1Chapter 9

Defense

I woke up the next day seeing the morning sunrise. Sonic lay on the ground, a brown paper bag next to him, and two drinks next to the bag. Why does he always beat me awake? Dave... If I ever stayed the night at his house, I could wake up at noon and still have an extra four hours before he woke up! Dave slept like a rock. A strong, mustachioed rock. Sonic's as strong as a rock, but he wakes very early!

I got up and brushed myself off, sitting down next to Sonic.

"Good morning," yawned Sonic. I smiled.
"Good morrow."

He looked at me, his green eyes full of confusion.

"What?"
"Good morning, Sonic." I said, trying to see if he'd know that I said "morrow". He eyed me suspiciously, but blinked, and smiled.

"I got us some bagels and two orange juices," he said, pointing to the bag.
"How much did it cost?" I asked, trying to sound uninterested. Sonic shrugged.

"Not much, maybe 20 dollars."
I hugged Sonic, and he returned it.

"Thank you so much, Sonic."

He smiled.

"...for buying food?"
I shook my head.

"No! For everything you've done for me. Thank you."

Sonic smiled, opening the bag and handing me a plain bagel. I don't care what type it was. All I cared about was the fact that I have to repay Sonic about fifty dollars.

We ate, and shortly after that Sonic picked me up and we sped down the street. It took no more than a second. I think I was closer to Tails' house. Sonic placed me on the ground, and we knocked on Tails' door. A few seconds passed, and he answered. His fur was matted with oil and dirt. I guess he was working on something. Speaking of dirt, I need to shower when we leave. I guess I can ask Sonic to take me to a lake or something. I DO have soap in my bag!

"Hi guys! Tina, how are you feeling?" asked Tails, his usual, happy self.

"Sonic? Can I talk to you in the other room?" asked Tails. Sonic nodded.

"Sure thing, buddy."

Tails and Sonic walked into another room, and I could see both of them talking, but I obviously couldn't make out what either of them were saying. Tails was making motions with his hands, and Sonic was shaking his head, and his hands, too. They both were yelling, but their voices are muffled. I gave up trying to hear what they were saying, but I was sure of one thing:
It sure didn't seem to be anything positive.

Finally, Tails groaned and nodded, mouthing inaudible words and holding up one finger. Finally, both of my friends walked back into the room I was in, and Tails had my backpack in hand. Both Sonic and Tails seemed sad and reluctant.

I just didn't know why... and I doubt they would tell me. Anyway, Tails gave me my backpack, and we all talked for a while. I didn't try to ask what they were talking about, because I don't want to seem nosy. Interestingly, Tails told Sonic and I that he was working on a new project, but he couldn't let either of us see it. I guess it was very, very important. Another thing that I found interesting about the conversation was that it rotated mainly around how badly Eggman wanted me. I didn't say anything, but after we left... I hadn't forgotten.

"Excuse me, Sonic?" I asked. Sonic turned his head and looked up at me.

"What's up?"
"Could you please.... take me to a pond? I need to bathe," I said, blushing for having to ask something like that of Sonic. I get embarrassed asking to use a bathroom, so finding a place to bathe was a difficult thing to ask. Sonic didn't mind.

"Sure thing! I know just the place!"

He picked me up and ran in a random direction. We ended up at a very large lake, and it was devoid of life. I opened the backpack, took my bar of soap, and a towel. Sonic had long since looked away and was sitting behind a bush. I slipped off my shoes and socks, and stepped into my pair of flip flops. (I don't like the way the muddy bottom of a lake feels under my bare feet. It's just gross.) With that, I undressed, and slipped into the cool water. It felt great to get clean again. I quickly washed up, not wanting to keep Sonic waiting, and I grabbed my towel, my wet hair gathering behind my head, waved from the water. I quickly dried myself, and got dressed even faster than that. My hair was still damp, and I sat next to Sonic behind the bushes. Sonic turned his head and looked at me.

"Feeling better?" he asked, smiling.

"Much, thanks so much, Sonic."

Sonic smiled and hugged me.

I stared Sonic in the eyes.

"Sonic? are we..."
"Boyfriend and Girlfriend?" I whispered, wondering if it was too soon, or wondering if I had spoken too loud.

Sonic didn't let me say another word. He just pressed his lips against mine. My heart was fluttering again. After our kiss, he nodded, smiling happily. I pressed my forehead against his, and our noses touched. We stayed like that for a few minutes, and Sonic picked me up and ran. I didn't know where he was going, but we stopped in a town.
"Wanna get anything?" asked Sonic, looking at me. I turned my head to face him, and nodded. Why not? I knew I'd only need one thing.

"I'm going to look for something to use to defend myself if Eggman tries to kidnap me for a third time."

Sonic nodded.

"That's a great idea."

So, we looked around, passing stores here and there and trying to find something that I might be able to use. As we walked passed a store, fifteen minutes into our search, I happened to look into a sales window. Bingo!

"Sonic! Look!" I pointed at the product in the window. It was a very large hammer, red and yellow. Maybe a mallet. It was on display in the sales window, and on a card below it was it's name and price.

"Piko-Piko Hammer

$175

Must go!"

I walked inside, and Sonic followed. I spoke to the clerk, and he took the Piko-Piko hammer from the display and handed it to me so I could see how heavy it was.

Surprisingly, it was very large, but not very heavy.
"Ma'am? Can I see you in the other room?" asked the salesman. I looked at him, but nodded. Sure! Why not? Would he try anything... weird if I was holding a large hammer? He told Sonic to wait outside, and Sonic did, but he didn't seem to like that idea. He was waiting right outside of the door, waiting for some signs of a struggle. My nerves eased up a bit when the man closed the door but didn't lock it. So, he turned to me, and I was holding the hammer with both hands.

"Okay, Ma'am. Let me explain to you why I took you in here. That hammer has a secret... ability with it. By that, I mean... Well, if you wanted to put that away... do you think you could hide it from view?"

I looked at the large hammer, then back at the salesman.

"No, no way!" I said, smiling. The salesman smiled, too.

"Let me show you something... but you have to keep everything that I'm about to teach you a secret... are you still planning on buying this hammer?"

I nodded.

"Okay, now first..."
...Well, I can't tell you how I hide my hammer! It's a secret! I didn't know that this hammer of mine would become a trademark with me... I CAN, however, tell you how powerful this hammer was. I just can't tell you where I put it. This relatively light hammer packs a really powerful punch. The salesman let me hit a wall with this hammer, and the wall was connected to some kind of instrument. I hit the wall, and the instrument measured how powerful the strike was. The number hit 395/410! I could actually feel how strong the strike was, too!

About ten or fifteen minutes passed, and we walked out of the room. Sonic was sitting on the ground next to the door, probably relieved when he didn't hear the door lock.

I walked to the counter, and the salesman rung up the Piko-Piko Hammer. I paid him the money, and put the hammer away.
Obviously, Sonic was surprised.

"Woah! How'd you do that?" he asked, looking around to see where I put my hammer.

I only smiled.

"I can't tell you that," I said, still smiling.

Sonic stared at me, curious, and then smiled, too. He turned away.

"Let's go get a bite," he said, seeing that it was starting to get a little late. But, the sun was still up... so why worry? We decided on the A-1 Diner again, considering we were right in front of it when Sonic suggested we go out to eat. Again, we were seated, and received our menus. Sonic again ordered chili, and I just ordered the Caesar Salad again. As we waited for our orders, Sonic seemed very uneasy.

"Sonic, what's wrong?" I asked.

He gulped.

"Me and Tails were talking before. Remember?"

I nodded.

"You both seemed mad..." I inquired.

"Yeah. Listen... Tails wanted to.... he wants to get Eggman off your back."

I smiled.

"So do I!" I said, but Sonic shook his head.

"You don't understand. The only way to absolutely keep Eggman from interrupting between you and me is to change the way you look... and change your name as well."

My smile vanished.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Sonic sighed.

"He's working on a machine... to change your physical appearance."

My heart stopped.

"I...."

Sonic interrupted me.

"I convinced Tails to lay off for a while."

My heart started beating again.

"But, Tina. If it happens again, I may have to side with Tails. It's too dangerous, and the last thing I want is for you to get hurt."
I quivered a little.

"Tina?"
"I....I...."
"It's all up to you. If it happens again, will you do what we think is right? Or do you want to keep running the risk of kidnaping?"

"I...um....um..."
Finally, I snapped out of my trance. The last thing Sonic would ever to do me was hurt me, I knew that. I had to trust his judgement.

"Okay," I whispered, frightened.

Sonic reached over and pulled my head a little closer, placing his forehead against mine.

"It's not going to happen if he doesn't take you again. It's alright, Tina."

Sonic kept his forehead against mine for another minute or two... and then placed his hand on mine as he pulled away. Then, we got our food, and ate in silence. What would it do? What would I become? A blonde? Short hair? Younger, like a child? Old, like a grandmother? An animal, like Sonic? I don't think Sonic could have been less descriptive if he tried... but I can't blame him. I can't blame anybody except Eggman. So, we finished our food, and Sonic tried to pay again... but I cut him off. Today, I was going to pay.

"No, Tina," Sonic said, a smiling creeping onto his face.

"Yes, Sonic," I said, smiling, too.

"Tina, do we have to get into this again?"

I nodded, smiling.

"Tina-"
"Sonic, you paid last time, I owe you this time!" I said, trying to look like paying 27 dollars was a serious matter, but my big smile gave it away. Sonic laughed, and tried to pay again.

"Do you want me to get the hammer out?" I asked. Sonic laughed again and put his hands in the air.

"Okay, I give! I give!" said Sonic, smiling. I giggled, and ended up paying the bill.

After we left the diner, Sonic took me back to the plain we camped, and we lay down as the sun set. Sonic was in his beastly form, and he was lying next to me, eyes closed, and I was sure he was asleep. As he turned away from me, I placed 35 dollars in his hair, and shut my eyes.

End of Chapter 9

I had so much FUN writing this chapter!!! Tina has the Piko-Piko hammer? Who do you know that uses a piko-piko hammer? Is there a connection?? WHY AM I ASKING YOU!?!?