Hey everybody! I'm back with an all-new chapter for you. Yet another all-nighter; seriously it's 6:30 A.M. right now and I haven't gone to bed yet. That has been happening quite a lot lately. But who cares about that! Please enjoy and don't forget to leave a review if you'd be so kind! Here y'all are!

Chapter Ten: Discovering Me

I nervously walked into the clinic and made my way to the front desk where a secretary tapped away at her computer. It was the afternoon of my appointment with Sonic's psychologist friend.

"I have an appointment with um- I can't remember her name. It's for-"

"Amy?"

I heard someone call me from the left. I turned my head and was staring at a white bat in a black blouse and skirt. She was smiling widely in my direction and I guessed that she was the one I had my appointment with.

"It's alright, she's my next client," she called to the secretary. "I'm Rouge; we'll be sitting in my office for your consultation so you can just come right in."

She gestured to the open door behind her. I walked towards her and she closed the door behind her once we were both inside. I took a seat on the sofa and shuffled my hands unsurely. She took a seat on the chair opposite me and crossed her legs then grabbed a clipboard off her desk.

"So, Amy, what did you want to talk about today?"

"Well I didn't have anything in mind. Sonic's the one who suggested I come here but I'm not really sure about how this works."

"Well, how about you start off by telling me something that's troubling you or whatever's on your mind."

"Like what? My past or my feelings... It's really complicated inside."

"And I'm here to help you sort out the things in your head to help you understand it all more clearly and to help you find the answers yourself; the ones you already know that are just hidden in places we don't think to look. So just say anything you want."

"Okay. Um, well when I was six years old, I was abducted by a man who to this day, I don't know his name. He kept me a prisoner for ten years along with four other girls..."

I told her everything. It all just spilled out of my mouth like a waterfall. I had never told anybody the entire story in detail in one shot. By the time I neared the end, my eyes had started to water. I didn't want to ever talk about it that much ever again.

"... I don't know why I just got so angry at everybody there. It seemed as if they didn't consider me at all; like because they had showed up I was supposed to act as if nothing had happened and be all polite. I couldn't hold it in any longer. I tried *hic* putting on a false attitude but that didn't help at all, so when I left, I just let it all come out *sniffle*."

Rouge handed a tissue which I accepted, wiping my eyes and nose.

"Amy this is all really good that you're letting all this out. You are such a brave girl for going through all that and still being able to stay strong up until now."

"... I guess so."

"Really, you need to understand that. It's inhuman to not feel emotions and especially if you keep them to yourself, it's always so tough."

I started to calm down a bit after I finished; letting the sobs subside so I could speak clearly.

"I don't know how to act normal about the whole thing. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about escaping; am I supposed to feel happy when I know others are suffering? All I can feel is guilt and I don't know how to get rid of that feeling."

"Amy, there is no normal way to respond to a situation like this. Everybody is different and react differently to certain things. As for the feeling of guilt, have you ever thought about trying to think about what an amazing thing it is that you were able to get out and actually have a chance to save them? I'm sure the police are doing everything in their power to find the girls. You'll see them soon."

"I really hope so. I feel like I haven't done enough to help them; more like I abandoned them."

"You didn't abandon them Amy. If you hadn't escaped, one of them would have had to in order for you to be found. Try thinking about it in a more positive aspect. I like to call it turning caterpillars into butterflies."

"What do you mean 'caterpillars to butterflies'?"

"The negative feeling are the caterpillars and the positive ones are the butterflies. Let's try it, okay?"

She reached over to her desk and grabbed some blank papers and a pen. She pulled up little table and placed down the papers. She then started making a table with the words 'caterpillar thoughts' and 'butterfly thoughts' divided by a line drawn down the center of the paper.

"We're going to take your feelings and write them on the caterpillar side. Let's put guilt there with abandon and grief. Are you following?"

"Yeah, go on."

She then explained that once we talked about them, we figured out solutions to them and each of the aspects of the negative situation could be looked at positively.

"See, guilt becomes innocent, abandon becomes saving, and grief becomes acceptance."

"That's nice except, they haven't been found yet."

"Yet! Exactly, 'yet' implies that it will happen and you need to think like that; it's always better to think about the brighter side of things. And when you get sad, that's fine to feel that way but if you can, try thinking about other things; distractions sometimes can help a lot."

"Distractions, like what?"

"Well, what do you like to do? Read, write, listen to music, watch movies?"

"Oh, well I haven't really gotten used to the whole staring at a screen for a long time but I do like to read. And I was listening to the radio for a long time the other day before I smashed my hand through the mirror. I didn't feel too bad then."

"Great! That's just what I mean by distractions. So I'm really sorry but our time is running out and if you want to talk again, you can just call the number on this card."

She stood up and walked over to the other side of her desk and reached into a drawer. She pulled out a little business card and handed it to me.

"Oh and I'm going to write you a prescription for mild anti-anxiety pills that you'll take once a day for the next few weeks; that should stop the hallucinations and help you to sleep more comfortably. If you want to make another appointment right now, you can just go and ask the secretary to fit you in for the next time I'm available and you can just call to change it if it ever changes to a bad time."

"Oh alright, I think I'll do that."

She handed me a little slip of paper that had the name of some medication I couldn't pronounce written on it. I felt like a bit of weight had been lifted off of my shoulders with what we had discussed today. Sonic had been right and I was happy that he made me try it out.

"It was really nice meeting you, Amy. I look forward to our next talk."

"It was nice meeting you, too."

I shook her extended hand and was on my way out, when a thought suddenly popped into my head.

"Um, Sonic isn't going to find out what we talked about in here, right?"

"Of course not. It's restricted by the doctor-patient confidentiality agreement I signed when I graduated as a psychologist. You don't need to worry about that; everything we speak of stays in this room. Take care, Amy."

"Alright, thanks!"

I exhaled heavily as I walked out of her office. At least nothing I had said would be heard by other ears. I walked up to the secretary and made an appointment at the same time and day for the following week. I then walked to the front door and stepped outside to wait for Sonic to pick me up. It was a nice day; the sun was up and there was hardly any snow left on the ground. Grass was peeking out from under white blankets, buds on trees in bloom, flowers sprouting; it was too beautiful a day to just sit around on a pair of cold steps. I was feeling motivated to wander so I started pacing down the street when I came across a little park. Children were there with their parents being pushed on swings and toddlers were slipping down the slides, some playing with the left over snow. It made me smile so I sat down on a bench and watched in silence. I was basking in the sun listening to the laugh of children and the slow wind howling when I suddenly remembered that Sonic could have been waiting for me for a while. I stood up and started walking back through the park hurriedly when I caught sight of a blue figure approaching me.

"There you are. The secretary told me that you had left some time ago so I suspected you wandered off somewhere but I was worried. Sorry I'm late."

"Sorry about that. And I didn't mind waiting; it's nice out."

"How did the session go?"

"It went good. I'm going back if that's okay."

"Sure, that's what I was hoping for. Why don't we go, I've got some news."

"What news are you talking about?"

"Why don't we get into the car and I'll tell you there."

"What is it? Whatever it is, just tell me now, I can take it."

I don't know what I was expecting, everything bad that could have happened already had happened so I was temporarily confused.

"Let's just get in the car."

"Alright."

We got in the car and drove off. I was now extraordinarily curious about what it was.

"Okay we're in the car. Now tell me."

"The police called to inform us of the progress on the case."

"Oh my God, what happened, did they get leads?"

"They found the cabin. But they were gone."

My heart stopped. They were too late. I was too late. He knew I'd tell if I got out so he took them and left.

"Don't get scared just yet, they said they were expecting that and he moved in a hurry so he left a lot of stuff behind that could be useful to finding them."

"Take me to the police station. I want to see everything they found."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. I need to know if I can help."

"Alright, if you say so."

Sonic pulled a u-turn and sped down the street in the direction of the station. Once we got there, I rushed inside and ran up to the front desk.

"Where are the officers working on the decade old kidnapping case?"

"Um, who are you?"

"I'm Amy Rose and I was in here last week to talk to some officers about my kidnapping case."

"Oh, yes. I'll have them come speak with you."

"Thank you."

I waited impatiently, tapping my foot anxiously on the floor. Sonic came in after me and was now standing beside me.

"Amy, calm down, they'll be here in a second."

Just then the two officers, I had spoken with the week before came out of an office and were walking in my direction.

"Amy, I assume you got the news. What are you doing here?"

"Can you tell me everything you know about what you found?"

"Why don't you come with me to my office, we'll talk there."

"Can he come too?"

I remembered the last time I spoke with them; I got quite aggressive so I decided it would be better if I had support with me.

"Of course. Please follow me."

The female, a black cat, was the one doing most of the talking; the male cop, a grey dog, stood there silent with a hard look, molded on his face. They led us to this small office that had a desk and a board that was plastered with pictures of the cabin and little sticky notes everywhere.

"What is that?"

"The board? That's so we can look at all the evidence about your case to make connections and find clues as to where he could have gone. It's a good thing you're here. Do you have any idea of where he could be?"

"Well he never let us leave so I don't really know any of the places he went to when he left."

"That's alright. Um, we found some pictures of you and what I propose are the other girls in the house, would you mind taking a look at them?"

I stepped forward and was instantly struck with a pang of grief. Staring at me were the expressionless faces of the girls. He had taken pictures of us a while ago, but we never saw them; we assumed they kept them in his room that he kept locked at all times. I took a gulp of air and started pointing each one out.

"Yeah, that's Jewel, that's Tikal and that one's Kitty... and there's me."

"Thank you Amy. If you want to know, we matched up their pictures with ones that were given to us for each kidnapping. The face symmetries revealed their true identities."

"Yes, I'd like to know their names, please."

"Well, you already Tikal the Echidna, and this one is the one you know as Jewel; well her name is Julie-Su the Echidna, no relation. This one here, Kitty, is actually Blaze the Cat and if you want to know what Feathers' real name was, it was Wave the Swallow."

I was suddenly very, very sad. I didn't feel the guilt I normally did when I thought about them, this time it was just utterly pure sadness. I was sad that I knew their names and they didn't even remember it themselves. I was sad that they were gone and I was sad that I was too late.

"Amy, you alright?"

Sonic put his hand on my shoulder as he asked me. I didn't know how to respond. I just wanted to get out of there and be alone.

"Yeah, can we go now?"

"Yeah, sure. Thanks for the information officers."

"Take care. We'll update you as soon as we get anything."

We waved goodbye and went home. I'd seen enough; maybe too much for my own good.

xXx

It was Friday morning and I had spent all of the day before doing nothing but sitting around and racking my brain for some memory that would tell me where he had brought them, however it turned out to be very unsuccessful and left me in a bad mood from reliving brief moments of my terrible past. Today, I thought it might be a better idea to distract myself from the whole situation and just explore the area outside. It was another nice day, only it looked like it would rain later. April was almost there so the weather would become very rainy in the near future. I put on my jeans, t-shirt and sweater before putting on my leather jacket and combat boots. It was around 9:30 A.M. when I woke up so already nobody was home. Sonic had given me a copy of the apartment key so I could go outside whenever I wanted to. I walked out the door and took the stairs. I still hadn't grasped the use of the elevator yet and it made me feel queasy when it moved. When I got outside, I stepped along the sidewalks and was looking down, trying to avoid the cracks like a child. As I was moving, I failed to see the pedestrian in front of me and walked right into them.

"Hey, watch it!"

"I'm so sorry; I wasn't looking where I was going!"

"Amy? I didn't recognize you for a minute, you look different."

"Hi Shadow. Yeah, Sonia took me to get my hair cut."

"Sonia?"

"Sonic's older sister. She lives there too."

"Oh I'm surprised I haven't run into her yet."

"Well she leaves pretty early in the morning so it's not really that big of a shock."

"Oh, okay. So what are you doing out here by yourself?"

"Oh just passing the time. I like the weather. Where are you off to?"

"Oh, I just went to get some breakfast from that little coffee shop down the street. How's your hand?"

"It's fine; healed pretty well thanks to you."

"That's good to hear. Well, I gotta get to work soon so I guess I'll see you around."

"Alright, bye."

I stared after him while he walked in the opposite direction. He was a lot nicer than he looked. I turned back and started up the street. I walked the full block and observed all the places surrounding it. Most were houses and other apartment complexes but there were also a few stores and food places as well. When I walked back into the building I searched my pockets for the keys to the front door. To my dismay, I realized upon climbing the stairs that I had forgotten them on the kitchen table when I was putting my boots on. I approached the door and dumbly tried turning the handle even though it was an automatic lock. I checked the top of the doorframe like I had read about in some fiction novels but was disappointed to find out I was wrong. At a loss for plans, I sighed and sat down leaning my back against the door. It was only a couple of minutes before I heard the elevator ding and saw its doors open. Shadow walked out and a look of confusion appeared on his face.

"What are you doing sitting in the hallway?"

"I forgot my key inside like a total idiot."

"Haha well what are you going to do?"

"Don't know; probably just sit here until either Sonia or Sonic show up. And weren't you suppose to be going to work already?"

"I forgot the keys to my bike in my apartment so it looks like we're in the same boat."

"At least you can get your keys. I'm stuck here for the next few hours."

"Hey, do you want to hang out at an auto shop since you can't really do anything else today?"

"What's an auto shop?"

"It's a place where people bring their broken cars or motorcycles to get them fixed. I work there. It isn't the most interesting job in the world but at least you won't be alone."

I wasn't too sure at first. I had only met him a couple of times and still did not know him well enough but on the other hand, he had a point in me being alone for several hours. I decided to take him up on the offer because it seemed like the better choice of the two.

"Alright, sure."

"You ever been on a motorcycle before?"

"Nope. Is that what you drive?"

"Yeah, you're in for quite a ride. Wait here, I'll just get my keys and spare helmet."

He entered his apartment and came back a minute later with a black helmet which he handed to me as I got up. I was suddenly excited. This was definitely considered to be a distraction. I walked down the stairs with Shadow and went outside. I followed him over to his bike and watched as he sat down and strapped his helmet on.

"Alright, put your helmet on and when you get on, you're going to have to hold onto my waist."

"Why?"

"So you don't fall off, silly! There's no other place for you to hold onto."

"Oh, okay."

I put my helmet on and swung my right leg over the seat. I did as he said and held onto his waist. It felt very awkward at first but once he started moving, I understood why I had to. The minute it picked up speed, I gripped tighter than any normal person would have; I was scared out of my mind but it was also the most exciting thing I had ever felt. It took us approximately fifteen minutes to get to the auto shop. When we finally came to a stop in the parking lot, I let go of him and I jumped off the bike.

"Oh my God, I thought I was about to die every time you turned!"

"Ha ha! I remember my first time on a bike. Needless to say, it was awesome. Was it really that scary for you?"

"More like a mixture of life and death at the same time but it was fun."

"Yeah, that's how most first timers are. Well, since we're here, why don't we head inside, it looks like it's about to start raining."

I took off the helmet and handed it back to Shadow as we walked into the building. The walls were all full of tools and other equipment used to repair cars hanging off nails and hooks. It was quite spacious inside and was surprisingly able to fit three cars along the width with plenty of room in between each of them. I looked around everywhere, following Shadow through the cavernous place. He led me up some stairs to an office of sorts that overlooked the entire room.

"This is where I sit all day."

"You don't fix the cars?"

"Nope. I'm in charge of all the clients' files, the money and the inventory ordering. "

"That sounds... pretty boring, actually."

"You are very right. It is incredibly boring but I can also mess around and relax all day since we don't have that many clients."

"So since it's such a relaxed job, what do you do all day?"

"Well, I only come in for four days a week because there isn't enough work for more days, but my day consists of filing, counting stock and counting cash."

"Can I help with anything?"

"Um, sure. Here are a bunch of invoices that you can put in alphabetical order while I make some calls to order parts. You can sit on that chair over there."

He pointed to a little wooden chair while he sat down in his cushioned office chair. I took the stack of papers and started organizing them on the desk. I saw a person in dirty coveralls walk by and walk back to look at me. It started to get loud with the sound of machinery in the background so he had to mouth out the words "Who are you?"I just turned and pointed at Shadow who then gestured for me to close the door from the noise. I did as he said and mouthed back a "sorry" to the guy as I shut the door on him. After that, Shadow got off the phone and I turned around to him.

"Who was that?"

"Oh, just my boss."

"What! I just closed the door in your boss's face? Why didn't you say anything?"

"Its fine, he gets it. I'll just tell him why you're here later on. Are you done with those papers yet?"

"Just about. There you go."

I handed him the stack of paper, all neatly piled and sat back in the chair. There wasn't much to do for the rest of the day. Shadow bought me a sandwich from the neighboring deli for lunch and then I carried on for the rest of the day counting how many oil stains were on the walls of the office. By around 4:00, Shadow said we could leave. We hopped back on his bike and he drove back to our apartment. It was less scary the second time around, but just as thrilling. When we made it upstairs, I found Sonic, standing outside the apartment door fidgeting nervously. He jumped instantly when he saw me and ran up to me.

"Where the hell have you been?! We've being going crazy looking for you!"

"Sorry! When I went on a walk this morning I accidently forgot my key and got locked out and Shadow found me and asked if I want to go to work with him instead of sitting her for five hours."

"You didn't think to leave a note?!"

"No, I'm sorry I didn't think of it. It was stupid and I know. I promise I won't do it again."

He was freaking out and I couldn't blame him. I had disappeared for so long that it was understandable to be worried. Shadow stepped in and spoke up.

"It was my fault; I should have thought to leave a note, don't blame her she's just a kid."

"And you! You took her on your motorcycle! She could have been killed, did you think of that? I don't want to you talking to me or Amy ever again!"

"That's crazy, man!"

"Sonic, it's not his fault-"

"Be quiet Amy. Just get inside."

I could understand his worry, but this explosion was ridiculous. I just felt bad that Shadow had to get involved and blamed for my stupidity. Sonic slammed the door behind us and angrily stepped in front of me.

"Do you have any idea what you put me through? Huh?"

"I'm sorry! What more do you want me to say?"

"Nothing. Look, I know I'm overreacting but the things that run through my head when I think of the things that could've happened to you. You disappearing like that, I can only imagine how much worse it would feel if you didn't come back an hour after I got here. Sonia's the one who called me to tell me you weren't at home so I left early to come and look for you."

"Oh, where is Sonia?"

"In her room. She was so close to calling the cops. Another hour and they'd probably have been at our front doorstep."

"I swear I'll never leave without a note again."

"No. Give me your key; you're not going anywhere for a while."

"What? Now that's not fair."

"Give it here."

"*Sigh*, it's on the table."

He walked over and shoved it in his pocket. I couldn't believe he was doing this. I had made one silly mistake so I had to be punished for it? He was starting to become a little overprotective. I walked down the hallway and knocked on Sonia's door. She opened it instantly and grabbed me in an suffocating hug.

"Amy! Thank God you're alright! I was so worried!"

"I'm fine, Sonia. I'm sorry I didn't leave a note or something; I didn't think of it."

"Where did you go?"

"Well, Shadow found me and invited me to chill at his work for a instead of sitting outside the door all day. But now we're both paying for it so I think I'm just going to go to bed."

"What do you mean 'paying for it'?"

"Well Sonic took away my key and told Shadow to never talk to us again."

"*Sigh* He'll come around later and probably give it back to you; he's just in a mood right now. It's only because he cares about you, you know that, right?"

"Yeah. Thanks Sonia."

"You're welcome sweetie. If you get hungry later, I'm making supper so you can just come grab some anytime you want."

"Alright."

With that said I left to my room a bit less upset but still kind of pissed that I was being kept inside all over again, although under much better circumstances. I closed the door to my room, took off my jacket and plopped on my bed. Today had been fun with Shadow and it was so ridiculous that I would never get to ride on that motorcycle ever again... except if Sonic didn't know about it.

I had an idea forming in my mind that was kind of diabolical. I sat up and thought about it more. Since Sonic was going to be gone for the majority of the day and Shadow said he only works four days a week, I could just ask him if on his day off, he could take me on the bike again and just not tell Sonic about it. It was perfect and there was no reason why Sonic would ever be able to find out... although I would need the key back.

Damn it. That's the only thing. Well Sonia did say that he would come around but how long will that take?

I thought it was about time to put on some charm and try persuading Sonic to give me back the key. I kicked off my boots and opened my door. I was about to step out when I overheard Sonia and Sonic's conversation.

"It doesn't matter that she was having fun, he could have been in serious trouble! You were the one that called me in the first place. If you didn't think it was a big deal then-"

"I did think it was a big deal; it's just that I think you are going a little bit too hard on her with the consequences. Just give her back the key. She's supposed to feel safe and free here, not trapped under strict rules. You heard her yourself, she promised to never do it again."

"Yeah. But still..."

"Uh! What is there still?"

"I'm not letting the thing with Shadow go. He's a bad influence and he could have endangered her life today and he passed it off like it was nothing."

"Do what you want; just think about how she might feel before you make drastic decisions. And don't be too overprotective."

I quickly hid back in my room as Sonia got up from the couch in the living room and walked back into her room. After I heard her door close, I stepped out once more and crept down the hallway into the living room. I saw Sonic sitting on the couch watching the TV and approached him quietly. It wasn't until I was two feet away from him that I announced my presence.

"Hi."

"Huh? Oh you scared me. What's up?"

"Oh nothing, just wondering what I'm going to do around the house since I'm not ever going to be allowed to leave..."

"Alright, I get it. Here you go."

He extended his hand out for me to take the key but pulled back the minute I got close to it.

"Ah, only if you absolutely promise you will never go anywhere without telling either me or Sonia where you are going."

"Yes, yes I promise. Now gimme the key!"

I took the key and grasped it in my hand tightly. I felt bad that I was already thinking about breaking the promise, but what he didn't know couldn't hurt him.

"Thank you!"

I then jumped up from my spot on the couch and ran to my room but not before overhearing Sonic mumbling to himself.

"*Sigh*I gotta get ready for that date now... Not looking forward to this..."

I giggled to myself at the problems that Sonic had to deal with. I now had all the power in my hands. Things had taken quite a turn for the better lately. They were getting closer and closer to finding the girls, I was actually finding things that I enjoyed doing, like riding motorcycles, and feeling happier in general.

Thank you Rouge.

Hope you liked this chapter. I enjoyed writing this one very much. Amy's life is FINALLY getting back on track and you got to find out exactly who the missing girls were today! Stay tuned to find out when they will be found and don't forget to leave me a review or PM telling me what you thought about the chapter! Thank you and come again.

-DarkRose