Chapter 2: Where Did We Go Wrong?

Knuckles walked into the study, which was now set up as a lab for Tails and Eggman. He found Tails hunched over a table scribbling in a notebook, muttering to himself.

"Hey Tails, busy?" Knuckles asked which made the fox jump.

"Knuckles you're back...did you-?"

"We found him," Knuckles sighed, running a hand through his quills. "He's in pretty rough shape."

"I should-"

Knuckles stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "He seemed pretty shaken up when we found him. If you see him, don't go too fast with anything."

"Ok." Tails nodded solemnly. He hurried from the room hoping to see his brother. Knuckles sighed once more before leaving the lab in the direction of his and Rouge's room.

Tails made it into Sonic's room and immediately could see his condition. "Oh Sonic what happened? Where did I go wrong?" He stayed near the door in case Sonic woke up and freaked again.

He felt so bad for having to strap down the cobalt hedgehog, but it was the only way to keep him from running again.

There was a sharp gasp breaking the tension in the air, and Sonic began to thrash around.

Tails hurried over and tried to reassure him. The wild look in his brothers' eyes was foreign.

"Why am I here again?" Sonic said in a panic. "I-I can't...why am I tied up?"

"Sonic it's ok, I'm a friend." Tails said in a placating manner.

"Why does everyone keep calling me Sonic?" Sonic asked calming just slightly, seeing Tails as non threatening.

"That's your name," Tails explained. "Mines Tails...at least that's what you've always called me. It's actually Miles."

"But I don't know you Miles," Sonic said, which sent a pang through Tails.

"Not now, but I'm gonna find a way to bring your memories back." Tails said confidently.

"You think it's possible?" Sonic asked doubtfully. In the back of his mind he had this feeling if he remembered it would be dangerous, but he couldn't figure out why.

The door wasn't fully closed so the two boys heard giggling as a group of girls passed by.

"Who was that?" Sonic asked, which cut off the giggles with a gasp.

The door inched open and a pink head poked in. "Sonic?" Her jade eyes watered.

Sonic looked at Tails. "That's me right?" Tails nodded. "I guess so, miss."

Amy choked back a sob. "So you really don't...ok I need to go."

"Mommy what's wrong?" A little voice asked before Amy could retreat fully. The door swung open fully revealing a small lavender hedgehog, a taller green hedgehog and a white bat. "Daddy?"

"Come on Stella, we need to give him some space." Amy said, beginning to steer the girl from the room.

"Wait-" his voice was weak, a hand outstretched. He let out a yell of pain as a flash went through his mind. "I can't-!"

Amy hurried the other three away from the room as tears blinded her.

"Am I supposed to know them?" Sonic asked, his voice pained. "I keep seeing those eyes..."

"Which eyes?" Tails asked hopefully.

"Those green eyes," he replied, staring blankly after Amy. "They've been haunting my dreams...but I can't remember."

"What do you mean?" Tails asked, noticing the way he'd said he couldn't remember.

"Something keeps telling me not to remember." Sonic replied. "Could you excuse me? I'm really tired."

"Oh yeah, of course." Tails left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Mommy what's wrong?" Estella asked, kneeling before Amy.

Amy was currently on the floor face buried in her arms, her body shook with her silent sobs.

"Come on sweetie," Rouge led the young girl away. "Your mom needs some time to process everything."

"Um, ok auntie." Stella followed, glancing back at her mother while she walked.

Aurelia slid down next to Amy, putting an arm around her. "Use my shoulder hon."

"I didn't think it would hurt this bad," Amy sniffled her face now buried in Aurelia's shoulder.

"So that's why it's complicated?" Aurelia asked softly. "Hey at least you got the hero."

"I don't know how he ever chose me," Amy said with a hoarse laugh. "I mean when I first joined him, I was pretty much a stalker."

"He chose you cause of your heart," Aurelia said confidently. "That's why all the boys back in school liked you so much."

"Oh right," Amy scoffed. "As if they even saw me when I was always with you."

"What?" Aurelia feigned innocence. "No one was ever interested in me." The emphasis on me caused Amy to sigh.

"You'll find your soulmate someday," Amy said. "And hopefully mine comes back soon."

"I'm sure he will." Aurelia replied.

Shadow sat on top of a large boulder, his chin on his fist, he scowled out into the vast blue sky. He couldn't understand why he had Amy stuck in his head, why he felt the way he did for her.

"This is ridiculous!" He shouted to the heavens. "Why am I being tormented? Why did it have to be her? She deserves someone like Faker."

"You know talking to yourself is never a good sign." Shadow glanced down to see Harrison smirking up at him.

"What would you know?" Shadow grumbled.

"Quite a lot actually." Harrison said, popping up next to Shadow. "I did train with Him."

"Who is Him?" Shadow asked.

"He doesn't really have a name," Harrison shrugged. "Some call him God, He's the creator of everything and He decides where our paths go."

"You sure don't sound like a kid." Shadow stated. "Now why are you bugging me? Where have you been anyway."

"I've never actually been a kid. I've been on a secret mission for Him." Harrison replied shortly. "As for bugging you, I heard you grumbling up here."

"Can never get a quiet moment around here," Shadow muttered.

"Well like I said before He always has a plan for where our feelings take us," Harrison said wisely. "You just have to figure out how to navigate it. I gotta go, my mom's expecting me." Harrison popped away leaving Shadow with his thoughts once more.

"Then where the hell are these feelings taking me?!" Shadow groaned, falling backward, he closed his eyes.

"Hey up there!" He recognized that voice, it was the girl from earlier.

"How did you find me?" He asked with a slight shock in his voice.

"Is that an emotion I hear?" She asked, shocked. "Wow, I didn't think he felt anything."

Shadow jumped down from his perch on the rock, landing in front of her.

"I found you by accident," Aurelia explained. "I needed to get away for a bit, Amy's a bit of a downer right now...not that I blame her."

"You talk a lot." Shadow stated bluntly, he earned a glare from the girl in front of him, although her cheeks turned pink. "How is she now that faker is back?"

"She's kinda...I dunno...broken?" She looked crestfallen. "They really don't portray this life on TV."

"I told you before," Shadow sighed. "Were you looking for anything in particular?"

"Oh!" Her eyes went wide. "I was looking for the park, and Miss Sarah said it was this way."

"It's over there." Shadow pointed a little to the left of them.

Aurelia glanced down the road and saw the entrance. "Oh. Do you wanna come with me?"

"Why?" A splash of color came into her cheeks, and for some reason it sent a weird flutter in his chest.

"Other than Amy, you're the only person I know." She said somewhat shyly.

"If I must." He said roughly, which lit her face in a smile.

"Miles, you really should take a break." Tails looked back at Cream, she was giving him her stern look.

"Cream I can't...it's my fault this all happened." Tails said scrubbing a hand over his face.

"But it's not," Cream said gently as she stood directly behind him now. Her hands were on his shoulders gently massaging. "No one blames you at all."

"I blame me," Tails said, beginning to relax under her touch. "He doesn't remember anything...he said something is telling him not to remember."

"Take a break, I made lunch." She said, he turned toward her. "Please, you rarely eat anymore."

"There's still so much to-"

"Take a break, I'll go over the notes." Tails looked at Eggman, even he looked concerned for the young fox.

"Are you sur-?"

"Yes, go eat with your little girlfriend." They both blushed at his words.

Tails got up and followed Cream to the dining area, she had a little set up for them.

"Looks great. Cream." Tails said as they sat down. A thought struck him then. "Have you eaten yet?"

"I was waiting on you." She said her cheeks were pink. "I was hoping I could get you away so we could eat together...like before everything."

"That's sweet," Tails placed a hand over hers, and smiled at her.

Aurelia and Shadow now sat by a pond in the center of the park.

"Wow this place is beautiful." Aurelia said smiling. "Never had anything this nice around where I grew up."

"I've never really noticed the scenery before." Shadow said stoically.

"Why are you always so...crabby?" Aurelia asked in awe.

"I'm not crabby," he shot back. "I just don't think blatant showing of emotion should overrule logic."

"So, you never show any," she was incredulous. "But you do just a bit, when you talk about Amy."

He glanced at her, hiding his shock. "I don't know what you mean."

"This always happens," she sighed, staring down at her interlocked fingers now. "She always enchants everyone around her...meanwhile...never mind." She stared sullenly at the ground now.

He didn't know why but he felt a strange urge to comfort this girl, whom he knew next to nothing about. He awkwardly placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's ok?"

The upward inflection at the end of his sentence made her suddenly snort, very unladylike.

"What?" He retracted his hand as if he were burned.

"Nothing," she tried to train her features but was failing miserably.

He faced away from her, a small splash of color across his muzzle.

"You really do have a heart," she said quietly, nudging his shoulder with hers before she jumped up and raced off.

"What is wrong with me?" Shadow could feel his heart thundering in his chest. He shook it off as he got up and followed her, since she was Amy's cousin she was bound to find some kind of trouble.

Amy stared through the window into the room, she watched him sleep, albeit fitfully.

"It's not going to do you any good," she turned to see Eggman staring at her over a mug of coffee. "You can't fix him by sheer will, no matter how strong your will is."

"I just-after all that we've been through, I feel like we...lost." She looked back into the room. "What are we supposed to do without him?"

"For the time being there isn't any danger," Eggman mused. "So why not just try and talk to him."

"I'm afraid." She said softly, ashamed of herself.

"Now, what happened to Amy Rose? The girl who woke up ready to fend me off?" Eggman asked with a short laugh. "The only real fear is fear itself. Man up and go talk to your boyfriend."

Amy gave a shaky chuckle. "You're right...wow, never thought I'd say that." She pushed the door open and walked in, taking a deep breath.

She closed the door behind her, giving them some privacy. As she moved closer, she could hear him muttering.

"No... please...don't hurt...no..." He thrashed from side to side. She sat in the chair next to the bed, gently taking his hand.

"I'm here for you, no matter what happens, or how long this takes." She pressed a gentle kiss to the back of his hand. "I have to believe that our love is strong enough to overcome this." She noticed he had calmed a bit, but he still looked troubled. "I love you Sonic, I hope you come back to us soon."

She didn't realize he was slightly awake as she continued to talk to him.

"Our family is growing," she smiled softly, a hand resting on her stomach. "So, we need you to come back...fight for us." She leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. As she went to stand up, she felt his hand pull her back.

She looked back down at him, into his familiar eyes, which looked so unfamiliar now.

"I know you...don't I?" He asked, his voice pained and breathless.

"Amy." Was all she said, a sad smile plastered on her face. "I promise you'll remember soon."

And then she was gone, which left him feeling so lonely.

"Will I? And if I do, how do you know it won't be dangerous?" He mused.