"Would you like someone to talk to?"

Sally was looking at Amy with kindness in her eyes.

Amy shook her head. 'Yes, I want someone to talk to,' she thought. 'Anyone but you!'

Sonic, not noticing, waved his hand before his nose. "Phew, Sal, if I didn't already know you'd gone to Robo-town, my nose would tell me now."

Sally smirked. "You're only able to say that because you didn't go with me. What were you doing that was so important?"

Sonic shrugged. "Well, you see, with all the action we've been seein' lately, you can never be too prepared. Ya gotta stay in tip-top condition, mind and body both. I was sharpenin' the edge."

"You could have just said you were asleep."

"Hey, I can't give away all my tricks."

"We'll see just how sharp your edge is. Come on, we're doing the obstacle course."

"Aww, do we have to?"

"Yes. Now come on."

"Way past uncool…"

And with that, Amy was cast adrift.

Knothole was infuriatingly normal.

Amy hated them all. Their world was dying all around them, but somehow they acted as if nothing was wrong at all. It was like Knothole existed inside a bubble, disconnected from the rest of everything.

The citizens were acting the same as they had been the other days Amy had been here. The casual atmosphere, the chores, the socializing—all continued as they had. But how could they? Amy wondered. She'd expected that when she didn't know about the war. But how could they be so carefree? How could they avoid the guilt? Sonic and Sally were sweating blood in a hopeless war, all to save the useless hides of Knothole's denizens. How could any of them live with themselves?

Tails noticed Amy's aimless wandering. "Hi, Amy. Where've you… oh." He squirmed, suddenly uncomfortable.

"Have you ever been there?" Amy asked.

"Not often," Tails admitted. "And never very deep."

"Why doesn't anyone ever talk about it?"

"Well…"

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't anyone mention that you just happen to be at war?"

Amy's fear and uncertainty came boiling up out of her. She was sorry to be taking it out on Tails, but he was the only person she could talk to. "It doesn't make sense! Why all the make-believe? Why is guard duty the only hint that something's out there? How can any of you convince yourself that you're doing enough?"

She panted a few times. "I am not very strong," she said, eyes and voice reproachful, "but when I know something is this wrong, I pick up my mallet and go do something about it! Why do five people do all the fighting here?"

"Because, sugah, we-all wanted it like that."

Amy followed the voice back to Bunnie. "Bunnie," she gasped, for the first time seeing just what the metal limbs meant.

Bunnie's eyes held calm and kindness, neutral to Amy's gaze. "Ah was about to make mah-self some tea. C'mon, we'll share."

Amy followed automatically.

Bunnie didn't mention Amy's smell or appearance, though Amy was certain she'd noticed. She just went about the business of making tea, courteously and with no hurry.

Amy's mind was working the whole time, chewing over facts and trying to spit out answers. But mostly, she wondered what Bunnie could possibly plan to say.

It seemed like she planned to say nothing.

"Ah guess it's because we're cowards," she said out of the blue.

Amy almost missed it. "What?"

"Yeah, it's because we're cowards," Bunnie repeated. "That's why we try not to take others to Robo-town. Y'all know how dangerous it is. We've lost some friends takin' them along. It hurt too much. The five of us, we're just better at it, Ah suppose. Or luckier. 'Ts the same thing, kinda, when you're talkin' 'bout war."

She handed a mug to Amy. "You see, Amy-girl, we ain't no army. We-all lost our families, friends, homes, everything. So we made each other family. We learned to love each other 'fore we learned to fight Robotnik."

The opening door drew Amy's attention away. Rotor entered the room. "Oh, you're making tea, Bunnie? I'll take some of that."

"Help yourself, sugah," she said, smiling benignly. "Rotor, y'all don't suppose that any of the guard stations ac-shully help protect us, do ya?"

"Not a chance," said Rotor, right before taking a long sniff of his tea. "If the guards find anything more than a lost Swatbot or two, we're probably doomed."

"But we can evacuate, right?" Bunnie continued. "Ah mean, we've all practiced the drill. We know the hidin' places to go to just in case."

Rotor shook his head. "But it wouldn't be Knothole," he insisted. "It wouldn't be home. I had to run from one home, Bunnie, and I don't think I could do it again." He took a long sip of tea. "Besides," he said, smirking a little, "Robotnik would burn the whole area. Even if we got away, we'd probably end up starving to death."

"Now there's a cheery thought," said Bunnie, taking a sip herself.

"So why do you have guards?" asked Amy.

"To make ze citizens feel, how you say, full of use," said Antoine, entering with a swagger. "Mademoiselle, if moi is not botherment to you, I would appree-ciate some of your exquisite tea."

"Aw, it ain't nothin' that special," said Bunnie, who nonetheless blushed slightly as she served Antoine.

"As I was saying," Antoine went on, "all of ze citizens are ze Freedom Fighters. Ho, but only ze bravest of ze brave can go on ze daring and bold missions to ze terrifyingable city. Zo, how can ze othairs help, or feel like zey are helping? Ze duty of guard."

"Isn't that a bit dishonest?" Amy countered.

"No way," said Sonic (who had evidently made short work of the obstacle course). "Yo, Bunnie, show the hedgehog some love."

She raised an eyebrow. "You wantin' some tea or some kisses, sugar-hog?"

"Woah, hit reverse!" he said, gesturing wildly. "I just want somethin' to drink."

"That's what I thought," she said.

"Anyway," said Sonic, getting back on track, "everyone's happy 'bout the guard duty situation. It gets 'em fired up, and we need that. It keeps our eyes on the prize, too. Trust me, when we're out there on guard duty, pretty much all you can think about is Robuttnik. That's why I get so antsy—I've gotta stay there, but I can't stand not doing something when he's on my mind."

"And you've got no patience," said Sally, rotating her shoulder. (Perhaps the obstacle course had been a bit rougher than she'd planned.) "Hi, Bunnie, I'd love it if you'd pour me some tea."

"Sure thing, Sally-girl."

"So guard duty makes everyone feel involved, and that lets you only take the five of you to Robotropolis," Amy said.

"That's right," said Sally. "It's being elitist, I know. But the fewer and the stronger, the better. We need everyone's support, for emotional reasons and to make sure we've got the food and goods to survive here; and we've got a few reserves who we use when we need to. But for missions, I try to keep the numbers down. I'd trust anyone in Knothole with my life—but I wouldn't bring them to Robotropolis, because I don't trust myself with their lives."

"There she goes again," groaned Rotor.

"Sally's on another one of her guilt-trips," Sonic said, making faces at her.

"My preencess, how many times must we be telling to you zat you are ze great wonderment?"

"Yeah, that cheered her up," said Sonic, rolling his eyes.

"Sally-girl needs ta eat more chocolate," Bunnie said, sipping her tea again. "'Course, it would help if we had any chocolate 'round here."

Amy looked at the five of them, a mug in each of their hands. They were at ease with each other, even when they were bickering. There were bonds of friendship and love here that went beyond anything she knew on her own world.

"Oh," began Rotor, "I just remembered. I dug up a few of our training shells. Amy, you're going back to Robotropolis, right?"

"I guess," she said, uncertain.

"Right," he said. "You're gonna have to train, at least a little. So come with me, and you can knock the shells around a while. It's fun," he said, smiling.

"Wait, wait," she said. "Shells?"

"Of course. Dead Swatbot shells."

It stood about seven feet tall to Amy's three. It was humanoid in shape, with broad shoulders and long limbs. It looked strong, and though this model had seen better days its armor was mostly intact. Its head was a dome or a half-sphere, with a single red glass stripe halfway up functioning as an eye.

It was a Swatbot.

It was also dead—Rotor assured her of that. She had to admit it was difficult to tell. Apparently they were called "shells" because Rotor had opened them up to scavenge all the "good parts"; then he'd resealed them and made up the weight to let others practice with them.

"There are two models," Rotor explained. "One has the blaster built-in to the arm, and the other carries a blaster. We've hit the Swatbot factories a lot, so they've been making more of the simple versions lately. Still, you always assume they've got a gun."

"But remember they don't need guns, Amy-girl," said Bunnie. Rotor and Bunnie had taken it upon themselves to train Amy for what she'd face. Antoine, curiously, had remembered a prior engagement. ("Last time we did this he hurt himself pretty bad," Sally admitted.) "They're stronger'n most animals, even though they're slow. Size does mean somethin'."

"Well, if they're slow, I have a chance," said Amy, trying to stay confident. "Are they accurate with those blasters?"

Rotor shrugged. "If you only give them a second or two, no. Give them three, and they'll hit you."

Amy drew back. "I'm gonna have to get used to that," she said. "The robots on my world aren't accurate at all."

"Let's just say, never let 'em shoot," said Bunnie. Abruptly, Bunnie leapt, rolled, half-rose, and swept the Swatbot's feet out from under it. She then rose fully and cocked her robotic arm above the Swatbot's head. About two seconds had elapsed.

"Heh, if Ah go all-out we'd need to get a new shell," she joked. "Ah don't expect you to do that, Amy-girl, but have you done much fightin' on your world?"

Amy was still trying to make sure she'd seen it right. Bunnie had covered ten feet and defeated the robot before Amy was sure of what was going on. "Yeah," she said, "but it's more open. I have more time to see the robot and more space to work with."

Rotor shook his head. "Space is bad," he said. "I don't know who designs your enemy's robots, but he's an idiot. Large spaces favor shooting. All of our fighting is up-close; you start ten, fifteen feet away and take him out, fast. Any more than that and the Swatbots win."

"Use disguises, use cover, use distractions, whatever," said Bunnie. "Just get close. Get too close for blasters before they can shoot ya."

"Well, it all makes sense," said Amy, her pride injured. She didn't want them making fun of how combat was in her world! In her world, there was always room to maneuver and the bots weren't good at shooting; straight-line runs and leaps were the key to success. They were how she (and Sonic, for that matter) generated the power to break robots quickly.

Rotor had, from somewhere, produced a rope with a grapple on the end. As Bunnie stood the shell back up, Rotor twirled the grapple end. Then, on some unseen signal, he launched the rope. It passed just over the Swatbot's dome head; Rotor had somehow limited the amount of rope that was going out, such that the grapple was on the small of the bot's back. Rotor pulled; as the rope came back to him, the grapple caught on the back of the bot's head, unbalanced the robot, and brought it face-down. Once more, Rotor quickly closed and positioned to finish the Swatbot.

"I'm not fast, so my specialty is rope," said Rotor. "Most of the time I don't fight directly; I fight security systems and that sort of thing. Hey, you want to start practicing, or is there some kind of weapon we can get you? We don't have much."

"Do you have a mallet?" Amy asked.

Rotor considered, then nodded. "Hang on a second."

The mallet was wood and heavier than she would have liked. She weighed it in her hands, trying to get a feel for it. Bunnie had stood the shell up again; Amy faced it down.

"Whenever you're ready," said Bunnie.

Amy took a deep breath, then charged. I'll aim for the heart, she thought to herself, like I do back home. A strong enough blow aimed at the heart sends the outer armor slicing inwards; the bot's own components do it damage. That's usually enough to break a bot back home.

She leapt, wound up, and brought the mallet forward.

WHAM!

The force of the impact jarred her hands, arms, and shoulders, rattling her rib cage and jiggling everything else. She landed on her feet with some grace; the Swatbot was jolted backwards and fell loudly.

"That was some hit!" cried Bunnie. "Y'all got some power hidin' in there, Amy-girl."

"Thanks, Bunnie," said Amy, wiping her brow.

"But ya need to finish the job," said Bunnie. "C'mon, look at this. Ya dented the front armor, but you didn't break it. So once you knock it down, you need to do somethin' to keep it down. Another blow to the chest might break through, but we usually go fer the head and neck."

Amy nodded, soaking it all in.

"One last thing," said Rotor. "If we have to fight, something's very wrong."

Amy blinked. "What?"

"These things are tough and dangerous, and there's lots of them. We try not to fight if we can possibly avoid it. I mean, even if we win, it would probably give away that we're there—and then we have to get out, fast."

She shook her head. "I keep forgetting about that. No matter what happens, you still have to get out of the city safely."

"That's right," Rotor affirmed.

"One more thing," Amy said. "How many Swatbots can you fight and beat?"

Bunnie looked up in contemplation. "Ah can do two safely," she said. "Maybe three. Sally-girl's about the same, maybe a bit better. Ah heard she took six one time, but she rigged the situation."

"I'm only a one, which is what most people can do," said Rotor bashfully. "I can take two if I can set it up right. Antoine…. Well, we'll say one."

"From what I've seen, Amy-girl, you're maybe a two," said Bunnie. "But you gotta remember safety first."

"Wait, what about Sonic?" Amy persisted. "How many can he fight at once?"

"Sonic's special," Bunnie said. "Most of the time he doesn't destroy 'em. Mostly decoys 'em. Thing is, he's really good at gettin' knockdowns, but unless he hits a Swatbot square-on it'll get back up, and he doesn't have time to finish 'em proper. But that's not his job."

"I get it," said Amy.

"So come on, Amy," said Rotor. "Let's get started. You want to go home? Fight this guy a few times and we'll talk about how you did."

Amy hefted her mallet and started anew.

Night had fallen before she was done. Eventually the darkness had made it impossible to continue. They'd made good progress; Bunnie and Rotor had agreed she could reliably take out one Swatbot, maybe two. This didn't make Amy feel any better, but apparently taking two by yourself was quite an accomplishment.

As she wandered back to her own hut, she saw that one hut still had lights on. When Amy went by, she saw it was Sally's hut. The shutters were mostly closed, but still some light spilled out. Amy decided to go in that direction; without that light to guide by, she wasn't sure she'd be able to find her hut again.

To her surprise, she heard the sounds of Sonic running, then a few knocks on Sally's door.

Curiosity won out over shame. Amy positioned herself to the side of Sally's window and pricked up her ears. "Oh, hi, Sonic," Sally was saying.

"Hey, Sal. Still up plannin'?"

"Yes, like always."

"What'cha plannin'? Gettin' Amy home?"

"That's right. Don't roll your eyes like that, it takes a lot of work! You know this is the sort of mission I hate the most—the kind where we have unknown factors. We've got to get her home, but we can't count on her performance."

Amy wasn't sure whether if she should admire Sally's accuracy or be insulted by Sally's patronage.

"Just count on me to take up the slack. That's how it always works."

"Sonic, I refuse to plan around your ego, unless it means counting on you to do stupid stuff."

"Sal…"

Sonic's tone was different, now. So far the conversation had been normal, but Amy was picking up a definite change in mood.

"Sal, this isn't… normal, I know. It's usually you needin' me to… y'know, keep you steady. But…"

And now Sally's voice was unexpectedly tender. "I know, Sonic. It's okay."

"It's just there's no one else I can say this sorta thing to, right? Most other people, I do too good a job on 'em—my cool floors 'em too much, like that Amy girl. You're the only person who I can… well…"

"I understand, Sonic. You can say it whenever you're ready."

There was a sigh, and a pause.

"They moved Uncle Chuck."

Amy had never heard such sadness out of Sonic's voice, on this world or her own.

"Sal, it took me fifteen months to find him last time! I don't know what's goin' on, but I went to check up on him again, and he wasn't there. I checked the… the whole factory. And don't even start with the "that's too dangerous" stuff, Sal, I had to find him!"

"I wasn't going to."

"But he wasn't there," Sonic continued. "Nowhere in the factory. I thought he might have been getting a tune up or something, but that didn't work, either. I lost him again, Sal. I lost my uncle again."

Amy remembered now. Sally had mentioned that Sonic had lost his uncle when Robotnik took over, but she hadn't specified if he'd been captured or killed. If she was following this correctly, it meant Sonic's uncle had been captured—and Roboticized. Now Sonic was trying to keep tabs on where his uncle ended up working in the city.

"We knew already that Robotnik likes to shift the worker bots around. You knew this would happen."

"That doesn't make it any easier, Sal. You know how it is. I've gotta be able to find him fast, so that if we ever get a de-Roboticiser working he can go through first. But if Robuttnik keeps me from findin' him, then even if we get the de-Roboticiser online I won't get my uncle back."

Amy heard booted footsteps; apparently Sally was moving closer to Sonic. "Sal?" he said, curious.

"Sonic Hedgehog, listen to how selfish you're being!" she shouted at him with unexpected force. "We Freedom Fighters made a promise to each other—we're gonna get back everyone's family, everyone's home. I intend to keep that promise. Why, you're relatively lucky—I've never been able to find what happened to my father! You've found your uncle three times in the past, that's a lot. So quit whining and get focused. Are we clear?"

There was a stunned silence from Sonic and Amy both.

She almost heard Sally smile. "Besides, I'm the one who's supposed to get depressed. If you're down, who's gonna cheer me up?"

Sonic laughed. "You really had me goin' there, Sal!"

"I have to keep in practice," Sally answered.

"Sally… thanks."

"Anytime, Sonic."

"See ya tomorrow?"

"Well, we can't really avoid it."

"That's not… man, Sal, there you go again."

"I know."

Another silence.

"Sal… it's just…"

"It's alright. Come back any time. Heaven knows I rely on you a lot for the same thing."

"…Thanks."

Amy suddenly realized that she hadn't been invited to the conversation. She pushed off from the hut's wall and tried to look like she was heading for her own hut. Sonic sped past, then looped about and appeared before her. "Hey, Ames," he said.

"Hi," she said, uncertain and unsteady.

Sonic was all smiles. "Huh," he said vaguely. "It's just as well. If you'd've asked right-out, I'd've had to lie to you."

"What does…" Amy started, but Sonic was continuing.

"We're cowards, you know," he said, walking past Amy. "Gotta keep each other away when you're in a war, just in case. I'll see you tomorrow, Ames."

He ran off.

Amy heard Sally open her shutters. She turned around to see Sally staring in the direction Sonic had run.

Sally noticed her after several seconds. "Oh, hi, Amy."

Amy pointed at Sally, then at Sonic's wake. "Are you two…?"

"Of course not," said Sally, stiffly.

It clicked. All of it suddenly made sense. Amy laughed out loud.

"What is it?" said Sally, genuinely confused.

"It's just… I thought you'd say that," Amy said. And then she continued on back to her own hut, feeling terribly alone.