Enjoy these last few fluffy chappies, 'cause poop is about to get real.
Yeah, poop. I said it.
"Breathe in. Out. In. Out."
Amy did what she was told, following Espio's directions; she held herself firm, legs parted a foot, hands balled into loose fists, eyes closed as she slowly inhaled and exhaled. She could feel her friends' eyes on her from where they sat in the background. Espio, with his arms behind his back, appraised her for a beat before nodding in approval and told Shadow, "She's ready for the blindfold."
The pink hedgehog had been training all morning with the best fighters: Espio, Shadow, and Silver. Now, all of her friends were the best fighters out there, but she felt like they were better at hand-to-hand combat. She trusted them. When Espio made his announcement, her heart leaped into her throat.
Sonic felt like he needed to voice his disapproval.
"Hold up. Blindfold?"
"Sonic, you have nothing to worry about. In dire situations, you need to rely on your other senses when you're rigged of sight," Espio explained patiently to the blue hero. Sensing the hedgehog's discomfort, Espio suggested, "Why don't you put the blindfold on her?"
Sonic huffed and got to his feet, taking the red blindfold on his way over to Amy. She tried to perk up and give him a reason not to worry. There was nothing to worry about, right? Right.
...Okay, maybe she was a little nervous. This was new. She's never fought with a blindfold on before. What if she messed up? What if she looked hideous while randomly swinging her limbs left and right?
"I don't like this," Sonic blurted out as soon as he reached her. "I mean, I know you can do it, Ames, but I just don't like the idea of...well...yanno!"
"You're not exactly helping on the nervous part!" she whisper-yelled.
"Sorry!" he whispered back.
Amy sighed. "Can you please just put the blindfold on me? I wanna get this over with before I chicken out..."
Sonic obeyed and wrapped the red band around her head, tying it firmly in the back so it wouldn't slip off. Her world went black. She couldn't see a thing. It was like she had gone blind. "How's that?" she heard him say.
"Great." Her voice trembled slightly.
His hands were on her shoulders, tone soft and reassuring. "You'll be fine. I'm right here."
She nodded, reaching up to grasp his hands. His touch then moved up to her face, and she dug her fingers into his arms. "I gotta go..." she said; the pink hedgehog didn't see him nod, but she did feel him coax her face up, and her lips found his. For those short three seconds, Amy was able to forget the world around them - aand maybe the fact that everyone was watching them.
"Good luck," he whispered to her, giving her hands a squeeze, and the slight breeze told her that he had walked back the way he came.
Amy nodded and kept her gaze angled downwards.
"Can you see, Amy?" Espio called.
"No," Amy called back.
"Alright. Your opponent will also be blindfolded," he informed her.
Amy wanted to ask who her opponent was, but she realized that that would show weakness. She wanted to be strong. She wanted to feel powerful. And more importantly, she wanted to show everyone how much she's improved over the years. Of course, fighting at twelve years old was easy peas-y when you had your trusty Piko Piko Hammer.
But things have changed since then, hadn't they?
Quills ran just a little longer, the pink hedgehog standing just a little taller, but the fire never left her eyes. She had matured in several ways, including her deepened love and affections for the boy who used to run away from her, the boy who always had his mind on the field, now welcoming her affections with open arms. It took eight long years, but she could finally call Sonic the Hedgehog hers.
Espio counted down before announcing that the duel had begun. Amy took three measured steps forward, listening for any sounds. She heard nothing. At first. She vaguely wondered who she was fighting, and that would effect her fighting style. If it was someone bigger, she had the advantage of being lighter on her feet. If it was someone smaller, she would use her strength and hearing the most; it was harder to pick up someone's faint footsteps. Most of her friends were around her height and size, so she had a handful of options.
She reminded herself not to think too much, because if she did she would lose her concentration and eventually the duel, if not right after. Opponents always search for the possible weak spots before attacking. And since her sight was taken away, this left her at a disadvantage. But this also gave her anonymous partner a disadvantage as well.
Her ears perked up at the sound of her opponent sniffing in her direction.
"You can do it, Amy!"
"Shut up, Charmy! Let the girl concentrate!"
"She won't be able to concentrate if the two of you don't keep quiet."
Amy's lips curved up slightly. Charmy had been quiet up til then, and Vector was listening to music before; Espio expressed his irritation in a similar way that Shadow did, which she found very funny.
A tranquil voice spoke in her head, You can do it, Amy. We believe in you.
She nearly forgot that one of her friends had the power of telepathy.
Thanks, Tikal, she thought back.
The breeze shifted, and Amy got a whiff of something familiar. So she was fighting someone she knows. But who was it? It couldn't be Sonic, of course. He smelled like coconuts. Tails and Knuckles had more natural scents like soap and fruit, and sometimes Tails smelled like mint. Cream smelled like flowers and Rouge smelled like the most expensive perfumes. Shadow smelled like that kind of cologne that always had you wondering 'what amazing scent is that', and Silver wasn't far behind. Sally always smelled like cinnamon, and hugging Blaze was like cozying up by the fire (pun intended). Charmy's smell wasn't that far from Cream's, Vector's smell depends on what kind of gum he's chewing at the time, and Amy could have sworn Espio, Silver, and Shadow use the same cologne. Tikal and Knuckles tended to smell the same too, as if they had just stepped out of a vineyard.
Who was she facing?
And that's when she heard it. The unmistakable sound of a boomerang flying through the air towards her. She swiftly turned to the side just as the weapon barely grazed her nose, and held her breath as she heard it soar off into the distance. If there's one thing she's learned about boomerangs, it's that -
fwoo, fwoo, fwoo, fwoo, fwoo
- they always came back.
Grinning, she made a confident jump and reached up blindly to grab the boomerang, throwing it right back in the direction it came. Her landing was firm, and she shifted down into a defensive crouch, her ear facing her opponent. The giggle that was heard sent a wave of nostalgia through Amy's body, and she reached up to push her blindfold up so she could see for herself, ultimately ending the duel early.
Standing before her, boomerang in hand, was a female badger with wild blue eyes and clothes to match. Amy knew that giggle anywhere. She knew that boomerang anywhere. And she most definitely knew that face anywhere.
"Sticks!"
Amy flew into Sticks' arms, hugging her friend tight. How long has it been since she's last seen her? It's been a couple of years, and Sticks hadn't changed a bit.
"Group hug!" Sonic announced, and no sooner than later did Tails and Knuckles surround them as well, Knuckles lifting the four of them off of the ground. The four of them met Sticks during one of their adventures in the past, and have kept close ties with her ever since. Her home was her habitat, so she didn't get out in the city much and, well, some people might consider her a little...odd.
But that's what her friends liked about her. Crazy, feral, naïve Sticks.
"You had me fighting Sticks the whole time?" Amy rounded her attention on Espio.
"I asked Sonic if he knew anyone who was attuned to their instincts more than the normal person," Espio said, walking closer.
"Yeah, but I didn't know he'd actually find her!" Sonic said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously when Amy shot him a suspicious look out of the corner of her eye.
"He was nice," Sticks said, pointing her thumb in Shadow's direction sheepishly. "That dark hedgehog scares me, though. Sonic, are you sure you're not twins? Or is he your evil twin from an evil dimension?" Sticks gasped. "He's here to kill us all!" she shouted, pointing her boomerang at Shadow. "The apocalypse is nigh!"
"Hey, chill, Sticks!" Knuckles held her fast.
"Yeah, Shadow scares everybody." Sonic waved a nonchalant hand, and Shadow glared at him.
"I am not, in any way, of relation to that faker," Shadow's glare darkened at his lighter counterpart before settling his blank gaze on Sticks. "Nor in any dimension. We may look alike to you, but we will never be brothers."
"Ouch." Sonic placed his hand over his heart in mock hurt.
"Do you always have to be dramatic?" Tails gave Shadow a disapproving frown.
"He feels as if it's necessary," Sally approached the group with a roll of her eyes. "I'm Sally." She smiled and held out her hand to the girl; Sticks grinned and shook it, then leaned in and sniffed her.
Amy smiled and shook her head at the look on Sally's face and the old antics of her friend.
"You have an elegant scent!" Sticks complimented, turning to Amy for approval. "See, Amy? I still remember your lady lessons!"
"Yes, that's very good, Sticks. But remember - don't smell every person you meet. C'mon!" Amy perked up, grabbing her hand. "I'll introduce you to everybody."
"So what have I missed?" Sticks asked, stretching out on Amy's bed.
Amy filled Sticks in on what's been happening lately, including the possible danger on the horizon.
"No way!" Sticks exclaimed when she was finished.
"I know."
"Sonic left your shoes!"
Amy snickered. Oh. "That's...that's not what I was-"
"You and Sonic...so does this mean you're-?"
Sonic then walked into Amy's room at a brisk speed, looking like he was in a hurry.
"Where are you going?" Amy asked.
"G.U.N.," Sonic said and kissed her quickly. "Shadow and Silver want me up there for some reason. Catch ya on the flipside!"
"Be careful!" Amy called after him as he pushed her window up, and he was gone once more.
Sticks made a strange sound mixed between a scream and a cat being strangled. "Holy guacamole!"
"You thought I was lying, didn't you?" Amy grinned.
"Took them long enough, right?"
"Shut up, Sally."
Sally giggled and shook her head from where she sat; Cream lounged in the beanbag (that matched the color of her hair) next to her. Cream thought that Sticks was nice, but she was starting to miss Amy's attention. She knew Sticks didn't mean to interrupt her before she even began her sentences, and it was neat that Sticks was kinda Amy's sidekick for a while, but in reality Cream envied the badger. Even Sticks had Tails' attention for a while!
Cream fidgeted in her seat.
"You okay?" Sally asked her with concerned, blue orbs.
Cream smiled and nodded, but it didn't meet her eyes.
Sally saw right through her. "What's wrong?" she lowered her voice.
Cream shook her head. Sally, please! her eyes pleaded. Please not right now!
Sally's lips pressed together.
"Sticks."
Cream's mouth formed into a tiny 'o', now shaking her head rapidly. She could feel Amy's confused gaze on her. Sally, no! What are you-?
"Why don't you and I go downstairs and make dinner?"
"Oh, I'm not sure if you should trust me around sharp objects 'cause sometimes I get a little-" Sticks babbled.
"C'mon," Sally was already up, pulling the younger girl out of Amy's room with her. After they were gone, Amy got up and took Sally's former place next to Cream, hugging her knees as she leaned back into the blue beanbag.
"Cream?"
"Hm?"
"What's goin' on? You've been acting weird since Sticks showed up."
Cream sighed. She couldn't keep secrets from the girl she's called her best friend her whole life. "Well...ever since Sticks arrived today it's like everyone's giving her all the attention and forgetting about me! I mean, I like her and she's really nice but I feel like...like she's replacing me or something! And...And I don't know, you two were being inseparable and I barely got a word in and she even had Tails' undivided attention and - and - I don't know, I guess I'm jealous! I have no reason to be, but it's just a feeling I can't shake and I know you all would never intentionally-"
Amy grasped Cream's hand and gave her a squeeze. "Hey, hey...It's okay to be jealous. Believe me. I know what that's like." The rabbit smiled a little, and Amy returned it as she continued, "Did you know I used to feel the same way about Sally?" When Cream's eyes widened, she nodded. "Yeah. Big time. And this was a loooong time ago. Sally was all of a sudden the center of attention, jokes were thrown around that I never understood because I was still kinda 'the new girl', yanno? And when I tell you she had Sonic wrapped around her finger, boy did she. But didja know what happened?"
"What?" Cream asked, in fear of her friend's answer.
"Nothing."
"Really? Nothing at all?"
"Nothing! Sally was always perceptive, yanno? She saw how left out I felt and spent time with me instead. We talked everything out and have been close ever since." Amy shrugged one of her shoulders. "So what if Sticks is suddenly getting all the attention? It'll pass. You have nothing to worry about, Cream. We don't love you any less!"
"Ohh..." And now Cream felt embarrassed.
Amy was smirking now. "Were you really jealous of Tails and Sticks?"
Cream blushed, and Amy knew the answer.
"Amy?"
"Yeah?"
"You and Sticks...are you...is-is she-?"
"Sticks is just one of my best friends," Amy spoke fondly. Cream's face fell slightly, and Amy leaned over to nudge the other girl with her shoulder. "But you're my sister."
Cream beamed and threw her arms around Amy's neck.
"What's up with that Shadow guy?"
Sally paused in the midst of cutting the carrots. Sticks noticed and frowned; what's up with her?
"He's...a mystery," Sally said finally, resuming what she was doing.
"You like him, don't cha."
Sally dropped the knife.
"Too soon?" Sticks winced.
Sally pinched her forefingers together, lost for words. After the kiss, they never spoke of it, as if nothing happened between them. But Sally was sure she wasn't the only one who felt something...right?
"It's...It's complicated," Sally said finally.
"Talking about boys again, are we?" Amy came into the kitchen, hand-in-hand with Cream. Good. They worked things out.
"Sticks brought it up."
"No I didn't! ...Wait. Yeah. Yeah, I did."
"Since you wanna talk about boys..." Amy smirked at Sticks.
Sticks started to panic. "Aw, man."