Chapter 1.
Please Review.
No Flames.
Shadow the Hedgehog is a 24 year old muscular jet black Mobius hedgehog with red stripes on his quills, around the edges of his eyes, and on his arms and legs, has crimson-red eyes, a patch of white fur on his chest, and his muzzle is tan, has 6 quills on his head, 4 of which curve upwards and 2 that curve downwards, 2 spines on his back, and a small tail and in his usual outfit, white gloves with black cuffs and red tongues, and dark grey boots, like his gloves, have black cuffs and orange-red tongues, on each of his wrists and ankles, he wears a single gold rings, dark brown jacket, a long sleeved black shirt, and long black pants.
Sonic the Hedgehog is a 21 year old muscular Mobius hedgehog with cobalt blue fur that covers most of his body, tan skin that covers his arms, muzzle and front torso, and emerald-green eyes, has 6 long quills on the back of his head, 2 spines protruding from his back behind his shoulders, and a short tail, and in his usual outfit, 2 light-weight, hyper friction resistant red boots with white cuffs around the ankles, gray soles, and white straps across the top, the last of which are held down by a golden buckle on each foot, he also wears a pair of white gloves with sock-like cuffs on his hands, 2 black cuffs on his wrists, long sleeved dark grey shirt, black jacket, and long dark blue pants.
Amy Rose is a 19 year old curvy rosy pink-quilled Little Planet female hedgehog, jade-green eyes, and peach skin on her muzzle and arms, quills that reached a knee length, in her usual outfit, white gloves, a long sleeved red tunic, long black pants, and dark red boots.
Charles the Hedgehog is a 50 year old hedgehog who bares many physical similarities to Sonic, but has light blue quills, has a thick, grey mustache that obscures his mouth, as well as similarly thick, grey eyebrows, arching over his light brown eyes and in his usual outfit. white gloves, a maroon colored, slightly pointed shoes with 2 dark yellow straps and and white cuffs, and white gloves.
Chuck the Hedgehog is a 52 year old hedgehog with blue-grey fur and grey eyes, and in his usual outfit, long brown pants, a long sleeved yellow dress shirt, white gloves, and brick-red shoes with 3 yellow straps.
Mephiles the Hedgehog is a 28 year old dark grey hedgehog, greyish-blue streaks, green eyes with slit pupils, a pale-skinned muzzle, and in his usual outfit, white gloves, black cuffs on his wrists, long sleeved dark brown shirt, long black pants, and brown boots.
Pachacamac is 57 year old reddish-brown echidna, tan muzzle, purple eyes, and in his usual outfit, red tunic, long brown pants, brown jacket, and green boots.
Simon is a 72 year old echidna that has red fur, blue eyes, peach skin, and cybernetic left arm, and in his usual outfit, a grey jacket, a long sleeved beige shirt, and brown shoes.
Espio is a 25 year old purple chameleon with a yellow horn between his eyes, golden eyes and a ridge of three black scales down his spine and a coiled tail. He wears dark purple and black shoes with elaborate cuffs, white gloves with a purple back, and studded bands around his wrists and ankles.
Lupe is a tall, gray wolf with dark gray fur from her snout to her tail, her black hair is somewhat spiky and mohawk-like, features a white streak, and is always bound in a braid, green eyes, and a scar-like marking under each eye.
Walter Naugus appears as a tall, gruesome troll with bat ears, a rhinoceros horn emerging from his forehead, a long white beard, a gloved lobster claw in place of a left hand, a gloved lobster claw in place of a left hand, and a thick tail and in his usual outfit, a purple tunic, purple pants, gray gloves and boots, a cape, and a stereotypical wizard/witch hat with a large brim and a point that falls to one side.
James Rose is a 42 year old male white hedgehog, jade green eyes, and in his usual outfit, a dark brown tunic, long black pants, brown jacket, and dark blue boots.
Lily Rose is a 39 year old female red hedgehog, waist length quills, sky blue eyes and in her usual outfit, a knee length dark green dress, and brown boots.
Maria is a light grey wolf with long black hair and dark blue eyes.
Locke is a 55 year old red echidna male with blue eyes, peach muzzle, and in his usual outfit, white gloves, dark grey shirt, light brown pants, blue boots, and brown jacket.
Scourge is a 24 year old lime green quilled hedgehog, has a pair of slash marks on his torso, sky blue eye color, and in his usual outfit, a long sleeved black jacket, a short sleeved light grey tunic, a long blue pants, and black and green leather boots.
Vector is a 34 year old large, green-skinned crocodile with spiky red scales down his tail and golden rod-colored eyes, a thick body that resembles that of an S-shape, with a broad upper body starts including his long arms, getting slimmer towards his tail and legs, his belly, snout and arms are light green, while the rest of his body is dark green and in his usual outfit, a small, brown tunic, and long grey pants, white gloves with black-and-orange cuffs, embellished with gold buckles as well as black boots figured with white and orange colors.
Anita the Hedgehog is a 29 year old hedgehog with royal yellow fur that reached her lower back and bangs at a shoulder length, green eyes, and in her usual outfit, green round earrings, a pink sleeveless shirt, a maroon pants that reached her knees, and blue and white shoes with shoelaces, tips and soles.
Finitevus is a 65 year old white echidna with a black collar, dreadlocks and on his forehead rests a swirling pattern, purple eyes, and in his usual outfit, a silver belt with a crescent moon symbol on the buckle and a black cape with horizontal white and black stripes on the inside, which is held by a golden clasp inscribed with an identical symbol, yellow tunic, long black pants, and black boots.
Jules the Hedgehog is a 47 year old mobius hedgehog, dark blue quills, sky blue eyes, and in his usual outfit, a long brown tunic, long blue pants, and brown boots.
Aleena the Hedgehog is a 48 year old purple fur, quill-less hedgehog with dark purple hair, and dark blue eyes, in her usual outfit, a short sleeved silver dress that reached her knees and purple boots
Brenda is a 26 year old royal yellow hedgehog female with peach skin, back length quills, lavender eyes, and in her usual outfit, a bright green dress, a cream colored coat, brown boots.
Infinite is a 27 year old jackal with black fur and he has white long and stiff dreadlocks, a white collar of some kind, and white stripes on his back that resemble a rib cage, a bushy tail with a white tip covering his sharp fingers, pointed, metal black hi-tops, with his personal infinity symbol engraved on red soles, his right eye is colored blue, though he has a scar across it, and his left eye is yellow, a medium-long white muzzle with cheek tuffs, a black nose, and noticeable fangs, and in his usual outfit, black gloves with silver streaks on the back, a black tunic, long dark brown pants, and brown boots.
Tobor is a 68 year old brown echidna with blue eyes, and in his usual outfit, white gloves, green tunic, brown pants, and green boots.
Remington is a 45 year old brown echidna with dark blue eyes, and in his usual outfit, white gloves, dark green tunic, long brown pants, and green boots.
Sally Acorn is 24 year brown squirrel-chipmunk with shoulder length dark auburn hair that connects to the stripe going down her back and ending on her tail, her face has a lighter brown patch, dark blue eyes, and in her usual outfit, long dark blue dress with white rimmings, dark brown boots with white outlines on the buckles, white gloves, a closed blue vest with a black crop-top hidden underneath.
...
Everyone in their usual outfits.
...
Deerwood Forest.
Outside.
Day Time.
...
Dream.
Amy remembered the blood and she remembered the way that it caked in her quills and covered her clothes. Bits of it had dried onto Amy's fur and skin, and there was no water around to be found.
The dirty ground was wet, bugs crushed beneath Amy, and mud covering whatever else of her quills wasn't dirty.
Pain shot through Amy's arms and for a moment the idea of grabbing one of her knives or shooting another arrow repulsed her. Amy couldn't even stand any longer, the gash in her legs forcing her down. Blood poured out of it, turning Amy's legs red and pink.
Amy should have listened to her mother, Lily.
...
Flashback.
11 years ago.
Day Time.
"Amy, your father and I trust that you can fight. We helped to train you after all." Lily said.
Amy closed her eyes. The dark, tree branch filled sky vanished, and was quickly replaced by her mother's long red quills and warm sky blue eyes and in her usual outfit, a knee length dark green dress, and brown boots.
"Amy, mystical beings are nothing like spiders." Lily said, sighing. "Promise me that you won't be so reckless."
Slowly, Lily's image faded away.
Flashback Ends.
...
Mephiles looked to the sky, his green eyes wide.
Mephiles took 2 long sniffs and then turned back to the others. "I smell the Hedgehog and his kin." he said.
Amy bit her lip.
Amy had known Mephiles was heading to Mystic Cave while still having his eyes set on capturing the Mobians, but she had hoped it would be a side issue. The stray Mobians miners and traders near Mazuri whom had all worn different style clothing had just seemed like a sport to Mephiles and the others, nothing more. It was just supposed to get the wolf pack something else to chew on.
"How far away are they?" one of the male Mystical Beings asked. "I need to test how sharp my axe is. Will it go through a Mobian's head or only half way?"
A few of the other mystical beings started laughing and raising their weapons high.
Amy's stomach twisted.
Mephiles only raised his right arm and pointed it forward. "We can stop to rest later. As of now, our only thoughts are on the Mobians. If we do not go after them now then we risk losing them." he said, his glare deepened. "I am not losing the Little Planet Hedgehog again."
Amy looked over to Lupe as she was still chewing on the bone of a captured deer, seemingly too focused on the very last of her food to notice what was going on. Amy's wolf pack eyes met her own and she dropped her bone.
"We must be going." Amy said, reaching out with her left hand and quickly scratched the back of Lupe's right ear.
Lupe merely stood up and her back high. With shaking legs, Amy climbed on Lupe.
The mystical beings had chased the Mobians to the edge of Hill Top Village before they themselves were chased away by Little Planet animals. Mephiles had ordered the troops to re-position, his eyes never leaving Amy as he did so. Amy had found herself straight in the center, mystical beings covering her on all sides.
Perhaps it was better that way, Mephiles didn't want the Little Planet animals to see Amy, and she did not want to see them. Little Planet animals were strong, but they too could fall, bodies lying like lost dolls in the dirt. In between screams there were always mourning cries.
Lupe raced forward, her sharp fangs bared. Of the 2, Lupe was the one far more bothered by this arrangement; as one of the fastest wolf pack, she needed to be up front where she could run freely. Back here, Lupe had to slow for other wolf pack.
"I'm sorry." Amy thought.
Amy grabbed an arrow from her quiver with her right hand and prepared her bow with her left hand. Though Amy doubted that she would have to actually fire it, it was still better to have one and try and be safe.
Amy's dark hood had long since dropped from the wind, and her pink quills hung free.
Below Amy, the crushed grass began to turn red.
Dream Ends.
...
Night Time.
Amy had woken up to the sound of mystical beings chattering as her body still ached, and it took her a moment to realize what was happening.
"Only one Little Planet hedgehog left." one of the Mystical Beings said.
It had taken Amy years to finally figure out what the mystical beings had spoken on that cruel day.
"Why isn't the ugly beast dead?" one of the mystic beings asked. "All the others are gone."
"I thought that this one was dead, but she wasn't. Master Mephiles noticed it." one of the Mystic Beings said then paused for a moment. "This one, this Little Planet hedgehog, is different."
Though at the time Amy could not recognize the words, a shiver had run up Amy's spine.
In only a moment Amy was frozen once more. The 2 Mystical Beings had looked over to Amy, meeting her directly in the eye.
The 2 Mystic Beings grinned, showing off small yellow knives.
Amy doubted the 2 Mystic Beings would pose for a portrait looking like that.
"Well, well, well, the beast awoke. The scum really did survive." one of the 2 Mystic Beings said.
Sweat formed on the back of Amy's neck. With what little strength that Amy still had left, she reached for weapons with her left hand that were not there.
"Go." one of the mystical beings said to the other. "Master Mephiles will be pleased to hear of this."
One of the Mystic Beings looked back to Amy.
Amy struggled to sit up, the Mystic Beings all the while watching her. Amy had been stripped of her weapons, except for the knives hidden in her boots. If the Mystical Beings could just look away then Amy could grab both of them. They were small, yes, but better than nothing.
Amy's arms still shook, and part of her just wanted to collapse back into the dirt. Amy's leg had been surprisingly bandaged over, but it still ached as well.
...
5 minutes later.
The mystical beings returned with another. This Mystical Beings were black and dark purple than most of the others, with swords in each hand. The unknown mystic being looked looked like a black and grey hedgehog with most of his quills curved up but his eyes were strange and sickly green compared to the others, though his glare was harder than the other mystical beings.
Amy didn't wait for the mystical beings to look away. Amy forced off her boots, grabbing her knives with both hands, and propelled herself forward. Judging by the area around her, Amy was still in Deerwood Forest; she had run around barefoot in the forest before, and she would do it again.
Amy's knives went straight through the Mystical Being's face, and she just as quickly pushed herself upwards again. For a moment, Amy rode through the air, her knives raised. Once Amy's feet hit the ground, she raced forward.
Everyone was silent around the fire that night. There were no jokes or discussions of planned future victories. Most simply ate and slept, too exhausted from the day earlier.
From the corner of her eye, Amy watched Mephiles as he was especially grim that night, and barely seemed to be touching his food. Amy's eyes watered at the sight of Mephiles's meat, she was nearly finished with her own.
After a while, Mephiles seemed to catch Amy's gaze and handed her his meat with his right hand. Amy's eyes met Mephiles's own for a moment, and her eyes drifted down towards the scars that still covered his face. A lump formed in Amy's throat, and she again wondered why they had not healed. Mephiles only had one worse injury, one that anyone could see without ever meeting his face.
"Will we keep heading after the Mobians tomorrow?" Amy asked.
"Indeed." Mephiles said. "You are angered, are you not? I know you wish to face the Necromancer yourself. Few willingly go to him."
Amy shook her head. "Your feud should end." she said.
Despite everything that happened earlier, Mephiles gave Amy a small smile.
"I cannot wait until it is finally over. It's propelled me forward, yet I want it over." Mephiles said.
Amy continued to eat her meat, though slower this time. Lupe slept at Amy's feet, warm fur brushing up against Amy's legs.
With the mystical beings now surrounding Amy, their large hands wrapped around her body and holding her up like a flimsy rag doll, she wondered how she was even still alive. Amy's leg still ached, and dried blood still covered her.
The head of the mystical beings grinned down at Amy, its scars looking already to have stopped bleeding from where she had attacked it.
It spoke, and in that moment Amy was glad to not yet understand its tongue.
They had to go over the Mystic mountain to get to the Mobians. By the time that they caught up, Mephiles was grinning from ear to ear. Amy was near the front, her hood covering her face and white gloves covering her hands and her bow was ready in case she needed to fire.
Lupe raced happily, surely her stomach was grumbling.
"The Mobians." Amy thought, noticing.
The Mobian animals looked weak and scattered as most of them looked afraid, and none seemed to immediately resemble the Hedgehog from what she could see.
As much as Amy loved her wolf pack, the Mobians did not deserve to become Lupe's dinner.
The Mobians headed towards the trees, yelling frantically to each other as they were like ants escaping from a nest filling with water.
Amy raised her bow with her left hand and fired with her right hand. None of the other mystical beings seemed to notice how Amy's arrows sailed past the Mobians so conveniently, close and yet just not close enough.
"Keep moving." Amy thought. "Get into the trees."
With Mystic Cave so close, Amy doubted that the other Mobians would be chased so long as Mephiles could get the Hedgehog. Even the wizard that was rumored to be traveling with them did not bother Mephiles as much as his enemy did.
The mystical beings began to dismount, leaving the wolf pack to either stay behind or fight if they wished. Lupe herself showed her fangs and kept close to Amy.
Each step was careful. Amy continued to fire with her right hand, every arrow close but not close enough.
Fiery pine cones rained down from the air, and Amy jumped past them. The wolf pack were shocked, but the mystical beings kept forward. Standing close to Lupe, Amy watched Mephiles step forward.
Were it not for her bow then Amy feared she would have helped force the trees down.
Cries rang through the air. First they were screams and then cries of protest.
Amy's heart skipped a beat.
Charles the Hedgehog up close was so different from what she had expected. For all that Mephiles had spoken of Charles, Amy had been sure that he was closer to a deity than a Mobian. Still, Charles looked so average, muscular, and muzzled, but so were other Mobians. There was nothing strikingly different about Charles.
Amy looked Lupe in the eyes one last moment and then raced forward. Amy didn't even know what she needed to do, but standing around would do nothing.
Mephiles and Charles cried and their swords clashed. Mephiles's dreams were finally coming true.
Amy froze near Mephiles and Charles but did not fight. Amy's grip on her bow weakened.
What could Amy really do? Amy was in the middle of who knew where with only a few arrows left. Mephiles had proven before that his tracking abilities were great. Besides, the Mobians looked ready to fall at any moment.
It seemed Mephiles would soon have everything that he ever wanted.
Amy forced her eyes shut.
"Mystic Cave is close." Amy thought. "Remember that."
When Amy again opened her eyes, she found Mephiles knocking Charles to the ground. Charles's large body thumped to the ground, nothing but a bug under Mephiles's feet.
Amy's heart raced. Even if Charles got a wounded leg, she doubted that Mephiles would spare him. Charles may have been different from most Mobians, but that surely would not save him, not when Mephiles so desired Charles the Hedgehog's head so much.
Even from this distance angle, Amy could see Mephiles grinning. Her stomach churned.
From the corner of her eyes, Amy looked to Infinite. Infinite too looked slightly stressed, though Mephiles himself was delighted.
Amy gripped her bow tighter with her left hand. All those years of listening to Mephiles cry more often that not in anger, watching him face the loss of his arm, and listen to him swear vengeance was finally coming to an end.
Mephiles raised his sword with his right hand.
Amy shut her eyes.
When Amy opened her eyes a few seconds later, she saw Charles up, Mephiles on the ground, and a creature with no shoes on holding a sword.
"He's still alive." Amy thought.
Amy stepped away, heading back towards Lupe. This was Mephiles's fight alone.
As Amy forced herself past the fire, her hood fell off. Amy did not bother to put it back on the Mobians likely would not notice her after all as their own sights were set on their king.
Amy searched for Lupe through the smoke. The wood of Amy's bow dug into her fur and skin.
"Mystic Cave." Amy thought. "Lupe. Mystic Cave. Lupe."
The words echoed through Amy's mind and connected with loose images.
"I need." Amy thought, her heart racing and mind as smoke filled as the land around her. "I need to get out of here."
It took Amy a moment to realize that her feet were off the ground. Amy looked down, her bow clutched tightly in her left hand. Amy's legs moved around in the air, reaching for ground that was not there. As the moments passed, more and more Dragons filled the sky, taking Mobians with them. All the while, the dragon holding Amy around the shoulders clung to her tighter and cried out to the other dragons.
Below her, Lupe howled.
...
Tomorrow.
Day Time.
For the second time in Amy's life, she awoke to others chattering above her while her body ached. Slowly, Amy's eyes opened.
The sky was clear, showing only a few fluffy white clouds. Amy's arms ached more than her legs, and it took a lot of energy to force herself up.
"Where am I?" Amy thought.
None of the voices had sounded like any of the mystical beings that Amy knew.
Amy's legs shook, though she locked eyes with a number of Mobians, a wizard, and that creature from earlier.
"The Little Planet animal is up." one of the Mobian animals said.
"Ch-Charles the Hedgehog?" Amy asked.
One of the Mobius animals was the one closest to Amy as he was a hedgehog with cobalt blue quills and emerald green eyes.
Charles looked dirty and tired, so different from the courageous fighter from the night before.
At Charles's right side was the cobalt blue male hedgehog, who looked like a man though much smaller, Charles had his right arm around him.
Amy's eyes darted around and it looked as though they were high above any surface.
"You are alive?" Amy asked, rubbing the left side of her head with her left hand. "And the mystical beings are gone?"
"Yes." Charles said, his sword was at his left side. "The mystical beings fled."
The tears came in an instant from Amy's eyes. The mystical beings were gone, nowhere in sight. Even as the dragons had pulled Amy away and she felt herself lose consciousness, she had been sure that somehow she would wake up with Lupe at her side and Mephiles's watchful eyes over her.
The tears did nothing to keep Amy's wobbly legs from falling.
Surprisingly, it was Charles the Hedgehog who stopped her fall as she found her face in his shoulders.
"Please tell me Mephiles is dead." Amy said, her voice had risen, and the tears came down harder.
Before anyone could reply, 2 Mobians hedgehogs burst out laughing.
"Sonic, do you see that?" Charles asked
"Yeah!" Sonic said. "I'm glad that my eyes aren't deceiving me then. Uncle Charles is hugging a Little Planet animal!"
...
Forest.
Day Time.
Mephiles had slept fitfully the night before as his dreams always involved the same Mobian in each one, Charles got closer and closer to him. It had started with chasing Charles, running through endless fields in search of a Mobian who was always one step ahead of him. Then, Charles had been captured a few times or spies had been able to grab him, though Mephiles himself had never been in front of him. Just before Mephiles had woken up, his dreams had shifted slightly to where he was so close to Charles that he could see the very fear in his light brown eyes with his left hand, he easily could have wrapped it around Charles's neck and squeezed.
Mephiles woke up before that could happen and it took his eyes a moment to adjust to the light. Sitting up, Mephiles looked around. Infinite was leaned up against the side of a tree and snoring loudly. The other mystical beings were still asleep, either all curled up together or dotted around the clearing, their weapons right by their bodies. A few were even cuddled up against their wolf pack.
The only other being who was awake seemed to be Lupe. Mephiles's own wolf pack, Maria, was asleep. The night before, Maria had stayed up late to clean her grey fur.
Lupe looked over to Mephiles for a moment and then her blue eyes returned to the ground. Ever since they had stopped to make camp the night before, the wolf pack had laid down and refused to move. Before then, Lupe had howled constantly for her mistress, Mephiles honestly could not tell which he disliked more. On one hand, Lupe's constant howling had been annoying but on the other hand she looked no better lying on the ground. Every once in a while, Lupe whimpered and moved her tail in just the slightest way. Had Mephiles not seen it then he would have thought that the wolf pack had turned into a statue.
Lupe had not touched any of her meat the night before.
As Mephiles slowly stretched out his muscles, he could not help but notice how cold his fur and skin was. Most nights, whenever Amy did not curl up with Lupe, she would lean into his good side. Mephiles was far larger than Lupe, but she had long since stopped noticing. Using his right arm, Mephiles pulled Lupe closer.
Mephiles leaned down on his knees and ran his left hand through Lupe's fur. The female wolf pack stiffened beneath Mephiles.
"Relax." Mephiles said whispering, leaning down until his lips were only inches away from Lupe's pointed ears. "Amy will be back in no time. We just need to rescue her from the Hedgehog and the rest of his scum."
Lupe growled, showing off sharp teeth.
"They'll pay." Mephiles said, grinning. "You will make them."
Slowly, Lupe stood up.
Mephiles stood up and walked over to where his small supply bag. Carefully, Mephiles picked it up and opened it with both hands and pulled out a torn piece of red cloth with his right hand.
Lupe was scratching herself with her left leg when Mephiles returned. Lupe froze when she saw the cloth and took a long sniff when Mephiles held it out to her.
"Follow the scent." Mephiles said. "There are great things ahead."
Lupe licked Mephiles's right arm.
...
Mystic Mountains.
As the group had climbed down the mountain, Amy had felt everyone's eyes on her. Even with shaking legs, Amy had done her best to walk by herself. No one needed to be touching Amy, especially not Charles. That had been an accident.
Right now, all Amy really needed was to be alone.
It had hit Amy slowly just how much trouble she was in. The pieces of the puzzle had connected in Amy's mind only after she even realized it needed to be solved.
Amy took a step onto solid, grassy ground and her arms were wrapped around her chest, and she had positioned her quills to block off her vision of the others.
Behind Amy, a green bear Mobian male whispered in his own tongue. A shiver ran up Amy's spine as she had no hope of ever translating it. Just as quickly, the green bear Mobian male responded. A whole flurry of whispers began, and Amy could already feel the ground on her face.
"You shouldn't be here." a voice in Amy's head said to her.
Amy hadn't heard that voice in a while and it was louder than usual, as if to make up for its absence. "You have to leave now."
Amy had heard it even before she met Mephiles, it had been easier to ignore back then. Even then however Amy had been unable to discover just who the voice was. It had been too deep to be Amy's father's, and sounded too sober to be her Uncle Dan'O's. Amy's mother never could have sounded like that even if she had been able to do a spot on impression of Jules, and neither her king nor his son could have sounded like that if they tried. The mystical beings had no one similar.
If it was anyone, then it couldn't have been Amy.
Amy wrapped her arms around her chest tighter. The Mobian animals spoke on, chattering away in japanese.
"You don't belong here." the voice in Amy's head said.
Amy forced her eyes shut.
"You know this is not how things are supposed to be." the voice in Amy's head said.
Bile rose in her throat, the thick taste of yesterday's meat filling her mouth.
"You don't even know what you're doing here." the voice in Amy's head said.
The Mobian animals continued to speak in their native tongue while they ate. The wizard, Walter Naugus, was silent as well, sitting right next to the scientist Chuck the Hedgehog. The wizard was taller than his friend even when he sat; he was taller than even Charles.
Amy still had yet to meet Walter in the eyes.
Chuck the Hedgehog was much smaller and he ate slowly, taking long sips of the broth in his stew, and slowly tearing apart his piece of bread with both hands. Every movement was deliberate. Looking at Chuck was almost as hard as doing the same for Walter, both quickly caught on that they were being watched.
Only 2 male Mobian hedgehogs had volunteered to sit near Amy. 1 had cobalt blue spiky quills and emerald green eyes and the other 1 had black and red spiky quills with 4 curved upwards and 2 downwards and crimson red eyes and both of them look alike.
Amy couldn't be 100 percent sure, but they reminded her of the joking Mobians from up on the guardian mountain.
Amy did not take her time to eat. Once the bowl was in Amy's right hand, full of steaming hot stew, and the piece of bread in her left hand, she had dug in. The bread had been mixed with the broth and vegetables and stuffed in Amy's face in minutes. The meat had been saved for last, each precious piece untouched until needed.
Amy took one piece between her fingers, juices wetting her fingertips. Amy popped it into her mouth and started chewing it. As soon as it was swallowed, Amy grabbed the next.
The meat was rough against Amy's tongue and would have been pretty dry were it not for the broth. It certainly wasn't venison and it lacked the taste of beef or chicken. It wasn't even wolf pack meat; that was tougher, and didn't take nearly as much cooking. Rarely did anyone ever eat it, and not unless needed, but Amy would have recognized the taste anywhere.
As questions ran circles inside Amy's head, she continued to put in piece after piece of meat. Every juice that fell on Amy's lips or fingers were licked away.
If Amy had to, perhaps she could learn to enjoy the taste.
The Mystical Beings had retreated from Deerwood Forest; all the while, Amy had kept her eyes open for extra soldiers that were not coming. Amy's throat had tightened and hadn't she had any weapons left then she had no idea what she would actually do with them.
From the back of the dirty cart that Amy had been shoved in, she watched Deerwood Forest retreat into nothing. The enchantment that the forest held became nothing if the mystical beings were bothered by the forest then they did not show it. Amy's own parents had struggled with it many days while out fighting and her parents had trained to fight for years. There were some days where Amy had waited for them to return home, heart racing and skin pale, 1 wrong step or 1 hallucination and they could be gone forever.
Sometimes Amy wished for a spider to appear, the thought dancing in and out of her head. It would have been so fitting, especially since more and more had started to appear recently.
No spider ever came, however, though Amy did watch large, empty webs pass them by. The webs looked like the blood of ghosts.
Beside herself, no one was in the cart. It was a large, empty space, with only a few areas open for peering outside. Darkness filled most of it, and it smelled like piss and old wood.
With most of Amy's energy drained and her leg aching, she laid against the edge, her back supported by old wood.
The next time that Amy looked outside, all that she saw were miles and miles of empty green fields. Not one single tree could be seen in the distance.
Amy walked to each side and looked out through every hole in the wood that she could find, no matter how big or small. The sea of grass appeared only thicker, and Amy saw a few mystical beings with supply wagons.
Collapsing against the side of the cart once more, Amy closed her eyes and cried.
"Go on." the black and red mobian hedgehog male said. "Take it."
The black and red mobian hedgehog male shook the bowl slightly, precious broth dripping over the side with his right hand. Amy's heart skipped a beat.
Amy's throat was dry and in only moments after finishing her food she was hungry again. The food before Amy's seemed to sparkle.
The black and red mobian hedgehog male was only half finished.
The cobalt blue Mobian hedgehog male beside the black and red mobian hedgehog male on the right side looked at Amy curiously. Across from the 2 mobian hedgehog males, Amy could feel the eyes of the rest of the company.
Without thinking, Amy grabbed the bowl with her right hand, careful to not spill anything. Using the spoon, Amy carefully took each piece of meat inside and put it in her own bowl. Once Amy had finished and checked to make sure that she had not missed even the tiniest bit of meat, she handed it back to the black and red mobian hedgehog male.
Amy took a large piece of meat into her mouth with her left hand and began to chew. It was easier to ignore the flavor if Amy kept it away from her tongue. In the end, taste didn't matter; all she needed was the food inside her. Anything was better than a rumbling belly.
The black and red Mobian hedgehog male was wide eyed, still staring at his own bowl.
"Well, Shadow." the cobalt blue Mobian hedgehog male said. "I think that means that she's happy to meat you."
The black and red Mobian hedgehog male, Shadow turned red and the other mobian animals laughed.
Shadow pulled his bowl back and continued to eat.
By the time everyone had finished eating, a red squirrel Mobian male wearing a large brown hat offered seconds to anyone interested.
Amy stood up and raced over to the pot and grabbed the largest piece of meat from the very bottom with both of her hands. Stepping away from the pot, Amy bit inside, pulling off chunks of meat. Amy chewed and swallowed what she could, and then spit out the bones. The fat was juicy, and the meat was not as dry as earlier.
The bones littered the ground and it was only when Amy finished and saw them untouched that she realized that Lupe was not going to chew on them.
Once Amy had licked every bit of juice from her fingers, she crushed the bones into the dirt.
The cart shook, giving Amy little chance to sleep. The times that she did, Amy dreamed of what had happened. Everything played out the same, and Amy woke up to find herself in a world somehow not covered in red.
Sometimes, the cart would stop, and some food would get thrown inside. Most of the time, it was a piece of meat, and other times a piece of hard, dry bread. Amy had to touch the bread carefully or risk having it turn to nothing but dusty crumbs in her hands.
They never brought any water, and Amy's throat turned dryer and dryer. Amy's tongue hung limply in her mouth and it took great effort to swallow.
Whatever Amy could not eat immediately, she saved. For hours sometimes Amy would hold a piece of bread or meat, taking small bites until finally she had managed to eat it all. As soon as Amy finished, the cart would stop, mystical beings would chatter, and more food would be thrown inside. The process repeated itself.
Night and day were all the same to Amy. The cart was dark either way and Amy had stopped bothering to look outside. It didn't matter what Amy saw, because it certainly would not be Deerwood Forest.
Sometimes the cart would stop for hours, and all Amy would hear was an occasional wolf pack crying out. Amy's heart would race, and she would only be able to sleep for a few hours at a time.
Those happened rarely however and Amy could not have been more thankful. Those were the times when the cart opened and for a few brief minutes mystical beings would enter inside. One would grab Amy's legs and the other her arms, they scribbled down notes and spoke with each other, surveying nearly every inch of herself. Amy's clothes remained on, though they often would pull up the the sleeves of her tunic and pants to analyze the muscle around it.
New bandages were applied to Amy's legs, and larger food rations came. After a while, they even started to bring water, letting her swallow entire buckets if Amy needed to. If they seemed bothered by the cart's smell, then the mystical beings never showed it.
Once they left, shutting the door behind them, Amy would readjust her sleeves and lie on the ground, staring at the wall. Amy's heart throbbed in her chest, neck, and head. Every breath was a battle.
The worst, however, was when the mystical beings surveyed Amy's quills. Those were the days when Mephiles came with them, and wrapped his hands in Amy's quills. They commented among one another in their native tongue.
Amy froze. The mystic beings had not looked at Amy too differently as other Little Planet animals had, with wide eyes and testy fingers. Before, Amy had been able to fight the Little Planet animals off.
Still, the mystical beings did not look at Amy as some Little Planet animals had. For all his faults, Mephiles had never looked at Amy's quills and his eyes widened and face paled though Amy was not sure if that was even possible for a Mystical Being of his complexion. No Mystical Beings had whispered in quick, scared Little Planet animal-ish, and weakly tried to hide their pointing finger.
No Mystical Beings looked at Amy as though she were Death's mortal incarnation.
Amy no longer wondered why her mother had wished that Amy had gained her mother's complexion and half her quill colors.
...
Night Time.
Sleeping was hard, pebbles dug into Amy's back and she had nothing close to a proper pillow. Mosquitoes and flies hung around, buzzing in Amy's ears and landing on her fur and skin. They sat only for a moment before being crushed, the small bruises and the pain from slapping Amy built up. Sweat rolled down Amy's back and neck, and her throat was again dry.
Still, Amy couldn't help but feel relief at still being awake; it wasn't as if a Little Planet animal needed sleep. Nearly all the others in the company had fallen asleep already, their constant snores had done nothing to help her slumber.
With a sigh, Amy stood up and carefully stepped over everyone. The clearing was small, and everyone was close to one another. Amy abandoned the small blanket that Chuck had loaned her. Amy would have to return it to him in the morning, the small thing did almost nothing for her.
The red echidna Mobian male taking watch, an elderly one named Simon, watched Amy with hawk eyes. Amy looked back to Simon for a moment before stepping over another Mobian animal. Once Amy was at a nearby tree, she sat down and leaned against it and her heart was racing, though she had barely moved.
Taking a few deep breaths, Amy looked up towards the sky. The stars still shone, just like they had the night before Amy had been taken. Even as a child, Amy had looked to them for comfort, often staring up at them intensely for hours.
...
Flashback.
11 years ago.
Day Time.
"You know." Lily said to Amy, scooping the small pink hedgehog girl up into her arms.
Amy had leaned her chin up against the taller red hedgehog woman's left shoulder, bits of her soft, red quills landing on Amy's chin. "They will still be here tomorrow."
"How do you know?" Amy asked.
Amy had been young then, so young that she could still remember exactly when she had first seen stars. It had been long, long before anything had gone wrong. Giant spiders had been imaginary monsters, and dragons had not taken to the sky for years.
"I know because I used to be afraid that they would vanish as well. But do you want to know what I noticed about them?" Lily asked.
"What?" Amy asked.
Amy's eyes had fluttered, and a yawn left her lips.
Back then, Amy had been weaker than most Little Planet animals, and one of the only children in Deerwood Forest. Little Planet animal children were rare, and it was even rarer for them to grow up beside another Little Planet animal child around their own age. Most others were older, nearly adults.
"Then I kept seeing them every night. I do believe if they wanted to disappear, then they would have done so by now." Lily said.
"But what if they do go away?" Amy asked, her voice had shook.
Lily held Amy tighter. "I promise that they won't go away." she said.
"How do you know?" Amy asked.
"Because new ones will always appear." Lily said.
Flashback Ends.
...
Amy had taken the promise to heart, even if her mother had given no proof.
Yet as Amy looked to the sky that night, she knew for sure then that her mother must have been right.
The sky was bright, the stars hung next to a bright white coin, the full moon staring down at Amy. It was so large that it seemed as though Amy could have reached out and grabbed it, kept it for herself.
However, it was the stars that truly caught Amy's eyes. They were sprinkled across the sky, glowing bright, like hundreds of thousands of eyes staring down at Amy. From what Amy could see, there seemed to be even more than when she had been a child. When Amy had been young, she had tried counting them.
Perhaps Amy should have looked out the cart on that fateful day, maybe Amy would have seen 2 new stars in the sky. Amy's chest tightened, and she quickly looked away from the sky. Amy's arms wrapped around herself, a hug that only she could return.
Bugs crawled along the ground. Unlike the flying pests from earlier, they were smart enough to avoid Amy as she watched an any walk towards her boot before promptly changing course, it was holding a crumb high. A few other ants followed after it.
Amy stared at the ground for the longest time, watching bugs scurry past and the ground slowly light up.
...
Morning.
The sun rose, and the Mobians awoke one by one. There were a number of times when Amy felt their eyes on her, though she never looked up and met their eyes. It didn't take long for them to get the hint, and they looked away.
Amy's arms and legs were numb, she hadn't moved in hours, her arms and legs were weak, though her eyes remained firmly open.
"Hungry?" a male voice asked.
The sudden sound made Amy jump, her earlier weakness melted away, and she stood up tall, reaching for her bow with her left hand.
Sonic stiffened. "I'm sorry, I didn't-" he said but was cut off.
"Sonic?" Amy asked.
Sonic's eyes widened. "Yes, Amy?" he asked.
Amy blinked a few times, once her eyes opened again, she saw that it was still the cobalt blue hedgehog Mobian male standing before her.
"I'm sorry." Amy said, her arms went to her sides, her hands empty. "You just scared me."
"I'm sorry." Sonic said.
"No, no, it's not your fault." Amy said, her arms wrapped around her waist once more, and she hugged herself tighter. "I know that you didn't mean to."
"Well then, are you hungry?" Sonic asked, cocked his right thumb back towards the camp. "It was Shadow's turn to help make breakfast porridge today. There's no meat, but I promise that the food isn't that bad."
Amy paused for a moment before nodding.
"Oh, don't look like that. My brother isn't that bad of a cook." Sonic said, grinning. "Come with me. We need to get some now, before everyone else takes the good parts." he turned around, and she followed after him.
The porridge, as promised earlier, actually was not that bad. The moment the bowl was in Amy's hands, all 3 Mobians' eyes were on her.
"Try it." Shadow said.
Tobor merely raised an eyebrow.
As Amy raised the spoon to her lips with her left hand, Sonic stirred his own porridge around in his bowl with his right hand.
"Well?" Shadow asked the moment that Amy swallowed.
"It's good." Amy said.
Amy ate another spoonful with her left hand.
"Good." Sonic said. "That means that it's safe for me to eat!"
Shadow rolled his eyes.
Sonic snickered.
Shadow prepared a bowl for himself.
"Come on." Shadow said. "Let's go sit down."
Shadow, Sonic, and Amy sat down near some trees. The smell of food drifted through the small camp, and Amy watched the other Mobian animals go up and serve themselves breakfast while she ate.
"Amy?" Shadow asked.
"Huh?" Amy asked, looking up from her bowl of porridge.
"Amy." Shadow said repeating, placing his bowl of porridge down with both hands, only half finished.
"Yes, Amy Rose?" Amy asked, her eyes flickered back and forth from the food that she was eating to the 2 hedgehog Mobian males.
Shadow took off his coat underneath was a black shirt and hard, defined muscles, held his coat out to Amy with both hands. "I hope that it's not too big." he said.
With shaking hands, Amy placed her bowl of porridge down and pulled back her cloak with both hands. Amy took the coat from Shadow with both hands and put it on, her arms fit through the sleeves, but they covered her hands by a few inches. It was a little low on her, ending a few inches below her tailbone.
"Thank you." Amy said muttering, wrapping her arms around her waist. "That was so..." she looked down to her lap. "So nice of you." she bit her lip. "Why is it really heavy?"
For a moment, both 2 hedgehog brothers were silent. Sonic was smirking and Shadow was turning red.
Sonic was the first to speak. "He wanted to do something knife for you." he said.
Shadow shook his head. "I, uh..." he said, scratching his right arm with his left arm. "Look in the pockets."
"All of them." Sonic said. "There are a lot."
Amy rolled up the sleeves and reached into a right pocket with her left hand and she froze when she hit something cold. Slowly, Amy wrapped her left hand around something and pulled it out.
The color drained from Amy's face, sunlight gleamed off of the blade, and Amy's left hand began to sweat onto the cold knife's handle.
"If you're worried." Shadow said. "I have a lot more. I can let you borrow some of them."
"Yes!" Sonic said, grinning. "He has a knife in his trousers, too. It might rise up and break through his pants!"
Shadow turned red and quickly covered his face with his hands.
Amy put the knife back in her right pocket with her left hand. Slowly, Amy's hands entered every other pocket that she could find. Most were found through touch rather than sight. There were knives all over Amy.
Shadow spoke again once his face had lost it's flush and once Sonic had stopped laughing. "I'm sorry it doesn't fit." he said.
Amy blinked as her limbs relaxed slightly and she pulled her arms away from her chest. "Why?" she asked.
"Well, I was hoping that it wasn't too big for you." Shadow said.
Amy raised an eyebrow.
"Well, Amy, you're always..." Shadow said but stopped for a moment. "You're always..."
Again, Shadow could not find the words. Instead, Shadow wrapped his arms around his waist and hugged himself.
"You're always doing this. I thought that my coat might help to warm you up." Shadow said.
Amy looked back down at herself as the garment was certainly big on her, but she could understand the gesture. "I'm sorry." she said.
"There's no need to be." Shadow said, shrugging. "I should have known that it was too big as well as I had hoped."
"That is not what I meant." Amy said, looking up.
Shadow's eyes widened and he looked over to his younger brother for a moment.
Sonic simply shrugged.
"I'm not cold." Amy said.
"Oh." Shadow said.
"Then why do you do-" Sonic said but cut himself off.
Shadow's glare was as sharp as the knives in Amy's pockets.
For a long moment, there was complete and utter silence.
Wrapping her cloak around her waist, Amy dug around until she found the knife strapped to her side. It was not nearly as well made as the Mobian-ish blade, and the only one Amy had.
"Thank you." Amy said.
"You're welcome." Shadow said, his eyes remained on the ground.
Amy bit her lip, but spoke on. "You know, I used to keep knives in my boots." she said.
"Really?" Shadow asked.
Sonic's own eyes widened.
Amy nodded.
The boots Amy currently wore were tight fitting, and had been specially commissioned by Mephiles for her, unlike her Little Planet animal-ish boots, there was little chance of hiding anything in them. Still, plans were already running through Amy's minds of ways to modify them.
"I do too." Amy said.
"Really?" Sonic asked.
Shadow nodded. "Oh, yes." he said.
"He would put knives in his quills if he could." Sonic said, chuckling.
"Well you would put arrows in your trousers." Shadow said.
Sonic nodded. "Hey, I could have anything down there!" he said.
Shadow pulled off his boots with both hands and dug around inside. The first knife Shadow pulled from his left boot, and the second from his right with both hands.
"You can never have enough." Shadow said holding right one socked foot up, a hole had formed through the top and he wiggled a clearly visible right big toe. "I need to make sure that this is protected."
Amy's laughter surprised even herself.
Shadow and Sonic both grinned before joining along with Amy. Shadow, Sonic, and Amy's laughter echoed along the camp, and she soon felt the eyes of the rest of the company on her back. However, Amy's muscles only relaxed further as no one's eyes stayed on her for too long, instead turning to look at the 2 hedgehog brothers.
Later, once breakfast had been finished, Amy's mood again dropped. The entire company's did as well however as if they had all together been robbed of something great.
"Walter." Charles said, his voice clear and serious.
Charles's light brown eyes were always cold, and though the wizard was far taller than him, he met the wizard's purple eyes.
"Which way should we head today?" Charles asked.
"We must keep east." Walter said. "From there we should reach Deerwood Forest, and from there Lake Town and the lonely mountain."
Amy froze at the mention of her old home.
"I thought that we were going to walk around the forest." Charles said.
"As of now, Charles the Hedgehog, we are set to walk through it. After all, it has a path inside." Walter said, clutching his staff tighter with his right hand.
A few of the Mobians began to whisper frantically to one another, some in japanese and some in Westron.
"I have heard that the place is cursed." Pachacamac said.
"Who hasn't?" Locke asked.
"No one said that this quest would be easy." Finitevus said. "Still, Deerwood Forest? Even that I cannot stand the idea of."
Amy looked down to the ground, part of her wanted to pull her hood up and cover her face, and part of her wanted to disappear. One was suspicious and the other one was impossible.
"Are you scared?" Shadow asked.
Amy shook her head. "I have faced worse." she said, her arms wrapped around her waist. "No matter which direction we go, we just need to keep moving. I just hope that we start moving soon."
Shadow nodded as his eyes passed below Amy for a few seconds longer, a curious gleam in his eyes. However, Shadow and Sonic said nothing else on the matter.
"Damnable Little Planet animals." another mobian animal said, muttering in spanish.
Amy simply raised her hood.
Shadow and Sonic both looked wide eyed at each other, their mouths hung open. Still, they never said anything.
It is hard, after all, to apologize for a sin one has not committed.
Though they had barely spoken to one another, it was Chuck whom Amy could relate to the most. Chuck too stiffened the most when they mentioned Little Planet animals from the book Amy had seen him reading earlier, it was clearly old and Little Planet animal-ish-the kind filled with songs and poems that were probably older than even Jules. Chuck usually did not keep the book out long, only reading about 1 or 2 songs or poems before putting the book away again where none could see it.
Once, Chuck had seen Amy watching him read his face paled, but she simply smiled back.
It was not a secret that begged to be taken from Amy's lips.
The day's walk had been long and all of Amy's body ached, yet she still could not sleep. Part of Amy did not want to, the stars were especially bright that night and part of her just wanted to admire her knives.
Amy tore off her coat with both hands and set it up on her lap, the sleeves dipping down her sides. Amy searched everywhere, until she was sure that she had discovered every single knife.
Amy grinned as she held up each one it was true, the makings of Mobians truly were the best. The edges of the knives reflected off the dim firelight and the light of the moon above.
It was only in the arena where Amy had been given unlimited knives. Outside of the bloody sporting arena, the mystical beings had stripped Amy of all but one knife, if she were out hunting with Mephiles then she would have a rather good one, but only 1. Even her arrows had been specifically numbered, and Mephiles had made sure to always count before they left.
If the mystical beings saw Amy now.
Amy held each one in her hands, letting herself grow accustomed to them. Some were incredibly sharp, while others were longer. Each one was different, but it never took Amy long to think of a good use for them.
Amy's face reflected back on her from the edge she had not looked at herself in a long time. Some older facial scars had healed, returning to smooth, soft skin. Amy's quills were longer and messier if she ever got the chance, she would absolutely need to wash it.
Still, if Amy looked at her reflection she knew that it was her looking back. From the tips of her pointed ears to the sharp curve of her nose, Amy knew exactly who she was.
Shadow had not been lying, there were knives everywhere. Amy counted a total of 34 in Shadow's coat alone. Considering his younger brother's words, Shadow still likely had far more hidden away.
...
Night Time.
That night, Shadow had watch duty after Locke. Putting her new coat back on, Amy walked over to the tree that Shadow had recently sat down by.
"Thank you." Amy said.
"Oh, it was nothing. I am just glad that it helps." Shadow said.
They sat together for a while, Amy's eyes on the star dotted sky above and Shadow's eyes on the camp. Eventually though, Shadow's yawns got the better of him and he fell asleep again.
Amy put up her hood and prepared her bow with her left hand, waking someone else up would be pointless.
Though her muscles were tense, and Amy took note of every noise in camp on that night everyone was safe.
...
Flashback.
A few weeks ago.
Night Time.
The first time that Amy felt a knife in her hand again, after weeks of traveling alone in the cart, was also when the mystical beings had lowered her food ration. The meat had become smaller and smaller, and eventually all they had started to give Amy were small pieces of dry bread.
"Are you hungry?" Mephiles asked.
Mephiles stood at the entrance of the cart, Amy sitting at the far end.
Amy wrapped her arms around her waist tighter and she shook her head, meeting Mephiles's eyes.
Amy's stomach however was empty, a weight that she could feel in her chest. If Amy ever dreamed, she saw her family, friends, and feasts. Beneath the stars, all Deerwood Forest Little Planet animals would eat and drink together. Amy saw meats of all kind, freshly grown vegetables, and sweet red wine all sitting before her. They were as real as any dream could make them until Amy woke up back in the cart empty handed.
Mephiles threw the knife to Amy with his right hand, it landed only a few inches away from her and clattered against the floor.
For a moment, Amy only stared at it wide eyed. That had been one of Amy's knives. Instinctively, her left hand shot to cover the front of her of her left boot, while her right hand reached forward and wrapped around the knife's hilt.
"You can come out and eat." Mephiles said.
Though there was a distance between them, Amy could easily see Mephiles's facial scars.
Amy swallowed the lump in her throat and walked forward. Amy's stomach ached and she knew that she would not be able to refuse.
Not unless Amy wanted to starve.
Amy held the knife tightly, her right hand against the wall. Amy's legs shook as she walked, unused to moving like this.
Mephiles helped her out, his eyes on her hand.
"There is more than enough to go around tonight." He smiled, showing off sharp, yellow teeth. "Feel free to eat your fill."
Amy did not meet his eyes. Her stomach rumbled, and the smell of cooking meat made her mouth water.
Mephiles sat next to Amy on left side, his eyes on her lap.
Amy merely clutched her knife tighter with her left hand.
There was no point in fighting, not now. Not when the eyes of every Mystical Beings in camp were on Amy.
Once Mephiles and Amy were served their night's meal, a very large piece of meat with 2 slices of thick, dry bread, Amy immediately began to eat. Amy dropped her knife in her lap and covered the hole between her crossed legs with her plate.
The meat was hot and juicy, and cooked well enough that it was not too hard or burnt. Blood dripped down Amy's chin and onto her fingers, but she licked it up.
The meat was salty to Amy's tongue, making her wonder for a moment just how it had been cooked. What animal was it as well? The thoughts, however, were fleeting. Why worry about them when Amy could eat?
Amy's meat was soon gone, leaving only bones. Amy had picked every bit of meat and fat off of the bones as she could, until they were so white and naked that one would have thought a vulture had picked it clean.
Amy moved onto her bread and it was a little better than what they normally gave her. It was easier to swallow, and Amy found herself biting off more and more the longer that she ate, even if her mouth was already full. One slice of bread was finished, and soon replaced by another.
The whole in Amy's belly just could not be filled. By the time Amy's plate had been licked clean, an emptiness still filled her insides.
Sometime while Amy had eaten, someone had placed down a cup of water for her. Amy picked it up with her left hand, brought the cold metal to her lips, and finished it all in a in 10 gulps. Though not the coldest of water, it was sweet and soothing to Amy's otherwise dry throat.
It took longer for Mephiles to finish. Amy held the plate with her right hand, while her left hand was between her legs, wrapped around her knife.
Amy almost wanted to risk it and attempt killing Mephiles.
Almost.
Mephiles's eyes never left Amy's, though hers left his. Once Amy's food was gone, her heart raced.
Finally, Mephiles himself finished his food and gave his bones to his wolf pack. Mephiles dropped his plate to the ground, the object releasing a sudden clank that made Amy wince and hold her knife tighter with her left hand. Mephiles chuckled, his shadow covering Amy's sitting form completely.
"Did you enjoy your dinner?" Mephiles asked.
Amy clutched her knife even tighter with her left hand.
"I asked." Mephiles said. "If you enjoyed your dinner."
Amy bit her lip for a moment and she turned her head up to face Mephiles. "Yes, I did." she said.
Mephiles smirked. "My guess was correct then. You ate as a starving wolf pack would." he said.
A few other mystical beings chuckled, but stopped at Mephiles's heated glare.
"Now then." Mephiles said, his eyes returning to meet Amy's. "How do you plan to pay for it?"
For a moment, the pain in Amy's belly subsided. All Amy could hear was her racing heart.
"Pay for it?" Amy asked.
"Dear, surely you should know that nothing in life truly comes free." Mephiles said leaning down, getting on his right knee. Still, Mephiles was taller than Amy. "Now, tell me, how shall you pay?"
"With an ear!" one of the Mystical Being said, yelling.
"No, a finger!" another of the Mystical Beings said.
At the time, it had been only Mystical Beings speech to Amy, a bunch of confusing words in another language.
Still, all the heat had left Amy's body.
Mephiles, however, had a different idea and he barked out in order quickly in Mystical Beings tongue, and various mystical beings headed forward, all of their eyes set in one on the middle. It was covered in diets and scars, and openly glared at everyone.
"What you see before you." Mephiles said. "Is a pest. An overgrown fly, in fact. He needs to be eradicated."
Mephiles motioned towards Amy.
"That is where you come in. You are to get rid of him for me. It would be meat for meat, you could say." Mephiles said.
Amy's stomach twisted. "Had I eaten-?" she thought.
"I gave you meat, and you give meat to the wolf pack." Mephiles said.
Amy relaxed, if only slightly. It had to have been something that the mystical beings caught on a hunt that Amy ate earlier. After all, they likely would have just tasted plain awful.
"Go on." Mephiles said. "The wolf pack are hungry, being meat for our dogs is the only good thing this traitor will ever do."
Amy nodded.
"Then he will pay for his crimes and you will pay for your food." Mephiles said.
The mystical beings circled around Mephiles and Amy, trapping both inside a wall of mystical beings. Most looked excited.
The Mystical Being Amy had to fight had no weapons, though Mephiles raised his fists.
There was no official starting point. The circle simply formed, the hold on Mephiles's arms were released and he was pushed forward, and then they were before each other. Without warning, Amy jumped forward and struck just above Mephiles's left eye. Mephiles missed punching Amy with his right hand and his left hand was at his forehead. He groaned out, the sound echoing through the small area.
The mystical beings yelled for Amy to continue, Mephiles being one of the loudest. They had only seen 1 small stream of blood.
This time, the Mystical Being attempted to strike first. Mephiles's aim was off, as his left hand covered his left eye, and Amy easily could dodge any of his strikes. With Amy's legs finally moving again, rushes of adrenaline fueled her, making her go faster and faster.
The next strike was in Mephiles's right arm. Amy dug in deep, and then just as quickly pulled her knife out with her left hand. Blood squirted all over Mephiles, and Amy's own knife was wet and red.
Mephiles removed his left hand from his left eye, and began to strike with his right arm. That was Amy's next target, as she again sunk her knife in deeply to Mephiles with her left hand.
Mephiles's cries made Amy's head ache, and part of her desperately wanted to stop fighting and cover her ears, but she knew that was impossible. Amy needed to get this done with.
Using all her strength, Amy pushed Mephiles back, her knife still in his right arm. Amy placed a left booted foot on Mephiles's chest and leaned down and pulled her knife out with his left arm.
Mephiles's right arm still worked, and he grabbed for Amy's quills.
Amy heard Mephiles cry out in anger.
Amy stabbed her knife in the Mystical Being's right hand with her left hand, and he released her. Stepping fully on top of Mephiles, Amy reached down and stuck her knife as far as she could into the Mystical Being's neck with her left hand. For good measures, Amy pulled it out and stabbed Mephiles in his head with her left hand as well. It was better safe than sorry.
Amy stood over Mephiles, watching him suffer.
Then, it was over and everyone was clapping and cheering.
...
1 hour later.
Mephiles gave Amy extra food and water that night and had her checked by healers outside of the cart. No wounds were found, and no damage had been done to Amy's scalp.
Mephiles was the one to lead Amy back to the cart, a grin on his face. By then, Mephiles had taken Amy's knife away, and her left hand felt empty.
When Amy went inside, Mephiles followed after her. The cart creaked beneath Mephiles's weight, yet wielded to him.
Sitting down at the farthest corner, Mephiles pulled Amy in his lap with both hands and placed his face in her quills.
In that moment, Amy almost wished that the fight had not been so easy and that the wolf pack had not gotten meat so quickly. Amy would have much rather been out there fighting than trapped in the arms of the Mystical Being. There was nothing more terrifying than being held by a monster.
"You never did tell me your name." Mephiles said.
Amy froze.
"What is it, Little Planet hedgehog?" Mephiles asked.
For a moment, Amy considered lying. Then again, what point was there in it? What could they use against Amy?
"Amy Rose." Amy said.
"What a pretty name." Mephiles said, chuckling. "Considering how you are beautiful, little warrior, you truly are a beloved pink rose."
Goosebumps ran up Amy's arms and legs.
"How do you know its meaning?" Amy asked.
Mephiles chuckled. "Mystical beings can be educated as well, dear Amy." he said.
Amy shivered.
For the longest time, Mephiles's eyes roamed over Amy's body. Sometimes, Mephiles's hands would follow along after them. Mephiles stared at Amy intensely to the point where she almost thought that he was jealous.
"But of what? Surely no one would truly want to be with me." Amy thought.
...
33 minutes later.
When Mephiles finally left, Amy curled up into a ball, trying to get every part of herself together. Then, it was only Amy's fur, skin, and clothes against herself, no mystical beings or any other strangers.
Amy never noticed when the tears started and she was surprised that they were able to be stopped.
Flashback Ends.
...
In the 2, 5, 10, 15 years that Amy had been gone, the world had changed. Amy still stepped on the earth lightly, her bow raised with her left hand and ears alert for any noise. The problem was that now there were a lot more noises to attend to.
The world was darker now, and more and more things shot out of the ground. Even in daylight, trees blocked out the sun, though Amy had eaten breakfast shortly before, it felt as if dusk were already falling.
They were not even in Deerwood Forest yet the name sent chills up Amy's spine. If others were still calling it that, then surely the forest did not reflect its first name or former glory.
"Well." Walter said. "We should be headed in the right direction."
"Just great." Finitevus said, muttering. "We are one step closer to Deerwood Forest."
Amy stiffened.
"Actually, Master Finitevus." Walter said. "We are not headed straight for Deerwood Forest."
"And why is that?" Charles asked.
"We are stopping to take a rest at the home of an ally of mine." Charles said.
"Who would live out near here?" Finitevus asked.
"Someone with different tastes than you, Master Mobius." Finitevus said.
The group headed on. Amy had no idea who this ally was, but stopping to rest at a house sounded nice. For one thing, it would make the day end much earlier than if they walked on forever until finally someone suggested to set down camp.
"Where do you think we are going?" Sonic asked.
"I have no idea." Amy said.
"Shadow?" Sonic asked.
"I do not know either, but I hope that it has good food and somewhere warm to sleep." Shadow said, stepping forward. "Really, that is all I need."
As the group headed onwards, Amy began to relax. The mysterious house was getting closer, and the pain in Amy's feet was getting easier to ignore.
Along the way, Shadow and Sonic told a few jokes. Most flew over Amy's head and she did not hide that fact, giving Shadow and Sonic confused looks, but a few made her laugh. Amy's mind filled with images of warm soup and fluffy, freshly baked bread, and delicious, well cooked meat of all kinds, chicken, beef, and lamb. All sounded delicious, and Amy's mouth watered at the very thought.
Amy's thoughts were what gave her one second longer to prepare. The howls broke Amy's train of thought, and for a moment she stood still as a statue.
The howls only increased, and Amy could hear the sound of hooves trampling. They were lighter than that of horse hooves, but still easy to hear, especially as they got closer.
"Mystical beings!" Walter said. "Follow after me, quickly! The house is close!"
Amy raced forward, putting her hood up. Amy's heart raced and her bow was in her hands. Amy could feel the weight of the knives as she ran, every single one of them.
"Just keep running." Amy thought. "Keep running and no one will fight, and we will be safe in the wizard's ally's house."
Amy's heart raced.
But who was this ally? How did Walter know that they were protected? Amy had seen mystical beings break into hundreds of thousands of homes before, not caring who they hurt or what damage they caused.
Shadow and Sonic and a few other Mobians were behind Amy. Constantly, Amy looked over shoulders, only relaxing in just the slightest way when she saw that they were all fine. The mystical beings were visible, but specs. None were close enough to start a fight, and hopefully none had recognized Amy.
Once Amy was done checking up on them, she picked up her pace.
Once the house came into view, Amy's heart only raced faster. What protection could that place actually give? Amy sensed no magical spell over it, Walter had not even said that the place was owned by a magic user.
Amy's heart, however stopped racing once she saw the feral brown bear. It ran forward, jaw clenched and eyes wide. It let out a piercing growl that made Amy's heart skip a beat, the sound echoed through her ears.
Amy looked over her left shoulder and watched the great beast run past. The mystical beings turned and fled every last one of them.
The other Mobian animals had noticed as well. Shadow and Sonic raced forward, until they were at Amy's sides, Shadow on the left and and Sonic on the right.
"Tell me that I was not the only one who saw that." Shadow said. "Sonic? Amy?"
"I saw it!" Sonic said, grinning from ear to ear. "Who knew that mystical beings were afraid of feral bears? We could probably all kill one if we tried."
"I don't eat bear." Amy said. "Nor do I want its skin, especially when a feral bear just saved ours."
Sonic's eyes widened. "Did you just make a joke?" he said, grinning.
Amy rolled her eyes. "Come on, we need to get inside." she said.
The doors were wide open, a few other Mobian animals and Walter behind it.
Once inside, Amy went completely still for a moment. The mystical beings had retreated, and a great feral bear was chasing them away. It was certainly large for a feral bear, and even more wild than most.
"Could it be?" Amy thought.
Amy shook her head. There was no time to think of it. The entire company was working together to close the large front door, and Amy put all her muscle into it. Amy needed to keep the mystical beings out and away from her.
"Keep pushing." Amy said.
"Go on." Walter said.
Once the door was closed, Amy let out a sigh of relief and stepped away from the door. It had closed with a great thunk, and the heavy wooden lock was in place.
"Master Walter?" Pachacamac asked, looking around the house. "Where is this ally of yours? I only see farm animals."
It was true; the place was larger than it looked from the outside, and filled with a number of animals. Most had seemed to take no notice of the newly arrived guests. The house was mainly made of wood, and had a large collection of crates and barrels inside.
"Our ally, a skin changer chameleon named Espio." Walter said. "Is currently outside chasing after the mystical beings."
Amy sat down in the furthest corner of the skin changer chameleon's home, landing in soft, sweet smelling straw. Few animals hung around this spot, and she was a good deal away from the door while being close to a window that she could easily climb through. Slowly, she removed her red hood and attached cape and let it fall into the hay. Once it was off, the coat that Shadow had loaned Amy was completely visible. Amy removed it as well, though she did grab a few of the knives inside and place them among her belt.
Underneath were dirty, grey Mystical Beings clothes that Mephiles had commissioned for Amy. They were just Amy's size, but seemed wrong on her body the longer that she looked at them. Part of Amy wanted to rip off her shirt, pants, and boots, but she knew that she could not. There was nothing else that Amy had to wear.
Still, it would be nice to wear something not made by mystical beings again.
Without thinking, Amy pulled the coat back on and she relaxed the moment it reached her arms, despite its heavy weight.
Amy carefully folded the hood and placed it under her arms before standing again. It was only then that Amy noticed the 2 hedgehog brothers approaching her.
"Is something the matter?" Shadow asked.
Shadow placed his supplies down with both hands.
Sonic followed after Shadow.
Shadow and Sonic even put down their weapons.
Amy shook her head. "I just never expected to come here." she said then bit her lip for a moment, looking away from both Shadow and Sonic.
The words were on Amy's tongue, and it would take only seconds to let them free. Surely Shadow and Sonic would find out anyway.
For a moment, Amy stiffened. Why had Charles and his company been so silent about Amy's past? Why hadn't there been an onslaught of questions upon Amy? Why hadn't they picked her apart until they knew Amy better than she did? Could they really have trusted Amy solely because she asked if Mephiles was dead?
Amy stepped forward, her voice a low whisper. "Can I tell you 2 something? Just you two?" she asked.
Shadow and Sonic both nodded.
"I used to know Espio." Amy said.
For a moment, Shadow and Sonic didn't say anything, only looked at each other for a moment.
"I knew him, back when the mystical beings..." Amy said.
The word sounded wrong on Amy's tongue and she turned silent.
"What have I been thinking?" Amy thought, her arms mechanically wrapped around her waist, and she looked to the ground.
If Espio didn't defeat the mystical beings or drive them away then Amy was a sitting duck. The mystical beings could take down the door, break inside, and kill all the Mobian animals and capture Amy again. They had certainly faced harder situations before. It was a miracle that Espio was even still alive, and another miracle in and of itself that she (possibly) could see him again.
That was if the mystical beings didn't kill him first, like they had wanted to all those years before.
Her legs weakened below her. Oh, they really were in danger. Amy wasn't sure if she had the strength to run if she needed to. Besides, where would Amy go? Was there any place that Amy could actually hide?
Amy didn't even notice her legs caving in, or feel the impact of hitting the floor.
If only because Amy was grabbed before she could fall as 2 sets of arms wrapped tightly around her.
"Amy, are you sick?" Sonic asked, eyes wide. "Did something happen-"
"The mystical beings are going to come." Amy said.
Images flashed in Amy's mind of the mystical beings on wolf pack back and holding their weapons, ready to strike and lusting for blood.
"They're going to come and rip through everything, through everyone, and then I'll be captured again. And Mephiles will-" Amy said but was cut off.
"Rose!" Shadow said.
Shadow motioned for the him, Sonic, and Amy to sit down, backs against the wall. Hay spilled out onto Amy's lap.
Shadow and Sonic leaned forward, wrapping around Amy in a hug with Shadow on her left side and Sonic on her right side.
"Rose." Shadow said.
Shadow spoke with earnest, capturing both Amy's attention and his younger brother's attention.
"If the mystical beings come, we will fight." Shadow said, tightening his arms around Amy for a moment. "I promise."
Slowly, Amy removed her arms from her waist and wrapped her left arm around Shadow and her right arm around Sonic and it was strange, hugging others and being hugged back instead of just hugging herself. No one had showed Amy this kind of attention since she was a child, since her parents were alive and she lived with her friend's and family in Deerwood Forest.
The tears came in an instant in Amy's eyes.
"Amy." Sonic said, his voice shaking. "Do you need something?"
Amy shook her head. "I don't want you 2 to die. I don't want anyone in the company to die. You have been so kind to me. You don't deserve to be ripped through, not for being nice to me and helping me and not for being Mobodoon." she said.
Shadow and Sonic both stiffened.
Shadow raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"Mephiles doesn't just want your uncle dead, but you two as well. You are Charles's nephew's, correct?" Amy asked.
Shadow and Sonic both nodded.
Even before they had interacted, Amy had heard Shadow and Sonic call Charles their uncle. Still, Shadow and Sonic had been joking around at the time. Surely that had just been another joke.
Amy's chest tightened. "He wants your heads too." she said.
Quickly, Amy removed her arms from Shadow and Sonic and wrapped them around herself once more.
If Mephiles knew that Shadow and Sonic had touched he would make their last moments the most painful in their short lives.
And if Mephiles knew that Amy had willingly touched Shadow and Sonic, he would seriously kill them.
"Please." Amy said whispering, looking back down to her lap. "Please grab your weapons and give me some time alone. I don't want to get you 2 hurt."
For a moment, Amy's eyes looked over to both Shadow and Sonic's faces. Shadow and Sonic made Amy clutch her own waist tighter.
"I'm sorry." Amy said. "But you 2 are my friends, and I don't want either of you getting hurt because of it."
For a moment, Shadow and Sonic squeezed Amy tighter and then pulled away.
"We'll be back." Shadow said as he reached down to pick up his swords with both hands.
Shadow reached his right hand towards the front of his pants and pulled out a large knife. "Until then, we have protection. See?" he questioned.
Amy nodded.
"Don't worry about it, Amy." Sonic said grinning, though Amy had no idea how. "If the mystical beings do come, we won't go down without a fight."
Sonic held his bow up higher with his right hand. "I promise that I won't die." he said.
Shadow nodded and held out his left hand.
Amy carefully took it with her right hand.
Shadow's grip was firm as he shook hands with Amy, as the people of men did.
"I promise too." Sonic said.
Once Amy's right hand was free, she leaned further against the wall until her back ached. Shadow and Sonic moved on into another part of the home, leaving Amy alone. Amy grabbed her own bow with her left hand and cradled it to her chest, her right hand clutching a sharp metal arrow.
It started out with criminals. Even mystical beings had wrongdoers, those who stole or cheated or simply upset someone above them. Amy took quick looks at the bow and arrow, letting the faces blur but remembering the weak spots. Amy was the one who always struck first and made sure every blow counted.
The mystical beings fell so easily the criminals were weak, mere shells of what those above them were. Fighting them made her wonder how they could be related to Mephiles or Infinite. By the time it was over, Amy's arms and weapons usually needed to be thoroughly washed, lest they be stained.
Once Amy had a Mystical Being down, the others would cheer. Above the cage that both Amy and the criminal had been pushed in, on goers would watch with wide, hungry eyes. Bets were made and meat was eaten of what, Amy did not know.
Most days Amy only had 1 or 2 criminals to fight. Nothing too hard, and what usually made Amy just barely break out a sweat. Other days, the arena would send in criminal after criminal. Amy's skin would turn red and her breathing rapid, and the floor would be wet as well, staining her boots. The longer that Amy fought, the more that the mystical beings cheered. And then another criminal would be sent out, and Amy would have to get rid of it, often by pulling out arrows from the corpses of her past victims.
Most of those criminals looked at Amy with fear. A few tried to fight, but Amy was faster and was always given good meals after the fighting ended. The sick, skinny beasts before Amy were lambs before a wolf.
Eventually, the supply of criminals would run out for the day, and Amy would be led out. A number of the mystical beings who came to Amy stuffed food and coins into her hands, while others begged for a souvenir. Wordlessly, Amy would send them away with one of her arrows.
The mystical beings would lead Amy to Mephiles, and Mephiles would lead her to a hot bath and a feast.
Amy would spend hours in the bath if needed to wash herself off. Dried blood was pulled from Amy's quills and skin and floated in the water around her. Wash cloths ran over Amy's quills and skin, and she used up every cleaning item that she possibly could. Once Amy was out, she would dry herself off and check over her body one more time.
The food was grand, meats and bread and cheeses and well seasoned vegetables. When Amy finished one plate, she was given another. Cups would be refilled in moments. Desserts came afterwards, and no matter how much Amy had eaten before, she always found more room in her stomach. Sweet cakes and berry filled pies were easily swallowed, along with cookies and honey covered sweet bread. Amy could eat and eat and eat, and everything would be worth it.
"Amy?" a male voice asked.
Amy looked up. "Oh." she said, looking over the large brown echidna Mobian before her.
Quickly, Amy searched her mind for a name.
"Is something wrong, Remington?" Amy asked.
Remington pointed over towards the table with his right index finger. "Shadow and Sonic asked me to come get you. They say dinner is ready, and tonight's meal will actually be edible. Chuck cooked tonight." he said, chuckling.
Amy returned it with a small smile. "May I ask you something, Master Mobius?" she asked.
Remington nodded. "Is something the matter?" he asked.
Amy shook her head and stood up, stretching out her limbs.
"How long had she been sitting, lost in thought?" Amy thought. "Has Espio returned yet?" she asked.
"No." Remington said.
"Oh." Amy said, sniffing at the air. "What is for dinner?"
"Bread and beef stew, with honey cakes for dessert." Remington said, motioning Amy to follow him. "I heard that it will be wonderful."
...
3 minutes later.
Once at the dinner table, which was rather long for a man who seemed to live alone, Amy was served her plate by Chuck the Hedgehog himself. The hedgehog scientist's arms and the front of his shirt were covered in flour, and he was instructing everyone on where to sit.
"Oh, Amy." Chuck said, noticing where Amy was. "I was actually going to sit there, with Charles next to me. You would not mind moving, would you?"
Amy merely stood up and grabbed her bow from where it sat on the table with her left hand and moved. The plate before Amy had been untouched.
"I apologize." Amy said.
"Oh, nothing is your fault. Please feel free to sit beside Remington." Chuck said.
Amy sat down once more, placing her bow down by the scribe's brand new war hammer and her eyes hovered over it for a moment.
"A gift from Master Finitevus." Remington said.
Amy nodded. "It certainly looks sturdy." she said.
Remington nodded.
Amy was again served a plate and she picked up her spoon with her left hand and prepared to try the stew, when Chuck came back. This time, however, Chuck was herding 2 hedgehog brothers to the empty seats on Amy's right.
"Trying to eat all my dessert early." Chuck said, his arms were crossed over his chest. "Wait until your uncle hears about this."
"We weren't going to eat them all." Sonic said.
"You still have crumbs on your muzzle!" Chuck said.
Shadow and Sonic rolled their eyes before sitting down. Sonic placed his bow down next to Amy's with his right hand, it was so much larger in comparison.
Sonic looked down to Amy and grinned as his hands were underneath the table and he reached under and put something in her lap.
After taking a spoonful of Amy's stew, she put her hands in her lap and discovered 2 warm desserts.
"One's for Remington." Sonic said, whispering.
Amy reached over and dropped it in the scribe's lap. When Remington raised an eyebrow, she moved her head back so he could see Sonic.
One by one, Amy tore the cake apart and put the pieces in her mouth when no one else was looking. That wasn't hard considering everyone else was happily caught up in their own meals.
The stew and bread was also good. She was one of the first to finish, and one of the first in line for seconds.
By the time Amy had finished her main course, honey cakes were being passed out and Amy's stomach was rumbling again. Amy swallowed 4 more and then wiped sticky honey off of her face with a cloth napkin with her right hand then, it was all drowned out with a medium sized cup of milk.
Once that was over and the plates, bowls, and eating utensils were literally thrown to the sink, Amy went back to her corner.
"Did you have to do that again?" Chuck asked from the kitchen.
Amy had no idea whom or what Chuck was referring to.
...
Night Time.
Amy's corner was quiet and dark and apart of her was ready to curl up and go to sleep, but another part of her kept her awake. Absently, Amy counted out her arrows, using moonlight as her only light source.
Amy stopped when something fell on her, covering both her and her arrows.
"Sorry!" Sonic said.
Amy pulled the blanket off of her with both hands to reveal a red faced Sonic.
"I should have just handed it to you, shouldn't I?" Sonic asked.
Amy nodded.
Shadow was near Sonic on the left side, setting up his own place to sleep with both hands.
"I apologize again for earlier." Amy said, strapping her quiver back to her back. "I truly am sorry."
"You already told us." Shadow said. "We forgive you."
"You were just nervous." Sonic said, sitting down and wrapped his own blanket around himself. "Sorry again about the blanket."
"It's fine." Amy said, wrapping the blanket around herself with both hands.
Shadow and Sonic were close, though the corner was still Amy's. The 2 hedgehog brothers slept side by side with Shadow on the left side and Sonic on the right side, as if fighting off chills together.
"Th-thank you." Amy said.
"We just don't want you to get cold." Shadow said, sitting up.
...
Somewhere Else.
Lupe again lay still, her meat nearly untouched. Only hours before, Lupe had been racing forward frantically, her nose to the ground.
"She's close." Mephiles said.
Lupe's tail moved slightly, though the rest of her remained still.
"The wolf pack was certainly smart." Mephiles thought, realizing.
Smarter than most. Most would have judged the beast to be only a regular bear and would have tried to fight it had their Mystical Being masters not made them retreat.
"He cannot patrol the area forever." Mephiles said reaching his right hand out to pet Lupe, but she pulled herself away.
Once Lupe was a few feet away from Mephiles, she laid down again and curled up into a ball. Eventually, the wolf pack closed their eyes.
...
Dream.
Day Time.
Amy could only remember bits and pieces of her dream and she knew that there had been a forest, tall and dark and green. The trees' leaves were green, as was the grass and ivy. Flowers dotted the area, large ones with purple or blue petals, their stems and leaves were a deep, dark green. When Amy leaned down to pick one up, her left hand turned slightly green just by touching it, staining her skin. Still, Amy smiled and held the flowers to her nose, breathing in their fresh smell.
The forest was dark, but bits of light broke in through the shadows. Spots of light dotted the area, little pieces of the sun that the forest's leaves could not keep in the sky. Judging by what Amy could see through the branches, the time was around noon and the sun was high. A light breeze ran through Amy's quills, sending it flying in all directions.
This forest was not Deerwood Forest, but it still felt like home. The few animals that passed Amy by had seemed unfazed by her, even with the large bow on her back.
Amy walked on, each footstep careful. Trees surrounded Amy in all directions, until she could not remember where her starting point was. No matter where Amy went, the trees did not thin in any direction.
Bugs passed her by, buzzing happily or crawling across the ground. It was hard to catch a glimpse of the tiny creatures, but Amy knew that they were there.
Time had moved like it always did in dreams strangely. One moment, light was seeping down through the trees, and in the next moment the shadows were deepening.
Amy turned her head towards the tree tops and looked to the sky through the trees' branches. As always, the stars shone brightly, ever out of Amy's reach. Try as Amy might, she could not touch them, even if she wanted to.
Even dreams had their limits.
Amy stood still, ignoring the sound of bugs and the snapping of twigs. All that mattered were the ever resilient stars, shining on even as the world below them fell apart and then the dream had ended.
Dream Ends.
...
Tomorrow.
Morning.
Why Amy had woken up, she did not know. Still, Amy had been awake and sitting up for a good few minutes. Sleep evaded Amy, and her eyes remained open. Moment by moment, Amy's eyes adjusted to the dark, revealing bugs far larger than the ones in her dream. They, like the Mobian animals, were all sleeping.
Amy wrapped her blanket around her tighter with both hands and then surveyed the room. Other than the sound of snoring and a few animal noises, there was nothing to hear.
Shadow and Sonic were both asleep, though Sonic's blanket had nearly rolled completely off of him. It now only covered a small fraction off of Sonic. Amy quickly leaned forward and laid it back over Sonic with both hands. Considering the accidental fuss Sonic had made over a blanket, it seemed only fair that Amy worry about him being cold as well.
Amy leaned back against the wall and stared off at the night. The shadows danced before Amy, but she had long since learned how to entertain their press ensue without fear. Shapes formed from the lack of light, and Amy tried to assign names and images to them like she sometimes did for clouds.
The large, dark figure that entered the house, however, was not a shadow. That Amy knew with certainty, as the animal figure looked onto her.
"Espio." Amy said, though she doubted that Espio had actually heard her.
From what little Amy could see of Espio, he actually looked much healthier like he had eaten more and his muscles showed, rather than retreating into his body like they had back when the mystical beings had him.
Part of Amy wanted to race up to Espio and embrace him, but another part of herself kept her body firmly planted on the hay and wood. Espio turned around and headed further into his home.
Amy's blanket remained still in her lap, never once disturbed.
Sunlight had spilled onto Shadow's crimson red eyes, though most of the room was still dark. Espio's home was a strange, large place. The furniture alone made Shadow feel small, the animals even more so. The large bee in front of him was humongous. Until the bee flew away, Shadow's eyes never left it.
Once it was gone, Shadow felt safe enough to look over to his younger brother. Sonic was still asleep, snoring softly. Reaching forward, Shadow placed his blanket over his younger brother with both hands, careful to not wake him.
Sonic did not stir. Rather, Sonic slept on, his chest rising and falling steadily.
Only when Shadow was sure that his younger brother was fine did he dare to look away from him as his eyes soon met with Amy's sleeping figure. Amy's pink quills spilled out across the hay, and the blanket Sonic had given her the night before was still wrapped around her. Though Amy's quiver was still on her back and she was cuddling her bow in her sleep like a child would a stuffed toy, she looked to be at peace.
Walking as softly as he could, Shadow headed towards Amy's corner. Once he was there, Shadow got on his knees and reached towards Amy's blanket with both hands. It had gotten crumpled in the night, so Shadow straightened it and made sure no part of Amy's body except for her head was left untouched by the blanket's warmth.
Amy's jade green eyes shot open and locked on him. For a moment, Amy looked ready to move.
"Shadow?" Amy said, blinking a few times. "What are you doing, Shadow?"
"I was only checking up on you and Sonic." Shadow said.
"Is something wrong with him?" Amy asked.
Shadow shook his head.
"The mystical beings-" Amy said but was cut off.
"Are not here. Espio is protecting us." Shadow said patting Amy's left shoulder with his right hand softly and then pulled the blanket up a little more.
"If we are not in any danger, then why do you look after us?" Amy asked.
"Because that's my job." Shadow said, chuckling. "If anyone around here is supposed to worry, then they are me."
Shadow placed his right hand down on top of Amy's head though a blanket covered her, he could still feel her own warmth from under it.
Amy looked away from Shadow. "Thank you." she said.
"You may go back to sleep, Rose. This place is safe." Shadow said.
"Safe..." Amy said her eyes looked hollow for a moment.
Shadow felt Amy's body stiffen from where he was touching her.
"Everything will be fine." Shadow said, smiling. "Sonic and I won't let anything bad happen to you."
"Really?" Amy asked.
"Really." Shadow said.
Amy had shut her eyes, though she did not feel the least bit tired. Warmth had filled Amy's eyes ever since Shadow had spoken with her. Though Shadow was gone, and Amy listened to him leave, Amy knew when she opened her eyes he would still be there. Sonic would as well.
For a moment, Amy thought back to the few times that Shadow and Sonic had touched her. Shadow and Sonic always did it gently on Amy's upper body, or gave her hugs. The 2 hedgehog brothers were so warm and welcoming, so different from Mephiles.
Amy's eyes burst open. Espio's home was exactly as Amy had last seen it. Sonic still snored on, still wrapped up in 2 blankets, and the rest of the company that she could see did the same.
"Do not think about him." Amy thought. "Listen to Shadow, he is right this place is safe."
Espio was a bear of a chameleon even when he took the form of a man and camouflage. Espio stood tall, towering over Shadow by a few good feet and his eyes were steely, judging over everything.
Espio was also the only other person awake.
"Shall we prepare breakfast?" Espio asked as his voice was gruff, and his eyes returned to the sleeping company.
Shadow nodded.
Espio began to dig around in high kitchen cabinets that Shadow could never dream of reaching. Espio had one bag of food after another ether only thing more impressive than it was Chuck's pantry. Shadow, however, doubted that Espio would allow his pantry to be emptied and his plates be thrown in front of him.
"I see that you came with Walter." Espio said.
Shadow nodded.
"I had heard of him, but never met him. I cannot say that he is quite what I expected of a wizard." He placed down a large bag of flour." Espio said.
"I like him more than the rumors and stories describe him." Shadow said.
Espio raised an eyebrow but did not question Shadow further on the subject of the wizard. "How many of there are you here? I need to know how much food to make." he asked.
Again, Espio returned to his cabinets and began to dig around.
"16." Shadow said. "13 Mobians, 1 scientist, 1 wizard, and 1 Little Planet hedgehog."
Espio's eyes widened. "A Little Planet hedgehog? I thought Mobians hated Little Planet animals." he asked.
"Most do. Still, a few I have met are quite agreeable, especially her." Shadow said.
"Her? Do you speak of your company's 16th member?" Espio asked.
"Yes, yes I do." Shadow said.
Shadow's eyes looked back, though it was impossible to see either Sonic or Amy from where he stood. "Her name is Amy Rose, and she is the finest Little Planet hedgehog that either my brother or I have ever met." she said.
"Amy Rose?" Espio asked, stepping back.
"She said-" Shadow said but was cut off.
Espio cut Shadow off and judging by his face, Shadow doubted that he had even listened to his 2 words.
"Do you speak of the Mystical Beings slave girl, Amy Rose? The one with quills of pink roses, and a burning fighting style to match?" Espio asked as his face paled, yet his eyes softened. "Is that the Amy Rose that you speak of?"
Shadow froze, 3 of Espio's words ringing through his mind.
Mystical Beings slave girl.
What Espio had described fit Amy perfectly.
Amy had never said much about her time with the mystical beings as she had wept in joy on the guardian mountain once her confusion had ended and she had regained her balance. Whenever the name of the creatures was brought up Amy would tense. Shadow's coat never seemed to leave Amy now that she had it.
Still, though Shadow knew it was true, it felt so strange to have the words spoken out loud directly like that. There were no puzzle pieces to put together, or words to say in whispers.
Then again, Shadow doubted that a man in shackles would willingly censor himself.
"Yes." Shadow said. "That is Rose, our Rose."
...
15 minutes later.
The criminals had been easy kills. Amy knew her weapons well, and was used to the feel of an arrow or knife or sword. Even as a young hedgehog, Amy had been no stranger to the workings of weapons though she had not heeded her parents words on just how important they were.
The Mystical Beings criminals rarely had weapons, having to rely solely on their body for the fight. It was hard to call the fights fair, but mystical beings were not the kind to have even playing fields. It was only in the arena that Amy had power.
When Amy entered, she had her weapons with her and was ready to fight. Amy's heart raced and a light coating of sweat fell down her neck, yet she remained strong. The Mystical Being had to be stopped, and Amy could not do that if she let her worry consume her.
The only way to fight Amy's fear that she would slip up and be killed by a Mystical Beings criminal was to beat them first. When Amy left the arena, her clothing was covered in blood and her earlier energy drained. Sweat poured off of Amy in cups, until she was sure all of Forest Hill could smell her. Sometimes Amy's stomach would rumble, and she would be glad for her upcoming feast, and other times she would feel ready to vomit, even if she had not been fed in hours.
The fights were all the same despite Amy's secret fears, none of the mystical beings had the power to stand against her. Each Mystical Beings criminal fell to the ground and lied in its own blood, before Amy left the arena and its body to rot.
Then they brought in the skin changing chameleons.
Amy had heard of them as a child, though she had never seen one before. Most were strong, but weakened by the mystical beings. Bruises covered many, and they too grew used to hunger.
At first, Amy did not fight them. Amy merely watched from below, with Mephiles's right arm wrapped firmly around her waist.
Sickening was the only word that Amy could use to describe it. Whether the skin changing chameleons took the form of men in chains or animals, their misery was apparent, and the mystical beings were all the more excited for it.
By the side of Mephiles, Amy watched the skin changing chameleon's fight. A thin wolf attacked a Little Planet hedgehog, and was so hungry that that the wolf ate the creature. When they turned back into a man, they still had blood around their mouths. The cheers of the mystical beings afterwards rang through her ears.
Then one day, Amy went into the arena to see not a Mystical Beings criminal, but a large, dark furred bear.
...
5 minutes later.
When she entered the kitchen, Amy felt eyes on her. Amy stiffened, only slightly comforted by the weight of her weapons.
Espio, Shadow, and a few of the other company members stared at Amy.
"He did not lie." Shadow said.
Amy looked up. It really was Espio.
"How did you live?" Espio asked.
Espio was older, now with even more scars and even broader shoulders. Still, Espio's life of freedom had softened his expression, and for the first time ever Amy saw him smile. Other than that, Espio's chameleon form was exactly as Amy's last remembered it.
Amy did not reply, simply walked forward and put her hand against his. Amy's eyes widened, as if she had expected her hand to pass through a ghost.
...
Espio had certainly made himself a nice little home. Amy had wiped the hay from her clothes and enjoyed a hardy breakfast, it was certainly the best meal that she had eaten in a good long while. She had seconds, which Espio was more than happy to give her.
The whole place was made of wood and stone. From the walls and floors to the homemade furniture, it had a lived in quality that could not be replicated. The entire house, or at least Amy supposed, was made by Espio's own 2 hands.
Back when Espio had escaped, Amy had merely imagined him running from the mystical beings forever, or worse being caught. Still, Amy doubted the mystical beings would look forever for Espio, and he didn't seem like the type who could run forever. Perhaps Espio had seen the land and simply taken a liking to it taken little and made a lot.
Or, perhaps, the place had been sitting abandoned for a while. It was a lonely little place, and probably was the only house around for miles. Little Planet animals and men lived to the east and men, Mobians, Little Planet animals, and scientists lived to the west past the mountains. Here was Espio's place.
Still, Amy couldn't shake away the feeling that Espio wasn't alone, not really. A chess set sat on a small table, its wooden pieces moved as if someone had been playing. Perhaps it had been 2 members of the company, but that wouldn't explain why Espio had it in the first place. A game like that took 2 players. Amy highly doubted Espio played with his sheep or horses.
The long wooden table too had many chairs for a man who lived all alone. When they had arrived, there had been enough to seat the entire company, including Walter and Amy herself, and still leave a spot at the end for Espio.
The large food supply she could at least understand. If Espio did ever travel out east to buy food, it was likely that he got enough to last months, perhaps even years.
However, with the company around, Amy was sure that one of those trips east would have to come sooner rather than later. Amy had only eaten seconds some of the company had managed to eat fourths. Knowing them, once lunch rolled around they would surely be hungry again.
"Amy?" Espio asked.
"Espio?" Amy asked, looking up to Espio.
"What troubles you?" Espio asked as his mouth was set in a frown but his eyes were soft. "Are you thinking of the mystical beings?" his eyes hardened at the word and his frown turned into a scowl. "They are not here, and they will never come. If I have to fight them, then I will. I would do anything to keep this land safe."
Amy shook her head. "I wasn't thinking of them." she said.
Espio sighed. "Good, very good." he said, placing his warm right hand on Amy's left shoulder and squeezed it. "You have nothing to worry about."
Amy's eyes wondered to a nearby window on the left side and she watched a few figures run by. They moved too quickly for Amy to identify which Mobians that they were, but she did hear them make a few quick, high pitched shouts. Others replied, and they began to laugh.
"Why did you not send me outside with the others?" Amy asked, her eyes locked with Espio's. "Why did you ask me after breakfast to stay here?"
And stay there Amy had. After putting up her plate, Amy sat back down at her chair and waited for Espio. The rest of the company had slowly left outside to look at the horses, bows, and the rest of the supplies that Espio had offered them. They were going to stay a few more days, but Charles had wished to look over his newly given wares and plan.
...
Flashback.
"Mount Splatterhorn is close." Charles said earlier that morning.
Charles's mouth had been set in a firm, serious line.
"The mountains in the distance draw ever closer. Mobodoon's day too is drawing close, and we soon must set off. Still, we also cannot leave unprepared. The road to the mountain is still harsh." Charles said.
Flashback Ends.
...
Amy had seen the mountains herself on the guardian mountain. They had seemed magical, the entire company had been fascinated, and Amy was not free from its spell.
"I wished to speak alone with you." Espio said, his right hand away from Amy's left shoulder and used it to pull up a wooden chair.
Its legs creaked as they moved across the cold stone floor.
Espio sat down. "I have many questions, and I was sure asking them in front of the others would bother you." he said.
Amy nodded. "I see." she said.
Espio looked across Amy, searching her up and down as she had her cloak on, though the hood was down, and her bow in her hands.
"Your clothes and bow are of Mystical Beings-ish make." Espio said as his face hardened. "I have skins and furs. Take as many as you need, and wash yourself. The first time that I had the chance, I cleaned myself from top to bottom. It felt wondrous." his eyes softened for a moment, and though they were set on Amy, she doubted that he was seeing her. "I cannot describe the wonder of being free and clean." he looked back to Amy, his gaze hardening on her bow. "That vile thing is not even good for scrap wood. When you are cleaned and changed, you may go outside and train with the others. A new bow will be waiting."
Amy nodded. "Thank you." she said.
"I could never repay you." Espio said, standing up. "Come, you must get new clothes." reaching over with his right hand and pulled the bow from her left hand.
Once it was gone, Amy's arms relaxed as she had never realized what a weight it was. Amy also pulled the quiver from her back with her right hand and handed it to Espio. "I made the bows outside myself. Wood is plentiful, and I assure you that I have good handiwork."
Espio led Amy to the small area upstairs. There were three small rooms, most with nothing but a small bed in it. Only one, a rather long one that had not been made, looked as though it had been slept in. At the end, there was a small storage area. Wooden boards creaked as the 2 animals walked if one looked at it from the outside, they would never realize that there was a second story.
Espio dug through boxes. Opening a chest, Espio revealed whole piles of cleaned clothes, tunics, and even some leathers. Opening another, there were boots of many sizes and styles some looking rather simple, and others looking rather hard or having fur inside.
"Ever since I first arrived here, I have learned to make many things." Espio said, gestured towards the items. "Take anything that you might need."
Amy dug around, searching through the items with both hands. Most clothing was far too large for Amy, and others probably could only fit Chuck and the other mobian animals.
"Who did you make these for?" Amy asked, holding up a black undershirt up.
It was thick and well made, and looked as though it could fit Amy.
"Very few things look to be your size." Amy said.
"You." Espio said.
"Huh?" Amy asked.
"I made them for you. Before you came, they were for no one, these were simply made to pass the time and practice making items. Now, however, anything that you like is yours." Espio said.
"They are for no one else? But what about others?" Amy asked.
"Do you mean the company?" Espio asked.
Amy shook her head. "Your table had so many chairs. You have guests perhaps, an extended family?" she asked.
"No." Espio said his small smile faded, his normal frown returning. "I do not have guests. There is only me and my animals." he looked to the ground. "I can fill my home with items easily, all I need is more fur and wood. Guests? Good ones are hard to come by, and I trust few strangers."
"Oh. I apologize for asking." Amy said.
"You have done no wrong, Amy." Espio said.
Amy removed her cloak with both hands and handed it to Espio then she removed the coat Shadow had given her.
"Did the mystical beings make that?" Espio asked.
Amy shook her head. "It was given to me by a friend in the company. I will need it later." she said, removing it and carefully folded it up with both hands.
As Amy leaned down to place it on the ground, a knife fell out. It made a thud as it hit the ground.
Espio's eyes widened.
Amy put the knife back into the coat with her right hand and then placed it on the ground. "He gave me the coat for warmth, and the knives are for protection." she said.
Espio nodded. "You have a good friend." he said, stepping away from Amy. "I shall go and prepare your bath. While I do that, I shall leave you in privacy. Again, feel free to take whatever you like." he pointed towards one of the 2 small rooms with unused beds. "Put whatever you like in one of those rooms. Tonight, you will sleep up here."
"I understand." Amy said.
"And Amy?" Espio asked.
"Yes?" Amy asked.
Espio's eyes tightened on Amy. "I have many questions to ask you later, but for now I only have one. When the company leaves, shall you stay here with me?" he asked.
Espio had said that he lived alone, he never said that he was happy about it.
Before Amy could reply, Espio turned away from her.
"I must be off. Think over your answer." Espio said.
...
Day Time.
Sonic stiffened as a bee buzzed past him. Even with his bow in his hands and new arrows in the quiver on his back, Sonic felt helpless around the large bees. Already, Locke had been stung, and he had all but started weeping from pain.
Once it was gone, Sonic looked back to his older brother.
"Still having trouble learning how to shoot?" Sonic asked.
Shadow rolled his eyes. "There's nothing wrong with me." he said.
"You would think that having me as a brother and looking at Amy so long would teach you how to hold a bow correctly. Really, Shadow." Sonic said.
Shadow's face soured, and Sonic could only laugh.
Shadow looked down to his hands and moved the bow, changing it to where he was holding it correctly. It looked strange in Shadow's hands.
"We should practice." Sonic said, pulling an arrow from his quiver with his right hand and handed it to Shadow then he grabbed another for himself.
Espio's arrows were lighter than Mobians made ones but the metal ends were just as sharp.
"How about a challenge? The most to hit that tree in the distance gets to do the other's night watches." Sonic asked.
Shadow groaned. "As if I would fall for that. Mother taught me not to accept challenges I couldn't win." his said, lowering his bow. "I get it, Sonic, you're the family archer."
Shadow looked back to it and then frowned and he dropped the bow to the ground with his right hand and reached for the swords on his back. "I will take the bow, it was quite courteous of Master Espio to give them to us. Still, I have my swords and knives, and I intend to use them."
"Well don't you at least want to practice?" Sonic asked.
"Maybe later. For now, I'll just practice with my swords." Shadow said.
Sonic pouted. "If Amy offered to teach you then you would fill the tree with arrows." he said.
"Well if there was a chance that Rose could teach you then you would pretend that you had never picked up a bow in your life." Shadow said, chuckling.
Sonic rolled his eyes. "I speak the truth. Besides, I'm not going to lose any chances at getting some sleep just you can prove how much better you are than me at archery." he said.
"I still think that you should try shooting a few arrows. I do believe that Master Espio wouldn't have given them to us if he learned that only one Mobian could actually shoot." Shadow said.
"Fine." Shadow said, sighing and picked up the bow with his left hand. "Let's pray to Solaris that I actually hit the tree."
"Remember when we were younger and you first tried shooting with me?" Sonic asked, laughing.
Shadow in his younger years had a straggly excuse for a muzzle, had been thin and lanky, had a high voice that often squeaked, and couldn't hold a bow to save his life.
"I tried to forget that for a reason." Shadow said.
"Oh, it couldn't have been that bad." Sonic said.
"When I was younger, I was absolutely mortified. I was afraid to show my face to the other children in the village." Shadow said, preparing his bow. "And if I do remember correctly you didn't let me live it down."
"Fine, maybe it was that bad." Sonic said, laughing.
Shadow merely released his arrow.
The arrow hit the target.
The hedgehog brothers' eyes widened.
"You hit it." Sonic said.
"I did." Shadow said, grinning from ear to ear.
"Time really has changed you." Sonic said, smirking and raised an eyebrow. "Now do you feel like taking up my challenge?"
"Maybe, brother, just maybe." Shadow said, pulling another arrow from the quiver on his back with his left hand.
"Well maybe that was just beginner's luck. For all you know, every shot after this you could miss." Sonic said.
"Maybe so, Sonic." Shadow said.
...
Espio was right and it felt wonderful to be clean. This was nothing like the public Mystical Beings baths, nor the private bath Mephiles owned. It was a large metal tub filled with half warm water. Espio had left Amy alone with various handmade soaps and washcloths. By the tub sat some of Amy's new clothes, a dark red tunic, white, gloves, long black pants, a towel, and a pair of red boots.
Amy dunked her head below the water, letting it cover her completely. The day was rather warm, so the water was a relief.
Grabbing some soap and a washcloth, Amy began to scrub at her skin with her left hand. For a while, all Amy could do was remove every bit of dirt that she saw and she scrubbed it from her body and from under her fingernails. There was dirt on Amy's face and dirt on her legs and between her toes. Dirt was in Amy's fur and quills, from its ends to her scalp.
Amy scrubbed herself, even after the dirt was gone. If Amy was to be completely honest, she smelled absolutely awful. The only reason that no one else in the company had pointed it out was because they smelled just as had if not even worse.
Amy scrubbed and scrubbed, until her skin, fur, and quills was completely dirt free and all she could smell on her was the heavy scent of Espio's homemade soap.
It was easy to almost forget Amy's troubles completely. Almost.
How was Amy supposed to answer Espio's question?
Amy scrubbed harder with her left hand, but Espio's voice repeated the question in her mind. Amy's face reflected to her back in the water, and even closing her eyes could not help her escape the image of herself.
Espio wanted an answer, and both yes and no seemed wrong.
When Amy got out, she dried herself off and changed, but could only partially dry her quills. It was dark with water, and Amy's towel was already wet.
"Oh well." Amy thought. "The day is warm."
...
2 hours later.
"Shadow, you can shoot?" Sonic asked.
Shadow just about dropped the bow from his hands.
"Sorry for startling you." Sonic said.
Shadow quickly regained his composure. "Sorry, I was just focused. And yes, I can shoot." he asked.
"He's just not as good as me." Sonic said, grinning.
Shadow rolled his eyes. "And you probably aren't as good as Rose." he said.
"You're right, I'm probably not." Sonic said.
Well, that wasn't what Shadow has expected to come out of his younger brother's mouth.
Amy laughed. "I'm sure that you two are great." she said.
Sonic grinned and his eyes softened as he looked ready to kiss Amy's feet if she asked.
"Amy." Shadow said, squinting his eyes. He had to make sure that what he saw was correct. "Why are your quills wet?"
"I took a bath." Amy said, raising an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"
"No, no, of course not." Shadow said, lowering his eyes.
"But aren't you going to braid it?" Sonic asked.
It was as if Sonic had read Shadow's mind and decided to voice his thoughts.
"Braid it?" Amy asked.
"Mobians always braid quills right after it's wet." Sonic said, looking over to Shadow and raised an eyebrow.
Sonic shot Shadow a quick grin. "That's when it's easiest." he said.
"I mean, that is if you want us to since you are a Little Planet hedgehog. If you don't feel comfortable with it..." Shadow said.
"No, you 2 may." Amy said, pulling up an end and rolled it between her hands. "It is fine with me. Besides, I don't want all of this flying in my face."
"Well, then let's go inside and get started." Sonic said, surely wouldn't pass this offer up.
"Well." Shadow thought. "Uncle Charles has tried to braid Chuck's quills before. If he can do that then surely we can do this. Besides, Amy trusts us."
Once inside, Amy sat down in a chair and from left to right, Shadow and Sonic got to work.
For a moment, the 2 hedgehog brothers ran their fingers through Amy's quills. It was so long and soft, softer than Shadow had originally imagined. It smelled nice as well, and for a moment all Shadow wanted was to hold his nose close to it and to run his fingers through it. Sonic's eyes were locked on it, and Shadow had to nudge him to keep him from falling spellbound by it. Amy wanted Shadow and Sonic to braid it, not look at it.
Shadow and Sonic started to braid. It was easy to work together when there was so much quills. It was nearly to the backs of Amy's knees.
"I've never seen a Little Planet hedgehog with pink quills besides you, Amy." Sonic said.
Amy stiffened.
Shadow bit his lip, stilling for a moment as Amy soft pink quills was in his hands.
Sonic seemed to have not noticed, and looked ready to make another comment.
Shadow was right, though. The few Little Planet animals that lived near the Mount Stormtop had every natural shade except pink, as did the Hill Top Village Little Planet animals.
"It is quite beautiful." Shadow said forcing a smile and then motioned for his younger brother to shush.
Shadow almost considered asking why it was so long, but stopped himself. Already, one risky question had been asked. For all Shadow knew, the mystical beings rarely ever allowed quills to be cut. There was no point in reopening one of Amy's old wounds.
"As are your new clothes. Where did you get them?" Shadow asked.
"Espio gave them to me." Amy said.
Amy's tone was light, and from what little Shadow could see of her face, she was smiling again.
"You still have my coat, don't you?" Shadow asked.
"I wouldn't give it up. I don't want to get cold." Amy said.
"We wouldn't want you to get cold either." Shadow said, smiling.
The 2 hedgehog brothers continued braiding. The one long braid was of Mobians style, and held together tightly.
Sonic had managed to fit a spare black cuff in Amy's quills, and Shadow put one his spare metal clasps on it at the end. A few members of the company would raise an eyebrow at it, but Amy surely wouldn't mind them there if she trusted Shadow and Sonic to braid her quills.
Shadow stepped away and admired it. It was beautiful and practical, and certainly an honor to get to do it.
"Do you like it?" Shadow asked.
Amy nodded. "I can't see it, but it feels fine." she said then stood up and suddenly hugged Shadow and Sonic. "Thank you both so much."
"You're welcome." Sonic said, wrapping his right arm around Amy's waist.
Shadow wrapped his left arm around Amy's waist.
A throat cleared, and Amy broke the hug.
"Amy. I see that your bath is finished." Espio said.
"Espio, it was just as wonderful as you had said. I feel so clean, so free of mystical beings." Amy said, her shoulders tensed and her lips tightened.
Amy's eyes darted from Shadow and Sonic.
Shadow quickly put his right hand on Sonic's left shoulder. "Come with me, Sonic, we have an archery competition to get to. I think that luck is on my side and I'll win." he said.
"As if. Sorry, but I have to go, Amy. I need to prove a point to Shadow." Sonic said.
"Says the future loser." Shadow said.
"Now you're just talking about yourself." Sonic said.
Shadow and Sonic quickly gathered their things and left the home.
Even with what might as well have been a party around her, Amy could barely keep her smile glued on.
Amy stared down at her cup of milk.
...
15 minutes later.
"Feel like eating a little more, my Rosy the Rascal?" Espio asked, patting Amy's on the right shoulder with his left hand. "I have more than enough sweet honey cakes for you."
"I suppose that another wouldn't hurt." Amy said.
They were sweet, warm, and sticky. Amy had already finished off one plate of them that night along with the rest of her dinner.
"Rosy the Rascal?" Sonic asked, laughing.
"Yes." Espio said, voice sharp.
The look on Sonic's face almost made Amy laugh.
Amy supposed that 'Rosy the Rascal' was better than 'little pinky'. Chuck had hardly seemed pleased with the nickname, and Amy could see why. Rabbits were prey, at least birds hunted and could fly away from their enemies.
"Sorry, Master Espio." Sonic said.
Espio stood up and went off to get more honey cakes.
Amy looked back to her milk.
"Amy, what's wrong?" Sonic asked.
"Did something happen today?" Shadow asked, raising an eyebrow.
Amy couldn't muster up the strength to look up at either Shadow and Sonic. "I'm just tired. After this, I'm going to bed." she said.
"What? But Amy, it isn't even that late!" Sonic asked.
"I've had a long day, Sonic." Amy said, sighing.
Espio returned with a plate of warm honey cakes. For a moment, Espio and Amy's eyes met as his earlier question rang through their mind.
"Thank you, Espio." Amy said, quickly took the plate from his hands and lost in Amy's eyes to the pile of small yellow cakes. Amy grabbed one and ate half of it in careful time.
Espio patted Amy on the right shoulder with his left hand and then walked away.
Amy stuffed the last half and another in her mouth, swallowed a bit of milk and then stood up.
"Good night." Sonic said, frowning.
Shadow nodded. "Go on and rest. You must need it." he said.
Amy pushed the still full plate towards Shadow and Sonic with both hands. "Sleep well." she said, walking towards the stairs.
"Amy!" Sonic said, having to raise his voice to get over the sounds of the rest of the room.
Amy quickly ran back over to the Shadow and Sonic, darting past a few other Mobians. "What?" she asked.
"Aren't you going to your corner? We had it all ready for you." Sonic asked as his eyes were wide and his frown made Amy's heart ache.
"Espio gave me a room upstairs." Amy said, biting her lip. "I'm sorry, Sonic."
"Oh." He stood up suddenly. "How about I go get you your blanket?"
Amy nodded.
Sonic's face brightened and Amy was able to muster up a small smile in return.
Sonic left towards the hay.
"Shadow, the coat you gave me is upstairs." Amy said.
"Do you like it?" Shadow asked.
"I love it." Amy said.
Shadow beamed as well. "Then it's worth going without it." he said.
Sonic returned with the blanket. The moment Amy took the blanket from Sonic, Amy quickly hurried upstairs and pulled off everything but her underclothes, a lavender nightgown and dark grey pants.
The blanket Sonic had given Amy was warm, as was the bed and blankets that Espio had provided. The noise downstairs was surprisingly hard to hear, and Amy's small room was dark. Amy could just barely make out the shape of the coat Shadow gave her folded on the floor.
Sleep was a dream in and of itself. Espio's words echoed through Amy's mind, and every time she closed her eyes she saw him. Even for such a large, hard muscled chameleon male, the heavy frown on Espio's face could easily bring Amy to tears.
If Amy left, all of Espio's chairs and beds would be empty except for 1. No one would play chess with Espio and all he would have for companions would be animals. All that afternoon, Espio had listened to Amy recount what had happened. When Amy had cried, Espio had held her close and soothed her. If anyone would understand, then it would be Espio.
Shadow and Sonic flashed through Amy's mind as well as they had been so kind to her. Amy's left hand reached and felt her braid carefully. It had yet to come undone, even after the long day. Even from the beginning Shadow and Sonic had been polite to Amy and tried to help her out. Shadow and Sonic would surely look even sadder than when they were at the dinner table if Amy told them that she would not be returning.
Charles's words echoed through Amy's mind. Charles wanted his home back so desperately, and he had willingly looked past that Amy was a Little Planet hedgehog just so he could say he had another member of his company ready to fight Mist Dragon.
For the first time in a long time, Amy's thoughts were on anything but mystical beings and Mephiles especially Mephiles, that didn't, however, make her thoughts any easier or help her to relax.
End of Chapter 1.
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