I know what you're thinking. OMG she updated quickly. But it's only because I was half way through this chapter when I posted the first one, and I had an extra week off school so next week it won't be so quick :(. Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter 2 – Andy Rhodes
For the next couple of days, Amy had found herself doing what she hated to do. She kept herself cooped up in her house, refusing to leave at all costs. To say that she was bored was an understatement, but she'd decided that it was best to lay low for a few days before putting her plan into action. She needed to leave enough time so that her friends began to wonder where she was before she met them again. So she'd had to amuse herself by endlessly flicking through the TV channels, finding nothing much of interest, and moping around in her room, feeling extremely fed up.
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Thankfully, her self-confinement soon came to an end, and she was awake bright and early the next morning, ready to set her plan into motion. She got dressed into her usual attire, retrieved some money from her purse, and with a determined smile on her face she left her house for a very important shopping trip. She walked into town, making sure that none of her friends were nearby. She didn't want to risk them seeing her today, although she hadn't begun her little plot just yet but if they saw her it would ruin everything. She kept to the edge of the sidewalk that was partly shadowed by the trees as she walked. There was a spring in her step and she was filled with confidence. Her plan was certainly an interesting one but she was sure it would be easy. And if it meant she could be closer to Sonic then it was worth it.
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As she arrived inside the shopping centre, she consulted the shop list on the tourist map. Her gaze hovered over the locations of several shops for men that she'd never been in before, and she set off. She soon found the entrance of 'Clothes 4 Guyz' and stepped in, suddenly feeling a bit out of place. Amy wandered through aisles of clothes, wandering where to start. She began to search through a rack of T-shirts, finding a range of colours and designs. Most of them included skulls or footballs and even weird slogans that she didn't understand. She frowned. 'Ugh... this place doesn't have anything that I would wear,' she thought. She tilted her head as she regarded the tops again. "But then I suppose that's the point," she said to herself.
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She finally picked out a black T-shirt with a skull on the front and continued to search the aisles. She scanned racks of jeans, biting her lip in concentration. She honestly had no idea of which type would be best and she huffed in frustration. It was at that moment when someone tapped her shoulder, and she turned around to see a blue wolf with a shirt that had 'Shop Assistant' written across it.
"Excuse me, Miss," he said. "Can I help you?"
Amy smiled at him. "Yes, I can't decide which pair of jeans would be best for... erm, my boyfriend," she replied. "And they need to be really manly."
"Ah, well then you need the loose-fitting type. Baggy jeans always look masculine," he said.
She smiled with relief. "Then I'll take a pair!"
The shop assistant nodded. "Anything else you need help with?" he asked.
Amy paused. She quickly looked at herself in one of the mirrors before turning back to him again. "Actually there is," she said. "Do you sell hats?"
"Yes, I can show you our selection. It's just round the other side of this aisle. Is there anything in particular you're looking for?"
"Erm... the manliest hat you've got," said Amy.
The wolf laughed. "I'm sure a baseball cap will do."
Amy picked out a simple cap with yet another skull on it. She then went on to buy new shoes and a pair of sunglasses, and soon she'd gathered everything she needed. She left the store and began to make her way out of the centre, glancing at her reflection in a shop window as she walked past. She stopped, realising that there was one more thing she needed to do.
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When Amy finally got back home it was well into the evening and her feet hurt but she didn't care. She raced into her bedroom to try out her new clothes. Before she'd left the shopping centre she'd gone to the hair salon and had her quills completely re-styled. She'd had them shaped upwards, but she couldn't bear to change the colour of her fur so she simply had red highlights put in like Shadow.
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She put on a vest before trying on the T-shirt to make her chest look flatter, and she reluctantly removed her gold bangles from her gloves. Amy posed with her hands on her hips. She looked herself up and down in the mirror. She was wearing her new sporty trainers, baggy jeans, the skull T-shirt she'd bought, the baseball cap and the sunglasses. She smiled in satisfaction. With her new outfit and hairstyle she looked completely different.
She looked exactly as she had planned.
She looked... like a boy.
She grinned, trying out different manly poses. "Phase one is complete," she said excitedly to herself. "This might be a little crazy but it will all be worth it."
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Amy, being an organised person, had already worked out what she was going to do. She sat down on her bed for a moment to go over her plan. 'Okay,' she thought. 'So tomorrow, I'll go and find Sonic and others - as the new, male me - and hopefully I'll become their friend. Then finally Sonic will hang out with me! And I'll get him to teach me some more battling techniques and I can get to know him even more and it will be so perfect!' She giggled happily. 'Now I just need an excuse for the real me not being around,' she thought. 'Who knows for how long I'll have to act like a boy? It could be weeks!' She rested her chin in her hands as she thought.
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Finally deciding what to do, she pulled out a pad of paper and a pen from inside a drawer in her desk and sat down in front of it. She held the pen over the paper for a second, considering her message, before starting to write.
To all of my wonderful friends,
I'm sure that by now you're wondering where I am. Don't worry, I'm safe. I just need some time for myself to clear my head. I don't know how long I'll be away, and I can't tell you where I am, but just know that I will be back as soon as I can.
Love, Amy. Xxx
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Amy read over her note, smiling in approval. She'd managed to tell her friends an excuse without giving too much away. Hopefully they would understand. She folded the letter and put it in her pocket, planning to pin it to her door on the next morning. Everything was ready, and so was she. As a boy, she would meet Sonic all over again and become his trusted friend, without him feeling awkward. It was a good plan, or at least she thought so. It was flawless. Although, she wasn't willing to pay for a hotel so she'd have to somehow get back to her house every night, unseen. But she was certain that she'd find a way to do it. She had to, for the sake of her and Sonic's relationship.
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She yawned as she walked over to the window, noticing that the sky was already blanketed in darkness, lit only by the stars. She smiled, feeling comforted by the idea that just maybe Sonic might have been looking at the same view. "The things I do for love," she said dreamily. She changed into her pyjamas and jumped onto her bed, slipping under the duvet. "Out with the old and in with the new," she murmured, yawning again. "Tomorrow I wake up as a new girl. No, a new man." She smiled at the strange thought as her eyelids grew heavy, knowing that once she woke up in the morning, things would be about to get a lot more exciting. She couldn't have been more right.
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Amy slept peacefully through the night and was gently awoken by the long slit of sunlight that leaked through a crack in between the curtains. She blinked rapidly, becoming accustomed to the sudden change of light and sat up. She squinted as the sound of birds singing in the distance reached her ears. As soon as she remembered her plan for the day she smiled eagerly and leapt out of bed. It took her mere minutes to get changed into her new outfit and she hurriedly made toast for a quick breakfast. "This is it," she told herself as she prepared to leave the house. "As Sonic would say - here we go."
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She locked her house and walked up the path into the street, wondering where to begin. She turned towards the park, hoping that at least one of her friends would be there, and began to make her way up the road. It suddenly occurred to her that she needed a manlier walk, as her own style of walking was rather feminine. She glanced around the area at other males. There was a dark red tiger moving down the opposite side of the road, and she observed his walk. He had a sort of bounce in his step as he strutted along the pavement.
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Amy contemplated his movements. 'I need to make myself seem as masculine as possible,' she thought. 'So I guess I'll just walk the way he did, but I'll emphasise it.' She attempted to copy his walk but made it a lot more noticeable as she tried to swagger down the pavement. She bent her knees and sprung with every step, feeling energetic and excitable. It was after a short a while that she noticed people were looking at her, but she decided that it was just because they didn't recognise her. After all, the people of Mobius often knew each other by their faces.
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The pink hedgehog strolled through the park, searching for any signs of her friends. The sun was shining brightly and the air felt warm, so it wasn't surprising that a lot of people were out and about. She just hoped that at least one of her friends would be among them. She couldn't wait to try out her new persona, and to her relief she soon spotted Sonic and Tails kneeling in the grass. Tails was holding a small mechanical device - probably a new invention - and he was pointing to several of its parts, explaining them to his brotherly figure.
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Amy smiled. She was about to call out to them, but quickly remembered that she had no idea what kind of things she was supposed to say, and her voice needed to sound different. She deepened her it to a level that she thought sounded masculine, and tried to get their attention. "Hey there!" she called in a lower, husky voice.
The two males turned their heads, surprised.
Amy swaggered over to them, saluting casually. "Hi," she repeated.
They looked at her.
"Hi," Sonic said.
"Hello," said Tails. He glanced at her, looking confused. "If you don't mind me asking, why do you walk like that? Is there something wrong with your legs?"
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Amy blushed, chuckling in embarrassment. "Nah, it's just... I was just trying to... I was letting you guys know that we're cool, yeah? Dudes," she added.
Sonic and Tails stared at her, before looking at each other.
"Urm... yeah," Sonic said.
Amy felt herself getting nervous. She was usually organised but when it came to matters such as this she was known for making rash decisions. She had no idea of what to say. 'Think of something manly,' she told herself desperately. "Hey," she said, "Check out my muscles, dudes." She held up her arm and bent it, trying to make it seem muscular. Although she was in fact fairly strong, it looked flat.
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Tails looked a little worried at this point. "Urm... cool..." he said slowly.
"What's your name?" asked Sonic, trying to break the ice.
Amy swallowed. She was beginning to feel panicked. She had completely forgotten to even think of a name! Almost by instinct, she said,"Am-... I mean, Ahh..."
Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Ahh?"
"Andy!" she cried. "Andy. It's Andy. Andy Ro-... I mean, R-Rhodes. Yeah. Andy Rhodes."
Sonic shook her hand. "Hi, Andy. I bet you know who we are," he grinned.
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Amy nodded. "Sure," she said. "Sonic and Tails! Who wouldn't know, man?" They smiled and she felt a small wave of relief. At least she was a little more relaxed now. She crossed her arms, trying to look casual as she regarded the hedgehog and the fox. Her sunglasses slipped down her nose and she hastily pushed them up again, straining her mind for something boyish to say. "It's so hot today, it just makes you wanna punch something, doesn't it?" she said, slamming her fist into her other hand.
"Not really," Tails said, looking concerned again.
Amy bit her lip. She forced a laugh. "I'm only kidding with ya, dude," she chuckled, slapping him on the back.
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Sonic was, at this point, looking very bored. "Is there a reason you came to talk to us?" he asked.
"Yeah," said Amy carefully. "Yeah, I was hoping that you could show me some of your battle secrets, Sonic. Do ya think you could show me some stuff... man?"
Sonic scratched the back of his head. "I... wouldn't you rather get a tutor? I mean, I'm not even qualified-"
"Sonic, look!" yelled Tails, pointing to the skies. They looked up to see Dr. Eggman in his Egg Carrier, yelling something at terrified crowds below him. People were scattering into the park, screaming.
Sonic growled. "Sorry, Andy. Maybe we'll talk some other time, I've gotta sort out this clown!" he called, preparing to run off.
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"Wait!" cried Amy. She cleared her throat, suddenly realising that she'd shouted that in her normal voice. "I mean," she lowered her voice, "Wait! Let me help!"
Sonic paused and turned to face her. "Have you done stuff like this before?" he said in disbelief.
Amy smirked. "I do it all the time."
He stared at her for a second, before displaying his famous cocky grin. "Okay! Let's do this!"
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The trio ran out of the park and into the town centre, where Eggman was threatening the citizens with his robots. They were twice the size of the heroes, and their huge, metallic bodies held up a grand total of four arms on either side. They stormed across the town, using their massive arms to destroy anything in their path. Sonic immediately spindashed several of them in a row, leaving them in ruins. Tails used his namesakes to propel him upwards as he distracted them to the best of his ability. Amy raced towards a robot, about to pull out her hammer. Then she stopped. If she used her hammer, she'd blow her cover, but she'd never tried fighting without it. She watched as the robot in front of her began to advance on her, its red eyes glowing. She gulped.
This wouldn't be easy.
Dum dum dumm.. Hope you all enjoyed that ^_^ I'll try to update chapter 3 ASAP but unfortunately I've become badly stuck on what to write :( I'm sure I'll think of something, so just bear with me. And I really appreciate reviews. Thanks!