The silent morning atmosphere soon subsided from the eccentric roaming of feet across the hardwood floor. Sonic, after awakening, had just realized the morning sun pouring into the base; thus, he remembered what their agreement had been. He would've awoken the others, however it slipped his mind as he excitedly streamed out of the base.
At his usual speed, the cobalt hedgehog ran throughout the forest in hopes he'd find the female hedgehog soon. He looked every direction as he went, careful to not miss anything out of the ordinary. There were a few times when he might've spotted a distinction in the forest, though it turned out to be nothing but other travelers.
At seeing them, he skidded to a halt and sped up to one of them. A grey fox stared at the blue hedgehog with fright from the sudden startle.
"Hey have you seen a pink hedgehog?" he asked quickly.
The fox shook her head and he groaned before running away. He came up to others on his journey, but each one came up with the same answer. Sonic continued through the forest, but when he came to its limits, he had fallen short. There was no sign of Amy anywhere! He kicked at a rock in frustration, pondering the numerous places she could have gone. He didn't know if she was at her house or not, and what other place besides Freedom HQ would she go?
Sonic once again sped off into a different direction, traveling at random places in hopes someone was familiar with her whereabouts. He combed through the rim of the forest to see if she was anywhere there, but still found nothing.
Finally the hedgehog came upon a building. It seemed to be some sort of diner. Yes, he remembered one time eating here by Amy's recommendation (from which she stated they had the best chili dogs). He'd realized soon after that the girl went there often and she hoped to have a date; knowing this, he never went back to the diner again.
Though he was afraid he'd find nothing, Sonic still walked into the place. There were about a dozen heads, though none of them the familiar pink. However he came to a random set of people and asked if they were familiar with Amy. As expected, they knew nothing.
At this, Sonic gave up on the place and headed outside.
"Wait!"
The hedgehog turned his head to see an old tiger come to him just before he went out the door. His hopes rose instantly. After catching his breath, the old tiger said, "Are you looking for a pink hedgehog?"
"Yes!" he replied ecstatically. "Do you know where she went?"
"Yes, she and the other went for the girl's house."
Sonic frowned. "Other?"
"Yeah, it was a black and red hedgehog – never got the lad's name." The tiger seemed content with his revealed information and walked slowly back to the same stool from which he once sat.
'Shadow?' Sonic thought. He scanned his memories, remembering the hedgehog come to the base yesterday to ask for Amy. 'What does he want with her?'Panic overtook the hedgehog and he dashed for Amy's home. He somewhat chuckled at the irony of where she'd headed. However he regained a serious disposition, knowing he may meet Shadow on the way.
[On the previous night]
In truth Shadow was reluctant to leave. It wasn't that he feared the storm or anything, but he still didn't gain his closure as to how Amy might feel about the hedgehog. Well, it was obvious she must be feeling a great deal of frustration from him, but whenever in her usual moods did he ever cross her mind? Did Amy think of Shadow and contemplate on his peculiar actions, like he did so?
However, if he was ever to discover her emotions (which he planned on doing so sooner or later), he had to respect her wishes. Shadow nodded and after pulling on his attire, he left, with the still-angry Amy watching him do so.
Amy waited until the door was finally shut before turning her back. How could that hedgehog be so stupid as to waltz into her room like it didn't matter? It was ludicrous! However her fumes died down and the girl shrugged it off. It appeared she was beginning to maintain her temper over the years; despite there were times when she completely snapped, Amy managed to make some real progress.
Though now she began to regret not bashing that Shadow on the head at least once.
Soon the previous night died away as the morning took its place. Amy, though usually bustling with energy early in the morning, got up without excitement and drowsily strode down the stairs.
Suddenly a knocking on the door caught Amy's attention as her head darted for the entrance. At first she surmised it to be Shadow again, and felt reluctant to answer. However she walked to the door and opened it. But she was rather surprised as a blue hedgehog gasped in relief and then embraced her in a hug.
The girl's cheeks flushed madly, however when he let her go she turned away in embarrassment before the red abated.
"I'm so glad you're okay, I thought something bad happened to you! What happened?"
Amy opened her mouth to reply, however nothing came out as she thought about the previous events. She didn't feel the need to explain whatever happened last night, mainly out of embarrassment of her foolish actions, though seeing Sonic again created a knot in her stomach; she'd wanted oh-so much to gain Sonic's heart when she'd given him hers, though after her breakdown she concluded Sonic never had and never will love her the way she did. Now it felt rather awkward to be talking to Sonic as more of a friend rather than an ecstatic fangirl.
But by Sonic's impatient look, she needed to say something. Amy didn't want to tell him about Shadow, knowing he may take it the wrong way. Careful to choose her words, she replied at last, "Yeah. Well, I'm okay now." She would've invited the hedgehog in, like she'd done times before if he ever came upon her house, though now it seemed like a bad time.
However Sonic looked to her with a mixture of seriousness and concern by her peculiar behavior. "Were you with Shadow earlier?"
Amy grew pale. How did he know? She found herself speechless, though it seemed that was enough for the hedgehog to nod and then speed off. Amy wanted to call out to him, but it wouldn't do any good; if he never stopped for her before, he certainly wouldn't do it now. And now he must think she's in love with someone else!
Amy shook her head, what with all of these strange occurrences happening so quickly. She walked back into her living room, surveying the interior as if she stood in a stranger's home; she inquired what to do now. Breakfast was out of the question, since her appetite seemingly disappeared along with her cheery self; oh well, she surmised this would only last for another few hours or so.
Then Amy walked for one of the small side tables that stood on either side of her couch. Placed upon each one were a group of photos, as well as many other surfaces of her home. She picked one up and looked in indignation to see a smiling Sonic, with her near his side, though he paid no attention as he was busily eating one of the chilidogs she made specially for him.
She looked around her living room, staring at the groups of photos from which most of them were her "darling Sonic". The more she looked, the more she began to despise her silly fantasies with him. Oh, how she felt like an idiot! There were literally over three dozen pictures of that blue hedgehog – nothing more but a silly fangirl's shrine.
How could she – even for a moment – expect a chance with him? The only sort of love and compassion he gave her was like any brother with do to a sister; she knew he eyed Sally more with a romantic interest.
When he rescued her that crush grew into obsession, making her believe she truly was in love with Sonic and hoped to live happily ever after like all of the princesses in those fairy tales. But Sonic wasn't her knight in shining armor or loving prince, and why it took thislong to realize that – at this age – was beyond her.
"I don't love him . . . I just love what he did for me." Amy shook her head in disbelief with an amused grin on her face. She was disappointed and amused with herself at the same time.
She looked to the photograph again of Sonic's indifference for her "love", telling herself, "That was then; this is now. I just need to move on I guess."
At that Amy nodded as she decided to be rid of all of these photos. Albeit two or three were left with other photos of other friends of hers, Amy gathered all the photos of Sonic and quickly disposed of them in the garbage. Then she scoured the rest of the house for anything else that reminded her of her fangirl fantasies: the several Sonic plushies she'd sewn herself (save for one from which the plushie was holding a rose); her diary containing mainly her "adventures" with Sonic, as far as romance went (though she saved one page that explained how he'd given her a rose); and the numerous love letters she'd written though never gained the courage to send (however she kept one where she expressed her reaction to him giving her the rose).
"There," she said, patting her hands together in satisfaction. As soon as the items were extinguished from her home and her mind, Amy couldn't help but feel a cheery aura flow into the room as she began to finally forget about her trivial fantasies of a loveless future. "What to do now?"
Well, first she needed to get out of her robe. Quickly the female ran into her dressing room. The usual red shirt with jeans didn't suffice this time; Amy instead picked a small yellow tank-top, similar to Blaze's, and a purple skirt, similar to Sally's. After standing in front of the large mirror, twirling once or twice for a full view, Amy nodded to her liking.
Soon after a few other touch-ups, Amy deemed herself ready to present herself out in the open with a better attitude. Before leaving Amy grabbed a camera specializing in photography. Then she walked out of the door, relieved that both Sonic and Shadow were pushed to the back of her mind.
The cobalt hero sped throughout a range of plains – they were wide and open, just perfect for running. Sonic always found comfort and a perfect time for contemplation when running without any rode blocks.
Sonic couldn't believe that of all people, Shadowwould be the one to help Amy. He felt somewhat infuriated over it.
However, he wasn't jealous – of course, he still felt only platonic feelings for Amy. But what was Shadow planning? He worked for G.U.N. (an agency he wouldn't call an ally), and not to mention he once worked for Robotnik. Sure, he'd left the old fool afterwards, though Sonic felt Shadow's generous actions to be far too suspicious.
Was Shadow trying to get to him through Amy? If so, Sonic would beat him to a pulp if he tried tricking anyone.
Rather than return to the base, Shadow sped toward a mountain range that resided just beside the base. There, he'd found a small formation of caves, where one led to a sort of rocky balcony that displayed a wondrous view of miles of the area. In fact, it wasn't hard to see the Knothole forest or even New Mobotropolis from there.
He only knew about it – or so he thought. Hope had found the hedgehog one time sneaking through the caverns. Though Shadow wanted to be alone most of the time when out there, he didn't forbid Hope from the caves (and it wasn't like she'd listen anyway).
And when Shadow came to the caves, it wasn't surprising to see the girl there waiting for him. Most likely, Hope was waiting for the news on what had happened between him and Amy.
"So?" she asked expectantly.
Shadow was reluctant to answer, however explained the story to her; he made sure to leave out any parts he found unsuitable to be included (especially the embarrassing ones). Hope listened intently and until he finished did she seem disappointed.
"You didn't tell her how you felt?"
"It wasn't like I had a chance to tell her."
"Do I have to do everything for you?" Hope looked to Shadow expectantly, though he didn't say a word. She shook her head. "Fine. But this is not the only reason why I came here."
Shadow perked his ears and looked to the human. "Why else, then?"
Hope dug into one of the pockets of her engineer suit and pulled out a sort of crumpled piece of folded paper. Shadow's ears lowered at the realization that this was most likely no more than another mission. He grabbed it disdainfully and opened it; however, his eyes widened in surprise.
"This says I am relieved of duty." Shadow looked up to Hope expectantly.
"Yes, well you've taken up too much vacation time, and G.U.N. doesn't want any trouble since Human laws still govern them."
"Then what am I supposed to do? Am I even allowed to step foot in the base?"
"Well, they discourage it, so I'd suggest not trying. But don't worry, you can stay with me." But then Hope looked down, murmuring, "Or . . ."
"Or what?" Shadow looked to his companion in fear of what she might say.
"Or you can try and see what you can do about you and Amy . . ."
"How many times do I have to tell you? It's never going to work. Amy will never have mutual feelings for me."
"You don't know that, so how can you conclude that she doesn't at least feel something for you? I mean, you saved her."
"Yeah, because I got her to flee in the first place." Shadow looked down for a moment, knowing Hope would only continue. He looked back up to her, asking, "Why are you so keen to have me set up with Amy?"
"Because it's not fun seeing you lonely; and you like her a lot." Hope looked down with an unreadable expression. "Besides, I see the way you look at me sometimes. I know you see Maria in me a lot – and I'm not doing that on purpose. It's apparent you need help moving on."
"I don't need to move on. I'm content regardless she's dead."
"Just keep telling yourself that," she said sarcastically. "It doesn't change the fact that your ego won't let you admit it. You may not see Maria in Amy, but I know you see somethingin her that's gotten you interested enough to want to know more."
"You're such a nuisance sometimes." Shadow cracked a small smirk of gratitude that he hoped the other had not seen, though Hope glowed with pleasure to see such a rare sight for the black-and-crimson hedgehog.
"And what would you be without me?"
"So now what?"
"Well, the only place I could imagine we'd most likely meet Amy is at Freedom HQ. We'll try there first."
"No." Just as Hope began to exit the caverns she turned to see her companion standing, shaking his head. "Something tells me she won't be there. But, I think I may know where else."
"Welcome miss," said a middle-aged female ferret. The creature, like many of the staff in the diner during weekends, had a tone matching her annoyed and discontented expression; however Amy felt no resistance against her happier attitude, merely nodding in acknowledgement.
Fortunately for the both of them, the waitress recognized her as the girl who often visited, and so there was no need of further assistance. The pink hedgehog seated herself, placing the camera at her side, and gazing at the livelihood overtaking the diner's aura. Things were definitely looking up for the female – it appeared she'd completely transformed after the incident. 'I guess I have Shadow to thank for that.'Amy shook the thought out of her head when she'd promised herself not to think about him for the time being.
Regardless of the mucky environment from the storm – which didn't bother her all too much – Amy already had a mental list of things she felt like doing today and the fact that no attacks had ensued so far opened an opportunity to enjoy the day without any set-backs.
That was when the bell stationed just above the door to announce any new costumers rang. Amy had no reason to look back at first; however the voice of a female asking for a table sounded all too familiar. Amy turned her head slightly and out of the corner of her eye long blonde hair came within sight. 'Hope?'
Amy didn't know what to feel when the human girl – whom she saw every now and then any more, especially on some missions when the Freedom Fighters and Team Dark (accompanied by Hope) met for a certain amount of time and then went their separate ways. She considered Hope a friend and ally, though she still found it peculiar the girl came here, of all places. Amy had a hunch it had something to do with Shadow, since she was almost sure Hope had never known about this place before.
Amy's premonitions were correct that the girl had, indeed, come for her. After dealing with a random waitress, she headed for the pink hedgehog; Amy propped the menu up and stared at it, looking as if she'd been reading it the entire time.
"Hello," said Hope as she stood at Amy's side.
Pretending to be oblivious to her presence, Amy slightly jumped; then she looked up. "Hope? What are you doing here?" Amy threw away the idea of pretending any longer, staring suspiciously at the other. Darn and she was in such a good mood too!
Hope caught the small severity emitting from Amy's voice, knowing that her intentions were already known. Rather than dancing around the question in an attempt to sugarcoat the situation, Hope gave a small sigh and sat across from the pink hedgehog. Amy gave no sign of protest.
"What does Shadow want now?" Amy asked.
Hope didn't answer immediately. About a minute passed, from which the girl looked toward one of the windows, watching Shadow waiting impatiently outside the building, and then she responded, "Have you ever liked a person a lot, but too afraid to tell them?"
Amy stared back wide-eyed at the unexpected question, though her expression cooled down and she said, "Sorry, you're asking the wrong girl."
"Exactly. It's hard – I should know – but you should a least give Shadow a chance to talk to you."
"Then why is he being cowardly and not coming to me anyway?" she snapped. And how did the previous question have any relevance? Amy knew Hope was most likely hiding something, though knew better to prod at it and give herself away. She tried thinking of what this secret could possibly be; she had one assumption, though it seemed stupid. From Shadow's actions last night, he seemed different: more afraid for her safety (perhaps brought upon by guilt, though she couldn't imagine Shadow being one to have such feelings for the likes of her); staying in her house until he could apologize (and snooping around) . . . The very idea, from which Hope seemed to convey subtly, that Shadow maybe even likedAmy sounded so absurd.
Hope didn't respond. She was looking toward the window again, however looking horrified. Amy followed her gaze, stepping out of her seat and standing next to the other. Before Amy could ask what had just happened, Hope ran outside. Instinctively Amy followed, as well as random bystanders looking outside out of curiosity.
"Shadow!"
How could this have happened, especially when neither of them heard anything out of the ordinary? Amy stared down at the now unconscious Shadow, a large gash planted on his head.
"W-What happened?" Amy asked, though she knew no one would have the answer.
"I don't know, but he needs help now!" Hope carefully hoisted Shadow into her arms, now looking around frantically for any assistance.
Amy knew of a place. Though she knew others may not like the idea – herself included – but she couldn't stand around and let Shadow bleed to death. "We can go to Freedom HQ, Tails and Rotor may be able to help."
Rather than question the fact Tails and Rotor were mechanics, not doctors, Hope nodded and followed the pink hedgehog through the forest.
Sonic lazily leaned on the wall of Freedom HQ and again watched Tails and Rotor talk of things far beyond what he could understand as far as his own intelligence in mechanics would go. He grew tired of running around for alone time when he couldn't add any of the strange events up without coming up with a ridiculous conclusion and headed back for the other Freedom Fighters.
However today was a slow day for the group anyway. After Sonic said he'd found Amy safe and sound and recommended against checking on her anyway (since he didn't want this whole idea of Shadow's supposed plans against him or Amy to spread until he got enough evidence for it), the group really had nothing to do. No villains threatened the safety of New Mobotropolis or Freedom HQ or anything and since the environment around them was disgusting and muddy from the storm before, it seemed too dreary a day to enjoy the outside.
Sonic braced himself for what would most likely be a long and boring day, but then rushing footsteps that grew louder over time had his ears perk up. The others didn't realize this until the door suddenly swung open. Tails and Rotor looked up and the others poked their heads from a separate room.
"Help!" Amy called. She held Shadow's arm over her shoulder. "He's hurt
