Chapter 2
Sonic and his two friends swept through a remote part of Bygone forest at exhilarating speeds. He took to the ground path, Knuckles jumped through the trees, and Tails - the newest and youngest of their group - propelled himself through the air above them.
Sonic arrived at their favorite stakeout tree first, of course, and leant up against it smirking.
He felt totally free. Night was the perfect time to watch for richies on the road; they'd all be asleep in their carriages, unaware of the expert ploys being used by Sonic and his gang to rob them blind.
When his friends caught up to him - Knuckles tossing him a dirty look as he arrived - all three of them perched behind a large patch of foliage and waited, deadly quiet, so as not to alert anyone who might be on the road to their presence.
"D'ya think anyone's coming?" Tails whispered after several moments.
He was quickly shushed by Knuckles, but Sonic ruffled the embarrassed boy's hair, and whispered back, "Don't you worry buddy, this road is full of fat cats with tons of goods just waiting to be taken!" Tails smiled at Sonic gratefully. The fox boy had only been recruited by the camp of thieves about a year ago, and he and Knuckles had immediately adopted him into their group.
"I hope so," Tails replied, "Cuz if not, we're not gonna meet this week's quota, and you know how Scourge gets whe-"
Tails was shushed again by Knuckles, the oldest of them all. Knuckles was freshly 30 and loved to think he was the team leader, but he and Sonic had joined the camp of thieves at around the same time. They never formally agreed to work together, they just couldn't seem to stop trying to one-up the other. Sonic, who was 28, nudged the teen and pointed to his ears, a sign to listen.
All three pairs of ears pricked as they heard the sound of hard, fast hoof beats. In a flurry of dust, a beautiful brown horse carrying a pink hedgehog man dressed in fine pageboy clothing darted through the woods at unprecedented speeds.
Sonic grinned as the blur disappeared. He knew one person who could catch up with the pageboy.
He signaled to his teammates by tapping his nose and pointing in the direction the messenger hedgehog had disappeared in, receiving solemn nods back from the other two. Sonic sped off by himself in hot pursuit of the messenger, his boots digging into the soil.
It had not escaped the group that the horse the pink man rode was far too well-bred to be anything less than a palace horse, and the crest printed on the saddle proved it to be property of the Rose Kingdom. With royal messengers came royal messages, and royal messages could be about anything from another gala invitation to an expensive tribute delivered in an ornately set box. Both were highly desirable to a band of thieves.
Sonic followed the horse and its rider all the way to a small pond in the middle of a clearing spotted with wild flowers and overgrown thickets. Sonic knew this grove well. In fact, this was one of his favorite napping places for its total seclusion. How did the pink hedgehog know about this place?
Sonic smirked from behind a bush, getting a better look at the back of his would-be victim.
The pink man wore brown trousers and a red vest over a white button up blouse. He also wore a leather cap pulled low over his eyes, with a satchel slung over his shoulder, resting on his hip.
Sonic could see the satchel was bulging with strange lumps.
His eyes gleamed. The man already had his back towards him, this would be a piece of cake. He began his agonizing tip-toe towards the man, hoping to slip behind him and catch him off-guard. He took a deep breath, ready to introduce himself loudly and gain the upper hand, but quickly stopped short when he found himself at the tail end of an intimidating weapon. He looked with bemused surprise upon the page boy… Well, he realized now, page girl - page woman? Who he hoped had something valuable on her. She had swung at him with impressive speed and nearly caught him red-handed.
He slowly raised his hands by his head, showing his surrender as he plastered on his trademark smile that was sure to get him whatever was in that bag in 3 minutes flat.
'Oh ho, a woman?' He thought, his smile stretching wider, 'make that two minutes flat.'
"Who are you?" She asked solidly. Sonic was impressed. The woman didn't shake a bit, she seemed almost as if she knew how to wield the weapon she was holding, but Sonic wasn't fooled. He knew she didn't. Women weren't trained in combat, especially not with such unwieldy and illogically large weapons as this hammer she held. This confidence was simply an act of hers.
"I'm So- … sorry to scare you," he recovered. "Name's, uh, Sonar the Hedgehog, now would you get that thing out of my face?" He winked at her, waiting for the blush to blossom on her cheeks as it often had on other women he used his charms on.
Amy almost relaxed. Almost. The handsome stranger was absolutely a threat, but she was feeling disoriented. He may be, at a glance, rather handsome, but he was a stranger and she would not be silly enough to take any chances. Rather than blushing, Amy's eyebrows crinkled in confusion and she looked him up and down slowly - sizing him up. He was a rather tall, blue hedgehog, with eyes like hers. She had to stop herself from feeling that the fire behind his green eyes was familiar. She shouldn't be searching for reasons to establish kinship. He looked athletic - lean - in his trousers, boots, and what she assumed had once been a white button down. His blouse was so thinned and dirty that she doubted he had worn anything else for at least a year or two.
She lowered her hammer and opted to target his obviously large ego. "You're right, you obviously aren't a threat. I'll keep it out though, if you don't mind." She patted the hammer head as she leant on it.
"Ouch!" He clutched at his heart and grinned at her, "You insult me, dear lady!" He lowered his hands slowly, daring her to make a move with his fiery stare. "I was simply coming here for a drink before I continued on my way home for the night." He began to walk toward the pond, toward Amy, but he gave her a wide berth. They watched each other intently as he approached, circling her, the tense thread between them pulled taught by his boldness.
"Don't worry," he sighed and turned his back to her finally, losing their staring contest on purpose. He knelt by the water's edge, "I'm not gonna attack you or anything. I'm nobody."
Amy raised a brow at him, "yeah, well, I might attack you, so don't get any ideas. Besides, people who aren't threats don't typically have to clarify that."
Sonic smiled as he raised his hands to his lips, taking an inconspicuous drink and wiping his mouth. She was sharp, he'd give her that.
"Yeah right, like you know how to handle a weapon that massive." He said. He realized that it sounded like he was goading her, but he truly thought the weapon was only for show.
"Don't tempt me, I'll prove it." She growled as her angry, competitive, green inner-monster reared its head. This man didn't know he was talking to the first female captain of the guard. Or at least, she hoped she would be.
Sonic stood and faced her again, cocking an eyebrow playfully at her and crossing his arms.
"You'll prove it?" He said incredulously.
Amy's nostrils flared as she hefted her hammer into her fighting stance. 'What are you doing!' She screamed at herself.
"Unless you're afraid?" She teased, her eyes gleaming up at him from underneath the brim of her cap. Something about his attitude was setting her insides ablaze.
Sonic almost whistled, impressed, at his opponent. She looked like a real fighter, and he was endeared by her spirit.
He shook his head. "Well… I don't want to walk back on my whole 'I'm not a threat' promise but…" he smirked, "I hate to disappoint a lady."
There was a flash of wind and Amy worked to contain her composure as Sonic disappeared before her very eyes. She heard a sound like a sonic pulse and felt wind in her hair, and suddenly, his smug voice was in her ear.
"What's your name, by the way?" He quipped.
She swung around, bringing her hammer with her hard and fast, expecting to slam him away, but the wind whipped around her and he was gone again.
She blinked, her fear instincts pricked back to life. This was no ordinary man.
Stupid! she scolded herself as her eyes darted back and forth, searching for him. Picking fights with strange men when you don't know what they're capable of!
She calmed herself. Shadow's warnings about being an emotional fighter rang in her head. "If you allow your emotions to enter the battle, you become manipulatable," he loved to remind her. She couldn't blame him - she was a highly emotional being, and normally very proud of that.
She focused back on the present and listened intently. Her appraisal of her foe's fighting method in the instant of their confrontation was that the wind and the sound of his movement were trackable. She heard the sonic woosh of him behind her, and followed it as he ran circles around her, aiming for the tree that he would be passing in a millisecond.
She grunted and threw her hammer overhead like an axe straight at the tree, smiling happily as it crashed cleanly through the trunk.
Sonic stopped short as the hammer whipped in front of him, barely skimming the tip of his nose as it demolished the tree right where he would have been standing if his reflexes weren't so fast.
"Whoa," he breathed, looking at her while swinging his arms to regain his balance. "Nice aim, you even managed to not hit me!"
Amy held her hand out and smiled at him devilishly. Sonic watched agape as her hammer re-materialized in her grip.
"Oh, I meant to hit you," She said mischievously, and took off in his direction, swinging her hammer back, underhanded this time.
Sonic unconsciously let out a laugh and took off again, appearing behind her in a flash. He knelt and swept a leg under her as she charged him, sending her careening forward. Amy reached out and turned her forward fall into a roll, landing on one knee and whipping back around to face him.
Sonic turned his back to her, and visions of her fight with Shadow earlier this evening played in her mind.
"Sorry lady, one party trick isn't-" he stopped gloating as he lurched forward, pure force hitting his back.
His arms were pinned at his sides and he found he was trapped between the pink woman's arms, held in place by the long staff of her hammer. He struggled briefly, quickly realizing just how strong this woman was. He expected to be able to break away easily, but was instead met with the iron lock of her natural strength.
"Name's Rosy," she grunted behind him. "And it would do you good to remember not to turn your back on an opponent, no matter who you think they are."
Sonic struggled against her grasp, gritting his teeth as he realized she was a true fighter. But he knew he had the size advantage against her, he could feel the short quills on her forehead pressed into his back as she fought to keep him immobilized.
He grunted as he bent over, effectively lifting her feet off the ground and thrusting his hips back into hers. Sonic took them both forward, rolling them onto the grass. Their fair fight was quickly becoming a scrap, but he couldn't help but smile. He hadn't had this much fun fighting in years.
On the ground with her underneath him, he jabbed a gentle elbow into her side and used her momentum to escape out the other side of her hold. He sprang up and backed away from the girl, raising his hands gingerly once again. He had gotten carried away. The breeze chilled him as he moved from her warm body, and his mind began to sober.
"You're right," he panted, grinning, "You're right… you're a fighter, alright? I forfeit. You win, Rosy." He glanced down and saw her cap abandoned at his feet, and bent to pick it up.
Amy sat up, wiping her forehead and smiling with exhilaration. She got him! The training was working - she had the upper-hand in a real fight! Granted, she wouldn't have held onto it for even a second longer, but she held him off and that was a win. She laughed aloud to herself as she leaned back on her hands, looking up at the sky, tired from her long day. The moon was full and the stars were bright. She felt alive in the universe and hopeful for her future.
Her view was shadowed as Sonic stepped up to her, and she remembered where she was and who she was with. She scrambled to her feet, realizing her hammer had de-materialized.
"I like your laugh," came his steady voice. She froze and looked at him, straightening up slowly. She felt exposed without her cap and hammer and prayed he would not recognize her.
Sonic held the cap out to her, only an arm's length away. He was surprised at the gentility in his own voice, and even more surprised at his tender admission about how he couldn't help but smile watching her revel in her small win.
"Uh, thanks," she said, taking the cap. She inhaled as their fingers touched, the feeling of his hand affecting her only now, despite their full-bodied wrestling only moments ago. She placed it back on her head, demurely tucking her hair back up into it. Sonic had been intensely interested in looking at her without the shade of the cap. He had seen the passion of a fierce personality shining through her eyes as she reveled in the view of the sky, and it made him smile for a reason he couldn't place
"So what brings a messenger like you over here? Even if you are the world's best fighter," he teased, "it's not safe to be running around the forest at night. It's not every chance encounter in the woods you get lucky enough to meet a fun and handsome guy like me." He grinned.
"You ask an awful lot of questions," she grumbled, but didn't step away.
His hands went up again.
"Just trying to be friendly." He said with a classic smile. He was back to his tactics. He had been gone far too long, and he'd have to explain his absence to Tails and Knuckles. He didn't want to have to do it while empty-handed.
"If you must know," she huffed, "I was…stopping for a quick training session…on my way back from the Kingdom of Babylon."
"Oh?" He asked and quirked an eyebrow. Surely they both recognized that moments ago she had not been riding away from the Kingdom of Babylon, but rather towards it, and away from the Rose Kingdom. He didn't want to scare her away for the moment, so he didn't press her.
"Is there some fancy-pants party or something?" he guessed, rolling his eyes.
"You're very clever aren't you?" She mocked.
Sonic shrugged, taking a tiny step forward. Amy did not move. They could feel their closeness now, tentatively letting their circles of comfortability grow smaller. Amy shivered a bit, and blamed it on the chill in the air.
"I like to think so." He said, looking down at her with a genuine smile. Amy couldn't help the smile that broke out at his admission, and quickly looked away. She should not be encouraging trust with this person. She didn't know why she had told him about the training she had come to do in the first place.
Sonic took a breath and hoped that they had established enough of a rapport for her to be truthful.
"Listen Rosy, is that thing about the Kingdom of Babylon, true? Or were you just trying to cover up the fact that you ran from the palace without any reason to?"
Amy was taken aback, how did he know? Worries began to flood her mind and she staggered back on one foot, breaking the dam holding back the tension that they felt. It was time for her to leave soon, her curiosity be damned.
"I shouldn't tell you that, I - There's thieves out here, the royal guard brought one in just today and-"
"What?" Sonic interrupted.
Amy took a full step back at his sudden intensity.
"Why do you-"
"What are they going to do to him?" He asked desperately.
"I shouldn't - are you-"
Sonic stepped forward swiftly, and she pulled back as he grabbed her hands. "That's… my friend… he's a good guy, he just did what he needed to to survive. Rosy, please, what will they do to him? He doesn't deserve harsh punishment." He was being sincere, and it was a refreshing change.
Amy swallowed hard, stuck where she was. "Your friend? So you are-"
"No," he said severely. "I'm no one, it's just… he's my friend." He softened, suddenly realizing what he had done on instinct, but didn't let her go. "Besides, what's the problem with the thieves out here anyway…"
"They steal?" Amy offered.
"You don't think that it's turned into such a big operation because it had to? That there's a reason? That being the person who steals to live doesn't make you the villain?" Sonic huffed.
Amy paused and gathered her thoughts. She summoned her diplomacy. "No…" she said slowly, "But I guess… I just would be afraid of people that desperate…"
Sonic looked at her thoughtfully. "And I would be afraid of the people who are responsible for their poverty," he said simply.
"…Your friend is going to be fine for a week. Battered, but fine." Amy said after considering. He didn't seem dangerous, and he had a point. "After that… there will be a public execution."
Sonic's eyes flared, he pulled Amy in a bit closer. "You work in the castle don't you? You don't need to lie, I won't hurt you. I… You could help us free him before that happens!" He pleaded. He was looking down at her with such sincerity it almost made her blush.
"I -" Amy was reeling. His proposal was ludicrous, but she had to admit she was intrigued. Still, she had no reason to risk treason against her own father for this man who was virtually a stranger.
"Maybe I can help… if you tell me the truth about yourself, too." She sighed. Her kindness and curiosity would one day be the death of her.
Sonic showed his surprise at her ability to see through him for only a brief second, finally dropping Amy's hands. His palms felt hollow and cold as he let them go.
"Name's Sonic," he sighed, "and you?"
Amy hesitated. Her real name could be a danger to her identity, but if she lied again, he would only catch her.
"Amy," she abbreviated.
"Well, Ames," he skipped straight to the nickname and winked at her, "All you need to know is that I care about my friends. If I can get him out, I'm going to. But it sure would be easier with your help."
"Nice to meet you," Amy said gingerly, reading a mix of sadness and determination on his face. Yes, he was very much like her. And how could she refuse to help an innocent - being cruel was not in her character. Her mind lit up with an idea, and she charged forward with it before she could determine whether or not it was a good one.
"I can help you," she admitted carefully, "but I need your help with something as well."
Sonic lit up, "Anything!" he said.
"My own friend is going to be gone for the next few weeks… and I need to keep training. There's… well, the tournament of champions is coming up, and I plan on winning it."
"Woah ho!" Sonic laughed, stepping back in surprise, "You're gonna enter the tournament - you are something else, Ames!"
Amy chuckled, "It's Amy." She reminded him scoldingly.
"Nah, I have nicknames for all my friends," Sonic said. "I graciously accept this trade offer - it would be your honor to learn from the likes of me, I'm sure," he teased.
Amy snorted at his arrogance. "Well then, I should… get back. We can strategize an escape tomorrow evening," Amy said, hesitating. Not because she wanted to leave, but because she didn't want to.
"Wait," Sonic said, reaching for her. He couldn't let her go yet - he had one more thing he needed from her. He reached for her, grabbing her up into a hug and swinging her gently around once. He heard the breath leave her lungs in a surprised gasp.
"Thanks," he said as he pressed his face into her shoulder, pinning her arms to her sides. For a brief moment, he was swept away in the motion and the surprisingly delicate smell of her fur. He couldn't stop the thought that it was a pleasant smell.
He released her and she staggered back quickly, reaching to adjust her cap awkwardly.
"Um… no problem…" She tried to recover herself smoothly. She called her horse over and mounted up expertly, trying to still her breath.
"Tomorrow night?" She asked, looking down at him.
"I shall count the minutes." He winked.
Amy rolled her eyes and snapped the reins, taking off into the night.
"See ya!" Sonic called cheekily, watching her go. When she was out of his sight, he took his hand out from behind his back, revealing the letter he had swiped from her satchel. He retrieved his knife from his belt and sliced the top open quickly.
"...The Princess' 25th birthday, all eligible suitors shall attend, an engagement will be announced by the end of the evening…" Sonic raised the paper and kissed it joyfully. What a night!
He paused and took a deep breath, suddenly feeling like he hadn't been breathing since he stepped into the glade. He smiled to himself as he raced back to his friends, looking forward to seeing her again tomorrow to begin training, but then he quickly sobered. He needed to banish those thoughts and feelings before meeting back up with his friends. He felt protective over his new informant, for reasons he was too afraid to place and didn't have the emotional capacity to try tonight.
