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After a few seconds, Gadget broke eye contact. The broom was quickly and haphazardly discarded -- Silver caught it and put it where it belonged -- and Gadget all but tackled Zero, who miraculously managed to stay on his feet after the initial contact. They hugged on the floor for a few seconds, before Gadget pulled away. "[Never do that again! I was so worried....]" Zero simply offered a smile in return. "Don't worry, I'm not planning on doing that again anytime soon." Suddenly, Knuckles spoke up from the back of the room. "So, what's his punishment going to be?" Before Zero even had time to look indignant, Sonic immediately jumped in. "Punishment? You're really going to push for a *punishment*?" Tails, who had been sitting at the table, simply shook his head. "Here we go." Sonic stepped up to Knuckles; as strong as the Resistance commander may be, Sonic was still the hero of the universe, and could easily take him in a fight. "What the hell is your problem? First off, you were absolutely *wrong*; he didn't actually go running off to Eggman or Starline like you thought he would. He just needed some time off." Sonic stepped even closer, almost getting close enough to force Knuckles to step back. He continued, talking in a quieter voice (although, given the volume he started with, getting quieter didn't mean much). "He has been through *a ton* and the last thing he needs right now is to get punished for breaking down." Knuckles decided he could argue this point. "But that means you were wrong, too! You said it was my anger management issues that-" Sonic was having none of it. "Yeah, but that certainly didn't help things any! If you didn't assume the worst and get yourself so worked up, maybe things would have turned out differently. Or maybe not! Who cares?" "But-" Now it was Amy who had had enough, between Knuckles' attempts at countering Sonic's points and Sonic's obviously rising anger. "Shut up, Knuckles!" With one palm to his forehead, she practically threw him through the wall behind him, and she went over to Zero. "Hey, if you ever need to talk-" Zero shook his head. "No, I'm good now. Just had to work through some things." Amy smiled and gave him space. "Well, my door's always open." Zero smiled back. "Good to know." He stood up; Gadget immediately tried to pull him back down, to no avail. He turned to Gadget, who was clinging onto his arm desperately. "Come on, I think the couch would be a little more comfortable than the floor." Gadget, slightly embarrassed, got up and shuffled over with Zero to the opposite side of the couch from where Sonic had been sitting originally. As Zero sat down on the couch, he couldn't help but notice Gadget's heart was racing. Was that his fault? He felt terrible for running off as he did. There was nothing he could about it now, other than console Gadget and hold him close. Meanwhile, Sonic was sulking in the corner, looking like he'd very much rather be anywhere else. Zero didn't notice that, however; he was lost in thought. Something about this felt different. When he had held Tails during the storm, it felt like he was protecting a companion, but with Gadget? It felt like something more. Zero couldn't explain the difference, but it was there nonetheless. Holding Gadget close, he felt like he would die for his friend if given the opportunity. That almost certainly wasn't normal, but what it truly was escaped him at the moment. Suddenly, without warning, Sonic sped off, slamming the door behind him. Zero paused, looking at the door for a second, before facepalming. "For Chaos' sake, I just got back." He got up from the couch, with Gadget giving some protest. "I'll go see what's up with him." Gadget immediately started signing. "[I'll go with you! That is, if you want me to...]" Zero pondered for a second before responding. "Actually, I think this is something I should do alone. If I'm right about this, he's also going through a ton, and I think it'd be better for him if it were just me." He held Gadget's shoulders. "I promise I'll be back tomorrow." Gadget wasn't happy, but he nodded anyway. "[You'd better be.]" Zero headed on out. As he did, he thought to himself, about this whole thing. What was he going to say to Sonic? ...What *could* he say to Sonic? He didn't have an answer himself; "it was Infinite, not me" would be a lame excuse, since who had agreed to be a vessel for Infinite but Zero? Really, it was all Zero's fault too, as much as he hated to admit it. And yet, something else within him told him Sonic wouldn't accept "It was all my fault and I'm sorry" as an answer. Sonic had, after all, been the one who told Zero that he couldn't be blamed for everything Infinite did. Even though Zero had chosen to be Infinite, apparently, in the Blue Blur's eyes, Zero wasn't entirely the one to blame. It made no sense to Zero, but apparently, it was how Sonic felt. So if "it was Infinite, not me" was a weak excuse, and Sonic wouldn't listen to "it was all my fault and I'm sorry", what did that leave him with? Zero rounded the final corner and, to his utter lack of surprise, found Sonic laying down in the center of the clearing. He decided that no matter what his response would be, he needed to start off on the right foot. He spoke softly. "Hey." Sonic didn't even have to look up to recognize that voice. "Hey." "Wanna talk?" "No." "Okay." Zero walked over and laid down next to Sonic. They sat there, staring at the stars for a while, waiting for Sonic to be ready to talk things through. --- Chapter End Notes > weeeeeeeee > > I know the ending's a little weak but I wanted to devote the entire next > chapter to trying to walk down the web of trauma for both of these characters > (because in case you can't tell, neither of them are particularly okay). I > think this fic should be over in 1-2 more chapters; that's where I *should* > reach a logical stopping point that I can pick up from in a sequel (when I have > the time to write the sequel).