Acceptance

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Woken up by the intense sunrays that pierced the tarp, Amy slowly came to her senses. She realized she was the only person left in the tent; Sonic and Tails had not shaken her awake. She had had a pleasant sleep for the first time in a while, as if her preoccupations had vanished and her journey was realized. Attracted by the soft voices of her companions outside, she peeked outside the tent and saw Sonic and Tails crouched and studying a map that lied on the ground just in front of them. Amy walked over to them and glanced at it.

"Hi, you guys," she said sweetly.

"Hey," they both answered, looking up briefly and giving a friendly nod before looking down at the map again. Amy looked over their shoulders to see what they were studying. It was a crudely drawn map of a gigantic round clearing somewhere in the middle of the forest. Deep inside the clearing she could make out scribbles that apparently designated some structures or buildings. If her assumptions were correct, the map was describing a small city or military base. She guessed that it was in fact their final destination, for she knew that they were to travel deep into the forest starting today.

"… see Tails, you ought to set up right over there," Sonic affirmed, pointing at a spot just outside the represented clearing, a short distance into the forest. "That's directly south from the base. Do you think you can find that spot?"

"I'll try. It should be okay. I sort of remember what the area looks like," Tails said. "Do you know when you'll meet up with me?"

Sonic folded the map and got to his feet, as did Tails. "I think it will take us a week. Maybe less. We should get there some two days after you."

Amy then noticed something curious. At the mention of that length of time, Amy swore she saw a strange gleam in Tails' eyes. It only lasted a second, but it did surprise her.

Apparently Sonic noticed it too, for he said a bit sternly: "Tails, stay focused. Remember what I said and don't forget our objective. And don't forget we'll catch up with you really soon."

"Right. I'll finish packing up my things."

As Tails walked off, Amy stepped closer to Sonic and said: "I'm guessing that you're sending Tails ahead of us?"

"Yeah." He turned to her. "Uh, I'll explain later. Do you want some coffee? Sorry I didn't wake you."

Amy smiled. She couldn't believe that after all these years, she was finally in his company, and he was asking her about something so trivial and routine. She nodded cheerfully. "Sure. Coffee would be great, thanks!"

By the time breakfast was over, Tails had finished packing his gear and was ready to say goodbye to his friends.

"Alright, I guess I'll see you guys in a week or so," he said pulling his kit on his back.

"Sure thing, big guy. We'll be there soon, I promise," Sonic said with a friendly face. "And don't pull any stunts! Leave that to me."

Tails chuckled. Turning to Amy, he said, "Amy don't hog him too much, okay? He needs to be on top form next week."

Amy grinned. "I'll try to keep that in mind. Most of the time, anyway," she said mischievously.

Tails jumped and launched his two tails into action. Soon he was hovering gently over the two of them. "All right Amy. Stay out of trouble!"

"Hey," countered Sonic, "I should be telling you this, Tails! Need I remind you about the times when you…"

"No, you don't need to remind me! Anyway, I'm off!" And with that, he sped into the air, headed for the forest and flew over the canopy, and was soon little more than a disappearing speck in the horizon.

"Why did you send him away?" Amy asked as the two hedgehogs watched the sight of their gone friend fade.

"On the map, you saw that clearing, right? That place is called Borealis, it's our final destination. I wanted to arrive there on a precise day, but it turns out we can't be on schedule, so I'm sending Tails ahead. He'll be much faster and will survey the site for me in my stead."

"Why can't you be on schedule? Don't you run faster than he flies?"

Sonic looked a bit embarrassed. He turned to her. "I can't run as fast if I'm not on my own. You wouldn't be able to keep up. Only Tails can."

Amy smiled. "Okay," she said simply, but inside she was jubilant once more. Sonic had not mentioned before whether she could tag along for the adventure. Although she had assumed that she could, it warmed her heart knowing it for sure and hearing it directly from Sonic. It was a confirmation that her choice to seek him and Tails had been the right one. Amy's state of mind was such that she subconsciously chose not to consider the more down-to-earth aspects of this particular situation. According to her way of thinking, Sonic's acceptance of her was 100 percent positive, motivated only by friendship and possibly love, at the very least by an appreciation of the tremendous effort on her part to find her friends despite the peril encountered during her journey.

In fact, from that day now a month ago when she had left her community, Amy's trek had been at best a laborious undertaking. Some of her decisions, actions, and experiences had occasionally been rather dubious. Amy had acted with a single goal in mind: catching up with Sonic and Tails. She had thus dismissed any care for the consequences of her actions. Now that she had attained her objective, little did Amy realize that her choices during that fateful past month would dramatically alter her fate way beyond what she had intended.