MVA (but it's sonic) 2

Chapter 8- The Big Picture

The group of friends sat at the iron table in the middle of their usual hang out spot, it was a bit weird with Sonic not being there, it always was. But now, Sonic wasn't with them because he was off sightseeing, he was in the facility with them, but he kept himself distant from them since the last altercation.

Though it was bad, and his friends were understandably upset by it, it didn't deter their view of him. They know how Sonic is, and he would never act like that on purpose. And despite the bad concussion he had been given, Tails was determined to help his giant friend, even if thinking too hard gave him a major headache.

"I don't understand, what is going on with him!" He said.

"Hey, don't stress yourself about it too much." Knuckles said. "You just had a serious knock to the head!"

Tails rubbed his temples. "Yes, I know, knuckles! But things have just been getting worse with Sonic, and we have no idea why he's acting like this!"

"I think I may have some idea..." Shadow muttered.

Knuckles tilted his head. "Like what?"

"Did... Sonic seem off to you?"

"You mean other than he was trying to kill us with a blank expression on his face?"

"I mean, there was something... different about him. I'm still having trouble remembering the altercation clearly, but I could've sworn there was something different about him, his... face."

"I think you're onto something, Shadow..." Tails's ears twitched. He then pulled out a tablet and began typing on it. "Maybe the security cameras picked up on something with him."

"You have access to the security cameras?" Knuckles asked.

"Of course I do! I practically updated the entire security system! It was amazing how bad they were before I came in." He set the tablet onto the table and zoomed in on the footage. "Here. This is from when Knuckles and me left to get the cards."

The three of them watched as Sonic sat there patiently. First tapping his feet, then laying down on his back, then on his front, swinging his feet as he played with the chairs next to the table. Everything looked normal, till he suddenly stopped and sat back up, and that was just two minuets before his friends came in.

"Wait, look at that..." Knuckles said. He squinted his eyes and pointed at Sonic's face. "Don't his eyes look a little different?"

Tails leaned in close. "Yeah... it's kind of hard to see, but his eyes look a little bit.... Red, I guess..."

"Yeah, that's a bit weird..."

"It's not..." Shadow said.

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't know for sure, but that red shine in his eyes reminds me of that gemstone we got from Neo's giant robot."

"Hey, you're right!" Knuckles said. "You think that it's affecting Sonic somehow?"

"Only one way to find out!" Tails grabbed his tablet, jumped from his seat, and ran out the room.

"Tails! Slow down!" Knuckles shouted and chased after him, Shadow followed close behind.

...

"The emerald is inside here." Tails pointed to a large door. "Since Neo, they've been putting all his alien rubble and junk in here." He typed a code into the keypad next to it and opened the heavy door.

"I am surprised they let you in on all of this...." Shadow said.

"Oh they have no idea."

"What?"