Instincts (UNDER EDITING)

by Cutegirlmayra1

Amy is going through her first mating season, Tails is helping with the animalistic explaining, but when feelings/uncontrolled behavior get in the way of everyday life, will Someone have to step in to help? (This is not as bad as you think, there is simply a lot of kissing and Hedgehog instincts. Mostly a drama. I'm too innocent to write stuff like that! SonAmyShadSliv)

1. Chapter 1

Instincts / / / / /

(Fyi, those / were claw marks lol L-like from the characters..!? Nevermind. Edit note: this story is being edited for its season 2 debut. when season 1's edits are completed, the next season will begin. There may be changes to the original story, so look forward to the new and improved instincts!)

Ch. 1

By: Cutegirlmayra (I've been SO BUSY with hw I haven't gotten the chance to write this. Lol, with season 1 of Sonic Supers done, I figured I might as well start on this one… Edit note: Sonic Supers edits are completed :). Heed of caution: I AM A INNOCENT WRITER who is about to write a little bit more then-…well... what I'm used to. It's not really bad… I mean compared to most fanfictions on here, mine is relatively innocent. First off: NO, there is no actual mating happening in this story. Instincts are primarily shown mostly in mating rituals, that is why the topic is approached. Two: There will never be something too much, it might get… steamy… BUT NOTHING MORE lol I swear ; u ; 3: Please don't ask me or comment to me about making it more 'sexual'. This is enough. Besides… there's enough kissing to keep you blushing and squealing. Nothing too inappropriate though. You should be fine lol Anyway, that was just the disclosure I suppose, enjoy~ SONIC BOOM! SONIC BOOM! Lol, sorry, lots of work and hype about that has made me neglect my fanfiction responsibilities for a while. Sorry about that -_-;… Well anyway, here's to part 2! :D hope you like it! Edited note: The original will be slightly changed, so be aware of that. Instincts was created from my studying of Wolf, Lion, and other animal instincts. I thought it would be fun to combine that into a story, and studied Hedgehog instincts. You'll see quite a few of what I've learned in this story. Please enjoy the edits and stay pumped for Sonic Instincts season 2! Also, I will be combining chapters later on too. So be aware of that as well :)b happy re-reading!)

It was hot.

Amy moved around in her bed, feeling the sweat trickling down her forehead as she stirred from her slumber. She felt like she was swimming in all the blankets on her, and kicked them off weakly. She groaned and got up. Her silky pajama dress that only went to her knees slunk downward as she let her feet touch the floor and legs stand upright.

"Why is it so hot~?"

She whined, leaning her head back and complaining. She felt herself breathing irregularly, touching her exposed and wet throat for a moment. Did her voice change? Or was that just the sluggish morning still affecting her as she began to wake? It must have been... Her fingertips also felt more sensitive than usual as she pricked her nails lightly against them, then returned to skimming the smooth skin on her neck. Each little detail, down to her shoulder which she rubbed lightly felt grand to the touch, she could sense it better than ever before today. In fact, her whole body seemed to be numb from the overpacked sensations around her. The weight of the ground under her feet... The cool, stilled air that gave some relief as she staggered out of bed... Her pink and quilled hair brushing back and forth against her shoulders.

It all felt really good too.

"Emm…"

She closed her eyes again, tempted to keep going. But, tiredly, she put one foot in front of the other and decided to walk downstairs. She felt her balance off as she descended the stairs, wobbling from her sudden lack of strength and impaired, cloudy thinking. Her vision hyper-focused before shifting back to her lulled blur, causing her knees to shake slightly and her hand grip the side-railing for added stability. She looked annoyed, finally making it down to open the small panel to her heater below. "Hmm? That's odd…" She leaned in closer, squinting her eyes due to her poor vision situation, and still breathing pretty hard again. Just like her eyes, her breathing would go from panting to faint breaths, which would have frightened her if her mind could pay enough attention to it. It was like she was sleepwalking into another dream-like state...

The temperature, she finally perceived, was rather normal and not as hot as the tropics of Angel Island's jungles... of which it felt like to her.

Why else would she be sweating?

"OOOhhhh~! Why is it so hot?!" Amy groaned again, pushing her face up to the cool metal and moving her squshed lips against it as she spoke her discomfort aloud. She shut the panel and slowly sunk down to the ground while keeping her body pressed up and leaning against the wall.

Her face was redder than usual, her breathing was now at a fast but steady tempo that didn't seem to change much anymore. Her heart rate escalated, and her quills slightly twitched as they rose up on her head. Her eyes finally clouded over and she felt her mind slipping away from consciousness.

She was about to give in to the exhaustion and weakness her body forced upon her until a knock came to the door. Her head perked up only slightly, ears shifting to the recognized sound as her slumping body still remained immovable where she sat and leaned upon the ground, helpless.

"Amy? Amy, it's me, Tails. I brought back your-" He opened the door, thinking maybe she was still asleep since she tended to rest a lot during the day—being a natural, nocturnal Hedgehog and all—she was supposed too. Though, due to her being primarily more evolved from her distant ancestors, she sometimes betrayed her instinctive sleeping habit and would venture off to find Sonic. At least, if he was sleeping in the daylight, she could spot him out and maybe take a nap beside him.

"Amy!"

In a frantic manner, Tails dropped a box of something he had borrowed from her and worriedly hurried to her side. Looking at her condition, he seemed at lost with what to do, but noticed something similar… to something… before.

"Oh no…"

He breathed out lightly.

"A…Amy?"

"Hmm…?"

Amy slowly moved her head towards Tails's voice, as he gently put his hand to her forehead, checking her temperature.

"It can't be…"

He got up, going to the heater's controls and seeing everything was fine.

He bit his lower lip.

Looking down at Amy again, he watched her move closer to his leg. She liked the feeling of something furry against her own hide... letting herself fall to the sensation and lay by his feet.

He suddenly grew more serious.

"Amy? C-Come on… can you stand?"

He bent down and helped her up, slinging her arm over him as he helped her hobble over to Cream's house…

"Hello? Cream?" He called, looking inside through the window. He then scooted over to the door, having to use his tails to help Amy stay upright. She was limp and still making small noises from time to time, but boy, was she a dead-weight...

He knocked by loosening one of his tails from around Amy's waist, holding her leaning body and having her arm over his shoulders for support.

"Hmm? Who is it?" Cream waited at the door, knowing the proper thing to do was ask who it was first, and then look through the peek-hole before opening the door.

As she looked through it, Tails's worried face looked back up at the door's peephole, as if desperately asking for help in a silent plea within his eyes. Amy looked almost draped over him, her head hanging down in front and her body turning inwards towards him. "I-it's Tails, is Vanilla home?" Tails asked as Cream gasped, seeing Amy's poor state, and opened the door at once.

Cheese came flying out, greeting the visitors before looking curiously at Amy, holding a Chao paw up in confusion and having his little yellow ball turn to a question mark.

"Is she alright? What happened? Miss Amy?" Cream raced to Tails' side as she tried to see Amy's face more clearly. "She looks awful, Mr. Tails!"

"Chao, chao!" Cheese frantically flailed his arms, spinning around the huddled bunch before darting back inside.

"It… it's okay, she's fine." He comforted the little bunny, his eyebrows drawing back to give off a sense of relief to her nervous concerns. He knew it was best to keep his mouth shut about what was really happening to her. After all... Cream was much too young to understand anyway. "She just needs Vanilla to treat her right now. Is she home?"

"Oh yes, mommy!" Cream flew upstairs, calling for her mother. "I know I mustn't shout, but this is an emergency! It's Amy!"

"Amy..?" Vanilla came walking out into view from the upstairs walkway when she looked down to see Amy and her condition. Her eyes grew wide and her hair stood on end. "Oh my!" she ran down the stairs, holding her dress up slightly as to not fall, and quickly helped Tails as he struggled to keep Amy upright. "Tails, bring her upstairs to the guest room, hurry!"

"Right!" Tails nodded, determined to succeed in helping his friend... this time... the right way. They got Amy into the upstair's guest room and placed her on the bed. "She was like this when I got there." He explained, looking up to Vanilla, and hoping everything would be alright now.

"I see…" Vanilla's voice seemed grave, she had to make sure what she believed was happening… really was happening.

She walked slowly over to Amy, sprawled a bit on the bed but still panting with sweat on the sides of her face. Now she was breathing loudly and seemed almost sick. Vanilla slowly and gently moved some of her hair, her eyes narrowing as though solving a mystery little by little... she studied Amy's reaction carefully.

Amy's head moved toward the touch and gently rubbed her lower right chin against it. "Emm... hah... hah..."

Vanilla brought her hand back up and smelled what Amy's scent glands had rubbed upon it. She then took her other hand and rubbed it below where her own scent glands were, smelling it too—just to be sure.

Tails looked worried, knowing what Vanilla was figuring out, and poor Cream... standing next to him in her innocence. She didn't have a clue about what was being tested... what was being determined...

"…" Vanilla sighed and nodded to Tails, her deductions done.

Tails looked down, knowing what this meant.

"Cream, dear?" Vanilla looked to Cream, who anxiously held Tails's arm as she looked back to her mother.

"Yes, mother?" she then released Tails's arm to hold a frightened Cheese tightly in her arms, for her comfort as well as his own.

"Cream dear, Amy needs some nice ice packs for her fever, could you go and make some ice cubes for her?" She asked kindly, not a hint of fear in her voice. "You have to be a patient little girl and wait for the water to freeze, can you do that?"

Cream looked to Amy, and then back at her mother, "I'll do my best!" her eyes filled with the desire to be of assistance to her friends.

"Chao chao!" Cheese flew up, out of her arms and struck a mighty pose, showing he would help Cream in her task as they both hurried out of the room.

Vanilla's eyes followed after Cream's frame as it left the room, making sure she wasn't in earshot, before nodding to Tails, who nodded back and went to slowly close the door.

"How far is she?"

"Not too far, this is the first stage. The body is preparing itself, it's the most violent of reactions when your young and haven't experienced it yet…" Vanilla explained, walking over to the guest bathroom and washing her hands. "Due to her scent, I can tell it happened quickly. She probably just woke up from it when you found her." She dried her hands and walked back over to the bed. "…it's time…" she stated, looking back to Tails. "You can leave if you like."

"..N-no… I want to be able to help if you need me." He looked sad that he couldn't really do anything more, and scratched his head. "When will...um… she wake up?"

"Oh, she's wide awake, it's her body that's making her like this." Vanilla smiled, trying to lighten the mood that had hung over the room...

Turning her head slightly, she remained properly straight, her demeanor very lady-like as she placed her hand over the other and held them in front of herself. Very elegant, and very pretty.

"… So…" Tails fidgeted nervously, moving his foot on the ground, twisting it up to it's pointed edge. "Do we tell her?" he looked back up at Vanilla.

"Of course we have to tell her," Vanilla seemed a little sad, as though a piece of her wanted Amy to stay young forever. "I'm afraid it's that time to tell her. To be fair, I should of spoken with her last month about it… after all, she did begin to show signs of maturity." Vanilla recounted before seeing Amy stir and slowly blink her eyes open.

Her eyelids were down halfway, but she looked more alive and awake as her breathing slowed down. "W-…What happened…?" She asked, looking toward Tails and Vanilla. "My head was pounding, and my body felt like it was pulsing…"

"… You went into heat, darling." Vanilla just let the penny drop. Her frank, blunt statement made Tails flinch back and look at her in shock.

"That quickly!?" Tails stated, his whole body flung to the side of him to further dramatize how awkward and surprising it was for him to hear her speak so freely about it... bringing it out into the open like that...

"I must speak plainly to her, Tails. No use beating around the bush about it. It's the only way." Vanilla spoke very affirmatively, not holding anything back, but retaining her motherly love in her words.

"In… heat?" Amy's eyebrow rose up in confusion as she slowly got up, getting more control over her body. "What do you mean? I know it was hot, but-"

"No, no. Amy… it's um… Well, your 18 now, and um… you've been having your period for some time now so…" Tails tried to speak too, but Vanilla looked at him as if he shouldn't.

"What!? Tails! That's private stuff!" Amy pouted, putting her hands to her hips and looking insulted with him just saying it like that. "Besides, what does that have to do with anything? That's just so I can have kids someday, right?" Amy looked to Vanilla for approval.

"Well… yes. But I never fully told you why it is you have that… and… I never told you about your animalistic behaviors." She stated, taking a deep breath, and remaining in her form of reverence. "Amy, you are becoming a woman, and with that, you will also face a woman's hardships."

"..?" Amy was slightly taken aback from the serious tone taken by Vanilla, someone she considered like her second mother.

"What she means is... you're going to start going through a lot of … um… behavioral changes from now on. Usually starting in April and ending by the time spring is over." Tails further explained on, following Vanilla's lead and only speaking to input information she may forget to say.

"For hedgehogs." Vanilla smiled to Tails, finally settling on the matter that he wasn't going to just sit back quietly.

"Oh, right… But all creatures tend to get...uh... like that during spring." Tails looked back to Vanilla, feeling the awkwardness again, which resulted in him looking away with a flustered red in his cheeks. It was hard for him to sit out of a conversation when he knew something on the topic, that had always been a flaw of his... but he retained his calm as he looked back to Amy.

"Yes, quite." Vanilla did a closed-eyed smile for him, tilting her head to try and lighten the atmosphere once again from the sensitive topic.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait." Amy got out of bed, waving her hands out in front of her and feeling completely fine now, looking at them both straight on. "Do you mean to tell me I'm getting heat flashes?"

Vanilla's face turned to one of horror, "Oh, good heavens, no! You're much too young!"

"That's for when you're an old lady!" Tails blurted out, shaking his hands in front of her own to help rid her of the misconception. He then sighed, seeing how much him and Vanilla had to tell her. "This might take some time…"

"Tails, I think it's best to let me tell her… everything." She gave him the slight hint, and he realized then that his welcome was overstayed. He consisted, at last, nervously scratching the back of his head and nodding to her signal.

"Best let someone who knows it better do the talking, right? I only know the know-how, not what it's really like." He walked out, knowing it wasn't his place.

"…? How does Tails know?" Amy asked, turning curiously back to Vanilla. "He's a boy."

"He had to help Sonic when the time came." Vanilla glanced back up from Amy's side to see Tails close the door.

Amy gasped.

"Sonic has a period too!?"

-A few hours later-

Tails had previously stopped Cream from walking up the stairs, telling her it would be fine, and to let the girls talk for a moment.

Vanilla sat at one end of the bed while Amy stared to the ground on the other corner end, thinking about all that Vanilla was telling her…

After a moment of explanation, Vanilla turned back to look at her and seemed worried, sensing the tension of the quiet room, she spoke up again. "It's a wonderful thing, Amy. Honest, it is. As long as you have someone you're married to who loves you very much, and would never hurt you."

Amy jolted slightly with the word 'married' and looked to Vanilla, almost brokenly. "You… you and your husband… did that?"

Vanilla looked lovingly and almost empathically to Amy. She had tried to explain everything as gently and lovingly as she could, but Amy still appeared to be rather scarred. "…Yes." She stated, "And without doing so, we would have never had Cream. And aren't you glad you know Cream?"

Amy stared at Vanilla for a moment and looked away again. "I… I had always figured…" she couldn't continue, how could she? "I just thought love was more innocent than that..."

"Deary, it is!" Vanilla moved toward her, bending on her knees and putting her hands on Amy's lap, making Amy look down a bit to see how desperately she wanted her to understand,... and how much this all meant to her. "I don't want you to leave today thinking love is a dirty thing. Love is beautiful, Amy. And it's a gift given to us to bear young and be happy. If you misuse this gift,… Oh, Amy please, understand, you must never misuse the gift of life you have!"

"Vanilla…" Amy's eyes filled with love, seeing Vanilla on the verge of tears.

"I love you so much, Amy." She put her hand on Amy's cheek. "As if you were my own daughter. And I know it's hard and it's not fair, but you must never curse nature for giving it to you. It's all worth it in the end, Amy. It's so much more than all the pain and suffering you must now endure. For one day, Amy... with the right boy, you can have a pair of beautiful eyes look up to you and say they love you. A mother is a heaven-sent duty, given to all womenkind. To be teachers, givers, and lovers of their young. Promise me, Amy. You won't abuse such a power as this."

Amy couldn't help it, seeing Vanilla's face, she jumped down and hugged her, crying with her. "I promise! I promise, Vanilla! I'll never belittle it!"

"Good girl… shush.. there, there, now." Vanilla patted her head lightly and smiled, a tear rolling off her cheek as Amy wept next to her.

Opening the door, Amy wiped her eyes and walked down the stairs, Vanilla after her.

Tails watched T.V while Cream was coloring before seeing the two girls come down.

"Mother!" She cried out, flying over to Vanilla before looking up at Amy. "Miss Amy, are you quite well?" she asked, Cheese flying to Amy's side and patting his two pudgy arms together, seeing if she truly was well again.

"Chao chao…"

"I'm fine."

Amy smiled, but stared at Tails for a minute before looking down and then shaking her head. "Anyway! I got to go!" she faked a smile for Cream, then bolted out the door.

"Amy!" Vanilla and Tails both spoke out in unison as Tails flew off after her.

"Ah! Tails! Tails, she's still absorbing it!" Vanilla tried to warn him, reaching a hand out after him. He turned around and hovered in mid-air a moment, nodding and continuing to fly after her. Vanilla sighed, as Cream landed and looked to her and the door.

"Mother, what's going on?" She asked, innocently turning back to her mother with her big brown eyes.

"…You'll find out…" she bent down with an exhausted sigh, gently rubbing her daughter's head as Cream giggled from the loving gesture. "Someday…" she kissed Cream's head and got up. "Now then, what were you drawing, dear?" she asked as Cream grew excited, taking her mother's hand and dragging her over to her coloring book.

"I drew me, Cheese-"

"Chao, c-chao! Chao!" Cheese swayed in the air, then flew in a circle to show his crayon box, revealing he helped choose the colors for Cream's drawing.

"And you, mommy!"

Vanilla bent down and looked to the picture that Cream held up in front of her. She saw herself in the middle, holding Cream and Cheese's hand, and the poorly written: I Love my family on the top of it. With her tears returning, she looked back to her daughter, "It's absolutely beautiful, Cream dear. Absolutely, perfectly, beautiful." Vanilla rubbed her eyes with the front of her wrist, as she opened her arms and giggled softly.

Cream and Cheese had such proud open smiles on their faces as they closed their eyes and leaped into her loving, motherly arms.

"Amy! Wait up!"

Tails finally had caught up with Amy, as she shook her head some more.

"No! I got it, already! I don't need you telling me how it works, either!" she shouted out.

"But... that was only the main part! The basics of the whole picture! I have to tell you about your instincts!" Tails worriedly sped up, holding his arms out desperately before slowly moving them back and giving himself more speed.

"…Instincts?" Amy stopped and turned back to Tails.

He almost rammed into her, since she started to slow down and stop when he wasn't expecting it. His eyes widened, and his voice fluctuated as he cried out, "Ah..ahhhaHHAHAH!" flailing his arms out before losing momentum and avoiding the collision. "Phew." He stated and hopped down from the air to the ground. "That's right. Hedgehog instincts. Now you're of the age to begin your first mating season. I have to make sure you'll be safe and prepared for the behaviors, but most importantly your new personality... that will be coming shortly." He explained, but it was all going over Amy's head as she blinked twice in confusion, fully shifting herself to face him more directly now.

"It should be relatively similar to how it was with Sonic…" Tails began, thinking out loud as he turned his body from her and put his hand to his chin. "Hmm, Hmm…" he closed his eyes and nodded his head downward. "I think I should research female hedgehog instincts first… just to be safe. But I do know one thing," he turned back to Amy, "Hehe~ I'm now your personal professor on your Instincts! Instincts are the animalist behavior passed down from your ancestors that have slightly retained their primitive nature within you through heredity. When Instincts kick in, you'll be stuck in your head while your body pretty much takes on a life of its own." Tails tried going on further with the explanation before seeing Amy's wide-eyed face.

"Uh… Maybe I should just let you think about a few things first… haha." A rather large teardrop dripped down the side of his face as he scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously. "Anyway, try and go back to sleep. If anything unusual or out of control starts happening—Call me." He winked and flew off again, giving her a thumbs up. "You'll be fine! Promise! We'll be here for you!" He then took off towards his own house.

Amy just stood there, not sure what to make of it all. "M-mating..? Aw, man." She put a hand to her head as it lowered slightly. "And I thought today would be like any other day…"

-In the far off distance-

The wind had blown by strongly against Amy's quills, and a faint scent wiggled its way into the wind's current.

It must have been on a long journey, for many male hedgehogs must have smelled her faint aroma, but one hedgehog, in particular, stopped from his daily course and sniffed the wind once again.

"…Hmm?" Sonic turned his head, "Well… that's new. The only girl I know who's a hedgehog around here is…" he scratched his head before the motion slowed and his eyes widened to unspeakable lengths.

Comically, he slowly stood up straighter than ever before, and his ears bent in terrified horror. "Oh no."

He dashed off to Tails's house, hoping it wasn't what he thought it was…

'Please, for the love of animality! Don't let it be her!

-The House of Amy Rose-

Amy walked back into her home, feeling ill from the surprise of what she had heard and also from the fact that her body would be acting out for the rest of spring. She sighed, "What am I supposed to do?" she cried out, letting herself fall on her couch—face first.

She grabbed a pillow and brushed her face on it, trying to distract herself with the touch and see if that odd feeling would return. Finally, she just looked at the t.v screen, "…It's like a bad movie…" she spoke out loud, seeming depressed before squishing her face deeper into the pillow.

It felt… comforting.

Then something unexpected happened.

Amy felt a surge of energy through her, her quills stood on end and she was darting around the room. "AHHH!" she couldn't really control her impulse as she grabbed every cushion off her couch, chairs, and even the pillows from off her bed. Anything that felt similar to that texture was coming with her.

She ran to the far right side of her living room, near a window until she was able to regain some control over herself. "Wha won ewarth?" she looked at what was in her hands, her mouth! Pillows, cushions, anything plush was now in her grasp. Her home stripped bare as she clung desperately to her large pile in her arms. She 'Epp!'d and dropped the pillows down, cringing away from them.

Spooked by her body's sudden reaction, she looked at her phone in the other room...

"…T-…Tails?" But right as she began to step towards its direction, her foot lightly kicked a cushion away. The contact sent off that same surge of power and energy from before, flying through her veins and causing her face to flush. She immediately went back to the pillows, falling on her knees and obsessively began stacking and ordering them in a certain position.

At the end of it all, Amy was huffing and puffing on the ground and looked up at her creation.

A fort?

It was a circle with one or two deep layers of padding you could almost dig into like a colored ball-pit. In the back was a little den of sorts where pillows were stacked up over each other to make a kinda curvature where a blanket gently hung down, creating a tarp for the entrance and giving the little space some privacy too. The moment Amy saw the blanket, the trigger started up again, and she raced around her home collecting all of those fabrics and drapes too. Setting them within her strange new fort.

She raced to the center of the fort, lowering herself down and getting comfortable as she pushed her limps under the padding and rested her head against the first layer of pillows and cushions...

It felt so nice against her pink slip... which she hadn't really had time to take off and change, maybe even shower from all that sweating since Tails took her to Vanilla's...

Her eyes drooped in a kind of relaxed and easy bob... before growing wide when she remembered...

"TAILS!" she finally pulled herself out of the bedded fort, stumbling to her feet and trying to remain balanced as she scrambled to get out. She reached for the phone, a blanket over her head, still clinging to it. That frightened her... why she couldn't control herself?

"Hello, this is Tails the fox!"

"Tails! Help!" she yelped.

"A-Amy? I.. I was just talking about you..." He seemed to distance the phone from his mouth as if focused on something else...

"Huh? Well, that doesn't matter… LISTEN! I made some sort of fort thing on the right side of my living room..." she spoke quickly, turning her head and whimpering at it. She felt her feet tap a little, not for the restroom, but to hurry back into what felt like a safe place...

She didn't understand why she wanted to go back to it so badly, but the blanket helped her stay put, for the time being...

"…A fort?"

"Yeah! Freaky, right?!" she turned to give her full attention back to Tails, her body moving up and down as it anxiously awaited to return to the fort. "Is that normal or..? Is something seriously wrong with me?" Her voice spiked to a terrified tone upon that last part, her eyes still wide with fear.

"No-no! You're not crazy or anything, haha! That's the instincts. But… you remember doing this?"

"Yes, I was conscious and all," Amy grumbled. What? Did he think she was stupid enough to forget the whole ordeal or something?

"So… you weren't in your full instinct form then?" Tails seemed to ask this as if a bit confused.

"Umm… I guess… Not?" Amy stated, raising an eyebrow as she couldn't comprehend what Tails was getting at. She shifted her eyes left and right, trying to decipher what he could have meant by that. "...Is there a half?" she whispered, but barely any of it was heard through the phone's receiver as she was mostly talking worriedly to herself.

"Alright. You would of had to have taken a moment to remember what you did if you were. Since the instinct takes over your mind too… when that does happen, you can try and communicate with it while you're trapped in your subconscious." Tails explained. "There's apparently a nasty headache after though... that's a dead giveaway if you've shifted or not."

"What-de-what-what?" Amy was confounded, not sure what he was going on about. "Tails, english." she whimpered again, her eyes drawn back as she felt helpless to stop her craving for more pillows...

"Anyway, let me look up female instincts and forts…"

He seemed to be moving as the phone picked up some rustling noise.

He shifted the phone between his shoulder and cheek, pushing on it so it would stay as he typed, but Amy couldn't tell anything more than that.

"What's going on, Tails?"

Amy's heart sped a beat faster as everything suddenly melted away... moving to a frozen image of who was in the room with Tails...

"Amy's just beginning to go through the transition period, I think. Gee, I'd hate to go through my first mating season without me around to cope… you sure you'll have my back when the time comes, Sonic?"

Sonic...

The phone lightly slipped somewhat in her grasp...

"Sure, buddy. Although, I can't say I'll be much help... But wait, so... she's..?"

"Yep, and it seems to be happening pretty fast from what Vanilla said. I tried to look up stuff already, but I wasn't prepared for her to start so early… Her instincts and behaviors are happening far too quickly… it worries me."

"Shouldn't it have happened before..?"

"Well, technically,... remember when I said we were evolved? I think that's why it takes a while after puberty. That's just my theory, anyway."

"…Tails?"

Amy swallowed worriedly, hearing the other voice on the other side of the line and being absolutely smitten by it. She could tell that voice anywhere... any day...

"…Is that..?"

"Oh... um, yeah. Sonic said he smelled something funny. I told him it was probably nothing but he swears it was a 'heat scent'. It's kinda a signature smell that only that particular species can pick up on, and Sonic mentioned he didn't know any other Hedgehog girls except you so... I'm sure your instincts aren't THAT powerful enough to produce your scent so strongly through the winds but Sonic's pretty adamant about it so… we'll have to test it. But for now, describe to me what the fort looks like. What's it made of?"

"S…Sonic… smelled me?" she blushed in embarrassment.

"Amy, focus here!" Tails weakly shouted back, seeming to not want her to go off on some tangent. "What does it look like?"

"W-well," she looked back towards it, twiddling the phone cord through and around her fingers, suddenly growing nervous now that she knew Sonic was present... "It's made of pillows and now blankets… it's round and rather deep. Heh, I didn't know my house held so many cushions… but anyway," she shook her head, trying not to be impressed by her work. "At the back, it has a small den, or so it looks like."

"…A den? And a bunch of soft and comfortable objects…" Amy could hear clicking sounds from a computer being typed on. "Sonic, don't hover over me like that!"

"Oh, sorry."

"I know you're a little curious, but this is kinda important."

"…"

"...Amy..? Are you still there?"

"Y-yeah…"

"What made you suddenly rush off and make it? Can you describe it for me? There are a few options here that I need to click on concerning what your thought process was."

"I just… I don't know! I landed on a pillow—feeling stressed about everything—and then I thought the pillow was comforting and soft and just… went berserk!" she threw her arms up, whining as she fell to the ground. "Tails…" she softly cried out, almost comedically as she just felt so exhausted from all this running around and new information. "I just want my normal life back.."

"Ah-ha! Your natural instinct suggested to build a nest and you went for it without being in instinct form. Woah, do you know what that means?!" Tails seemed a bit too excited about all this development…

"That I'm preparing for babies?" Amy questioned, her eyes squinting as though she honestly was trying to guess correctly.

"No-no! Well.. yes, but no!" Amy heard a chair squeak back and Sonic hop down to the ground, supposedly the two now moving around now. "It means you're what they call, 'A Early Bloomer'. Your instincts are evolving quickly, which means your scent is probably just like Sonic said. It's very, or rather, high in production. Making any male in a long mile radius able to smell you! At least, downwind it could be longer anyway… but that's fairly good, according to my research, for a female to attract that well. Great on ya, Amy! Your genetics are pretty good so far."

"Tails, that doesn't help. You just told me I could be attracting a wide range of men to my doorstep." Amy flat out stated, not feeling good about this one BIT.

"Oh, uh… g-good point." Tails concluded she was right, concurring with her deductions. She could hear him scratch his head, "Hmm… well, your not THAT far along yet… Sonic? Do you think you could protect Amy for a bit? At least until she gets her bearings straight."

There was silence for a moment.

Tails's voice seemed slightly shaken to a sadder tone, "Do you think you... can?"

"...It's kinda risky, Tails..."

Amy held her breath.

"Don'tcha think?"

It was quiet again before Amy heard the phone be taken away and placed down somewhere.

-Tails's house-

"H-hey! Amy's depending on us!" Tails tried to reach back for the phone but Sonic stopped him, speaking quietly as to make sure Amy couldn't hear them.

"You really think I can control my instincts for that long?" His face and tone was stern, more so than Tails was used too. "And not just that, Tails... but my instincts could trigger hers as well. Especially if she's… whatever you called it."

"Early bloomer." Tails looked up, glaring a bit in annoyance at Sonic's antics. "And for one thing, she needs a bodyguard because of her instincts. You said that you could smell her fine from all the way on Fountain Rock, right? If she can spread her smell past Meadow Plain… then we have a bit of a problem." Tails moved out of Sonic's grasp, just trying to communicate the situation better.

"…" Sonic looked down, thinking about that statement. "She must of… lured others." He thought out loud. "But she's safe inside her home. Just lock the windows and-"

"Exactly." Tails cut him off, also stepping up to the plate. "And if any male is in his first mating season, then Amy could get herself into a whirl of trouble." Tails put his hands to his hips, trying to be convincing. "This isn't your first year, Sonic. You've dealt with it before, even if it's not perfectly controlled, you can still do it! I know you can! Plus, you don't really like Amy that way, right? So I'm sure your instinct will feel the same way."

"I haven't dealt with a girl my instincts favors yet, Tails." Sonic folded his arms and looked away, "There's a difference." he then turned sharply back to Tails. "He doesn't listen to me." He stated, jerking an arm out before withdrawing it back, showing his resentment at that fact. "He's rebellious. If I tried to tell him not to touch Amy, he's going to touch her just to defy me." His face turned softer,... those words sinking in and making Sonic's usually happy-go-lucky face turn grave and sober...

"… Sonic… she doesn't really have anyone else…" Tails spoke softer now too and put his hand on Sonic's shoulder. "She really needs you," he stressed. "Please. You've just got to be there for her!"

Sonic looked back to his friend, seeming to want to help, and then looked away as though still torn by all the risk that could happen...

"At least… try it? I believe in you! Maybe through your instincts, we can learn more about Amy's instincts... Maybe yours too..." Tails removed his hand, lowering his head as though some form of guilt plagued that statement. "Because you really can't tell the personality shift or status of your instincts without being around the opposite gender. Can't we just… test it out?" Tails tried to smile back at Sonic, masking whatever prompted him to suggest such a thing. "I'll be there."

"He'll rip you to pieces if he feels like it," Sonic growled out, knowing the danger, but keeping his face away from Tails. It wasn't Tails he was mad at... after all...

"I'll make sure I come off as little to no threat. A curious passerby who watches at a decent distance." Tails winked.

"Decent?" Sonic dropped his arms, turning more fully to Tails. "None of this 'decent', Tails. I can't control my own body, that's indecent. Being too late to stop him from hurting-" He formed a fist. "I won't let him hurt anyone I care about, Tails. Especially my friends."

Tails's ears bent down. "Sonic… you don't really have a choice, though... you need your instincts, and Amy needs protection. Please,... stop putting yourself down about not being able to control it yet. If you really focus, I know you can do it!" Tails tried to encourage, putting his hands into a fist and moving them up and down encouragingly.

"…you really believe in me that much?" Sonic shook his head and smirked towards his friend, a bit touched by his faith.

"Absolutely! And I'm sure Amy will too!"

"Ugh, Amy…" Sonic scratched the top of his head. He looked at the phone and then took a surrendered deep breath. "If anything happens…"

"I'll do whatever it takes to keep you and Amy safe. I promise!" Tails replied, furrowing his brow to show how serious he was about it.

Sonic scowled, picking up the phone and looking like he really didn't want to do this.

"Amy? You there?"

"A-ah! Yes!"

"Listen, we're coming over. If my eyes turn into a diamond shape,... don't come near me, okay?"

"Oh um, okay! But… what does that mean?"

Sonic looked to Tails, "You haven't told her yet?"

"I tried too! But she just heard the full story of the birds and the bees today!" Tails defended himself, flopping his arms down by his side in a hopeless look of pity. "That's a lot to take in!"

Sonic blinked slowly.

"You mean... she didn't..?

Tails comically shook his head with a smile.

"...But she's-?" he pointed comically to the phone.

Tails shrugged. "Innocent." he countered, knowing Sonic was going to bring up her age again.

Sonic moved his head as calmly as he could back to the phone, "…we'll be there."

"…O-okay…"

Amy hung up the phone and sighed. Being rather nervous, she felt her body wanting to fly back to the 'nest' as if were, but pulled against the strong tug and went upstairs to shower and change.

Later, she dug herself back into the nest, submerging herself beneath the pillows below. "So.. this is my comfort zone, huh?" she looked around, digging her arms and legs a bit deeper in, getting comfortable. "Well… Alright then." She lifted her head to the edge of a pillow near her and tried to close her eyes, listening for the knock on the door.

-A couple of moments later-

"Don't go near the nest, alright?" Tails warned Sonic, making their way to the door.

"Why not?"

"Well, for one thing, it's for Amy to feel comfortable, but another thing when men are allowed in it for certain reasons we're trying to avoid." Tails explained, reaching for Amy's spare key.

"… A love nest?" Sonic looked to Tails, a bit creeped out.

"…In a very real sense…" Tails went to unlock the door, "Yes." he sighed out. "I just read up on it." He was holding his hand-held computer in his other hand and was surfing through a site for women to learn more about their instincts.

"Heh, sorry you have to do this Tails." Sonic felt a bit guilty that all the responsibility of learning this stuff was placed on him.

"It's alright, I don't mind. I like learning, and gathering information is my specialty!" he grinned to Sonic, turning back with a wink to him. "Besides, you and Amy need me. If I have to step up and be nature's advocate for ya, then so be it." he finally got the door unlocked, "Besides... it's a way of atoning for what happened..."

"...Tails..."

"It's okay, I know you forgive me, but..." he turned back to Sonic. "I know he doesn't."

Sonic smiled, pulling Tails into a noogie. "Who cares what he thinks? That's what makes you an excellent friend, Tails! You care about us, not them."

"H-hey! Stop that! Haha! We got work to do!" Sonic released him and walked inside. As he did, Tails fixed his hair and smiled weakly, "...He is you... Sonic." it was barely above a whisper. "At least... apart of you." And walked in with him.

The second Tails and Sonic stepped into Amy's home, Sonic stood still, smelling her aroma as he plugged his nose and looked concerned.

He was twitching, his quills rising up and then lowering down with the quivering... it was almost an instant reaction to the new environment.

And what was within it...

"…Hmm? Sonic?" Tails turned around, seeing Sonic conflicted over leaving or coming further in.

His hand was fully over his nose, pinching his palm in to try and cut it off. His mouth turned to a fighting scowl.

"It's… really… really strong, Tails." He looked up to his friend, worry filling his eyes.

"I trust you," Tails stated, seriously. "And so does, Amy."

"Because you have too," Sonic concluded, and put his hand down, taking on a serious approach as he dashed away from the home, taking a deep breath, and racing past Tails again.

"A-ah! W-we're here, Amy!" Tails's body shifted when Sonic ran out and came quickly back in, following his movements before seeing Sonic come in without warning, not even a knock. "…Amy?"

"In… in here." Amy popped her head out from underneath the padding, having a pillow sit up on her head while she rested her chin on a nearby cushioned surface.

"Amy! What are you doing in there right now?" Tails asked, looking concerned for Sonic, then back to her in worry.

Sonic looked away, turning his back and trying to keep his breathing to short intakes of air, not wanting to cause Tails or Amy problems…

"…Is Sonic…?"

"No, he's fine. For now, at least... He just can't stand your smell." Tails explained, looking back at him with a touch of guilt.

"…Can't… stand it?" Amy lowered her head and ears back. "So… I smell bad to him?" She had just showered and everything too...

"Hmm? Oh, that I'm not sure. All I know is that your pheromones are easily picked up by other hedgehog men. The delight of the smell can vary depending on genetic preferences." Tails juggled his hands a moment, just stating the facts before trying to shift over to the couch. He noticed right away it was stripped bare and let out a small chortle.

"She smells good," Sonic stated, putting his hand to his mouth and ducking his nose in, having to block more of the air as he breathed.

"Ah… well, guess your compatibility with Sonic is looking good." Tails teased but felt it wasn't the right time for that. Awkwardly, he scratched his head, having a few sweat drops here and there. "Anyway, can you come out?"

"I… I don't think I can," Amy explained. "My body… w-won't move."

Tails put his fingers to his chin, contemplating that. "Well, your eyes are normal, so your not in instinct form yet. Mentally, you haven't experienced it yet so-"

Sonic dashed out of the home.

"..?!" Amy's head shot up, following his streak of blue out her door, and felt bad.

'Sonic...' she hadn't seen him in a while, and it seemed a shame that they should meet again like this...

"It's alright, he just needs some fresh air."

Amy continued to have her ears drawn back and her head sinking further into the pillows and blankets that littered the ground around her.

"Anyway, mind if I test that link for a moment?" Tails moved over to the ring of the nest, and gently placed a finger down, watching Amy's expression and attitude closely.

His eyes scanned her a moment... checking something...

A flash of complete attention arose in Amy's face, her head shooting up again. "T-Tails…" Her voice sounded jittery, as though she grew nervous by him touching her nest's outer limits.

"Yes, Amy?" Tails placed another finger down on it, and she twitched.

"D… don't do that."

"Why?" he placed a third down, and his eyebrow narrowed. "What are you gonna do about it?"

"Tails… Tails stop." Amy began to crawl out of her little hole and move across the pillowed surface as if swimming through the blankets and pulling the pillows with her petite mass, slithering through as though in a gentle, rippling stream.

"…Okay." he took his hand off, and she completely relaxed, falling on her belly and looking relieved. She looked back to see her nest in a bit of a mess, well... messier, by her standards. She quickly went to work fixing it, "Why am I doing this again?" looking back to Tails and still organizing the pillows and blankets in a strange design she didn't understand.

"What… what was that? I felt so… hostile." Amy shook her head.

"Territorial. Your motherly instincts are kicking in too." Tails sighed, leaning back up and putting his computer to the side of him. "You're definitely strong... as your stance involuntarily was warning me to get lost, pretty much. But your senses are still active, leaving you to just tell me to stop." Tails looked at his computer screen, scrutinizing her reactions to what it said in the data, but noticed Amy's worried expression. He smiled at her, hoping to calm her fears. "I'm starting to think you might be what they call—A genetic lotto win." He chuckled, but she tilted her head, not sure what he meant. "Oh, uh... that means you have near perfect attributes and traits. Very... uh, desirable? In a female. Haha, at least, for hedgehog standards." he continued to type, but Amy just shook her head, narrowing her eyes as if Tails was talking crazy. "But first, I need to see how dominant or submissive you are. And for that, I'll need Sonic." He looked to the door. After a silent moment, he took a breath and looked hopelessly back to Amy, hanging his arms down a moment. "I keep forgetting. To you guys, this is really awkward. I'm only seeing it as info and research, you know, facts of nature. I should try and be more considerate of how you two feel..." He scratched his head, feeling weird about not feeling weird about it all.

"You're young, Tails. This is all probably just interesting nature facts to you." Amy tried to relate, trying to bring a light mood back but she still felt extremely awkward. He wanted Sonic to come back..? Okay, but for what..?

He nodded to her, "Thanks for seeing it my way, Amy." he then started to walk out for a moment. "I'll try and get Sonic to come back in."

"…Sonic?"

"Yeah, he has to come back. SOOOONIIICCC! I NEED YOU NOW!" Tails called before rushing to the window, holding his hands cupped around his mouth to project his voice.

Sonic dashed in, closing the door behind him. "Leave the door shut, her smell can travel at least a couple miles without the wind's aid." He stated, appearing to have done his own detective work on the situation at hand too.

He looked to Amy, who looked up to him in a bit of worry and shame. She then looked everywhere but his face, feeling strange and ducked her head out of sight, making her way back to the den in the back corner of her 'nest'.

Once there, she accidentally bumped her head, not realizing how far back she had traveled and whimpered behind the tarp, "Ohhh..." The boys thought it was because she hit her head, but it was actually a lot more than that...

"…Anyway, what do you need me for, Tails?" There was no emotion on his face, but Amy could tell he was trying to hold something back... she just didn't really know what.

She peeked through the tarp, wanting to take another glance at Sonic again, feeling shy all of a sudden.

Then again, she had every right to feel uncomfortable. All this happened too fast. She just learned her life was about to be flipped upside down without being able to prepare for it!

Then... why did she feel like 'being studied' wasn't what would help her? Tails seemed to be used to this circus act, a little too much so, as though he's gone through it before... And Sonic? He just seems to not want to be involved, but she needed to be protected... why again?

As Amy tried to figure things out the best she could, having only a few seconds to process everything being explained, Sonic walked bristly to the side and faced his back to Amy again.

...She felt her whole being falter, get heavier, and fall slightly as she sat back and away from the tarp. She felt her breath sharply cut off. Why did his body language make her feel like he was shoving her away? Like...

He was pushing her away... it wasn't her fault she was acting animalistic! Apparently, that's what happens to their kind at a certain age... a part of 'growing up'. Then again, that's just what she was told...

'Ohhh... I wish I could just... get this all over with so I could be out there with Sonic again!' she mentally whined to herself.

"I need you to command Amy, using your inst-"

"Not happening," Sonic stated, looking ahead and away from Tails.

"Sonic…"

"I don't 'command' anyone or anything but myself-" he cut himself off, looking away as though hurt by the sudden change in dynamic...

"...If you want to test her position as alpha or whatever, you'll have to let me do it myself."

"It won't be that effective…"

"You'll still be able to judge, right?"

"…I need her instincts triggered. That can't happen unless you claim some form of dominance over her... Or at least threaten it so I can decide how to approach Amy from there."

She pouted. She was still in the room, guys...

She didn't like being talked about as though she was an animal... 'I mean, I am, but... you don't have to act like it.'

Sonic's eyes widened as though realizing what Tails was suggesting. He then frowned and glared to his best friend, moving closer and intimidatingly towards his face. "You said she was an early bird-"

"Early BLOOMER."

"Whatever, but what makes you think I can activate her instincts? Isn't that dangerous!? I'm a dude, Tails!"

"Yeah, you're a male. Near her nest." He looked back to Amy, who looked scared by Sonic's uncharacteristic reactions. Could... Sonic hurt her without meaning too?

How powerful were these... 'instincts' anyway?

"Isn't that suppose to affect me, too?" he almost growled out, as though his concern and anger were slightly blending somewhat. This caused Amy's body to react as she kept her body low to the cushions and moved farther back into her den, but the blanket wasn't low enough to hide her face. She leaned her lower back against the wall of her den, not sure why, but feeling an intensity building up inside of her...

All the boys could see, if they noticed her observing them and her reactions to their conversation, was a visible and shady view of her eye line. The rest of her was burying itself deeper into the layers of plush, concealing herself without realizing it.

Was this situation also triggering Sonic's tenseness too? This strange feeling... it's like... his voice was causing her to unconsciously make subtle adjustments to her movements. She had never been so quiet in her life, especially with Sonic around, and she hadn't seen Sonic so torn between aggressively making his points without just letting it roll off his shoulders and doing his own thing. Sonic was acting differently too... but it looked like he was trying to stop himself from overdoing it. Maybe...

Her ears perked up, flicking a little as she tried to empathize with him. Was he feeling his instincts like she was? Was she triggering this aggression in him, just like how Tails triggered her... what did he call it again? Territorial side?

Sonic and Tails finally noticed Amy's retreat, causing Sonic's eyes to bend back in an exchanged empathy too before sighing, seeming to be won over to Tails's side by her reactions. "If she stays far back… and if you can somehow keep him interested in anything BUT her..." Sonic tightened his fist, unsure of this decision.

"I promised, didn't I?" Tails looked as sincere as he could be towards Sonic. "I promise, again if I have too, I'll make sure nothing happens."

Amy's head rose up, something was happening... who was this 'he'?

Sonic looked to Tails, then Amy... She could feel that something big was about to happen, something Sonic seemed to have been trying to avoid. "He'll want to investigate the smell…"

"A little greeting wouldn't hurt."

"If her instincts are triggered…"

"I'll evaluate her and the situation. Then stop it when I have a clear estimate."

"…Tails." he looked back with a face full of 'do I have too?' before Tails patted him on the back.

"You'll be fine, Sonic."

"What about me!?"

The two looked to Amy.

"What am I suppose to do?"

Sonic and Tails looked to each other before Sonic walked a bit of a distance away while Tails moved towards Amy.

Sonic closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Just…" Tails began.

"Stand there and look pretty."

Sonic's eyes opened and a clear change in the pupils of his eyes could be seen. Instead of an oval, it was a tight cat's eye diamond. Sonic's head looked around side to side and began sniffing the air.

"…He's here." Tails looked to Sonic, some nervous ticks now showing on his face as he moved away from Amy, stepping slightly up the stairs. "I haven't seen Sonic's instincts react to a female yet, so I need to see what level of dominance or lack thereof he has too. But from earlier takes, I know he's highly territorial and very nonchalant. He may just ignore you. But for good measure, you might want to leave the nest…"

Amy stood completely still, a strange smell came into her nose, and she wiggled it.

"…Amy?"

Amy huffed and puffed, rubbing her nose, "What… is that… smell?"

The unfamiliar noise of Amy's voice made Sonic twitch his ear.

"Amy… just…"

Sonic looked up to Tails, who shut up and bent his ears, showing submission.

Sonic's face was cold as his ears moved around, studying the foxes reaction. Seeing him as merely a little threat. but knowing all too well what he could do, he kept his distance from him, going on all fours and starting to sniff around the room; exploring.

"…See? He's not even focusing on your smell." Tails waved his arms out to reassure her, smiling as he noticed Amy hadn't budged. She just crept closer to the center of her nest. After Sonic went to explore the kitchen like a dog would sniff around a new home, lifting himself up to smell the counters and then back to investigating the floors again, Tails took the chance to whisper to Amy again. "Might want to get out of the nest." He reminded her, nodding kindly but showing that that detail was still important.

Amy nodded, sheepishly fighting her will to stay put and surveying Sonic's every move. She couldn't see him once he rounded the corner of the wall into the kitchen, but she could hear grunting noises from there and tried to move closer to the ring's rim. She lightly set her hand down, glancing again to make sure he was unaware of her.

Why was she so cautious? Was she scared? She just felt weird. The second he 'shifted', or what not, a new scent—although faint—entered the room... filling her nose with an uncomfortable sensation...

However, Amy's eyes were fixated on trying to locate Sonic, and so while she got up to leave the nest-

She tripped.

"Wah-OFFPH!" hitting the ground hard, the sudden motion immediately created a flow of wind. Sonic picked up on the noise and smell right away, his nose rising up and flicking in the open air where the draft was passing through.

"Oh, Amy-! Yikes... are you okay?" Tails winced at the fall, covering some of his face before holding a hand out to her. "You should be careful-Oh!" he quickly moved farther up the stairs as Sonic's Instinct ran into the room at just a fraction of Sonic's speed.

"Ugh... h-huh?" Amy lifted her head... only to find she was nose to nose with Sonic The Hedgehog.

Or at least... his instincts, that is.

"..A-!" Tails plugged his mouth with both hands, seeing Sonic's instinct just dashed over to Amy when she began to move even the slightest bit away from him and keeping in close proximity.

It was as though his nose was going to duel her own. He kept his head leveled to hers as she rose it up to try and lean away. Her face was a bit red from the surprise but remembered that this was a different Sonic... at least, from what she could understand.

Amy kept slowly moving her head away from his. "Uhh… hi?" but once again, he was skillfully keeping the exact distance between them, even stepping up a little as she started to push back and away from him as undetectable as she could.

Sonic's ears moved side to side, not seeming to respond to her.

"…T-tails?"

"He's studying your actions. He's probably realizing you're a hedgehog too… due to smell. Just… remain calm and don't make any sudden movements." Tails whispered. '...He's never met a female hedgehog before today... I wonder how Sonic's doing in there.' Tails felt a tinge of doubt but shook his head. 'It's not bad! Sonic can take back control if he really tried, and... and I'm here! Everything's fine. I got this! I won't let Sonic—or Amy down—for that matter.' he encouraged himself and stayed confident all would go well with introductions and playing it safe.

Sonic's nose trailed along her cheeks, making her blush as he traced all the way under to the side of her neck. Leaning over the ring of the nest, he was just trying to move alongside her to where the strong scent glands were and then smelling behind her quills.

The ticklish sensation made Amy giggle slightly and he pulled back, growling lowly in uncertainty.

"W…why is he growling at me?" Amy looked at Tails, making Sonic follow her eye line to Tails, and stare at him with a look of disfavor.

"You're not displaying normal hedgehog behavior, he's confused by you but also intrigued it seems… you are the first female he's come into contact with... So he's bound to be curious and cautious." Tails explained, keeping his ears down as Sonic looked his way.

Sonic huffed, and put a hand on Amy's nest ring, lifting himself up to smell the top of her head. She was still close to it, her body almost touching its outer rim, but the second his hand touched it her eyes flickered from normal pupils to the tight cat's eye. She barked a loud and quick snap at him.

He immediately got off the ring. His ears flicked forward, a sign of hostility…

But then, seeking communication, his ears moved back to a normal position and he just stared blankly at her... as if waiting to see what else she would do.

He cocked his head, a normally friendly sign that he wanted to understand... it was almost cute and playful too, the way he tilted it to look up at her, and keep himself exposed to attack.

It was clear he wasn't afraid of Amy but definitely wanted to know what was up with her warning nip at him just now...

"Ah!" Tails noticed the eye changed and waited for a second, seeing Amy's instinct was to protect the nest... "But she's more touchy about it now, right?" he thought out loud, but his voice made Sonic lean back and slightly lower himself, growing a warning at Tails and leaning his ears back to hostility.

Amy clutched her head, "Wha… I …" 'What was that... just now?' Amy felt like she was sucked into her head a moment... before being pulled back out of the strange experience.

"Don't fight it, Amy. I'm right here." Tails spoke up softly, trying not to disturb Sonic more than he already was. He gripped the bars on the staircase's railing, clenching them and grinding his hand slightly in a twist over them. He was ready, but was she? She breathed heavily, getting scared when she realized that this was all too real for a moment. No control over your body? A... basically, a beast taking over you?! "You're fine, I promise!" he shouted a more affirming whisper, but Sonic growled back to him.

He lowered his head on the stairs railing and bent his ears as far back as he could. Sonic didn't like his presence at all…

He'd have to tolerate it for now.

"Why does he do that to you?" Amy now whispered, turning her attention to Sonic instead of the horror of being trapped in her own body and watching a circus show play out before her. She hugged herself, trying to scoot further away from Sonic as his attention turned back to her, looking softer as he noticed her moving away more, and grew sweeter from the action.

He pawed the ground near her but leaned away as if worried she'd snap at him again. It was almost a playful taunt to come back and not move away anymore, but also one to pry further into her space, not respecting any boundaries she was trying to make.

"I had to test him a bit… he's not happy with me." Tails rolled his eyes. "I might have not realized it was instincts and thought Sonic was being controlled by Eggman…" he put his fingers together and pushed them toward the other awkwardly. "Heheh… he's been iffy about me ever since…"

"Ah…" Amy looked back to Sonic, who sat and watched her carefully, narrowing his eyes at her. She was confusing, so... to make her unconfusing would be to shift into her instincts, right?

She gulped.

He slowly lifted his hand back to the ring as Amy's eyes flickered back and forth from oval to diamond again. She clutched her head and spread her lips back to reveal her frightened panic. "Don't touch it... please, don't!" It was almost painful to hold it back, but not really a physical pain. Whatever it was that wanted out, it only hurt mentally to fight it. She had to exert all her effort into trying to keep this invisible force of energy back, it wasn't imaginary at all!

"Don't fight it, Amy!" Tails softly whispered his shout.

It was happening so fast, so quickly... she felt her control slipping every time her pupils dilated so freakishly thin.

"I… I'm scared!" Amy shouted, scurrying backwards on all fours into the nest and looking at her hands. "What... what's happening to me? It's like there's another will inside me!" Her action only made Sonic growl a bit again in annoyance, but less so than he did to Tails.

"Amy… don't be scared! Your-ah!" Tails saw Sonic start climbing into the nest, only seeming to want to get closer and follow after her to investigate, but that's when Amy's instincts triggered. He had gotten too close... and entering her nest was the last straw to bend Amy's consciousness and break her instincts out fully, without restraint...

She closed her eyes.

In the next second, she opened them wide to reveal her new pupil as it dilated quickly into its set design—a new thin and dark kite over shadowed emerald skies...

A high pitch squeak was heard next while she formed a paw with her fingers, bending them halfway down while she kept her palm flat. With a forceful smack at Sonic's face, she left him shaking out the hit with his head, huffing while he hissed slightly back with a growl.

"Don't do that again."

Tails watched closely while Amy began to slowly curl up into a ball, but then pop out with hissing and growling again. She twitched under her tight ball-form, spraying out a warning every time she quickly uncurled and spat.

"A defense mechanism… she's really scared, the poor thing." Tails noted to himself. "I wonder what that must be like... for the instinct too. Coming out with fear being the first emotion they ever feel..." he looked down as though sorry, knowing that was the first emotion Sonic's Instincts experienced too.

Sonic tried to slowly paw at her too, perhaps to block another powerful swat at his face again, but every time she popped out of her balled up state with another threatening display at him; Finally, after some tries, he got out of the nest.

His ears surveyed around him, still uneasy with Tails's low voice in the background noise, but that's just where he kept it—to the background. Right now, Amy was the most interesting thing in the room, and he wanted to keep trying to communicate with her.

She growled and uncurled with panting breaths, calming down but exhausted from trying to push him out of her comfort zone.

"Here we go…" Tails got a little excited, gripping the railing with his hands tightly again as his tails flicked up and down in anticipation. "Interact you two!" he whispered, talking to himself. So far, it was all normal behavior, not anything out of the ordinary. It was like introducing two animals, he had to make sure the environment was safe, but also see how they'd fair around each other. Up close and personal...

Still, with April being a factor, Tails just wanted to make sure they'd get along without being... too... friendly.

Sonic paced the nest's outer rim, keeping his distance, but fixated on figuring her out further. So she didn't like when he got too close... but her smell prompted every sense in his body to come closer to her. He continued to hug the perimeter of her space, realizing she was being protective of it.

Every time he put a hand up onto the nest's ring—or tried too, anyway—she would spit a threat at him and he would move aside to continue his regular trotting pace.

Abruptly shifting his strategy, his grunting turned less like frustration emoting and more like a low desperate squeak.

"… Is he... squeaking?" Tails moved his head back a moment, furrowing his brow in confusion. "Ah, wait! I remember this! Male hedgehogs usually squeak in excitement at seeing or being around a female! Maybe he's calling for her to back down..?" Tails pulled out his device as he questioned his hypothesis, but the sound it made while clicking on caused Sonic to turn his attention to Tails.

He growled and bent his ears back, this time he was meaning business. He'd attack if Tails did one more move...

Tails lowered the volume, bending down and trying to cower out of sight. "Heheh…" he was worried Sonic would direct his frustrations from the moment onto him, so he stayed silently in the background again, bringing his legs up and withdrawing into the fetal position except his hands were still holding his device closely up to his face.

While Sonic was distracted, Amy had snuck her way out of the nest and dashed passed the couch. When he looked back, he seemed confused as to where she went and leaned into the nest, sniffing. Before he even found her scent, her rushing motions caused frantic pattering that he picked up on. He scouted the area by leaning up slightly on his bent legs, squeaking again in excitement that new things had started happening again, and rushed off after her scent trail.

"Well, this might take some time." Tails chuckled out, seeing Sonic follow Amy as she tried to go anywhere he wouldn't follow her. She hid under a table and stopped his advance by going behind a chair. She lowered her head to see under the bar the chair had and huffed when she saw the intruder do the same but on the opposite side. He huffed back, not backing down or giving up as she hissed through her teeth.

Again, he motioned his ears in curiosity and playfulness.

She nipped and yipped under the chair to try and scare him off but he just moved out and wagged his tail slightly, bounding quickly around the chair as she took off again with him chasing her once more.

"Let's see…" Tails looked up this behavior as quickly as he could, using the screen touchpad to type and not taking any more chances with sounds distracting Sonic's attention. "Okay, so Females are usually stand-offish around males. Ha, what a role reversal." Tails smiled and rolled his eyes. "Imagine that."

Sonic finally got close to her, wearing her out as she turned and pounded her hands into the ground, still yipping but not grunting... communicating was the least of her worries.

However, the interaction was more hedgehog-like, and Sonic's instincts responded well to the behavior. He sniffed, seeing her still growl out some warnings but not open her mouth to show she'd bite. So he called her bluff and drew closer, keeping his body near the ground and showing he only wanted a sniff. Her ears drew back, submitting somewhat to his fancies as he put his head under her stomach, smelling and poking at it as he moved in. Just investigating, he continued to be undeterred by her growling, and so she turned her head and huffed in annoyance, getting moved back by his prying motions forward.

She continued to keep her eyes off of him but lifted a paw to allow some acceptance into examining her closer. However, the growls were opposite her actions... it was almost like she was saying stay back, but her actions were saying to go ahead.

Once he had her scent fully registered and now recognizable to him, he moved back out from under her and to her face. He perked his ears to show a bit of happiness at finally getting her to hold her ground and stay put for him to come nearer, but also demanded to be noticed as he met her at eye contact. Usually, that would be a threatening interaction, holding eye contact... but this was a dominant trait Sonic's instincts were portraying. She didn't back down, just continued her pathetic growls that held no real authority to them. So, he sniffed around her face to keep feelings light as she squinted her eyes at his bouncing nose... He still made slight squeaks to appease her threatening growls she still refused to quit.

He tried to invite her to smell his scent glands, which were light and fairly faint to her nose, but she refused to communicate even still. He kept pestering, grunting to try and get her to speak back as he playfully nudged his head to her nose.

"Enough."

She grunted a moment, seeming to give him success at trying to mutually engage her with his persistent presence as Tails all at once understood she was communicating back with him through the ancient language of their people, the old unevolved hedgehog language. You see, the body has a will of its own, and when Instincts are triggered, their body acts for itself. Thoughts and all. Back in the primitive past, when animals were still evolving, this basic communication was the first indicator of their growing intelligence. After all these millenniums, it was still fully intact inside the now fully evolved species of every living thing.

To sum up, it's a literal body language with some vocalizations here and there to emphasize meanings and moods.

Sonic grunted back, responding eagerly, but Tails had no idea how to translate it. They slightly circled each other, as Amy finally took interest and sniffed under his chin too.

However, she pulled back and huffed with disgust, using her wrist to swipe at her nose. Apparently, the scent wasn't too good for her or was too strong, Tails couldn't tell which. However, the real reason was because his scent was so faint that she had to take a big whiff in just to smell it. She coughed on her own inhale...

"I hate being out of the loop…" Tails whined out, trying to get his communication program started. It worked with the wisps, right? Why not on ancient hedgehog language?

"Ah! Here we go!" He looked excitedly at his device, seeing words begin to appear on the screen in broken English. The translation wasn't perfect... but he figured it was the only insight into their conversation he had. So he couldn't complain.

The device showed these words:

"Who?" Tails looked to see that Amy furrowed her brow and looked up to Sonic.

"Who you?" Sonic lowered the upper half of his body out, sprawling into what looked to be a playful stance.

"I asked first. " Amy gave a powerful huff on that and raised her body further above his own but it only made him pounce back and forth in front and on either side of her, showing he didn't respect any dominance she was trying to claim over him.

"I don't care, who you?" He lunged forward to nip at her chin.

"Back off!" She stomped a hand down and glared, growling.

"I sorry." A playful smile skimmed Sonic's Instincts face. He moved away, sitting upright again.

"Doesn't seem sorry." Tails sarcastically inputted and continued to read and watch the scenario unfold.

"I am what I am." In an almost snotty manner, Amy's Instincts sat down too and lifted her head up and away from him, ignoring his presence again.

"Ah, a new scent. That's what are you. But what?" He squinted his eyes in a challenging way, but all in good humor, cocking his head to show more interest in her than just being taunting.

"Hedgehog." Amy looked herself over, before turning her head completely away from him. In animalistic terminology, she didn't see Sonic as a threat, but avoiding his eyes meant she didn't want a quarrel. It was a very neutral and noncommitted action to take. She wasn't going to face her back to him in absolute trust, but she gave him enough credit to not be a danger to her life. She exposed her stomach to him, a weak and vital spot when he moved his head under to smell her, but she wasn't going to roll over and beg his mercy.

"No name?" he prompted further, still demanding her attention by keeping his eyes fixated on her. If she tried to move away, he would have stopped her with his arm or a full-body stance to block her retreat. One way or another, he was going to investigate everything about her, and there was nothing she could do to discourage him.

"No need name." she finally turned her head back to him but kept her eyes up, stopping her threatening growling from before and simply trying to create peace now.

"Sonic. I hear I am Sonic." Her sudden shift in behavior gave him confidence, and he moved closer to her, walking forward to turn his protruding muzzle to her cheeks again, going for the scent glands again... but tempted to rub the scent glands under his own jawline on her instead. But she was acting less hostile now and he didn't want to ruin communications, so he just sniffed and slightly teased it by motioning the rubbing action in the space near her, but not actually performing the claiming procedure and making her part of his new territory.

"…" She must have noticed his tease, but to keep harmony, she ignored and looked away, turning her head slightly to and giving off a slight growl. It was so low, it was almost as if she didn't vocalize any warning.

"Speak." he almost cooed, motioning the wave-like action back and to the front of her face again, drawing nearer so she couldn't ignore him any further.

"…" Despite his dominant challenge and the threat of claiming her as his own through scent-marking her, she continued to look away and remain silently put.

"SPEAK!"

Sonic's sweetness suddenly turned hostile, pounding his feet forward to claim dominance more abruptly as he growled to her ignoring him. Amy moved her ears back, a sign of submission but also a sign of discomfort.

Again, she didn't give him the satisfaction of her fully submitting to him.

Sonic growled the same command, getting more aggressive as he placed his forehead to her own, teeth bared and eyes still unwavering from her own.

"I say SPEAK." Normally, this would be when a fight broke out or the other hedgehog submitted.

But this Instinct did something unexpected.

"…" She held her ground. Closing her eyes, she fully shut him out. He could have attacked her, gone for the throat and forced her down to a submissive stance. Down on her back and whimpering for mercy... but he didn't.

"I not tolerate." He brought his teeth back in by dropping his lips back to a scowl, something a more aggressive male wouldn't naturally do. It showed he didn't want to fight and was more relaxed than that. His dominant behavior shimmered down somewhat and he just kept the close proximity but adjusted his footing, making sure she still couldn't escape him.

Tails fidgeted, unsure when he should intervene or not. So far, Amy's instincts natural position was still unknown. Sonic was still acting as Tails expected, and sadly, animal behaviors did look fierce to the more evolved eye. But he still grew nervous, not wanting Sonic to attack Amy in any way...

"Your name funny." She opened her eyes and turned her head slightly, now giving him the eye contact he so greatly craved.

"I know not yours." Turning his tactic yet again, he tilted his head to get their eyes directly inches apart, literally ignoring her muzzle and placing himself even further over her sight. Now, he even took up her peripheral vision.

Tails looked uncomfortable for a moment, thinking this rather intimate all of a sudden... He could picture Sonic and Amy, perhaps still inside and watching the events unfold... he worried what they would think and if they'd be mad at him for letting this go on as long as it was.

But he was still interested to see if Amy would submit to Sonic or fight back as dominant too.

It all depended on the genes...

"Why need?" Her face broke slightly, now it was showing some submissive fear in her eyes, but her breathing remained calm and her neutral stance of wariness and some distrust still held sound and true.

"CAUSE WANT." Seeing he had gained even a small fraction of power over her, he used it immediately to seize further dominance yet again. He had invested too much time in this. He wanted her and he wanted her now.

Tails gasped, seeing Sonic jump back and forcefully lunge forward again to bite Amy's ear, making her whimper as he forced her head down to submission.

"Ahh..! augh,… is this dominance?!" Tails looked it up, quickly, while trying to keep his eye on the two. "Why wouldn't she react!?" he continued to search, getting up as though to stop any further injury if necessary.

Sonic growled more deeply, still having his teeth on Amy's ear.

"NAME." He demanded, not playing around now. He shook the ear a bit more in his grip, making her whimper a little further, but the pain wasn't as painful as it could have been.

"Not yours." She gritted her teeth, closing her eyes again to shut him out.

"NAME." His eyes widened, she was still going to fight him?!

He bit down harder and pushed her head slowly further to the ground as she bent her ears back. This was now a threat to yield to his dominance and submit, if she didn't, worse could follow.

"Oh no!" Tails flew up into the air, focusing more on what was happening then the words on his screen now. "I knew he'd be territorial, but I didn't think over Amy!"

"Hurt." she slightly whimpered out, running in place as her arms and legs kicked a bit against his hold.

"Hurt more if not comply." he threatened, but it was clear he didn't want to injure her, just claim her as part of his territory.

"Amy, I hear nothing. But I feel Amy. I submit." Now it was a whimper he could understand was submission.

"Good, I not hurt you." to finish the process, he stepped over her, a light growl before a kind release.

He licked her ear, seeing some blood. Nonchalantly laying down on her and nipping the cut ear into his mouth, he sucked the blood out, a normal instinct to protect his own and care for her triggering just then. Now that she was his, he felt obligated to nurse her a bit. When he felt the task was finished, he shook her ear free of his mouth and got up, lightly nudging her head up to help her get on her feet again.

"I sorry." he patted his nose under her chin, making sure she could stand on her own.

"Leave." She lightly growled, something—once again—unexpected from being so recently claimed.

"No, interesting." Now that that was done, he bounded away to explore the rest of the house, rubbing his scent on her couch and keeping some distance from the stairs... But always, always... he remained close to her, making sure once again that she wouldn't run off on him.

He seemed in a good mood now, as though that little incident never even occurred.

"Leave." She was in a scared stance, hands spread apart in front of her, sitting on her knees now. She shifted her ears to a forward stance, trying to reclaim any power she once had back.

"I like you." he turned back to her, smiling. A typical sign that he wasn't a threat to her, an animalistic gesture showing he was after her trust and not war. "Submissive but stands." he complimented the strange abnormality in her, "Sadly, I no tolerate head above mine now."

Sonic snapped at her, and she lowered it again, moving her body down submissively too.

"Good. Now we friends." He wagged his tail only two strokes before rushing off to sniff the table again.

"I no make pack." she growled, head still low. Minding his dominance, but also trying to fight back as much as possible.

Tails began to notice her odd behavior wasn't matching dominant female or submissive female traits at all. Worriedly, he made sure she was okay and that the fighting was over before hovering back down and researching more into it. While he did so, they continued to interact, and he had the conversation miniaturized at the top right corner of his screen so he could still read what was going on while he surfed the website and other online boards for answers and further more details.

"I shall make you pack." He darted around, rolling on the floor to get even the sweat on his back onto his new land. Sonic's Instinct had one goal and one goal alone. He was going to secure a place to live and hunt with a pack he would acquire and create. He was only thinking of the things needed for survival, but also seeming to enjoy the process as he went along.

"I no want to be in pack." she tried to raise herself higher, growling more loudly to get his attention.

"Be in pack! It fun!"

Sonic wiggled his tail slightly again, bouncing around on all fours and squeaking for her attention as well. He was happy to see her freely noticing him and rushed back to her to hopefully get her to play with him too. Amy kept her head down but didn't show him any emotion, just watching his energetic jumping with her eyes, tracing his movements warily.

"Play!" He panted, nipping at her chin and rushing away, hiding, grunting for her to follow and then darting back to her to encourage the chase.

"Alpha is mean." She frowned, slightly glaring at him as he jumped over and ran back to her front. They both laid down and he placed his head down, looking sweetly up at her.

"Ah! I alpha?" He then went right back to being hyper again. "Good! This good!" He pounded the ground playfully in front of her, trying to excite her to chase him again.

"Leave." She hunkered down, her ears finally showing she demanded respect.

"Alpha says no." He grew bored that she wouldn't move, just stayed planted in space and started self-grooming himself. Biting the back of his shoulder to try and reach his quills so he could clean them.

"Sonic mean."

"What?"

Sonic whimpered down to her level and nipped at her nose, crawling towards her and lifting a paw to her head, patting the air. She aggressively rose her quills slightly, making sure he didn't touch her head and tried to nip weakly at his asking paw. Touch meant comfortability, and she didn't want him thinking he had any further power over her than he already had as her new alpha.

"I dominant. You my pack." He barked a slight remark, showing he didn't like her fighting him on this too much, but kept his rather pleasant nature about it.

"I female. I alpha." She countered, but his energetic nature was rubbing off on her, and she patted the air near his head too. Excitedly, he opened his mouth to gently bite the paw, but she withdrew it everytime it got too close to his reach.

He didn't seem to acknowledge her statement as anything serious though, just wanted to interact with her more.

"If claimed." He gave her a taunting look, as though that was the supreme line where you couldn't argue any further.

"…claim?..." She cocked her head, "You claimed me. But I no pack."

"I claim you territory. Mine. Not-" He explained but clearly wanted to chase her paw down as he got up a little bit, going for it. Amy moved up as Sonic followed her actions, looking down at her curiously, tilting his head and wondering if the game was over. However, they both were cut off when a sudden noise spooked them.

Tails's computer started breaking down from all the opened documents Tails was searching through to find out how much of what each hedgehog was. He knew Amy was highly submissive, even if her words were otherwise... because, in the beginning, he read that females are naturally mean and aggressive towards males but she surrendered so quickly that it showed she's actually fairly submissive. However, with her fighting back so much, it was unclear why she fought her natural submissive nature in the first place. Sonic, he concluded, was more so dominant as he assured and procured his position over her immediately after seeing her resist.

"No, no! don't break down now! What does the 'other claim' mean!?" Tails searched quickly for the answer until being distracted by Amy's actions.

She slowly moved her hand to Sonic's as she got up, looking at the strange creature, and lightly rubbed the top of her head under his. For some reason, seeing another brightly colored creature made her think of claiming Sonic as territory too. Just in case...

Sonic remained still, letting her do what she pleased, but focusing entirely upon the sound and Tails. He didn't trust him, and machine noises made him nervous...

"What's that? Another female?" Amy grunted, looking curiously over to Tails.

"No. It's Bad. The fox is dangerous. Bad powers of some sort. Stay away from him." Sonic pushed his head into her, moving her back and standing in front of her, protectively...

More grunting, but Tails's machine was off. "Oh dratt!" He clenched his teeth, "Now I can't tell what's happening! It's all up to my eyes…" for this very reason, he put his computer down and attentively watched the scene unfold.

Without Tails's imperfect machine:

Sonic moved away a bit, grunting with a slight growl. "I'll protect you."

Amy purred but too gently for Tails to hear as she wiggled herself into Sonic's chest, and turned herself, nipping at his chin. "I'm glad it's not a female."

Sonic just sat back, letting her do as she pleased with a frown, but his eyes looked gentle now. "This is serious. Why must you now be so interesting?"

Tails gripped the edge of the stairs, "Should I stop this now…? They just met… they wouldn't… would they? Amy is in her first year, but Sonic's been doing this for some time now, he should be less willing to comply if she stated it... Then again, he's never run into a girl of his own kind before..."

Just as Tails predicted, Sonic moved over Amy and on all fours, made his way to the couch, jumping up and resting there.

He circled a moment before laying down, chewing on the bare sofa out of boredom. He didn't want to run around with Tails nearby, worried machines may hurt him again...

Amy pouted, wanting to be playful now and jumped up behind him, laying down and biting his ear for the attention he had just given but was now denying her.

He shook his head, ignoring her and getting her off his ear.

She squeaked a bit, scared of his action but rushed away and then rushed right back, grunting cutely and rubbing her quills under his chin. "Why won't my Alpha play? Do you not want me now..?"

"Hmm… maybe she's getting her scent on him..? Or it could be the other way around since the chat did state Sonic became the alpha in the pack… but hedgehogs don't have packs. Could this be an evolutionary behavior that started when the hedgehog species began to evolve?" As Tails contemplated, he wished he had his computer running so he could search that theory too.

Sonic looked to Tails, hearing the whispering and barked a warning.

Amy looked over and her face seemed excited, having a big open grin as she dashed off the couch and made her way over to him. Sonic growled, "What did I just say? Amy!" He jumped off the couch and stopped her, leaping in her way and blocking her from the stairs. He faked a bite under her neck to make her move back and looked up at Tails, glaring.

"Geez, you really do hate me." Tails whispered, moving a few more steps up the stairs and mouthing, 'I'm sorry.'

"Huffph!" Sonic shook his head and huffed, moving back to Amy and poking his head back to her stomach, making her pat at his head to get him away and then encourage play from him again. The two startled to sort of wrestle, but in reality, they were rolling around.

His goal was to distract her from Tails, but every time his head came up to check Tails's whereabouts, Amy would smack him with her paw and get him right back into the playful fight.

"Okay, looks like I got enough!" Tails jumped up and landed on the coffee table as Sonic growled and Amy's ears bent from the sudden interference. Rushing behind Sonic, he protectively bared his teeth at Tails.

"Sonic!" Tails shouted, "Take control now!"

Sonic twitched his ears, but Amy looked confused.

"Come on! Scream, shout, do whatever!"

Sonic's head suddenly dropped down as his instincts started fighting with the real Sonic to stay in control. His eyes squinted, and he reared his head back and moved away from Tails and Amy, shaking it and hitting it against the back of the couch.

Amy looked worried, yipping in concern and grunting out something that Tails didn't understand.

"What's going on? Alpha..?"

A dainty paw lifted as she looked for a reply, her ears hoping to hear one, but bent them back as she moved closer to him.

Sonic slowly began to get a knee under himself, but again there was a struggle and he threw himself back to his stomach, causing Amy to squeak in fright and worry.

"Alpha! S-Sonic!"

Finally, Sonic started standing up on two feet, closing his eyes and gripping his head.

When his eyes opened, they were oval shaped, showing that Sonic had mentally gained control over himself. He breathed heavily from the ordeal, trying to get his balance back as a splitting headache started, just as Tails once mentioned. He groaned and used the couch for support, having both his hands cover his face as he tried to fight the pain and remember all that just happened.

"Sonic!" Tails flew over and then landed near him, holding him up as he gripped the couch's armrest to try and think.

"What… Wha..." He looked across to see Amy still having diamond shaped eyes, scooting back with fear and darting away to hide and peek out from behind the kitchen's wall.

"It's alright, you've done this before. Just relax, focus, and think about what happened." Tails reassured him and waited while Sonic regained his footing and patted his arm in thanks.

All at once, Sonic took a moment but his eyes widened and he quickly looked at Amy. "Amy…!" He seemed very concerned as he moved down to her level and looked at her ear.

Amy squeaked in fright but didn't move, just lowered her head, submissively. Not understanding what was going on, she kept grunting, looking for an explanation. "S-Sonic? What has happened to you..? Why are you making strange sounds... I'm frightened. Stop that. I'll bite." She lied.

"Oh, good…" He sighed out, "It stopped bleeding…" he suddenly looked up and licked his tongue on the top of his mouth. "Ah, yuck!" He made a face and went right to the sink. "UUHK! Blood!" he could taste the aftermath of what his returning memory had shown him and tried to rinse it out. "What did I say, Tails?! If it gets WEIRD what do you do?" he shook his wet hands, rubbing his finger over his tongue before spitting and moving his head away. It was as though he didn't even want to imagine what had just been allowed to happen. "You were supposed to snap me out of it!" he let the wet hands splash everywhere, not even bothering with a towel as some sprayed on Amy, making her yip in fright and run away.

"It was a sign of dominance! Not hostility!" Tails explained, or at least, tried to cover his tails... "Sometimes it gets a little violent! I would have stopped it if it didn't end so quickly afterwards..."

"It's the same thing! Now that I have to live with that!" Sonic shouted out, dashing up to Tails at light speeds before looking down and noticing Amy was rubbing against his legs.

She had taken the courage to paw at him, grunting for him to come back down on all fours and stop whatever he was doing. "It's strange. Stop that. I don't get it. Is this the because of the Fox?" she seemed confused and sad at the same time.

"Uhh…" Sonic slowly lifted his foot and stepped away from her.

"Haha, she thinks you're her alpha now." Tails explained, laughing slightly under his breath, but hiding it behind his hand.

"…Really?" Sonic looked confused but was also blaming Tails again. "I haven't remembered that part yet..." looking back to Tails, he seemed fed up with his so-called 'promises'. "I'm pretty sure that wasn't supposed to happen though. What does being 'alpha' mean, exactly..?"

"It'll come back to you. Just stop and think a moment."

Sonic looked up, taking a wary breath, then thinking... His eyes grew wide again and he pushed her away when she came back to look up at him. "No, no, no, no! We are not a pack, we are just friends. Stay back! Stay back!" he bent his ears forward, mimicking his instincts as Amy obeyed at once, lowering her ears and moving back a ways, giving him some space before sitting and looking a bit heartbroken. "I thought hedgehogs were solitary?" Sonic turned to Tails, who shrugged. "As far as I read, when its cold or for... breeding purposes, they huddle up together. But besides that, they usually are."

Amy obediently stayed put and whimpered, turning the two's attention back to her.

"…Why did she obey so... readily?" Sonic looked to Tails, confused.

"According to my analysis, she's highly submissive, completely a genetic lotto win! Haha!" he smiled, but Sonic grabbed his chest fur, making him think seriously for a second and pulling him directly up to him.

"Why didn't you split us up, Tails? This isn't something to laugh about right now. I hurt her! And you're lucky he wasn't interested or… or…" he let his friend go and trailed off, folding his arms as Amy stayed where she was, sniffing. She found that his smell had weakened somewhat, even more so than it already was. In confusion, she weakly returned to her nest and dug within, grunting something sad and seeming to be afraid. "I thought you liked me..."

Tails watched her and sighed, ruffling his chest fur back in order. "It was all normal, according to what I skimmed-"

"Skimmed?" Sonic turned back, fist clenched and showing how distraught he was at all this.

"That's kinda how introductions go!" Tails defended his decision in waiting for that moment to snap them out of it, spreading his arms out to get Sonic to understand his reasoning. "It's alright! Both you and Amy are fine. Now that your instinct has gotten some claim over her, he won't hurt her again. That I can guarantee!"

Sonic shook his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his fingers pinching at it... trying to calm himself down.

When he looked back to Amy, he was surprised to see she hadn't shifted back yet and decided to change the topic, letting it go.

"Why isn't she changing back?" With his anger cooling down, he looked over his shoulder to try and focus on other matters still currently at hand.

"Hmm? Don't you remember? The first time you change... is the hardest time to change back." Tails looked at Amy again, digging herself deeper into her nest. "She's just scared is all. Her instinct isn't used to there being two Sonics yet. And besides that, she probably doesn't even know there's two of anything right now. I don't think Amy's communicating with her yet... that's always a slow process too. We should probably try and communicate with Amy though, deep inside that brain of hers, she must be wondering how to get herself out." Tails moved over to the nest. "Amy, listen to me! You have to tell your instinct, within your mind, to let you out. Fight for control!" Tails stated, trying to sound encouraging.

But Amy's Instinct just kept digging, finally getting deep enough to where she circled around, dived in, and stared up at Tails innocently. She had no clue what he was barking on about, but she decided it was best to just wait patiently in her nest for Sonic to come back around.

He sighed, "It took you forever to get out too…" pouting, he rubbed his head and leaned back with his eyes closed in a bit of hopelessness again, seeming like he didn't know what else to do.

Sonic took a deep breath, used to the scent in the room now due to his instincts constant intake of it, and moved over with Tails but didn't bend down like he did. "Listen, Amy. Instincts aren't clueless animals. They can sense you, they just don't usually listen to you. You can't just ask to come out, you have to demand it. You have to kick and scream and fight your way out. Causing your instinct disorder within its own mind will usually make it want you to take over and organize its thoughts again. They hate the commotion and chaos it brings. They know how to take over you,… but it will take time for you to learn to control it." Sonic explained before turning away again, "If it can be fully controlled..."

Tails shot him a look, opening one eye to do so, "You know it can be..." he muttered.

Amy shuffled a bit under the pillows until you could hear discomforts in her voice. "Wha... what is this..? I hear something..." and then all of a sudden Amy's head popped up, her eyes shifting in and out and looking like she was in a lot of agitation now.

'W-where am I?! Sonic? Tails!? Why can't I move my-?'

Amy gripped her head, trying to take back control as her pupils flexed fat to thin. She failed to get control as she was sucked back inside her prisoned walls of her own mind, her Instincts letting her head go and huffing in discomfort again.

"What was that..? Just now... I felt another voice and entity inside me..."

She shook her head again and closed her eyes, opening them wide again only to reveal...

Eyes still diamond like a cat's eye.