didn't…Uhh never mind… Goodnight…b-bro." Tails left a little too quickly and shut the door with a mild slam. It really amused Sonic to see his good friend too embarrassed to admit that he could depend on him. The hero imagined how tough it had been for Tails, growing up without someone to lean on.

"I'm glad you two are still getting along." a voice startled the hero.

"Oh geez it's you." Sonic let out a breath "I thought you were asleep."

The vixen shook her head "Nope, I've been up this whole time. I was just resting my eyes when you guys walked in." she walked over to the fake emerald-maker and started it up. The machine was mostly silent, except for a steady hum.

"Really? Then why didn't you say something sooner?" Sonic was checking out the emerald-making gizmo as he asked.

"If you knew him like I do, you'd know that he fusses over me like I'm still a kid." Amethyst said while adjusting various knobs on the mystifying device "Had he seen me awake, he would've practically forced me to bed, and then all this work would go undone."

Sonic could see that. Tails did act more protective and doting when it came to Amethyst. It also struck him partially off-guard as he couldn't picture his little bro in a relationship, and thus, didn't know what to expect.

"It's just annoying." the vixen huffed "Does he really think I enjoy being treated like that? Why can't he just give a nice simple compliment, like he did when I was 'asleep'?"

The hero crossed his arms "From what I've seen, you never complained about it before." he felt inclined to add his two cents.

Amethyst's face showed both understanding and irritation "I know that, but how can I tell him to stop when he tries so hard? I mean, look at how upset he was last time I got mad."

"I should've known. You haven't really forgiven him, have you?" Sonic took a guess "So how long have you two been having problems?" the hedgehog knew he wasn't good at this, but these friends of his really needed some outside help.

Trying to backpedal, Amethyst gently dismissed her side "I'm sorry Sonic, I shouldn't have brought it up." reaching over to grab the real grey emerald the vixen let the gem slip from her grasp.

Living up to his name, Sonic caught the falling stone an inch from the tile floor, and handed it back to the now-humiliated vixen "You sure about that?"

She nodded hastily, and contained herself long enough to get the stone in the machine. Something didn't seem right, for the silent humming had altered into a distorted creaking and droning in mere seconds.

"Is that supposed to happen?" the hedgehog said, instinctually shielding his face from the danger. His question was answered by the frantic vixen cutting the power as quickly as possible.

"Stupid stupid stupid!" Amethyst banged her head on the flat metal top "I put the emerald in the wrong chamber! I'm so darn stupid!" the error was soon righted and the machine returned to its more pleasant humming.

"No, you're distracted, there's a huge difference. Come on," the hero led the vixen over to her chair "Why don't you get some of this off your shoulders?"

"No Sonic, you need your rest." she refused with a mostly true statement. There was also the element of concern for admitting her problems to anyone besides Rouge. While she knew this Sonic meant well, she had every intention of giving up the discussion. However, she didn't expect this Sonic to be so stubborn nor persistent.

"And if you're still messing up by then?" Sonic said fairly harshly "You're not doing anything else until that extra stress is gone." he firmly asserted. Amethyst's eyes darted every direction Sonic wasn't, showing her clear desire to evade this whole issue.

"Look if you really don't want to talk, then all you have to do is smile. Like this." Sonic flashed the cheesiest smile he'd ever worn, causing the vixen to giggle "But until you can do that, I'm not going anywhere."

"I can smile, see?" her effort came out ever more depressing than he expected. Sonic actually couldn't tell if she was snarling or grinning.

"Tsk! Tsk! Yep, just what I thought." the hero said, relaxing on the couch "Too much stress to put on a happy face. Pretty sad, Amethyst."

"Hmph!" she lost her 'smile' and turned away "Well I don't see how a stupid smile would help me anyway."

"Chill, I was just teasing!" he said good-naturedly "Now I know Tails can be oblivious, but how can the guy know what to do if you don't talk to him?"

"Because every time we talk I end up yelling at him when he doesn't deserve it, and now look! He's starting to trust you more than he does me! And you guys just met for crying out loud!" her problem, though not uncommon, was a verbal headache to deal with.

"For starters, you know we both miss our best friends, right? I may be just speaking for myself, but I think we're both trying to get back what we lost, while accepting some massive changes." Sonic put it cleanly "As for the whole yelling thing? People do that all the time, especially when they're comfortable with each other. I don't think Tails takes it that personally."

"True enough. But, sometimes things just go right over his head, like when I broke his fall by activating his Catcher. He couldn't figure out that it was me, even when I tried to tell him." Amethyst revealed that interesting fact to Sonic.

"Wow, so that was you? And he didn't even thank you for it?" he saw the vixen mouth a 'no' disparagingly. Now that was harsh of him. It wouldn't have killed Tails to hold his tongue long enough to hear that little detail.

"One or twenty times is no big deal, but I hate having to act like nothing's wrong all the time." Sonic felt at a disadvantage, as the other Sonic grew up here, but he was only getting the tip of the iceberg. It didn't help that relationships weren't his cup of tea.

"I won't lie to you; I'm pretty useless about stuff like this." the hero started out "But I guess the best thing to do would be to get some time were you two can talk this out, if this is hurting you guy's this badly."

Amethyst stared in disbelief "And when would we do that Sonic? Right now, before we've rescued Rouge? Or maybe afterwards when we have to chase down Maasawd and Knuckles?"

"Um…" was all he said back. She had the hedgehog stumped there. When would be a good time? No one could say how long this battle would last for, and that's assuming everything ends with that Maasawd guy.

"I think Tails and I know we have a job to do first. I can put our issues on hold until after this is over." Amethyst said it with enough resolve to convince the azul hero.

"Okay, you know best I suppose." Sonic shrugged and looked at the clock "I guess it's too late to wait for that smile, so I'll let you off the hook this time." he said jokingly, but concluded in a serious tone "Sorry I couldn't be much help." but as soon as he looked, he saw the vixen smiling brightly.

"Actually, that's a lot more than I usually get out." she sounded more relaxed "Maybe you should replace Rouge as my new best friend, since you're so good at talking about emotions and all that. Do you happen to be good with hairdressing and make-up as well?"

Sonic frowned comically before saying "I think…I just got burned for trying to be nice, didn't I?"

"Yes, yes you did, and now look who's not smiling!" she teased the pouting hedgehog, but then added "Thanks for listening; it really did help, even if just a little."

"Hey, don't sweat it. Now, I think it's time we got some rest." Sonic went on to tell the vixen goodnight, as she turned off her computer and left for her room. Once he was alone, the hero wondered if he really had made any impact on the thorny problem.

"Whew, this world likes to make me flex muscles I didn't even know I had." he mused "So many problems and so little time to deal with 'em all." closing his weary lids, Sonic dug his face into the soft arm of the couch.

Twenty minutes of peaceful silence was enough to bring the hero rest. That all ended, however, when a toneless voice echoed in the hedgehog's head.

"…on…c."

His blood turned hot as fire as soon as he heard that noise. It was happening again; the whispering was back.

"…m…al…eas…o…eet…yo…s…ic"

It was louder and much clearer this time. His ears could almost make sense out of the disturbing, incantations-like words.

"Lis…o…m…on…"

He desperately tried to close his ears, but the voice seemed to be speaking directly into his mind "Go away." he demanded, albeit breathlessly.

"Do…e…raid…I…ne….to….eak…t…u…onic."

"I SAID GO AWAY!" he lost his head and shouted. While the creepy whispering had stopped, he had alerted Amethyst, and probably a few of her neighbors as well.

"Sonic, what's wrong?" she asked worriedly "Was someone in here?"

His heart was beating fast, too fast for his liking. Whatever that voice was, it gave him a sick feeling in the bottom of his stomach. Still, he didn't want to worry his host, so he tried an old-fashioned lie "Ha… Must've had a really bad dream. I should be okay now."

It was one lie he wished he could believe.

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End of Chapter Sixteen

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*Yawn* Talk about a cut from the action, but I have other things to build up besides main plot. Anyway, I admit this chapter wasn't very exciting, but I felt the need to build on my characters more (hence the last chapter). The next chapter should counter any dullness you might see here (I should hope so, since it contains a battle scene).

DanceDream: Well I admit, the chaotix aren't very different, but I felt adding too much of a change would be overdoing it. Still glad you like them! Tails always has a plan, and the Chaotix fit right into it (he isn't a cunning fox for nothing XD). This chapter may be a little more boring, but it starts a much needed build up for the fic finale (yes I'm thinking of that already, but this fic is nowhere near finished). P.S. I like Shadow and Maria, but they tend to be ignored for their better traits. Hopefully I can deepen them up a bit (if that makes any sense XD).

Ghostkid33: Always good for a laugh, those Chaotix! This one isn't probably as exciting, if at all. However, hope you like something in this one (just enough to get you to the next chap). P.S. Tactichaos? Nuff said XD.

Serenity: I love the Chaotix too! They deserve a good chapter! Your favorite you say? :D I can't ask for a better compliment than that! Thank you!

Infamousplot: Thank you for noticing! It took a bit to add the depth they deserved, but it was worth it! Tails has grown up a lot in this, so yeah he's serious (just how I like him). P.S. I've been updating kind of late, so no big issue! Oh and you might find some of those 'skeleton-like' thoughts here, but hope it's decent!

KoTwz10z: Sorry about the weekly wait, but at least you like 'em right? Chaotix fit their name to a "T", don't they? This chapter's kinda…out of my comfort zone. I'd call this a necessary evil in some ways XD. P.S. If you feel my work inspires you to write your first fic, then by all means! :D I'd be more than happy to read it!

Kindra Mckleen: Lol didn't even think of that! I'm glad you liked Vector's crappy naming skills! XD And as for Knuckles, well he's been pretty awful up 'til now, so I'd count on it!

Sierra Zanimalini14: I like Shadow too, but I have trouble placing him. Hmm… I'd say my list would put him at third or fourth (Tails makes first, and Sonic make second…always). It's just like Metal so much that I often have trouble deciding. Don't worry, the mystery is close to its "unraveling point". P.S. Looking forward to your next chapter! :)

jakeroo123: You won't like this one, I know. Still I wouldn't mind having your comment on this one. I said this in a pm already, but thanks for the compliment on the Chaotix (more specifically Vector)!

Until next time!