Oh we're back! Thank you so much for the INSANE amount of reads! I'm honestly so flattered that I've managed to catch the interest (even for a split-second) of so many people! I don't really know what else to say... Just brace yourselves with this one. Reviews are always appreciated.
She didn't want to get up. She just wanted to avoid today in general. Though the sun rays blinding her through the ever so slight gap between the curtains managed to do quite the opposite. She'd been facing the side and rolled over to see Sonar sleeping with his body turned away from her. Amy raised her head slightly to shade her eyes and read the time. It was 06:23. An early morning of an eventful day. She sighed to herself hopelessly for losing the anxiety she held last night.
She'd drained herself over and over again thinking about the consequences her actions would have. But now she was tired. It's gotten to the point where she just wanted today to be over, so she could focus on whatever chapter life would place before her next. She'd felt this urgency to finish Rouge's chores, make amends with Sally, ask Silver to find another job for her, and start afresh with a clean slate. Anddddd, most importantly, get the rest of her pay from the girls.
Sure, it was a horrible thing to do but she'd agreed to be a part of this, whatever this was, and that was already bad enough. She's already made her decision. Her heart was already breaking as of now, it'd be strong enough to deal with the rest too. She was going to be strong, for herself.
Though she had some morals left in her. She'd write him a note which he'd get after leaving tonight. It'll explain everything; her circumstances, her feelings, why things needed to be left the way they would.
The pink hedgehog reached for her phone which had her e-ticket ready. A flight that'd take her away from this mess and take her back home, booked for tomorrow afternoon. Rouge had told her once today was finalised, she'd make a final excuse to fly out and go home. The excuse being that she needed to drag Reese Elise herself to conclude that Sonar was a legitimate, suitable partner for her. She'd convince the blue hedgehog to wait a day or two until she'd get back... Except she wasn't coming back.
Amy breathed deeply at the thought of leaving the blue hedgehog but clicked the side button of her phone firmly to bring it to the lock screen. She quietly reached for a paper and pen in the second-last drawer and began scribbling away her goodbye letter.
.
Sonar shuffled in his sleep, turning to his side to feel a sudden breeze tease his arms. The goosebumps caused him to quickly tuck them into the blanket before trying to doze off. That attempt failed miserably, as the sun decided to pour rays onto his sensitive eyes, to which he slipped the blanket on his face and groaned.
Upon realising that it was time to get up, he noticed the other half of the bed empty. He got up swiftly and yawned before exploring to see just where Amy was.
"Shoot!" He heard her curse which was followed by a large bash.
He creeped around carefully and leaned against the kitchen wall. There she was, with her gloves on, brushing the broken plate pieces from the tiles in proximity with the sink with a broom. He turned his head to see smoke coming from the stove, which was getting more and more thick...
It took him a second to realise what exactly was going on as alarm bells started to go off in his mind.
"Ames, the gas!" He alerted before dashing over and twisting the stove handle to turn it off. He coughed violently at the very black scrambled eggs in the pan. Not edible... noted.
He shunned his hand back and forth to clear the smoke formed in the kitchen but jumped as the smoke alarm started to go off, deafening him partially. He turned to Amy, who froze blankly in spot and blinked repeated, slightly traumatised by what happened. She was clearly upset about the mess that had occurred in the last 70 seconds or so.
Sonar dashed around the apartment, opening every window to its maximum capacity, which allowed the alarms to rest after a while of wailing and made his way back to the kitchen. He saw Amy sigh to herself helplessly as she blew on the one strand of hair out of place, annoying her.
"That's one way to get the morning started." He commented casually causing the pink hedgehog to frown.
"It's all gone wrong. Did I wake you up? – I did, didn't I? – Oh gosh… I'm sorry." She apologised as she scraped the very stuck eggs off the pan and into the bin.
Sonar shook his head and gave her a small smile. "No, you didn't." He moved closer to where she was standing by the sink. "What exactly were you doing?" He raised an eyebrow at her.
She propped the pan into the sink and turn to him, beads of sweat visible on her forehead. "I was trying to make us breakfast... and I was trying to do the dishes at the same time until a plate slipped. I went to pick up the pieces of glass but... well, you know the rest." She shrugged her shoulders as she went off at a tangent.
"Hey, it's the thought that counts right? Let's try again and do this the proper way." He gripped her shoulders lightly which caused her to smile. "Yeah, I'd like that."
.
"You're so much of a better cook than I am. I mean... I can cook, but average. What's your secret?" Amy keenly asked as she chewed on the omelette Sonar made.
The blue hedgehog patted his mouth clean before speaking, and scooted towards her on the couch.
"I literally just made an omelette, it wasn't too hard." He gave a wry laugh which Amy disproved of. She slapped his arm away as he tried to get closer.
"No... I'm being serious. The pizza last night was amazing too, and I know it's homemade because of my impeccable skills. So, tell me... what's your secret?" She asked again.
He took a moment to process her compliments before leaning close to her ear. "The secret is..." he whispered which caused Amy to bring her ear closer to his.
"To practise. Practise makes perfect." He shrugged off casually, causing Amy to smack his leg, to which he let out a groan. He tried to smack her hand away but missed. "I'm not kidding, and you seriously need to learn to not be violent." He teased at the end causing Amy to give him a displeased look.
"Idiot." She finished as she playfully slapped his leg once again.
The pink hedgehog heard a ping go off on her phone. She instantly turned to grab her device and opened the most recent notification. Upon viewing, her mouth was left open in awe which Sonar noticed.
"Oh Chaos..." She whispered in excitement.
The blue hedgehog tapped her shoulder which led Amy to bring her phone forward. As his eyes trailed down to see what she was so fixated on, his own eyes dilated into the image.
"This land... It's perfect." She grabbed his hand and brought it to her lips.
It was quite the something indeed. A large, developed area full of trees and bushes on one end, the other with a large water fountain, all with a marked marble floor and a marketplace in direct viewing distance. It was perfect for them to uphold a discreet, high-standard boutique but enough to hold interest of common people that'd make their daily visits to the market. Not to mention if they were to build their boutique as a modernised infrastructure, it was bound to stand out even more.
"I think your agent might be onto something here." Sonar smiled as he scrolled through the images some more.
"We have to see this today. If someone else sees this, then it'll be gone. This is exactly what I envisioned for our boutique... We're so close to making this the real deal!" She clapped her hands together in excitement until she saw her blue partner stuck in thought.
"Are you okay?" She asked him, slightly worried by his lack of enthusiasm in finding what they'd been on the search for.
He folded his hands loosely and leaned forward. "I-I don't know. Look.. If this is the land we want — the real deal." He corrected himself before continuing. "Does that mean I have to pay for it today?" He asked carefully.
Amy started at him for a moment. He didn't look so sure about this whole thing. She needed to assure him everything was fine. "Sonar, you will... If you don't, then this opportunity will be gone, and we'll be back on square one." She gave a confused laugh.
She heard him let out a 'hmm' which barely give her confidence. To confirm, she asked again. "So, it's okay if I book an appointment with the landlord today so we could view it in person?"
The blue hedgehog shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah sure, whatever you think is right." He came off slightly cold which bothered Amy.
She decided to ignore his behaviour and assumed it to be a mood-swing; like the time he'd got defensive with her about Silver. She patted his shoulder twice as she grabbed her phone from his clutches. "Right so... Get the money ready, in case we do finalise everything, and I'll book a viewing now. Dad's going to be so pleased with you once the land is sorted." She kissed his cheek at the end before walking away.
She quickly dialled a number on the keypad and eagerly waited for the opposite end to answer.
"Amy! All good?" She heard Tails greet her from the other end.
"Hi, I'd like to book a viewing for the land you just sent me." She replied, cautious that Sonar was only a few steps away from her.
"So he's in? That's great news Amy!" The fox cheered which caused the pink hedgehog to smile.
"Can I arrange one for today please? The other days you've mentioned don't suit me." She carried her act forward.
"Oh, we're still going on with this? Yeah... *coughs* I could arrange a viewing for you at 13:00 today, would that be okay?" He tried his best to imitate a serious voice which almost had Amy laugh out loud but was stopped by placing her hand on her mouth.
"Yes, that's fine. Thank you. Make sure all the paperwork is ready." She reminded him.
"Yeah... that's all sorted. Okay, talk to you soon."
"Bye." She hung up and made her way back to Sonar, who was still glued to the couch. She kneeled down and placed her head in his lap as she gripped to his hands. This caused the blue hedgehog to wake from his thoughts as he turned to face her jade green eyes.
"Heyy," he said with a sad smile.
She played with his fingers as she raised her concerns to him. "Sonar, you're not okay. What's going on? We're a team y'know. You can tell me anything."
He sighed after hearing her comment and squeezed his eyes for a second. "Okay... I've not been honest. I still don't want to pay — my gut's just telling me this isn't right." He saw Amy open her mouth to speak but he rushed to carry his point on.
"A-and I know this is what your dad wants. I know... I-It's just something's telling me not to do this and I don't know why." He inhaled deeply after confessing causing his chest to rise.
"Heyyy..." She whispered causing him to focus back onto her. "Let's just go see the land, and we'll discuss this there. I mean, I'm not even sure if we'll even get down to finalising it. All I'm asking is for you to go there and be with me, as my partner. If we think it's the one then we'll see what to do there and then okay? Don't think about it too much." She rubbed his cheek causing him to give her a weak smile.
"Yeah, I shouldn't overthink this...We'll see what needs to be done then, together." He smiled more openly now.
.
"So, Miss Elise... What do you think?" Asked a rather short koala, who was quite round with a bit of a tummy, not that she was judging him.
Amy turned around to take in the view once again, satisfied that it was identical to the images Tails had sent her. There were no problems, everything about this land was perfect.
"It's amazing! The best one I've seen so far, perfect for my business intentions." She complimented before turning to the blue hedgehog. "Sonar, what do you think?"
The blue hedgehog took a moment to analyse the land piece by piece, wandering off to the side slightly, and when completely sure he liked it, went back to speak to Amy. "It fits our brief perfectly." He grinned.
The koala had a mischievous smile on his face. On hearing Sonar was also pleased with the sight, he decided to add a small detail to aid Amy. "I see... Well, if you have no other questions I need to attend to other clients arriving shortly. Please leave any offers with my assistant and we'll talk over the phone."
Tails had already told Amy that this landlord was quite fussy and hard to work with. She could tell he was greedy, asking for half the amount they were going to retrieve was something Rouge should have never agreed to, but she was desperate. Hiring this shady businessman to help was something she was already sick of.
As he walked away from the two, Amy turned to Sonar ready to plead. "Sonar, we have to get this land! I can't risk having competition and giving offers we're not capable of, please, let's finalise this now."
The blue hedgehog sighed. He understood her intentions and why she was so desperate to make this land hers, but he couldn't shake this feeling off that something was wrong. Part of him wanted to help her, but the reasonable part of him knew paying the full amount was unjust.
"Look, Ames, I know you want this land. Heck, I'm so blown away by this land I want it too. It's just really costly, and paying for full without knowing if your dad will stick by his word of approving me is a huge risk." He paused as he saw an emotion he never wanted to see in her eyes; disappointment.
He huffed to himself again as he continued. "I-I don't know if I can do this. If Reese decides to shun me out after all this, I won't have much to support me. It's a huge risk Amy! One I'm not sure I can take."
The pink hedgehog turned back to see the koala barely in their view and turned to face Sonar with frightened eyes. Alarm bells were going off in her head. If this deal wasn't going to be finalised then the whole plan would be in ruins. She needed to convince him to continue through, even though his doubts were completely justified. He was right, her imaginary dad could step back and pretend he never existed. He could use his money to buy her land and throw him out of her life; that's if he existed.
She grabbed his hand carefully as her eyes began to water slightly, all from the fright that this was going to go downhill when she needed it to go right. The stress of it all was getting to her. "Sonar, look at me." She brought his chin up so he could stare into her eyes. "I won't force you to do anything you're not comfortable with, okay?" She reminded him to which he nodded like a child.
She sniffled slightly as the wind started picking up. "I'll pay for my percent straight afterwards, okay? Just please hand them the full amount right now so we can prove to my dad that I have the land in my name."
She turned to check the date on her phone; it was the 1st. A shockingly intelligent counter-move formed in her mind.
She looked up to him as she improvised with an idea she had just gained. "Today's the 1st… My money will come through in two days, and as per our contract, I need to invest. So how about instead of investing, I pay you back my percentage?"
He remained silent, which bothered the pink hedgehog, and Amy knew she needed to hit him with something deep, fast.
"I didn't tell you this but... Reese said if I don't get my land bought by the third he'd be forced to bring me home. We have to buy this land so I can stay!" She narrowed her eyebrows in hopes he would agree.
To solidify the deal further she spoke again, again not giving him a chance to review her offer. "And to add to that, I'll book a flight for tomorrow to talk to Dad and make sure for certain he doesn't take back his approval. I'll convince him about you…"
She saw him stare at the ground for what felt like forever before grabbing her hands and rubbing her knuckles and pulling her in for a hug. "I think that sounds like a fair deal to me." He said before squeezing her tighter. "We'll have no problems with our relationship then, no Reese Elise to disapprove of me and no sending you back. Just you and me."
"So, can I go ask him to get the paperwork ready?" She whispered which caused the blue hedgehog to grunt for her ruining the moment and remove himself from her. "...Yeah, go on then." He smiled which caused Amy to jump up and down.
To interrupt the joyful moment, the blue hedgehog's phone began to go off. He turned to the pink hedgehog who now stood in place and looked down at his device. "Ames, I need to take this. Go finalise everything, I'll be there shortly." He held her shoulder firmly and let go before walking off at a distance.
.
"No, I appreciate you calling me about this. No, it's not your fault. I'll look into this further. Thank you. Okay, take care." The blue hedgehog hung up before kicking the rocks underneath his shoes in anger.
"Are you okay?" He looked up confused to see who he had attracted to come talk to him. With no one being in front of him, he turned behind to see a familiar looking hedgehog.
"Oh you're Damon's aunt right?" He fully turned around and brought himself closer to the lady. She merely nodded and smiled before answering. "Yes, I am. It's good to be recognised... But that doesn't answer my question dear... Are you okay?"
Sonar raised an eyebrow as to why she cared so much but decided she was only trying to be nice. "Um yes... No? - I don't really know to be honest." He shrugged his shoulders.
Mrs Bailey folded her hands upon his response and gave a dry laugh. "We never exactly know how we are. Your answer is perfectly normal. You're in a confused state of mind – and that's perfectly okay. Any who... Why are you here? The market is just down there by the way." She guided him to which he shook his head.
"Um, yeah… I know that." He laughed. "I'm here to purchase this land for the boutique." He wasn't entirely sure why he was disclosing private details to this lady, probably to feel validated, not that it was making him feel remotely close to validated. He was just blurting everything at this point.
"I see... and that Arie, where is she?" She asked uncomfortably, as if mentioning the pink hedgehog was a curse.
"You mean Amy? She's inside getting the paperwork done..." He corrected her. The two stood there awkwardly for a minute and to remove the tension in the air, he felt the need to ask a question. "I'm sorry, what exactly are you doing here?" He asked, now curious as to why she felt like interrogating him.
Sonar could tell he'd surprised Mrs Bailey with his sudden boldness, though after a weak moment, she replied back. "I'm actually interested in this land myself, I didn't realise that it was up for sale until you told me. Remind me again, how much are you paying for this?" She stared into his eyes, making him slightly uncomfortable.
The blue hedgehog cleared his throat and decided to shush this lady down once and for all. "218K."
Mrs Bailey raised her eyebrows in shock and fixed her glasses to stop her eyes from bulging out. He noticed this and felt the need to question her reaction. "What?"
"I'm sorry, it's just, the market value is 150,000 rings and you're paying A LOT more. I'd understand if you were to give an offer higher by a few thousands, but..." She paused as she realised it wasn't her position to judge. "What I'm saying is… Your offer is very bold Mr Hedgehog." She cleared.
She took his silence as an opportunity to sneak in a snide comment. "Look I don't know about you, but I wouldn't trust that Amy one bit. She looks like a bit of a scammer to me." Mrs Bailey scrunched her face in disgust but recovered from it. "Anyway, it's not my place to comment on an offer. You carry along. Bye now!" She waved to him and made her way towards the marketplace.
'What just happened?' he thought to himself, confused now more than ever. 'This lady is messing with my head, nothing else, don't overthink it Hedgehog, don't overthink it.' He tried to rationalise.
.
"Ahhh brilliant! Mr The Hedgehog is here, ready to sign the papers!" The koala cheered whereas Amy just smiled at Sonar.
"Do you have the cash ready?" She sweetly asked Sonar who had walked in empty-handed.
"Um yeah, I've kept it in the car. I'll get it in once I've signed the documents." He cleared, his attention still being elsewhere which she sensed right away.
He turned to the koala and took a seat next to Amy. He tucked his chair in and was taken aback with the document already placed in front of him. He noticed the koala was eager for him to sign, judging by the way he was leaning out of his chair.
Sonar placed his hand on the piece of paper, which caused the koala to sit back into his seat, fixing his suit. "Excuse me Mister, I have a question for you."
The koala smiled brightly and folded his hands. "Yes, of course. Ask ahead."
"When did you put this land up for sale?" He asked in a dark tone which left Amy a little on edge. She noticed the koala had his mouth open to speak, but hadn't managed to give an answer. The pink hedgehog knew she needed to take control.
"Sonar my agent told me they put it up this mor-" The pink hedgehog tried to talk only to be cut off with Sonar raising a finger at her.
"This question is for him."
The koala fiddled with his tie, uncomfortable with the strange tone the blue hedgehog had undertaken just now. "Yes, I put it up this morning. Sorry, are there any concerns?" He asked a little softer.
"Mhm just asking." He shrugged his shoulders carelessly which confused Amy. He was not the type to not care, yet right now he was behaving quite bratty. She tugged his arm to pull her towards him and whispered in his ear. "Is something going on? Why are you behaving like this? Don't give the landlord tantrums Sonar!"
Sonar placed his hand on Amy to reassure her he hadn't gone rogue. He then pulled himself away from her and folded his hands, his elbows now resting against the wooden desk on top of the document. "And the market value... What is it currently?" He raised an eyebrow which made the koala shift in his seat.
"Mr Hedgehog, you are one funny person." He nervously laughed. "The market value is what's written in front of you. 218,000 rings. Not one ring up or less."
"...I see." He sarcastically nodded his head in approval.
Amy yanked his arm again, now angry with his unprofessional mannerism. What was going on with him? She felt confident that she knew him exactly, though at moments like this, he was a stranger to her. She groaned to herself as she felt the need to take control again.
"Look I don't know what's going on with you but we're here to finalise a deal." She explained but was appalled with Sonar rolling his eyes at her. To him, she just wasn't understanding what he was implying.
The pink hedgehog turned to the koala with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. He can... be like that sometimes. Let me sign to confirm the papers are going to be in my name." She dragged the document and clicked the pen to leave a neat signature beside her name. She then passed the paper back to her partner and placed the pen on top of it.
"Now your turn Sonar." She nodded at him as he stared into nothingness.
He swiftly turned to her with a blunt response. "I'm not signing this." He got up from his chair which left Amy panicked. She instantaneously got up and stopped him from leaving by grabbing his shoulders.
"Sonar, I thought we had a deal. If you're still worried about paying in full then that's not a problem anymore. I'm paying back my percentage, remember?" She tried to reason with him.
"It's not that Ames. This guy is playing us right now! The market value is 150,000! He's charging us 218K?! How do you expect me to pay more than the market value?!" He bitterly expressed to the koala who didn't have anything left to say.
"Sonar! Enough is enough! I tolerated your behaviour up until now, but I can't take this anymore!" Amy backed away in disgust.
He moved forward a few steps closer to Amy. "It's true! This guy is scamming the hell out of us! We'll find another place for our boutique, we've got two days left. I'm not letting us get played by this scumbag, come on, let's go!" He demanded as he made his way towards the door but paused to see the pink hedgehog still standing there.
"Amy?" He called to her in confusion.
"You know what this sounds like?" She stopped as she finally let tears escape her eyes.
"It sounds like you're blowing this Koala off as a thief when the real issue is you're not willing to pay! If you couldn't handle it Sonar, you should've just let me know! If you walk away from this now, dad won't be happy. He won't let me stay here Sonar! It'll be over between us!" She raised her voice as she wiped the streams of tears from her puffy cheeks.
He stomped towards her, hurt by her accusation. "That's not what this is about! I'm willing to pay Ames, just not above the market rate! I'll talk to Reese for you. He'll appreciate my good sense of skill. I protected you from a scam dammit!" He tried to reason and shook her by the arms.
"Are you buying the land or not Sonar?" Amy asked again, looking down at her shoes whilst he still gripped her arms.
He paused and desperately looked into her eyes. She wouldn't reason with him, no matter how much he tried, she wouldn't get it. All he knew now was, he couldn't do himself wrong. Not for the sake of someone else.
"... No, I'm not."
She released herself from his grip and sniffled. "Then it's over between us. I'm leaving. Don't come back." She stood her ground and ran out the door leaving the blue hedgehog to ball his fists together and punch the wall repeatedly in anger.
He turned to face the koala, who'd backed himself into a corner full of fear, and slammed his hand against the desk.
"This all happened because of YOU! You're lying about your market rate! Why didn't you tell her the truth!" He raged further.
"...Sir, the market rate is what I've stated on the document..." He gulped slightly but resumed. "Whether you believe it or not is your problem. What I've stated is true." He stuck to his character.
He couldn't take his persistence anymore. Enough was enough. "You and I both know that your asking price is ridiculous. You, repeating it to me, or anyone else won't make it true. I'll be investigating this... so be vigilant. This. Isn't. Over." He warned, his pupils dilating as he stared into the koala's eyes before walking out and violently slamming the door behind him.
.
"So, he didn't sign the papers? Or hand over the cash?" Rouge gave an unimpressed look towards Amy and shook her head in disbelief.
"No, he didn't... The weird thing was that he seemed okay when I offered him I'll pay my percentage back, but when I went to double-check the papers and he came back from his phone call, he got all worked-up."
Sally kept a straight face and tapped her foot against the floor. "You had one task Amy. ONE TASK! But you've managed to mess that up too!" She displayed her anger through her harsh tone which triggered the pink hedgehog.
She brought her palms together to point at the chipmunk. "Are you being serious right now? You can't pin this on ME! He was hesitant since this morning, and I TALKED to him. I made sure this plan was going to work ou-"
"But it didn't, did it?" Sally interrupted. "To think I'd celebrate today for getting all my money recovered, yet here I am, without a single ring. Hiring you was a mistake!" She blurted.
Amy was hurt by her words and the bat just scoffed at their bickering. The pink hedgehog wasn't going to sit back this time! She would give her an earful. "I did this FOR YOU SALLY! Okay? So that you'd realise I wasn't trying to make fun of you, or hurt your feelings like you thought I was. I was trying to make things up to you! You can say all you want but it's me that has to face him on a daily basis. That Hedgehog is unpredictable! I can't control his behaviour! Sitting on the side-lines and complaining is really easy when I'M the one that's getting the real work done."
"ENOUGH!" Rouge screamed which startled both the girls. She breathed out deeply before trying to start a civil conversation.
She turned to Sally to reason with her first. "Look, Amy's not the bad guy here. She's one of us! I can tell she's trying to make things right with you, but you just won't budge. Don't be like that Sally, don't hold a grudge that you might regret. This girl has been putting herself at risk for who? You! So, open your eyes and see that what she's doing for you, no one else in the world would do."
The bat turned to Amy. "And you. You've made mistakes too. You've messed up and made changes to the plan that weren't there originally! Going about and kissing our target was not on the schedule, but here we are... Heck, arranging a conference was not part of plan either but I let you go ahead with it, because I trust your judgement. Not to mention the whole 'acting like you're in love' thing was completely last minute and NOT on the original plan. Either way, we've all made mistakes in this heist, but we need to find a way to make it right, TOGETHER."
Upon hearing this mini-lecture from Rouge, the two friends stared blankly at one another.
Rouge was right, they'd spent too much time fighting one another, that they'd disregarded the original mission. They were a team against a mutual target. Turning against each other for that silly Hedgehog was insane. Sally and Amy exchanged glances at each other with hints of smiles, they needed to grow up and take accountability. The bat gave a light chuckle as she saw this. "Go on you two, go make up." She nodded at the pink hedgehog to give the chipmunk a hug, which she did reluctantly.
"I'm sorry Sal." She apologised which caused the chipmunk to squeeze her tighter in their embrace.
"It's okay Amy. I may have over-reacted slightly." She laughed silently causing the pink hedgehog to smile.
"Good. Now... Amy called us to her luxurious hotel room to figure out our next move. Remind me again, what happened?" Rouge asked the pink hedgehog.
She took a seat on her couch and huffed as the events of this afternoon flashed in front of her. "He didn't want to pay. He was saying something about this being a huge risk for him? That if 'Reese' weren't to accept him then it'd waste his cash." She paused before continuing.
"And then I told him I'd pay my 51% back so it'd be fair... And that I'd fly over to speak with him in person... And he agreed. He went to answer a phone call and I was double checking everything in the office to make sure the documents didn't look suspicious... Then he comes in all angry saying the market value is 150,000 rings and he won't pay any more than the true amount?" Whilst revealing this, Amy herself was confused at his sudden change in behaviour.
Sally continued from the pink hedgehog's trail. "And I'm assuming when you threw the whole 'please buy the land, or my dad will send me back home' card, he didn't agree?"
Amy nodded her head at the chipmunk's assumption. "You're right. When I begged him to buy it for the sake of us being together he didn't budge."
Rouge tapped her chin in thought. "The question is why? Who tipped him off about the market value?"
Sally brought both hands to her forehead and groaned. "Rouge, the koala! I knew he wasn't trust-worthy. He must've gone rogue and told Sonar."
Amy shook her head. "No. It wasn't him. The only time him and Sonar talked was in front of me. After that he took his phone call, and I went to the landlord's office. He couldn't possibly have met with him after that. This isn't him, it's someone else."
"Then the phone call. Whoever was on the phone tipped him off, but who? Do you think someone we know told him?" Sally questioned further.
Rouge closed her eyes and she paced back and forth. "No, no. If they went to the lengths of tipping him off about the market value, then why not tell him that we're behind it all? That we're conning him." She paused as she saw her friends fixated on her.
"This isn't anyone from our circle. Tails and Silver are safe. It's someone from the outside. Our cover hasn't been blown fully. He only thinks the landlord is at fault. There's no suspicion on Amy." The bat concluded.
She scratched her head and held her hand out. "Look... Let's not focus too much on who tipped him off. The question is, what do we do next? How do we go about this in a smart way so that we don't blow this whole thing?"
Amy got up from her seat which caused the bat to stare at her in confusion. "Rouge... I may have spoilt the plan... I told Sonar to not come back here again, ever." She held a straight face which caused the bat to hit her palm against the wall and Sally to sink her face into her arms.
"Funny that because I'm already here!"
As if everything were happening in slow motion, the three girls turned to face the exact person they'd been talking about. Sonar. He slouched against the door with his arms folded, his right hand holding the same documents from earlier that afternoon.
Amy turned to Sally with frightened eyes, who looked to Rouge for help. The bat was frozen in place as the blue hedgehog moved forward to pour himself a glass of water. The pink hedgehog took initiative and questioned why he was back here.
"I thought I told you to not come back here." She sternly said which amused the blue hedgehog. He eyed Sally and then Rouge before taking a sip out of his glass.
"Oh, and miss out on this? Are you out of your mind? You've been keeping me from the real party."
Amy's defence system started to kick in. The situation was the worst it could possibly be. There was no way she could explain herself. But what harm would an attempt cause? "Look... This isn't what it looks like. How long have you been standing there?" She questioned him cautiously.
He moved closer to Amy and looked down on her. She was uncomfortable with his gaze fixated on her and looked at his chest. The blue hedgehog tucked a stray hair away causing her to shiver against his cold touch. "Oh since five minutes ago. You really should've locked the door." He moved back from her.
He gave a cynical laugh. "It's funny. I was coming back to sign these stupid papers... But here you were discussing who tipped me off and your 'next move'." He took another sip out of the glass and tapped it down against the wooden table. The girls stared at him, on edge of what he was going to do next.
"I thought I'd put everything aside. I'd pay the ridiculous amount that dude was asking... if it meant you could stay here with me."
He continued after a pause. "It's a good thing I found out you're completely lying to my face and working with them! I saved some cash in the process. Good for me!" He sarcastically remarked, hurt being the visible emotion leaking from him.
He faced Rouge to speak to her next. "You're a real genius, you know? Never in a million years did I think someone could con me back? I'm good at what I do. Yet you hired the perfect candidate." He paused as he scanned Amy from head to toe.
"Ohh, and for the sake of solving the mystery. Mrs Bailey told me about the market value. Apparently she was interested in this land too." He shrugged his shoulders.
"You were the mastermind behind all this, right? Good on you. I always knew you were intelligent, but not intelligent enough to understand the statue I supplied you was a fake." He pointed to Rouge to bruise her further.
Rouge had enough of the blue hedgehog's snide comments. It was time to put him in his place. She'd waited a LONG time to give him an earful. "Listen you!" She raised a finger at him which caused him to smirk at her in a childish manner.
"You douche, you think you can STEAL for me and get away with it? I played you at your own game. And I was about to win too until you brought your sorry-self back here!" She groaned. "No one messes with ME and gets away with it, you hear me!"
All this anger displacing off one another impacted Sally too. This hedgehog had shattered her heart to a million pieces, all while stealing her money. She needed to get back at him too, now that she had the opportunity.
She made her way towards him slowly before gripping at his shirt. "You broke me completely! You're absolutely disgusting." She let go of him and shoved him back causing him to stumble.
"I gave you my ALL! We were going to get MARRIED! Do you know how long I waited for you? Do you know how much I stuck up for you even though everyone spoke bad about you?" the chipmunk paused for breath.
"THEY TOLD ME YOU CHEATED ME AND WEREN'T COMING BACK! But I told them no, I told them you'd be back for me, and our wedding would prove it." She wiped her tears. She gripped at his shirt again, her closeness causing the blue hedgehog to lean his head back from her.
"We played your sick game. Now you know how it feels when someone you think you know well betrays you. And that, is a sweet revenge." She patted his shoulder and gave a crooked smile as she let go of him once more. Sally had managed to wipe the smile off the blue hedgehog's face, who now stood blankly.
Rouge took the opportunity to slice him further. "You were foolish. You took our bait straight away... We knew you'd be out there trying to find another victim. So we placed Amy in front of you. Doesn't feel so good now, does it?" Rouge cackled as he furrowed his eyebrows.
Sonar looked up at Amy who had been silent this whole time. She looked devastated as she stared back at him. He huffed to himself before speaking.
"I'll admit my intention at first was to con Amy, like with anyone else. I was planning on taking your money on the 3rd and leaving. But... it all changed the night of the party." He paused as he saw her eyes glint at his statement.
"When I saw your eyes full of tears, something in me changed... I knew then and there that I never want to see you hurt. It sounds really corny, but it's true. My initial reaction was the need to protect you." He spoke softly, directing his words to the pink hedgehog.
"The kiss we had confirmed it all for me. I knew I didn't want to wreck things with you. I told myself I was going to be a good business partner to you and put my scamming days behind me." He confessed which caused the pink hedgehog to look at him in awe.
"Most importantly... I was coming back today to tell you that I love you. And that I'd do anything to keep you near me." He smiled before scrunching his face. "But it was all a lie — None of this was real. And you want to know what the worst thing is? I... didn't even suspect a thing." He shook his head in denial.
"I can say to you that everything I've done for you and told you, came from a good place. I meant every word I told you. You did something to me which changed me — and now I'm heartbroken..." His eyes watered.
"For the first time in years, I actually saw myself go down a good path with someone I actually cared about. I thought I'd made a companion for life, that'd I'd be able to keep you by my side and we'd tackle the world together. But karma got me good. It made me fall in love with someone who doesn't even care about my feelings. She was only after me for my money. AND GOSH IT HURTS... IT HURTS A LOT!" He winced as he realised he had been played brutally.
"THIS WAS ALL ABOUT YOUR MONEY, WASN'T IT? This whole plan was just so you could get your money back? I can't deal with this anymore! I've lost! I'll admit it, I've lost! I'm a mess right now, and I don't know what to do!" He admitted as he cried.
He breathed to calm himself down. "I'm going to put an end to this right now. I'll pay you back personally! Will that make you happy, huh? I'll give back what I took from you. Enough with the games. How much do I owe you?" He bitterly expressed, now wanting to put this behind him.
"109,000 rings." Rouge dropped which caused the blue hedgehog to pause for a second. He knew he needed to give it back, to end this cat and mouse game once and for all. He stared at the bat once more, who held herself straight and sucked her cheek slightly.
This woman wasn't going to stop until she got back everything he'd once taken for her. She would go up and beyond to get back at him. If she could go to lengths to hire and present Amy in front of him, he was terrified of what step she'd take next. He didn't want to push her limits anymore, which was something the old him wouldn't mind doing. He was a changed person, and he was going to do the right thing.
And so, he nodded. "Okay, I'll bring the money tomorrow here at 11:00."
He turned to Amy disappointed. He'd grown as a person, because of her. Yet she was the one that went against everything she'd taught him. A ridiculous contradiction, though sadly the reality of things. But it reminded him that they were miles apart as people, and she didn't deserve an ounce of his feelings. Feeling bitter to the core, he wanted to rage and tell her how much she'd hurt him yet he only formed a single statement as he looked into her eyes.
"I never want to see your face again." He whispered before storming out of the door.
That last sentence broke Amy completely, she whimpered uncontrollably and allowed a single teardrop to escape her mirror eyes. It was as if someone repeatedly bashed a hammer against her heart. She was bruised repeatedly throughout this journey, yet she was injured the most by his words. So much hurt in a whisper. So much hurt she'd given him.
She never focused on his words, just his tone.
It took her a moment to process what he'd just said. He never wanted to see her again, is what he said, and that shattered her even more. He was hurt, confused. He hated her, there were no two ways about it. But she couldn't bear the thought of him hurt because of her. She couldn't live with the fact that she was the one responsible for his hurting. He admitted to caring for her, he loved her, and she'd messed it up.
She needed to go after him.
A newfound energy formed as she felt the need to catch up to him. This was her last shot at finally explaining herself, honestly this time, and make things right. With that thought occupying her conscious, the urge to run after him became stronger. Her body had frozen up until now, but with a direct cue from her brain, it buzzed as she sprinted after him.
"Amy...!" Rouge called to her as she dashed outside.
" Amy!" She called again, again not having any luck.
"Gosh, the audacity..." Rouge commented to Sally. She turned to the chipmunk and took a seat beside her. The bag hugged her knees whilst the chipmunk leaned her head back.
"At least we're getting what we wanted." Rouge called to chipmunk, who was deep in thought. Realising, she was too zoned into whatever she was thinking and paying zero attention to her, she sighed.
"He really likes her. A lot." Sally realised as she turned to the bat, who rolled her eyes before getting up to make herself a coffee. Today had been a tough day and for all she cared, Sally was muttering nonsense.
"Whatever Sal." She brushed off, not giving a second thought about that blue rat's emotions.
But the most important to her was the fact that she'd successfully fooled that hedgehog. She's left him vulnerable enough to understand what she felt like as the victim of his crimes. She'd given him a taste of his own bitter medicine. Heck, he admitted to obliviously trying to trap Amy to play his same old game, except this time he failed miserably.
And that, to her, was her win. Getting the money back was just an added bonus...
A/N: Okay so were any of you expecting this? If you had other thoughts as to how this would've play out, I'd be interested in hearing. The final chapter is up next, and I might do an epilogue to wrap everything up, if I'm motivated. It's been an AMAZING journey, especially with this being my first fic, and it wouldn't be possible without you guys, THANK YOU!