Hello Lovely Readers!

I hope you enjoy this chapter! There will be 3 parts to this Arch, most of which have already been written and just need to be edited, so look forward to more to come!

Special thanks to Laineybug and Britterkiss for beta reading this chapter! You two are my life saviors! (Also check out their Shadamys as well! I beta their stories and they both just released another chapter each) :3

A thousand thank yous to all you lovely readers that took the time to review on this story! CherryTheRose, Abril378, ROCKCHIC179, Heartless demon wolf, MistyVoid48, Angel-kohai, Amefloza13, justdance4ever, pinksakura271, Pirilaxa, shad-amy01. You guys put the wind beneath my wings :)

ROCKCHIC179: I am glad you like me responding this way to your reviews! Since you do, I'll continue to do so :) You were right on! In this story I will be diving into the dark twisted assumptions that we all have inside, causing the characters to grapple with their inner demons. And Rouge and Shadow definitely have many that would make them paranoid about another teammate entering the situation. I am suuuuper glad that you and my other readers seem to enjoy Chief Snow! She'll be a main side character in the story :P Also, Amy may seem the same on the surface... but as we move forward all the rot will come into focus ;) Thanks for following me and my story, and I saw your comment on LGH. I won't respond to all of it yet, but I did want to let you know that I super enjoy your story and I meant that I would recommend it to the 'Shadamy' friends I have lmao

****Fun TDR TidBit of the Day: Amy wears metal rings to pull her quills up instead of regular hair ties, as those have a tendency to snap when she is angry or fighting***

Yerp = Yelp

Also, everyone, please keep in mind that if you see this '*' in the story that means it will be defined at the bottom of the chapter.

~IMPORTANT~ I am writing this story with the 'Two World' theory. Earth is a planet that is separate from Mobius, but is also linked in ways that will be revealed in later chapters.

Okay, now, without further adiue Happy Reading!

Some characters and Places belong to SEGA

**** 04/03 UPDATE PSA: Okay I am loving the comments on this chapter so far, however there is a common thread going through that I believe needs addressing, and that is the characters ages. I mentioned them in the prolog, but I think it slip past some, so here they are:

Amy: 20 (about to turn 21, birdday is Oct 6th)

Cream: 14 (She was 12 when she left Team Rose)

Sonic: 23

Shadow: Immortal (Mid-twenties physic)

Rouge: 26

Knuckles: 24

Tails: 16

I hope this helps to clear up some things :)

EPISODE 4: Ghosts of Knothole Past – Part 1

Team Dark's Living Quarters

~September 11, 05:45~

"Wake up sleeping beauties! Time to kick this day in the ass! We've got a mission!"

The screeching voice of Rouge the Bat blasted forth from the intercoms throughout the house causing Shadow to roll his eyes. He was sitting on his bed, staring at the weapons on his wall and he had been there most of the night. He could barely get a wink of sleep on a normal day, and yesterday had proven to be far from normal. Rouge had been able to somewhat tame his anger, caused by yesterday's unwanted guest snooping around his room; but after the bat had left he'd set about doing what he originally planned; joyriding on his motorcycle.

Team Dark's Living Quarters was located on a G.U.N. compound about 20 miles from Station Square, removed enough that they didn't have to deal with obnoxious city life, but close enough that in a pinch, they could make it there in under 10 minutes with their respective modes of transport. He'd chosen to ride through the countryside in Green Hill Zone that night, preferring nature's beautiful view of the stars and trees rather than the greys and neons of the city. It had proved to be exactly what he'd needed to regain his composure which that pink menace had so easily disturbed.

The fact that not only had she invaded his working life, but she'd even went as far as to meddle around in his private quarters, made his quills tremble with rage, and his stomach boil. She had ignored his indirect order for her to not enter any rooms, and 'coincidentally' managed to enter his room by 'accident.' Shadow did not believe in coincidence, and again that paranoid part of him speculated she was trying to take something.

His mind had flashed to the Emerald that sat comfortably in view next to his bed. He'd have to move it to a safer location when he returned. He speculated returning immediately, but then he'd been sure he'd scared her enough that she wouldn't attempt it again tonight.

The purring sound of an engine beneath him, and the cool crisp night air moving through his dark fur had slowly blown peace back into his chest. There was a freedom in these rides, one that not even running could provide for him. He'd loathed the idea of returning to the living quarters, however it wasn't as though he could avoid the place he lived. Upon returning he'd spent the few hours before Rouge's announcement sitting on his bed and contemplating ways to remove the pink blip from their team.

Scaring her away was a good tactic, it proved to be effective the night before, but he figured that the hedgehog was too stubborn to let a little fear interfere with her career. After all, a good example for the girl's bullheadedness was her hung up obsession on the Blue Faker for years and years now. The other two options were: a) accidently cause a mishap to happen on a mission that could potentially put her out of commission. Or b) make her life a living hell, until she finally gives up. Since option 'a)' would result in too much paperwork, he figured that he would stick to option 'b'.

Now he sighed, and stretched his back. A mission. He was surprised one had come so soon after the addition of a new team member, but he wasn't going to complain. A mission was always a good distraction. Not to mention if Amy messed up he could shove her failure in that Chief Bitch's face.

Smirking wickedly, Shadow threw on his leather jacket, and selected his favorite hover shoes from their display case. The shoes had fake power rings to match the inhibitor rings on his gloves, and more details on the metal and plastic. He didn't wear them often, but he felt his mood shifting to a more content state with the idea of Amy being intimidated on her first day with a mission. He would also never admit this to anyone – even himself – but the Ultimate Lifeform could be a little vain when it came to appearances. He was also quite aware of the female eyes that followed him when he walked down the street, he rarely indulged in such fliverous and shallow attractions, however it was always a great ego boost.

The hedgehog headed down the stairs, however once he entered the command center his ears were assaulted by obnoxious laughter. The loud sound he immediately recognized as Rouge's voice. He narrowed his eyes into a glare, a growling rebuke just waiting to shut her down, but he stopped when he saw what had the bat in tears.

Amy Rose was standing in the middle of the room with the brightest blushing muzzle he had ever seen on anyone before. Her body was shaking and her arms were stiff at her sides, but that wasn't what caught his eye. No, it was the outfit she was wearing. She had on the G.U.N. issued jumpsuit, and it looked as unflattering as usual. It hugged the body like a latex glove showing any worry spots on the body – not that Shadow could see one on the female hedgehog, causing his brow to raise slightly at the thought.

No, the main issue was the color… if concrete could vomit it would be the color of this suit. It was a dark, and murky shade of grey with the organization's logo plastered large and proud across the chest. A chest which was moving up and down frantically as the pink hedgehog worked overtime to contain her anger. Her quills were pulled up into the spunky ponytail with a gold red metal ring again, but it did nothing to help with the overall look.

Shadow blinked several times, before a mile long smirk spread across his face. Amy looked up, saw him leering, and if possible her face grew even redder,

"Not you too! I don't understand! This is standard issue for all G.U.N. Agents when going on field missions!" She huffed loudly, her cheeks poofing out angrily.

Rouge's laugh turned into hysterics at Amy's rigid understanding of G.U.N. procedures and Shadow almost felt a chuckle develop in his throat. He had to admit the girl was amusing, the way her petite body trembled and her eyes held just the slightest wetness from embarrassment in the corners, and that ridiculous outfit... He'd honestly never met anyone quite like her before and he also didn't care to know her anymore than necessary.

"Enough." He said gruffly, and walked deeper into the room. He saw Omega near the computer, his finger plugged into it as he downloaded the specifics of the mission.

"Let's hear what this mission's about."

Rouge looked over at her partner, she was bracing herself on her knees while laughing. She stood with a smile still to her face and tears in her eyes as she turned her full attention to the grumpy hog. She wiped her eyes, and her large ears twitched as the last of her giggles flowed through her. She walked over to the hedgehog and patted his shoulder.

"Jeez, live a little Ultimate Wet–Blanket. It's not everyday you see someone dressing 'by the books!'" This caused her to snort laugh, and speckles of spit splattered the grim looking hedgehog. Shadow rolled his eyes and smacked her hand away, before dramatically wiping his muzzle of her spit.

Amy was now crossing her arms, and glaring at them with a look that would send other's running for the hills. Rouge smiled, and clapped her hands together. Walking over to the computer screen that populated more than half of the wall, she typed in a few commands. The screen populated with a tower that sported a shining mustache on the oval top. The tower was surrounded by forest, and was tucked away into a cliffside. It was well hidden, and Shadow was surprised that Eggman had been so careful. Usually the Doctor liked to make his presence known with brightly painted and unnecessarily large buildings. Even at times tempting his enemies to attack with search lights decorating the exterior of his compounds. If the base was that well hidden, it was very likely that it had something of value in it.

"This is a newly built Eggman base in Knothole Forest, we have been tasked with a covert mission." Rouge started, her voice now serious without any note of her previous laughter. Amy was staring intently at the screen, and her head was bobbing as show of her listening. Shadow scoffed, and marched up to the large computer.

"What are we retrieving? I'm assuming that G.U.N. wants to collect something from the base?"

Rouge nodded her head, and looked over his shoulder as he clicked through the digital files. Her wings were fluttering slightly as she focused, and her large coned ears were angled towards the computer. Everyone had their back turned to Amy, and the female hedgehog went on tip toes and leaned from side to side as she tried to see past large ears and thick quill spines to the computer screen. But it was no use, the main portions of information were blocked by the two Senior Agents.

"Hey, um, do you think you could let me…" She trailed off, as neither of them even twitched their ears in her direction. She could feel an invisible wall between her and them.

Amy scowled, her insides twisting painfully from their blatant disinterest in her assistance. Whether they liked it or not, she was a part of their team, and she needed the same information that they were hogging at the moment.

A clang was heard as Omega detached himself from the computer and walked over to charging station placed at the entrance of the command center. Amy watched his short journey, and an idea formed in her mind.

She hadn't had any luck connecting with the robot on an emotional level, but he did actually seem open to assisting her within his capabilities. What she needed was definitely something within his wheelhouse.

Glancing quickly over to the two Mobians deep in conversation, Amy casually walked over to the badnik, and sat down next to him on the wall. His glass eyes adjusted their gaze to focus on her, and she smiled up at him.

"Good morning Omega! Did you sleep well?"

"Omega does not 'sleep.' Omega merely shuts down to charge the power core."

Amy's smile faltered, but at least the robot was interacting with her and not completely acting as though she were invisible.

"Right! That makes sense, I hope I didn't offend you."

"Nothing was offensive about your lack of knowledge on –"

This time Amy frowned and rolled her eyes, "Well, moving on from that, can you brief me on the mission we are about to go on?"

Omega didn't move or speak for moment, and she thought maybe he wouldn't respond, but then the bot lowered his body and extended his arm to show her a small screen imbedded in his metal. It flickered for a moment, and was only colored with greens and blacks. It looked old, but at least it was legible.

"Wow, thanks Omega! Although I'm surprised this screen hasn't been upgraded for you."

She heard a humming noise come from within him, and she realized that it was meant as a sigh of exasperation as the next sentence from his monotone voice almost seemed wistful.

"G.U.N. does not see it fit to upgrade any of my processing or programing. The last upgrade provided to Omega was weapons. Omega appreciates the new guns that can be used to burn, melt and destroy badniks, however a processing upgraded wouldn't be harmful."

Amy felt a little pity in her chest for the robot. She could give a pretty good guess as to why they weren't doing much upgrading to his core processing. G.U.N. did not strike her as an organization that would like to improve robot intelligence in some paranoid fear of rebellion. Maybe there's something I can do to help him… She pondered, as she pulled herself up using his metal arm so that she could better see the screen. He had been the least unwelcoming to her, since she doubted he even had the ability to act socially rude to anyone. As a result, she had a strange desire to return the favor, even if he had no scope to accept her gratitude.

The mission itself seemed pretty straight forward. They were to infiltrate the compound and scout the interior without being detected. Omega would use his scanning program to upload the schematics to his hard drive for later examination, and the rest of the agents were tasked with finding any computer or technology and download all files and information into personal handheld hard drives. Piece of cake.

She had done hundreds of surveillance drills in the academy, and this felt like the perfect mission to show off her new skills. She felt her heart swelling with warmth of the idea of getting praise from her team, the thought made her smile, and her tail start to uncontrollably twitch side to side at the prospect.

"What is making Amy Rose happy?"

Surprised to hear the machine ask such a personal question without prompting, caused her to blankly stare at him for a moment. She only broke her gaze to glance over at the two higher ranking Agents, but the both of them were still huddled together. She raised a brow at the closeness of their bodies, and the romantic side of her wondered if the two of them had a 'thing.' She would have pondered it more, if she wasn't keeping the robot beside her waiting.

"Well, I'm just glad I have an opportunity so soon to prove myself as a worthy teammate to have on your team. I really want to remain your partner and I just hope that I'll be able to convince you guys that I am a good asset."

Omega's glass eyes contracted as he opened his internal data files.

"Amy Rose: wields large hammer, top speed has been clocked at 171.5 miles per second, half the top speed of Sonic the Hedgehog. Able to withstand 4 tons of force from an attack with minor damage to physique."

Amy's mouth popped open. She didn't know whether to be horrified or impressed with hearing the stats the G.U.N. robot had on her.

"Uh…" Was all she could manage, but Omega continued his report.

"Only documented weaknesses are Sonic the Hedgehog and lack of battle knowledge. However, revisions to file were made yesterday, Amy Rose no longer accompanies the Hero of Mobius, and G.U.N. cadet training has provided significant improvements to fighting capabilities. In conclusion, no recorded weakness for Amy Rose. Field Agent Rose qualifies as an acceptable teammate."

Amy felt her eyes well up. She knew that the robot had said this in response to her comment about her worth as a teammate for purely analytical reasons, however she couldn't help feel a surge of affection develop within her for Omega. Whether he had intended to or not, he had comforted her doubts, and succeeded in giving her a boost in confidence that she sorely needed.

She blinked and rubbed her eyes, painfully aware that this was no time for tears, even ones of gratitude. She could not be caught by the other two with any form of vulnerability. So she smacked her cheeks, and gave the robot a brilliant smile.

"Thank you Omega… You truly are the best friend a girl could wish for."

Her expression and words of praise, caused something odd to spark within the bot, and his internal wiring redirected some energy to inspect the abnormality. E–123 silently took a recording of the expression and words, so that he could properly analyze it later.

"Alright!" Rouge announced from across the room, drawing the two crouched Agents' attention to her.

She was now standing with her hands on her hips, while Shadow stood next to her, his arms crossed and face frowning. He didn't like the chumy atmosphere surrounding his robotic partner and the annoying pink girl. His eyes narrowed into a deadly glare as Amy stood quickly to attention, and Omega slowly detached himself from the charging station.

Rouge smirked, and clapped her hands together, "We'll be leaving in 30 minutes and not a second later. Amy,"

She paused, a judgemental look tarnished her attractive features, as she glanced over the young Agent's appearance.

"Put something else on. I won't have anyone on my team looking like… an amateur."

Amy blushed furiously, and her quills shook in rage and embarrassment. Shadow snickered, and his muzzle split into a cruel smirk. The female hedgehog felt her throat close up, and she forced her muscles to resist the urge to scream. She wanted to run from the room in tears, shouting insults and profanities at the two arrogant asswipes that stood before her with conceited attitudes. You're better than them… don't let their words get to you. Besides, Omega has already seen my worth, now I just have to show them.

Her confidence restored, she latched onto the validation given to her by the robot. She gritted her teeth and gave them a choppy salute, "Yes... ma'am."

She put a deep emphasis on the term, and felt a little better at the incredulous look of displeasure that formed on the bat's face, as the implied jab at her age hit the thief where it counted. However, there was nothing to be rebuked, as it was a proper way to address a higher ranking Agent. Rouge's muzzle twisted into a sour grimace, and she gritted her teeth as she said,

"Thank you, you're dismissed."

Amy shot her a satisfied grin, and bounced out the room with ponytail swinging wildly behind her. Rouge watched her leave, and she felt the motivation within her to remove the girl from her team intensify. Even Shadow was looking at the bat with raised eyebrows. He had to admit that Amy had spunk, and it was very amusing to see his usually calmly collected partner snap from words uttered by another female.

"I hate that hedgehog."

Chao Dreams 24hr Cafe – Knothole Village

~September 11, 07:00~

"Where. The. Hell. Is. She."

Shadow growled, his quills twitching with irritation as he leaned on his parked bike in the parking lot of the only business that was open. He had in his hand a cardboard to–go cup of roasted black coffee, which he squeezed in anger. The sun was barely over the horizon, and it painted the dirt ground around them in soft purples and pinks. Behind them a flashing neon 'open' sign seemed to mock them.

Rouge sighed, she was sitting at one of the tables outside with Omega standing next to her, a freshly baked cinnamon roll and steaming cup of coffee sat in front of her. She casually leaned back in her seat, picking at her pastry nonchalantly. She was unconcerned with the delay of the pink hog. This was just another nail in her inevitable coffin that the bat was carefully building around her. She grinned, covering her smug expression before Shadow could see, with the white porcelain mug.

After the girl's mean spirited jab at her, the bat had gotten a gloriously devious idea. Usually she and her team would pick a place to meet up near the site of the mission, and get there in their respective modes of transportation. Shadow, of course, usually took his motorcycle, jumping at any opportunity to use the metal beast. Rouge would either fly, or take her sleek, purple convertible which was in the next parking spot beside Shadow. And Omega… well to be entirely honest, she had no idea exactly how the robot managed his travels, but he always made it in time.

So she had simply told everyone where to go, but hadn't given Amy the means to get there. She felt giddy thinking about the young girl attempting to figure out how to get into Station Square and then here without any of their help.

"Oh cut her some slack," Rouge said with sarcasm, her fork stabbing into the sweet bread before her, "She doesn't have a vehicle after all."

The bat chuckled a little evilly and Shadow stared at her with reluctant admiration at his partner's ability to screw with people. No one crossed the albino thief and got away with it. However, although he enjoyed torturing their new team member, he also didn't like being late for a mission. His face must have revealed some of his thoughts, as Rouge rolled her eyes with a sigh.

"Don't worry. I had us start early specifically for this reason. Even if it took her another hour to get here, we would be fine. Our 'distraction' isn't known for being an early bird."

Shadow raised a brow at that. What 'distraction' was she referring to? He opened his mouth with the intention to ask as much, however the air was suddenly filled with a panting, loud voice,

"I'm – huff – Sorry! The – huff – train was delayed – huff – due to some accident. So I ran here!"

Team Dark turned their heads to look at the girl standing before them. She was leaned over, her hands bracing on her knees, and her chest going crazy as she attempted to fill her lungs with oxygen. She had changed into red shorts and black windbreaker, and her shoes were black sneakers with a red stripe across the top. She also wore a small red backpack, that was bulging with unknown items. It was definitely an improvement from her previous outfit, and Rouge smiled at the power she wielded over the girl.

"Well, that's no excuse. I set meeting times for missions for very specific reasons, and being late can potentially interfere with our ability to complete the mission successfully."

Amy stopped moving, and they watched as her fingers clenched and dug into her knees, while her body started to shake in frustration. She snapped up, her jade eyes ablaze and her muzzle twisted into a terrifying grin.

"Well, maybe if I'd had some help then I could've gotten here a little easier." She stated, her voice unnaturally sweet sounding, like an over sugared cake frosting, as she forced herself to remain civil.

"We all managed to get here on our own without any help." Shadow interjected, his arms crossed, and his ruby eyes narrowed. He didn't care to aid the helpless, nor do charity work. He could give two shits if the girl was with them or not, and preferably to him, she wouldn't be.

Amy huffed, and she folded her arms in mirror to his stance, "I don't have a damn vehicle, and you very well know that I don't have the same stamina as you or Sonic, I can't run forever."

"Then you should've figured out a different way to get here."

Amy's cheeks puffed out, and her quills started to bristle against their metal ring. She felt frustration at how unfair this situation was boiling to the surface, and her arms straightened to her sides stiffly, she didn't care anymore, she would put this damn hedgehog in his place.

"I think you should –"

"Amy Rose, if you do not have a reliable mode of transportation, E–123 Omega will take you to and from missions. Omega has enough power to carry Amy Rose, and this should be more efficient than public transportation."

The robot's voice cut through the tension like a chainsaw through bark. Everyone turned to stare at the metal Agent. Shadow and Rouge were surprised he had said anything, let alone offered assistance beyond his own agendas. Shadow felt his stomach twisting with an odd emotion he couldn't place, and was definitely not liking.

Amy, however, smiled warmly at Omega, and her anger subsided enough to regain control of her actions. She walked up to the machine and gave him a hug, Omega's head snapped quickly to look down at her. This was a new experience for him, he'd never had anyone confine him within their fleshy limbs. Although he'd seen other Mobains do it with each other, he had never understood the gesture. He only had information that it was an act of courtesy and was non threatening.

"Once again, you are my hero!" Amy declared her voice light and her grip hard.

Omega said nothing, as once again he felt something trying to process within him that wasn't in line with his programing. This was something he must investigate, and he was determined to get to the bottom of what caused this reaction to the organic girl. A new directive formed in his coding: help Amy Rose whenever possible in order to collect more data on this processing anomaly.

The girl released him, and turned to give the other members of her team a glare.

"I'm going to get some breakfast, and I don't give a crap if that delays us anymore. I haven't had the chance to eat thanks to you, and I would rather work on a full stomach. Besides, Eggman's base isn't going anywhere."

She huffed irately and marched into the cafe her muzzle held high. Shadow's grunt of disapproval falling on deaf ears, and she barely heard Rouge sigh and relent to her whim before she swung door of the cafe open with gusto.

A bell above her rang merrily to announce her arrival, and she felt satisfaction with her ability to let their negative attitudes roll off of her. It also helped that she obviously had an ally in the robot, and for now that was enough to keep her going.

There was a small mouse girl behind the counter hanging up her apron., She turned at the sound and smiled.

"If you know what you want I'll ring it up right away, otherwise do you mind waiting a moment for my co–worker to come out? It's the end of my shift."

Amy returned the smile, and waved the girl off, "No worries, I can wait! I totally understand wanting to get off after a long night shift." Besides, doesn't hurt to make those jerks wait a little longer, she added quietly, a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips.

The mouse's grin changed from polite service mode, to grateful smile, "Thanks hon! Won't be longer than a minute!" and with that the female disappeared into the employees only door.

Amy glanced around the small cafe, and felt a nostalgic feeling take over her. It'd been two years since the last time she had stepped foot in this shop, and she was surprisingly grateful that it hadn't changed much since then. The walls were still a pale pink, and the booths were still black with retro lamps hanging from the ceiling. Cute neon signs hung on the walls alongside classic style posters of Chao. And the best part were the scents.

Vanilla, cinnamon, chocolate, and coffee, blending together warmly and comfortingly. She closed her eyes, and took a moment to breathe in the familiar flavors. She used to come here all the time with her friends, on lazy afternoons, or even for after battle treats. She felt a painful stab in her heart, and suddenly she missed –

"Amy? I–is that you?"

The voice was a little deeper, but was still soft, gentle, and tore her heart to shreds. Amy felt her body freeze, and panic set into her being. She dreaded opening her eyes, but she knew there was no escaping this. She had already been seen. Slowly her jade eyes opened, and sure enough she spotted a young rabbit standing behind the bar. The mocha colored female was a bit taller than before, and she had grown out the fur on her forehead into cute bangs which curled under a visor. Her brown eyes were wide, and she was wearing a thin, white dress with a pink apron sporting the cafe's logo in black on the chest.

Amy sucked in her cheeks, and forced a smile on her face… here was something else she hadn't seen in two years…

"Oh, um, hey Cream." She managed, and slowly walked up to the counter, her eyes fixated on the handwritten chalk menu above the girl. Calm down Amy! She isn't an enemy…

"So it is you!" Cream exclaimed, her voice holding a mixture of excitement and awkwardness.

The pink hedgehog forced her head to bend down, and look at the girl. She didn't hate Cream, but she had no idea how to act around her anymore. Cream was a stranger, someone who'd abandoned her, and never reached out. To be fair, Amy hadn't tried to reconnect with the girl either.

At first it'd been because of the pain she felt from the girl's betrayal, and then it was because of pride. Why should she be the one to reach out when the bunny had made it pretty clear she had no intentions of rekindling their friendship? And then it had just gotten to the point where it was too late. Even if she had felt the need, it would seem pointless. The bitterness within her had grown to a toxic level as the years had moved forward, and she was almost shocked at how much pent up frustration she had towards Cream.

"Wow! You look… different."

The bunny's forcefully cheerful voice cut into her thoughts, causing the G.U.N. Agent to flinch. The part of her that was unforgiving wanted to give the bunny a glare and demand to know what she meant by that comment and tone. But instead she gritted her teeth, and focused on flattening the quills that threatened to bristle.

"Thanks… you look different too, those bangs new?"

The rabbit blinked, and blushed a little, "Not really… I've had them for about a year now… it's a popular look at my school. All my friends have them."

Amy swallowed the harsh responses that whispered violently in her mind. Yeah, I'm sure you're quite the 'trendy' little teen, probably a popular girl too, Amy thought scathingly. Spikes of jealousy and repressed anger irrationally covering any affection she still had for her old friend. She lifted the corner of her mouth, and tapped her fingers on the counter to help distract her.

"Well it… suits you," Amy replied, and almost gagged at the prideful look that filtered across the bunny's face. She could already deduce that her Cream had fallen into the classic teenage need to be validated on their appearance, with too much weight in their makeup and fashion. She could now make out the details of the dress the young rabbit wore, and she recognized it as high end designer. She had an off topic thought on how Cream was able to afford such an item with her family situation.

"So, any recommendations?" Amy asked, attempting to bring the conversation back to the task at hand. But the rabbit either didn't notice the uncomfortable stance the hedgehog had, or just didn't care, as she completely ignored the question and instead leaned a bit closer to the Agent.

"I haven't seen you in so long… and you moved to the city right? Mom said something along those lines."

So she calls Vanilla Mom now instead of Momma. Amy felt a myriad of emotions begin to swirl within her. A part of her still really cared about the younger girl, and was feeling melancholy at all the time lost between the once best of friends. And a larger part of her just wished for this to end.

"Yeah… a little after the last time we met up actually." Amy replied curtly, deliberately keeping her answer short.

Cream chuckled a little nervously, and her hand began to fiddle with her apron.

"Oh I see… Do you like it?" The girl tried, her voice quiet.

"Its alright I guess," Amy replied her voice remaining as neutral as possible.

"What are you up to? Do you have a job? Maybe college or something?"

Amy felt annoyed. Just what was this girl trying to do? Why all the damn questions? She hadn't seemed to give a shit before now – hell, the hedgehog knew that if they hadn't met by chance here, then they'd probably still be out of each other's lives. She felt a presumption that the girl was feeling guilty for her lack of care in her supposed best friend, and was trying to seem like a 'good' person. Or even worse, she was just trying to make small talk in an attempt to get some gossip on how her life was going. Amy wasn't going to let her off that easy, this girl had wronged her after all.

"I have something to fill my time. I can see you've found something appropriate to fill your free time as well. Did school not satisfy all your hopes and dreams of a normal life?"

The bunny flinched, her demeanor taking on a tense stance, and her soft brown eyes narrowed with anger.

"I'm working here because I like to have a little pocket money. What's wrong with trying to be independent?" The teenager's nose twitched, and her long ears flicked as the corner of her pink glossed lips lifted in a sneer. It was an expression that Amy had never thought possible for the sweet girl, and she was a little taken aback. So much so she almost didn't catch what the rabbit said next.

"Although I suppose that's a difficult thing for you to understand, as your whole life revolves around your obsession with Sonic. Hell, you even moved to the city he lives in, I bet you've spent the last few years following him around. How's that working out?"

Amy felt her heart clench with poisonous emotions. She had never imagined that the rabbit could ever act so catty and land such low blows. Would she ever shed that accursed label?

'Sonic's obsessed fangirl…' The female clenched her teeth and furrowed her eyebrows.

"You don't know anything, you brat!" Amy hissed, her frustrations from the past couple days finally bursting to the surface. Her ex–best friend's ears flattened, and her body started to shake in the hostility that was emanating from the hedgehog, but those milky brown eyes glared with anger.

"Well maybe if you hadn't acted like a total jerk cutting me from your life, then I would know if it was different, but –"

Cackling cut the rant off, and the teenager stared in horror as the older female before her started to laugh crazily. It was unexpected, and Cream felt a small spike of fear enter her, as she realized she'd said something that set Amy off.

"That's rich, coming from you!" Amy exclaimed, her jade eyes watering from the aggressive chuckles that wracked her body. She sneered at the rabbit, and pointed a finger at her, all the words she had been fantasizing over the years to say to the girl if she ever saw her again, bubbled to the surface, and spewed from practiced lips.

"You're the one that cut me from your life! You killed Team Rose because you wanted to have a 'regular' life! What does that even mean anyway?!" Amy's voice was raised at this point, and her jade eyes burned with fury.

"You're the one that threw me away! You never contacted me! Never tried to find out what happened to me! It wasn't my job to chase after you, when you walked away. I'd had enough of that with one person without you pulling the same shit!"

"Don't blame this on me!" The bunny yelled, her own wrath covering any fear she had felt earlier, and her body felt tense as she glared up at the pink female, "I'm just a kid, why am I responsible for you?"

It was Amy's turn to look taken aback, and her jade eyes stared in horror at the bunny before her. This was not the same Cream that she remembered. This girl was spiteful and catty, her carefully painted face screwed into a nasty glare as she continued her rant.

"Team Rose was already falling apart without my leaving, and you know it! Big wasn't coming back, and Blaze returned to her own world. There was nothing just the two of us could do! We aren't fighters!"

"Says you!" Amy countered, her quills now bristling behind her, the metal ring digging deeply into them as they strained against it.

"I could fight just fine on my own! Sonic even said that I could –"

Cream laughed darkly, her hands to her stomach and her large teeth shining in the morning light. Amy felt her chest squeeze as her ex–friend mocked her. She felt angry tears threaten to fill her eyes, but she clenched her jaw.

"Wow! I guess you actually haven't changed!" The rabbit gasped, wiping at the corner of her eyes.

"Still trying to impress a guy who thinks of you as friend or even worse, an annoying little sister! You want to know the real reason Team Rose failed? It was because the leader was an immature fangirl that couldn't see anything but blue! You want someone to blame? Look in the mirror!"

Tears were threatening to spill from the corners of Amy's eyes. She felt a darkness begin to creep in from the inside of her chest. Sure, these were things she heard on almost a daily basis by those who wished to demean her, and break her down, but it hadn't really bothered her. Not as much as this. To hear the words coming from someone whom she'd once thought of as her best and only true friend in the world, caused something within her to break. She felt a hot lump form painfully in her throat, and she wanted to melt through the floor to disappear. She recognized this burning within her... Betrayal. But unlike the first time, all cards were laid down on the table, all their hidden emotions exposed and naked before them. It wasn't civilized, it was messy as hell.

"What's taking you so long?"

The voice that suddenly interrupted them, was sultry but firm, and caused the feuding girls to snap their attention to the door of the shop. There in the doorway stood Rouge the Bat. Her hands were on her hips and her expression looked slightly annoyed.

Amy felt panic rise to a crescendo within her and she quickly cleared her throat. She angled her face away as she furiously rubbed her eyes of dampness, unwilling to let her teammate witness a moment of weakness.

"Sorry," Amy mumbled, and she quickly stepped back from the counter, "There's nothing I like here, let's just go."

She refused to look at the rabbit, and instead made her way towards the waiting bat, all the muscles in her body working overtime to control the emotions she allowed to leak through. She just wanted to leave and get this accursed day over with. All her insecurities and self doubts that she could usually lock up in a neat little box, were oozing out the cracks created by the harsh words of an ex–friend.

She expected Rouge to berate her, and get irritated that she had wasted their time, but when she reached the bat, the older female placed her hand on Amy's upper back. The gesture caught the young hedgehog off guard, she hadn't predicted such a reaction, or rather the lack of one. They both turned and started to leave, but before they completely exited, Rouge turned to look at the frozen girl still standing behind the counter.

"I don't blame you, the service here is shit. Besides, their food is nothing to brag about. Believe me, I'll be leaving quite the thorough review on Yerp."

The bat gave Cream a leer – causing the rabbit to flinch, and a spark of fear light in her eyes – before allowing the door to slam behind them. Once they were outside again, Amy felt her chest tighten with an odd feeling of gratitude for the older female. She turned and looked at her with a slightly embarrassed smile.

"H–how much did you hear?" The pink female asked hesitantly, not entirely sure she wanted to know. She'd been so absorbed in her fight, she hadn't heard the door's bell.

The bat gave her a glance, and shrugged, "Enough to make a judgement of her character. Didn't she used to be that cute little bunny that followed you around… what's her name again? Buttermilk?"

Amy looked at her with a raised eyebrow , "No its –" but she stopped. She saw a glint of humor in the seafoam eyes of the bat, and there was a teasing smirk hiding in the corner of her muzzle. Amy blushed, realizing that Rouge was trying to lighten the mood.

"Look," the bat started after a moment, her hand sweeping out nonchalantly, "I don't really care what happened between the two of you, it's not my business. I didn't even say it for you, I just don't really care for unclassy, pretentious females."

Amy felt warmth fill her for the first time since meeting the bat, and she turned her head, a shy expression taking over her features.

"Well either way, thanks."

She gave the bat a bright and honest smile, making Rouge feel something within her stir. She hadn't really seen that kind of expression reflected towards her before, especially not from another female. The expression also held a quiet sadness within it, and she recognized the mask of strength the young girl was using to cover the pain. It struck a chord with the thief, as she had long ago learned to disguise her own pain. She felt a dangerous feeling start to take hold in a far corner of her heart, one she definitely did not want to come into fruition.

"Well, don't put too much meaning onto it," She dismissed, and then raised her voice to be heard, "Alright pansies! We've loitered long enough, let's get this mission started!"

Shadow, who'd been leaning against his motorcycle with his arms crossed and his eyes closed, pushed off the bike and announced with a growl, "Finally."

He started to mount the machine, his muscles and quills twitching with eagerness to get started, but Rouge placed a hand on his shoulder. His head snapped aggressively in her direction, and she stared back at him with firmness, daring him to talk back.

"Not so fast, Shads." She said, her ears flicking and the corner of her mouth lifted in a smirk.

"What now, bat." Shadow spat, his eyes narrowed and his hand came up to break her hold on him. He was not happy with all the delays, he felt antsy and wanted to get moving. The sooner they completed this mission, the sooner he could get out of their obnoxious company and do something worthwhile of his time, like training or working on his bike.

"We need to break off in pairs. Going individually is too dangerous and going all together is ineffective."

Shadow stiffened. Oh no… she wasn't going to suggest…

"And I think the best pairs would be Omega and me, and –"

"No." Shadow interrupted with a furious growl. He was not going to even humor the idea of him being stuck with that ditsy, pink, waste of space.

"Shadow… I don't have the patience for your defiance," Rouge replied with a sigh and she folded her arms beneath her bosom, causing the heart shape on her jumper to bulge.

"Why can't you take her?" He countered frustrated, his finger blindly pointing in Amy's direction while his ruby gaze stayed firmly on the bat before him.

"You seemed damn chummy with her just now! Besides you're both… females, so it –"

"Oh?! So you're gonna pull the sexist card on me now?!" Rouge raged, her wings snapping outwards, and her hands moving to her hips as she leaned towards the arrogant hedgehog with anger.

"If you're gonna pull that shit on me, then I'll pull rank! And you better fucking believe that I'll give you a world of pain! Stop acting like a pussy and –"

"Rank?! Pah! You hardly do anything that's worthy of your rank. I am not about to let some green behind the ears, pathetic girl have the chance to ruin my –"

"Could you guys stop talking about me like I'm not even here?!" Amy screamed.

Both Agents flinched at the octave that she'd reached, and they turned with wide eyes to the young Agent standing with bristled quills and fur. Amy was by the table and her fists were stiff at her sides while she glared at them with disgust.

Rouge felt a tiny flicker of guilt spark within her at the other emotion that gleamed just beneath the thin mask of anger in jade eyes. Once more, she could just make out pain and sadness. The bat hated the quick flash of memory at the scene she had witnessed just a few minutes ago between the girl and her old friend. She didn't want to, but she found herself feeling pity for the female who stood with as much fortitude as she could, while crumbling within herself.

"I GET it, okay?! Neither of you want to be saddled with me, so why don't I just go with Omega?"

Said robot had been in sleep mode before now – he always did this when his partners started fighting, as usually they forgot about him anyway, and were never prone to be open to his suggestions. However, when he heard his name called – by the subject of his current 'study' – he came to life and straightened up. His scanners assessed the situation and cataloged the reactions of the organics around him.

Rouge had a stern look on her face, which told him she was trying to enact her authority over the group. Shadow was standing with arms crossed, and eyes narrowed into a death glare, alerting the ex–badnik that he was being defiant as usual. But when he got to Amy, he felt his processing core falter. Her expression was similar to the look she'd had this morning when she'd announce her goal to impress the team, but it was different. Her brows were trembling with effort to remain neutral, and her fangs were sinking into the flesh of her bottom lip, mirroring the clenching of her fists.

He would've come to the conclusion that she was angry, if it wasn't for the salt water he had detected in the smallest corner of her eyes. He didn't know how to categorize the emotion she was portraying, but he knew enough to deduce that she was in need of his assistance. His new directive pinged within him, and he turned to address the group.

"Omega can not foresee any issues with allowing Agent Rose to partner with him. Amy Rose is a capable agent, and would compliment Omega's fire power perfectly. Allowing for effective destruction of enemies."

His monotone voice, and interjection, caused the fire in the air to dampen slightly. Amy felt saved by his validation of her request, and she visibly relaxed, while both senior Agents stared at the robot with raised brows. Omega wasn't one to interject his opinion on the team's plan, unless it involved details on how to incinerate and crush Eggman and his bots. He always had a suggestion when it came to destruction, but they had never heard him have input on the team dynamic or pairings.

Rouge blinked to break her shocked state, and shook her head, allowing a small smile to form as she looked at the robot. He was so innocent sometimes that she felt the need to almost mother him. He didn't understand social constructs, and the complexity of Mobian emotion was like a foreign language to him. She had the same feelings towards the pissy hedgehog next to her, but since Shadow did have the ability to show and feel emotions those moments were few and further between.

"I know you're trying to help big guy, but unfortunately that won't work for this mission."

"Why not?" Amy asked, already feeling the tightness in her stomach returning. She wasn't too happy with idea of going with anyone besides the robot. Both the Mobians before her had proven to be cruel and impatient. So much for an amazing first mission…

"Not that I need to explain this," Rouge said with slight irritation entering her voice, "As your leader, you should all be saying 'yes, miss,' without argument…"

"Yeah… some leader," Shadow scoffed and his lips lifted into a sneer, while Amy flinched at the reminder of her position on the team.

Rouge looked between them and felt a sharp pain begin to form in her temple. These hedgehogs were obnoxious, but it was the perfect set–up for her plan of getting rid of the young girl. She was worried about the small tugs she was getting regarding Amy, and she cursed Chaos that she'd witnessed the earlier scene which had triggered the reaction. She wasn't keen on giving more opportunity to allow those emotions to foster within her, and Omega seemed to not mind the girl. So the only viable option was to pair her with Shadow.

He would have no problem pointing out her faults, and even more deliciously they might throw the whole mission if forced to work together. Amy and Shadow were like water and oil, the perfect recipe for the girl's disaster.

"This type of mission is to be covert. This means no battles with Eggman bots unless absolutely necessary. Shadow and Omega, when they're alone, can not resist giving into any opportunity to fight."

Shadow rolled his eyes, and scoffed once more, but didn't argue. He wouldn't admit it aloud, but the bat was correct. He and Omega had the tendency to get swept up in their aligned agendas of crushing that bulbous man beneath their feet. Great for attack missions… not so much for covert.

"And Amy," Rouge continued, her gaze shifting to the smaller female,

"Can you confidently tell me you'll be able to control and calm Omega's urges to destroy? Whether you like it or not, you haven't known him for long, and wouldn't even know how to begin working effectively with him."

Amy's mouth opened slightly, and her jade eyes sparked with objections, but they were baseless. She slowly lowered her head in acceptance of the bat's words, and her right foot shuffled in the dirt before her. At least she knows when to not argue. The bat thought, secretly wishing the other hedgehog in her rag–tag group would develop the same skill.

"Your silence is answer enough. So, do I hear any more objections? Or can we finally get this mission started?"

Rouge heard a gruff hmph behind her, and she felt a satisfied smirk curl on her muzzle. She recognized that tone, she'd won.

"Good. Now, Omega and I will take the high ground and wait at the top of the cliff to let you know when the best time to enter is, while you two will wait at ground level in the trees for our signal. We'll move through the tower and meet in the middle. Everyone have their hard drives and are clear on the orders?"

She watched as they all nodded their heads – a small 'affirmative' from Omega – and started towards her car, finger pressing the button on her fob. Her car roared to life, engine humming merrily, and as she approached, the roof folded back and the driver side door lifted into the air. The bat enjoyed the pure expression of shock on Amy's face at the display of unnecessary accessories on the vehicle.

"I'll meet you kiddos there, make sure you put your earpieces in, don't want a repeat of Scarlet Beach."

She popped a pair of purple rhinestone sunglasses on her muzzle and ripped out of the parking lot with screeching wheels and booming the latest hip–hop mixes into the quiet and once peaceful village air. She glanced in her rearview as she sped away, grinning as Omega took to the air and left two hedgehogs to stand awkwardly together in an empty parking lot.

Regardless of how things turned out, she would admit it was fun to see the ebony male squirm. And no one did that better then Amy Rose.