"Well, how do I look?" Amy asked, flaunting her new outfit. She wore a long puffy lime green ball gown with a pearlescent corset and frilly golden skirt made of quite possibly the most reflective material on the planet. It was gaudy in every sense of the word and made her look like a wannabe aristocrat with too much money on hand and too little shame in mind. "Pretty great, huh? I feel like the belle of the ball."
"Yeesh, those colors. And what's with that reflective skirt? It's like a solar blanket," replied Sonic, shielding his eyes from the dazzling rays of sunlight that assaulted his eyes. "Are you trying to distract Sticks or signal a rescue copter?"
"Oh, hardy har har," Amy huffed indignantly, folding her arms. "At least I'm properly dressed. And while we're on the topic of reflective costumes what have you got to say about yourself, Reynolds the Hedgehog."
"Hey! I'm doing the best with what I've got here," Sonic snapped, gesturing to the slipshod combination of tin foil and scotch tape that made up the bulk of his crude costume.
"Why didn't you let Eggman make a costume for you?" Amy asked. "I bet he could whip up one for you in a jiffy."
"Seeing how he suffers from chronic backstabbing syndrome I'm not going to chance it with ol' Egghead."
"Sonic, that is not a real medical condition," chided Amy.
"Oh, you know what I mean!" he snapped.
"Hey, guys!" Knuckles announced, walking up to the couple. "How do I look? Pretty convincing wouldn't you say?"
Amy and Sonic both gave Knuckles a once over. Their visible reception was less than stellar.
"Knuckles, what the heck is that?" Amy pointed to the echidna's broad chest. There was a big number '2' drawn on it with a magic marker, just above his crescent marking.
"Oh, this?" Knuckles pointed to the number proudly. "It's my clone number. Gotta tell my selves apart, like with that other Knuckles from way back when."
"Knuckles, you're not a clone," Sonic deadpanned.
"And that other Knuckles was from an alternate universe!" replied Amy exasperatedly.
"That's what we want you to think!" Knuckles remarked cleverly, or so he thought. "You just watch yourselves out there. Who knows how many of me are out there in the world."
Sonic could only groan as Amy rolled her eyes at Knuckle's convoluted thought process. It was simultaneously a mystery, triumph and wanton disregard for common sense how he managed to make it this far in life the way he was. Surely there must be some deity out there who took pity on the poor echidna and bent the workings of the universe to aid him from time to time. It was the only logical explanation to be had.
"Well, at the very least I doubt Sticks will be able to differentiate Knuckles anyway. Cognitive dissonance is her modus operandi after all," Amy muttered before turning to address her villainous fellows. "Eggman, Orbot, Cubot, how's it going on your end? Hopefully better than what Sonic and Knuckles have come up with."
"It's going swimmingly, Amy," replied Orbot. He was dressed in a loose fitting black suit jacket with matching fedora, sunglasses and dangly tie. Cubot was more or less the same, except his fedora was backwards. They both pulled off the G-man look as well as a monkey wearing a tuxedo would. "We're just finishing loading in the props to the Eggcruiser."
"I get to wear a hat!" Cubot added gleefully. "My joy is immeasurable right about now, nothing could quash this moment!" His momentary happiness was quickly replaced with computer simulated pain as Dr. Eggman gave him a swift kick to the head with his size ten boots, knocking his fedora to the side.
"Get back to work you lazy bucket of bolts!" Dr. Eggman commanded.
"Yes, sir! Right away, sir!" Cubot groveled as he resumed his packing.
"It is so hard to build good help these days," Eggman grumbled. The good doctor himself seemed to have taken a retro approach to his costuming. opting for a generic white lab coat, blue scrubs, a stethoscope and a reflector mirror atop his head. He looked almost personable if it weren't for that ever present scowl plastered on his face.
"That's great. We're ahead of schedule," said Amy, checking her communicator watch. "It's only..." her smile sank into a frown, "three o'clock... We should probably get going."
"You think?" Sonic snarked sarcastically. "Come, on. Hopefully Tails's virgin soil hasn't been plowed yet."
"Really?" Amy gave Sonic an incredulous look.
"What? Too on the nose?" Sonic asked. "Come on. You can't blame me. Do you have any idea how hard it is for the author of this story to keep coming up with all these nonsensical euphemisms?"
Amy only sighed and shook her head disapprovingly before walking over to the Eggcruiser. "Alright, everyone. Let's get operation 'Trick Sticks' underway. We're on a timetable here folks, let's move it!"
"Amy is being all take charge again," Knuckles muttered to Sonic.
"I'd say we give her this one. It'll even out all the other moments when she acts all bossy in the future," replied Sonic.
Tails was lost in deep thought.
He sat in Sticks's burrow by the bed, his mind preoccupied on other things, as she rummaged through the mounds of junk that littered her home, preparing them for the twelfth step of the mating ritual.
Several hours had passed since the hunt, or 'dance amongst the trees' as he had come to learn it be called, yet he found himself distracted rather than relishing in his last minute come-from-behind victory over Sticks.
They had bathed again in the time between, cleansing themselves of the dirt and markings that painted their bodies as he once again struggled to remain a gentleman in spite of his fortuitous position. Sticks was all too prepared to out him as a hypocrite again, for reasons he's still yet to comprehend. But even as they were rejuvenated by the bubbling waters of her private hot spring there was one thing he couldn't get over,
The kiss.
The memory of it constantly replayed in his head, bleary eyed and exhausted as he struggled beneath Sticks's monstrous strength before throwing caution to the wind and asserting his dominance over hers, dominance that she had all too readily given into at a moment's notice. It was hard to describe just how he felt during that instantaneous eternity of their electric connection.
Scared, exhilarated, confident?
There wasn't a right way to think about it.
But for the briefest of moments, he felt like the alpha that led the pack. A scrawny mutant alpha with absolutely no head for romance, but an alpha still.
Tails brushed a gloved hand across his lips. He still couldn't believe he had done that. Yet the sensation that lingered on the delicate surface of his lips and tip of his tongue was all the proof needed to remind him that he had kissed Sticks with all the awkwardness of a trout. Thankfully, seeing as it was his first kiss ever, Sticks had forgiven him for his sloppy technique if only because she wouldn't mind helping him improve upon it further.
He had turned down the offer, though the offer still stood if he ever decided to change his mind.
The question then was, did he want more?
No, obviously.
No.
...
...No.
Nope.
Nuh-uh.
Negatory.
Yeah, right.
Nah.
Pfft...
Tails figured if he kept telling himself that over and over he'd actually begin to believe it.
He was snapped out of his stupor when Sticks walked on by and hastily set down a sack full of junk onto the table along with some tools (including one that looked suspiciously like a pair of pliers he had lost a month ago). She gestured for him to sit across from her as she held open the sack and poured out the assorted bits, bobs and random doodads in a large glittering pile across the table's surface.
As Tails seated himself nearby, he took a cursory glance over the junk before him. There was just about everything in the pile; string, colorful beads, clockwork gears, springs, keyrings, partially chewed pen caps and those little things on the end of shoelaces that most people don't know what they're called (aglets) just to name a few.
It was quite the collection of miscellaneous objects, though as far as he was concerned it all looked like discarded trash to him, which in all likelihood probably was.
"What is all this?" Tails asked, scratching at his ears.
"This is everything we need to begin step twelve of the mating ritual: the making of the gift," explained Sticks. "The couple creates something by hand as a token of their love and exchanges it between them for step thirteen: the exchanging of the gifts. That one is self explanatory and we'll get to that part shortly. Oh, and before you ask, the answer is; yes, I am willing to practice more kissing with you later if you like."
"Uh... I don't remember asking?" replied Tails, his eyes darting back and forth nervously.
"Oh, you didn't have to say anything. I can see your lust for me in your eyes," Sticks whispered sultrily as she leaned forward and rested her chin atop knitted fingers.
"Heh heh, oh boy..." Tails chuckled nervously, swallowing the lump in his throat as he shrank timidly beneath Sticks's heated gaze. "N-now, you see, lust is such a strong word. Not that I'm lusting after you, because I'm not, though that's not to say I don't find you attractive or anything, in fact you're quite a catch in your own unique way and I-I-I... Ooh..." he trailed off after realizing he was digging himself deeper into a hole of his own making.
"Go on..." Sticks teased, clearly enjoying every moment of Tails's awkward attempt to save face.
"Bu-bu-I-I, h-hey! How about that step twelve! I'm ready to get down to the nitty-gritty," Tails exclaimed frantically.
"Right, right. Step twelve," Sticks cooed, gesturing to the pile of junk. "As the name implies, we are going to make gifts for each other using whatever you want in the pile. Simple as that."
"Simple as that," Tails parroted apprehensively. "...Are you sure?" he eyed her warily, then turned his gaze over to the pile, then back to Sticks again.
"Really," replied Sticks.
"Really, really?" Tails reiterated.
"Really, really,' Stick rolled her eyes. "Have I lied to you yet?"
"...Okay. I believe you... This time," he remarked cautiously before bringing his hands forward and rummaging through the pile for anything he could use.
The goal of the step was to create a gift for each other. The first thing to pop in Tails's head was a bracelet. Sticks already had one, why not another to adorn her free wrist? And so he got to work making the gift, something he took to with enthusiasm.
He grabbed a handful of miscellaneous junk, thankful that he had gotten a tetanus shot a while back because there were some rusty pointy bits in there, and examined the parts to find anything useful.
There was a black faux leather strap. It looked like it belonged to a handbag at one point if the loose stitching on the edges were any indication. He could use that as the base of the bracelet. Some sprockets and watch gears gave him a loose idea of what design he wanted to make the bracelet into. Add in a few flashy sequins here and there, an adjustable clasp for secure comfort and he'd have a gift worth giving.
This would be a gift that came from the heart, a gift that represents Tails as a person given to someone he deeply cares about.
...In a completely platonic manner, he quickly reminded himself.
Quietly he began to assemble the piece, pinning studs of metal onto the leather and carefully arranging the gears into a pattern like a blooming metal flower. The use of simple hand tools took a bit of time to get used to and limited the scope of what he could actually create but it was nothing he couldn't handle. If anything, he found the art of crafting mundane trinkets with hammer and chisel to be a refreshing change of pace from blow torches and calipers.
Time flew on by for him as he became engrossed in the craft. So focused was he on making sure the bracelet was perfect that he had almost forgotten to breathe for several moments. When he had finally glued on the glass lid of the bracelet's centerpiece, courtesy of an intact magnifying glass lens, he wiped the sweat from his brow and admired his hard work, proud of the fact that he had created something truly unique without it blowing up in his face or causing problems for the village.
The leather bracelet itself was stunning in an odd industrial kind of style. The leather itself was lined with metal studs of varying shapes and sizes. There was an adjustable hook and latch in place so that Sticks may adjust it to however she feels would be comfortable. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, there was the bracelets centerpiece.
Housed behind glass in the confines of a hollowed out yo-yo was a metal orchid made from expertly arranged gears and tacked on sequins. It glimmered hypnotically in the dim light and when viewed at certain angles through the magnifying lens it gave off the illusion of turning gears and blooming petals.
It was beautiful. Tails couldn't deny it.
Out of everything he had created with his own two hands, a bracelet hammered together from trash ranked among the top three of his all time greatest creations.
"Are you finished?" Sticks asked, snapping Tails out of his focus.
"Uh, yeah. Yeah," Tails nodded, wrenching his eyes away from the bracelet and towards Sticks. She had also finished her gift. Judging by the smile on her face it would appear that she too felt a surge of pride in her work, much like Tails did with his own.
In her hands was a necklace as unique and as beautiful as Sticks was.
It was a braided leather cord that had been looped with turquoise colored beads and metal bolts in repeated sequential order. The pattern of color and shapes gave the necklace the impression of snake skin. At the center of the necklace was a varnished crow skull with a single black feather tucked beneath. Fake red gems had been glued into the eye sockets to give it the illusion of glowing eyes staring directly into your soul.
Tails was taken aback by how well put together it was. Sticks didn't use anything other than natural adhesive, an obsidian knife and determination.
And Sticks had made it just for him.
"It's... wonderful," Tails smiled softly.
"I'm glad you like it," Sticks blushed. "Now that we're both done. It's time for the thirteenth, and chronologically last, step of the mating ritual. The exchanging of the gifts. This is it, Tails. The moment you've been waiting for."
Tails gulped instinctively and he felt his heart begin to thump in his chest.
The last step. It was finally here.
Panic set back in as he gripped the bracelet tightly in his hands. He had stalled for hours, Sonic and the gang should've been here by now.
Part of him became pensive, and his hands trembled as he brought the gift forward. He did it as slow as possible, trying to squeeze every last millisecond out of the situation before Sticks's barely repressed inhibitions gave way and threw him onto the bed.
He didn't want his indomitable mountain to be ascended. Not now. Or at least, not until he could truly ascertain if Sticks's affections towards him were truly genuine or not.
He wanted the chance to try and reciprocate that feeling if he could...
Sticks deserved that and more.
Mere nanometers from accepting his fate at Sticks's mercy, a knock came from the door, causing the badger to glower in annoyance.
Tails sighed inwardly. That had to be his backup, it just had to be.
The knocking continued, ruining the moment for Sticks. Growling, she shot up from her seat and set the necklace down, baring razor sharp teeth as she stormed over towards the door and yanked it open so vigorously she nearly ripped it off its hinges.
"What?" She snarled lowly, lips dripping with venom as she stared down the two poorly disguised robots floating before her.
"Hi!" announced the disguised Cubot. "We're Mormons!"