"Hey, Egghead! We were just talking about you!" Sonic greeted mischeviously, sizing up the large robot in front of him, as well as the miniature army of machines circling it. The human's bushy mustache twitched in annoyance.

"You know my name is Eggman!" he huffed and pressed a button on his control panel. The band of machines instantly began to attack the village.

Sonic grinned at the challenge and raced into the fray, slashing through rows of motobugs in a gleaming spindash. His friends were quick to join the party, bashing whatever robot unfortunate enough to get caught in their reach, while their leader took care of the megabot in the middle of all the chaos.

Sonic leaped into the air and kicked the automaton in the joints between its shoulder and thorax, and he was surprised when the entire arm fell off as a result. He quickly tucked himself into a ball as gravity took over and unrolled at just the right moment to land safely on his feet. The giant robot fizzled a bit before it continued firing with its remaining hand.

"SONIC!!" Tails cried. The yellow kit was surrounded by buzzbombers, unable to escape into the air. Sonic ran, but a lazer blast from the massive machine behind him sent him catapulting into the air.

"NO! TAILS!" he shouted. A beam hit his little brother in the shoulder, and all Sonic could see was his little bro falling backwards.

Sonic had never been known to get angry easily. He was normally very easy-going and relaxed, but at that moment, he felt his temper rise to new heights. Fury filled his being, and pine green eyes locked onto the hoard of robots. Without a second thought, he slashed through the small army savagely, leaving none to his companions as he fought so quickly and with previously unknown strength.

Eggman could only watch from the safety of his eggmobile as his latest mech became nothing but a pile of unusable scrap metal.

"Well, someone's in a bad mood," he taunted.

"Uh, boss," Cubot pointed out, "I don't think you should be teasing him. He looks pretty mad."

The mad doctor looked down, and his gaze locked on his blue nemesis. Sonic was panting slightly, his fists clenching and unclenching as he continuously scanned the battlefield for enemies. His mouth was slightly open in a half-growl.

Eggman scratched his chin as he watched the azure hero, confused by the lack of typical banter he secretly enjoyed. He gasped however, when their gazes clashed. He had never seen Sonic so aggressive before, and he wondered if the hedgehog had finally snapped under pressure.

"What's the matter with you?" he demanded. Blue ears flattened against the hedgehog's skull.

"You hurt the pack," he growled in unrecognizable deep, scratchy voice. Sonic lowered into a running position, and Eggman took that as his cue to leave.

Sonic stood and watched him leave, waiting until he was completely out of sight before he turned around to find his team. All of them were a little roughed up, but thankfully none of them were seriously injured. Amy ignored her own injuries and checked Tails' burn mark, stating that it only needed some of her special burn cream and would be good as new in a couple of days. With the constant robot attacks, she had invested in making some pretty potent medicines. Knuckles was sporting a large bruise on his side but seemed normal enough to keep smiling. And Sticks was proudly displaying a scrape on her shin.

All eyes turned to Sonic, and Amy voiced what they were thinking, "That was pretty intense, Sonic. Are you feeling okay? I've never seen you get so upset in an Eggman raid before."

The blue leader coughed and replied in his normal voice, "I'm fine. I guess I just got caught up in the heat of the moment."

The others readily agreed and decided to head over to Amy's to get properly treated and relax a bit. As they walked, Sonic couldn't stop thinking about what he said to Eggman. You hurt the pack? What kind of wackjob statement is that? I mean sure we're a team, and I see them as my family, but a pack? That's more of Shadow's vocabulary than mine. I'm just glad the gang didn't hear me.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the pink hedgehog's cottage and for her to treat them. As they all settled down for a bit, Sonic and Knuckles chose to have a video game tournament with Tails as both the referee and the commentary. Sticks left as soon as she was taken care of, mumbling something along the lines of a water creature possibly destroying the island.

The three boys went at it on the screen for several hours, only stopping for some of Amy's snacks. Sonic was forced out of the kitchen however, when he went fridge hunting for another chilidog and ended up eating her whole supply.

"Honestly, it's like your stomach is a bottomless pit!" she exclaimed.

He shrugged, "What can I say? I'm super-speeding hedgehog. Gotta keep my energy up."

"It's still polite to ask instead of helping yourself," she hmphed. He wanted to continue play-arguing but decided against it and went back to battling Knuckles in Super Smash Brawl.

Sunset came and went, and they eventually called it quits. Knuckles had fallen asleep on the couch a little while ago and was currently snuggling with one of Amy's pillows. The pinkette didn't mind much if he stayed over. It was no secret the echidna was practically a hobo. Tails yawned and stretched his arms over his head.

"I'm gonna head back to shack, Sonic," he said, earning a classic thumbs up of approval from his big bro.

"All right, little buddy. I'll be there in a bit. I'm gonna go a quick run and meet ya at the house."

"Okay," he nodded sleepily, "Bye, Amy. Thanks for letting us crash at your place."

"Anytime, Tails," she replied sweetly, "Your welcome stay for the night. I don't know how you boys live in that shack. It's practically falling apart."

"I'm good," he said mid-yawn, "But thanks. I'll think about it."

Sonic rubbed his nose, "It may not be much, but it's ours. Right, buddy?"

"Yeah, whatever," Tails agreed half-heartedly and promptly left.

Sonic sweat-dropped and laughed nervously, "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you around, Ames. If you need any help with Knux, feel free to call."

"Sure, and Sonic!" she called as he turned to leave.

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering if you and the others wanted to come by for breakfast tomorrow?"

"Sure," he smiled and dashed off in a streak of blue, all the while yelling, "Catch ya later, Ames!"

The cherry pink hedgehog giggled to herself as she closed the door and got ready for bed.

Sonic glanced behind him just as the lights to Amy's house flickered out, and his lips twitched upward in a smile. That smile suddenly fell as a stray beam of moonlight struck his fur.

A/N: And there you have it. Chapter 3. I know it's been forever since I updated this story, but I want to say thank you for your support and pressure to continue. I will try to update this more often, but I am currently experiencing internet issues so that's why it might take longer for me add chapters. Thank you all so much for your reviews!