"Amy sure looked upset to me," Tails remarked. He looked to the others currently standing with him inside the main room from which he inspected the broken communicator. Sally, Sonic and Rotor accompanied him on their brief "investigation", though Tails could already tell by the marks it was most likely Amy's hammer that did the job.
"Yeah, her face was red when I came in – kinda obvious she was crying earlier." Sonic looked out the window where the rain continued to shower the forest and anything around the area. What an idiot, why hadn't he gone after her? He knew that being outside in the rain would result in a cold, but he just stood there like an awestruck fool. The state he'd seen Amy in as he returned from the battle took him by surprise, and the way she stalked out of the room in self-pity really worried the male hedgehog. "You think she'll be okay?"
"I'm sure." Rotor stood up from helping inspect the broken device just as he and Tails came up with the same conclusion. "But I don't like how the rain's coming down. Maybe you should go after her?"
"But I have no idea where she may be." By Amy's unusual attitude, he surmised she wouldn't go to a predictable place, like her abode or some friend's house. Why, for all he knew, she could be out in the forest anywhere! He didn't even know where to start. But should he try anyway?
"How about this," said Sally. "We'll wait till morning. If no one knows where Amy's gone, then we'll start a search party. Sound sufficient?"
All four of them were reluctant to agree, though with few options, from which each one had insufficient results, everyone agreed. Till morning they'll wait.
Shadow looked to the pouring rain in contempt as he stood just inches from G.U.N.'s main gate. He didn't dare go back, knowing Hope would be all over him like a bee to nectar to have him try again.
Frustration increasing, the dark hedgehog stepped out of the gate and met with pouring rain. The rain didn't bother him much, rather than they often made his upright quills droop down like Sonic's; this slightly annoyed him with the strain to dry them back to their normal position. However, Shadow ignored it completely and blasted off for Freedom HQ. He would have loved to use the emerald instead and get this over with faster, however they'd already confiscated the emerald, and now he had more time to waste.
No matter how much he wanted to deny it, he had to admit the guilt was still eating at him like crazy. One reason he hated being around others was that he learned more about emotions every time and some were less desired than others. Not only that, but Hope was right (if only she wasn't): Shadow had this keen interest in Amy for quite some time. He didn't know why; perhaps he felt sorry for the girl, considering that even as she was seventeen, the girl still had the same fantasies as she once had so many years ago.
Another aspect he had to admit was her beauty. When at the age twelve she seemed like any other regular kid and he found it amusing. However, as Amy grew to this blossoming flower with her quills running down low, her bangs somewhat larger and in a different fashion, and her attire changing from dresses to jeans, Shadow started to feel this strange sensation – a sensation that he could only describe as charmed, intrigued, attracted, and possibly others. She was a star that shined brighter than the rest now and there was no way to miss that fact. He shook his head at how ignorant Sonic must be to be so oblivious.
And another thing . . . Shadow couldn't help but feel envious of the blue blur. Sonic had this wonderful girl constantly obsessed over him and yet the daft hedgehog never gave regard; he never gave thanks as appreciation, he never told her how much she meant with the way she always supported him. That hedgehog had everything and he didn't even realize it. Oh, how Shadow would love to have her attention.
Wait, wasShadow in love with Amy Rose? These feelings were deep for the girl, deeper than he'd felt about anybody – not even Maria. Did he really have a lust for her like any love struck person? If he did, then why did he feel so compromised?
After all, while he admired the girl, at the same time he found parts of her personality annoying. Especially her stubbornness. Or was that just him? Perhaps he was being too hard, considering nobody's perfect, and Amy was no exception. She had her ups and downs, like anybody else.
Soon, he saw through the blinding rain the entrance to Freedom HQ. He took a deep breath before stopping in front of the door and then knocking loudly over the din the rain made. Within a minute the door opened and, to his demise, Sonic appeared in the doorway. The blue hedgehog looked to Shadow in disappointment and asked emotionlessly, "What do you want?"
"I'm here to see Amy Rose."
"She's not here."
"What?"
"She's not here. We don't know where she went, kay?" It troubled Shadow to see Sonic not in his usual upbeat mood, but he shrugged it off when he heard that Amy was supposedly missing. Dang, now here comes another wave of guilt washing off the remains of his conscious.
"I-I see." Sonic nodded his head in content and closed the door. For the time being, Shadow stood there, evaluating where she could have possibly gone. His first notion was her home, but he didn't know where it was and his ego restrained him from knocking onto the door again.
Shadow moaned in frustration and then took off blindly for wherever the pink hedgehog may have gone to. He knew he couldn't just leave her behind like last time, or else who knows what may happen to Amy? No doubt this was all caused by his own doing when he must have hit a pressure point in her emotions and so he'd have to fix it.
But where to start?
Shadow decided to rely on instinct and dashed through the forest, hoping to catch sight of at least a sign that Amy was here or there or anywhere near his location. He didn't know when she'd left and so had no idea how much ground she could have covered over time. But hopefully with his speed much greater he'd find her eventually. He had to . . . He must.
However his hopes were abating as the storm grew worse and still no sign presented itself, much less Amy herself. Because of the raging storm, the hedgehog regretfully slowed his pace mainly for safety; after all, a casualty inflicted upon himself would do no good to find Amy.
"If I was emotionally compromised, where would I go?" he asked himself. Well, it seemed stupid to ask, considering he'd most likely go to the ARK, where he was most comfortable.
Wait – most comfortable. Shadow remembered once conversing with Amy, something he rarely ever did with anyone beyond being called a "comrade" (unlike Rouge and Omega); it was at a diner from which he had to stop during a mission. Apparently the girl had an interest in the place unlike any other, from which she explained their food always got her in a better mood.
Why hadn't anyone thought of that place? Though, then again, Sonic probably didn't even know.
Shadow anchored his feet into the ground and turned toward a different direction. Now with determination to reach a specific destination, he rocketed his way at full speed. Since meeting Amy that day, Shadow found himself visiting it more often, which contributed to the fact he knew exactly where to find it; only now did he realize he mostly likely did so just to meet her again. Shadow could just imagine Hope's smug grin as she remarked, "I told you so."
Eventually the medium-sized building came within sight and he hastened as much as he could. Though the situation wasn't as urgent as he surmised earlier, but it seemed as if critical to finally apologize for his previous actions; not to mention he had to know if these feelings were really true. Did he actually have such an interest in Amy that he'd call it "love"?
And if so, was the feeling mutual?
He rounded toward the front and practically barged through the door. Every head in the diner shot up to see the hedgehog burst through the door, though only two heads were present: some old tiger sitting on one of the stools with a mug of coffee, and the bartender standing across from him on the other side of the elongated table.
"You need something?" the bartender, an echidna, asked.
"Did a pink hedgehog ever come in here?"
"Yeah, but she left just five minutes ago."
"Where?"
"I dunno."
Shadow groaned in frustration that he had come back to where he started. He stalked out of the diner and looked any possible direction he already didn't take. He didn't know where to begin, knowing Amy could have gone any way. To make matters worse, the storm still showered madly, most likely to stay this way for at least the rest of the night. How was he to find her in all this mess?
Shadow walked further out into the rain, finally deciding to head left and hope he was right – then suddenly: "Wait!"
He turned to see the same old tiger from inside the diner. The feline had trouble walking over to the hedgehog, even with his cane, and needed Shadow's help to keep him stable. After giving a brief thanks for the help, he said, "I-I think I know where your friend might've gone."
"You mean Amy?"
"Pink hedgehog, long quills, jeans and shirt?"
Shadow nodded.
"Yep, that's the one."
"Where did she go?" Shadow tried not to sound urgent as he asked hastily, though either way would most likely display his concern.
The old tiger took a moment before replying, "I don't know exactlywhere she went, but I saw her head that way." The tiger pointed to the left.
"But, I just came from that way."
"Well, that's where I saw her go." Rather than question the old Mobian's memory, Shadow merely nodded and, after helping the tiger so that he didn't fall, walked back to the way from which he came. It was the only lead he had, and even though that lead was from an old tiger, he dare not continue his search without taking the chance. "She's a pretty one. It's no wonder you're after her." Shadow looked back to the old tiger in embarrassment and shock, though looked forward once again to hide his surprise of his remark.
Shadow looked at the path he'd recently made from practically grinding against the ground in his efforts to go faster. How could he have missed her? Shadow wouldn't have missed a pink hedgehog in a grayish-greenish forest so easily.
Suddenly there was a scraping sound, causing the hedgehog to dart his head to the right towards the backside of the diner. Shadow was uncertain, though still came round. He looked behind . . . and there she was.
Amy lay against the metal wall, most likely unconscious from exhaustion. By her rhythmic rise and fall of her chest, Amy was at least in better shape than Shadow had imagined. However, many of her parts were covered in mud and her clothes tattered from the trek to this building.
"Amy?" he asked as he came up to her seemingly frail form. Unlike he expected, the female opened her eyes slowly at hearing his voice. She was expressionless, however.
Amy was delirious as to where to go at first when she left Freedom HQ. She headed for her home first, however she felt sick knowing there were numerous pictures of Sonic there. Could she go to a friend's? She shrugged off the idea when the diner came into mind, and she walked through the pouring rain for the haven. There, the young girl merely stayed less than ten minutes when the diner seemed devoid of life (after all, she only enjoyed coming here when it seemed lively, and its present atmosphere only worsened her depression). At that she left, ignoring the tiger's question as to why she came only to leave so early. However Amy didn't find herself go far when exhaustion finally had her seek shelter behind the diner and hope her depression would abate after some sleep.
However all of that was changed when Shadow showed up. Feeling her temper rise, she snapped, "What do you want?"
"Amy, I-I'm sorry for before . . . let me just take you home." He wrapped his hand around her waist, but she quickly slapped it off.
"Leave me alone." The female hedgehog edged away from the other, hoping he'd lose interest and leave.
However he stood his ground and suddenly grabbed her. No matter how much Amy tried to writhe out of Shadow's grasp, the male hedgehog held onto her like dropping her would mean the end of all life. "Amy, you're either going to let me take you home, or I'll have to drag you with me."
Amy flung the bangs out of her face as she looked to the black-and-crimson hedgehog with contempt. It was obvious she still didn't forgive him for the emotional blow, but knowing her chances, she stopped resisting and allowed to be carried bridal style as Shadow began walking away from the diner. Soon walking turned to sprinting as the hedgehog dashed through the forest again, this time heading for Amy's home by her specific directions.
Sonic stared longingly out through the window as the storm brewed furiously. How could anyone last through a storm like that without getting damaged in the process? Even Sonic couldn't take much of this (of course, one of his biggest phobias was water). He tried to fight back the guilt, telling himself that tomorrow he'd soon be running through the forest and eventually find the young girl with maybe a little over a scratch.
To take his mind off of the terrifying outcomes he summed that he may find tomorrow, Sonic turned to the others: Tails was just about done fixing the communicator, Rotor was somewhere most likely speaking with Nicole, and Sally and Bunnie were brewing some hot chocolate for the team as the coldness began to seep into the headquarters. Looking at them didn't much change anything, except make him feel useless. If only there was some badnik or other villain that he could quickly pummel, rather than just sit here and wait for morning to come.
Already, it was around midnight as Sonic constantly stared at the clock, hoping it would move faster.
His thoughts were interrupted just as a cup was placed inches from his hand. He didn't need to look behind to know Sally came behind him. Sonic didn't speak at first when she said, "Don't be so worried. Amy's tough, I'm sure wherever she is, she's fine." Sally waited for a response, but when none came from the cobalt hero, she continued, "Amy knows how to take care of herself."
"Thanks for the pep talk, but it still won't keep me from worrying," Sonic finally sighed, taking the cup. Rather than try and continue further, Sally nodded with a mixture of frustration and understanding before leaving to do other things around the building. Sonic turned to look at the female, wondering if he should say something more; however he voted against it and took a sip from the cup before looking back to the pouring rain.
Using the towel thrown at him, Shadow wiped away any remaining droplets of water and/or small clumps of mud on his thin line of fur. Though he protested, Amy forced any attire (especially shoes) to be taken off before entering the living room, from which was floored with violet carpeting. It wasn't surprising; the girl was positively a neat-freak: No small messes could be found in the house anywhere – or at least in any of the rooms he'd ventured into as the other showered.
In fact, it seemed this whole house was brand new, which could be one of many reasons why it was so clean. This didn't much bother the hedgehog, so much as it annoyed him that he was entirely naked (save for the inhibitor rings and towel now wrapped around his waist).
Shadow dared not touch anything, knowing Amy may grow irate over his curiosity and disregard for personal property; thus, he just sat on the couch and stared into space, the only sound in the house being the running water of the shower far off into the bathroom. Now all he could do was wait until his clothes were washed and Amy accepted his apology.
Eventually when he grew tired of waiting for what seemed to be an everlasting wash-up, the hedgehog looked toward the hall where the other was, pondering momentarily, and stood up. He deemed himself dry enough to walk about the house, whether Amy approved or not. After all, what harm would it do?
It wasn't a bad home either. The abode mainly consisted of two stories, from which the wall along the stairs was littered with dozens of pictures; and it didn't even stop there. He noticed in the living room the side table had at least three, the kitchen counter had six, and God only knew how much would be in the rest of the house. It was obvious the girl enjoyed photography. Shadow recalled a time as he passed by New Mobotropolis for another mission did he see the eccentric pink hedgehog with a camera.
The only room (besides others that were obviously not welcomed to strangers) he didn't see was Amy's bedroom. It might've fallen under the "off limits" category, though he still walked up the stairs. Once again he looked toward the bathroom, checking for the female hedgehog's presence, and continued upwards until right in front of the door.
Twisting the knob, he slowly opened the door. And, as expected, the walls were colored a light pink. However, he found it surprising to see merely a bed, a dresser, and a small closet. And there was only one picture on top of the dresser.
And somewhat to his disgust, it was that blasted blue hedgehog.
"Hey!"
Shadow froze instantly. Without his shoes he couldn't run the usual speed to escape her wrath; he had no chaos emerald either; but most importantly, he was naked, save the towel. The hedgehog could only look back in his emotionless expression to see the female hedgehog fuming over his intruding into her room.
Amy had just gotten out of the shower, thus wearing a towel to conceal the majority of her body. No doubt would she be infuriated to come to her own room with the other inside.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Shadow calculated his chances of leaving without a hammer attack were low and so making some snappy comeback would be out of the question. Though telling the truth didn't sound appealing either, knowing she'd laugh at the situation. Instead, he only stayed silent, hoping Amy would brush off the situation.
"Get out!" To his relief, Amy pushed him out of the room before slamming the door in his face. Though this was a bad impression on his attempts to apologize, at least the hedgehog came out in one piece. Sure, he could easily overpower Amy, but she didupgrade her hammer to be near lethal; he'd learned this painfully recently when the hammer barely hit him and yet it hurt greatly.
Rather than make amends here and now for twoincidences, Shadow headed back for the living room until Amy was fully dressed. Within moments the pink rose came down, trying to seem more dignified than she looked with just a towel. To his concern she still wore the look of contempt as she did when he first found her.
"You were going to apologize."
"I'm sorry, Amy." He tried putting emphasis onto the two words when the first time failed to suffice. When she was still discontent, he added, "For both times."
She still held his gaze without saying a word. Why did he have to bother? It was obvious the hedgehog was somewhat reluctant to apologize in the first place, but she was still upset to have him come to make amends after not only hitting her breaking point, but also he left her stranded like that and stole away with the emerald. In her book, such actions didn't deserve to be forgiven; however after regaining most of her cool, realizing that without Shadow she'd most likely be sitting around in the mud for the rest of the night, she replied at last, "You're forgiven." A long buzzing sound emitted into the house, indicating the dryer had completed it's cycle. "Now please leave."
