PoA: So, one more now, and we'll be…

Silver: Oh thank the bacon maker. No deaths this chapter.

PoA: None that you know of, but…

Silver: Gosh, you're really into this mushy stuff, aren't you? *Blushes* Not that it's bad, I mean, it's just that I wouldn't know… You know 'cause, back where I come from…

Metal: I can see it now "An Iblis ate my Girlfriend" The latest gore flick on the scene at Crisis City's silver screen.

Silver: Disclaimer: PoA is not in any way affiliated with Sega Enterprises, or the Sonic Team. All rights to any patented characters or material belong to their rightful owners. Pen will, however, take ownership of this; I speak for both of us when I say that you sir, are STILL an insensitive ass.

Metal: I'd say the 'never saw it coming' anticipation is real, but, well, for a psychic such as you… Tell me, what's it like knowing a female will dump you before she actually drops the ball? Does it have a way of 'wrecking' your confidence? Assuming you've had any offers to begin with.

Silver: By the purple I stain to my hair, I swear I will once again bleach your armor while you sleep.

Metal: If you value your hair mold, you'll leave my tin flair alone; else you run the risk of being shot red headed; your 'do then to become crispy black bacon. 'Evermore, like the raven.

Silver: My bacon… How did you know?

Metal: I have scrambled the eggs of enlightenment.

Silver: But, but…

Metal: For I pan the heavenly bacon.

Tails Doll: :3

PoA: Can I never finish in peace?

Silver / Metal / TD: …

PoA: *Sigh* Just finish your bloody breakfast.

Tails Doll: ^o^ (Yay, bloody piggy strips!)

-l-

Welcome Home

-l-

"So, is this it?" He had to ask as he fell into whatever new tunnel of insanity he had stumbled upon.

"Well, better just shrug it off and smile. Comes with being a hero, right? Smile, suck it up, be tough, and don't complain when life deals you a crappy hand." At least, these thoughts were his way of making like an ostrich whenever life became too much to handle.

Yet damned if he hadn't chosen to remember something his friend had said to him a long time ago; something that had helped him through times like now, when even simply smiling became a pitiful struggle.

How that innocent face could get at his real side so well, even behind a layer cake of smug charm, he never knew. Yet whenever the 'big bad hero' was sad, that one, special, friend always nagged him; telling him that it wasn't enough to force happiness, or to pretend a smile. He said that there would be times when Sonic couldn't play the perfect hero; that there would be times when he would have to take honest action, times where he would have to do things he couldn't afford to smile about later.

That's when his friend admitted that he was scared; scared that one day they wouldn't have each other. In spite of this, he said he could still be happy knowing that the two of them had shared in everything; not just the good. He said that a true friend supports you when you're right, comforts you when you're down, and stops you when you're wrong.

He said that that was friendship; not how it feels, but just how it works.

Even as he fell ‒ falling to who knows where or when ‒ Sonic was glad his thoughts had found their way back to what his friend said.

It was then that, within the thin and chill atmosphere of darkness, he got around to listening to that inner voice of his: It told him that it was alright to cry for his new friends; that it was honest to be afraid for their sakes. Moreover, it convinced him that he had done the right thing when he fought Tails, no matter how much he regretted it. It assured him that Tails himself ‒ both of them alike ‒ wouldn't begrudge the hard choices he made.

Happier now, Sonic finally gave himself a moment of pause to visualize the two sets of friends he'd made over the course of his adventures. Though worried for them, he listened to his better conscience and did not regret fighting by their side, or even against his best friend lookalike and otherworldly equal. Seeing it on a whole, he believed that meeting them had been entirely worth the suffering of a lifetime.

Sad, but with unrepentant feelings for his friends on both sides, Sonic smiled.

"Sonic?"

He smiled, and this time, it was good and real.

"Sonic?"

His eyes flicked open slightly at the voice's prompt "Aqua? Amethyst?"

"Ho-how did… Grr! How DARE you come back so late you-you-YOU! You horrid little hedgehog!"

At points the voice was high enough to match his speculations, but the rest sounded all too much like distinct vocal cracks of faltering masculinity. It wasn't until the exact words of this strange falsetto adept struck him that he finally realized who had spoken.

"Robotn-err, Eggman? Wha… what're you-?"

"Never mind what I'm doing here!" The mirage of a familiar, fat genius growled, scrambling in his seat to push a number of dull colored buttons "This better be 'you' this time!" He seemed to be intently staring at a wireframe diagram. Then, upon one look at green lettering that read out the words 'Match Found' the oval doctor was sent practically dancing in his orbital seat with delight "Yes, YES! Perfect! It IS you after all!"

Sonic, now almost able to comprehend his position ‒ being caught in a downwards dive towards the earth below ‒ was still straining to process the sight of Eggman, 'his' Eggman, who was apparently joyfully celebrating his rival's arrival.

Having partially regained his senses, a bizarre kind of affection came over him as he snidely responded, almost by instinct "Gee, Egg-salad, your cucumbers are all foggy. Did you miss me?"

Instantly, the weedy red beard of the proud doctor seemed to flare out as he hastily wiped his bespectacled eyes "Curse you, you wretched grass warthog! Have you any idea how long I had to tolerate that insufferable brat son, nephew, or, or whatever of yours? And what were you doing? Do you have any IDEA how long it's been?"

"Ah… yeah, I mean, no?" Sonic answered honestly, still curious as to why they were having this conversation mid-lethal descent "Look, this really isn't a good time, Eggopotamus. Jokes aside, I could really use a lift here, so…"

He shyly avoided asking outright, as he was secretly overjoyed at the chance to infuriate the 'real' Eggman again. Trapped in another dimensional fabrication, or even his own imagination, he didn't care. If this was a dream, it was quickly becoming a fond favorite of his. To make things better, this grumpy Robotnik from his memories was fairly quick to ease his Eggmobile on over, as if truly attempting a rescue on his arch-nemesis' behalf.

"SO-SOOOONIIIIIIC!" Another voice excitedly interrupted the rather touching reunion of old enemies. Nevertheless, this one was special enough to be worth a pair of bloodied ears. No matter the situation, that voice would always sound welcome to him "He-he's here! Look! Look! I see him-SONIC!"

"T-Tails?" He struggled to speak as the red blade of a biplane's wing gracefully scooped him out of the sky. Trying to make sure he wasn't still trapped in a dream world, Sonic examined the plane's cockpit and right wing to see both Tails and Knuckles, both aglow with happy smiles. Tails of course had the opened mouth look of a boy giddy with joy, while Knuckles gave a big fanged smirk of pride to welcome his sparring partner's return.

"Guys, it's-is it… is it really you?" Sonic stammered, the words breathlessly causing him to briefly lose his already precarious balance. Tails giggled with delight, and caught the tired hero with some leveled steering. Though back on his feet, Sonic's mind could scarcely take in their reality; their tangible, all too true forms without stumbling again. He couldn't help it. The sheer joy was causing his muscles to gelatinize out from under him.

"Whoa, whoa man, I gotcha." Knuckles assured, having quickly rushed over from his side to offer some much needed assistance. It was so strange for Sonic, to see that same face now free of the intensity and pain he had grown accustomed to. Instead, the daring and courageous, if not hardheaded, echidna's violet eyes shone with a certain tenderness as he heard him say "It's good to have you back onboard with us, Blue."

He might've ruined the moment right then and there with tears, had the snarky tone of a familiar fox not butted in "Wow, figurative and literal wordplay in one sentence? Who are you and what have you done with Knuckles? What's next; romantic candlelight dinner with Rouge? I think we might have the wrong echidna too!"

"Hardy-har-har, twerp." Knuckles retorted with rather uncommon rudeness "This is coming from the guy who used to give Sonic trouble over his girl problems. Seriously, who knew you, the little isolated smart-mouth that you are, would be stalker material? Kind of ironic, considering you're Sonic's little buddy bro protégé and all."

"Knuckles, where did you hear that word?" Tails grilled him, now almost giving up proper flight control to argue, in spite of the raging madman screaming at him in the background "Besides, I think you mean 'prophetic' or 'poetic' not ironic. How is my having similar problems to Sonic, the guy who raised me, in any way opposite to what you might think? Ever heard the saying 'the apple doesn't fall far from the tree'?"

"Hey! You! Filthy fox brat! How dare you come between me and vengeance?"

"All I'm saying is that you were always messing with Sonic about Amy, until that other little guy shows up and totally calls you out on your mush! How do you like them apples, ya big blushing protégé sap!"

"Stop ignoring me! Stop dodging my shots! Stop being happy! Just, just, STOP IT!"

"You keep using that word like you know what it MEANS!" Tails laughed and snarled all while dodging a yellow arc of energy from Eggman's ship. The classic barrel roll maneuver had tossed Sonic and Knuckles off their feet again. Despite avidly laying a barrage of gunfire down onto the enemy craft, Tails evidently had time to keep the debate heated "And two things for your information: One, mine's not typically trying to bash my brains out. Two, and in both Sonic's and my defense, at least our 'problems' are from our species! Really, what do you ‒ and I mean you, knucklehead ‒ and that thief have in common besides poor eyesight?"

"If anyone asks MY opinion, I'd say Shadow is the manlier man for the pairing."

"Okay, that's 'gemstone hunter' to you, double-creampuff!" The guardian's anger seemed to supply some extra momentum as he leapt off the ship to deal a sharp punch to Eggman's glass cockpit. The strike held an unexpected amount of force ‒ enough to send the Eggmobile into a multi-spiral ‒ though it was hard to say who Knuckles was truly angry with. Regardless, the good doctor was ever the 'happy' provider / recipient of the red mobian's temper therapy "Don't go off making judgments against her just 'cause you got your powder-white butt all sore."

"You know, it's funny how you only get uppity when I bring up the all-important 'her'. Guess that seals what you're really blinded by!" Tails snickered at the echidna's rising rage, all newly vented onto their relatively innocent 3rd party villain.

Back and forth, the comical and adrenaline pumped battle was absolutely beautiful to watch. It was as if, no matter how many harsh words were exchanged, everyone was happy amidst the momentary clash. Eggman even, for all his gloating and insults, appeared to be playing with them as he misplaced his shots just enough to scare Tails, who in turn countered with relatively harmless fire to the fortified portions of doctor's hull. Truthfully, only Knuckles seemed to be taking this reunion session at all seriously. Yet he too, while swinging like a madman, took a break from his argument to shoot a goofy grin Sonic's way.

"Come on, Blue! The kid's dogging Rouge and Amy! Are you just gonna take that?"

Unable to clear his throat, which was now all too dry due to overwhelming relief, Sonic could merely nod and try a smirk. He had almost forgotten how hard it was to relax without trying. Like all good things, it hurt at first, but then grew on him more and more, until it became part of his second nature once again.

"You're right, Knucks, who do we really have to blame for all this?"

"Him!" All three voices chimed in at once; Tails and Knuckles pointing at Eggman, while the doctor too pointed, likely unintentionally, at his own window-blurred reflection.

"THAT DOES IT!" Huffing angrily from behind his now not-so-whole plated glass screen, Eggman clenched his hand into a large white fist; he brought it crashing down onto a small red button, which caused his machine to hum to life. A thin force field then veiled his flying buggy just in time to cause Knuckles' fists to painfully ricochet off the invisible surface.

"I tried starting things off all good sportsman-like, but it seems you three idiots prefer fowl play!" Spouting off his usual spiel of unfunny, inside-joke puns, the doctor's maniacal laughter was drowned out by his robot's furious paced transformation. From inside the main pod, two sharp beams of metal extended further and further outwards, while tinier branching rods webbed inward. Fusing together into one network, the beastly machine sent one flapping gale from its newly revealed wings, as two metal legs complete with talons emerged from the mobile's base.

"Quite an im-peck-able design, wouldn't you say?" The sneering scientist kept on with the puns as a way of announcing each new feature; in this case, a beak "It's about time I hatched a new scheme for you dolts to crack!" At this point, a bombing bay opened from the robot's base ‒ complete with eggshell white explosives inside. Fairly soon, he was dropping more farm avian puns than his robot had gadgets to match "I bet you have some cheep tricks to pull before you cowards chicken out. But don't get cocky kids; as three of my big bird's early worms, I promise this battle won't be over easy!"

Right and left eyes now twitching independently, Knuckles commented without breaking his infuriated stare "Tails, it hurts…" It was something between a whimper and a growl as his sclera's veins started to pop out "The puns, they hurt. 'Cause… of… him, my brain is… hurt. Can I hurt now?"

Grinding his teeth as his pointed ears quivered with profound annoyance, Tails pressed three buttons simultaneously; arming every potential payload and barreled bit of arsenal the Tornado had to offer "Yes, Knuckles, it's time to hurt! Tornado Mk. III, TRANSFORM!"

Sonic barely had time to think before his old instincts took over; his balance adjusted to the new plane design; a wing formation that caused the biplane's upper wing set to angle slightly upwards, while the bottom two pointed straight down and fastened together to form a single fin. Incidentally, finding his footing on the slippery surface brought back some very fond memories. He couldn't remember the last time he rode in the Tornado-equivalent to 'shotgun', and doing so was pumping back into him a nostalgic sense of lighthearted fun; a rare kind that he had all but forgotten about.

Eggman was obviously having fun too; scoffing at his opponents like a good villain ought to "Bwhaha! Is that all? No matter, it's time to show you rodents 'Y' your little airborne slingshot isn't up to 'SCRATCH'!" Eggman gloated, amateurishly telegraphing his claw strike in the process. What he had had in mind when Tails inevitably dodged was never clear, but the doctor did seem legitimately enraged after being narrowly evaded.

"Calling your attacks, Eggman? Sorry, but you're doing it wrong." Tail teased, demonstrating a magnificent looping maneuver with his new machine, whilst lining up a counterstrike "This is how it's done: Vulpinade Volley!"

By his command, the Tornado let loose a storm of micro-sized bombs; each little weapon took the shape of a simple fox head attached to a propeller 'tail'. Eggman cackled at these silly, even cute, devices when a dozen or so plunked and detonated against his wings with relatively small 'poof' sounds. Yet after the tiny smoke puffs cleared, the bombs were revealed to be partially melted into the bird robot's wing network. Suddenly, a red screen and siren began visually and audibly wailing about a critical status overheat alert.

Before Eggman could futilely order his systems to "shut up", Knuckles was already performing swooping claw swipes on the weakened crossbars, while Sonic's spin strikes broke them free. Eggman furiously tore skywards, tossing the two heroes off as he unloaded his entire bombing bay. Falling back onto the Tornado's wings, Sonic and Knuckles alternated bashing away any explosives that came too close while Tails took aim at the long range targets. The run was smooth enough, until one stray heavy shell detonated upon grazing contact. Their ship, now lacking a good fraction of its wings and armor, had become too slow to catch Eggman's own bird.

Shooting for a more offensive approach, Tails hastily ordered his passengers towards the center of his cockpit. Pressing a few more buttons, his tattered ship discarded its damaged wings, thus having become something of a piloted bullet or rocket. Unable to ask whether the decision had been a bright one or not, the red and blue heroic figures could do nothing but scream in ‒ as Knuckles would later say ‒ 'manly' terror.

Eggman too screamed as the rapid half of a ship came mere inches from colliding with his. Unaware if this had been a mistake or not, the large doctor laughed in shaky triumph, stating, albeit too early "Ha! A few nuggets short of kid's meal, Tails?" Indeed, it was a statement so dumb that only his latter look of dumbfounded surprise ‒ and fear of the three figures coming his way ‒ could have made up for it.

"It's time to show you who really rules this roost, Eggman! Team Blast!" Why Tails had to be the one to give the word, nobody knew; yet after knocking Sonic into a spin dash, he nevertheless had initiated the destructive combination upon Eggman's torn up craft. The three dove back as the doctor's ship went down in a flurry of parts and flames.

"I won't forget this! Mark my words, hedgehog; I will return, and you better be ready and waiting when I do! You hear me? NO RUNNING OFF TO ANOTHER DIMENSION NEXT TIME!" There was a sort of sincere, if genuine panic and concern in the doctor's voice. His last words started to resonate with Sonic while he watched the old Robotnik make his retreat.

Smiling again, the cobalt hero shouted after him "Count on it, Eggman!

With their foe gone, the three originals found themselves in a bit of a fix; their ride was long gone, and now they were plummeting to down a sure splat on the earth below. Still, Tails and Knuckles were more concerned with continuing their argument, by fussing over who should've called out the final strike on Eggman.

"Hey, it was MY idea and plane that got us into position to make our attack!" Tails debated, indignantly crossing his arms "By the way, you owe me a new one."

"So? SO? It's not like that attack could've made a dent without MY muscle!" Knuckles fumed in return, flailing in vain to catch a proper glide "And anyway, Blue's the leading man! He oughta be the one to initiate any ground pounding we put down, not his munchkin runt sidekick! Besides, isn't the big T his plane? So, wouldn't I owe him what I owe you for the cost of his plane that you destroyed?" Thinking too hard for a moment, the echidna's 'deep thought' gave way to crude laughter "Heh, who am I kidding? I've got no rings on me anyway."

Sonic was about to break the grumpy pair up, if only to draw attention to their dire situation, but around this time a second plane appeared and picked the three up. Being saved in a timely, if expected, fashion allowed the two to continue their quarrel without interruption.

This was until the unexpected pilot spoke up with a troubled sigh "Guys, give it a rest, please. As if things aren't bad enough without you two acting like spoiled brats in front of the kid."

Sonic turned with a snap towards the plane's front seat and barely choked back a gasp "Amy?" He spoke with considerable surprise, but his own tiredness made him sound more breathless than excited.

She in turn, nodded without taking her eyes off the sky "I'm sorry, Sonic. We'll try to figure out something else. Maybe the rift opening wasn't just a one-time thing. I'm sure Tails can come up with another way. You just have to stay strong, okay?" The way she said it sounded very like the sort of thing an older sibling would say to an unperceptive child. Sonic, being unbeknownst to her, his true self, took notice of the subtle shake in her voice.

Even now not inclined to hugging or clingy displays of emotion as he was, Sonic could hardly stop himself from placing a gentle hand against her mildly shivering arm "It's me, Amy. I'm back."

It was after hearing this that Amy did something even Sonic didn't expect: She paused and tensed up, but refused to turn around. Finding it odd that she hadn't jumped into his arms, Sonic tried again "Amy, I'm back."

She shook her head in a rather jerky motion and replied "Y-Yeah, it's good to have you back, S-Sonic. Heh-I uh… I guess it would've been bad if I had come a second later. I'm still new to this whole flying thing." She was back to shaking, now more rapidly than before.

Tails and Knuckles too took notice and, fully expecting an emotional meltdown, graciously shut up long enough to give the two as much space as they could. Sonic as well, not knowing if talking again would do more harm than good, resigned himself to silence, even attempting to remove her from his gentle grip.

Amy responded by reaching back to grab his hand with insistence. Her startled fingers checked his own carefully, as if examining them with each rub. With one motion, she gripped his palm and gently measured the strength and size of the hand she was holding. Soon after this, she released him and sucked in a gasp. Her head never turned, but something was different in the way she looked from behind. Sonic, seeing the slight shuddering of her shoulders and chin, sat a bit closer to see her steering yoke slightly wet. He could now see her crying very silently, very guardedly. He could see how strong she was being and, for the first time in his life, greatly admired her for it.

"Sonic." She finally spoke up, rather seriously this time "When were you actually sad; the one time I didn't recognize you?"

Sonic actually found a chuckle slipping past him when he recalled their inside joke "When I had too much hair on my chest to be the real Sonic."

A squeak and an actual sob came out; now Amy was crying openly. Switching her small plane to autopilot, she stepped out of her seat and tried to face him. It was hard to watch Amy, sniffling back her urge to release her feelings long enough to give him a straight look in the eyes. Unfortunately, this proved to be a bit too much; the red in her face flared up as more tears started to fall. She hid her face in shame, trying to not lose the last bare shreds of her composure.

Tails and Knuckles took this opportunity to hop into the two seats and ignore the rest of the pair's reunion. Knuckles, being the ripped cupid that he was, in passing made a poor attempt to knock Sonic towards Amy. This gesture, though sweet, about made the shaken blue hedgehog lose his footing on the plane's pink wing. Amy in turn, caught the failing hero with a reflex tug on his wrist. While it was far from the most graceful icebreaker, the instigated incident had cut the tension long enough to get the two face-to-face again.

At last, Sonic took a good look at the three people he knew and loved most. It was hard to believe it, but seeing them, especially Amy as she was, truly made Sonic realize where he was, and where he belonged.

Brightening up steadily with the kindest smile he had ever seen, Amy released a hitched breath; plainly saying the two words he needed to hear most:

"Welcome home."

-I-

End of Chapter Fifty-nine

-l-

One more and I'll be done. I want to get a few things finished before I close this series up for good (besides, I couldn't very well end on an uneven number XD). I will do my best to have a proper thank you to all the reviewers I can document in the next, and final, chapter of Reason.

Until next time!