Hey guys. Okay I know this chapter is overdue, and I apologize, school is very evil and with exams coming up in a couple weeks, I feel like my world could blow up. Of course it won't... but just to be safe I'll have to keep updating and make sure my imagination doesn't go away for the next couple weeks since it'll be the only thing that keeps me awake during my review classes. Anyways, here's chapter fifteen of Family Matters!

Disclaimer: Dark-Illusion-Detective does not own any of the Sonic Characters nor does she own Sega. Look in the previous chapters for the list of characters that she does own though.

Here you go my fellow readers, hope you enjoy it.

Chapter Fifteen: Extermination- Phase Two Interrupted

It seemed like a curse had fallen over the small cabin that sat along the beach; as the sun disappeared behind the horizon, casting the beach in a blanket of darkness, a veil of black, Sinister felt her mind wander to what could happen since she was with the younger version of Rogue. In all honesty, Sinister was scared of being around the demonic Chameleon, of course she was told that he was innocent when he was young, but she couldn't pull herself behind Shadow and Spades to trust them. If anything else, she actually developed paranoia just thinking about half the things that could happen with Cecelia, Older Rogue, and this little demonic Rogue around them.

The hedgehog shook the very feeling of someone watching them as she sat on the bed she claimed as her own. She waited for the person that she'd have to share the bed with. Spades.

First of all it wasn't her idea at all, mostly it was Shadow's idea since there were three rooms and neither Shadow or Rogue had the bravery to sleep in the same room as a guy, thus Sinister was chosen to face this difficult task. Difficult, because her heart felt like it would explode when Spades came into the room.

"Mobius to Sinister, you okay?"

Sinister snapped out of her paranoia day dream as she nodded, "y-yea. I'm okay... just thinking."

Spades climbed onto the bed and laid down, "thinking about what?"

"Do you really need to know?"

"Depends is it perv-"

The cat couldn't even finish his sentence as he was slammed over the head by Sinister's hand.

"Don't even suggest that!" Sinister remarked in a disgusted tone.

Spades sweatdropped, "Sorry, I was just saying."

"I know."

Moments passed when silence flowed between the duo and Spades noticed that Sinister was still sitting up, "aren't you tired?"

Sinister nodded, "... my mind's too busy for me to fall asl- what are you doing?"

The cat smiled as he pulled Sinister into a laying position, "just close your eyes and try sleeping okay? We'll probably have to keep moving when the sun comes up."

"What if-"

"No more what ifs okay? Keep having anymore of those and we're not going to be very trusting toward our own friends," Spades told Sinister in a calm tone. "Trust me on that one."

The hedgehog stared at Spades and sighed, "maybe you're right."

"See? It won't kill you just to relax for a few minutes. Is it hard to do, yes, especially in a situation we're in, but... it'll be good for you just to lay back, relax..."

Sinister shivered and glanced at Spades who stared at her.

"What?"

Spades turned on his side, his back to Sinister, "nothing."

Sinister smirked slightly as she hugged him, "thanks."

After a few minutes and Sinister fell asleep, still holding onto Spades, Spades allowed his face to turn bright tomato red and let himself drift into a sleep that was filled with rapidly beating hearts, and a pinch of imagination that kept him asleep for the next few hours.

--- Few Hours Later ---

The sound of screams pierced the air, or at least that's what Espio believed as he turned to Vector who looked very alert after hearing that. Toxin however, didn't seem bothered at all by it.

"What was that?" Vector asked.

"That? Probably a child in a nearby village, but that's not the point. We're at the beach."

"That's suppose to be a good thin-"

Toxin made a motion to the duo to stay quiet. The trio heard it perfectly, the sound of a tree branch snapping. The hedgehog looked at Espio for some reassurance, or at least an idea of where to hide. Espio seemed to read her mind as his gold eyes closed and a gust of wind passed the trio, the next thing they knew, they were camaflouged with their surroundings. Toxin nodded her thanks as she grabbed Vector and Espio's arms and started leading the way toward the cabin that seemed to almost scream, "COME STAY HERE! WE DARE YOU"!

Vector started to speed up his step so as did Espio. Toxin was slightly confused as she glanced back, then her face paled completely; behind them was the armadillo. Cecelia.

This should've come out as a complete horror, but instead, Toxin wanted to laugh at her. She was following their foot prints in the sand as though this was some kind of scavenger hunt of some sort. Toxin knew better than to laugh though, especially when the trio were now running away from Cecelia, whose eyes were filled with the look that a mass murderer would have before killing his list of victims. The sand was starting to be kicked up in the air and they kept running toward the cabin as though it was sanctuary among the valley of demons and evil spirits.

The door opened unexpectedly and the trio flew inside and the door slammed shut. The growl of a very angry armadillo rained through the door and the figure that held the door closed seemed almost too small to do a thing. Whatever he did though, drove away Cecelia.

"... Thank... you?" Espio said quietly, as though he was unsure if those words really fit the picture of the older version of Rogue. Carefully, the trio stood up and dusted themselves off.

"I saw that coming so I thought I better help out. Now Sinister is goin-"

The ebony hedgehog, Shadow, stormed into the small room and seemed very alert, despite the glare that was etched onto his face for having his rest disturbed.

"What happened?"

"Cecelia started to chase us and now we're praying that she's not coming back," Vector muttered as he felt the ruby red orbs that belonged to Shadow pierce his soul. The crocodile shivered at the thought that Shadow could do such a thing.

Toxin shook her head as she put more bullets into the sniper rifle, "she's going to come back."

"You sure?"

The question didn't come from Shadow, Vector, not even Espio. It came from Rogue.

Rogue sighed, "She's after Charmy and Mighty."

Vector and Espio's eyes widened and they seemed to ask for more answers with their silence, almost like how a parent would question their child if they did something wrong. Rogue backed away from them rather than give up more information. As he turned to go to bed he whispered, "She's not going to succeed."

Those words didn't reassure the detectives like they were meant to, but Rogue knew that those words were going to help the duo get through the night as they took their seat at the table.

Shadow sat down as well along with Toxin.

"So what's the plan?" Toxin asked as she looked at Vector.

The crocodile looked at everyone and sighed, "I... I don't know."

"Simple. We watch for the crazed armadillo and if she comes anywhere near here, shoot her Toxin," Shadow simply stated. This was rare to hear Shadow come up with a plan like that... no wait, it wasn't ultra rare, but it was rare. Toxin looked at her gun and nodded as she walked outside, sat against the cabin walls and seemed very alert. "Now as for the rest of us-"

Espio sighed, "I think I'll try and find Charmy and Mighty. Help them get here or to somewhere safer."

Vector stared at Espio as though he was a madman for a split second and sighed as he nodded.

The purple chameleon camaflouged and snuck out, not even giving a hint that he had left at all. Vector sat at the table and seemed tired. Shadow noticed this.

"... ... Something wrong?"

Vector could've punched Shadow for asking such an obvious question; with Charmy and Mighty the target of a murderous armadillo, Espio risking his life to get them to someplace safer, and to be the only detective in the building, he felt very alone. He held back his urge to punch the black hedgehog and shook his head.

"Nothing's wrong. 'Night," Vector quickly said as he got up and darted to the living room, where the couch was his bed for the night. Shadow didn't go to bed after Vector did, instead he wondered what it was like to feel like Vector. He stopped himself, he had already gone down that dark road, and he had no right to go back to it.

He had already picked up the pieces that he had left behind over fifty years ago.

---

"Mighty... I think we're lost."

No one wants to hear that statement when their friends were just killed. Not even Mighty, no matter how true it really was. The red armadillo seemed to lose track of where the duo had wandered into. Trees were everywhere, and Mighty grew tired of marking where he had been with his punches, maybe by quitting that was the reason why they were very lost now.

Charmy, who seemed so small and fragile, sat on Mighty's shoulders, his honey colored eyes struggling to stay awake, and they were blood shot from crying out of fear that they were going to be next. The honey bee didn't need to be told that there was the possibility that whoever killed Flame and Fate were still after them, that they would probably meet death soon.

Mighty sighed as he looked at Charmy.

"You can sleep if you need to."

Charmy shook his head quickly, "n-no! I-I can't!"

"You... can't?"

"I close my eyes and I see dead bodies."

As the words escaped from Charmy's lips, the bee hugged Mighty's head. The armadillo frowned as he took Charmy off his shoulder and cradled him in his arms.

"Fine, but I want to carry you to be sure nothing just takes you off my shoulder."

Charmy nodded slightly as Mighty kept walking around, passing by a tree they had passed over twenty minutes ago. Mighty started to feel paranoia rise into his thoughts as he could've sworn that they were being followed. No, he wasn't going to wind up like some sort of paranoid freak who wrongfully accuses people of doing things they're not responsible for. Mighty kept walking, holding Charmy and the silence felt like a slowly approaching death, it suffocated him under the fear of leading Charmy and himself into a pit of danger.

A branch snapped. Mighty ran as fast as he could but when he tripped over a tree root, dropping Charmy into a bush, the armadillo's heart nearly exploded.

Charmy peeked out of the bush and saw something familiar. No not something.

Someone.

---

There you guys go! Oh and I won't reveal quite yet who the person Mighty and Charmy ran into, mainly because it's a slight surprise. Take a guess if you want to though. I hope you guys enjoyed it, especially after such a long time of not updating, I figured I better update it while the idea still is lingering in my head. Please tell me what you guys think, your reviews are greatly appreciated here!