Shout-out to: animelover5641, SuperSonicBoom12, Princess Flare the Fox, ShadAmy1Fan, TheLastoftheRealOnes, KumarKitty24, ! Thank you so much for all your lovely and inspiring comments! :3

animelover5641 - Haha! Thank you very much! I'm glad that you found it funny! :D Ah, you shall finally see what happens with Shadow and Sonic ;)

SuperSonicBoom12 - I'm so glad that you find it original, despite the cliché and goofy plot! Thank you, Oh, I totally see what you mean! Amy definitely sounds like Thor, haha! xD

Princess Flare the Fox - Hee hee! xD Thank you very much!

ShadAmy1Fan - Thank you! Teehee, the ending seems to be a hit! ;D

TheLastoftheRealOnes - Don't worry about it! As long as you enjoy it! I'm glad you liked it and I hope that you enjoy this update too! :D

KumarKitty24 - Haha! Thank you for the constant, lovely support and I hope this chapter makes you laugh— wait, no, this is a very serious story. Completely serious. Serious business ;D

BlindBirdWatcher - I'm really glad you liked it — thank you! xD I hope you enjoy this new chapter! :D

scottusa1 - Ah, the mysteries that surround this story! ;D Hopefully, you'll enjoy seeing Sonic squirm in this situation! Thank you for the comments and I hope you like the update! :D

PrinceyAtNight28 - Haha, that made me laugh! xD Thank you very much!

Chapter Seven: Give Up?

(Amy)

"Sonic!" Tails' cheerful smile was infectious and I found myself grinning right back at him, even from the front door, "Hey!"

"Hi, Tails," I gestured on the dinner plates which were balanced on his lap. Tails was reclining on the couch, with a couple of books and the TV remote by his side. He must have been taking a break from his inventions, "It's a bit early for dinner, isn't it?"

"Oh, this isn't dinner! This is lunch! I, uh, got a bit distracted. Then I looked at the time and realised that it had gone way past noon," He winced, but chuckled at the same time, "Oh well, whatcha gonna do?"

"Tails," I sighed, but grinned as I settled down on the couch, next to him, "I'm so buying you a watch for Christmas."

"Heh heh. Good plan. So, what have you been up to? I thought you'd be training, but Rouge said that you'd gone off with Amy. Or something like that. Is it true that you said you were 'Amy's man'?"

I nibbled my lip, thinking back, "Uh, maybe. I can't quite remember. Sorry, Tails — I'd tell you if I knew. I might've said it."

"You're acting kinda strange, you know? I mean, sudden confessions of love? Not even bugging Knuckles about the fight? He said that you haven't been to Angel Island all day! I thought your plan was to annoy him as much as possible, to bring his concentration down?"

"Oh, was it? Well, I suppose I can do that when we're actually beating the living daylights out of each other."

"Okay then," Tails looked doubtful, "Are you sure that you're feeling okay? If you're not feeling too good, you should cancel the fight and rest."

"And let Knuckles think that I'm scared? No way. I'm fighting, even if it kills me," I shot Tails a determined look.

The kitsune wore a small smile, "That sounds more like the Sonic that I know. How much practice have you done?"

"Uh, a fair bit. Speed drills and, uh, spin-dash practice. You know, the usual stuff."

"I see. Knuckles is really pumped about this. He's been practicing all day."

I swallowed, "Oh, has he really?"

"Yep! People have been laying bets, too. He's got Rouge, Charmy and Vector in favour of him. But you've got Shadow, Amy and Espio counting on you."

"How come you're not betting?"

"I don't really bet. I've decided to remain impartial. You and Knuckles would kill me if I didn't."

"That's true," I snorted, resting my head back against the couch. Tails had finished with his 'lunch', so he put his plates on the side. I was itching to take them and clean up for him, but he shifted and moved my legs across his lap, so that I had more space to stretch out. He returned to flicking through TV channels.

It must have been one of Sonic and Tails' brotherly things. Cream and I were the same.

"So, how's Amy?" Tails asked, slyly sending me a brief glance. Clearly, this was a topic that he had to carefully touch on, "You know, Rouge thought that you'd come to collect her for a date, before the fight."

"Uh huh," I nodded, closing my eyes and rolling my head back, "What about it?"

He seemed unsure of himself, "You guys are serious, then?"

"Well, yeah. Of course. We are dating."

"Right, right," I didn't like his tone, "And, um, how's that working out for you guys?"

I sat forward and looked directly at him, "What are you implying, Tails?"

"I'm not implying anything! I'm just asking. 'Cause, well, you know. You've never been very... uh..."

"Never been very what?"

"Okay, I'm just gonna come out and say this. Sonic, I've lost count of the number of times that you've run away from Amy. You moan about her until you're at a loss for words. I've tried talking to you about your feelings, but you just clam up and insist that you don't have a crush on her. Now you expect me to believe that you've suddenly fallen in love with her? What is going on?! You're acting like a completely different person!"

"What have I said about her?" My tone was steady and flat.

"Don't tell me that you don't remember!"

"Tails."

"Come on!"

"Remind me."

"You said she's clingy! You said she doesn't understand you, properly. That she couldn't take a hint and she should stop wasting her time on you. You nearly threw Knuckles into a wall when he joked that you'd eventually get married!"

I was up on my feet, striding towards the front door. Tails leapt up, clearly distressed and upset, "I'm sorry, Sonic, but you asked! I can't help but wonder what changed your mind! I'm not saying that you and Amy shouldn't be together, but-!"

"Thank you, Tails. I need to be alone for a little while," My heart felt empty. Tails didn't bother trying to call me back - he let me go, and I began running in a random direction. I didn't know where I was going. I didn't really care.

I seriously needed to swing my hammer at something. But that wasn't an option.

(Sonic)

"Shads, what are you trying to say?"

He just repeated it, "You're not Amy."

"You're kidding me, right? How can I not be Amy?" I gestured down at my body, "I'm very much Amy Rose."

"You're not. Everything you say is off. I noticed it from the moment you spoke, but now my suspicions have been confirmed. The real Amy would never deny looking for a relationship," In a flash, he grabbed me by the neck and slammed my back into the nearest tree, "She's been in love with Sonic from the moment I met her. Now, tell me who you are!"

I strained and struggled, but I didn't have the raw strength against Shadow. His grip tightened, squeezing the breath in my throat, "Be... reasonable..."

"Amy would never call me Shads. Ever. She knows I hate it. The only person who thrives on calling me that is..." He shook the thought out of his head, clearly telling himself that the idea was insane, "Name yourself. Now!"

"S-Shadow! I c-can't..." Frantically, I kicked him in the crotch, hoping to loosen his grip, but he seemed to be made of iron. He winced, ever so slightly, but his hold remained just as tight.

"Pathetic," He muttered, dropping me to the ground and letting go. After a huge gulp of air, my breathing quickened and I slumped against the tree. Shadow paced before me, possibly deciding how to torture information out of me.

"Okay..." I panted, once my voice had returned to normal, "What if I told you... that I'm trapped inside Amy's body?"

His look was suspicious, but he listened, quietly asking, "So. Who are you, really?"

"...It's me. Sonic."

Shadow blinked.

"I'm telling the truth!"

"You must be truly desperate to conjure such an absurd lie."

"Exactly! It's so absurd that it must be true! You have to believe me!"

His anger flared, "I don't have to do anything!"

"I'm Sonic, Shadow, I'm telling you! Something's happened between me and Amy! I just woke up like this, and she's in my body! We agreed not to say anything to anyone, but..." I leapt forward, grabbing his legs and clinging onto them, "It's awful, Shadow! I don't want to be a girl anymore! There's so much shopping! And talking! I have to wear a bra! And there's no chilidogs! I had to eat a salad! And I want my speed back! And my own quills!"

"Get off," Shadow grunted, shaking his left leg. I clung on.

"Please! Help me! I don't know how to speak about hair with Rouge! I can't do this forever!"

He sighed, snapping my arms away from his legs, before yanking me up and placing me on my feet, "Just shut up. You certainly sound like that idiotic fool. But I have to be certain."

"Okay!" I cheered, clasping my hands together in a pleading manner, "What do you want me to do?"

"Answer three questions that only Sonic would know."

"Sure! Fire away!"

He pondered, for a moment, "Who is your arch-nemesis?"

I was less than impressed, "You've got to be kidding me. At least make 'em challenging, Shadow! It's Eggman! Ask me a difficult one, this time!"

"What is Tails' real name?"

"Miles. Better, but hardly rocket science."

"What is the password to Gerald Robotnik's diary?"

After that, I shut up pretty sharpish, "Uh, okay. That's a good one. Are you sure that I actually know the answer to this one? You know, the technological stuff is usually left to Tails."

"Answer the question."

"Okay, okay, geez!" I raised my hands, sauntering back and forth in thought, "Doing it!"

Password password password. Aw, c'mon, as if I was meant to remember this stuff!

Okay. Gerald Robotnik. Egghead's Grandaddy. That was the dude who created Shadow, fifty years ago. I was pretty certain that it was. Maybe it was something like 'Ultimate Life Form'. Shadow was pretty arrogant — he'd probably like hearing his title again.

No, that didn't feel right. If it was a password for Gerald, it was probably something important to Shadow, too. I was going out on a limb here, but I had to hope!

Important to Shadow, important to Shadow, important to Shadow.

That was it!

"Yo!" I waved, attracting Shadow's attention, "Ding ding ding! Sonic has the answer!"

"Well?"

"Well, Quizmaster. The answer is Maria!"

I feared that I'd gotten it wrong, but when Shadow's frown faded and he slowly nodded, I lit up in glee. He blinked, "Yes. But I still don't believe that you are Sonic the Hedgehog."

"What? But you said, if I answered the questions, you'd believe me!"

"The suggestion is impossible! How could you switch bodies with Amy and not know how? I refuse to believe such a stupid idea."

"Why would I lie about this? I wouldn't get anything out of it!"

He glared, "Maybe you're planning to get closer to us, disguised as one of our own, to catch us unaware."

"Then keep an eye on me! Look, I'm only asking you to believe me, until I can be switched back. I can't let Amy run around in my body any longer. She's going to get hurt, and I'm not gonna let Egghead capture her! Besides, I'm worried about her fighting Knuckles! He's a good fighter, I'll admit, and Amy hasn't got the fighting instinct that we have."

"If what you say is true," Shadow's eyes widened, as if he'd just realised, "Amy will be fighting the Guardian."

He really needed to stop filtering speech! "Yes! I just said that! Listen, we've gotta do something! If we can find a way to switch us back-"

"Don't be stupid," He snapped, "You're not going to be switched back in time. That could take days. We have less than an hour. We have to cancel the fight."

"Wait, we can't do that! Knuckles will be on my case for months!"

"Your pride is more important?"

I sighed in agreement. I'd told Amy that she was ready — as a confidence booster — but I was now starting to worry. I knew that she could hold her own, and she had a fair chance of winning, but if Knuckles just got one hit... I didn't know if my natural body strength would protect her, without training.

"It's agreed. We have to stop the fight," Shadow decided. At least he seemed to believe that I was me, for now. He handed Amy's hammer back with a certain toughness. He'd been a lot softer, when he'd thought that I was Amy, "Let's go."

"Wait!" I called, before he could dash off without me. The hammer disappeared, as if by magic, "I... I can't run as fast as you. You need to carry me."

A small smirk stretched across Shadow's lips, "Oh, yes. I'd forgotten. You're slower than me, aren't you, Sonic?"

"Oh, so now you believe me. Just shut up and move," I snapped back, leaping onto his back, and watching as the world blurred into one colour.

(Amy)

I was burning. Absolutely fuming. My fists were clenched and, whenever I stood still, I was surprised that flames didn't burst out of my body.

That stupid Sonic. He was always doing this to me! He hadn't changed at all! Now I find out that he'd been slagging me off, behind my back! He was more of a jerk than I'd thought!

Usually, whenever he annoyed me like this, I was able to calm down with soothing thoughts, time alone, and possibly kind words from other people. But all of Station Square was looking at me, though no one said a word. I must have looked particularly frightening, with tense muscles, clenched fists and a fire in my eyes.

"Big Blue, are you alright?" Rouge seemed unfazed, but she was warily viewing me from a distance. She'd been chosen as the commentator of the fight, but she was trying to keep spectators back at the same time, along with the GUN soldiers. I hadn't said a single word and it seemed to puzzle her, as I glared from my end of the 'arena', "You look majorly annoyed."

I was, but I kept my mouth shut.

"Where's Knuckles?" I growled, "I wanna get this over and done with."

"He's coming. No need to snap," She huffed, before flying over towards Tails and Cream. The three of them were whispering together, sending me the occasional glance that I pretended to ignore, as each of them looked concerned.

Maybe Sonic should have taken a hint! Maybe he should have stopped running away and getting so shy, and just talked to me!

But, clearly, Sonic and Knuckles had been joking about me. The two of them had gotten into more fights than I cared to remember, but they were close and tended to get over it by laughing about something. And they'd been laughing about me.

How could Sonic do this?!

I wasn't stupid. I knew that people thought of me as clingy. They just didn't understand true love — it was a passionate thing; you couldn't just turn it on and off like a switch! My feelings for Sonic were real and strong. But, apparently, Sonic didn't see it like that.

"Amy! Uh, I mean, Sonic!"

I growled at his arrival and didn't bother to turn around. Sonic's words were drowned amidst the clamour of the crowd, but Shadow's voice was more distinguishable, "Come here!"

As I turned, my expression was dark and I saw Sonic flinch. The Ultimate Life Form didn't react. I snapped, "No, thanks. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm kind of busy preparing for a fight. And, besides, I don't want to be seen as clingy, do I?"

I watched as my body's skin suddenly went pale and Sonic cried, "Wait, what? What are you talking about?"

"Yeah. You didn't think I'd hear, did you?! Well, I did — now I know what you really think about me. I thought we were friends! How could you say stuff like that behind my back?" I stomped my foot to underline my point.

Shadow muttered something to Sonic, but he ignored the ebony hedgehog and yelled back, "Look, it probably sounds worse than it is! What did you hear? Who told you that I think you're clingy?!"

"So it is true!"

"No, I didn't say that! Listen—!"

"I was right! Gosh, you're so arrogant! You think I'm clingy — maybe the reason for that is 'cause you lead me on! You don't tell me up-front what you want! You're such a jerk!"

There was a horrible pause, as the crowd blinked and muttered between themselves. I'd yelled pretty loudly — everyone would now be whispering about 'Sonic's' outburst towards 'Amy'. Shadow tensed up, but his mouth remained in a thin line. Sonic groaned, raking his hands through his pink bob and mumbling something under his breath.

Cream was wide-eyed and Rouge had a suspicious expression on her face, with narrowed eyes. Tails frowned and called out to me, "Sonic? Are you okay?"

I didn't answer, as a red echidna jogged onto the scene. He'd pushed through the crowd and was now in the centre, only a couple of feet away from me. His fists were clenched, as a smug grin appeared on his face, "Yo, Sonic! It's been a while! Ready to get your ass served?"

At least the fight would allow my pent-up anger to be released. There wouldn't be much talking involved, "We'll see, Knucklehead. I'll try not to humiliate you too much."

"That's more like it!" He chuckled, retaining a grin, "Shall we?"

I raised my own fists, sauntering into the middle, while Knuckles did the same, "Let's."

Rouge fluttered between us, eyeing me up with increased concern. But she didn't question it, and her gaze wandered towards Knuckles, with a prolonged sigh. The crowd quietened, as she raised her hand, "Okay, boys. Let's be civil, eh? Any damage — you're paying. All normal fighting rules, yadda yadda. I want a clean fight, bla bla bla. Try not to hospitalise each other, okay? Touch gloves."

I bumped Knuckles' fists, before I stepped back into the edge of the arena. Sonic yelled something that became lost in the wind and, for once, I didn't even bother to look at him.

I'd show him. I'd show him how clingy I was.

(Sonic)

"Dammit!" I hissed, gripping onto the railings which had been set up for the fight. I struggled to stop myself from leaping over them and standing between Knuckles and Amy, "She's not listening!"

"She's angry. What did you do this time?" Shadow asked, whilst his eyes remained on the fight.

"No idea," I admitted.

I could only guess that she had heard something that I'd said about her. Something that she didn't like. She'd mentioned something about being 'clingy' — maybe Knuckles had repeated one of our conversations, about her.

I didn't mean for it to be an insult. Even she couldn't deny that she was a bit clingy, but it was a part of her personality, and her passion was something that I really liked about her. I couldn't help but think that she was overreacting about this, but I understood why she was angry. I wouldn't want to hear that Amy and Rouge had been discussing me — I wouldn't want to hear that they thought I was irritating, or something like that.

Shadow punched my shoulder, "Well? What are we doing? They're about to start."

I stretched my neck up, feeling annoyed at my sudden decreased height. Amy was facing Knuckles with raises fists, but she was standing in completely the wrong position. Her legs were together and her head was hanging low. I winced at Knuckles' smug smile.

"I don't know. I don't know! But I can't watch her getting hurt! We need a distraction!"

"Think of one. Quickly," Shadow snarled, being as helpful as ever.

I held my breath, as Knuckles charged at Amy. She managed to dodge it with my speed, but Knucklehead was surprisingly ready for this, and he rounded on her. I wondered if he'd been doing as much tactical thinking as I had.

Amy let out a yelp as Knuckles threw a punch at her. She feebly blocked him and raised her fists for another attack. The echidna struck out his leg, grazing her shin. Her martial arts skills weren't quite up to speed.

To my surprise, she leapt behind him and jutted her elbow out, catching him in the back. Clearly, she'd listened to what I'd said and remembered that Knuckles' back was his weakness.

"Clever," Shadow said, sending me a raised eyebrow, "I assume that you told her about the echidna's blind spot?"

"Of course."

Amy's moves proved my theory. Whenever Knuckles left his back undefended, she would dash behind him and jab at his shoulder blades. It was clever, but it didn't really do anything to knock him down. It was a minor irritant to the echidna, and Amy needed to do everything she could to bring him down.

I winced, as Knuckles' fist connected with her cheek. Incredibly, she remained on her feet, but there was a dazed look in her eyes and she had to blink, before she successfully avoided his next attack. Annoyingly, Knuckles didn't bother wasting energy on his burrowing tactic — clearly, he'd already figured out that it wouldn't work on concrete.

Shadow remained silent, even as Amy slid against the barriers, after a swift kick to the stomach. I saw her eyes flicker in my direction and, in response, I gave her a crooked smile, followed by a thumbs up. She didn't manage to return the gesture, but a smile curved on her lips. Knuckles barged in front of her, throwing odd punches here and there. He didn't appear to be trying very hard — his confidence was swelling.

My breath caught in my throat as Amy ducked and slammed her leg into Knuckles' gut. He grunted, skidding back a few paces and looking surprised. I glanced back to the corner of the arena, expecting to see my body looking worn-out, but I saw no sign of my body-snatcher.

"Wha—?" There was a thud and Knuckles was thrown, face-down, onto the floor. A whirling blue of cobalt quills tumbled through the air, just for a moment, before Amy landed on her feet. I whooped and whistled at the sight of the damaging attack, "Yeah! Bullseye! You owned him!"

"I understand your excitement and I must admit that her attack was impressive, but drawing attention to yourself is an incredibly stupid idea," Shadow hissed, tugging my ear and shushing me.

With a sigh, I slapped his hand away, "Lemme go! And I thought you didn't believe my explanation? How come you now believe that Amy and I switched bodies?"

"After witnessing the look that she gave you, only Amy Rose would scold Sonic the Hedgehog in such a way. And only Sonic would be such a fool as to anger her," Shadow shrugged, staring off at the fight.

I rolled my eyes, but I was grateful that Shadow was now on my side.

(Amy)

I'm so done for I'm really out of my depth Sonic you'd better say something nice at my funeral you utter jerk!

In previous fights with Knuckles, when I had the privilege of being in my own body, I hadn't been exposed to his full force. Sure, I'd thrown my hammer in his direction before, and he'd dodged my attacks, but Sonic, Tails or Cream would usually interrupt and stop us from hurting each other.

I'd never ended up in an actual, physical fight with him, without a weapon, where he had the upper hand and there would be only one winner.

It seemed that, as soon as I sped somewhere, he was ready and knew where I would move to. My use of Sonic's speeds was a shambles, at best, and I rarely went in the direction that I wanted. Even if, by some miracle, I gained control over an insane movement, Knuckles' fists were seconds away from smashing my head in.

My eyes widened when, to my shock, I'd crashed into Knuckles and he was lying on the floor by my feet. But I only had a few seconds to congratulate myself, before he was up again, albeit a little wounded. An adrenaline-fuelled fire sparked in his eyes as he faced me.

"You know, I was gettin' worried. You seemed off your game, and I didn't wanna pummel you too hard. An easy fight is no fun," Knuckles goaded, wearing a cocky smile. Clearly, he wasn't at all worried about my attacks and, yet, he wasn't furiously trying to destroy me, either.

"Yeah. Well. I can guarantee everything but an easy fight," I bragged, raising my fists again. We were back to square one, except for the fact that I was wobbly on my feet, and Knuckles was a bit winded, "Your move."

"Heh. Gladly," Our conversation was cut short, as the echidna leapt towards me and aimed for my head. I jumped, as I was rather fond of Sonic's face, but he caught me in the ribs. Ignoring the intense pain in my side, I dashed to the opposite end of the arena. I had mere seconds before I needed to duck again.

"Am— uh, Sonic! Keep runnin'!"

I followed Sonic's instructions, making laps around the edge of the battleground. To my surprise, Knuckles wasn't able to catch up with me, and the crazy running seemed to be working. I could take charge of the super speed for a plotted course, but not for quick aerodynamics.

Sixteen laps later, my head was starting to grow fuzzy. I still wasn't used to this continuous running, even though I had Sonic's stamina. It made me feel a bit sick. Knuckles tried to make a grab for me, as I ran, but he gave up after a while, and resigned himself to standing in the middle of the arena.

"You can't run away from me all day, Sonic!" He yelled, almost sounding amused, "Man-up and fight!"

"Why? This is way more fun!" I quipped back, pushing myself further and determinedly reaching twenty laps. I hated to admit it, but he was right. I couldn't run all day.

"Charge!" Sonic and Shadow simultaneously yelled. I had no idea what they meant and, by the looks of Knuckles' extremely blurry face, neither did he.

Charge?

Charge. At Knuckles.

Knuckles might have also worked out the meaning of 'charge', at that moment, but he didn't have enough time to act. I threw my shoulder into his chest and tackled him to the ground.

He grunted as I landed on top of him, taken by surprise. I paused, unsure if this would be awkward, but then I reminded myself that this was Sonic and Knuckles: they usually got into odd positions, as they tried to bash each other's brains out. I pinned his arms to the ground, sitting on his stomach.

"Give up?" I muttered, conserving my energy.

"Nice try," He threw my arms off with ease, freeing his fists, and I'd underestimated his strength. Just as I got to grips with the power switch, he grabbed my waist and tossed me to the floor. I glared up at him, as he leaned over me.

I groaned, "Dammit."

"Give up?"

"No way," Curling my legs up, I projected my feet into Knuckles' stomach and kicked him off of me. We both regained our footing and shot confident (fake, in my case) grins at each other. I wondered how long I was going to be able to keep this up. I couldn't use that running trick again, not after it had backfired and Knuckles knew what I was planning, now.

"Incoming!"

We both blinked, as my pink hammer came tumbling through the air, landing upright in the ground.

"What the—?" Knuckles' mouth tumbled open, "How did—?"

I swiped my hammer up, twirling it between my fingers. I shot a quick glance in Sonic and Shadow's direction, as they both frantically gestured for me to attack, "Sonic..."

"Move!" Shadow barked.

"Right!" Raising the Piko Piko hammer above my head, I embraced the familiar feeling of it sitting in my hands. No more crazy agility moves based on whim, "It's time to end this, Knucklehead!"

He yelped and narrowly avoided a hit to the face, "This ain't in the rules! Stop cheatin', Sonic!"

"How is this... cheating?" I grunted, aiming for his legs. He continuously leapt back, but he looked remarkably paler than before.

"This is totally cheating! Since when have you ever used Amy's hammer?!" He retreated to the edge of the arena.

I grinned, lifting it over my shoulder, "You never said anything about weapons. If I can wield it, it's fair, right? You just wish that you had this kind of strength."

"What?!"

I slammed it down again, just missing his shoulder, as Knuckles made the mistake of backing into the corner, "Let's just say, I've been training."

Slowly regaining my energy, I swung again, but he surprised me by punching back. His fist met the curve of my hammer with a horrible crack — I was knocked back, as Knuckles shook his fist with a wince.

Finally, I lifted it again and Knuckles made no attempt to prevent my attack. His eyes squeezed shut and his face twitched in anticipation. I smiled to myself, before lowering the hammer to my side.

Knuckles tentatively opened his eyes, and frowned, "Well?"

"Let's call it quits," I smirked, "I won't smash your face in, and we'll call it a tie."

"And the catch?"

Of course, he'd be suspicious, "There is no catch."

"Hmm," He straightened his legs, standing upright, and slightly hovered above me, "I guess I can walk away with a tie. This time."

We grinned at each other, before shaking hands and raising our fists into the air, signalling that we had tied. Everyone seemed a little shell-shocked by the events, including Rouge, who stuttered into a microphone that it was a draw. But, soon, there was a thick crash of applause and several cheers. We'd put on a good show. Sonic's dignity had remained intact. It had gone as well as could have been expected.

"You know," Knuckles said, as we watched the crowd, "I've never seen you acting so strangely. Your fighting was pretty shoddy, to say the least. And using Amy's hammer? I never saw that coming."

"Watch it, Knucklehead. It sounds like you're challenging me to another fight," I warned through gritted teeth.

He chuckled, "Yeah, well, maybe another time. When you're not acting so weird. And when you don't need your girlfriend to throw her weapon into the ring, to save you."

"Sure, whatever," I retorted, with a smile, as he turned to converse with Tails, Rouge and Cream.

Sonic leapt over the barrier and raced towards me, with Shadow following suit. The pink hedgehog threw his arms around my neck, excitably, before pulling away just as quickly. Shadow and I gave him a surprised look.

"What? We won! Sorta. Anyway, I'm keeping up appearances. You know, it's what Amy'd do. No big deal," Sonic coughed, awkwardly.

Shadow didn't look impressed. My heart swelled and I cooed, "Awh. You're just covering it up! Don't be shy, Sonic. I know how you really feel."

Usually, he'd groan at a comment like that, but he looked nervous, all of a sudden, "So. You're not angry, anymore? I'm forgiven? 'Cause I didn't mean it the way that it—"

"It's okay, Sonic," I reassured him. Sonic and I were no strangers to arguments, but we usually got over them pretty quickly, "But, if you really wanna make up for it, I'm sure I can think of something!"

Sonic rolled his eyes, but he grinned, taking my hammer as I offered it to him. He jumped when it disappeared into a puff of smoke. I tilted my head to one side, before asking, "Hey, how'd you manage to summon it?"

"Huh? Oh, I dunno," He replied, rather nonchalantly.

I turned to the Ultimate Life Form. Shadow explained, "He was panicking and accidentally received the hammer, before throwing it to you."

"You were worrying about me? That's so sweet," I blinked, "Wait a minute. Shadow knows about all of this?!"

"Yeah. Though, he didn't exactly believe me at the start," Sonic glared at Shadow, who simply scoffed in response. I giggled, imagining that their conversation had been interesting, to say the least, "He's cool with it."

"That's good," I gestured in the direction of the others, "Because they're beyond suspicious."

"Shh!" Sonic hissed, as footsteps approached. I raised my hand in greeting to the four of them, grinning cheerily. Cream and Tails smiled back; Knuckles smirked, but Rouge had a doubtful expression on her face.

"Hi, guys," I ignored the bat's frown, "Wasn't the fight awesome? I bet you were clinging to the edge of your seats!"

Tails nodded, "Yeah, it was cool. A lil' weird, but cool!"

"You bet it was!" I sent a glare at Rouge, when she muttered, weird is putting it mildly.

"Speaking of bets, I suppose everyone keeps their money," Shadow said, smugly keeping his arms by his sides and not reaching for his wallet, "That's a shame, Sonic. I was looking forward to buying some more ammunition."

"Like you don't have enough already," Sonic replied, hotly. I laughed, appreciatively, but blushed when I noticed that everyone was looking at me. I linked my hands and twiddled my thumbs.

Rouge broke the momentary silence by snapping at Knuckles, "And you say that they're not acting strangely!"