Silver: *Sniff* No chapter funnies…no apologies…and no acorns in my a-acorn squash! *Cries*

PoC: PenFullofChaos819 doesn't own…*hears Silver's sobs* the character rights…*getting louder* Ahh…fine. Silver, we're both sorry for singing without you. And there's no need to fret about the lack of 'funnies'. Each new post gets us closer to many extra funnies-filled chapters, so buck up.

Silver: *Pouts* Y-you're so mean! I do NOT have antlers!

PoC: ?

Metal: 'Deer' Silver. Noting your diagnosis of CCSD (Chronic 'Common Sense' Deficiency), I'm obligated to inform you that 'Acorn Squash' derives its curious title from the ripe marrow's trademark resemblance to the oak-producing nut of the same name. Any disputes/complaints regarding this data may be brought to our child-friendly 'Doen't ask' or the more adult-suited 'Stag it up your arse' departments of education.

Silver: *Whines* Mm…mmwhaaaaaaa! *Continues crying*

Metal: One child it is. That'll be room three-thirty six on your left. Just follow the signs.

PoC: ?

-l-

Shattered for You

-l-

"No, no, NO! This ain't right! We're going the wrong way…again!" Maria asked herself if that crocodile would EVER learn to be quiet. Here she was trying to be more than just an emergency lift-off for Sonic and Shadow, and all that grouchy scale-bag could do was complain. Explaining that she'd been tracing a spike of strange readings would likely not register, so she respectfully chose to stay quiet.

Inaction didn't bode as well as she had hoped, for it merely got him started again "FINE! You know what? Keep hoverin' around in circles! Just don't blame me when that stone place opens up its hidden guns and blows us to high heck!"

Nobody thought of heeding the angry croc, until suddenly a large section of the forest gave way. Trees fell all around the group's ship, leaving it up to Maria to pull off some tricky maneuvers. Once the dust had settled, a strange new complex revealed itself. It was far more modern than the aged tower they'd seen earlier, but the two appeared to have been recently linked to one another.

Vector of course panicked first, expectedly fearing the loss of his beloved craft "Oh wonderful! There you see what you did, little lady? Ya sure went and opened Pandora's Box this time! I bet that place has got firepower enough to pulverize ten flying houses!"

"Well then it's a good thing they only have one to shoot down!" Charmy exclaimed in one of his unusual bouts of clarity. True to his nature, his madness descended shortly thereafter "Cannon fire is costly business I'll have you know! And to all you doubting larva, I say YES! Honey has EVERYTHING to do with the price of eggs in-Oooohhh! Shiny pools of goodness!"

The enamored bee's 'shiny' comment obviously referenced the puddles of blue liquid spilled carelessly around the location's exterior. Aside from such signs of misuse, the building itself was a small simplistic factory, crafted seemingly to accommodate secluded research.

"I should've known…" The blond Robotnik shuddered "I wonder if Cousin Julian is trapped here instead…?" She thought; cautiously eyeing what she recognized as a near-identical copy, save for the watery patches of chaos, of Chaos Control.

As far as she knew, the monster could've only had it erected and reactivated it for one purpose: the production of Living Chaos. What the evil one planned to do with the semi-sentient ooze, she could only guess. But if this was the source of that stone structure's power, then they had indeed reached their destination.

Getting up from the pilot seat, Maria made her announcement "Everyone, listen to me. If we want to help Sonic and the others, we're going to have to shut this place down."

Plummeting from his chair in shock, the large reptile cried out "WHAAAAAAT?" obviously paranoid by her plan, he kept shouting "Are you off your nut girlie? I'm NOT going in there! My tail won't grow back if I set foot inside that place!" Most interpreted his terminology to mean 'I don't want to die', much to the team's disgust.

"Ugh, it's always you and your 'tail'… What happened to being all gung-ho about helping Espio? Do you want him to kick the bucket because you slithered off like a coward? Well, do you?" Amy hit the croc's sore spot with that statement. He hated being compared to a conniving serpent, almost as much as being accused of walking out on a comrade. Worst of all, these insults came out of a little girl, the only thing he couldn't retaliate against.

Giving her words a minute to settle was the right choice, as it allowed him to relax enough to reply "Look, I'm not trying to kill the mood, but let's face the facts here: You, Charmy, and little miss Robotnik can't fight or defend yourselves much, and doubt I could protect ya all. Take it from me, there are some things you don't risk your neck for; and a hunch is one of them!"

The girls were ready to argue this into the ground, but the croc stood firm. Charmy naturally didn't have anything important to say at first. He simply watched mindlessly as the three bickered without ceasing. He seemed content with this, until something in the ship caught his eye "Ooohh…wow! Look at that!"

"Not now."

"Charmy, please wait."

"SHADDUP RUNT!"

"No guys seriously!" The bee insisted "Super sparkly pretty lady! Lookie-lookie-lookie!" he pointed with barely contained excitement. To no surprise, Vector steamed up at the boy's interruption, while Amy and Maria glanced in the direction he was pointing.

Maria sadly turned back too quickly to initially notice anything, saying "Don't worry Charmy dear." she assured him "There's just Amy, Vector, the spirit girl, and me here, see? Nothing to be frightened of-" The blond gagged on her 'comforting' speech once she read back her own words "Wait…'spirit girl'? WHERE?"

"Hi Tikal!" Amy somehow knew. It was hard to explain, but from the core of her being she knew this visitor's identity on sight. The echidna girl reciprocated the little hedgehog's greeting with a warm smile.

To the rest of the team, the 'intrusion' brought mixed reactions. Maria didn't take too kindly to this surprise, and ended up an even paler shade of white. Charmy meanwhile hovered where he was, grinning like a silly fool at the 'shiny' person before him. Vector was of course a little slow on the uptake, so he continued yelling at the distracted Charmy; presumably still unaware of their guest's arrival.

Not concerned with them at the moment, Tikal asked the little hedgehog "Amy…can you forgive me?" Her reserved, maybe even fearful, tone earned the pink girl's confused stare "I should've warned you before taking your consciousness over. Doing what I did…makes me no better than the cruel master and his minions…" She seemed greatly saddened as she said this, almost as if she expected some kind of punishment.

Amy didn't like seeing her new friend so unhappy, so walking up to her, the small hedgehog gave Tikal an encouraging hug "Hey, don't be like that. I know you were just trying to help us out! I don't know what kind of kook that shady, master guy is, but I'm SURE you're nothing like him!" Smiling up at the older girl, she continued "And besides, it was kind of fun! I got to learn a lot about you when we shared our thoughts."

Amidst the joyful greeting, Amy added in puzzlement "But hey…if you're a spirit, then how can I hug you?"

Tikal, now visibly relieved, laughed good-naturedly and replied "This is a temporary form, so that I need not borrow a vessel. It's hard for me to maintain, especially so close to thick chaos, but I think I'll manage." At last turning her attention to the rest of the group, the echidna maiden said "I gather you four intend to enter that industrial complex and disable it. Correct though this path is, you'll need my help. Sonic and his companion's chances of victory are fading fast. We must now give them the edge they so desperately need."

Maria, though still trying to get past her shock, stepped into the conversation too "Leave it to me. I know how Julian's machines work. If you guys can get me inside, shutting down Chaos Control should be no problem."

Nodding rigidly, Tikal agreed "Then let us depart. I will follow and guide you for as long as I can. Amy…though it's unfair of me to ask… Will you, when the time comes, allow my presence into yourself again?"

Winking and giving a thumbs up, Amy gave a spunky shout of "You can count on me!" much to Tikal's ease and amusement.

And so, the group made their preparations to leave. It wasn't until this time that Vector, who had finally decided to pay attention, exclaimed "Holy smoked turkey! A GHOST! It's here to collect my debt! SOMEBODY SUCK IT UP!"

Thus their departure was mildly delayed by the subduing of their terrified, vacuum-toting crocodile companion.

L

*With Knuckles*

L

Inhuman or inmobian cries echoing in the pit of hostile territory couldn't be the best beacon to follow. Did the term 'saving one's own skin' mean nothing to a battle-hardened rogue like him? Had he not known better, or been simply in a bad mood, he would've blamed his recent, 'good' changes of heart all on Tikal's 'witchery'.

"Telling me to help others, telling me to not do what my ancestors did…" the maroon criminal panted with considerable frustration "And worst of all, telling me to take responsibility for my actions! If that's not the most unfair route to redemption, tell me what is! Wait…NO! I HATE being told what to do! But then…what am I doing here?" Though the cloud of doubt had once more hit him hard, he never halted his determined dash "Am I just being a tool for some false promise?"

"Master! Help!"

Yeah…maybe that's all there was to it, but no matter how he tried, he…couldn't ignore injustice anymore. Hearing that cry, though he didn't recognize the voice or know the person's intent, was all he needed. True he didn't know this 'Aqua' person, but that little instinct, something like small a voice, told him that she genuinely needed his help. And that, for now, was enough reason for him to keep going.

"What's it like?" He mused, readying his spiked gloves, still clean and white as ivory "What's it like…using power the 'right' way?"

L

*With the Spirits*

L

"Well? Any progress yet?" The Sonic-disguised Azurite pestered, smoothing over his quills with delicate strokes. Though creepily, if not hungrily, curious for results, the idea of helping out never seemed to cross the dark blue hedgehog's mind.

Meanwhile, the deep crimson clone, painfully aware of his 'brother's' laziness, continued the violent process of feeding his sister corrupt chaos. Her desperate pleas for help didn't affect the angry spirit at all. His head was filled with the one, single-minded obsession of getting her mind back in the 'right place'.

"Grrrragh! This is taking too long!" Ruby exploded again, his fury rising to phenomenal heights "Why won't you accept it? Did the echidnas leave you starved for bloodshed? Well, I can fix that!" Thankfully, Ruby's irrational rage and fist were both halted by Azurite's well-timed intervention.

"Now, now, dear boorish brother of mine, have you forgotten the old saying: 'Patience is the bowl for the destroyer's wrath'? If you must hurt our sweet Aqua, bide your time so that her pain builds to more sufficient levels. More pain equates to more chaos, yes?" His suggestion retained a larger degree of sadism than Ruby, despite the fact that it delayed the false echidna's strike.

This, however, didn't deter the red double from verbalizing his skewed opinion "Look, that 'not too fast, make it last' thing is good when you have time to kill, which we do NOT! What are we to do if this spoiled child isn't ready in time?" Ruby had then dismissively released the frightened Aqua in order to size his sibling up "I don't like saying it, but the fact is we can't complete the unification without everyone together AND fully immersed, or else that blue thing might resist us. Do you recall how Onyx and the rest of our brethren couldn't maintain a firm grip on the black hedgehog? AM I MAKING MYSELF CLEAR?"

At first Azurite, after having waved off his brother's apparently noxious breath, replied by simply saying "Transparently, of course." Gently then, the navy blue fake pushed the red one back a safe distance, before saying "You need to, nevertheless, calm down. Recall that this meat suit…" To illustrate, Azurite held up Shadow's limp hand "…was not negatively-charged or negative by nature. In fact, he's far too positive to be a suitable candidate. Now the blue one has been…conditioned by the master so that he will be more willing to accept us. A heart already ablaze with the flame of discord will be not only unable, but even unwilling to resist our influence."

Not satisfied with this, Ruby crossed his meaty arms and growled "I don't have faith in the master's grand scheme. For I've watched many vessels come and go, yet, to this day, I've never seen a more positive fool than the blue one they call Chronic…Tonic…err…" In his absence of mind, Ruby wracked his brain for the right name. In his distracted state, both conversing spirits overlooked something critical: A figure lurking in a dim portion of the room.

"His name…is Sonic."

There was no chance to demand the intruder's identity before Azurite, whom Ruby had turned his back on, was pierced by a pair jagged spikes. With a twist and a grunt, the fist punctured the false hedgehog's body. A breathless death rattle later, Azurite dissipated in a cloud of poisonous blue mist.

This noise attracted the red faker's attention "Brother?" Ruby asked, finding only his sibling's 'remains'. Behind the clearing mist, however, he noticed something else. It was his real self…standing before him in defiance.

"You know, for a guy who's got the look down, you don't do my keenness much justice." The real deadlocked warrior mocked, amused by how easily enraged his cheap counterpart was "So, picking on little kids a sick hobby of yours?" Knuckles accused, supporting the injured Aqua with one arm "By the way, I think you got her name wrong, slick. It's Maria, not Aquamarine. Got it memorized, oaf?"

Ruby regained his composure upon hearing the real echidna's mistake. Stepping up to him with a venomous smile, more perverse and disturbed than any Knuckles had ever seen, the mimic spoke "That Maria you hold is a facade, a sham meant to lure in unsuspecting fools into our trap. Even her identifier, Aquamarine, is merely a means to distinguish her from us. Akin to color-coding if you will."

Anticipating the echidna's terror-stricken expression, Ruby's ire rose again when his other self shrugged at the 'frightening' revelation "Yup, you sure got me there. But the way I see it, fake or not, I don't think the little lady liked whatever you and your boyfriend were doing to her." Knuckles had to crack a grin at the way the mirror-image snarled in response to his suggestive comments "Now I don't know what you've been doing to the rest of these guys and gals, but I'm guess they don't want anything to do with you either. So, what'd you say I take them off your hands?" Knuckles then set Aqua down and put up his dukes.

Ruby understood well enough to, like the good reflection he was, return the same stance and gestures "You should know…I was aware of your coming. It has been predicted that the sole survivor of that dead clan would come to 'right the wrongs of the past'." His irises swirled with insanity's rage, seemingly eager to start their fight "Do you know where that little fable goes? Was your precious Tikal kind enough to let you read how that story ends?"

Stretching laxly in the face of his demonic self, the ex-criminal showed signs of neither fear nor anger "I'm a simple guy." Knuckles stated casually, putting his right foot forward "So here's my simple logic: Some stories make you read the ending, while others…" In flash, the warrior echidna embedded his spike-studded fist into the evil doppelganger's cheek "…make you write the ending yourself!"

Crisp and clean though the punch may've been, Knuckles would soon learn just what sort of foe he'd picked a fight with. The fist penetrated past more than just flesh, as it was disturbingly embedded inside Ruby's now malformed mouth. In return, the creature's facial guise impossibly reformed itself into a…hand, a terribly large one at that. Immediately gripping the true echidna's whole forearm, the monster effortlessly lifted and tossed Knuckles' solid frame into the cold metal below.

Recovering from the attack was not as easy as the echidna tried to act. He was well aware that the throw alone had fractured a few bones already; such had never happened to him so early in a fight before. Still, comprehending terror, luckily or unluckily, was not in his nature, thus Knuckles remained steady in the face of his aggressor.

Ruby, if this misshapen beast of cerulean chaos could be called by that anymore, addressed his mobian opponent diminishingly "Make your peace here, echidna. Here in these halls of the damned, where your ancestors bestowed upon us our strength. Be now the last of your kind to witness our unequaled might! Azurite, to me!" Glowing with sudden brightness, the demon inhaled the navy-shaded cloud of mist left behind by his fallen brother.

This was soon followed by a surge of energy that seemingly poured out of the steel walls in a limitless stream. When the glow had passed, 'Ruby' had once more regained his echidna shape, but no longer shared much resemblance with Knuckles anymore. It's flesh had taken on a thick, leathery appearance; colored shades of deepest blue blended imperfectly with it's former crimson. That was all Knuckles could make out under the poor lighting, not that it's appearance had any bearing on how dangerous the beast clearly was.

"Heh…" Knuckles chuckled, his body language still showing no hint of cowardice "So…being a good guy means facing huge, slobbering freaks o' nature while everyone else sleeps on the job? Yup, just like I thought. Sounds like a tool's task!" He joked bitterly, very aware of how many unconscious lives were riding on his victory "But…I can't just turn down a good challenge! Let's dance, ugly!"

Tightening his gloves confidently, Knuckles barreled headlong into what, unbeknownst to him, would be his last duel.

L

*With Amethyst*

L

So heavy…the trigger pull was so cursedly obstinate. The gun itself seemingly weighed as much as her guilt, making the task of holding the weapon alone a strenuous effort.

The possessed Tails took notice her weakness with glee, and whispered "Yes…suffer more. Suffer until your heart bleeds…" The being shivered in delight at the immense discord his victim exuded. Having drunk his fill of her pain, the puppeteer moved to make his last despicable move.

Grinning maniacally, the suicidal manipulator spread out the fox's arms, taunting her coldly "What's the matter? Can't you do it? I invite you, fire at me! Split your beloved's heart in two!" The vixen's arms and legs trembled ferociously now. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find the will to act. Finally ready to claim her for himself, the demon sealed his victory with a dark message "You missed your last chance, my dear. You've just become the shackle that shall bind Tails to my will…FOREVER!"

Despite this 'warning', he was much too fast for her to react. Distorted swirls of ebony energy amassed in the center of the evil one's hand, from which was ejected a sickle-shaped beam…

…that pierced Amethyst's chest.

Time slowed, almost halted as the vixen just stood there, impaled on the fiery blade. The chaos on it's edge seared her throbbing veins like pure acid. More overwhelming than this was the look of distressing satisfaction in Tails' defiled eyes.

A bitter second passed…her body slumped over, the rifle slipping from her grasp. The pain was too great to feel now. Her peripheral vision began to darken little by little as she struggled to stay awake. A sickening tug later, and the blade was removed; leaving behind no hint that it had ever entered her at all. But she could sense it…the wound was still there, for it continued to steal away her last shreds of vigor. Eventually, she collapsed…completely unnoticing of the marble floor's biting cold.

She shakily raised her head to see him gazing down at her, looking very pleased at her suffering. However…though broken in both body and spirit, the vixen used her remaining drop of strength to whisper "I forgive you…Tails." before falling asleep.

Stepping away from her limp form, the figure laughed heartlessly "How fragile are the bodies of humans and mobians alike. Such a waste of beautiful flesh." Though the monster in command spoke without a trace of sympathy, it's eyes were suddenly damp and burning. Touching it's vessel's face, the being hissed with contempt "Stop it…" It could feel something. Struck by total disbelief, the being felt it's presence being chased away "Stop…fighting…ME! This body is no longer yours! H-how…can you still…" The malevolent spirit battled mightily, but it was soon cut off even from speech.

Against the dark one's will, the vulpine forcefully knelt down to the Amethyst's level. Situating one arm supportively across her back, he tenderly pressed his other hand and muzzle against her lifeless face.

"Amethyst…I-I'm…so…s-sorry…" His red eyes were slowly drained of color, leaving only the redness of sour tears to stain his crystal blue irises.

Caressing her limp body gently, he brokenly pleaded "A-Amethyst…wake up! Ame please…please tell me you can still hear me! AMETHYST!" she remained still, permanently locked in cold silence…a silence that could only confirm his greatest fear.

…

Now resigned to his own silence, there was simply no comfort left for his shattered soul…

-l-

End of Chapter Forty-three

-l-

Two weeks…not as bad as a month. I got sick of writing long chapters (seeing as how they are hard to edit and irritating for readers), so this one is slightly shorter. Now while I should leave it be, I think I'll add comments again.

DanceDream: Hmm…I suppose I lost you (and a few others) some chapters ago. I hope you have time to review this chapter someday though :).

Ghostkid33: :D Great to hear from you again! No, I refuse to give up on this project. In fact, that's why I keep taking such time off. I want to make sure I don't run myself dry just to meet a deadline (THAT might cause me to give up). I love using Knuckles the 'right' way. His evil side was starting to bug me, you know? Ah yes…about Evil Tails well… Let's just say that 'evil' in this world doesn't have a trace of 'cool' in it. After I wrote the last scene I feared it (combined with last chapter's description of Possessed Tails) had too much 'Mephiles' in it, so I changed it slightly. However, I think the one manipulating Tails is rather Mephiles-like in his own way.

Sierra Zanimalini14: Thank you kindly :). Sonic's test you ask? Well…given this chapter's circumstances, it's almost impossible for the reader to know just yet (as even the author isn't one-hundred percent sure XD), but next chapter will cough it up. I didn't want to waste another scene on some boring interaction between him and the king baddie (not this chapter anyway XD). Needless to say, I have some holes to fill soon enough.

Serenity/ravenclaww: Yes I'm aware that life comes first (painfully aware at that), but I should be more responsible with my big mouth. Thanks for thinking I deserve the break…though I'm not so sure I did :\. Note for the story: So you like Evil Tails eh? I wonder if this chapter might've…changed that a bit. I personally hate overused 'dark selves' so I tried to put in a heavy distinction between Tails and his possessor. I…hope I didn't overdo it XD.

knight of the windZ10Z: :D WOOT! You made it in time! I think you wrote a plenty long review (it doesn't need to be proportionate to the chapter size). I'm glad so many are focused on Tails and Amethyst :). I mean yeah I want to develop everyone's plot, but I can't resist giving fox-buddy most of the spotlight. This chapter looks about the same size as the last (thanks to these extensive comments XD), but in terms of actual chapter material, it's definitely shorter. Hope the ending doesn't make everyone TOO sad (Amethyst is only an OC after all).

Kindra Mckleen: Thank you, thank you! It feels good to have gotten this up a little quicker. Mm…yes, so sad that the sacrifice is going both ways now :(. I figured most readers would've expected me to insert a last-minute heroic scene to save my OC. But, life isn't so pleasant in plots I make. It's unfair to think he did this just save her, only to end up failing…(at least he's back to his senses now). Knuckles is more fun to use as a…I don't know, converted hero maybe (anti-hero just sounds lame)? He's tough, but he's met his match in this next fight.

prowerboy: Yes I am, and this time I'll hopefully stay (until the story ends of course). Gold heart though he may have, he wasn't quite a match for his manipulator (whose name has already been mentioned, but I won't reveal it). Sonic…yes, and maybe too soon. Makes you wonder who's going to be the last one to fight, doesn't it?

Infamousplot: I hope you're enjoying your vacation. That said, it'll be long since over by the time you get to this chap XD.

Dracosfairmaiden: Aw, not you too. Well no worries. Come back anytime you feel like it :)

Super Shadix 520: How many times am I going to say it? Thanks so much for your help! No seriously, it really puts my mind at ease getting your honest, but understanding, secondary proofreading (most users would just bite my head off needlessly :\). Well I update faster this time, so hopefully that means I won't slow up again *fingers crossed*.

Sparkling-nexis137: XD Not sure if you made that up yourself or if it's a quote, but I likez it either way! Aww! Silver, Metal, and I thank you so much!

Silver: Just as well that you only know me here. I'm too gullible and impulsive in the games.

Metal: SILVER! ICE CREAM TRUCK AT TEN 'O CLOCK!

Silver: *Leaps up and down* What? Ooo! Where? WHERE? Where is it? *Spins around* Come on Met! Show me where again! Please? Pretty pleeeeeease?

Metal: My work here is done.

Yeah, waaaaay too many elements. Like I said before, narrowing them all down may prove troublesome :\. And with good supporters like you, I need to stay focused. I can't afford to let you guys down :).

Ninuhuju: As you can see it's…not getting much better for them I'm afraid :(. Despite the fact that I list this story as 'Drama' I sometimes believe 'Tragedy' would be a better fit (in way more ways than one XD).

…dang it. I'm sure I forgot someone else. But I can't think of them right now (doesn't mean I don't care) so that'll have to do. I'll make edits later if I remember.

-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-SPOILER INCOMING-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-

…

…

…

Just in case anyone's worried, I DON'T plan on killing Knuckles! Whatever I meant by 'his last duel' will have to be found out in the next chap!

-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-END OF SPOILER-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-

Until next time.