Okay, seriously? This chapter was done… like at the end of April. However, the site wouldn't let me upload it 'til today, let alone not allowing me to access my account at all. I don't know what that was all about, maybe some weird glitch or something, but whatever.

Long chapter here, enjoy.

Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters and themes © SEGA, Sonic Team

4. Restraint

"So the modulator capicitator goes into this socket ... and the yellow cord gets attached here..."

I don't know how long I've been working on the Tornado ... it had to have been at least three hours. It was morning when I initially started, so it wouldn't surprise me if it were at least early afternoon.

The Tornado was still in need of repairs from our last battle against Dr. Eggman. The homing missiles from that E-405, or Egg Albatross Mk. II, were amazing, admittedly. Accuracy has never been an issue of Eggman's (well, except for shooting Sonic), but they were certainly quicker than his other models and their destructive power was definitely noteworthy. The left wing and underside of the plane took the hardest hits ... we're only lucky that the engine wasn't harmed unless we would have really been in trouble!

Nevertheless, we still defeated him with relative ease once we caught our bearings. A combo attack between Sonic and Knuckles was what ultimately sealed the deal. Another victory under our belts and Central City was safe again.

Those events took place two months ago.

The last battle we engaged in was far from catastrophic – save for a few demolished buildings – and while Eggman did lose (as always), he didn't suffer significant damage.

I shook my head briskly as I furiously screwed in a nail for the new adapter I was installing in the headboard for the pilot's seat – rather my seat. This is really odd. Sonic had said not to worry about it. "He'll come when he'll come," he says. Sure, but how long will it be until then?

It wasn't abnormal for Eggman to take occasional ... "vacations." Though, he usually didn't do so until after a big battle. Like after Sonic defeated Perfect Chaos and the events that had transpired on the Space Colony ARK. This last battle wasn't nearly as epic. What was his motive? What was he up to?

Perhaps he's planning his next "take over the world scheme." Leave it to Eggman to execute some forgotten, usually forbidden, plot to annihilate the world.

Maybe he truly was taking a break...?

No, that was silly.

He was always up to something.

Regardless of when Eggman would show again, I needed to ensure that the Tornado would be ready. I needed to ensure that I would be ready. The plane needed better missiles to counter the ones Eggman had devised. It needed to be faster to match the velocity and speed of his machines. It needed to be equipped with a wide array of offensive arsenal and features to counter anything he could throw at us. Of course, I couldn't counter everything, but that didn't mean I couldn't try.

If Sonic wouldn't admit it, then I would – Eggman is a mechanical genius.

Really... I didn't idolize him or anything. He's still an evil man who's trying to destroy my friends and I. Not a good guy in my books.

Still...

I know that I can build machines just as good, if not better, than him. I may be a kid still, but I know I can do it.

I have to be ready.

"Tails...? Tails, are you in here?"

I carefully stuck my head out of the plane, glancing down below swiftly to see who was there.

Cream was looking around below near the entrance of the hangar, holding two cups filled with what seemed to be a juice of some sort. Weird, Cheese didn't seem to be with her, though.

"I'm up here, Cream!" I exclaimed, waving my hand to catch her attention.

She glanced up quickly, casting me a sheepish grin and seemed to be blushing slightly, presumably out of embarrassment. "Oh sorry, so sorry, Tails! I didn't know you were still working and—

"It's okay, Cream," I simply responded, jumping down from the cockpit and walking towards her. "It's about time I take a break, anyway." Curiously, I looked down at the two plastic cups she was holding, raising a brow. "What do you have there? And where's Cheese? He's usually with you."

Cream grinned considerably. "He's at home with my mother; she wanted his help with preparing dinner. But, look!" She giggled. "I thought you could use a refresher! My mother had told me that she had stopped by your workshop on her way back home from shopping and that I should make you something since you likely weren't going to stop unless someone came."

Now it was my turn to be sheepish; I blushed somewhat awkwardly at her comment.

Well, I couldn't say she was wrong. Once I get engrossed in my work, there's really no stopping me until the job is done.

Cream giggled again, continuing, "These are the smoothies I made using the fruit my mother grows in her garden including some of Cheese's coconuts!" She handed me a cup eagerly. "Go on, try it! It's evening already, and you have to be—

"It's evening?" I questioned, rather abruptly. I didn't mean to blurt that out randomly, but ... wow! Had it really been that long?

She nodded slowly, looking surprised at my incredulity. "Y-Yes. It's 6:00 now."

I paused before responding, shaking my head as I finally took the smoothie from her. "Well then I really need a break then, huh?" I gestured to a small, empty bench near the door to my actual home. "We can have a seat here."

"Oh, thank you, Tails," Cream stated as she turned to sit, smoothing down her skirt before doing so.

Wait ... skirt? When did she start wearing skirts?

Now that I noticed, sitting beside her, her whole ensemble was different. Short-sleeved white blouse, red tie, navy skirt ... wasn't that the—

"It's my school uniform," she remarked, casually taking a sip of her smoothie. "Remember? I go to school now!"

"Ah ... ah! Oh yeah, that's right. I remember now." Well, it was sort of the truth. Cream had applied and was accepted into the city's private academy this past fall. She tried to get me to apply with her, but I declined. Even though most other kids my age were in school ... I'll pass. If I could learn as much I as have at my age, I'm sure I can manage without their lessons. However, since she's been studying there, Ms. Vanilla has really been stricter about allowing Cream to help on our missions. Hence why she wasn't able to join us during our last battle against Eggman...

Ahem.

"So, how has it been going there?" I inquired attempting to dispel the brief, albeit awkward, silence that had fallen between us. "It all must be very exciting for you!"

Cream nodded enthusiastically. "Yup! The classes can be challenging, but I've been studying really hard and long to get good grades." She looked down at her lap, her hands resting in the center. "I've met many new friends there too. I have to introduce you to them sometime, Tails!"

"Sure thing, Cream," I grinned, casting her an amiable smile. "It'll be a pleasure."

Of course, my sentiments were genuine in wanting to meet Cream's friends, but the whole prospect of it was ... sort of weird.

I mean, outside of our gang, I didn't really have friends beyond that. Sure, I knew of some people within Station Square, Mystic Ruin – the whole world really, thanks to our adventures, but she had actual friends besides us. Those friends were probably a heck of a lot safer to hang around than us. I knew Ms. Vanilla fancied that aspect, despite having trusted us with Cream's safety several times.

Plus, Cream could take care of herself! Cream was a valuable member of our team! She learned things really fast, and, when working together with Cheese, was quite formidable.

But ... unlike the rest of us, Cream actually had a parent – her mother.

We were all still of school age – it was probable that if all our parents were still around, we would all be in school. Probably still all friends, but with our own selection of friends as well.

We would all be living normal lives.

Those were all just speculations, of course.

Yet, still...

"You haven't tried your smoothie yet," Cream stated, pointing to my full cup. "Please try it. I'd like to know your opinion."

"Ah!" I exclaimed, not noticing the yellow cup still in my grasp. "Sorry about that. I'll try it now."

I brought the cup to my lips before consuming a moderate amount in one gulp. My eyes widened considerably, admittedly surprised at its delicious taste; it tasted like strawberries, grapes, oranges, bananas… and coconuts. A really good blend!

N-Not to say that I anticipated that it would be unfavorable!

Smoothies have just never my favorite sort of drink.

I lowered the cup slightly, meeting Cream's expectant look with an encouraging wink.

"That was really gr—

"Tails!"

Upon the sudden bellow of my name, I jumped in surprise, with my free hand twitching in response ... that hit the bottom of my cup ... which forced its contents out ... all over my face.

Great.

"Tails!" Cream yelped, clasping her hands over her mouth in worry. She reached over to take my cup from my grasp. "Are you okay? Here, take my hanky to clean yourself up." I raised my right arm, slowly, to where I thought Cream was, grabbing aimlessly until I felt the cotton cloth in my hand. "Thanks, Cream."

Now I had to go take a shower. Yuck.

"Tails!" the voice - the rather angry voice, anyway - screamed again. "Tails, I know you're in here, come out!" Whoever was here was moving about frantically throughout my hangar, practically stomping. Actually, the voice sounded really familiar, but I was more concerned about getting this smoothie off of my face.

"Amy?" Cream asked, bewildered. "What are you doing here? You don't have to yell ... Tails is right here."

I lowered the handkerchief just enough to see the pink hedgehog standing before us. She looked ... angry, to say the least; she was breathing heavily, her beige cheeks flushed red, I assume, from running and yelling. Nevertheless, she maintained her glare on me, eyeing me warily.

I frowned slightly as I wiped the remaining smoothie residue from my face, casting her a perplexed gaze.

What was wrong with her? What did she want with me?

Idly crushing the handkerchief into a crumpled ball, I clutched it in my fist, staring at her for a while longer, carefully. Whatever was up with her, it'd be best to act cordial. I didn't want to enrage her any further.

"Hiya, Amy," I greeted, giving her a short wave. "I haven't seen you around here, lately. How's it goi—

"Where's Sonic?" she demanded promptly.

I paused for a moment. "Sonic?" Ah ... now that I thought about it, I hadn't seen Sonic all day. Well, since this morning, anyway. I really wasn't sure...

Amy placed her hands on her hips indignantly, her posture suggesting impatience. "Well?"

I held my hands up in defense. "I-I don't know! You know Sonic ... he's most likely on a run. He usually doesn't hang around here for too long."

"That's right!" Cream added. "I'm sure he'll be back soon, Amy. You can wait here until he returns later. I'm sure Tails wouldn't mi—

"I don't have until later!" Amy shouted, shaking her head vehemently. "Look, I really need to see him right now." She pointed accusingly at me. "Tails, I swear, if you're hiding him from—

"He's not here, Amy," I reaffirmed. "He hasn't been here since this morning. And, no, before you ask, he didn't say where he was going." She sighed dejectedly. "What is it that you need, Amy? Perhaps Cream and I could help?"

Cream agreed. "Definitely! We'll do our best."

Amy didn't seem to think so, however. She looked toward the ceiling before exhaling a deep sigh, muttering something inaudible under her breath.

"No ... no, you guys can't help," she finally replied, casting us a small smile. "Just ... just forget about it. I'll go look somewhere else."

"Are you sure, Amy?" Cream inquired, standing out of her seat and walking toward her. "We're your friends. I'm sure there's something we can—

"Don't worry about it, Cream," Amy repeated, holding her hand out to stop her. "Really. Sorry for causing such a ruckus." She cast us a slight wave. "See you two later." Upon that last statement, she turned to run out of the hangar.

"Amy, wait!" Cream cried, starting to chase after her. Luckily, before she could make it too far, I placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking my head as she turned to face me.

"I don't think Amy wants us to follow her," I stated, looking out at the sunset-colored skies. "She probably wants to be left alone."

Cream looked at me for a good while before nodding reluctantly, shying away from my touch. "Yes ... I suppose you're right. I'm just worried about her. She seemed upset."

"It would appear so," I frowned. "but if she doesn't want to talk about it, then we can't force her..."

Cream didn't respond; her attention was still focused on the natural, pasture setting that lied beyond the threshold of the hangar.

I admit it was rather strange that Amy would show up here randomly. Really, in the past... two weeks, was it? ... she hasn't been here nearly as frequently as she used to looking for Sonic. Wonder what that was about?

Well ... there was nothing we could do about it now.

I nudged the silent rabbit slightly, gesturing toward the suspended Tornado once I had her attention. "Come on. I'll show you all the remodifications I made."

A slow smile gradually formed upon her lips before she nodded happily. "Okay. I'd love to see what you've been working on."

Ugh. That hedgehog is so immature.

I frowned somewhat as I held two ice cream cones in my hand – in my right, my vanilla scoop, and in my left, some obscure chocolate, vanilla, and ... whatever that purple ... stuff was. It looked downright disgusting and was beginning to drip onto my hand...

Gross.

The naïve one, Silver, had originally obtained a tangerine-flavored popsicle from the ice cream truck, but dropped it when he tripped over a random sandcastle.

I only went to get his replacement because he had already gone back into the ocean – and the truck was about to depart.

I grimaced as a large drip from his triple scoop gradually slid down the length of the waffled cone and onto my glove. Gah. I would have run to him, but I did not want to drop our treats – and hear him whine about his "lost" ice cream.

Amber eyes narrowed, I glanced around me, in an attempt to find the imbecile. Where was ... he?

Ah.

There the hedgehog was, sitting idly near the shoreline under our umbrella, telekinetically lifting and dropping crabs on unsuspecting sunbathers and people in the water. Ridiculous.

"You're so immature," I scowled as I approached him, carefully handing him his ice cream. "And take this thing already. It's dripping all over my hand."

Silver's mischievous smile immediately went away when he saw me, taking his treat eagerly from me. "Ah, Blaze!" He chuckled sheepishly, releasing his psychic hold on the vulnerable crabs. "That was quite a walk. Thanks for fetching this for me."

I simply sat beside him on my magenta towel, licking my plain vanilla treat. "You're welcome." I looked at his ice cream baffled, grimacing again as he began to devour it. "Silver... er, what is that..."

"Hm?" He licked the excess liquid from around his mouth sloppily, casting me an inquisitive look. "What?" I pointed to the purple portion. He snickered, pointing to it as well. "Oh, you mean that?"

"Yes. That."

He snickered again. "It's coconut – with purple food coloring! Looks pretty good, eh?"

I frowned. "I would not say so." What type of ice cream truck sold such a flavor, anyway?

"Hmph," the silver hedgehog shrugged, reclining back onto his black towel. "Suit yourself."

I merely ignored him, looking out toward the ocean. Such a massive body of water ... I held mixed feelings towards it. Due to my flames and my nature as a feline, I was inclined to reject water. Back in my home dimension, parallel to the one I currently was in, the ocean connected our world. Watching the gentle waves brush casually against the damp shoreline ... it reminded me of home.

The sole reason I was here was because of the Sol Emeralds. Their interdimensional powers has brought to me to this dimension again, but have since not allowed me to harness its powers to return. Knuckles, the guardian of this world's Master Emerald, had suggested that the Sol Emeralds' power had been mysteriously drained, but could be potentially revitalized with his Emerald's rejuvenating qualities. So far, the echidna's prediction has been proven correct, as the Sol Emeralds' exposure to the Master Emerald has notably influenced them; the dim light they once emitted has become somewhat more luminous.

However, their progress is tediously slow.

The Emeralds' full recovery would take six months, if not a year, according to Knuckles.

Thus far, it has only been two months.

Admittedly, I am not content to remain in this dimension. My responsibility lies at my home, at my altar, with the seven Sol Emeralds, along with the Jeweled Scepter. Eggman Nega has not done any recent activity since our last battle when he stole the scepter. The aforementioned treasure has since been returned to its underground, secret chamber that only I could access ... or knew about.

Perhaps Eggman Nega knew of my absence. I was the only one within my world who had the power to fight the doctor's machines, and if he chose to execute some heinous plot while I was gone–

Well, I ... I certainly could not help that.

If I was solely concerned with Nega's motives, then, theoretically, I could use this world's Chaos Emeralds to transport back there – the Chaos Control technique was reminiscent of the same interdimensional features the Sol Emeralds possessed. Unfortunately, even the Chaos Emeralds were unable to reach my dimension's threshold. When Sonic and the ebony hedgehog, Shadow, tried, they proclaimed there was some sort of interference preventing them from a complete transportation. However, even if the Chaos Emeralds had worked, leaving the Sol Emeralds behind in a foreign dimension was foolhardy. What would such an action say to my duty as a Guardian to simply leave them behind to pursue some madman of whom I did not even know was active?

Besides ... I could not trust the Emeralds alone in this world. It is not that I do not trust Sonic, Cream, or the others, but I just ... I cannot ...

Too much would be at stake if something happened to them.

So, I will wait, patiently, for a year if I have to, for the Sol Emeralds' full rejuvenation. Only then will I return home.

I turned to glance at the silver hedgehog laying beside me, who was now whining about how his ... unusual flavored ice cream had spilled onto the sand.

According to him, he hailed from this dimension's distant future. His future, their future rather, was apparently a genial and peaceful one without the plague of evil tainting it. Time travel had always been a fascination of his, and with the combination of advanced future technology and his psychic abilities he was able to do so frequently and efficiently. The concept of time travel, admittedly, was very intriguing. Silver had proclaimed that he had initially returned to the past to help combat this world's notorious Dr. Eggman, the parallel counterpart of Eggman Nega, to retain the peace of the future.

Venturing to the unknown past to fight a villain who threatens the present was such naïve heroism. If the future is destined to result in peace, then why jeopardize that chance? Though, I suppose Silver would know more about the danger Dr. Eggman presents than I.

"I wonder why Sonic doesn't like the ocean," Silver murmured absently, looking out aimlessly toward the water. "I mean, you would think with all the crazy things he pulls that a little water wouldn't scare him."

I shrugged, turning to face the ocean again. "We all have our fears and weaknesses. Perhaps water is his." Now that I remember, back when Sonic and Tails had arrived in my dimension through the dimensional tear in their world, Sonic did express reluctance in approaching the water. He especially did not seem pleased with our trek through the primarily underwater zones such as Coral Cove.

Earlier, Silver had attempted to teach Sonic how to swim. Out of amusement, I waded only far enough for the water to encompass my feet. I, of course, know how to swim.

... I just did not like to. I did not fancy my fur getting wet.

In any case, it was ... humorous to watch Sonic, one who was normally so confident, to struggle so comically. Silver's persistent demands certainly did not help his troubles – though, I believe he was having way more fun than he probably should have.

Surprisingly, after two hours of "practice," Silver did manage to teach Sonic how to at least float in water without completely drowning. Any longer and he might have learned how to tread water.

Of course, upon his first accomplishment, the periodic ice cream truck arrived ... which immediately caught Silver's attention ... and allotted Sonic enough time to escape before the childish one trapped him in his psychic grasp. However, Sonic did run at the speed of sound; he did not need a large window to run away.

Oh well.

I sighed, tossing the remains of my cone into a nearby trashcan. "Who knows? Maybe he'll return for more lessons." I smirked slightly in jest.

Silver laughed. "I wouldn't count on it, Blaze."

"Wouldn't count on what, featherhead?"

Silver and I looked up in unison to see Sonic standing before us, his trademark smirk present. Speak of the devil.

Furrowing his brow in contempt, Silver scowled. "Featherhead?" He grabbed one of his head quills. "These are quills, you idiot!"

Sonic snickered. "Could've fooled me ... featherhead."

Silver growled, clenching his fists flustered, before exhaling a deep sigh, glaring at the blue hedgehog. "What are you doing here, anyway?" He paused to laugh. "Wait, don't tell me. You're ready for lesson two, aren't you?"

His smirk quickly faded, replaced by a flat expression. "Yeah, no. I was about head outta the city, but figured I'd stop by here 'fore I left."

"I thought you didn't like being near the ocean," Silver jeered, raising a brow.

"Doesn't mean I don't like to look at it."

I gently slapped my palm against my face as I watched their conversation. Idiots.

"In any case," I began, turning toward Sonic. "I doubt you came here just to greet us. What do you wa—

"Help!Thief! Thief! He stole my purse!"

Upon that exclamation, a hooded figure zoomed past us on a moped, an azure purse clutched tightly in his grasp.

How … elementary. Committing a robbery amongst so many witnesses?

Nevertheless, the amateur criminal needed to be apprehended.

"We have to stop that guy!" Silver shouted, jumping to his feet. "He can't get away with—

"We don't have to do anything, Silv," Sonic interjected, pointing to himself. "I can handle this loser by myself. It'll be a cinch!"

Silver scoffed, holding his hand out. "Wait, Sonic! Don't you think we should—

Sonic had already dashed off in the direction of the robber, leaving a neon blue trail in his wake.

Slowly, Silver lowered his hand, frowning disdainfully. "He's such a show off. What a jerk."

I rose to my feet as well, shrugging again. "At least someone is going after him. That's all that—

"Back!"

"... matters," I finished flatly.

Sonic smiled cheekily, dangling the stolen purse from its straps. "See, featherhead, that wasn't so bad. Piece o' cake."

Silver's fur bristled in agitation. "My name is not featherhead!"

"My purse!"

A female, auburn rabbit appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and snatched the purse out of Sonic's hands before hugging him tightly. Silver and I could only watch in astonishment. Well, at least, I was astonished. Silver seemed laughably amused.

"Oh my gosh, thank you, thank you, thank you, you wonderful man!" the rabbit cried, seemingly suffocating the poor soul.

"I-I..." Sonic managed, his muzzle turning red. "I-I ... can't ... breathe..."

The rabbit did not seem to acknowledge that she was probably crushing him to death. "What? Oh yes, I know that reclaiming the purse for a woman as beautiful as—

"Autumn. Let the dude go."

A dark blue hedgehog approached our umbrella, gesturing for the female, apparently named Autumn, latched onto Sonic to come to him. "You can't go clinging to random people, girl; it's creepy."

"Kano!" Autumn detached herself instantly from Sonic, dropping him to the ground, running to the black-clad hedgehog. "This guy saved my purse!"

Wait, Kano? That name sounded familiar.

"Saved your purse?" He looked confused. "Someone stole your purse?"

"Yeah, while you were at the snack bar! But, it's okay! Because that blue guy saved it!"

"It was no sweat," Sonic finally stated, idly brushing the sand off of his legs. "Right now, our thief is on his miserable way to the slammer."

Kano scratched behind his ear sheepishly. "Wow. I go to get some lemonade and all of this happens." He chuckled, extending a hand to Sonic. "I guess I gotta thank ya, man. ... So, thanks."

Sonic paused before reluctantly shaking his hand, withdrawing his hand swiftly. "No problem. All in a day's work." I raised a brow at Sonic's reaction. That was rather ... odd of him.

Orange eyes widening in realization, the new hedgehog snapped his fingers. "Hey, you're Sonic the Hedgehog, aren't ya? Man, I don't know how I didn't – Autumn, you see this?"

"Really?" Autumn questioned, eyeing Sonic while adjusting her yellow top. "You're right, baby. Well, no wonder he was so fast in retrieving my pur—

"Yeah, yeah, that's great," he interrupted her rudely, waving his hand dismissively before turning back to Sonic. "Looks like that Dr. Eggman guy has been outta commission for a while now, eh? I'm sure you're enjoying the time off, though."

"He's bound to be back soon," Silver stated matter-of-fact. "We might as well rest before he attacks again."

"He wasn't talking to you, Silver..." I muttered quietly.

Sonic folded his arms across his chest, tensely, tapping his foot impatiently. His gaze was centered on Kano in a subtle glare, a prominent frown etched onto his face. What was up with his posture? He seemed annoyed, perturbed even. Why? While this male did have an obvious attitude problem, his behavior surely should not arouse any ill feelings.

Though, again, he did seem familiar.

"Silver's right; we'll be ready when the ol' Doc decides he wants to get beat down again. But enough about that." Kano blinked, seemingly not expecting Sonic wanting to continue their conversation. The aforementioned hedgehog scratched at his temple irritably. "Kano, right? Ya wouldn't happen to know an Amy Rose, would ya?"

I caught the orange-streaked hedgehog's nervous expression before it quickly fell into a settle, almost smug, look.

"Yeah, I know—

"Oh!" Silver suddenly exclaimed, pounding his fist into his palm in realization. "That's the guy Amy introduced us to a few days ago! I knew I remembered him from somewhere."

As did I, but I certainly was not going to shout it out like that.

"That's right," Kano continued, a devious glint in his eyes. "We're together now, y'know. Didn't she tell you guys?"

"No," I stated, eyeing him warily. I remembered the discussion Cream and I had with Amy a few weeks ago. I definitely was not one to judge anyone on their romantic pursuits, but this is certainly not what I meant when I suggested she should focus more on herself. "She has not—

"If she's with you, who is she, then?" Sonic pointed at the female on his arm.

Autumn giggled. "Me? Well, I'm his—

Kano silenced her with a single finger. "Don't worry about who she is. Look, the point is Amy and I are together, and that's that." A sly smirk slowly crept onto his face. "You gotta problem with that, Sonic the Hedgehog?"

Silver stepped forward, fists clenched. "Hey, what's your problem, man?"

I quickly placed a hand on his shoulder, restraining him. "Silver, no." As ... irritating as this male was, he was merely a civilian. Our powers compared to any strength he may possess were extraordinary and would easily overwhelm him. Of course, things here should not even escalate into a fight. That would be foolish.

Sonic had not yet responded to Kano's taunt. He stood still, his glare rivaling his challenging orange ones. His crossed arms had fallen to his sides, each hand clutched in a balled fist. Again with that posture ... What was he trying to incite? I could only hope that he was not planning to duel this fool.

Thankfully, to my relief, he was not. Instead, Sonic held his hands up defensively, smiling mockingly. "Oh no, man. No problem at all." He lowered his hands gradually. "However, I can't say Ames will be too happy with your ... choice of friends. But hey, what do I know, right?"

Kano rolled his eyes, muttering, "Like you would know what would make Amy happy..." He scoffed before smirking again, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Whatever." He turned to leave, gesturing for Autumn to follow with a single finger. "Come on."

"Ah, Kano! Wait up!" Autumn exclaimed, following after him obediently.

I watched the couple until they walked out of sight, my lips pursed in annoyance. I have to really wonder what Amy hopes to accomplish with such an arrogant individual. Sure, Sonic and even Silver could be arrogant, but he just reeked of it. It was rather nauseating.

Silver frowned sternly, placing a hand at his hip. "That guy has issues. Seriously, what was his beef with you, Sonic?"

Sonic shrugged. "I dunno. Dude's a loser." He sighed. "Anyway, it's high time I jet outta this place. Catch you guys later."

"All right, Sonic," Silver stated as they clapped hands. "See you!"

"Don't do anything rash, Sonic," I cautioned, casting him a knowing look. I looked straight into his eyes, ensuring that he acknowledged my comment. "I am serious. Do not behave irrationally."

He merely smirked, holding his hands up again. "Yeah," was all he said before speeding off away from the beach.

Silver chuckled, watching him run away. "'Do not behave irrationally?' You might as well tell the guy to dye his fur purple."

I did not heed Silver's joke, however. That look in Sonic's eyes ... he seemed disturbed. During our adventures together, I had never witnessed Sonic angry, much less unnerved, but I never doubted that he was incapable of the feeling. I knew what it was like to consume such emotions, bottling them up or suppressing them, until they erupted in an explosive reaction. It was ... not pleasant.

I only hoped Sonic would heed my warning.

I feel I should address some things…

First, yes, I know Cheese is genderless, as all Chao are. I just chose to refer to it as a male.

Second, yes, I changed Autumn's species to a rabbit. Why? Because Knuckles – save for the recently resurrected Tikal and Shade and the Nocturnus, but they aren't going to be in this story – is supposed to be the only echidna around. This ain't Archie. Also, don't mind her derpiness… that's intentional; she was meant to be a Mary-Sue.

Third, I don't even know if "interdimensional" is an actual word or term, but whatevs. It's fan fiction, right?

Lastly, thanks to the immense amount of plotholes SEGA created with Sonic '06 alone, inserting Blaze and Silver in here was tricky. So look at it like this: Blaze's background, as obviously stated in the chapter, is from the Sonic Rush series. For Silver, I'm going off what his future supposedly is like in Sonic Rivals and thereon. So, no, Blaze and Silver have not BFFs, or even knew of each other prior.

Got it memorized?

I am not a featherhead!