Chapter 17

"Get… OFF me!" Amy growled, viciously shoving him off the second they were out of sight of their friends. "I swear to God, if you touch me again, I'll-"

"What the hell are they talking about, Amy?" Sonic challenged. "Transferring Iblis?"

"Sonic, this is so completely not the time for this," she snapped. "We have to go."

"Not until you tell me what that means," Sonic yelled.

"Fine!" Amy shouted. "Just shut up for a minute!"

Sonic obediently closed his mouth, still looking mad.

"You're not stupid, Sonic," Amy sighed. "Which means you know as well as I do that Blaze can't keep Iblis sealed inside her much longer. It needs a new host."

"And, judging by your exceptional track record with putting yourself in life-or-death situations, I'm guessing that's where you come in," Sonic said bitterly.

"Oh, bite me," Amy snarled. "Look, this has been my assignment for years now. It was why they brought me on in the first place. I've trained hard and I'm ready. And nothing you do or say is going to change my mind."

Sonic was quiet, seething with anger and frustration.

"Just go home," Amy instructed with a breath out. "Iblis isn't going to kill me for a long time, if ever, so you don't need to worry about me."

"Of course I do!" he exploded, standing up from the tree stump where he had been sitting. Amy was taken aback. "Amy, for the love of God, the past six years, and the ten years I knew you before that, all I've ever done is worry about you! It's exhausting, you know!"

Amy narrowed her green eyes, poised for a fight. "Well, then don't bother. It's not like it's your job."

"Jesus, how can someone so smart be so damn stupid all at the same time?" Sonic questioned sharply. "Of course I have to worry about you. That's what you do for the people you love!"

"Well, nobody said you had to love me!" Amy yelled.

"Yeah, well, I'll do what I want!" he retorted, nose to nose with her now, both of them furious.

"Fine!" she screamed.

"Fine!" he shouted, spinning on his heel and exiting the clearing quickly and angrily. The group all turned towards him, surprised at the change in his mood.

"Uh, Sonic?" Tails prodded, looking at him with concern.

"I don't want to talk about it," Sonic huffed. "You can go ahead back to Blaze, Tails. I'll keep an eye on everyone."

"I don't need a babysitter, Faker," Shadow snorted.

"Fine. Then I'll come with you as your inferior on your assignment," he replied tightly. "I don't care. Let's just get moving."

"Yeah, I'm starting to get some feeling back here," Sticks jumped in. "I'll probably be okay to walk soon."

"Sticks-" Tails started. She shot him a look, and he quickly quieted, knowing better than to argue with the wildly free-spirited girl.

"The jerkwad is right," Rouge sighed. "We need to start moving. Blaze isn't going to last much longer."

"Agreed," Silver nodded firmly. "As much as I'd rather take a three-hour nap, Blaze needs us."

"Then what the hell are we standing here for?" Amy called, emerging from the woods, also looking furious. Rouge and Sticks shared a look. "Shadow, any idea how far away we are?"

"Pretty damn far," he muttered. "I can't feel anything yet."

"Then we better start walking," Amy instructed. "Sticks, how ya doing over there?"

Sticks pushed herself up, wobbly. She took a few steps, and when she was satisfied that her legs would hold her, she flashed Amy a thumbs up and a grin. "Good to go."

"Shadow, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid," Amy requested, earning a scowl from Sonic in the process. Shadow snickered.

"Jeez, she doesn't forgive easily, does she, hero boy?" he laughed.

"Shut your face hole," Sonic snapped, walking quicker. The group quickly fell into a pattern, Amy in the front with Silver, planning out their path, then Rouge, who was still supporting Sticks as needed, then Sonic, who was fuming silently, and Shadow bringing up the rear, doing his best to listen to his senses. Still, he couldn't feel any sort of Chaos energy nearby, save for the emerald around his neck and the one in Amy's pocket.

Until…

Yes.

There, a slight tugging at his consciousness, barely perceptible, but it was there. He froze, and the rest of the group stopped walking. Amy turned and looked at him with a mix of concern and excitement.

"Shadow?" she ventured.

"Hush," he commanded, holding up a hand, trying to decide which way the Chaos energy was pulling him. Left, he decided, was the way to go. He pointed, and the group followed his finger. "That way."

"You're the boss," Silver shrugged, walking on. Everyone followed behind.

Rouge quickly caught up to Amy, using her wings to give her a little extra momentum. "So, you wanna explain all the anger back there? I can literally see it coming off you in waves."

Amy jerked a thumb back towards Sonic. "Do I even need to explain?"

Rouge held up her hands and giggled. "Say no more. Wow, he really knows how to get under your skin, doesn't he?"

"That's for sure," Amy growled, rolling her injured shoulder back and forth. It felt like someone had poured magma into it, but she did her best to think about other things. Things that would distract her.

And, imperceptibly, she found her mind wandering to the passionate makeout session she'd gotten herself caught up in just last night.

Of all people, it had to be with him. And as if that wasn't enough, it had to be good, too. And that was something she couldn't deny; it had been really good. Thinking about it sent a shiver of desire down her back. The feeling of his mouth all over her neck… she had the sudden urge to turn round and jump him right there in the middle of the forest.

Then again, she also sort of wanted to beat him senseless.

Shaking the feeling and the memory off as best she could, she turned her mind back to the pain she was in. Anything was better than having to think about him.