Triple Date

by Lykcan

When Eggman isn't causing trouble, Team Sonic are called for their most daring mission yet... a three couple date! They will be going out with Team Rose, except instead of Big the Cat, it's our favorite orange echidna! See how our three stars deal with something beyond just action and adventure! SONAMY, TAIREAM, AND KNUXIKAL.

Yello! Lykcan here and I bring another story upon my ascension as a decent writer hehe. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: All characters and locations belong to Sega.

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Triple Date

"Why the hell are we here again?" Knuckles asked a certain blue hedgehog.

"For the tenth time Knuckles we're here because Amy insisted we all spend some time together at the mall or something. I dunno, this was last minute and don't think you're the only one that isn't into this either." Sonic replied annoyed himself.

"C'mon guys it shouldn't be that bad. We have been chasing Eggman and fighting other bad guys for a while that we need a break anyway. It's also perfect for Sonic to wind down a bit instead of running around the world and for you Knuckles to get some fresh air outside of Angel Island." Tails added, checking his watch for the time.

"Well I'd rather still be over there guarding the Master Emerald but she threatened me by smashing it into pieces if I didn't say yes to this. Also why the heck to we have to wear these?!" Knuckles angrily pointed to his body. He was wearing a red shirt with a fist logo, an unbuttoned black collared shirt above it with black cargo pants and his usual trademark shoes. He wore no gloves as well.

"Amy said it's so we can 'blend' in because we're the only ones that are technically naked. Besides it feels pretty comfortable." Tails stated, looking down at his gray hoodie with a yellow wrench and gear logo, light brown khaki shorts and his regular red and white shoes. Just like Knuckles he also had no gloves.

"Well I'm not too comfortable in them, I can't even run in these because of how heavy they are!" Sonic complained, eyeing his white t-shirt with a running shoe with wings logo, blue jeans and his famous red and white running shoes. Just like the other two he also had no gloves.

"Relax Sonic, it'll only be for a day and then you can do all the running you want again. Amy was pretty serious about this and also threatened to dress me up as a girl…" the yellow fox shivered at the thought. "I'll never go through that again."

Knuckles and Sonic held back a laugh at the thought. "Oh yeah I remember that time years ago! You looked so cute Tails and Vanilla was so happy that you got to try on one of Cream's dresses haha!" the blue hedgehog said.

"Why haven't I heard of this?! You gotta tell me everything Sonic!" Knuckles chuckled out as well. Tails was beet red watching the two laugh and comical steam came out of his ears. "Shut it guys it's not funny!" he irritably shouted.

"Aww c'mon Tails lighten up. I mean if Cream were to hear about this she would WANT you to do it, you wouldn't want to make her sad right?" Sonic snickered. Tails looked at the ground slightly embarrassed. "Well no I don't want to… but there's no way I'm doing that!"

Knuckles grinned at this. "I wouldn't mind leaving the Master Emerald unguarded for a bit more if you were to do it, but I respect your decision and Sonic's an idiot in the end."

"Yeah you got that- WAIT WHAT?! WHO YOU CALLING AN IDIOT YOU KNUCKLEHEAD!" Sonic pounced onto the red echidna while the latter kept his fists at bay with his own. Both rivals stared down at one another in which Tails cut in and pulled them off.

"Stop it guys we need to focus! Amy and the girls were really excited we're doing this so we can't screw it up by you two fighting! Now both of you stop being idiots and just act normal okay?!" the yellow kitsune yelled out. Sonic and Knuckles glared at one another and looked away crossing their arms.

"Fine!" they both said. Tails rolled his eyes. 'I swear I feel like I'M the adult here.'

Tails checked his watch again. "It's already ten so they should be here by-."

"SONIC!"

The blue hero groaned. "Yup looks like they're already-GAH!"

Sonic was tackled by a pink hedgehog into the ground, the Blue Blur struggling to get Amy off of him as she nuzzled his face with her own violently. Knuckles saw all of this and shivered. 'It's a good thing mine isn't as crazy as her.' he thought.

"AMY GET OFF!" Sonic yelled, apparently his loud voice not getting through to her as she raised her head up a bit and began making a smooching gesture which horrified the blue hedgehog.

"Hehe how's that karma treating you Sonic." Tails laughed at his predicament, until he felt his vision go dark as a pair of soft hands covered his eyes.

"Guess who~." a small yet feminine voice entered his ear.

"Is that you Cheese?" Tails grinned knowing who it was but played around as well, hearing a giggle that rang like soft bells. "Noooo you silly, he's at home~."

"Of course he would be. No one else would know besides you Cream." Tails said smiling and turned around, seeing his girlfriend Cream standing there with her cheerful expression. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him for a kiss, the yellow fox wrapping his around her waist. Knuckles watched the display of his two friends with their significant others contently, though he was also thinking about his own and was a bit sad about it.

'Maybe she didn't want to come after all? Then again all of this is new to her so it makes sense, I knew it was a bad-.'

"K-Knuckie?"

The emerald guardian's eyes widened at the voice, one that was like an angel to his ears. He turned around, violet eyes meeting nervous blue ones as he looked at Tikal standing there with her hands behind her back shyly. She watched him with a small smile, closing the distance between them.

"Hi." she whispered. Knuckles couldn't say anything, merely feeling her arms wrap around him while he did the same. He gazed at her gentle expression in which she got closer and slowly kissed him, the red echidna doing the same as well. They separated after a few seconds and Knuckles look down to her, but also noticing something else.

"W-Wow…" he was amazed and Tikal knew why, smiling anxiously yet cheering for joy inside at his reaction.

"LET GO OF ME AMY!" Sonic's voice echoed in the wind, his hands trying to pry off his crazy pink girlfriend. Eventually did she do what he asked and the two got up, the blue hedgehog panting and annoyingly staring her down. "Next time a tap on the shoulder would've been just fine!"

"Nope! I can't express my love for you just doing that~." Amy replied batting her eyes, Sonic visually disgusted. However his expression turned into a smile as he pulled her in, the pink hedgehog gasping. "It's good to see you." he said.

"What'd we miss guys?" Tails said as he and Cream walked to them with their hands together. Sonic chuckled. "Not much besides getting assaulted byyyyyy" he stopped noticing Amy wielding her trademark hammer in the air. "Yyyy I mean I'm so happy to see my beautiful Ames!" Sonic corrected himself. Amy snickered, her hammer magically disappearing as she wrapped her arms around him.

"It looks like Mr. Knuckles is frozen." Cream said, pointing to the emerald guardian who was with the orange echidna. "Did Ms. Tikal do something to him?"

Amy saw this and smirked. "Oh she definitely did something and it looks like it's working."

Knuckles continued to stare at Tikal in awe not because of how beautiful she is to him everyday, but what she was wearing. Besides her usual headpiece and necklace, she was wearing a yellow floral sundress that went a bit above her knees with matching yellow strapped sandals with flowers on them that were different to her normal tribal ones. Not only that but she didn't have wraps on her quills and her gloves were missing as well, only sporting her blue bracelets.

"A-Are you okay K-Knuckie?" she said to him, cupping his face with her hands. Knuckles shook his head a bit and blinked several times, seeing that this was indeed real. "Y-Yeah it's just um, you look really amazing Tikie." Tikal giggled and brought him down to her level, kissing him once again.

"So Sonic, what do you think~?" Amy called to Sonic in which he turned, the pink hedgehog doing a pose once he set his eyes on her. The Blue Blur was also in awe, seeing she wore a red blouse that exposed her bellybutton along with light blue jeans. Instead of her usual red boots she wore white sneakers but kept her headband on and just like Tikal also didn't have gloves.

"Wow Ames you look incredible and way less annoying!" Sonic said. Amy's expression was a mix of happiness yet irritation as she clenched her teeth. "I'll take that I guess." she seethed.

"Tails, what about me?" Cream asked the yellow fox with doe-like eyes. Tails gulped as he turned his head, noticing the young rabbit wearing a white-collared red blouse with a dark brown skirt and red and yellow ankle high boots with short heels. She had a red ribbon in one of her ears but what's more noticeable as well was that she also sported a baby blue mini scarf wrapped around her neck. All in all, she looked incredibly adorable to Tails and he began sweating.

"W-Woah Cream, y-you l-look… u-um, l-lovely." the male fox stuttered, earning a squeal from his girlfriend as she embraced him happily. "Thank you Tails~!" Cream said smooching his cheek, Tails' head releasing some steam in nervousness.

Amy smiled at the scene then looked at the three males. "Not only that, but you boys do look handsome as well in these clothes. Sonic, ugh, I wished you could've dressed more properly like a nice button-down shirt or something."

"Hey I'm not one on fashion like you Amy! Without these constricting things I'm still awesome!" the Blue Blur bragged, doing some heroic poses as the pink hedgehog simply laughed.

"I don't mind Tails like this. He looks like a teddy bear~!" Cream said hugging him tightly. Tails blushed at the compliment and hugged her back, the two young children nuzzling each other. "At least Knuckles gets it even though he isn't too familiar with fashion." Tails added, looking at the emerald guardian.

"Well beats me, I was just told to get clothes for this so I just went to some random shop and got whatever they had." Knuckles said eyeing his wear. "The lady that works there did help me out though."

"Bruh you look like some edgy guy that constantly flirts with the ladies and fails." Sonic chipped into smirking. "But you're not as cool as me though." he added, earning a playful slap by Amy.

Tikal hugged Knuckles' arm and nuzzled it affectionately. "Well I do not fully understand what 'edgy' means but I believe my Knuckie looks cute." she beamed. The red echidna smiled with pride and gave Sonic the finger. The blue hedgehog growled but luckily Amy kept him at bay by hugging him.

"Sooo are we gonna go now or keep complimenting each other on what we're wearing?" Tails questioned.

"Yup! Now onwards for our triple date!" Amy said as she dragged Sonic towards the entrance of Station Square Mall. Literally dragged him, as the blue hedgehog put up fierce resistance by not moving.

"Guys help me!" Sonic pleaded, looking back at the others fearfully. Tails and Cream merely laughed at his funny antics with both young fox and rabbit running up to the pair.

The echidna couple blinked at them as they walked away, not sure how to respond. Tikal looked up at Knuckles and tugged his sleeve to get his attention. "I-I'm a bit scared Knuckie. I'm not too familiar with any of this in this time." she asked him softly. The red guardian looked down at her smiling gently and pulled her in for an embrace. "It's okay, just stay near me and I'll help you as best I can. I don't normally come here but I am familiar with some things so don't you worry."

Tikal smiled and pulled him down for a gentle smooch, releasing it after a few seconds and both of them following the other two pairs as the smaller echidna clutched onto the larger one.

"Also who got you the dress Tikie?" Knuckles asked. Tikal looked up at him smiling cheerfully. "Oh it was Amy. She got it for me to 'turn you on' I believe she said?"

'I swear that pink hedgehog's just like Sonic at times.' the emerald guardian annoyingly thought.

Inside the mall…

"Alright so what are we doing first?" Sonic muttered out, looking around at the many stores with people in clear disinterest. He was not one to settle down and shop around, rather wanting to go out there and explore the world in his free time. But here he is, Amy holding his hand in a vice grip as she watched him with a loving expression. However inside he knew that his rosy girlfriend would pulverize him if he tried to escape so he did his best to act excited.

Tikal looked around in awe, clearly fascinated at the scenery around them. "I never had anything like this in my time." she said. Knuckles chuckled, seeing that his significant other went from being scared of the modern culture to being amazed by it.

"It's pretty great. At times it's too flashy but coming here once in a while is alright." he added.

"Yeah, especially the bakeries and stuffed animal shops! You'll love it Ms. Tikal!" Cream chipped, eyeing a toy store a few feet away from them while Tails was looking at a mechanics shop nearby.

"Hehe well hold on Cream we'll get to that. First off since Tikal is new to our time we have to get her the latest clothes and makeup! She can't go wearing those antique clothes from a thousand years ago all the time." Amy explained, looking at the echidna pair to immediately see the peach-colored girl become sad while the red guardian watched her angrily, hearing his knuckles crack as he clenched his fists. "Buuut that doesn't mean her current clothes aren't that outdated hehe! She just needs more wardrobe!" she added.

"So you're just gonna drag us into girl stores all day today right?" Sonic questioned with arms crossed.

"Yup and you're not allowed to leave us either! Now Knuckles is it okay if I can borrow Tikal for a bit?" Amy said walking up to them. Tikal looked up at him in concern but Knuckles simply nodded while smiling, pecking the top of her head. Smiling at him with a bit of worry still, she hesitantly let go of his arm and walked to the pink hedgehog. "I'll be in your care Amy."

"Great now let's go!" Amy then looped her arm around Tikal's while Cream grabbed her other hand.

"WAH!" Tikal squealed out as the girls took her towards one of the many clothing shops. "C'mon Tails, Mr. Sonic and Mr. Knuckles!" Cream shouted looking behind, grinning as they entered the first one.

"Well guys let's go see what's in store for us." Tails said, looking at the older two who simply groaned in annoyance.

"It sucks that Eggman isn't attacking today…" Sonic grumbled following the young fox. Knuckles wasn't in on it either but he had no choice. "If I want her to be happy then I'll have to suck it up and be there for her." the emerald guardian whispered.

"Here Tikal try this one!" Amy shoved a white button-down vest at the orange echidna's direction, surprising her in the process.

"U-Uh Amy, I-I think I'm carrying too much already." Tikal replied, holding a large amount of clothing in her hands while Cream stood beside her in awe. The rabbit was amazed at how much she needed not knowing how back then they only relied on leaves and simple fabric to make their wares.

"Amy you shouldn't be giving her too much. She can't try all of that at once you know." Knuckles said, leaning on the wall next to them. Sonic stood there tapping his foot to pass the time while Tails curiously looked at some of the scarfs they had, imagining how Cream would look like in them.

"Of course she wouldn't Knuckles. She just needs the magic touch from yours truly mwah!" the pink hedgehog said, kissing her fingers in the end. Knuckles rolled his eyes at this.

"Ms. Amy how about you? Shouldn't you get something for yourself as well?" Cream added, noticing Tails was looking at the neck accessories afterwards.

"I will once we finish getting what Tikal needs. Since you helped me find things for her why don't you go with Tails, he is looking at some nice scarves you know and probably thinking how they'd look on you." Amy grinned. Cream blushed and looked at the ground nervously rubbing her leg. "W-Well okay Ms. Amy if y-you want me t-too. Tails~!" she went off to the yellow fox.

"Alright that should be enough!" Amy said, putting a blue sweater on top of the meter tall pile of clothes Tikal was currently holding. By the looks of her struggling expression the orange echidna wasn't able to keep the pile up for long which was noticed by Knuckles.

"Here let me get that for you." he said, grabbing the pile from her effortlessly to which Tikal breathed out happily. "Thank you Knuckie~." she said, grabbing his face and passionately kissing him.

"Awww that's so cute! Why can't we do that Sonikku?!" she said watching the impatient Blue Blur.

"It's because you constantly try to force me to make out with you when I don't really want to." Sonic said, turning his head to see the pink hedgehog about to cry. Guilt struck into his heart and running at high speeds quickly embraced her and met his lips with hers. The reaction was instant, Amy clutching onto his head and pulling him in closer. The scene was watched by Tails and Cream from a distance.

"Hehe Sonic should really watch his mouth more often, saying stuff he doesn't mean." the yellow kitsune said. "Isn't that right Cream?" he turned his head, only to be met by a tackle from the young rabbit and soft lips meeting his.

At a changing room…

"I don't think I can take much more of this." Sonic complained, sitting in one of the benches that faced the doors to the dressing rooms. Red lipstick kisses were present among his face as Tails and Knuckles snickered.

"We haven't even passed an hour and you're already whining." Tails said shaking his head. "Just tough it out Sonic, if you can handle Eggman's giant robots then this shouldn't be a problem to you."

"Yeah hedgehog, we faced some of the most dangerous enemies out there and you can't handle a girl? That's a shame." Knuckles smirked.

"Looks who's talking Mr. I'm Too Shy to Talk to Girls!" Sonic retaliated. Knuckles growled getting up his seat, the Blue Blur doing the same until Tails once again intervened.

"Shut up, both of you!" the yellow fox pushed them away from one another. "Now Sonic, Amy has been setting this up for a while and she's been so far nice to everyone but YOU keep complaining."

"Yeah but here's the-."

"But nothing! I'm aware that you love her as well but quit acting like before you accepted her feelings. Really Sonic you should just grow up already." Tails explained. Sonic was stunned by his best friend scolding him, not saying anything back.

"As for you Knuckles, don't start any fights because we know how you get when you get angry. We don't want anyone or anything getting hurt you understand?" the two tailed kitsune said. Knuckles was also shocked but nodded. "Yeah, I'll keep that in mind."

"Good." was Tails' last reply as the three boys watched their girlfriends come into the area with a pile of clothing in their hands.

"Okay guys you ready to be amazed and end up fawning more for us?" Amy announced. Sonic didn't say anything but merely nodded, taking Tails' advice.

"I got the cutest outfits to show you Tails so be ready~!" Cream said with a wink. The yellow fox turned crimson yet formed a smile. "A-Alright Cream I-I'll be here."

Tikal watched Knuckles nervously. "U-Um I hope you'll be pleased with what I have Knuckie." she said. The emerald guardian gulped and gave a nervous grin. "Hehe you'll be great Tikie, I'll love whatever you put on."

The three girls then disappeared into their respective dressing room as Sonic and Knuckles turned their heads at the still flustered Tails. He felt their eyes on his and his only response was to curl up in his seat. "Shut up."

Round 1 (A/N: I'm terrible at describing clothing for girls so bear with me.)

It didn't take long for Amy to open the door and reveal herself, having doing this for quite some time that she's a natural. "Tada~! What do you think Sonic?"

Sonic couldn't describe it: she wore a white frilled sleeveless blouse with a red cashmere cardigan over it and light blue bootleg jeans. They framed her figure perfectly as the blue hedgehog's green eyes watched her do a turn to show everything. Amy sees his reaction and smiles, screaming for joy inside that the man of her dreams was paying attention to her.

"W-Wow Amy, y-you look fantastic!" Sonic stuttered, averting his eyes for a bit to clear his nervousness. The pink hedgehog was pleased, giggling as she went back into her room to put another outfit.

"Tails I'm ready~!" Cream's soft but cheerful voice radiated from the dressing room as she appeared right before the yellow fox. Just like Sonic he too was stunned: the yellow rabbit had a baby blue buttoned down vest with frills on the sleeveless sides and waist with two flower patterns on the chest area. A matching baby blue frilled skirt was also present that reached up to her knees and flowed gracefully from her movements. Just like Amy she did a twirl in front of him and Tails was heating up like a hardboiled egg.

"A-Amazing Cream, I love it!" he said, Cream blushing as she giggled, going up to him and pecking his cheek and then returning back to her changing area. Tails smiled like a dork afterwards.

Tikal peeked out of her door, seeing Knuckles' soft gaze aimed at her as he smiled. Turning red and gulping a bit, she stepped out and nervously took two steps forward. The red echidna could not believe his eyes: she had a cream-colored knitted sweater that exposed her shoulders with two puff balls attached to strings below her chest. She completed her look with white skinny jeans which accentuated her curves much more to the emerald guardian. It was simple and modest, but for Knuckles he found her horrifyingly cute in them.

"W-Well how do I look?" Tikal asked him shyly, hiding half her face in the sweater's sleeves. Knuckles gripped the armrests of his chair, feeling the metal slowly bend. "… Just wonderful Tikie. You look really cute in it." he let out.

The orange echidna squealed in happiness and ran up to him, nuzzling his face with hers and just as quickly retreated into her dressing room. Knuckles was flabbergasted but nonetheless sighed happily. 'I think I can get used to this.'

Round 2

"Okay Sonic calm down, calm down. This is Amy we're talking about and you've known her ever since you were little. She's the same ole girl that constantly chased you around back then and tried to marry you-." the cobalt hero wasn't able to finish as the door in front of him opened.

Amy stepped out in a white scallop trim jumpsuit with heart stitching on the chest and a matching purse hanging on her shoulder with a silk drape over her arms. Sonic's mind almost imploded as the pink hedgehog pushed her hip out with a hand on it and a smirk. "How's this one?"

Sweat dripped down the quills on Sonic as a nervous smile appeared on his face with a thumbs up. "L-Looks g-great Ames! Ten out of ten!" he said. Amy sighed in bliss rolling her eyes as she went back inside, but not before looking back and blowing a kiss to him. His mind imploded from that.

Tails was no better, thoughts of many possible options Cream might come out in. However because he was a boy and focused a lot more on technology rather than fashion, he wasn't able to explore much on what the young rabbit might have in store for him. Fortunately for him the knob on the door was heard opening and out stepped Cream.

Wearing a pink flare dress with rose petal designs on them and a bow on each side of her large ears along with ballet flats, Cream smiled happily as she did a second twirl to display everything. Tails was clearly amazed, mouth agape not just on how wonderful she looked… but the fact that he saw her polka dotted underwear to boot when she spun. "Do you like it?" she asked the yellow fox.

"… yeah, I like it. So much like you." he whispered. Cream cheered with a jump and hopped back into her room like the child she was. Steam was radiating off the top of Tails' head and it's a surprise the fire alarms haven't set off yet.

Knuckles clawed at the armrests of his chair, the leather on them ripping more and more from his sharp nails. The only clothing his girlfriend ever wore were her tribal ones from back in the day and even that was enough to see her as beautiful, but seeing Tikal put on other options opened a whole new world to the red echidna. Luckily he didn't have to wait longer as Tikal herself came out and his jaw dropped to the floor.

The orange echidna had a black cocktail dress that reached up to her knees with draped sleeves and had several glitter patterns on it. Replacing her jeweled headpiece was a black headband with white glittered floral patterns on it while her necklace was absent. The tight dress accentuated her figure so well that Knuckles was able to see everything she had to offer compared to her regular white blouse and tribal patterned skirt. Tikal sees his reaction and found it funny as she giggled, but she was happy to get a reaction like that. "So I believe this pleases you as well?" she smiled.

The emerald guardian kept his mouth opened and could only nod, eyes dilated to the extreme. Worry came to Tikal, seeing Knuckles speechless as she turned around with her head down a bit. 'Did he not like it that much?' she thought sadly.

'HOLY SHIT SHE LOOKS LIKES AN ANGEL FROM HEAVEN! THANK YOU MASTER EMERALD THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR BRINGING ME A DIVINE GODDESS TO BE MY GIRLFRIEND!' he thought excitedly.

Final Round

The boys sat there seeing the girls go through several clothes and already their mental states were at the breaking point: Sonic's fur was no longer the blue it was as a wave of crimson flustered all around his head, Tails began having almost adult thoughts of Cream and started seeing her more intimate, while Knuckles' death grip on the seat was so strong that the armrests already bent to an almost ninety-degree angle.

"G-Guys, m-maybe you w-were r-right. This w-was a b-bad idea." Tails stuttered out while trying to calm down. Sonic gulped but didn't brag out being right, his mind in another world where he doesn't see Amy as annoying anymore.

"Y-You're right Tails, b-but then Tikie w-wouldn't be able to e-explore outside the island." Knuckles replied, his stuttering less prominent but still there.

"A-Also don't f-forget that t-this is the l-last o-one. T-They whispered t-to each other o-on this o-one but I didn't hear it." Sonic finally spoke, still flustered.

"Y-Yeah, I-I couldn't h-hear it e-either." Tails added, moving back and forth to ease himself.

Knuckles shook his head and breathed out heavily. "C'mon guys we're acting like wusses here! We fought tough opponents and didn't wimp out or complain! Are we gonna let something like this defeat us?!" he spoke aloud.

Tails looked at him in shock, then shook his head as well. "You're right Knuckles, we can't give up! We committed to this so we'll have to face it just like one of our battles!" the yellow fox looked at Sonic who was still away from reality. "Wake up Sonic! You fought Eggman and other threats to the world many times that this shouldn't beat you either!"

The Blue Blur slowly turned his head towards the two, blinking several times before a grin made its way on his face and the blush disappeared instantly. "Tails you're a lifesaver! I am strong and can do this!" he spoke confidently with a thumbs up. "We're Team Sonic and nothing will ever bring us down!"

"YEAH!" they all cheered… and then three doors opened.

Amy, Cream and Tikal stepped out in swimsuits. The pink hedgehog had a red two piece bikini with spiral designs on them and a clear silk gown wrapped around her waist that led to the floor; she also adorned a sunhat atop her head. The yellow rabbit had a pink one piece bathing suit with striped patterns on it with a frilled waist and a flower crown atop her head to finish it off. Tikal herself had a white two piece bikini with floral patterns on them that had two tied up knots on each side of her shoulders and waist; she sported two flower accessories on each side of her head as well. The three all looked nervous and red as hell to boot.

"W-Well S-Sonic… boys… h-here's o-our g-grand f-finale." Amy muttered out while looking to the side. All that confidence she had before evaporated when she first stepped into the bikini, knowing that the blue hedgehog could react way differently compared to the other options she showed him. For Cream she gazed down flustered while rubbing her foot with the other, and Tikal brought some of her quills to her face to hide herself in complete anxiety.

"U-Um Ms. Amy… l-look." the young rabbit whispered while pointing forward. Amy followed her direction and was in complete shock.

Sonic was banging his head against the wall at Mach speeds and creating several cracks, and Tails looked like the life was sucked right out of him and only an empty husk remained given his eyes devoid of irises or pupils with his mouth opened.

RIP! THUD!

The girls jumped at the sounds, turning to see Knuckles fall flat on the floor face first. The chair he sat on was completely destroyed with the armrests severed from the metal frame below it. What's more concerning however was the red guardian leaking some red fluid on the floor from his face.

"KNUCKIE!" and of course Tikal panicked and ran over to her boyfriend. Cream walked to Tails and moved a hand over his face, not getting any reaction which really worried her. Amy herself was near Sonic who didn't stop his repetitions and was concerned of him getting possible brain damage.

A few minutes later…

"I did not expect that…" Knuckles muttered as he sat on a new chair he found while being tended by Tikal who wiped at his nose. The orange echidna was very gentle in removing the blood but she felt guilty that she caused this. "I-I'm sorry Knuckie…"

"Hey, it's fine. I was… I'm just… wow." the emerald guardian couldn't think of anything else, looking at the other two. Tails was hugging a whimpering Cream who was in his lap as she clung to him, while Sonic had his head on Amy's lap as she patched up the injury that formed on his head from banging the wall. The girls were still in their swimwear as they were too frightened for their other halves' safety to even change.

"Ooooh Sonic I'm so sorry…" Amy whispered, brushing his quills as the blue hedgehog looked back with a smile. "It's okay Ames. You really knocked it out of the park on this one and I still love you either way." he replied. The pink hedgehog sniffled and leaned down to hug his head, crying softly as Sonic simply chuckled.

"T-Tails, p-please forgive m-me…" Cream mewled in his chest, grasping at the sweater he wore. Tails smiled and nuzzled the top of her head. "I can't and won't ever be disappointed in you Cream. You're very precious to me." Upon saying that did the rabbit wail louder and hugged him tighter, the fox grinning sheepishly as he tried calming her down more.

"Hehe it looks like the others are doing fine now." Knuckles said. Suddenly he felt some weight on his lap and he turned to see Tikal sitting on it, a small frown on her face as she raised a clean napkin to wipe off the last of his blood. "I shouldn't have agreed to what Amy said to us before we went back in. I wasn't expecting you to fall like that and it hurt me so much that you bled."

Knuckles smiled gently and nodded, his eyes looking down at her bikini but kept his composure. "You look incredible in this Tikie. Maybe when we go to Mystic Garden or one of the lakes on Angel Island you can wear this."

The orange echidna blushed. "Y-Yes, just for you I'll wear it. For my handsome guardian." she said, finishing up her task and cupping his face to have him look at her. Blue eyes met violet ones as they both stared at one another in awe, Tikal lowering herself slowly while Knuckles raised himself. Their lips were almost within reach.

"HEY ARE YOU PEOPLE DONE IN THERE?! YOU'VE HAD OVER AN HOUR IN THERE AND WE GOT MORE CUSTOMERS IN LINE! HURRY UP AND GET OUT NOW!" a loud voice from the outside boomed towards the three couples who jumped in shock from it. Knuckles and Tikal looked at the voice's direction then looked back at each other. "Maybe later. Get changed quickly." Knuckles said as Tikal nodded and rushed towards the dressing room with Cream and Amy in tow.

"You guys good?" the emerald guardian said to his male friends. Tails grinned and gave a thumbs up, while Sonic did a peace sign and flashed a smile. "See, I got this." the blue hedgehog bragged. Tails and Knuckles laughed as the three awaited their girlfriends.

At the stores…

"How the heck do girls like doing this stuff?" Knuckles questioned once again to his pals as they see their three significant others looking at makeup through a clear window at one of the shops. The three couples have been through a variety of stores with the latest one being cosmetics.

"I dunno, I might be smart but I don't get how female culture works and I've been with Cream doing stuff like this for a while now. Except we mainly go to toy stores." Tails answered back as he browsed a small tablet he carried.

"Not only that but we've been here for FIVE hours already and I'm starving!" Sonic said aloud while rubbing his growling stomach. Similar bellows came from the emerald guardian and young fox. "You're right Sonic, we haven't really eaten anything today." Tails replied.

"Pretty much and luckily I brought two Chaos Emeralds so we can take the stuff back to our homes." Knuckles stated. The red echidna beforehand brought the gems along so that he and Sonic can Chaos Control anything they buy back to their places so they don't get tasked on carrying too many bags like the good gentlemen they are. Amy was highly suspicious of the blue hedgehog whenever he flashed away since he may use it as a means of escape, but Knuckles assured her that he would follow him due to sensing the jewel's energy. He also had the other emerald just in case anyway.

"Yeah that was great thinking Knuckles. I still can't believe Cream wanted another giant fox plushy to add to her collection hehe." Tails blushed rubbing his head. Sonic patted his head playfully. "She likes you a lot Tails and you're lucky she isn't anything like my Ames."

"Least I care for her UNLIKE you who constantly avoids any simple date she offers up." Tails swatted his hand away lightly. "You were better in terms of behaving today, but you still whine about the little things."

"He's got a point hedgehog. Even I can get used to stuff like this quickly and I live on an almost deserted island." Knuckles added.

"Okay Knucklehead but you got really mad when the manager at that one store blew up in your face about destroying one of their chairs. It took all of us to hold you back and you saaay that you can get used to this." the blue hero retorted. The emerald guardian growled. "He had it coming you moron!" Knuckles then raised his clenched hand.

"Oh you wanna start now?!" Sonic smirked raising his own fist but Tails once again kept the two at bay. "Okay shut it you two! Looks like we're way too hungry right now that it's not making us think straight so how about we go eat?"

"He's right Knuckles, I'm way too annoyed to even fight right now and I'd rather have a chili dog." Sonic said.

"Okay fine we'll settle this some other time, but what about them?" the red echidna pointed to their girlfriends.

"Well they look way too into what they're seeing so maybe they won't mind if we go to the food court for a little bit?" Sonic replied. Tails thought about it until his own stomach rumbled again. "I guess we can, but let's make it quick so they don't assume we ditched them." the yellow fox answered. The three boys were about to walk away.

"AHEM!"

…only to get stopped by a certain pink hedgehog's voice. Slowly did the three males turn to see Amy with her hands on her hips and an angry look on her face. Cream watched them sadly while Tikal looked heavily concerned. "And where do you think you're going?" the rose-colored girl demanded.

"O-Oh uh, w-we wanted to go eat and since y-you looked really into whatever you're looking at we didn't wanna bother you." Sonic managed to get out. Tails also agreed by nodding while Knuckles sheepishly rubbed his head.

"Sonic, you know you're the most important person to me and I would care less about some makeup than you leave my side." Amy stated.

"We also seen you about to walk away from the window's reflection." Cream pointed out. Tikal looked at Knuckles in worry while clasping her hands. "Knuckie what's wrong?"

The three felt guilt flow through their bodies as they became flustered and nervously averted their eyes. "W-Well um, we got hungry and wanted to go eat. We didn't want to interrupt you three." Tails explained.

"Oh why didn't you say so Tails! I don't mind getting food!" Cream ran up to him clutching his arm.

Amy giggled and took Sonic's hand. "Let's go get a bite then."

Tikal walked up to Knuckles looking into his violet eyes. "What would you like Knuckie?" she said in her sweet voice.

"Oh um let's see…" Knuckles scratched his head in thought, nervous on how cute his echidna girlfriend can be.

"Tikal, we buy food here we don't make it ourselves." Amy said. Tikal opened her mouth slightly in surprise. "Oh, well I don't mind making him something though."

"You cook for Knuckles?" Sonic said to her. The peach-colored girl nodded smiling. "Why yes, whenever he brings fruit, vegetables or herbs to our home I normally make some dishes."

"What about meat?" Tails asked. Tikal looked slightly offended to which Knuckles interjected. "Hehe she isn't too big on that Tails." This earned the young fox a small angry pout from Cream to which Tails nervously sweatdropped.

"What about you Knuckles can YOU cook? You can't always assume the lady's the one that does that all the time." Amy stated.

"Well I can start a fire and put food on sticks over it? Does that count?" the emerald guardian replied. The pink hedgehog facepalmed. "Well it's something I guess."

Tikal laughed softly. "It's fine, I love doing it for my Knuckie. He takes care of all the heavy work around our home and the altar and I normally just sew and decorate. I ensure he is healthy and full." she explained rubbing Knuckles' tummy gently. The red echidna smiled wagging his tail.

GROWL!

Everyone's stomach rumbled as the group laughed upon hearing it. "Alright everyone time to eat!" Tails and Cream shouted out.

At the food court…

"Sonic when are we gonna get married?"

"PSSHHSHTAHG *COUGH COUGH* ACK *COUGH* *COUGH* AHH *COUGH*!" the blue hedgehog in question spat out his drink in a fit while Tails instantly patted his back. The group were sitting a table with the guys on one side and girls on the other facing their respective partners. Several people around them watched the cobalt hero struggling to clear his throat as he slowly regained his composure.

"W-WHAT?!" Sonic replied loudly. "Why would you say something like that out of nowhere?!"

Amy shrugged. "Well I was wondering because Knuckles and Tikal share a last name."

"They do Ms. Amy?" Cream asked.

"Yup, 'the Echidna'."

Cream then looked at the red and orange pair. "Are you two married?"

At this they immediately turned deep red and looked to the side nervously. "W-Well n-no n-not really Cream." Knuckles simply said.

"Then does that mean you two are related or something?" Tails added. Tikal looked at him and shook her head. "No Tails, we are not related. I was an only child when I was sealed in the Master Emerald and I never had any siblings, cousins, aunts or uncles. I also never had any children since I was never with anyone. It was only my father and grandmother and I never knew my mother since she died giving birth to me." she explained.

"Ooooh so it's just like Sonic and Shadow. They both have 'the Hedgehog' as their last name yet they're not brothers." Amy said.

"And THANK CHAOS we're not! He's way too edgy and uncool to be my brother." Sonic sneered. Knuckles laughed. "I can think of ANOTHER hedgehog who's also edgy and uncool, hedgehog." the red echidna said easily dodging a straw thrown at him.

"Least I'm not shy around women!" Sonic responded.

"But you run away from one." Tails countered. Apply ice to the burn as everyone laughed at the comeback, the cobalt hero frowning yet also chuckling. "That was good Tails, that was good."

"But yes Sonic we HAVE to get married~! That way I can finally be Amy the Hedgehog~!" the pink-furred girl lavished out. Sonic turned and made a disgusted face, yet inside he wouldn't have minded.

"Well Amy like I said before we're not really married so it's just a coincidence we share a last name. Though I don't mind if she doesn't-." Knuckles stopped feeling a tug on his arm, turning to see Tikal look at him with puppy dog eyes.

"I would have begged on my knees for my father to have you marry me if you lived in my time Knuckie…" she said grabbing his hands with her own. The emerald guardian flustered while sweating a bit.

"OH MY GOODNESS YOU TWO ARE SO CUTE~!" Cream squealed while grabbing Tails' hands as well looking at him. "When we get older let's get married Tails~!" she said causing the yellow fox to blabber out nonsense.

"SONIC I HAVE TO BE YOUR WIFE NOOOWWW!" Amy yelled shaking Sonic viciously, the Blue Blur ironically getting dizzy even though he himself moves at high speeds. "A-A-A-m-m-y!"

DING!

"Oh looks like our food is ready! I'll get it so you guys sit tight!" Sonic let out as he unclutched himself from Amy's grasp and sped away, the pink hedgehog stretching her arm out towards him in longing. "Oh that man I swear, but that's what I love about him. Always so free and with the wind…" she whispered.

"Don't worry Ms. Amy, at least you two are together." Cream assured her patting her hand.

"While Sonic may be strange, he has a warm heart and you definitely brighten his day when he's with you." Tikal added. Amy smiled as she looked at Tails and Knuckles as well who gave a thumbs up. "Thanks guys."

Known for his trademark speed he came back just as quickly, placing their food on the table and immediately sitting down. Sonic however looked defiantly red looking at the floor to which Amy became concerned.

"What is it Sonic?" she asked intertwining her hand with his under the table, until she looked down on the table herself and her eyes became wide.

"Is this…?" Tails questioned also surprised while Cream looked really happy. Knuckles was confused at what he was looking at while Tikal watched in wonder with a blush on her face.

In each of their trays was not only their food, but also an ice-cream smoothie. All three were strawberry flavored with whipped cream and a cherry on top, but what surprised them was the straw itself was shaped like a heart in the middle with a tube opening on each side of the heart. It all sat in a tall glass cup and was meant for two people which in this case fits the bill for the couples.

"Sonic… we didn't order this…" Tails whispered to him.

"I know. The guy that gave me the food also threw this in for free because he saw us from far away and recognized us. It's what we get for being heroes." Sonic replied.

Knuckles watched the smoothie and gulped. "S-So we have to drink this?"

"We don't have to, I mean it's okay Cream if you're shy about it." Tails said looking at her. Big mistake as large sad eyes looked back, crumbling him immediately. "O-Okay never mind we can do it."

Sonic and Amy watched each other shyly and smiled. "So I guess we can…" the male hedgehog began. "Yeah… I'd like to." was the latter's response.

Knuckles was curious at the taste since he normally preferred grapes, but nonetheless he bent forward to meet his end of the straw. At the same time however Tikal also had the same thought and went for it as well, only for the two to look into each other's eyes as they immediately reeled back and blushed.

"U-Uh s-sorry-."

"N-No i-t's o-okay!"

They both stammered. However they became entranced towards each other, most of the embarrassment leaving them as they went back in and latched onto their respective ends of the straw. Only two inches separated them as Knuckles and Tikal gazed at each other's eyes, a shy smile on them as they sipped slowly. 'This tastes amazing.' they thought.

Tails and Cream happily drank theirs as they ate their food while Sonic and Amy were having the time of their life enjoying their own smoothie. If one looks more closely, all the couples' eyes began morphing into hearts.

Outside a certain amusement park…

"Alright this is more up my alley!" Sonic shouted as he looked around the various neon lights and attractions at Twinkle Park. The group stood in the plaza gazing at the several rides and vendors that were there as the day itself showed a nice afternoon glow, the several lights around them being more vibrant the darker it got.

"I can't believe they let us in for free as well! Oh it's a good thing they still got that cute couple thing going on!" Amy squealed clutching onto the blue hedgehog happily. Sonic nervously laughed but nonetheless hugged her back.

"Strange how you two won something." Knuckles asked Tails and Cream who sported propeller hats.

"Well they said we're the cutest of them all, but I can assume why since we're the youngest out of everyone here by the looks of it." Tails said looking at the other people that walked around. "Even then it's probably because Cream looks cute hehe." This earned him a tackle from the rabbit and a ton of smooches.

"Tikal are you okay?" Amy noticed the orange echidna staring at the large castle in front of them in awe. Her gaze took in the intricate designs and luminous glow that it gave off that she seemed hypnotized to them. Knuckles simply smiled crossing his arms. "She's from 3,000 years ago so this wasn't in her time. I'm just happy she gets to see it."

"Are you gonna snap her out of it or what?" Sonic asked him. Knuckles kept his smile one crossing his arms. "Nah I'd rather have her take it all in. She deserves it since she had a very tragic life back then and I'm glad she's happy."

"That's great to hear Knuckles. Why can't you talk like that to me Sonic?!" the pink hedgehog turned her attention to the Blue Blur who nervously laughed looking away. Cream looked away from them as she spotted a carousal up ahead, glee appearing on her face.

"C'mon Tails let's go on that one!" she chirped, dragging the yellow fox who had a derpy face from all the kisses he received from the light brown rabbit.

"Sonic we're sharing that white horse so you better hold onto me mister!" Amy grabbed his arm and was about to pull him, but gasped as she felt herself being carried into Sonic's arms. "W-W-Wha-?!"

"You read my mind Ames. I'll be the prince charming to my beautiful rose princess." the blue hedgehog said in a low voice. The rose-colored girl was incredibly red and stunned, speechless as both sped off in a flash of blue and pink. Knuckles and Tikal remained there with the latter still gazing at the tall structure. The emerald guardian looked at the attraction with disinterest. "Looks kinda girly. No way I'm riding that thing."

"We're not getting on with them…?" Tikal's voice rang through his ears and he seized up.

"W-Well y-you can get on with them while I just stand and watch." Knuckles replied. 'Don't look. Whatever you do don't look.' he thought keeping his eyes away from the orange echidna. However upon hearing her whimper his head shot towards her and immediately sees a full frown with sad sapphire eyes.

"Right let's do what Sonic and Amy will be doing!" he shouted, grabbing Tikal the same way Sonic did and running off towards the carousal. Tikal herself was somewhat surprised but snuggled into him and giggled. 'That's why I love my Knuckie.'

The three rode the carousal with Cream having a glorious experience on a unicorn with Tails sitting behind her. Riding a pegasus Sonic kept his arms around Amy as he was told and he didn't complain about it, enjoying the ups and downs and hearing the cheerful laughter coming out of her. Knuckles had an embarrassed look on his face while he and Tikal were on a regular horse, his male pride somewhat blemished on being on a ride not meant for his style. However hearing the melodic gasps and awes that his echidna girlfriend let out as she pointed towards several things offset his uneasiness on riding a kids' attraction.

Several minutes later they got off with Cream pointing towards one of the bowling lanes the amusement park had. "Let's go there next!" she announced to everyone and in the same way dragged Tails by the hand.

"Okay so it'll be teams with Sonic and I vs. Tails and Cream vs. Knuckles and Tikal. First one to hit ten rounds with the most points or strikes wins!" Amy said. The group nodded except for Tikal who looked very confused. "I'm sorry but I've never played 'bowling' before."

"Oh it's quite fun Ms. Tikal! You just roll this big heavy ball towards those funny looking things over there and if you hit them all then you win!" Cream happily explained. Tails chuckled at her choice of words. "She means pins. Just knock down as many pins as you can and the more you knock down the more points you earn."

Tikal watched in wonder at this, eyeing the bowling balls and then the pins. "Well hopefully I do well in this. Me and Knuckie will give it our best!" she cheered in confidence. Knuckles grinned and enjoyed seeing her become more familiar with modern times.

"Uhh I don't think this'll be fair Ames. Cream's too young to aim well at the pins and while I believe in Tails I think he'll have the same problem." Sonic stated.

"HEY! You think we can't do it?!" Tails retaliated angrily. The blue hedgehog raised his arms. "No it's not that. It's just that we're older and have more experience."

"Sonic the last time we went here we didn't bowl so NONE of us have experience. For Cream we can just use the rails that go up on the sides." Amy replied grabbing a bowling ball. "Besides, Eggman attacked that time so we really didn't get to enjoy anything."

Knuckles grabbed a bowling ball and juggled it in his palm. "So we just have to knock those pins down with this?"

"Yup that's the point of the game!" Amy said happily. The male echidna then eyed Sonic with a grin. "Get ready to get your butt handed to you, hedgehog."

Sonic took his own bowling ball and replied with a smirk. "We'll see about that, echidna."

Amy sighed in annoyance while Tikal giggled. "Are they always like that Amy?" the latter asked. "Yup, men and their competitive egos."

Cream and Tails laughed to themselves and looked at each other. "Let's give it our all Cream!" the two-tailed kitsune said. The young rabbit nodded in response. "We'll show that Mr. Sonic and everyone else what we can do!"

And the game began with of course Sonic himself starting off. He eyed the pins with narrow green orbs as he focused and breathed out. The others behind him watched silently as the blue hero inhaled and raised the sphere into the air, then threw it down as it began rolling towards the pins.

BAM!

The ball made contact and several of the pins fell, Sonic looking up and grinning… only to for it to slightly go down as he only knocked out half of the pins.

"HA! You didn't get all of them hedgehog!" Knuckles mocked. Sonic grinded his teeth as he walked back towards the group and eyed the emerald guardian. "I doubt you're any better echidna!"

"Alright enough boys, it's my time to shine." Amy said as she walked towards the lane with a fresh set of pins out. Bowling ball in hand she raised it to eye level and reeled it back, launching it afterwards as the ball struck the pins. All ten of them were downed by the hit.

"YEAH A STRIKE!" she cheered jumping up and down. Sonic looked down embarrassingly on the fact that she took them all out while he only got half. 'Sonic don't let it get to you. Remember you can still do better!'

Amy went up to Sonic and hugged him. "It's okay Sonic, you'll get there." she said kissing his cheek. He smiled in return.

Cream was up next, having a smaller bowling ball due to a regular one being heavy for her. As she walked up to the lane she noticed the rails coming up so if her ball goes off course it won't fall into the trench on each side of the lane. "Thank you!" she said.

"You can do it Cream!" Tails cheered behind her, making the young rabbit blush as she looked back smiling. Turning her head she took a running start then threw the bowling ball down the lane. It hit the rails a couple of times but eventually did it take out several pins: she knocked down eight out of the ten!

"YAY!" she cheered in joy jumping up and down and running towards Tails to hug him. The fox laughed as well and spun her around, the two older couples smiling at them. Tikal sighed watching them.

"If only my childhood was like that back then." she said, feeling a hand on her shoulder as she turned to Knuckles who smiled. "We're still young Tikie so don't worry." he assured her. The peach-colored girl nodded happily and nuzzled him.

Tails' turn came and he held a bowling ball upfront. He did several calculations in his head based on math and physics on how hard he should throw it, what angle his arm is supposed to be at, etc. Opening his eyes he ran towards the lane and threw his ball, the sphere making contact and rushing towards the white wooden pins. As the ones before it struck several pins with two standing up.

"Oh dang it I was off by a decimal!" Tails complained, turning around and grinning sheepishly. "I almost had it guys."

"You did great Tails I loved it~!" Cream ran up to him and glomped, the yellow fox's spirits up immediately and feeling her face rub on his. "Hehe well at least we're doing better than Sonic and Amy."

"Nah I can't let my little bro beat me. It'll ruin my rep." Sonic smirked. Amy laughed and rubbed Tails' head. "You did really well and we'll catch up to you two!" she playfully said. The young couple nodded as they awaited the next person.

Tikal was said next person, eyeing the lane in wonder and raising her bowling ball to look at it. The glossy surface and soft texture of it intrigued her and she noticed three holes on it as well. "What are these meant for?" she asked the group.

"You put your fingers in it so you can hold it and just like we did, roll the ball forward and hit the pins. Simple!" Amy explained. She nodded slowly as she turned around feeling a bit nervous. 'Oohhh I'm really scared to do this. What if I don't hit them? W-What if I…'

She looked back at them once again, specifically at Knuckles. He watched her in content and whispered. "You got this Tikie. Do your best."

That was all she needed to hear, turning around with blue eyes radiating confidence. She prepared her ball… but in an extraordinary turn of events, she instead crouched down onto the floor and pushed the ball gently with both hands as it rolled slowly down the lane.

'WHAT?!' everyone's mind screamed. They were in complete shock that the orange echidna girl did that as the bowling ball headed in a straight line towards the pins. It was going at a steady trajectory towards the frontmost pin and Tikal watched with sparkling eyes… until it veered off and hit the outermost pin. She knocked down one out of ten pins.

'OH MY CHAOS WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!' the group's mind yelled once again as the peach-colored girl slowly rose up with her head down. A few sniffles came out of her as she turned around, tears threatening to come out of her eyes.

"Oh my goodness Tikal! It's okay this is your very first time so don't beat yourself up about!" Amy quickly said. Sonic forced a smile with a thumb's up on his side. "Y-Yeah you did great! Not bad for someone from the distant past!"

"That was amazing Ms. Tikal! I didn't hit anything on my very first time of bowling but you did!" Cream added with encouragement as Tails added two thumbs up. "Awesome stuff you got!"

Their words fell on deaf ears as Tikal wasn't eyeing them unfortunately. She was watching the emerald guardian who had his back showing with a hand on his face. Soft footsteps walked towards Knuckles, Tikal standing behind him by mere centimeters. "I-I-I'm r-r-really s-sorry K-Knuckie…" she squeaked. Her form shook with a couple of choked sobs coming out. The male echidna just stood there not doing anything.

Because in reality his mind was in a completely different path.

'WHAT THE HECK THAT WAS SO CUTE TIKIE WHY ARE YOU SO CUTE AND BEAUTIFUL AFIEUOBCRUBVEBVRQO!' Knuckles' face was beet red with wide violet eyes stretched to the brim. His train of thought snapped at the soft cries from her however, clenching at his heart in which he found out he wasn't looking at her. 'CRAP SHE MUST THINK I'M ANGRY AT HER!'

Tikal sniffled with the others silently watching, until Sonic began getting angry. "Hey Knucklehead you gonna just ignore her like that for not doing good?! Some jerk you are!"

"Sonic, calm down…" Amy stroked the blue hedgehog's arm to control him. "Knuckles, she did her best so don't take it personal." she said. Tails and Cream watched sadly as well since the emerald guardian was still looking away. Luckily it wouldn't last long as Knuckles turned around, getting everyone's instant attention with Tikal looking up into his eyes in less than a second.

"I-It's not that… i-it's j-just… that was…" Knuckles avoided eye contact, looking to the side nervously. Sonic blinked several times. "What was that can't hear you?"

"Th-That w-was…" same result as before.

"Speak up Knuckles what are you trying to say?" Tails added. Cream rubbed the inside of her ear in case something was messing with her hearing. "Mr. Knuckles please tell us?"

"K-Knuckie…?" Tikal whispered to him. Hearing that did Knuckles man up and look at her, tears about to spill out of the cerulean orbs in front of him.

"T-That was t-the c-cutest… t-thing you d-did today." he stuttered out with immense effort, heavy fluster ravaging his face. Immediately was he ravaged by Tikal who sobbed loudly and kissed him with all her might, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and not letting him go.

"AAWWW THAT'S SO SWEET~!" Amy and Cream gushed while Sonic and Tails sighed in relief. "Looks like Knucklehead got out of this jam smoothly." the cobalt hedgehog said. The group then looked away and talked with one another as they waited for the echidna couple to finish.

Five minutes later did Tikal release her lips from Knuckles' due to lack of air and smiled brightly. "Y-You r-really t-thought I-I was c-cute doing that?" she asked him. The emerald guardian smiled genuinely. "Yeah, I can never be disappointed in you. Just do things how you want to and I won't judge. Ever." he went back in and pecked her lips to which she giggled.

"Hey lovebirds let's keep playing! Knuckles is up next!" Sonic shouted. Tikal and Knuckles smiled to each other and let go, the emerald guardian walking towards the lane with a ball ready. "Alright best for last!"

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Yeah we'll see if you're any better."

Amy shook her head then looked at Tikal who wiped her face with a napkin. "You'll get it soon enough, but why did you do that instead of doing it the way we did it? It shouldn't be that hard?"

"Oh no it's not that, it's just that that way seems very forceful and violent and since I'm against violence I chose not to do it." Tikal explained. "It's okay though, like Knuckie said to me I should do things how I want to do them."

Amy smiled at this and hugged her. "You're so pure Tikal, and Knuckles is lucky to have you."

"Hehe I think I should be lucky to have him. He's so sweet compared to the warlike echidna men back in my time." the orange echidna replied. "And like I said before, if he lived in my time I would've begged my father to make him my husband."

'I guess I'm not the only one.' Amy smirked to herself.

Knuckles readied his ball as he eyed the pins viciously. Raising his hand he took two steps and threw the ball… it going at extremely high speeds that it's not even touching the lane floor and within a second knocked out every single pin.

"HAHA YEAH!" Knuckles raised a fist in the air in victory. Sonic was flabbergasted that he knocked out all the pins and not him while Tails and Cream cheered. Amy grinned at that while Tikal clapped happily and ran towards him to pounce on the emerald guardian as he spun her around.

"Beginner's luck!" the blue hedgehog stated. Knuckles simply held his head up high as he flexed an arm. "Looks like YOU need to step it up, hedgehog."

Sonic glared at him while Amy sighed once again and hugged him. "Don't worry Sonic you'll get a strike someday."

The game went on with the first half all three teams evenly matched in points. Amy and Knuckles have been getting consecutive strikes while Sonic and Tikal were getting better with each round. Cream and Tails have been getting almost all the pins down with a few strikes to which the young rabbit was overjoyed on several occasions. Upon getting to the second half did it get more intense as Tikal was able to get more than half the pins down and was stunned when she got her first strike; Knuckles actually fell on his back upon feeling the echidna girl rush at him in delight. Sonic was also able to get a strike and Amy became lovestruck all over again, the blue hero taking in his moment of glory for two minutes. As for Tails and Cream they simply enjoyed the game and it didn't matter for them whether they win or lose as they only wanted to have fun.

The final standings were Tails and Cream in first while Sonamy (Sonic x Amy) and Knuxikal (Knuckles x Tikal) tied for second.

"How the heck did we tie?!" Sonic shouted. Amy rolled his eyes at him. "Me and Knuckles got strikes every round while you and Tikal were basically trading scores with one another. I swear Sonic you know how to save the world but you're terrible in simple games hehe."

The blue hedgehog crossed his arms in annoyance and looked at Knuckles who smirked back. "Next time we'll definitely win!"

"Yeah if you can beat me in getting ten strikes in a row!" the emerald guardian said flexing his arm again. Tikal stood near him simply giggling to herself.

"Alright so what's next?" Tails asked. The group looked around at the other attractions around them until Tikal saw a tall looking device with several numbers going up its length, a pad at the bottom and a hammer next to it. "Why don't we try that thing?"

"Oooh that looks like fun! C'mon everyone!" Cream said as they all walked towards the next game. A male chipmunk stood at the side announcing to people what the game is about.

"Step right up and test your strength on the high striker! Do you have what it takes to ring the bell at the top! Come on by and prove how strong you are for a chance to win a prize!" the chipmunk noticed the three couples approaching. "Looks like you six are interested. Care to try out how far up you can go?"

"Yes please!" they all said.

"Alrighty then all you have to do is whack this here hammer onto the pad and the weight will go up. The harder you hit it the higher it'll go and if you ring the bell you win a prize!" the operator explained and showing them the large mallet.

"That's great so who's going first?" Tails said turning to the group. Sonic being the fabled leader of the group cracked his knuckles and walked forward. "I'll give it a shot!" he smirked grabbing the hammer.

"Good luck young hedgehog!" the chipmunk said standing by. Sonic nodded and stood in front of the pad with mallet in hand. Wagging his tail in preparation he raised the mallet high into the air and with all his might swung it towards its target. A loud smack echoed in the air as the weight went up; the numbers go from 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest. For Sonic's case… it went up to a 4.

"What?! This game's rigged!" the cobalt hero complained while swinging the mallet. The chipmunk operator laughed as he took the hammer from the hedgehog's grasp. "It is not rigged my young fellow. You just don't have enough strength."

"He's right Sonic. While you can run at Mach speeds and beat all of us in a race you're actually underwhelming when it comes to upper body strength." Tails explained. Sonic sighed and walked towards them. "Thanks for bringing that up pal."

Amy hugged him once he got near her and caressed his quills. "It's alright Sonic, you're strong in my eyes and that's what matters." she said, a smile appearing on her lover's face as he enjoyed the feeling of her hands.

"Ms. Amy should go next!" Cream chirped getting the pink hedgehog's attention to which she let go of Sonic and grinned. "Alright I'll show everyone why I stick with hammers."

Approaching the high striker with confidence, Amy didn't waste time and with a battle cry slammed the hammer into the pad. The impact was loud and caused the weight to rise up quickly as it went all the way up to a 7.

"Aww I was almost there. Ah well." she said with a shrug walking back to the group. Sonic threw a thumbs up her way to which the rose-colored girl high-fived him. Deep down the Blue Blur was in some turmoil, his emerald eyes going to Knuckles who stood there not saying anything surprisingly.

"Um if it's okay with everyone I would love to try it next." Tikal announced. No one disagreed on that to which the peach-colored echidna walked up to the attraction and gulped. She felt a bit afraid knowing that she's not only carrying an item that can be used for violence but also anxious that she wouldn't be very strong. However Knuckles' words rang through her mind which gave her confidence enough to raise the mallet in the air and strike it down as hard as she can.

She got a 3.

Tikal sighed sadly and walked back dejectedly. However her spirits were raised when she felt strong red arms wrap around her, feeling immense warmth throughout her body.

"You did amazing Tikie. I love you no matter what." Knuckles whispered to her. Tikal squealed happily and leaned further into him with her tail wagging.

"Me next me next!" Cream cheered as she ran up to the high striker. The chipmunk laughed joyfully handing her the hammer. "You look like you have what it takes lil sweetheart!" he said. Laughing on her part Cream stuck out her tongue in concentration and with a mighty heave she swung the hammer down and the weight jumped up.

DING!

It hit the bell at the top.

Everyone's jaw dropped. Cream, the young rabbit who didn't look anything like a weightlifter or looks like someone that can break rock easily just managed to best the ones before her INCLUDING Amy who specializes in hammers, at a game of strength. "Did I win?" was all the little girl said as another hearty laugh came out of the chipmunk.

"Why yes you did sweetheart! Who knew you had it in ya to even beat the grownups! Take a look around and see what your eye catches." the operator said. Cream looked at the several prizes in front of her until it landed on a yellow fox plushy that resembled Tails with a strange looking antenna on its head with a red crystal.

"I'll take that one please!" Cream happily said. The chipmunk nodded and went to grab it, only to shiver slightly upon physically touching it and feeling something a bit off. Shaking his head in the end he walked back and handed her the plush. "Enjoy lil lady!"

Cream skipped back to the group who were still stunned. This made her raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Uhh is everyone okay?"

Amy was the first to snap out of it. "O-Oh u-uh yeah we're good. We just didn't know you were that strong?!"

Knuckles blinked several times and smiled getting his thoughts together. "Yeah Cream that was good on ya! I'll have to be watching out for you hehe!"

Sonic and Tikal recovered afterwards and also congratulated while Tails sheepishly rubbed his head. "That was amazing Cream. My girlfriend sure is powerful."

The young rabbit beamed at his compliment and raised her prize. "Look it looks just like you!"

Tails looked at it and suddenly felt an ominous feeling in the pit of his stomach. Blue eyes watched small black ones in which he made a weary expression. "Y-Yeah, it does look like me hehe."

Cream nodded and pecked his cheek. Tails grinned then walked up to the high striker. "Alright looks like I'm next!"

"You got this lil bro!" Sonic cheered with the others doing so as well. Determination flowed through him as in the same way as everyone else he let out a yell and thrusted the mallet downward striking the pad.

DING!

He hit the bell as well.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Amy yelled this time while Sonic and the others were in shock as well. Cream jumped in the air as she applauded her boyfriend who was also astonished that he managed to hit it. The chipmunk grinned as he patted Tails' back. "Looks like you won son so what will it be?"

The two tailed kitsune looked at the prizes and his focus landed on a plush bunny that had an uwu face on it. He pointed to it to which the operator grabbed it and handed it to Tails. "Nice performance you got there again!"

Tails walked back to the group as Cream hugged him tightly and the rest congratulated him.

"I can't believe you were able to do it as well. Everyone in this time sure are strong." Tikal said. Cream nodded to that. "Yeah Ms. Tikal. Not only that but there was one time when me and Ms. Amy and Mr. Big were trying to find Mr. Sonic, Tails and Mr. Knuckles that sometimes me and Tails would carry everyone while we fly them in the air.

"Oooooh so that explains why you and Tails are seriously strong. I swear Big sure is a 'big' guy no pun intended and yet you carried him like nothing." Amy added. Everyone laughed at the joke to which the operator cleared his throat and smiled. "So will anyone else like to give it a try or do any of you want to try again."

"Wait we still got Knuckles. Hey Knucklehead it's your-huh?" Sonic stopped his sentence looking around. Knuckles was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey where'd he go?" Tails questioned, searching through the people to see if he wandered off to any of the vendors nearby.

"I didn't see him leave or anything so beats me." Amy said. "I guess he might've gone to the bathroom or something." Her ears picked up a sniffle, eyes widening and knowing well where it's coming from.

Tikal looked around frantically for Knuckles, running around the area at high speeds that she looked like a blur just like Sonic. Distress was on her face and her rapid breathing meant she was hyperventilating bad. "KNUCKIE?! KNUCKIE WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Several people watched her as if she was crazy to which Tails noticed and attempted to calm her down. "Relax Tikal, like Amy said he might've went to the-."

Emphasis on attempted as Tikal turned around and looked at him with a wide-eyed ominous stare, a shadow covering most of her face. The two-tailed kitsune gulped with Cream watching in fright as well and hugging him. Sonic and Amy sighed. 'Knuckles why did you leave without saying anything…'

Instantly after that a flash of light appeared next to them and disappeared within a second to reveal Knuckles who held a Chaos Emerald in his hand. "Alright now that I did my business I hope I didn't miss… much of… anything…" The emerald guardian slowly stopped talking, seeing everyone watch him incredulously. It was also the second time he got knocked to the ground by Tikal who cried into his chest.

"H-Hey it's okay! C-Calm down my princess calm down." he shushed her rubbing her back. She looked up clutching his shirt and dug her face back into his chest. "D-Don't ever do that again." she mumbled.

"Alright I won't. I didn't know you'd react like this but it's okay, I'll never leave you again." Knuckles said rubbing his face in her quills.

The echidna couple slowly rose up with Sonic nearby shaking his head. "Dude you could've said something."

"I did but everyone was cheering for Tails that I decided it wasn't worth it so I quickly went back to Angel Island to go to the bathroom." Knuckles stated.

"You could've gone here you know." Amy clarified. "Bad enough that you made Tikal worry for you as well."

"Yeah but I'm more comfortable at the one on the island and I didn't know she would react like this. Then again we never left each other at all." the emerald guardian added.

Tails raised an eyebrow. "So you two never left one another for anything?"

"Nope, even when I went to go get food or supplies I tell her first so she doesn't worry." Knuckles replied.

"Oh so you mean this is the first time you leave without telling her Mr. Knuckles." Cream said.

"I thought it'll be quick but I guess I was wrong. I'll promise to never do that to my Tikie ever again." he said nuzzling his echidna girlfriend. Tikal nuzzled back and sighed blissfully. "Thank you my Knuckie."

"Well away from all that it's your turn Knux." Sonic said. Knuckles smirked as he walked up to the attraction. "This shouldn't be so tough."

The chipmunk operator looked a little worried, seeing how bulky the red echidna was in his eyes.

'Guess I'll have to turn it up then.' he thought, as within his hand behind his back he clutched a small device with a knob that he turned all the way to the right. Unknown to everyone the game is actually rigged so Sonic was right all along, except for the blue hedgehog along with Amy and Tikal he set it at the default setting. For Tails and Cream he lowered the sensitivity all the way since he had a soft spot for them and for Knuckles it'll prove quite a challenge. For the emerald guardian the operator raised the sensitivity to the max.

"Alright big guy let's see what you got!" the chipmunk said, stepping aside with a grin. Knuckles nodded in confidence and raised the hammer with one hand, casually swinging it towards the pad.

SMASH!

The weight flew instantly upward and hit the bell… only for it to pierce right through the metal and fly high into the sky. Not only that but the impact Knuckles made instantly destroyed the pad with the frame under it giving out and causing the high striker to buckle and fall to the side, causing a loud bang and scaring some of the people around them.

"…" Knuckles didn't say a thing as he kept watch on the weight disappear into the atmosphere, making a comical blink as it left the naked eye. For the others they could not believe their eyes, especially the operator who stared in horror at the wrecked attraction.

"W-W-W-WH-AT A-ARE Y-YOU?!" he bellowed out to the male echidna. He didn't listen and kept his gaze up for a few more seconds until Knuckles looked down and lowered the hammer. "Looks like I win a prize?"

"DUDE WHAT THE HECK YOU DIDN'T NEED TO HIT THAT HARD?!" Sonic also barked and facepalmed. Amy was still in shock, Tails was laughing and Cream was cheering loudly for their friend. Tikal watched Knuckles dreamily while wagging her tail, apparently falling in love all over again.

"What? I was holding back." the red guardian told Sonic.

"There is no way you were holding back?! That can't be right?!" the cobalt hero bellowed out. Tails stopped his laughing and pulled out his tablet. "Actually Sonic it makes sense because his strength matches your speed. If you can run at Mach 5 speeds then that means Knuckles should lift and hit at 500 metric tons, so if I do some calculations then… wait… WHAT THE HECK KNUCKLES YOU CAN DESTROY A PLANET WITH THIS TYPE OF FORCE!" the yellow fox shouted in surprise as he looked at the screen.

Amy peered over Tails' shoulder to look, eyes widening as well. "Knuckles… how is it that you, a somewhat lazy echidna that sits on an altar protecting a large gem all day, can hit THIS hard?"

Sonic was confused at what they said. "Wait I don't get it?" he said. Tails walked over to him and gestured him to lean down as he whispered into his ear. Sonic immediately stood and fast walked to Knuckles, clutching his arms. "So you're telling me that you could've mopped the floor against ALL the enemies we faced with just a simple punch?! WHY DIDN'T YOU?! YOU COULD'VE BEEN A HERO LIKE ME?!"

Knuckles simply shrugged. "Nah I'm not one for too much attention hedgehog. Plus knowing you, you would've annoyed me to no end on how I would've been taking the spotlight."

"SOME OF THESE THINGS COULD'VE DESTROYED THE WORLD KNUCKLES!" Sonic shook his head groaning. "Know what, next time Eggman or some other enemy attacks I'll blame YOU for me getting hurt out there." the blue hedgehog finished letting go of him.

"Knuckles you could even beat Shadow if you wanted to with this type of power, so why hold back?" Tails asked. The emerald guardian looked at his palm in sadness. "It's because I don't want to hear those voices again."

"What voices Mr. Knuckles?" Cream questioned.

Knuckles sighed. "It was a long time ago before I met Sonic and Tails. I was ambushed by some strange looking armored aliens in a ship that wanted the Master Emerald. They managed to take it and were about to fly away, but at that moment did my anger blind me and I let it all out." He closed his eyes tightly. "I… killed them all. Every single one as I heard their dying screams in my hands, all the strength in me easily tearing them apart and sending them away into the horizon. With some of them my punches ripped through their chest… and…" he then raised one of his arms and did a gesture as if holding something. "I grabbed their weak spots and just like that." Knuckles squeezed his hand tight at the end.

Gasps came from the group, especially the operator who also listened as the emerald guardian went on. "The screams that happened that day sometimes go into my mind and remind me how much of a freak I am. A simple punch from me can end anyone's life, which is why I hold back even when I get angry. Even when I spar against Sonic at times." he sighed again and looked at the group. "So yeah I could beat Shadow and Eggman if I wanted to, but I don't want to go through that again. I NEVER want to do something like that ever again."

Sonic and Tails were stunned at this, knowing a bit more about his past before they met. Cream covered her mouth as tears came out, while Amy tried to comfort the young rabbit and feeling guilty on teasing the red echidna at times. Knuckles himself looked down in shame and didn't even want to look at them. At Tikal either.

"Knuckie…?"

A small and soft hand intertwined within his larger one, making Knuckles gasped silently. He didn't want to look but another small hand cupped his chin, feeling his head turn to the smaller echidna. Tikal's concerned face came to his vision with no fear or distraught.

"It's okay Knuckie. You only lost control and you promised to never do it again. I don't see you any different than the good, strong, brave and handsome person I see in front of me." she got closer and hugged him gently. "I can sense you did not mean it. Do not feel shame my love, that's why I am here to care for you."

Knuckles sniffed holding back tears, returning the hug slowly. "… do I really deserve an angel like you?" he whispered. Tikal laughed softly and nuzzled him. "The first time I saw you Knuckie, I knew you were the one. I should be the one saying that to you hehe." Both echidnas smiled widely and hugged tighter. Amy and Cream awed at their PDA while Sonic and Tails nodded in approval. The blue hedgehog walked to them and placed a hand on Knuckles' shoulder who looked back.

"You're not a freak Knux, you're our friend and we don't see you any different than the awesome guardian of the Master Emerald." Sonic said with a smirk. "Next time though I'd like to see if you knocking me out of super wasn't a bluff hehe."

The red echidna grinned back. "I'll still hold back you know."

"Sonic don't make me worry now." Amy smiled and held his hand. Tails and Cream also held hands and did the same gesture. "Mr. Knuckles is one of our bestest friends so don't feel sad!" she cheered. This got Knuckles' spirits up as he scratched his head sheepishly.

…

…

…

"So are you gonna choose your prize now?" the chipmunk reintroduced. The group gave a laugh and in the end Knuckles apologized while taking two prizes on the operator's part: a red and orange chao that strangely enough looked like them to which Tikal squealed and for the third time managed to knock the emerald guardian down to the ground.

The rest of the day went well for the three couples, going through the haunted mirror mansion next that spooked Amy, Tails, Cream and Tikal. Sonic and Knuckles managed to get through without problems, but for the latter his previous fear of ghosts made him more alert. For the blue hedgehog he was bear hugged to death constantly at every turn by his pink lover while the red echidna had to cover his ears due to Tikal's high pitched screams whenever something scary came out as she clutched onto him. Cream and Tails ran full force trying to find the exit while paling at all the frightening things that occurred in there.

Afterwards they headed towards the roller coaster to which everyone enjoyed it, and surprisingly Tikal who wanted to go on a second time. Going through several vendors and eating again since lunch was a while ago, the last ride they went on was the ferris wheel and as how most are built the compartments seated two so each of the couples got their own. It also was enclosed with windows that show the outside so they wouldn't be feeling the fresh air, but the most important thing would be the view they would have as they rose up.

Tails and Cream

"Look how high we're going Tails!" Cream said in joy gazing at the setting sun which illuminated the neon lights brighter. The fox smiled watching as well, the people looking like ants below them and the horizon turning into a darker shade of orange. It truly was an amazing sight and for Tails he never got to see much of it due to spending a lot of time in his workshop.

Tails turned his gaze towards Cream, watching her vibrant face looking in awe at the outside. For him he was incredibly lucky to have someone like her: nice, smart, adorable and all around a great person to be with. He recalled how nervous he was when he went to her house to confess, her curiosity etched on her face that time. When he did confess, her expression was one of surprise and in less than a second did he experience the most wonderful feeling of soft arms and a small body wrap around him. Not only that but the feeling of Cream's tan lips pecking at every inch of his face leaving no area untouched was mind-blowing. Luckily her mother was out during that time or otherwise she would have heard the happy cries Cream gave out upon hearing Tails express his love for her. She was also hiding feelings for the two-tailed kitsune as well but didn't have the courage. After that did they spend more time with one another and the young rabbit also went along with him on adventures as well. For Tails he wouldn't forget any of the memories he made with her, and he looked forward for what's in store for them as they get older.

"Taaaills~."

His train of thought broke and he was brought back to reality, seeing Cream centimeters away from his face and jumping in surprise.

"O-Oh Cream I didn't know you th-there hehe." Tails nervously said. The young rabbit smiled innocently and got closer, her breath hitting his lips.

"You were staring at me Tails~. I wonder why~?" she kept that same expression, getting closer and closer. Tails gulped lightly and felt the headrest on his seat stopping him. "U-Uh you know, if I had to say it I was watching an ang-."

His words stopped as Cream kissed him. Tails' eyes lowered and eventually both of them had their eyes closed, their lips dancing with one another with the cream-colored girl placing her hands around his neck to bring him closer. He obliged and rested his hands on her back, the passionate exchange going for several minutes. Their innocent love for each other poured heavily and they relished the experience, the memories of their time together going through their minds and making their hearts beat faster for each other.

Eventually the need for air became too great and they separated slowly, eyes opening and gazing at each other. Tails' blue orbs watched Cream's hazel ones as both sighed.

"I love you Tails. You're the most amazing person I met and I'm very happy to be your girlfriend." Cream said. Tails blushed and smiled. "And I love you Cream, you're just the most beautiful girl I know and I'm also happy to be your boyfriend."

Confessing to each other once more, the pair dove in once again and continued one as the ride lowered them downwards.

Knuckles and Tikal

"This is incredible Knuckie. I never knew something like this can exist in this time." Tikal gazed not only outside but within the compartment as well. "I feel more safe being in this than that 'roller coaster' you mentioned hehe."

"Yeah it's pretty great. I don't get on these much and the last time I went on one was at this casino place me, Sonic and Tails went to while we looked for Eggman. We didn't actually ride it but we went on it to get to higher ground." Knuckles explained. The female echidna nodded, looking at the outside with a sincere expression.

"I never realized how much I would have missed. If I didn't seal Chaos when he went on a rampage back then my life would've been for naught. Even then my life wasn't the greatest, witnessing war and verbal abuse as our people sought to expand the tribe through hurting others. My grandmother taught me everything she knew on how to solve problems without violence, and I hold true to that even when I am faced in difficult situations. I will never harm or fight anyone even if my life is in danger, my grandmother's teachings preventing me from hurting others. In the end, I feel like I could have done more but with my father's blind arrogance it wouldn't change anything. He led our people close to extinction and I had to prevent that by sacrificing myself to save the world. I thought I wouldn't return, that I would have died young… but no."

Tikal turned to stare at Knuckles the same way. "The Master Emerald gave me a new life… you gave me a new life… so that I can experience the wonders of what it's like free from war and suffering. If it wasn't for everyone helping in stopping Chaos a second time, the world would've been destroyed. I am truly grateful that peace exists once again and that Chaos is at peace as well. However, I am more grateful to be with one that can I share my new life with. One that I can call my own and maybe… have a family with." the orange echidna got up and sat next to Knuckles, the latter watching silently. "One that has a pure heart and is willing to help others. One that I can… love forever and cherish."

"Tikal…" Knuckles muttered out breathlessly.

Not wasting time they both dove in and kissed, Tikal softly whimpering upon feeling their arms wrap each other. Their tongues danced around and eyes closed in bliss only focusing on each other. For Knuckles the thought of not being alone anymore once again crossed his mind and his emotions poured out, tears flowing down his face. The same goes for Tikal, memories of ancient love she used to have from her grandmother passing through her mind and being replaced by her newfound one for the emerald guardian, tears also flowing down her own. The glow of the sunset illuminated the scenery inside the compartment, giving a gentle feeling for the two lovers as they slowly separated.

"Tikie…"

"Knuckie…"

"I love you." they both said, laughing softly in the end.

"Was today to your liking my princess?" Knuckles smiled. Tikal nuzzled her nose with his and nodded. "Why yes my guardian, everything went perfect and I hope we can have more experiences like this in the future."

Tikal cuddled up next to Knuckles afterwards, the latter chuckling a bit getting the female echidna's attention. "What is it Knuckie~?"

"Oh nothing Tikie, just wondering if we should go to the garden or the beach so you can wear that swimsuit hehe."

A squeal came out of Tikal as she playfully booped Knuckles' nose, the latter grinning sheepishly in return.

Sonic and Amy

A heavy silence dominated the ambience in the blue and pink hedgehog's compartment. Amy had her eyes averted to the side watching the sunset, though for the rose-colored girl this was something she saw everyday due to how outgoing she was. For Sonic, his thoughts were on an entirely different matter.

'Wow Ames you look incredible and way less annoying!'

'It's because you constantly try to force me to make out with you when I don't really want to.'

'But nothing! I'm aware that you love her as well but quit acting like before you accepted her feelings. Really Sonic you should just grow up already.'

'Least I care for her UNLIKE you who constantly avoids any simple date she offers up.'

Tails' and his own words ravaged his head like snakes in a pit. The negative things he said to the girl in front him caused his demeanor to hit an all time low as his frown fell in complete sadness.

Ever since he rescued Amy from Metal Sonic years ago she constantly chased him and begged him to marry her. It was an obsession that contradicted the blue hedgehog's love for freedom and running with the wind; not only that but he found it heavily irritating as well. Amy's constant announcements of her self-proclaimed love for him to everyone made it seem as they were an official couple, but for Sonic it only caused him embarrassment that someone like that could openly admit it without being anxious. He would be lying to himself however if he didn't like her more than a friend as throughout the years he did notice her become more of a young woman. The urge to get away as far as possible from her became less and less while at the same time, the pink hedgehog's chases and advances also became rarer. At some point did Amy stop chasing him altogether and focused on her life, making the blue hedgehog confused and bewildered. Due to that his feelings for her grew and the itch within him told him to ask her. However his pride didn't allow it as he was still stuck with the hardwired passion to follow adventure anywhere it pops up and that love would be something he would never dive into. It was very difficult to say the least, and it got so bad that for several days the cobalt hero didn't leave his place at all which concerned his closest friends; even Shadow took the time to visit to see what's up.

What he didn't expect however was to see the pink hedgehog standing in the doorway looking at him in concern at his time of internal conflict. She was very patient and gentle, listening to his turmoil at each and every word. It didn't take long for Amy to figure it out, giggling to herself and cupping the blue hedgehog's face as she kissed him. That day his eyes were the widest they've ever been, but at the same time it was the day that his heart finally said yes to his number one fan.

"Sonic…?"

The person in question shifted his green eyes to meet Amy's own, the female hedgehog looking at him worriedly. "Are you okay…?"

"Oh uh, yeah… I'm okay." Sonic replied, looking away to avoid any more conversation. However he wasn't going be left alone the rest of the ride, feeling Amy's stare burning through him.

"Sonic, you are not okay. Tell me what's wrong." the same concerned voice aimed directly at him. The blue hedgehog kept his defenses up and continued to look to the side, his gaze locked onto the roller coaster as it rode through the rails in the distance.

"You better tell me right now or I'll make you say it." Amy became more irritated at not getting an answer, teeth clenched in rising anger. She watched Sonic continue to look out the window, his focus away from her and at this point did her patience run out. "SONIC THE HEDGEHOG TELL ME-!"

"SHUT UP!" Sonic stood abruptly with visible rage, an ice-cold glare piercing towards the rose-colored girl who cowered and watched in fear. "JUST SHUT UP! I TOLD YOU I'M FINE AND YOU JUST CAN'T LET IT GO! IT'S BEEN LIKE THIS FOR YEARS EVER SINCE I MET YOU; YOU JUST CAN'T LEAVE ME ALONE FOR ANYTHING! WHY DO YOU BOTHER WITH ME?! WHY HUH?! WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT ME BESIDES BEING A HERO IF I ACT LIKE SUCH A JERK TO YOU?! HUH?! TELL ME!"

The blue hedgehog breathed heavily after finishing, his violent expression glued to his face as Amy shivered in fright. Tears were falling from her emerald eyes and small whimpers emanated from her throat. Seeing all this made the Blue Blur realize what he's done and simply fell back onto his seat, seething through his clenched teeth.

"Why… why are we even together in the first place? What made me say yes that one time? What made me continue this relationship if I'll still treat you badly in the long run? I mean look at today, all I did was complain and whine about even being here." Sonic sighed and covered his eyes with a hand and shaking. "Tails was right, all I do is run away from you. I'm just not ready for this and even if I am, I'll just act like a douchebag anyway."

More silence presented itself throughout the compartment, the duo not saying much after. On Sonic's part did he see his vision blur up a bit as well as some moisture run down his muzzle. Placing his thumb over it, he realized he was crying. Already his pride was diminished in front of Amy that he settled with curling up into a ball and began letting out choked sobs.

The blue hedgehog's mind was tattered with various thoughts battling each other for dominance. Several memories of him running away from Amy duked it out with others that enjoyed her presence every time he got to see her. It was complete turmoil that he couldn't get anything straight as he kept letting out the waterworks. Raising himself to be one of Mobius' greatest heroes left him vulnerable to what it'd be like if he settled down with someone and for Sonic it was still unknown territory. He didn't know how to approach it and the time he said yes to her was because he was acting out of what his positive thoughts told him back then. He never assumed that by agreeing that he and the pink hedgehog hook up it meant that some of his personal freedom would be taken away. Ironically they didn't spend too much time together, but on days like this it felt very constricting that he just had to lash out as his liberty was threatened. At the same time the other thoughts told him that Amy was the most precious person to him, that without her he would only feel more turmoil. It was true and as much as he wanted to dive into that part of his mind, his love for adventure and freedom fought back just as hard in which for the Blue Blur it was like he was at step one again.

'I shouldn't deserve someone like her. She should have better than being with me, a hero who can't even win a battle like this. I just complain about everything whenever I'm with her and even Knuckles has it better than I do.' he thought continuing to sob, his tears falling onto the seat below him. 'I-It's for the best Sonic. After this I'll just run away and chase that freedom, getting away from the one that I love so much but at the same time can never have as my own. I'll just-!'

Sonic felt a hand brush his quills gently, stroking the blue spikes with the upmost care. He still trembled in his seat not looking up, but the heavenly feeling of the hand going through his quills made his emotions ease up more and more. Eventually his cries lessened and suddenly he felt something nuzzle the top of his head, feeling a gentle kiss upon it.

"Shhh… I'm here." Amy said to him. Sonic feared looking up, knowing how she has a temper that can rival Knuckles. However she kept her gesture going, running her hand along his spikes. "Take your time. It's okay." she said again.

Eventually he stopped trembling and just hid in his ball form, eyes closed and breathing slowly. His mind became at ease now and Amy didn't stop her ministrations, using another hand to rub at his ears which brought enormous sensation to the blue hedgehog.

"Are you okay my love? Do you want to say what's wrong or do you need more time? It's okay, I won't get mad again." Amy asked.

A nod came out of Sonic as he slowly revealed himself, looking at the floor demoralized. Silky hands came to his face and rubbed his cheeks, feeling the pink hedgehog turn his face to look at her. Green eyes met another pair of green eyes, devastated ones meeting worried ones.

"Tell me what's wrong? I'm here to make your pain go away." she whispered. That voice clenched at his heart, more tears threatening to fall except Amy noticed quickly and rubbed them away with her thumbs.

"I-It's… all the stuff that I said." Sonic began. "I acted like a jerk in our date and whined about everything. I shouldn't have done that… I'm just not used to it. Right now I don't even know what's going on with me… about this… about us…"

Another choked sob came out of him, Amy shushing him to take his time.

"My heart tells me that you're the most important person to be in my life but at the same time it yearns to be out there. To explore, to adventure, to be a hero. It gives me thoughts that fight one another that I can't think straight. It makes me regret things I've done… things I've done to you now and in the past." he looked back down, breaking the stare. "You deserve a better person than me Amy, I'll just hold you back on what you want in life. Why still chase someone who doesn't even-."

Two lips met one another, the pink hedgehog smashing hers against Sonic's to which he didn't expect it. His mind gave in and all he could think of was the pink beauty in front of him, clutching her waist for all its worth with Amy doing the same around his neck. Tears fell from both of them as they passionately kissed, tongues dancing with one another and pouring their love at the fullest. Sonic was feeling an all-time high at this point, forgetting the negative thoughts and just wanting to experience the moment.

Amy didn't want to see her poor blue hedgehog suffer, knowing that his internal conflict was ongoing and that she was the only one that can rid of it. She knew that his love for adventure was so great that he couldn't settle down, knowing due to years of chasing Sonic and getting to know him. She knew that over time he would mature enough that something like love would get on his mind, following him less and less so that he can learn about it on his own. For her this was the culmination of everything that he began realizing and that it'll hit him hard, but she would be there for him when he needs her the most.

A few minutes in did they release and gasped for puffs of air, staring at each other with half-lidded eyes. Sonic raised his hand to brush her cheek, Amy softly nuzzling into it as she smiled.

"I don't need someone better in my life. Already that someone better is you." Amy grabbed his hands and held them tight as she looked him in the eye. "I'm sorry you had to carry this burden and I'm sorry I chased you so much back then. I shouldn't have done that to begin with, but because it was my first crush for you it was something new to me and just seeing you be free and spirited made you my inspiration to keep going. While most of the chases were because of my undying love for you, the others were because I wanted to be someone that can support you in whatever way I can. There are things you can't do on your own Sonic and in several of our adventures you still needed help. While the others had to fight their own battles I made sure that I did my best to be there for you if you're ever in trouble. Not all heroes can do everything on their own and not all heroes have someone that cares for them just as much as I care for you."

Sonic's eyes widened, his heart beating faster with his thoughts realigning themselves. Amy grinned and giggled a bit, causing the blue hedgehog's ears to twitch in happiness. "Don't be afraid Sonic, today I actually enjoyed my time with you. I couldn't love you less with those insults and complaints because I know deep inside, you don't mean them. I also don't see you as someone that needs to grow up because you take on things that many people can't do even if they grown up. Just be yourself my love and don't let anyone else bring you down."

Amy brought his hands up to her face and kissed them. "Just remember Sonic, I'll always be here for you to tend for you. I won't ever tell you to stop running around the world or stop adventuring. Today I just wanted you to take some time to be around the friends you have, to be with those that won't ever forget about you. Like I would never forget about you."

The blue hedgehog started tearing up again upon hearing all of this. Amy was just something else. She was strong, kind, brave, smart and overall beautiful. He was a fool for ever running away from her all those times throughout the years and now, he felt as if a humongous weight did go off his shoulders. At that point did the biggest smile in his life flash upon the Blue Blur's face, Amy smiling the same just as well as they went back in and kissed.

Releasing after another couple of minutes, Sonic laughed a bit with Amy joining in as well. "Hehe. Thank you Amy… for everything." he said.

"It's no problem Sonic. Just remember that I'll never tell you to settle down; do what you love but please do take some time to do things like this. We want you to remember that you have friends in your life." the pink hedgehog explained. Sonic nodded and gazed into her eyes.

"Not just my friends, but also my most special girlfriend and future wife in my life." Sonic added. The last part was something he did not intent to say, and the results…

"OOOOHHHHH SOOOONICCC~!"

…were not surprising.

The loud sounds of smooching and Sonic gasping for air while getting attacked by Amy's lips filled the compartment. What was very noticeable however were the pair laughing as the ferris wheel rotated towards the ground.

At the bottom…

"So did everyone like the ferris wheel?" Cream asked the group. They all nodded, though the boys were somewhat paying attention to which the young rabbit noticed. "Are they okay?" Also what's that on their faces?"

Amy and Tikal giggled as they watched Sonic and Knuckles who had derpy faces with kiss marks all over. It was a very pleasant experience for everyone indeed.

"Cream I would ask the same to you. Tails is also like that." Tikal said. Cream looked to Tails and like she said, was in his own world with comical hearts popping above his head and sporting the same expression as the other two.

"Yup, we liked it and it was fun! I'm just glad we were able to spend time together." Amy responded. Tikal and Cream nodded in which the boys soon came out of their daze.

"Wow that was intense." Knuckles shook his head.

"Yeah… it was AWESOME!" Sonic beamed. Tails looked at him funny. "Woah Sonic, that's something I didn't expect from you."

"Hehe well let's just say…" Sonic then pulled in Amy who gasped and blushed. "I came to a realization."

"And what would that be?" Knuckles told him with a smirk. Sonic did the same gesture back. "Not telling any of you. It stays between me and Amy."

"Aww please Mr. Sonic? Tell us pretty pleeeease?" Cream even added puppy dog eyes to guilt trip him. However Amy was quick to intervene. "Sorry Cream but this is between us hehe."

"Aww alright Ms. Amy." the young rabbit replied.

Knuckles then felt some weight on his shoulder as he turned to see Tikal become sleepy. "Knuckie… I think I had… *yawn* enough for today." she said.

Other yawns came from the group as Sonic stretched his arms behind his back. "I agree with her. Looks like the day's done."

"Cool and even though we had our ups and downs today, I actually liked it." Tails stated. "We should do this again some time."

"Yeah! Next time we'll go to the beach or to the arcade or *yawn* have a sleepover…" Cream began dozing off, the two-tailed kitsune chuckling as he held her. "Yeah, we'll do all those things you want my Creamy Dreamy."

"Hehe nice nickname you got for her." Amy said as she yawned as well. "Okay everyone let's head home."

"Before that though can I talk with Tails and Knuckles for a bit?" Sonic asked. The yellow fox and red echidna raised an eyebrow but nodded, leaving the girls to sit on a bench nearby.

"What's up Sonic?" Tails asked him. The blue hedgehog nervously rubbed his arm. "I uhh… just wanted to say thanks. For putting up with me."

Knuckles raised an eyebrow smiling. "Don't worry about it. It's who you are hedgehog."

"Yeah Knuckles is right. Even though you can be cocky and aggressive, that doesn't mean you're a bad person. We all have our faults." Tails added. Sonic smiled and held up a fist. "So we're still bros?"

Knuckles smirked and brought in his own, Tails doing the same. "Still bros and a team." they said as they fist bumped.

Afterwards they headed back to see all three girls snoozing against one another. Cream had her head on Amy's lap while Tikal rested her own on Amy's shoulder who slept in the middle. The three boys smiled at the sight with Tails taking a picture.

"Looks like they got knocked out well today. So when are we doing the next one?" Sonic questioned. Tails was taken aback along with Knuckles. "Wait you actually want to do something like this again?"

The Blue Blur looked at them with a grin. "Yeah, I actually want to experience this more with my special someone." he said staring at the sleeping Amy. Tails and Knuckles looked at one another and smiled.

"I wouldn't mind it either. It beats being on Angel Island for a while and luckily I can experience it with Tikie." Knuckles stated as he picked up Tikal bridal style. "It'll also help her get used to our time better."

"Yeah and Cream wanted to get out more also." Tails added while picking up the young rabbit the same way.

"Cool so next time we'll do it again and we'll do it right." Sonic said grabbing Amy. "Though getting home will be a bit of a hassle since we'll have to do several Chaos Controls."

"Don't need to Sonic." the emerald guardian then pulled out three Chaos Emeralds as he handed two to Sonic. "Just make sure you don't lose them and that Eggman doesn't steal them."

The cobalt hero grinned in response. "Will do Knux and don't worry, they're in safe hands."

"Hope you keep your word hehe." Knuckles said. The three then separated to which Tails stood next to Sonic while Knuckles by himself, Chaos Emeralds in their hands.

"Alright later Knuckles!" Sonic and Tails waved at the male echidna who waved in response. "I'll see you later as well!"

Raising the Chaos Emeralds they announced the signature words.

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

In a flash of light they were gone back to there respective homes. The boys however didn't know that the girls were actually awake, smiling widely the entire time. The day itself was worth it for everyone in the end…

…

…

…

The prize Cream won sat there forgotten on the bench. It was currently nighttime and the park was closed, no one in sight and not even noticing the doll sitting there was well. Silence roamed the dark area, only the wind blowing through the air.

Red eyes slowly appearing on the doll as the jewel on it glowed, one of its plush hands moving ever so slightly.

…

…

…

Until Shadow randomly popped in and Chaos Speared it to oblivion!

"Hmph. Good riddance."

The End!

---

Phew that was some writing there. Well there you have it and I hope you enjoyed the story! Remember I'm still relatively new so please bear with me lol. Til next time!