PART THREE
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Ch 20
To the Rescue
(Introduction to Part Three)
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Impervious to the cold of the cloudy morning, Amy patiently sat on a log outside the tent, slowly sipping a cup of cold rainwater as if it were a mug of hot, black coffee. She wished it indeed was coffee, but Sonic and Tails' portable stoves had been lost during the recent attacks by the Alpha Unit. Amy normally would have felt foolish for substituting cold H2O in its place, but no one was present to mock her anyway.
A full night had elapsed since Sonic had promised his imminent return, but he and Tails had still not shown up yet. Amy minded their absence, even if she wasn't surprised by it. Sonic's plan might take a bit longer to carry out than expected; if they were to steal the Blythe key from Knuckles before retrieving the Ambrosian Files, they would need a few hours to spy on the echidna and wait for the proper moment of the night when the five Chaotix might let down their guard. Furthermore, they could also be delayed by the need to avoid the Islanders' harassment the next day as they penetrated the chamber.
Naturally, Amy worried about their fate; a million things could go wrong with this crazy plan. Despite her trust in Sonic, she knew pertinently he was not always right and his endeavors could turn to disaster, as when he had impatiently rushed to Borealis eight days ago and was captured right away. When Amy would eventually integrate within the Sonic/Tails duo, she figured she would also act as the voice of reason – in addition to her fighting skills – to curtail what she perceived as Sonic's impetuosity and Tails' immaturity (however inaccurate this perception might be).
Even if its scope was rather limited, Amy still had a task assigned by her "leader" – she had to prepare the trio's escape from Borealis. She had nothing better to do anyway, so after "breakfast" (which consisted of rainwater and a few berries) she proceeded to practice breaking down the tent and setting it back up, in order to be ready to perform that feat in record time for her friends' arrival. Amy also packed up whatever remained of Tails' very few belongings salvaged after their disastrous surrender to the Alpha Unit three nights ago.
That preparation soon at an end, Amy had little choice but to linger in the hope that her friends were safe and successful in their search. She spent her time writing in her diary; adamant on hiding her fear of Slug even to her private journal, her prose rather consisted of her habitual fantasies about Sonic. This time, she also chose to draft an entry pertaining to Joey, describing him as a dear one-time confidant whose memory she would cherish despite the briefness of their former friendship.
Amy began to seriously worry when she realized the day was almost over and her friends were still missing. What if they had indeed run into trouble? Amy considered the thought of going back to Borealis... She might have to come rescue Sonic, remembering the excruciating and useless wait a week ago at her camp due to his capture. She didn't want to make the same mistake again – if she had to act, better sooner than later.
At first, Amy reacted strongly against this solution: in many regards, she didn't want to go back to Borealis at all. Due to yesterday's events, she naturally sensed the base to have become a poisonous terrain dangerously infested by a swarm of proliferating gangsters. Worse of all was the presence within that infection of her arch-enemy – Slug the Machine. Yesterday, Amy had actually seen him with her own eyes; not only that, but when tending Joey's wounds she had seen the beginnings of the damage he could inflict. This substantiation of the peril Amy faced had strongly affected her, as if her demise was irresistibly getting nearer.
In addition, Amy felt uncomfortable at the prospect of encountering Joey again – she didn't feel she could run up to him and ask for his help after having explicitly broken their friendship. In her mind, Joey was now a thing of the past; she had chosen Sonic and Tails. The reunion with the dynamic duo represented the key to her future; Joey had been a dear, helpful friend, but remained a relationship meant to be ephemeral. In truth, Amy used this rationalization of her choice to alleviate any guilt she might have felt about a rupture that left the Ambrosian alone and friendless.
Yet despite the many reservations Amy held about a quick return to Borealis, it soon became clear that it was the only path available to her. Sonic and Tails' failure to return necessarily meant they had run into trouble. To passively remain at the camp for her friends' increasingly improbable appearance would eventually drive her insane.
Still terrified at the possibility of running into her arch-enemy, Amy did her best to ignore it for the moment. Actually, Amy felt enormously insecure and ashamed at the paralyzing nature of her phobia. She cursed herself for what she perceived as unacceptable cowardice in the face of a threat, a feature that embarrassingly distinguished her from Sonic or Tails. Amy's wish to overcome her fear certainly contributed to her decision to return to Borealis; the fact that the threat was not immediate yet helped her to artificially disregard her reluctance.
Her anxiety thus rationalized and controlled for the time being, Amy decided she would give Sonic and Tails the night to come back before taking action (after all, they could reasonably be held up for a bit without actually being in trouble). If they still didn't show up by dawn, she would come to their aid without further hesitation. With that resolution, Amy drifted uneasily into sleep.
Daybreak came, waking Amy. Sonic and Tails' absence was confirmed.
Without a moment to lose, Amy grabbed her knapsack and darted towards to edge of the forest, intent on coming to the rescue.