Chapter 6: Proof of Corruption
"55 seconds." Tails stated, clasping the stopwatch in his relaxed hand. "Is that a new record?" He asked, turning to his hedgehog friend as they walked away from the trail.
"That's 26… 27 seconds or so on just a journey out to the tower." Sonic guessed, continuing his walk while pondering his performance. "I remember it took me 30 seconds the last time I was in the city.
"Well, last time, you didn't come from Rose Tower, so there may be a difference in distance." The young fox noted.
The hedgehog lifted his hand to rub his neck. Guess it's not really a new record then… he thought to himself, shutting his eyes in disgust with his test… or lack thereof.
"And since I couldn't tell if you got to the tower or not, I have no real proof that this is your actual time or not." Tails stated as well.
Sounds like he's trying to flunk me in this "speed class", Sonic thought to himself jokingly.
"Well, I suppose I should tell you I lollygagged over at the entrance to Central City for a good 40 or so seconds before coming back…" he commented, and the kitsune nearly flipped at the response.
"Wait, really?" He nearly shouted, stopping the walk and hopping around in anger. "Then why the heck did you make me-?!"
Sonic's hands seized Tails's shoulders, holding the little guy in place and in calm peace; he attempted to hold back his cackling.
"Tails… I was kidding." Sonic stated sincerely with a slight joking smirk spreading across his face. The young fox seemed agitated, but took a deep breath to calm himself down.
"It was worth it." Sonic reaffirmed his friend, beginning to walk again. "To be honest, this isn't much of a good comparison to my first run, now that I think about it. But this will count as the first of many tests. I'll try and do these whenever-."
"We'll try and do these…" Tails interrupted, correcting the mission statement. Sonic was surprised at the sudden outburst, but he fixed his words.
"… whenever we have the time." The speedster finished. "But, for now… let's call that a trial for now."
After a few minutes of covering what homework assignments he and Sonic had due Monday and what teachers they found most annoying, Tails turned his head to his right to see his mailbox.
"All right." Tails said, stopping the road and turning back to his friend. "At least we know what we should do now. I'm gonna go work on the plane engine. See ya, Sonic!" The young fox began to scurry a little off to Sonic's right, over to his house only a few yards away.
"See ya, Tails." Sonic waved as he continued his walk.
It feels weird calling him that… He thought to himself as his hand dropped back beside him and kid ran over to the house. But it also feels good… right, somehow. I think he's getting used to it.
"You want to meet up at Rotor's for lunch?" The fox yelped from his front door. Sonic returned from his train of thought, realizing he had been staring into space for a moment.
"Uh… uh, sure." The blue blur shouted back, nodding in return. "Yeah, sure. Cool!"
And as Tails's door shut, Sonic burst off down the rest of the path, back to his house. He didn't really know how his life was going to end up, but it surprised him how he had recovered from its small and big tragedies. And not many other people knew about those tragedies except the two most important people in his life in that moment: Uncle Chuck and Tails.
And though his issues were personal, he did start to wish that everyone else could see why he became this new Sonic… why he had changed. Who else could he talk to… who else could he trust?
"Dad, I'm home." Amy called out as she closed the front door to the exquisite apartment. The walls were pearly white, and the carpet was a smooth tan; she always admired the clean and unscratched look that her father constantly kept for the home. Eyeing the clock hovering just over the exit of the foyer, she could see it was four in the afternoon.
The scooting of a chair sounded from the kitchen beyond the foyer. Footsteps arrived in the air as her father came into view.
"Welcome home, sweetheart." Her father said in his usual deep and determined voice.
Amy took a few more steps to finally be in the kitchen, watching her father pick up dirty dishes and place them in the sink. He seemed calm today, which was a good sign to Amy; if he were frustrated, talking to him would be a lot more difficult of a task. As Amy plopped her bag down on the counter, her father turned his head towards her with a small smile present.
"How was the plaza today? Busy as usual?" He asked quite quickly.
Amy's father was always talking to everyone about his independent daughter. She didn't want to brag to anyone, but her father would always take hold of the situation and go on for hours about how in control her daughter was of her life… and that always made Amy uncomfortable.
"Well, the plaza was fine… but something happened while I was there." She managed to speak out calmly. She was not sure how her dad would react after their talk the other day.
Placing the dishes in the sink, her father grabbed a nearby dishrag and began to wipe his hands clean, turning fully to his daughter.
"Oh, really?" He asked with simple curiosity.
Amy took a deep mental breath before continuing with her schpeel.
"It was the blue blur…" She stated.
Her father's face seemed to lose its proud smirk, nearly falling towards a disappointed frown.
"What about him?" He reluctantly asked, wishing this was not the topic of conversation. "What did he do?"
"He was running around the city… and up the tower, past our level." Amy explained quickly, trying to get through her story before the inevitable interruption. "Hear me out, Dad: I know you don't want to assume anything, but this blur didn't start showing until the morning after I saw that aircraft go by. He could be connected to-."
Her father interrupted her as calmly as he could, "Amy, I told you to not talk about this with me again."
"But this is important, Dad!" Amy protested, now standing by the sink in front of her dad. "It's important for you. If you want to find any dirt on Kintobor, the blue blur looks like a great place to start."
"All right, let me dissolve this right now." Amy's dad became stern, making Amy fairly uneasy as she felt herself lose a couple inches of height out of fear. "You have no evidence supporting if that was a Kintobor device that flew off over the city. No one else woke up to the sound of rockets."
"That's 'cause it wasn't making sound." Amy interrupted. "It might have had stealth-?!"
"Let me finish, young lady!" Her father coerced her speech to a minimum. "Why would this… 'blue blur' stop to answer a question… if he can even answer one? From what we've seen, no one has had an interview with him or anything. No one knows who he is!"
Amy attempted to stand tall again, thinking there might be a loophole… a way to convince her father that this could work. "But what about his appearance inside an old Kintobor warehouse? Doesn't that strike as odd?"
"You think that coincidence is going to get me into all this?" Her father seemed almost shocked at Amy's remark. "We have no idea where Kintobor is, what he has been doing besides his usual manufacturing business, and you believe that a Mobian's sudden appearance inside a warehouse should strike me as a connection to him?"
Amy stood her ground, though she could feel her side crumbling before her dad's overwhelming authority on this matter. "It wasn't just a warehouse… it was HIS warehouse. And you know that he has been up to something, ever since that Charles Hedgehog guy left the industry."
"Well, we have no idea where he is; he's been keeping himself hidden ever since then. For all we know, our one good source of information is gone… maybe even dead." The words darted out of his mouth, shooting daggers at his daughter's claims. Her face seemed to tremble slightly, as though she had fought this argument for nothing… but there was this air of respectability about Amy's efforts that made her father want to make her feel better; he placed his hands on her shoulders, surprising her in her defeat.
"Listen, sweetheart…" he managed to calm himself down, holding back his frustration, "… I know you want to help me with this. I've been trying at this for years and nothing's come up, so you want to help me. I understand that. I love that. But we can't just assume these things… not without solid and documented evidence. No one else saw a ship fly across the city. No one has talked to the 'blue blur'. We can't make a claim until we know for sure. Until then, we just have to wait."
And as Amy considered his words, he drew her in for a hug. She never got many hugs with her father… it was only on vacations and free weekends when she got them. It was even more rare to get one during the week. But as her father tugged at her, Amy couldn't help but hug back.
"Just promise me you won't get into any shenanigans about this, okay?" Her father muttered over her shoulder.
Amy's eyes opened, pondering her next decision. And as she reminded herself of her deceitful charm, she closed her eyes again and muttered back, "Okay."
Her father believed that there were no more ways to solve this mystery… but she certainly felt that there was.
Amy brought her grandfather's staff every time she went out at night. It had been a gift from him; he had instructed her to use it "in self-defense". Her father had protested against the idea, believing that carrying a staff around at night would send the wrong message to other people. She got the staff anyway. Perhaps her grandpa believed in her potential just as much as she did. Plus, she was always good at finding shortcuts through the city as to not draw attention to herself. For Amy, agility and perseverance were some of her greatest qualities.
Due to her independence, as proclaimed constantly by her father, she was given the option to leave the house as she pleased, as long as she didn't make a ruckus when she left or returned. Amy was always one to oblige to the rule because… well, any teenager would take up that opportunity in a heartbeat.
As she walked up the hillside towards the forest, her red coat over her red dress and her staff slid into a sheathe on her backpack, she wondered what she would find on the other side of the forest. She had heard about a village not too far off from the city. Perhaps the blue blur lived there? Unlike her father, Amy tended to make assumptions… but her father tended to forget that she had made many assumptions about people… and had been right about them most of the time; she had a good track record for these kinds of issues.
The walk along the dark path through the forest was extremely quiet. The moon failed to truly shine through all of the leaves, leaving it up to instinct for her direction. She had never heard so much nothing, having lived out in the city for so long; it was nerve-racking to some extent, hearing the sounds of car engines and music fade away while leaving in its place a discomforting silence. But she simply gripped her staff tighter, reaffirming her strength against all odds. If she faced any opposition, she would be without power.
Only 25 minutes later did she see what looked like lamplight near the end of the path. She was impressed with herself for coming this far. Another few minutes passed as she jogged over to the end and stood by the small lantern post just outside of the entrance… and she realized just how big this "village" was.
The first thing she saw was a humongous tree smack-dab in her line of sight upon entering. It was an oak tree, though its trunk was wide, its branches were massive, and its leaves left massive amounts of shade upon its bark. The moonlight made the tree seem almost blue in color.
Looking around the tree, she abruptly saw a small modernized public school, like multiple rectangles piled up on top of each other in disorganization. I'd probably be confused walking around in there, Amy thought to herself, turning her attention to the right to see a long arching pathway around the tree, with houses and establishments lining either side of it.
This is going to take a while.
It had seemed as though she had searched along the path for hours, but it had been only 10 minutes until she had seemingly reached the end. The moonlight cut off after a certain point due to the tree, which made it hard for her to see anything afterwards. But every house seemed to look generally the same; every one of them seemed quaint and homely, like a decorated cabin in the woods. No one was out and about at this time of night; she believed that a curfew might be the purpose of such a thing.
And none of the names really made sense for the true identity of the blue blur, at least in terms of last names: Prower… Rabbit… Armadillo… none of which seemed remotely connected to the Mobian she had seen on the news and just that morning. Of course, she had never seen the blur stand still for very long, so that also didn't help
I figured he'd be more well-known here by now, Amy thought to herself as she seemed to reach the end of the path, finding only houses on the left stopping at a foot of the woods. Perhaps they never noticed him due to his-.
And that's when she noticed a house that was different from the others in that it sat at the end of the path, dead center. It looked like a rickety log cabin, though it had been well kept and stable for quite some time. The walls were made of a dark spruce wood, a shade darker than those of other houses and businesses.
Low profile… I get it, she thought slyly to herself, taking a firmer grip of her staff as she began to slowly progress towards the lonely home. It felt old and rusty, yet it also felt like someone was still living in it, given the clear windowpanes at the front of the house.
She walked up to the door, taking a breath in. Amy knew how important this search for dirt on Kintobor was to her father, and if she had to ask a stranger (possibly not even the right one, she had to admit). She calmed herself, took one last breath, and then knocked on the door.
…
Nothing. Nobody came.
She knocked on the door once more, this time asking, "Hello? Is anyone home?"
…
Nothing. Nobody came.
Well, this is unsettling, she thought to herself, once again gripping her staff a little tighter. Looking at the situation, she didn't have a lot of options; everyone else's houses seemed more well-established while this one didn't even have a mailbox. And if it did, she betted there would either be no name or a new coat of paint where it would normally be.
This has to be his home, Amy attempted to reassure herself. It has to be… right?
She looked down at the spherical door knob, made of rusted metal. And though her father would disagree with decision like this, she knew she had to try.
She latched onto the knob and slowly turned it. She felt a click, and she slowly slid the door open.
"I… am so lucky… and yet in so much trouble right now." She whispered to herself, leaning her head through the door crack. The house was fairly dark, obviously because whoever was there was sleeping. Or at least she hoped they were sleeping. Or that they were there to begin with. In any case, she wanted answers. And she was going to get them, whether her father believed them or not. She took one step in, feeling the tile floor of what she assumed to be a foyer, which made her tense up.
Crap! Have to be extra quiet now.
She pulled her other leg inside, and, while holding the turned door knob in the same position, slid the door back into place. She then let the door knob settle again and turned back towards the rest of the home. There was a window draped in curtains at the other end of the house, seemed to be in another open room next to the foyer. She could see the moonlight reflecting off the trees behind the house, slightly illuminating the curtain with light… though not much was illuminated.
Even while taking lighter steps, Amy was cautious as the house still slightly echoed with her presence.
This is the last time I break into someone's houses wearing boots, she proclaimed to her mind for future reference. Although that makes the assumption I've broken into someone's house before.
She slowly brought her staff out from behind her, gripping it with her other hand as well. She had no idea how the "blue blur" would react to someone else in his house… obviously angered, but possibly violently. And how would he fend in combat? With his speed, probably better than her. But she wanted to be careful, and her staff was the only thing between her and a hard swing of a fist, even if for a brief moment.
She cleared her throat, and tried to steady her breathing.
"Hello?" She tried again, not trying to be as loud as she was outside. "I'm sorry about this, I really am. I don't mean to wake you. I just want to ask some questions!"
Her slow tiptoeing footsteps were the only answer. She was now incredibly tense, so much so that she didn't really want to move despite her gut telling her to continue. Was anyone even here right now?
"Please, whoever you are!" She called out still a little quiet. "Let me know you're awake. Let me know… that you're real. Let me know that you're… AH!"
The lights flipped on in an instant, finally bathing the tiles she was on in a nice warm tan. She peered up towards the room beyond the foyer to see those lights on too. There was carpet just in there, and she was almost at the end of the foyer as well. But more intriguing was the blue hedgehog, standing in the center of the room, between an open living room and an open kitchen and dining table. He stood with his arms crossed, his expression seeming distrustful but calm.
"Listen, I'll say it upfront," she began, sliding the staff into its sheathe and raising her hands in surrender. "I'm sorry."
The hedgehog smirked at her response to his entry.
"Y'know, I've never had someone break into my home before." He seemed proud of this fact… or maybe that the fact was now void perhaps?
Amy was still fairly cautious. The hedgehog didn't seem to want a fight, so she thought it best to admit she was in the wrong. But she didn't want to stand down from her want to question either. It was a balancing act of surrender yet persistence. And despite her current actions, her father would admit that she was very persistent when she needed to be.
"You're being very nonchalant for someone who is technically the victim of a break-in." Amy stated outright.
"When you've been me and have experienced what I've had to in the past few days, you learn to try and keep your cool." The blue hedgehog replied, his arms still crossed and his smirk still present. He began to walk over to the island in the kitchen. "Not that I'm naturally hotheaded, but… sometimes, your gut feeling is the best one."
As her "host" leaned against the counter's edge, Amy recognized no signs of a confrontation in sight, and she slowly began to put her hands back down to her sides. She could feel the relief building in her heart.
"I heard you from down the hall over there." The blue hog revealed, pointing over to the hallway to her left. "You said you want to ask me some questions. And since you don't seem like some nosey news reporter… I suppose now's as good a time as any to ask them… despite the fact that you broke in."
"Well, your door was unlocked." Amy pointed out.
The hedgehog's smug face seemed defeated by her words. "Oh crap, you're right." He confirmed with an impromptu facepalm. "I need to find that key."
Amy took a deeper breath.
Okay, so he can be a bit of a dolt… that's a relief. She thought to herself.
"So…" she began, slowly entering the kitchen area, "are you the 'blue blur' everyone's been talking about?"
The hedgehog, having released himself from his facepalm, regained a clear mind and answered with a raised hand, "Guilty as charged."
"Of course, that can't be your real name, right?" she persisted.
The blue blur smirked. "Most people call me Sonic."
Amy had enough comfort to smile now. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Sonic." She greeted him finally with an extended arm.
As he shook her hand, he replied, "Please, just Sonic. I'm only 17; I'm not a businessman… and this certainly ain't no business meeting."
17? She thought. He's as old as me! And doing stuff like that out in the city? How's this even possible?
Sonic moved his waist away from the counter, now leaning on the edge with crossed arms on the side opposite the young girl. He was on the side near the dining table, she on the side nearest to the foyer.
It figures she's not very comfortable right now, he considered. She still has no idea if I'm gonna report her or something. Which I'm fine with not answering at the moment. She was watching me with seriousness instead of awe today, and I need to figure out why.
"So what's your name then?" He asked quickly.
"Rose. Amy Rose." She put simply.
Something clicked in Sonic's mind and his eyes seemed to widen, though, in Amy's eyes, the expression was barely noticeable due to how fast he processed her answer.
Amy Rose… Rose Tower, he pieced together. Perhaps this is a business meeting.
"Well, obviously you were intrigued with me when I was doing my trial run today." He stated.
"Everyone was." She sharply replied.
"Not the same way you were." The speedster noted. "It seemed as though I meant something to you. I may not know what for at the moment, but you need me. Is that right?"
Amy squirmed a bit in her stance. She wasn't expecting him to pick up so quickly.
He may be a dolt, Amy began to correct a previous thought, but he's good at seeing the details in quick moments. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous.
"You aren't wrong." She admitted. "You're good at reading people's faces."
Sonic shrugged. "Let's just say that I've gotten used to reading people's faces to see what they think of me."
The pink hedgehog could see there was something deeper there, but she decided to move along.
"You do deserve an explanation. But first I need to know some things about you." She attempted to compromise.
"I had no idea I'd be up at midnight answering 20 questions from a girl who broke into my house." Sonic chuckled to himself. "But I usually can't sleep anyway, so…"
He pulled a stool from his left underneath him so he could sit down.
"Take the other stool, and ask away, Ms. Rose."
Amy slightly blushed a bit. I did not expect him to call me that.
"So let's start off with the big one: what happened that Thursday morning?" Amy first asked.
Sonic steered his gaze over to the coffee maker, still broken and unmoved.
"The better question is what happened the night before." He corrected her. "Well, I'll try and keep it brief since… you probably need to sleep more than I do.
"I was living with my uncle Chuck for most of my life. I didn't think of him as much more than a family member and a mechanic. But that Wednesday night, he had left a note saying he had something he needed to do with this doctor, Dr. Kintobor."
"My god, Kintobor…" Amy's mind raced at the mention of that name, "did your uncle Chuck work for Kintobor?"
Sonic nodded. "I assumed they were partners in science. But whatever this meeting was about, my uncle wrote that it wasn't good. And through a little process of elimination, I found the warehouse they were meeting in. My uncle was strapped to a prisoner's table, and Kintobor was standing at a console. And there was this blue orb... pulsating with electricity. But it also seemed supernatural. I can't truly put my finger on it."
Sonic rested his elbows on the table, now twiddling his thumbs in thought.
"The doctor… he grabbed my uncle… and threatened to drop him into the orb. I'm not sure why… but then he dropped him. And I had a gut feeling and ran into the orb and tried to catch him… to push him out of the way… and I almost did. But then the orb exploded… I was knocked out… Kintobor escaped… and my uncle… he…"
A lump formed in his throat. It wasn't as bad as it was the day after the explosion, but… he could feel the sorrow and the guilt rising up his spine. He shivered in an attempt to keep his mind off the subject, but he only continued to dwell. His face turned down towards the table in defeat.
But there was a sudden warmth on his hands. Peering out from under his eyebrows, he could see Amy's hand covering his clasped ones. He looked up further to see Amy's understanding green eyes. She pressed her lips inward, knowing there wasn't much she could say to help him. But she still wanted to say something.
"I know what it's like to lose someone too." She put simply.
Sonic felt a slight smirk rise up to his face, though he still felt the burden of sorrow. But that burden felt a little lighter now. With each time he's had to tell his story, he has felt more content with the details… more accepting of the outcome. His uncle was the only family he had… but the story he was now wrapped in required his attention. His uncle would want him to stay focused, and he didn't want to do wrong by his uncle.
Amy lifted her hand from Sonic's, and he quickly brought his twiddling thumbs closer to his edge of the counter.
"In any case…" he continued, "… I woke up the next to some officers. I was confused and wanted to move. But I kept moving in rapid instances. I was processing what I wanted to do faster than I recognized me having processed what I wanted to do. My speed had increased dramatically. And the movements… they felt natural. This agility… this grace… whatever that explosive orb did to me… it was something I hadn't expected."
"You weren't like this before?" Amy inquired.
"I was an outcast before. Kinda still am, but different reasons." Sonic admitted. "I didn't have any special talent… I looked nothing like my uncle. And I had little to no friends. And I had never been to Central City before. I was an outsider not just here in the village but in the whole world. I felt as though I didn't belong… that is, until I met a kid."
"A kid?" Amy repeated. What does this have to do with anything I came here for? She thought.
"I know, bit off topic," Sonic quickly inserted before explaining, "but… he's helped process these past few days a lot better than I would have alone. He's been my lifeline. And he's kinda like my uncle too, fixing things and making engines."
"Engines?" Amy didn't think that word would be mixed in with this kid.
"Yeah, the kid's a weird one." Sonic chuckled to himself. "But he's smart. His name's Miles. I call him Tails."
That could be useful, Amy admitted, but I need to get him back on track. He's right; I am starting to feel tired.
"Sorry, I went off track." Sonic apologized, sitting up and correct his posture. It was hard to find a comfortable position on a seat with no back to it.
"You're fine." Amy responded. "I didn't realize how new this was for you. It was certainly new for me when I saw the news. I just never expected to meet the person behind the blur."
"Person behind the blur… I guess the idea of someone Mobian beneath a powerful figure like that is a bit too abstract for some people out there." Sonic thought aloud.
Amy looked down slightly in thought. "I suppose I'm guilty of that too. But I knew you'd have answers I'd need. But I didn't want to antagonize you."
"So you broke into my house?"
Amy was almost completely offended by that question. "You left your door unl-!"
Sonic raised his finger to his mouth. "Shhh… don't worry. I'm not filing a complaint to Mayor Acorn for some girl who only wanted to chat."
Sonic could see Amy breathe out in relief. And he smiled as she did as well.
Now's she's more comfortable… Sonic thought in relief in return. Well, at least 'being bad with girls' is definitely not on my power list.
"Mayor Acorn?" Amy then asked.
"She's sorta the leader of the village." Sonic answered. "She lives in the base of the Acorn Tree. Big oak tree out there, pretty hard to miss."
Amy nodded, content with the answer.
"So…" Sonic began, "you got my origin story. What is it you need me for?"
It was now Amy's turn to lean forward. She also seemed troubled with her answer, but it was about time she gave her interviewee some explanation.
"Kintobor… he's a businessman, much like my father. He's been very successful in the eyes of the public. People say he should be the next ambassador for humanity on this planet… and that alone disgusts me."
"So he's two-faced?" Sonic simplified. "Figured as much. How successful has he been?"
"To put it simply, he's now one of the leading minds in robotic innovation and manufacturing… a few spots ahead of my father. That makes him very successful in my book. And Mobians along with humans believe it too."
"It's hard to demote someone so crooked from such a high standing." Sonic agreed. "What made you realize he was crooked?"
"I… I don't really know." Amy started off. Sonic could feel that this was gonna be the hard part. "I only remember being 12 years old when my father came home one night… he looked the saddest that he's ever looked. He told me that… that my mom… he said that she… wasn't gonna be home for a while. And I asked him why. And he said that he didn't really know. Only that he blamed one man for her leaving us."
"Kintobor." Sonic figured out. Amy could only slightly nod as she stared at her hands on the table.
"I see why I'm important to you now." Sonic said, trying to bring her eyes up to meet his. "I'm evidence of his corruption."
Amy nodded once again. "You're a piece of the puzzle, yeah."
"Puzzle?" Sonic repeated. "Like a jigsaw puzzle?"
Amy scoffed, a slight smile seen on her face. "Yeah, like a jigsaw puzzle." She wiped at her eyes, trying to eliminate her tears before they dropped to the counter. "You aren't clear cut evidence that Kintobor was involved with my mom's… passing… but you are evidence that he is malicious and corrupt."
"So we need to find better evidence." Sonic continued.
"Once we find something that works, it won't be too hard to pull him down." Amy finished. "But first, we need to find it."
"How are we gonna do that?" Sonic asked. "We're not exactly private detectives. I can notice some details, but it's not like I can do forensics in my head."
"We'll find a way. If we can meet here again tomorrow evening, I'd like to carry out a little investigation. We may need some help, so go ahead and bring along your tech friend."
"Investigation of what?" Sonic asked.
"The warehouse you went to where you first met Kintobor."
Sonic could not have signed up for that investigation fast enough.
Sonic decided to walk Amy back to the entrance of the forest. He would have run her over, but she still wanted to talk about things. They were only a few minutes from the forest exit as they neared the end of their conversation.
"You're sure you don't remember anything about the warehouse?" Amy asked to be sure.
"Not at the moment." Sonic answered, trying his hardest to remember any detail he could. "I know where it is, but the inside's still pretty foggy to me right now. Once we get in there again tomorrow night, I might remember more."
"Right, of course." Amy accepted his answer. "The police haven't turned up much in an investigation, so we'll have the place to ourselves.
"Wait. They didn't turn up anything?" Sonic asked. "Then why go there?"
"Sonic, they weren't looking for the right things." Amy answered quickly. "We both know Kintobor was there last night. But they had no idea he was there at all. Perhaps we can find something that they missed."
"Maybe." Sonic guessed that that answer would suffice. "It may not be the evidence you're looking for."
"Any piece that leads me closer to him is worth finding."
As they reached the forest exit, Sonic placed his hand on Amy's shoulder. She stopped in place before turning to face the blue blur.
"Amy… you're not doing this for revenge, right?" Sonic asked calmly.
"Wouldn't you?" She answered sharply back.
"I mean… I guess I'm looking for revenge too, but… I just don't want to do anything stupid. I don't want you to do anything stupid."
"You don't need to worry about me." Amy stated outright.
"Maybe I don't… but I don't want to do anything that could get me or someone else killed. That's already happened to me once. And I don't want it to happen again."
Amy peered down in thought. Perhaps Sonic was right. She still felt anger at even the thought of Kintobor, but… evidence was needed… not death in the slightest.
"I agree." Amy said before looking back up at the speedster once again, this time nodding slightly.
"I'm glad you do." Sonic smirked in relief.
"You have a very different mindset for a teenager, Sonic the Hedgehog." Amy smirked back.
"Eh, comes with the hardships." He said while crossing his arms. "Have a good night, Amy."
"You too." Amy continued to smirk as she turned to make her way down the forested path. It was still just as dark as before, but she could see the small bright lights of the city down at the very end of the walkway. She sighed as she continued to make her way down the dirt path.
But her mind went racing as the wind seemed to pick her up and deliver all the way down the pathway, leaping into the air, swerving through the plaza and dropping her off at the front of Rose Tower itself.
As she regained her footing, she instantly turned back to see a blue blur head right back down the street, drifting around the water fountain in the plaza and leaping back into the forest.
"If only everyone else knew him." Amy wished, as she entered through the tower doors.
HOLY CRAP! Hello, everybody, and welcome back to STH! Woohoo for the return!
Okay, I will pull an Amy and start off by saying this upfront: I'm sorry. I am so sorry for having left this fic behind. Really, I am. I was going through a really tough time this past year, trying to decide my life's route and what I wanted out of the world (makes it sound like I'm important in real life, but I'm not, trust me. I'm just guy who likes Sonic and superheroes. 'Nuff said.).
But my retreat was a huge disservice to you guys. I left the story with no note of "hiatus" or "discontinued". I didn't tell you guys what was happening (probably for the better) or that I wasn't gonna write more. It was only recently that I remembered this account and this story. I read the reviews, I reread the story. I remembered exactly what I wanted out of the story, where I wanted to lead it to. And upon reading the end of Chapter 5, I felt that same empty feeling that you veteran readers probably felt. And those reviews… especially the ones after I left. They broke my heart a little, not gonna lie. And one of my favorite reviewers for this story, ChangelingRin, had apparently messaged me months ago in October 2015, asking for me to say something.
Well, I'm many months late, but I'm here to say that this story means a lot to me. I actually had another FFN account, with other Sonic fanfictions written before this one. I had a complete first one that I was very proud and now mixed on, and a failed sequel. If you guys want to look at those, PM me and I'll give you the link if you want. But those aren't the fics that I love. I love this fic. I appreciate all the ideas I generated for it. All the plans I created. All within my brain. No step-by-step process, I just started thinking things and writing them down. And, from the response I've gotten so far… it's working.
I'm gonna take ChangelingRin's advice and not get arrogant or anything. But I just want to say thank you for the support, spoken or unspoken. This story has done much better in six chapters than my previous fics did in six chapters, and that's thanks to all of you who read this.
And I'm not leaving any time soon. This story will be returning with weekly updates (whatever day of the week I choose, really, but definitely weekly… unless something gets in the way, then the next week). I'm gonna fight to keep you guys informed moving forward. That way, we can finish this story together.
So again, welcome back to STH. I can't wait to unravel more of this amazing mystery that is this story. I appreciate your support. This has been the longest chapter I've ever written for a story. Also, there will be updates to previous chapters, whenever I get the time, where I fix proofreading mistakes, such as misspelled words, omitted phrases, etc. You newer people seeing this when it's complete don't need to worry; you won't notice a thing. Thank you all for enjoying this, and I'll see you in the next chapter.
