"Ahhh." Amy let out an elongated sigh into her fresh-brewed cup of mandarin orange tea. She slowly attempted to take a sip, thirsting for the soothing fragrance to course through her body, hungry for relaxation. The instant tea touched her lips, she pulled the cup away before burning herself. Disappointed, she set her cup on its matching blue porcelain plate.
Amy took a bored look around her house; solid pink walls to match her fur, white lace detailing on the various pastel colors of her empty furniture, pictures on the wall of her posing friends (as many who were willing to smile for the camera, anyway) with a few candid of those her were not so inclined. Amy's expression softened as she ran through the matching memories at hyper speed, moving her eyes across the wall till finally resting on a heroic picture she secretly took of Sonic. Fully smiling now, Amy turned her attention to the window next to where she sat at the table, thoughts consumed by dreams of a possible future and memories of the world blurring by.
As Amy stared into the open sky, her thoughts drifted back to how bored she was. Her eyes fell down to the city street. She was starting to understand Sonic's perspective about not having anything to do after wrapping up a herculean task. Of course, downtime is important; mentally, Amy was taxed to the max. After running the Resistance for so long, directing soldiers, designating supply ships, fighting robots and watching friends cry…
Amy shook the image of the young rabbit from her mind. She looked down to see that her hammer was suddenly in her hands. Surprised, she slowly set it down against the wall.
"Okay," Amy said to herself, utterly exasperated. "This is ridiculous. Cream's fine. Vanilla's fine. Charmy, Shadow, Tangle, everyone is okay." She closed her eyes, leaning back and breathing deep. After she exhaled, she opened her eyes… to see her hammer. In her hands. Again.
Amy shot out of her chair, dropping her hammer with a yelp. Usually, summoning her hammer was an intimidation tactic or a necessity, but when she did it out of stress, it always caught her off guard.
But it did make her think.
Amy turned to the bookshelf sharing its back with the couch. On top a collection of small knick knacks and a deck of well worn tarot cards. Magic isn't always the answer, but when in doubt, ask the fates. Or something.
Amy walked over to the cards, shuffled them, then set the neat deck back on their resting place.
"I'm stressed out. It's been a month since I left the Resistance, I've had plenty of time to unwind, but I can't get my mind off the chaos." She paused. "I'm not scared. If something comes up, we can take it. We always can."
Amy placed her gloved hand on the top card. "But I guess I forgot how to… I don't know... have fun."
Amy flipped the card over, looking at its face, hoping for something to lift her sunken spirits.
The face was burned into her memory, but she couldn't place it, despite having used those cards for years. Before the divine card registered in her mind, there was a knock at her door. As she looked at the door, puzzled and surprised, she absent-mindedly set the single card next to the rest of the deck, ignoring the faint electric sparks as her finger detached from the card.
Tentatively stepping toward the door, another steady knock momentarily stopped Amy in her tracks. She didn't invite anyone. She wasn't expecting anyone. She didn't know what any of her friends were up to today. Was it someone she knew?
Was it some she used to know?
Another knock snapped her out of her trance. She was being ridiculous. Amy quicked to the door before her guest knocked again or left.
"Hello? ?" The voice was soft and cheery. Amy's guard dropped as soon as she started cracking an instinctive smile.
Cream's smile brightened Amy's doorway for a brief moment before the young rabbit rushed in for a hug with enough momentum to make the hedgehog stumble slightly. Amy quickly corrected herself and returned the hug.
"It's so nice to see you! What are you doing here?" Amy began lightly patting Cream on the head, trying to nudge out of her grasp. "Does your mom know that you're here?"
Cream showed no sign of breaking her hold, but she did tilt her head back to give Amy a strong pout.
"Of course she knows! And even if she didn't, she knows that between me and Cheese, there's nothing to get in our way."
"Where is Cheese?" Amy was surprised by the noted absence of Cream's powder blue partner. Cream and Cheese were inseparable, and together, they were tougher than Knuckle's knuckles. As unexpected as Cream's presence was, it was always nice to see her and the Chao. The last time she saw Cheese, he was…
Sharp teeth. Red eyes. Razor claws. Liquid skin. Zom-
" ?"
Amy whipped her head downward, not realizing she had drifted off again. She saw Cream had disengaged, aiming a worried expression towards Amy's eyes. All Amy could do was stare back, confused, until Cream's gaze lowered, still filled with concern. Amy was hit with another wave of confusion, which only caused her grip to tighten, palms burning as she felt the blood course through her knuckles.
Amy put the pieces together before she looked down, dreading she knew exactly what had happened. Looking at her trusty, oversized red hammer, Amy loosened her hands.
"I-I'm...I'm so sorry, Cream. I...Since I've been home, I've just been…" As Amy trailed off, she could feel her face getting warmer, her eyes growing wet. She looked back up at Cream, doing her best not to let loose the tears in front of her best friend.
When her eyes met Cream's, the little girl's expression softened from worry into a warm, reassuring look. "Cheese is taking a short nap on the roof. He says that he's felt a little stiff the last few weeks and the flight here was a little tough on him." Taking a short step toward Amy, Cream lifted her hands up to rest them in her's, leaving them there for a few moments, then taking grip of the hammer, she lifted the weight from Amy's gloved palms. She had never seen her little buddy do that before, but standing in front of her was a strong young rabbit, holding an overly large mallet, with the compassion to rival that of even the greatest heroes they knew.
"It's alright, ." Cream's words were more soothing than the fresh orange tea could ever be. "How about we go stretch our legs a little?"