Oh wait what? We got a Review? Awesome. It's long? Very Awesome. In-depth Analysis of the story and predictions? FANTASTIC!
Victor John Foxfire: So, I really like the analysis that you did for the story. Sally and Sonic both have troubles with restarting the relationship. Sally is ready, and used to the typical bounce back, while Sonic is tired. I didn't mind the comic, although I know a lot people did. With regards to [REDACTED] You are [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] will [REDACTED] and that will affect [REDACTED]. I'm having trouble with chapter 1, but I'll upload it in the future.
/*-*/
The small blue hedgehog was crying. His mother sat there, not sure what to do. His Father, well, he was still out doing drills with the soldiers.
"Honey…" Bernadette tried, stretching out a hand to sooth the flared quills.
"I hate them!" Sonic shouted, stomping. His quills flared higher, poking his mother's hands.
She pulled them back, and looked down at her son. Sonic felt bad, and he shrunk down. His dad was going to be back soon.
Sonic's mom sighed, and gave a reassuring smile, "You're not a freak. You're a little different, but that's not always a bad thing. Someday, you'll find people who love that about you."
Sonic's eyes opened. His eyes felt heavy still.
A light knock shook his door.
Sonic stood up and walked over, and listened, trying to figure out who was there.
"I know you're in there, Sonic." Amy's voice sent shivers down Sonic's spine as he remembered all of the surprise hugs and ambushes he'd had to endure.
Sonic put on a smile, and opened the door, "Amy, what do you want?"
Amy shouted, "I'm bored. Entertain me."
Sonic slammed the door, and flopped back in the chair. He had a hard time sleeping in beds. He reclined back.
"….Still bored." Amy's voice ushered through the door.
"Go play a game with Tails or something. I'm tired." Sonic muttered. He wasn't but, he didn't exactly want hang out with Amy.
"Come on. Tails cheats." Amy growled.
"Tails is smart." Sonic countered.
"Which is practically cheating." Amy justified.
Sonic snorte- wait no.
"Ha, Got you, lets hang out now." Amy Cried in Victory, "There's a carnival for the first time in ages, and they have chilidogs."
Sonic sighed in defeat. He could always go for a chilidog.
Sonic opened the door and looked Amy in the eye, "Ok, but this is not a date."
Amy quickly shook her head in denial, "Oh no-no-no-no. Not a Date. Just us hanging out."
Sonic raised an eye brow, and examined Amy with more suspicion than was probably necessary. She was being honest, but that begged the question: what was her game? She would never pass up the chance to date Sonic, so what was going on?
Sonic stepped out and shut the door, "Alright, let's go."
He picked her up and zipped out of the HQ. He ran fast but Amy only cheered with glee. Sonic seemed to avoid the other freedom fighters out of sheer chance. Everyone seemed to be busy, which left him free to burst out into the street. Sonic zipped faster.
He ran towards the Mobotropolis Suburbs. Sonic skidded to a halt as he landed next to the ticket booth.
"Hey, is that Sonic the Hedgehog?" Asked the clerk, who froze in the middle of giving someone their card.
Sonic slumped down and set Amy down, who grinned and cried, "Yep, sure is. Hero of Mobius, Everyone!" Why was she drawing so much attention to him.
The lady in front of them moved over, "Oh, then please go ahead."
The guy in front of her did the same, and then next guy. Sonic and Amy got to skip the entire line, because Amy used his name. Another friend using him for their own gains.
Sonic walked through the gates with this thought in his head. Amy pointed over to the fishing game, "Ooh, lets go play that first."
Sonic sighed, before mustering the best fake smile he could, "Sure."
The figure who ran the stand was pretty obvious in hindsight. Big the cat stood there in a white and red stripped shirt, "Hello, do you want to fish."
"Big?" Sonic was still a little thrown off, "Why are you running a fishing stand."
"Oh no, these aren't real fishies. These are fake fishies." Big clarified.
Sonic knew that, "I mean, why are you working at the carnival."
"Froggy likes corn dogs, and I like Froggy." Big explained.
Sonic blinked, "Ok."
"I like fishing too." Big pointed out.
Sonic supposed that all lined up with his M.O.
Amy giggled, "Good ol' Big, huh? Looks like everyone is getting back to normal."
Sonic tensed up. Something about the way she said that.
Amy smiled at Big, "So, how do we play?"
Big reached over and pulled out a small fishing rod that made Sonic involuntarily chuckle, which he disguised as a throat clear. It looked so tiny in his hands.
Big dropped the tiny rod in by the circular disk that was apparently some sort of magnet, "You lower it in the pool like this, and pull up a fishy."
He pulled up and the plastic fish with a 30 on the bottom came out.
Sonic nodded, "Ok."
"You get three fishies. Then you get prizes." Big cheered gleefully. Sonic couldn't help but smile at Big's innocence.
Sonic grinned, "Alright, I'll play."
"YAY!" Big cheered and handed Sonic the fishing pole.
Sonic lowered it in, and felt the line tighten. The magnet had caught a fish with a 45 on the bottom. He lowered it again. A 60. Then he got a blue one with the golden number 200 on it.
Sonic smiled, "Ok, That was fun I guess."
"Now you get a prize." Big exclaimed. Sonic guess the numbers on the fish were a point system, but Big didn't seem to understand that.
Amy grabbed a giant stuffed flickie, "Sonic, I want this one."
"I'm the one who played." Sonic muttered, but grabbed the blue bird.
Amy cuddled it on her way to the next ride, which was some sort of spiny, circular, upside down turning thingy. It was kind of fun, and Sonic let himself laugh a little.
Then it was on to a roller coaster which….wasn't great. He could run faster than it, and the loops weren't nearly as big as some of the ones on green hill. He still put up a smile.
Next Sonic played a game where you shoot balls into hoops to raise your score. He did pretty well, and played it twice more, just to get a giant bean-bag ball for his room.
This was nice. He finally got to let go, and have a little fun. No Eggman, No Dark Legion, no Sally. This actually made him feel…happy, and free.
It was time for lunch, which meant it was time for Chilidogs. Amy Got hers with cheese and onions, and they sat down at a net-table.
Sonic ate a fry, which tasted amazing with the salt and the potato. Sonic saw Amy's chilidog, and smiled, "Your breath is going to stink from that."
"Any worse than Chili?" Amy asked with a smirk. Something about her was a little off…
Sonic bit into his dog. The meaty chunks blended well with the tomato and flavorful juices. Sonic went a little savage for a moment while he demolished the dog. When he looked up, Sonic realized that Amy hadn't even touched her Chilidog yet.
"You ok?" Sonic asked. She was about to waste a perfectly good dog. Then he noticed her face, Amy was nervous about something. She wanted to ask him something she knew would make him uncomfortable.
Sonic growled, "Alright, just ask it already."
Amy blinked and recoiled slightly at his abrasive demand. " What do you mean?"
Sonic growled, "You brought me here to talk to me about something, what is it?"
Amy huffed, "I did not! It's just weird sitting here eating a chilidog with you and not asking you to marry me."
"You aren't going to try that?" Sonic asked, a little surprised that she wouldn't.
Amy shook her head, "Of course not."
Sonic nodded, and started eating his fries.
Amy coughed, "So…when are you and Sally going to make up?"
Sonic slammed his fist on the table. He should have guess she would put Amy up to this, "That's why you brought me here!"
Amy shook her head, "NO! well, yes, but I was just curious."
"Of course, you'd bring me out here to mess with me." Sonic stood up to leave.
Amy ran in front of him, "Look, I get it, you two had a hard time, but you were happy when the two of you were together. Now everything feels… off."
Sonic growled in his throat before sighing. Amy was trying to help the team out. The fact that the threats had subsided had made the cracks in their unity more apparent. In an odd twist, Eggman was as much to thank for their unity as he was to blame for their suffering.
Sonic still couldn't excuse this manipulation. He sighed, "I'm not talking about this now. Tell Sally to never try this again."
Amy stretched out an arm as Sonic bolted past her. Still too slow for him.
Sonic ran back towards Freedom HQ, when he felt something run into his stomach. It wasn't large enough to be a small creature, it didn't have any weight, but it was noticeable. A snow flake.
Sonic looked up, his anger replaced by curiosity, and a little concern. Was this Eggman's machine he was working on? Making it snow? But why?
Come to think of it, it was actually a little cold. He clutched his arms and bolted towards the HQ. A snow flake in Summer? Crazy.
/*-*/
Fiona tugged the net. IT was so heavy! She kept pulling, but it seemed to only go up by an inch at a time.
Took a moment to open her eyes only to find the net was barely out of the water. That being said, she wasn't going to be beaten by this.
Fiona closed her eyes and grit her teeth, and began to pull with all of her might. Suddenly, it felt easier. She kept pulling Until she felt the net rest on the dock, the sound of smacking filling the air.
Fiona opened her eyes to see Oswald next to her.
Fiona looked down, "I'm sorry, I'm not very strong."
Oswald shook his head and smiled, "Oh no, It's all good. These nets are pretty heavy, but thank you for at least trying to help."
Fiona put up a shy smile, "Maybe there's something else I can do? Something that I can do without help?"
Oswald looked at the nets, before suddenly snapping his finger, "I got it! We need these sorted out, can you count good?"
Fiona nodded, of course she could count good. Didn't they, oh, no they didn't…right.
Oswald smiled, "I can't count too good. I usually have to put these in different baskets, but I lose track. Can you sort the fish, I mean… do you mind the smell?"
Fiona thought for a moment. She didn't mind the smell, but she was playing the damsel, so she needed to believable…at least until she figured out a plan to get out of here, "I don't like this smell, but I need to do something, so I'll get used to it."
Oswald flinched a little, "If it's problem, I can find a spot in the gardens over there." He pointed over to the patches of beans and peas that were growing by the shore.
Fiona shook her head, "No, I can do this. I got to get used to it."
Oswald nodded, "I'll be right back then." He walked off towards the hut next to the dock.
Fiona took this time to think about her options. Currently, The Destructix who were killed were scattered. Scourge was hopefully out there, and looking for her, but she could count on that. There was Robotnik… She wasn't exactly a fan of being roboticized. There was the Dark legion, but like being roboticized, having her arm cut off to become a cyborg wasn't on her bucket list. There was the Anti-Freedom fighters… but she needed a warp zone to get there, and she wasn't exactly a fan of Alicia( The feeling was probably mutual).
Then there was the Freedom Fighters. Fiona had a lot of success with them, even when she was plotting against them. There was Sally, and the two hadn't bothered to have conflict while they were on the same team. Tails was an adorable lap dog she could keep close with a simple wave. Then there was Son- No, she was not going back to them.
"Hey, is everything ok?" Oswald asked, as he looked at her.
You stupid hick, No, I'm stuck here with your gullible hindquarter. Fiona thought, but then remembered who she was playing, "Oh, I just feel useless is all." She sighed tragically.
"Well, you are about to be an amazing help." Oswald proclaimed with glee, holding out two somewhat small red baskets, along with a large brown basket, and a large blue ribboned basket.
An old voice came up as Bill called out, "How's our guest doing?"
"She's doing really well. I think she's not ready to lift out nets by herself, but she can count." Oswald gleefully proclaimed.
"Ah, good." Bill smiled. They were disgustingly nice and stupid. "I'll let you return to your work."
Fiona nodded, "Thank you for letting me stay here." She smiled innocently.
Bill smiled, "It's no problem." He walked back to his hut.
Oswald smiled, "Ok, now, I need… Third-thrid-Thready?"
"Thirty?" Fiona asked to clarified.
"Yeah, thirty!" Oswald scratched his head embarrassed, "I need thirty yellow-stripes in this basket." He pointed to the small, red basket. Oswald reached into the net and pulled out a two foot long fish, and held it up by its back, "these are yellow stripes, you can tell by the yellow stripes on the tail."
The tail did indeed have a yellow stripe on the back.
"I need fifty-teen red spots in the other one." Fifteen fish with red spots on the side.
She saw a fish with red circles on its side and picked it up, "Like this?"
Oswald jumped up and down, "Yeah, you got it!"
He then pointed to the large blue ribboned basket, "Any blue stripes you find, put them in there, and the other basket will take the left over fish."
Fiona looked at the massive net, "What if they get full?"
Oswald smiled, "Oh, well if that happens, we'll smoke the rest, and save them for winter."
Fiona smiled. Maybe they had a mild amount of brain power.
So she got to work, sorting and setting the fish, which were surprisingly light, considering how much trouble they had given her. Then again, there were hundreds of them in this net, or at least it felt like it.
She also used this time to evaluate her options, before realizing that there was only one choice currently: Stay put, and play along.