One Step at a Time
"If they only knew . . ."
Chapter 21: This Is Still the First Step
She couldn't believe it.
Cream blinked. When did she teach Amy that move?
Even when you're sitting in a crowded box filled with snobbish rich sponsors and nosy reporters, this race was the most spectacular and nail-biting event of her short life. Surely this was a memory you'd keep with you for a long time and then uselessly spoil it to you grandchildren when they're visiting you at a retirement home.
Cream got Goosebumps the whole while the athletes sped down the track. It was, to her amazement, too close for comfort, but none the less, her athlete was through. She was sure of it.
But Amy had the potential to be faster and stronger. After all, she'd only been training for a month – not to mention she had suffered loss only days before so mentally and emotionally, she could be doing better. It was a miracle she had even competed.
Cream felt her ears perk up in pride as she watched from the top box of the stadium how her athlete gasped for air, very close to fainting by the pale look on her face. It was difficult for Cream to restrain herself from cheering and screaming, but the professional atmosphere of the VIP box forced a little courtesy on her. Not that she cared what a bunch of rich old suckers thought of her or her behavior – it was just too nerving to even think about acting like a maniac . . . which is quite strange, considering that she liked doing that.
The bunny then felt a twitch in her eardrum when she heard the intercom go off once more. From next to her, Rogue jumped in her seat in alarm at the loudness.
"Ladies and gentlemen, will you please direct your attention to the big screen where the results are displayed."
"They have a big screen?" Rogue asked and Cream merely shrugged.
"I'm guessing since they announced it to nearly seventy thousand people . . . yeah, most likely," she answered bluntly while nodding once, eyes already locked on the giant square perched at the very top of the roof, right before the roof started to curve to form the dome.
Rogue snorted but her eyes soon found the board as well. The results were in. In a list formed by annoying orange letters, every athlete's name was displayed - from top to bottom; first to last.
Cream scanned the top five intently. There was no denying it – whether she had been faster or not, due to her quick thinking, Amy had won Blaze at the very last millisecond. At first Cream suspected they may have been tied, but the board had already established what was what.
She read further: Silver was third and nearly neck in neck with Shadow, who ended up second. The pair was almost as competitive as Blaze and Amy at the very last moment, but Cream ruled them out as unimportant to acknowledge . . . for now, anyway. After all, she was smart enough to grasp that at the current moment, all three the other hedgehogs were faster than Amy. They were far better physically conditioned, skilled and skilled and even more skilled in speeding performances. It came naturally to them – Cream understood that.
What they didn't realize though, is that Cream had been studying the hedgehog anatomy very thoroughly in the time she'd spent training with Amy. Cream may be young, but she could be sharp when the moment called for it.
The first thing she realized was that Sonic, Shadow and Silver had been training next to almost a year for this. The Olympics weren't a secret after all, just not very well publicized. And Cream got these guys pretty well – they were all proud men. They trained hard and intense, determined not to be overruled by the competition. What they didn't apprehend though is that they beat Amy by only a mere four seconds, excluding Sonic who beat her by five point three. And she's been training for only a month.
The second thing she came across was that, Amy didn't tire out nearly as fast as they did. Tails told her that Sonic's body was very limited when it came to speed, especially since he's been training more frequently than ever, meaning that even after almost months of training, he still hasn't adjusted to this new pace. She's almost more than hundred percent sure the same went for the other two blokes. Amy, on the other, only spent a week or more on fine-tuning her body to the comfort of her training program.
What this proved to Cream was that first of all, Amy was in a more comfortable running position than the other three. Also, because Cream had been closely monitoring Amy's physical treatment, she was less prone to injuries or any unnatural pain, and because the boys would push themselves too far, it would end in the inevitable. Adding to this, Amy was also disciplined and understood the mechanics of her speed. But this was the boys' thoughts: "We're fast! Let's run like heck!"
It was pretty clear to Cream who actually won the race here, but none the less, shifted her eyes to read the name of the real winner at the top of the list.
First in place was the ostrich.
No, I'm kidding. Duh, it was Sonic.
Cream raised her eyebrows at the results being presented on the screen. Soon the big screen flashed and showed the action replay of every athlete crossing the finish line. Sonic came in zooming - Shadow and Silver short on his heels. Blaze and Amy were neck in neck until the last few steps until Amy closed her eyes and swiftly ducked her head past the cat.
'Seriously, where did she learn that?' Cream thought, partially annoyed that it wasn't her in particular. Rogue the Bat was very excited by this though.
"Wonderful!" she exclaimed, a few people in the box's eyes whipping to her. She paid them no thought. "That was simply wonderful!"
Cream stood up from her seat and the other followed suit. With Amy's bag still on her shoulders, she and Rogue climbed the stairs down the stadium to make their way to Amy. Of course, this proved mildly difficult with the press crowded all around the other hedgehogs. While they walked to the finish line, Rogue and Cream discussed Amy's performance.
"I have no idea where the heck she learned that," Cream commented, almost frustrated that this would bother her so much.
"Learned what?" Rogue queried, giving her nails a quick look-over.
"That duck thing she did at the last second!" the trainer stated, a bit too loudly. "I mean, I can't believe she has such a fine sense of initiative for this sport already, and we barely have her up to professional standard! She's amazing!"
Rogue seemed thoughtful. "Are you serious? You didn't teach her that?"
"No, duh."
"And when you say she's not even up to professional standard, you mean she could be faster?"
Cream nodded seriously. "Yep."
The bat suddenly became very excited and pulled on Cream's arm to get to their athlete in more of a hurry than they were previously.
"Come on, let's go already! I'm not paying you to stand around and do nothing."
"Why? You're not paying me," Cream stated simply.
"Because . . . shut up."
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Amy heaved, along with Blaze who was also crouched and leaning unto her knees. They inhaled breath for a while before Amy finally recuperated and stood up straight to face Blaze. Her face was hard to read. Amy couldn't tell if she was angry or disappointed. Despite this, Amy beamed at her with friendliness.
"That was incredible! Wow Blaze, well done. Good race," she praised the cat who stared blankly at the pink hedgehog for a moment. There was a second where her eyes shifted between the three other hedgehogs being crowded by the paparazzi and then back to the girl who was now holding out her hand.
Finally breaking out into a small grin, Blaze took her hand and shook it firmly. "Thank you, Amy. You were pretty amazing yourself."
Amy shook her head, still smiling. "I'm nothing special," she remarked, modestly giggling. "But it was an honor running with you. It was really fun!"
Blaze then released her hand and then, totally overthrown by Amy's intense kindness, decided to draw Amy into a friendly hug. Slightly taken aback, but nevertheless relieved she wasn't mad at her, Amy hugged her back.
Unbeknownst to them, they were being filmed by one of the nearby cameramen, who found the moment to sweet to pass up. They're friendly embrace was shown on the big screen and soon the cameramen were holding microphones over their heads. Both athletes ignored this, while their entire conversation was being displayed on screen, for nearly seventy thousand people to witness.
Once letting go, Blaze gave Amy a final pat on the shoulder. "It was an honor running with you too, Amy. I'll be cheering for you from the sidelines from now on."
The pink hedgehog's smile broadened. "Thanks Blaze. You're a good friend."
This was so odd. In the past few weeks, Amy had barely seen Blaze, let alone talked to her. They had never been remotely close, but now, out of nowhere, there was some kind of bizarre friendship forming. This reminded her of how she and Rogue became closer. It did, however, lift her spirits to know there was someone else standing behind her and supporting her. Her face then turned to the screen. She saw them being shown to the entire stadium.
Taking grasp of the moment, Amy put an arm around Blaze's shoulder and then bashfully waved into the camera. Stunned for only a moment, Blaze copied her, and almost seventy thousand people saw two friends waving to them.
They barely got the chance to say anything before the crowd broke out into friendly applause and cheers, honoring the two athletes for their affability.
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Shadow pushed himself through the crowd of reporters and cameramen, rather annoyed that they were allowed on the track, even if it only was after the race. He roughly elbowed one in the side, who dropped his camera in surprise. The Ultimate Life form vaguely smirked before trotting off to the exit of the stadium.
He was done for the day. He did what he had to do and, at the very least, he had succeeded in beating his second biggest rival. Of course, it was a close call, but he pulled through in the end. The faker was first, to his absolute frustration, but Shadow only mulled over how sweeter victory would be once the blue hedgehog's ego was sufficiently bloated and ready to hammer until he finally exploded. Shadow grinned.
Oh yeah, he was evil.
He was about to enter the parking lot –nearly full – when he felt a sharp tug on his leg. He swirled around impatiently, but saw no one behind him. Huffing at his own imagination's bother, he turned around to leave once more.
"Excuse me, mister Shadow," squeaked a voice and Shadow halted in his tracks. He spun around and looked down to see a small fluffy-tailed lion cub girl, looking to be six or five years of age. Regardless of the fact that he was glaring at her with the intensity that dimmed out the heat of a thousand suns, she smiled at him very sweetly. He was vaguely reminded of a certain pink-headed hedgehog.
She held out a pen and paper, very cutely. "Can I have your autograph?"
There was a small tug on his heart, the smallest you could ever imagine, but it was effective none the less. He guessed he should have played it cooler, maybe have lashed out or something, but the girl's green eyes were too distracting. They were so familiar.
He stood, dumbfounded. "You want my autograph?"
She nodded, teeth glittering. "Uh-huh! You're cooler than they are!" she exclaimed and he hesitantly took the pen and paper from her tiny paw-like hands.
His face was still in shock. He didn't get it. Why him? What made him so special? Didn't this kid understand what he was? Or who he was, for that matter? There wasn't even a trickle of fear in her expression. If anything, there was nothing but total adoration and complete awe for the hedgehog towering over her.
His eyes met her sparkling ones and he found himself releasing a sigh. Giving into the pathetic weakness that a little girl could get out of him, he wrote his name down on the paper in simple letters. "Sure kid," he muttered, feeling older and more tired than he should. "What's your name?"
"Zoey!" she replied in a sing-song voice. In the corner of his eye, he saw her tail swish back in forth in the sheer thrill of receiving the autograph of a guy who she'd only figured out existed minutes ago.
"To Zoey, from Shadow," the hedgehog grumbled as he scribbled and then, feeling a fleet of inspiration, wrote a message down for kicks. He handed her the paper and she squealed, hugging the piece to her chest.
"See you around . . . Zoey," he greeted, feeling lame and turned to leave. Zoey saw the dark athlete depart the stadium and looked down to see what he wrote for her. It took a while to figure out – seeing as she was only six and had yet to master her reading skills – but the note was simple enough.
She furrowed her eyebrows as she pursed out every syllable. "D-d-do, no…don't be a . . . a . . . fa-face-no-faker!" Her eyes lit up. "Don't be a faker!"
She giggled to herself.
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On the ride back home, Amy didn't feel as tired as she thought she would. Cream and Rogue had been standing by through her entire moment with Blaze, whom she now considered a friend. As the soft graze of the car's tires over the tar of the road kept her ears busy, Amy felt something nudging her knee. She saw her coach hold out a bottle for her.
Amy took it curiously. "What's this?"
"Recovery supplement," she answered simply, smiling. "It's also to add some iron to your diet. I'll give you some every now and again, okay? Or just tell me when your muscles are tightened up. It ought to loosen them up a bit."
Amy took a swig of the mixture. It wasn't too bad, almost lemony, but a little more bitter than normal. "Thanks coach," she said after downing the bottle in just a few gulps.
Cream, hearing how Amy had addressed her, raised her chin in the air and smiled widely in vanity. Rogue glanced back from where she was sitting behind the wheel.
"Listen Amy, I know the whole publicity thing sucks, but I need you to do two interviews for me tomorrow. You don't mind, do you?"
"No, of course not. It's in our contract, anyway," the athlete responded, nodding with a grin. Cream agreed on this.
"You're taking a break tomorrow anyhow," said her coach, shrugging, but soon put on a stern face. "But starting Tuesday we're getting you back in the gym."
"You were incredible by the way," Rogue remarked, eyes glued to the road. Amy only shook her head.
"I didn't win."
"But you beat four other suckers," her sponsor pointed out with that same seductive grin she liked to put on. The thought got stuck in Amy's mind and she felt her spirit lift.
"How'd it go with Knuckles, by the way?" she asked and Rogue only shrugged.
"I don't know," she said. "They're a bit behind schedule, so he's participating an hour later. He said he'd text me the results.
"He hasn't sent you anything yet," Cream stated matter-of-factly.
Rogue raised her eyebrows in the front mirror. "How would you know?"
"Because I'm using your phone to download music at this very moment, "Cream said, rather simply and coated with attitude.
There was a moment of silence.
And then the car swerved and Amy got crushed into the window.
"GIVE THAT BACK YOU LITTLE BASTARD!"
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Tired and soar, Silver threw his bag over his shoulder and trudged off the track after the last reporter had pestered him. He felt exhausted. The race had certainly drained him, but he had pushed himself to the limit. He was very near to passing out.
All long distance races were going to start and the throwing events were already underway, but Silver was looking forward to a nice good bath when he got home. He soon entered the parking lot and walked around all the cars and vehicles. He was about to leave the area completely when he heard someone calling him.
"Excuse me! Mister Silver!"
Silver halted in his steps and turned to face a being he didn't think he'd stand face to face with at this very moment.
A human.
He was quite tall, very strongly built by the looks of it. His shoulders were broad, hair brownish gold and spiked and he wore a faded black trench coat. Silver waited patiently for the man to approach him. He seemed like he had something very severe at heart.
"Can I help you?" Silver asked politely, though a little irritated due to his fatigue. The human extended his hand and Silver took it with a firm grip.
"Actually, I was hoping to help you," the man stated in a non joke-ish way. They released hands after shaking and Silver furrowed his eyebrows in interest.
"What do you mean?"
The man's serious expression did not falter. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Tom Prestons. I was watching your race just now. Congratulations on making the preliminaries, by the way," he added politely, though no kindness betrayed his face.
Silver nodded in gratitude, but still felt wary of the man. "Thank you. Is there anything specific you wanted to tell me?" he pushed, wanting to get this over with. He was tired and he needed to get up at six AM for his morning jog. Then he had his regular routine after that, and then a technique session.
The man noted the vague impatience in the hedgehog's tone. "I won't beat around the bush then. I came here to warn you and the other hedgehogs."
Silver's tiredness faded. "About what?" He adjusted his bag, a little nervous.
"It's regarding the MOA," he admitted in a dark voice Silver wasn't predominantly fond of at that very moment. A foreign feeling shot up his spine and his eyes narrowed.
"Let's walk, Tom."
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A/N: And the plot resurfaces! Hasn't been that long since I've last updated. Just a week or two. I think.
Personally, I love this chapter. Shadow's scene is my favorite. I love making him a big softy.
That scene, with Blaze and Amy, is actually something that once happened to me after a netball game. We won against our rival team and my opponent was really upset. I cheered and praised her and the crowd kind of watched us hug and her sob into my shoulder. It was actually a very sweet moment and I made a good friend out of it.
Anyway, anybody remember Mr Prestons from chapter 16? Oh yeah, he's gonna kick ass…
THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who reviewed! I don't get much and people wonder why this story has so few, but it doesn't bother me anymore. Even if I only had one review by now, I'd still pour my heart and soul into this.
I don't own any characters or the song that inspired me to write this.
Thanks.
Love you guys.
(^^,)