I'm alive! Sorry it's been so long! Being exam week and all I had to study for tests that I wasn't gonna pass for classes I really don't care about. To make it up, well, here's Chapter 3. That's about all I have to offer.

X X X

Tails entered the waiting room to see Knuckles, who was holding an upside down magazine, and Sticks, who was… actually remaining… calm? This almost surprised Tails more than the fact that Sonic was gone. Sticks looked at Tails and pointed to the door leading outside.

Did he seriously leave?

Before he could say anything, he saw a blue figure out the window. No, he hadn't left, but what was he doing outside?

Tails walked out the door and looked to his right. There, he saw a blue hedgehog, tugging at his bandana, pacing, and looking at the ground.

He just can't sit still, can he?

Tails wanted to say something, but didn't want to startle him. Or embarrass him. Sonic hated when people saw him stressed or worried. He would always try to play it off cool, like it was no big deal. But really, on the inside, he just wanted to be alone and scream, yell, hit something. Run

~Flashback~

Sonic was alone, outside on the lawn chair by the beach. It was a beautiful day, and he needed some time to relax. Not too long ago, Sonic had saved Sticks from getting crushed by rocks. He laughed at the badger's excuse, as to why she was being chased by tumbling rocks down in the canyon.

"I was gettin' info from the rocks!" Her friends only laughed. "I was! An underground army's gonna rise and destroy us all!"

"Lunatic," the hedgehog chuckled to himself.

Sonic winced at the thought of that shiner on Knuckles head, from making hard contact with a rock. It was quite an adventure; nothing special, but another one to look back on and laugh at.

He remembered Amy and Knuckles, walking away, talking about some "Research". He had been invited to join them, and Sonic liked the idea of going, but two issues. It wouldn't be just the two of them, and he wasn't in the mood to learn about carvings.

Sonic sighed as a beautiful breeze came.

'This… this is nice…'

Beebeep! Beebeep! Call from: Amy Rose…

Sonic looked over to his tablet.

'A video call? She probably found something,' Sonic picked up his tablet excitedly, and answered the call, trying to act bored.

"Hey, Amy. What's up?"

"Fighting for my life with the fate of the world in the balance." Amy said in a cocky tone. "You know, the usual."

Something rose behind Amy, and Sonic sat up in his chair. "Who's that?"

Before he got an answer, he heard Amy yelp and saw her hammer fly. A deep voice coming from off the screen said, "You'll tell me what I want to know, little girl…"

Amy spat back, "I don't think so!" With the motion of a large tail, his screen showed Amy's feet and the ground.

'What's going on? I can't see anything…'

"What you think is exactly what this device is going to tell me…"

Amy moaned and dropped her tablet, so all Sonic could see was the sky.

"Amy?" He didn't hear Amy. Sonic was up on his feet. "Who are you?!" Sonic demanded. Sonic's heart stopped when he saw the robotic snake lift Amy's limp, motionless body off of the ground.

"You can call me Lyric. Or Master. Honestly, once I read the location of the crystal fragments from Amy's brain, I don't care what you call me."

"Amy!" Sonic yelled, before his screen went black. The screen said: Lost Signal.

'Damn it!' Sonic thought.

"Oh Lyric, you are SO gonna get the big beat down!" He cursed out loud.

"Sonic?"

Sonic whipped his head around to see Tails, looking around to see who Sonic was talking to.

"Who are you talking to?"

Sonic explained what happened. "It's my fault. I should have gone with. Knuckles was there too. We gotta go find him." Sonic was pacing, tugging at his bandana. He was freaking out.

"Sonic, we always tell you not to blame yourself. Don't worry; we'll take care of this. We always do."

"This is different, Bud." Sonic replied. "Saving the world gives me adrenaline. But when it's one of you guys who gets hurt…" Sonic didn't finish. Tails' eyes grey a bit.

"She wasn't hurt, right? He just nabbed her?"

Sonic shook his head. "She was unconscious on the ground. She called me on video chat and that's when it happened."

Tails sighed. "Well, it's a good thing she called you. We wouldn't have known what happened if she hadn't."

'Yeah, smart girl,' Sonic thought to himself.

After deciding who was going to break the news to Sticks that Amy had been kidnapped, Tails began to walk away, terrified of how Sticks would take it. "Tails?" The fox turned to see Sonic, anxiety taking over his mood.

"I'm fine." He said. Tails looked confused, and Sonic sighed. "I'm just a little worried. But it's cool. Just don't…"

"Don't tell anyone you're worried?" Tails finished.

"Not that, just… don't worry about me. No one needs to know how I'm feeling or what I'm thinking. I'm going for a run. Call me after you tell Sticks." Sonic dashed.

"It's okay to show your emotions, Sonic. That's why we're here." The fox said to himself. And with that, Tails hovered away to go find a lunatic badger.

~End of Flashback~

Tails just stood there and said nothing while he watched his best friend worry. Who knew what all was going on in that head of his, and what emotions were taking over his body. Tails knew Sonic wouldn't like the fact that Tails had been watching him pacing and not saying something. So Tails stepped back to the door and opened it, then closing it with force. Sonic looked up and saw Tails.

Sonic straightened himself, putting a half hearted smile on his muzzle. "Hey, bud. What's goin' on?"

"They have Amy stable." Sonic was silent for a moment. "Are you okay?"

"The real question's is Amy okay… She is, right?" He waited for an answer.

"Well, she's hurt, Sonic." Sonic sighed and sat on the curb, putting his head in his hands, resting his elbows on his knees. "The doctor said she suffered mild smoke inhalation, dehydration, and some wounds." Sonic was silent. "Sonic?"

"I didn't mean it."

"We know, Sonic." Tails said, putting a hand on his back. "I bet Amy knows it too. You were just… I don't know, angry?"

"But that doesn't make any sense. Why would I be mad at her for being brave? I mean, she could have gotten hurt, and she put herself in danger, but that's what we train to do. I don't know why I said it. I regret even yelling at her. I was just scared."

"That's why you said it, Sonic. You were scared."

"No I wasn't." Sonic claimed. Tails paused at his denial.

"Sonic, you just said you were scared. There is nothing wrong with being scared. Even heroes can get scared sometimes. I know you do, whether you admit it or not. What about that time I crashed my plane? Or when we fell into the water? Or when Lyric nabbed Amy? Or..."

Sonic was silent, and trying not to snap. He didn't like being reminded of things like that, and he certainly did not like being proven wrong. He just took a deep breath. Tails spoke again.

"We can see Amy once we clean up a bit. It's not good for the patients, being they could inhale the ash and dirt." Sonic and Tails got up and dusted themselves off as Knuckles and Sticks came out the hospital doors. Knuckles had a clipboard with paper and a pen.

"The doctor gave us these papers to sign, but… I can't spell…" the echidna paused. "Or read."

"And I'm not touching or signing anything they hand me." Sticks said, as she crossed her arms. "You can't trust them."

Tails only sighed in annoyance as he took the forms and pen from Knuckles. "Dust yourselves off while you're out here. We'll go see Amy as soon as we are all cleaned up a bit." He looked at Sonic who was looking out to the woods. "Sonic?"

"Yeah, I know. I'm coming." And he followed Tails inside the hospital.