"She tried to what?!" Nine shouts.

Tails sighs, and crosses his arms as he watches Nine pace around the room distressed by what Tails just told him. A minute goes by and he points his finger at Tails wagging it sorta.

"She tried to kill Sonic... And instead of sending her to jail, they do nothing!"

"I'm just as infuriated as you are" Tails responds.

"Aaaggh!" Nine screams, pulling on his fur, "Is he that soft?"

"Sometimes I don't know"

Nine stops pacing around the room and sits down next to Tails on the bed, rubbing his face.

"What are you gonna do about her?" Nine asks.

"As I see it I have three options: Nanotech injection, make it look like an accident or medical failure happened, or just straight up kill her the old fashion way"

Knuckles is walking down the hallway carrying a bouquet of flowers when he hears Tails and Nine talking about what they want to do with Cream. So he hides by the door

"Nanotech sounds like the best option, maybe mixing it into her morphine could do the trick"

"Yeah, no one would notice. And I programmed the nanobots to discintigrate when they're done doing their job, no one could trace it back to me... Or you... Let's do that" Tails says punching the palm of his hand.

Knuckles gasps quietly and drops the bouquet on the floor when he hears them plotting to kill Cream... Unbeknownst to him though, Tails heard him so he signals Nine to be quiet and he turns to the door.

Knuckles takes a shaky breath when he hears the chatter between the two fox boys stop suddenly, it's almost as if he was in a horror movie and there was a jumpscare coming, the echidna warrior was brave but unsure what was going to happen next.

A hand suddenly grabs Knuckles by the throat, swiftly and without warning and drags him into Nine's room, slamming him onto the floor aggressively, the door closing swiftly behind him as he's dragged inside. Standing over him with ice cold eyes is Tails, his tails swishing around majestically in the resulting wind... His other hand turning into a fist. Nine watches in awe as Tails holds him down with one hand on his neck.

The echidna wants to punch Tails, but he can feel the fox crushing his wind pipe. Knuckles is somewhat shocked and horrified at how strong he was, usually when something like this happened to him he'd be able to break free quickly, but there was something about Tails' piercing cold eyes that made it harder for him to fight back.

"Did you know that a fox bite can usually top 92 PSI depending on the prey?" Tails says, a sadistic smile appearing on his face, the fox licks his chops and promptly bites into Knuckles neck, sinking his teeth as deep as he can into Knuckles neck.

Nine quickly covered his mouth with a cloth as Knuckles screams in agony. The blood spatters across the floor as the echidna shakes in fear and shock from the unpredicted yet feral attack. Tails releases Knuckles from his jaws and licks his lips satisfied with the taste of his blood.

"There's this saying back on Earth. Curiousity killed the cat... And well, your curiousity has just gotten you killed. You wanna know why?"

Tails leans back in so he can get in his ear, Knuckles flinches and tries to get back from Tails but Nine is holding him down firmly keeping him from moving his arms.

"It's because you're a fucking idiot" Tails says, smirking like an unhinged maniac.

"Y-You... You did kill Amy..."

"Awwww, someone's finally using his head, how adorable" Tails says, slapping his face gently.

"I'll rip you apart!" Knuckles shouts.

Tails stomps on his stomach making him scream loudly, then he wipes his nose.

"No you won't, because no one will ever see you again" Tails responds, he reaches into his utility belt and pulls out butterfly knife.

Knuckles suddenly headbutts Nine and he flinches releasing his arms from his grasp then he charges at Tails who weaves the attack and slashes him in the stomach, the red echidna collapses to the floor and winces in pain. However it doesn't stop him from getting back up so he can fight Tails again, Tails dodges him and grabs his hair as he flies passed him again, he swings Knuckles around and throws him out of the window sending him tumbling down towards the beach.

He scurries to his feet and looks back at Tails and Nine who emerge onto the balcony overlooking the road.

"Crap, I gotta get somewhere where I have the advantage..."

With that the red echidna runs off into the hills. Tails pulls out his blaster and changes the setting on it so it's more destructive, then he fly's up into the air with Nine following behind him.

Tails fires a shot at Knuckles as he runs through the grass, the explosion almost throws him off balance but he keeps on running a few minutes go by while Knuckles runs through the grassy hills almost getting obliterated quite a few times. Knuckles sees a cave ahead and runs towards it while Tails keeps firing laser bolts at him, Nine trailing behind him also firing at the echidna with his own weapon, Knuckles goes into the cave and runs into the darkness.

Tails and Nine land in front of the entrance. Tails pulls his goggles over his face and gives Nine a pair of sunglasses so he could see in the cave as well.

"What do these do"

"Foxes can see pretty well in the dark, but with my goggles and these sunglasses it makes it easier to identify threats and assess tactics to take to eliminate them. Those can do a lot more, trust me but I'll give you the full run down on how to use them when we don't have a brawny echidna to get rid of"

Nine nods and Tails steps into the cave, Nine following behind him, Nine uses one of his mechanical Tails as a flashlight as him and Tails traverse the cave, Tails yanks one of his elastiribbons out and turns it into a krambit.

Knuckles thanks to his training knew how to find his way around in the dark, and fight his way as well, all the more reason for Tails to be cautious. He could strike from no where and completely destroy them.

The senor on Tails goggles senses movement in the form of a red outline around the target, so he fires a blaster bolt in the direction spraying pieces of rock all over the place.

Tails adjusts his goggles so they can scan for heat signatures, Nine does the same. Eventually they reach a large underground cavern, complete with a waterfall and a large drop into the dark abyss below.

Tails looks around and eventually notices Knuckles hanging on the walls of the cavern, he quick draws and fires at him several times this makes Knuckles jump off the wall and glide towards the waterfall. Tails and Nine run towards the waterfall as Knuckles hides in it. When they run through the water, Knuckles lunges at Nine throwing him backwards onto the ground.

Tails swings at Knuckles with the knife, he catches Tails hand and twists his arm, Tails shouts and bites Knuckles causing him to release Tails and stumble backwards. Tails readjusts his arm and cracks his knuckles.

"You won't get away with this Tails!"

Tails giggles like a crazed child, "As if you'll live to tell the tail"

"I will, and you can't stop me" Knuckles responds.

"We'll see about that" Tails responds twirling the krambit in his hand, then he runs at him.

Knuckles dodges his attack and kicks Tails in the back, Tails uses his namesakes to grab hold of Knuckles arm and spin him like a top. The echidna falls to the floor, nauseous from the attack. Nine at this point recovers from Knuckles attack and scurries to his feet so he can fight alongside Tails.

Tails kicks Knuckles in the nose as he rolls around on the ground, the echidna gets up back onto his feet, blood streaming down his lip. Nine opens the metal finger tips on his left glove and pushes the bottom on his right glove red string Like ropes come out, humming loudly.

Tails throws a punch, Knuckles tanks it and grabs Tails by the arm, squeezing it tightly. Tails thrusts the krambit into his arm and headbutts him on the forehead, Knuckles releases Tails and he plunges the krambit into his chest. In response Knuckles punches the fox in the chest throwing Tails backwards into a rock.

Nine swings the ropes around like a lasso and throws them onto Knuckles right arm, Nine tugs aggressively pulling Knuckles forwards onto the ground. Tails quickly scurries up from the ground before Knuckles can try and take advantage of him, whipping out the second elastiribbon and throwing it around Knuckles' other arm.

"Pull!" Tails shouts.

The two pull as hard as they can to keep Knuckles from using his arms. Knuckles feels as if he's going to be ripped in half at the rate Nine and Tails are going, his arms feel like they're on the verge of being pulled off his body, he shouts loudly in pain as Nine and Tails grunt in effort pulling on him like two children fighting over a toy.

The echidna at this point can feel his joints being yanked out of place, he screams loudly yet again and collapses to his knees. Tails flicks his wrist and the ribbons turn yellow, Nine pushes a button on his right glove and they both release high voltage electric shocks into Knuckles, his third scream being the loudest and most blood curdling.

Knuckles finally collapses to his knees once the electric shocks subside, both boys release their constraints from him once they see Knuckles is completely defenseless. His nervous system was fried, and all he could do was watch as Tails and Nine approached him slowly.

"It's a shame it had to end like this Knuckles. But this is what being nosy gets you" Tails says, kneeling down infront of him, "I'm sure the paralysis should kill you in no time... But then again, where's the fun in that?"

"Asshole... You'll never get away with this..." Knuckles wheezes.

Nine kicks him onto his back as Tails twirls the krambit around in his hand... He brings it down into his chest cavity, while grinning psychotically, then he does it again and again as Nine watches him kill him ever so slowly.

When Tails is sure he's dead he gets off from ontop of him and sighs pulling the knife out of his chest, stepping back next to Nine to admire his work.

"That was..." Nine starts.

"A lot... I know" Tails interupts.

The two roll Knuckles dead corpse into the ravine, they watch as it falls deeper and deeper into the darkness until it's consumed by the picth black.

"We should uh get you cleaned up..." Nine says.

"Yeah" Tails answers.

Nine leads the way out, the boys holding onto each others injured bodies as they leave the cave and walk through the hills back to the base.

"Sonic's probably gonna be asking why were bruised up..." Tails says, realising they need a cover story.

"We got into an argument and things got out of control... How's that?" Nine says with a smirk.

Tails and Nine wash Knuckles' blood and guts from off his fur in a nearby river and then approach the base expecting Sonic to be waiting for them, and sure enough he was.

"There you two are... What happened to you? And why is this place a mess" Sonic asks, crossing his arms.

"We got into a fight" They both say at the same time.

"And you two have made up?" Sonic asks.

"Yeah" Nine responds with a weak smile.

"Okay, go wash up... We're going to see Cream in the hospital" Sonic says.

"Yes sir" They both respond in unison.

Sonic pats them both on the head and walks out of the room. Nine and Tails look at each other and sigh in relief.

"Sorry for getting you involved in that mess" Tails says, as he takes his goggles off to clean the blood off of them.

"You helped me with my problem, though it'd be right to help you with yours" Nine responds.

"So we owe eachother favours now" Tails says as he steps at the door smirking lazily.

"That's entirely up to you" Nine responds, returning his mischievous grin.

"Just understand why I do this" Tails responds.

"Totally understood" Nine responds as he takes off his shirt.

Tails walks out of the room so he can take a shower and switch his outfit out. On Nine's back is a large scar stretching from his neck to where his tails are, skin still visible almost as if he's been burned back there once. He puts on a grey T-shirt with a skull on it and a new pair of gloves.

When Tails if done freshening up he puts his goggles in a small metal box and taps a few buttons, he bandages his arm and puts on a blue jacket as well as a replacement pair of goggles and red sneakers. Sonic comes in as he's putting on a new pair of gloves and leans by the door. Tails turns so he can put his blood covered gloves in the trash but when he sees Sonic he instead puts them in the hamper with his dirty clothes.

"Hey Sonic, are we ready to go?" Tails asks with a smile.

"Yeah, just waiting on you and Nine" Sonic says as he walks towards Tails.

Tails can feel his chest warming up like a heater as Sonic kneels down infront of him, a shy smile appears on Tails face as he locks eyes with Sonic.

"But while we're waiting-" Sonic says stroking Tails chin.

He kisses him, Tails moans as he embraces Sonic, licking the inside of his mouth.

"Sonic!" Silver calls.

The two immediately separate and wipe their mouthes as Silver approaches the doorway.

"Hey Silver... Just checking in on Tails"

"Oh alright, we're all waiting in the ship, don't take too long" Silver says, giving a salute to Sonic.

"Alright... Hey have you seen Knuckles by any chance?" Sonic asks.

"Nope, he probably changed his mind last minute and went to do something else... Again" Silver responds, slightly irked that he couldn't find him.

Sonic sighs, "I guess we'll just have to leave without him..."

"Yeah... Alright, see you there"

Sonic nods and Silver goes off to the workshop so he can get in the ship. Sonic turns to Tails and picks him up, holding him bridal style.

"Hey! Put me down" Tails say, laughing joyfully.

"Nah" Sonic goes, he kisses Tails on the cheek and carries him out of his room to his workshop.

While Sonic carries him, Tails looks up at him, he's been thinking about asking Sonic out to dinner. The problem is however he doesn't know what kind of food Sonic would want to do for a first official date, Sonic looks down at Tails which snaps him out of his daze.

"What's up?" Sonic says.

Tails wanting to not make it awkward, "Did you know hedgehogs can have 5000 to 7000 quills at a time?"

Sonic is thrown off by Tails' sudden response, he flinches and tilts his head to the side.

Tails can feel his face turn red in embarrassment, he groans loudly.

"I uh... I've been trying to figure out where we should go for our first date" Tails says, rubbing his arm.

"Hmm, somewhere laid back would be nice. As long as they have a good desert menu I'm down"

"O-Okay..." Tails responds.

When they get to the workshop, Sonic lets Tails back down on his feet and the two go inside so they can get on the plane. Once they're in they take off and fly to Oceanwave City where the hospital is, as they fly Sonic can't help but look at the empty seats and sigh.

Amy's seat: Empty
Shadow's seat: Empty
Cream's seat: Empty
Knuckles' seat: Empty

As Blaze brushes her hair she notices Sonic's depressed stare and puts her hand on his shoulder.

"It'll get better" Blaze says with a reassuring smile.

Sonic manages to bring his smile back, "Thanks..."

Tails brings the plane down onto the helipad of the hospital and turns off the engines. Once the bay door opens, everyone steps off and they are led to Creams room. Nine and Tails walk in the back so they can talk to each other.

"How dangerous is she?" Nine asks.

"Enough of a threat to make her a priority to eliminate. She may seem sweet and cutesy but she's pretty cold and calculating" Tails responds.

"Like you?"

"Yeah... Like me"

The doctor leading them to Creams room steps to the side as he opens the door, Cream is there talking with her mother, Vector, Charmy, and Espio are also there as well, when Vanilla sees Sonic and Silver come in she stands up and gives Sonic a hug.

"Thank you for coming" Vanilla says.

"Not a problem Vanilla... How is she?"

"I'm fine... Sonic..."

Sonic looks over at Cream as she looks down at her legs, "I just want to say sorry for what I did. I was angry, overemotional and I should have just accepted what you said to me"

"It's okay Cream, I'm willing to put it the past if you are. In the future though, just try and find some other way to vent your anger besides getting violent" Sonic responds.

Cream gives a timid nod and Sonic pats her on the head. Everyone claps, happy that their wouldn't be bad blood between the two... All except for Tails and Nine who watch from the doorway, arms crossed.

To celebrate Creams release from the hospital, Vanilla took the entire gang to a restaurant she found while visiting Cream during her coma. While everyone chatted the night away Tails is outside looking at the ocean ahead of him, Sonic notices he's outside and goes to see how his companion is doing.

"Hey Tails, the ribs in here are the best you should try the-"

Sonic sees he's not in the mood which wipes his smile off his face.

"Tails, what's wrong?"

"I still don't get why you forgive her, even after she almost killed you" Tails says.

Sonic sighs, he had the feeling that's what was putting him in this mood.

"Tails... Look I get it. She overreacted, she attacked me, you were insanely worried about me, I know... But continuing to stay upset about it isn't the best way to go about it-" Sonic says putting his hand on his shoulder.

Tails brushes it off, which surprises Sonic.

"She could have killed you!... If that happened, I wouldn't be able to live with myself... I wouldn't have gotten to tell you how much I loved you" Tails says crossing his arms.

"I really mean that much to you huh?"

"More than you'll ever know"

Sonic decides to sit on the bench near him and tell Tails a story, one that he hoped would better help him understand why he was choosing to forgive Cream.

"About a month before I met you, there was this girl on Christmas Island that I knew... Her  name was Julie and like me she was this beautiful pink wolf born with special abilities... She could create things by just thinking about em. All the boys had a crush on her, but she chose me, for some reason and I was like okay I'll take you out on a date. The night we were supposed to go out, some of the other guys on the island found out I was the one she decided to go out with, they came to my houuse and beat the snot outta me. When Julie found out she was furious, she said she wanted to kick their asses but at the same time she didn't want to, so I ask her... Why not? Do you wanna know what she says to me?"

"What?" Tails asks, turning around so he can look at Sonic.

"She tells me It's not worth staying mad over. And she was right, because the following night she healed me up and we went through with our date plans anyway, we had a blast. That night though, those guys came back and they were angry... This time though, they were angry at her, I tried to protect her but they got her pretty bad. She's in a coma now, has been since that night. I was pissed at those guys that attacked her, but I didn't get revenge for her, not because I was scared or worried I'd look weak but because Julie taught me something... And that's to let go"

Tails looks down and the sandy concrete, his red sneakers glimmering in the sunlight, "What if she does it again?"

"I don't know, jail maybe... But everyone gets blinded by their rage, by their emotions, and we can't let ourselves get angry too otherwise we're not much better than they are" Sonic answers.

Tails whimpers slightly, "Fine, I'll try... But if she does it again-"

"Thank you Tails... I'd kiss you if the others weren't literally right there" Sonic responds, relief in the hedgehog's voice.

Tails blushes and jabs Sonic in the stomach, "Haha, I love you too"

"You're so getting it when we get back there-" Tails says, putting his hands on his hips and smirking at Sonic.

"Can't wait to see what "it" is" Sonic responds grinning back at him.

Sonic and Tails go back into the restaurant to eat with the others and the rest of the day goes peacefully. However when they all return to base the tranquility doesn't last long...

"Knuckles! Where are you?" Blaze shouts as she walks around the house.

"Knuckles we bough home some grape candy! Where are you!?" Sally calls out.

"Knuckles! Come out you big red idiot!" Tangle shouts from the living room.

Whisper comes into the living room, Tangle immediately turns to her.

"Any word from Angel Island?" Tangles asks.

"His apprentice, Dakia, hasn't seen him" Whisper answers, as quiet as ever.

"Where could he have gone?" Sonic says as he comes inside of the living room.

Tails comes out of his bed room after taking some time to write in his diary. Nine is in his room watching a video on his laptop, Cream peaks into Nine's room as the fox boy paints his finger nails black.

"...You must be Nine" Cream says.

Nine looks up at the doorway where her and Cheese are, there's a bandage on her face and her left arm is wrapped up.

"Congratulations, do you want a cookie" Nine responds as he puts his paws on a cloth so he can let his finger nails dry.

"Silver was telling me all about you, he says your just as smart and charming as Tails. So, what have you built?" Cream asks.

"A ship that can travel between realities" Nine says.

"Sounds fun" Cream goes.

"Yeah uh huh, can you go now? I'm trying to do my nails" Nine says glaring at her.

"Okay, if you want to talk, I'll be in my room" Cream responds, then she picks Cheese up and skips off to her room.

When she gets to her room, she closes the door and lets herself fall on top of her bed with a loud happyish sigh. With her discovery of Nine, she began to wonder...

"If Tails won't have me... What about Nine?" She says with a smile on her face.

Tails who hears what Cream is saying to Cheese gasps quietly and backs away from the door quietly. Suddenly theirs a loud shriek, and everyone races out of the base to the beach nearby... Sally is standing there in complete shock, as her eyes stay glued to Knuckles' dead body, she finds it hard to take her eyes off of the echidnas devoided eyes which look emptier then the vacuum of space. When Sonic sees him he collapses to his knees and starts to shake so Tails wraps his arms around him and squeezes him firmly.

Blaze hangs her head low and wipes her face, the others doing the same.

"I'm... I'm so sorry Sonic" Tails says, he looks back at Nine who makes eye contact with Tails for a second before looking back at Knuckles.

"When I find who did this-" Sonic says, full of rage and fighting tears.

Tails leads Sonic away from the beach as Sally continues to cry and sob over the death of her friend. As Tails walks Sonic away, Nine starts to wonder if his part in Knuckles' death would forever damage Sonic and his family of friends.

"Fuck" Nine says quietly to himself.

He quietly turns around and walks away, as the others mourn the loss of yet another long time friend.