'Sympathy'

Rouge the Bat

May 13th, 2006

12:00 p.m.

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"Okay," The white bat agreed, holding her hands up in the air, signaling defeat. The red echidna in front of her listening, arms crossed, eyes suspicious but nothing more. "It's your emerald." She repeated, her aqua eyes settling upon it. The Master Emerald was no longer something she desired, but she still used it, rather, as an excuse.

Knuckles smiled, before lying back down and looking at the clouds. Rouge watched him for a minute, before smiling. "Hey," She coaxed, kicking him lightly. "Move over." She said which made the echidna look up in mild shock. But he did, and watched her as she settled down right beside him, their elbows touching.

"So…" Knuckles trailed off, actually trying to start a conversation, but found he had no words to say. Rouge laughed a bit, listening to him stutter and then fall back in silence again. They stayed in silence for a long time, until Knuckles must have finally figured out words to say. "How's Shadow?" He asked, and she was so surprised she didn't notice the distain in his voice.

Rouge blinked, not knowing how the news of her and Shadow managed to reach him. "Fine." She answered, before smiling shyly. "He's a nice guy." She added, before looking at his reaction.

"The world's full of nice guys," Knuckles shrugged, although he found that her eyes were actually pretty in the sun. "Glad he's one of them." He finished, watching as Rouge huffed angrily, crossing her arms as she turned away from him.

"He's got amazing red eyes." She told him, as if he didn't know. Knuckles looked at her, seriously, before rolling his eyes.

"I've got red fur." He commented, and Rouge pouted. "Doesn't mean it's something to cheer about." He bit off, quite angry about what she was saying. So the guy was smooth, so what? So the guy had red eyes, so what? He noticed she was not facing him, and that she was angry. "What's your problem?" He asked, wincing when he listened to his unintended harsh voice.

"Nothing." Rouge huffed, getting up and already spreading her wings for flight. She didn't watch him, otherwise she would have seen him trying to grab her, before frowning and slumping back, cursing to himself. Instead, she only saw the sky, painted blue, an endless possibility. A way to escape.

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Miles "Tails" Prower

"Oh my God," was the first thing Amy said as she was led to his cell, looking at him through the bars, her eyes were shining with tears. They ran down her face as he ran towards the opening, looking at her desperately. "Oh Tails…" She cried, and as she touched his hand, she brought it to her face, so he caught a couple of her tears in his palm.

"Amy…" He breathed, watching as the guard opened the door. He found himself feeling like he was eight again as he hugged her tight, feeling Amy's shoulders shake. She shook her head, and he could hear the beating of her heart quicken. "Oh Amy…" He bawled, as she held him.

"It's alright." She whispered, but as she said it, tears were falling fast down her face. Did she even know what he'd done? How could she sit there and still love him after what he had done to her best friend? She pet him softly, as he buried his face in her chest. "Everything will be okay," She whispered, God, he felt so warm and safe. "We'll be fine." She assured him, as he looked up, his eyes burning.

"I didn't-" He started, but he had nowhere to begin. He cried harder, trying to make her understand. "I never…" He stopped when he felt her sweet smile, as she took his hand and made him look into her eyes. He then saw why people thought she was so beautiful, because in all, she was. Her amazing eyes looked upon him, half in smile.

"I know." She nodded, and held him tight to her once again. "I know." She repeated, and then looked at the guard, who was holding back tears of his own. She took him by the shoulders as she led him away, and he looked up, barley catching the site of Juliana waving him goodbye, already beginning to reopen her Bible. He looked at her, not understanding. She understood. "I bailed you out Tails." She said, as he wiped his eyes.

He said nothing as other officers stripped away his jail clothes, or even when they inspected him by the nurse, not even when he was excused from prison. Amy escorted him out, and he almost cried all over again when she opened the door and let the sunlight touch his face. He looked at Amy, his eyes bright. "Why would you-?"

She cut him off. "Because I'm your friend, more like a big sister. I love you. Don't you know that by now?" She asked as he smiled, because looking in her eyes, he found it true. Whenever Sonic had been too busy to listen to him, there she was, always willing, always caring. She brought a hand to his cheek, as she wiped away a stray tear. "I know that I'm supposed to be angry," Amy said, but she was smiling sadly. "You killed by best friend, but Tails, oh Tails, none of that matters. What matters is that you're my friend, and no matter what, that's what you'll always be."

Tails was in shock, hardly able to say anything. He watched as she led him forward, her hand tightly holding his. He blinked. "You believe me?" He asked, simply, still not able to get over that one simple fact.

Amy nodded. "I would believe anything you say." She said, because she trusted him so much, that it was the honest truth. If he told her she only had two days to live, she'd start writing a will, if he told her the sky was orange, then she wouldn't even have to look at it. He said it wasn't his fault, and she believed him, because she couldn't do anything else otherwise.

Tails blinked. "I killed her." He said, with his ears flattened. He got into the passenger's seat as Amy got in, her high heels already on the gas before she even started the car. This girl, he thought, must have a need for speed. He watched her smack her bubble gum, already turning up the radio loud, would make Sonic the happiest man in the world. He swallowed. "I did kill her." He said, making sure she understood.

Amy looked back, making sure she was clear to back up. She tapped one painted fingernail on the steering wheel, before reaching for her sunglasses, the smell of her freshener swamped around them. "There's a difference between killing someone," She spoke low, as the radio started to play a song. "And saving them."

Tails watched as she timidly reached a hand for the glove box beside him, and to his surprise, she pulled out an envelope with his name on it. She dropped it in his lap, and he looked at the handwriting, and gaped when he found it was Cream's. He brought it to his face, smelling the instant smell of her skin, and he imagined her bent over on the coffee table of her house, writing his name. He looked at her, and Amy looked away, still chewing her gum. "What's this?" He finally asked, as they exited out of the parking lot, and he looked back at the prison, already missing Juliana.

"The police found it under her pillow, the one you didn't use." She said, as Tails looked at it, the utter understanding that she had already seen this coming. She had predicted every part of this, she had known this was all going to happen. Amy watched his expression as they hit a red light, smoothing out her jean skirt. "Tails," She bit off, she voice quivering, her hands shaking. "I'm sorry it had to be you. For the longest time, I thought I was going to have to do it. Well, actually, I probably wouldn't have done it."

Tails looked up at her. "Why?" He asked, and there was something that passed over her face, a shadow of fury or hatred that left just as quickly as it came. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened, so that her hands were white, and her breath became short.

Amy shook her head, as the light changed, and they were off again. "She asked me so many times to do it. She asked me constantly, until it became a natural subject. I told her I wouldn't, I told her there was no way I could let her go." She stopped, before looking down a bit, just enough to see the road.

"You didn't kill her Tails," She said finally, her eyes steady. "She did that all on her own."

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