Flipswitch Part VII

Sonic didn't know what to think. He had no idea what Amy thought she was doing. Why on earth would she pit herself against him knowing full well that he'd already beaten Knuckles, who was arguably the strongest out of the rest of them.

What was he supposed to do. Fight her? That was clearly what she wanted but could he even bring himself to do that he wondered. His eyes scoped out the make-shift battle ground searching for something, anything that could help him out.

Nothing. Nothing except a determined pink hedgehog standing directly opposite him. Lips pressed together firmly. Eyes blazing.

A brief thought of playing the charm card purred through his mind but he shut the thought out. He really didn't have the heart to do that again, if not for her than at least for his own sanity. Besides, he was doubtful she'd fall for the same trick twice.

Instead, he stood his ground letting the girl decide what the first move would be. She edged towards him, slowly. As she stood within range, he had the odd impression that she'd trap him in an unshakeable hug. He barely caught the swing of the hammer as it hit the ground where he'd stood seconds before and he steeled the shocked look on his face, turning to the pink hedgehog.

When she'd said fight, she'd actually meant fight he realised with a start. He cursed himself for underestimating her as he examined the deep groove in the ground. The deep groove created with so much force that it could have knocked him out cold if he hadn't been fast enough to avoid it. He would have to play this very carefully.

He trained his eyes on the pink hedgehog, letting everything else around him fade to nothing. His ears folded closer to his head and his spines rippled as he braced himself for her next strike. As the hammer pierced the air, he jumped aside with a speed only he could achieve, landing harmlessly out of her trajectory.

Sonic bent his knees as she approached him again and waited for her to sling her hammer arm out towards him. He pushed himself to safety and whirled towards her, trying to knock her feet out from under her but the girl was ready for him.

He barely had time to jump over the arm she'd shot out to trip him over and growled as he tucked into himself, rolling onto the ground.

What the hell? How on Mobius had she seen that coming, he thought, straightening into a standing position. He watched her from over his shoulder.

A faint whirring buzzed through his ears and his eyes found the robot hovering in the sky nearby. Eggman. Of course he was watching his every move.

This fight had to end quickly. There was no need to draw it out, he reminded himself. One strike. That was all he needed to take the girl down. And to convince Eggman that he was on his side. On the right side.

Sonic took a deep breath, gauging where the girl stood. He could do this he reminded himself. Amy's eyes were bright as they found his own. With excitement or anger, he couldn't tell. He didn't need to.

One strike.

The collision was unexpected. He rushed forward, but so did she. He'd expected her to, but not with as much force as she managed. They slammed into each other with a bone rattling crash and Sonic rooted his feet to the ground. She pushed against him in a final attempt to knock him off his feet but Sonic pushed back.

His speed and strength gave him the advantage he needed and with one strong shove, Amy lost her footing. That was all he needed and his final push sent her flying over the ground and landing on the edge of the field.

He risked a quick glance at the hovering bot before looking at the pink hedgehog. He saw her stir and a pang of guilt struck him like lightning.

Not enough.

A flash of yellow moved in his peripheral but he had better things to worry about.

He closed his eyes and sighed loudly. He'd held back. He hadn't pushed back hard enough and if the way the robot was circling him overhead was any indication, Eggman knew it too.


Years.

She'd spent years watching Sonic fight and she knew exactly what his next move would be. Maybe even before he did. She'd predicted every move so far, the only question was how long could she keep it up?

The answer to that seemed closer than she'd hoped as she felt the pain in her shoulder from being thrown to the ground. Thankfully it was muted thanks to the adrenaline coursing through her veins. But it would fade, and soon. Exhaustion would drug her movements, slowing her down by the second.

She just had to make sure that she found her chance before then.

Tails' worried face appeared next to her. He helped her to her feet quickly and she spared a glance at Sonic. His eyes were on the sky and she followed his gaze to Eggman's robot. Tails' frantic voice caught her attention and pulled her back to him.

"I can't do it Amy." He whispered quickly. "I can't get a clear shot at him without endangering you." He pressed something cold and hard into her hands. His blue eyes were wide and anxious, telling her what she had to do.

She nodded subtly and Tails moved out of the way, returning to the sidelines where Rouge and Knuckles watched from the ground. She had just enough time to stash the metal object he'd passed to her in a pocket before Sonic's green eyes found hers.

She approached him slowly, ignoring the pain pulsing through her. She only had to hold out a little longer. Sonic watched her walk towards him, raising an eyebrow as if trying to suss out her next move.

"You're not half bad." He commented as she half limped towards him, struggling to hide the pain. "You almost got me at one point." Amy narrowed her eyes at him as she continued to close the distance between them.

"I know how you feel about me." He said, flashing her a grin that made her knees weak. "Why don't you just give up already." He growled and she realised he was stalling the fight. Finding another way out.

Amy rolled her eyes at him and shook her head. It was her turn to stall now. "What are you doing Sonic. This isn't you."

His grin turned feral. "If it wasn't me then I wouldn't be doing it." Rage flashed in his eyes as his spines bristled with unspent energy.

"No, it's not. The real you would never turn on his friends." Something shifted in Sonic's demeanour and Amy latched on to it. She let her hammer drop to her side as she tried to solve the puzzle of emotions on his face. Her brows creased and she spoke softly. "You know... don't you?"

She watched him consider whether to speak his mind or not, taking in his troubled appearance. Whatever mask Sonic was wearing was cracking by the second, she just had to make sure the pieces fell off completely.

"You know don't you." She repeated, this time as more of a statement than a question. "I know you do."

Sonic let his gaze drop to the ground, his hand clenching at his side. When he looked back up again his eyes were filled with defiance."You don't know anything!" He snarled viciously.

"Then why have you stopped fighting me." She said simply, stopping a metre away from him.

Sonic blinked back his surprise. "I... I haven't stopped." He pulled his fists up defensively but it was nothing more than a weak gesture.

"I don't want to fight you. I know you don't want to fight me either, do you?"

Sonic's eyes sparked with doubt and slowly, he lowered his fists back to his side. She heard him take a deep breath before looking at her. "Why are you doing this?" He pleaded.

Amy did her best to hide her own confusion as she spoke. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know how to explain it." He continued, running a hand carelessly through his quills. "It's like... when I look at you all I know I care for you. I know it here." He said, pressing a hand over his chest. "But then my mind tells me I don't and I just... it's so confusing! I don't - I don't even know what to believe."

"It's okay. It's just the machine messing with your head. You... the actual you, cares so much for his friends. I don't think those feelings changed even if your mind did." Amy had no idea if her words held any truth, she just hoped they'd help her accomplish her goal. Everything else she could handle afterwards.

Sonic's eyes went wide and he swallowed uncomfortably. His voice was strained as he spoke. "I don't want this."

Amy took a cautious step forward, studying the hedgehog in front of her for any signs of resistance. She let herself walk towards him slowly until they were barely a hands width apart.

Sonic's hand was still splayed over her chest and Amy placed hers softly on top. He pulled away like her touch burned and dropped his hand to his side. Amy brushed away the sting of the rebuttal.

Her eyes slipped to the two tailed fox standing watch along the sidelines. Tails looked like she'd just shot him in the foot. He was doing everything but waving frantically to get her attention but she ignored him like she ignored the crushing tightness in her chest. She could do this.

Sonic's voice drew her attention back to him. "I don't want any of this." His green eyes shone in the dim light, reflecting every insecurity within him. Amy felt a fresh wave of guilt wash over her. This. This was her fault. She was the reason he felt so lost and confused.

She bit the inside of her mouth and swallowed the guilt like a bitter pill. She felt it settle deep inside her, squeezing the breath out of her lungs with every breath. Now. She had to this now before she lost the nerve and brought the entire game back to square one.

A green forest met its match and their branches entwined in an unbreakable gaze. "Kiss me Sonic." Her voice was a half-whisper, meant only for him.

She could almost see the thoughts warring inside him, fighting for control. "I can't." He said, voice so small that the wind threatened to carry it away. Amy shook her head lightly in thought before meeting his green eyes with her own sharp gaze.

"Can I?" She asked delicately. Something fluttered in his eyes, too quick for her to place. Sonic said nothing and Amy leaned into him slowly. "You can stop me if you want." She whispered, her lips hovering above his. She waited for the push, for him to declare his indifference.

He didn't.

Their lips touched his softly and she placed a whisper of a kiss before going back in for a firmer more meaningful kiss. She let her lips glide over his smoothly, committing the feel of him to memory.

There was no reason for her to be kissing him. But given that this was one of the last seconds before he turned back to himself she hadn't been able to resist. He didn't kiss her back, but his hand hovered over hers protectively. She didn't even care that her friends could see them.

Before she could lose herself and her clear thoughts, Amy pulled away. Her eyes never left Sonic's as her lips formed a sad smile.

With Sonic's eyes focused on her face, her hands were free to do what she wanted. As inconspicuously as she could, she slipped out a metal laser from her pocket. The same one that Tails had passed to her earlier and lifted it to press the cold tip against the soft fur on Sonic's chest.

Sonic's eyes filled with confusion but before he had time to register what she was about to do, she pulled the trigger. A rush of blue light passed through him as the laser him hit point blank. A mixture of emotions crossed his face as he realised what was happening and that he was powerless to stop it.

The blue light spread through him and glowed brighter and hotter, hopefully doing its job of transforming him back to normal. Sonic's eyes rolled back and closed shut as he lost consciousness, the laser beam and the fight taking it's toll. His body went limp and Amy jumped forward to catch him before he could hit the ground.

She held onto him as tightly as she could but his weight was too much for her as the pain in her shoulder screamed at her to let him go. Instead, she gently guided him down onto the ground, keeping his head cradled in her arms. A hot tear rolled down her cheek as she pushed his quills out of his face with a whisper of "I'm so sorry.

The soft padding of footsteps burst through the sound of her own heartbeat as her friends joined her. She felt a warm hand on her back, tracing soft comforting circles. Through her tears she saw a blurry purple and white figure. Rouge.

Orange and red appeared in front of her and she stifled a sob. She tenderly let Sonic's head fall from her lap and stood. Tails and Knuckles looked down at Sonic and then at her, both looking like they were holding back what they really wanted to say.

Knuckles looked worse for wear but it seemed that he was shouldering the pain just like she was. He nodded at her once, giving her his approval. She'd managed to do what he hadn't, even if it had meant using Sonic's own dirty tricks against him. She looked up to find Eggman's robot disappearing into the base and watched the shutter close behind it.

She didn't look away until someone shook her lightly and she turned to find the fox next to her. "It's okay Amy. You did it. We can go home now." He said softly, tugging at her to follow him.

She stood her ground. "I can't." She said firmly, shaking her head. "I-"

"Amy?" Rouge said worriedly.

"You guys take him home. I'll meet you there later. I have to do something." She said, voice choked with tears. She needed them all to leave before she started blubbering in front of them all over again.

Thankfully, they seemed willing to oblige. Knuckles and Tails picked up Sonic between them and Rouge gave her one last worried look before following them into the underbrush. Heading a mile in, where they'd stashed the X Tornado.

She was all alone. Alone and outside Eggman's base so before he could get any smart ideas, she turned and ran the opposite direction to her friends. She let herself be surrounded by the forest of trees, not knowing or caring where she was headed. Just needing to be completely alone.

She let herself roam aimlessly for hours into the day, tears streaking her cheeks. Letting herself feel everything she'd bottled up over the last few days. The mountainous emotions that she'd let fester deep within exploded through the floodgates and into her system, making it impossible for her to do anything else but feel.

Guilt. Regret. Fear. Anger. Everything.

Each emotion carved its own path of tears trailing down her face and each time she swept them away, new ones forged their own path.

If she'd been more present she might have heard the soft fluttering of wings following her throughout her wanderings. Never approaching, just keeping an eye on her.

She didn't know how long she'd been walking without direction through the wild trees, but as the late morning light burned through the leaves there were two things Amy knew with complete clarity.

One.

She'd never ever, try to change anyone ever again. No matter what the circumstances.

Two.

Despite everything, in the seconds before being shot, Sonic the Hedgehog was in love with her. It was the look that crossed Sonic's features as he realised what she'd done. A look filled with betrayal and apology and forgiveness. A look that proved to her that however naive, her plan had worked to some extent. Sonic the hedgehog had been in love with her.

And that realisation broke her heart.


And scene. It hurt my soul to write this chapter but thank you lovelies for reading it. Let me know your thoughts on my pain if you can :)

Also, this may be the penultimate chapter. Possibly. I'm not sure I have enough material for two more so I might just have to have one pretty long final chapter instead. Watch this space.

It might take me a little while because I have a lot going on right now but I've already written about half of it so we'll see how the rest of it goes. It should clear up any questions that are still up in the air as well *fingers crossed*

Thanks again and until next time, chao for now :)