Chapter 5
"This place is so cute," Rouge noted, putting her black duffel bag down by the window. "Amy really used to live here?"
"Yep!" Sticks replied. "I'd go stay in my burrow, but I don't think it's there anymore. I'll just take the couch in here."
"Fine by me," the bat shrugged. "I'd rather take the hammock anyway."
"Actually, Amy will probably put you in the bed. She always slept in the hammock. None of us ever really understood why she even had a bed," Sticks laughed.
"Yesss," Rouge cheered, running back into the bedroom and flopping down onto the queen-sized bed there. "I like it here."
The front door banged open, scaring the two women into standing positions.
"So should I call the cops now, or just beat the crap out-" started a familiar, angry red echidna. He stopped short when he saw the badger. "Holy Mobius, Sticks, is that you?"
"Knuckles!" Sticks cheered, launching herself at him and koala-hugging him. He happily obliged and squeezed back.
"Wow, it's been forever since I've seen you! Look at you, kid, you're all grown up now!" Knuckles exclaimed, putting her down and mussing her hair.
"And you look pretty much the same," Sticks laughed. "God, I've missed you!"
"Who's your friend?" Knuckles asked, suddenly noticing the sultry-looking bat watching them.
"This is Rouge, mine and Amy's partner," Sticks replied, leading Knuckles over to where Rouge was standing.
"Hi," Rouge said suddenly, her cheeks turning slightly pink under her fur as she shook Knuckles' hand. Sticks was abashed. Was Rouge actually blushing?
"Hello," Knuckles grinned. "I had no idea Sticks had such a beautiful partner."
"Are you guys talking about me?" a voice came from the doorway, and the three looked back to see Amy standing there with her bag in hand.
"Oh my God, Amy!" Knuckles yelled, running towards her and picking her up like she weighed nothing. "I didn't know you were here! What are you doing here? Did you see Sonic y-"
"Calm down," Amy laughed. "I'm here on assignment. We'll be staying around town for a while. And yeah, I missed you too, buddy."
"Damn, Amy, you look so different," he noted, looking her up and down. Gone was the young girl skipping around town looking for trouble, and in her place stood a fierce-looking woman with battle scars and a lot more maturity. "You do too, Sticks. I can't believe you guys are here!"
"Me either," giggled Sticks. "Hey, why don't you and I take Rouge down and show her the beach while Amy gets settled in?"
"I'd really love that," Rouge smiled kindly.
"Sounds like a plan, then," Knuckles grinned back, leading the two women out of the hut.
Amy sat down in the hammock and sighed. "Blaze, you can come out now."
There was quiet at first, then a shuffling sound, and a cat peeked out from beneath one of the bookcases. "How did you know I was here?"
"Because I know you way too well," Amy laughed, walking over to the cat and embracing her. "Of course you'd want someplace quiet. Where else would you go?"
"I'm sorry to have broken into your home," Blaze murmured into Amy's shoulder. "I just needed somewhere to go that Silver wouldn't know about. He's a good kid. I just don't want him in any danger."
Amy pulled back and looked the familiar-looking woman up and down. Since Amy had last seen her, she had lost at least ten pounds. Her lavender fur was even more pale than before, almost light pink now, and she no longer wore her usual uniform, opting instead for a purple and pink striped tank top, a pair of white leggings, purple tennis shoes, and her usual white gloves to hide the flames that tended to dance along her palms. Her purple ponytail was the same length as it had always been, but the real change was in her eyes. Normally a golden color, they were now darkened to a light brown. Her tail, usually swishing mischievously, now just hung from her body, unmoving and lifeless.
"How bad is it?" Amy whispered.
"It's bad," Blaze sighed, sitting down next to Amy on the hammock. "I've been able to feel it for months. In the beginning it was just mild discomfort a few times a week, but now the pain is just… unbearable."
"What did Silver say?" Amy asked.
"He got worried," the cat replied, looking sadly down at her feet. "He could tell it was taking a toll on me, and he started talking about going adventuring to find something to help me. That's when I left. I didn't want him hurting himself just to save me. He doesn't know I'm here."
"So are you two finally together then, or-"
"No," Blaze shook her head emphatically. "I mean, there was a time- for a while, I thought… but, no. He's just a kid. And nobody wants to be stuck with something that has an expiration date on it."
"Oh, Blaze," Amy sighed, putting her head on the cat's shoulder. "It's going to be okay. We'll figure it out."
"Thank you," Blaze demurred. "Why don't you go catch up with everyone else? If it's okay with you, I'm going to stay here for a while. I'm not feeling well."
"Of course it's okay," she replied, squeezing her friend's hand. "I actually have to run into town and get a few things that I forgot to bring with me. Do you need anything?"
"Nothing, thank you," Blaze whispered, curling up on the windowsill and wincing in pain. "I'm okay."
"All right," Amy responded. She pushed out the front door and ran directly into a familiar blue hedgehog.
"Oh my God, I'm so-" he began, stopping when he looked up to see who he had run into.
"Crap," Amy breathed, freezing in her tracks.
"Amy?" Sonic whispered.