Chapter 4

The next morning, Sonic arrived at his boss' shop for the next assignment.

Crazy Pete, however, was working on more of his collectibles. He then kissed it for the excellent quality it had.

"Morning, Mr. Crazy Pete. Nice day, huh? Lots of happy faces." Sonic interrupted, as Pete then looked at him jealously.

"Nice day. Ah, phooey!" he said. "I'll be happy when I've earned more lots of cold-hardened money from today's sale!"

Sonic then had a confused look.

"Why are you standing there with your face hangin' out? Get to work!" Pete hollered as Sonic started his chores, leaving any area free of dust and dirt, and restocking the shelves.

After finishing the last jar, he then looked at the other areas he cleaned. "Piece of cake!"

"Quit slackin' off there! There's a customer waitin'!" Pete's voice hollered.

"On it, boss!" Sonic said, as he helped an old sheep woman with a new antique jewelry box.

"It's not much, but it should help with your sorting problem at home," Sonic said.

"Such a nice young man," the woman said. "Here's a little something for you." She then paid the young hedgehog 25 galleons in exchange.

"No problem, I don't expect anything. I'm just glad to help," Sonic said, as the good lady left. He then looked at his sack full of money, "With this enough money, I won't have to live out near the alley anymore."

Suddenly, a family of cats came, "Uh, we'd like to buy a—"

"Did I hear you folks are lookin' for something?" Pete interrupted, "Boy, oh, boy! Is this your lucky day!" He then chortled before showing them his entire stock. "This here's what you folks need. Lots of both rare and casual quality hand-me-downs for your humble home!"

"Wow. That's a lot of stuff," a boy said.

"Well, it's a little... more than we need," the mother said, showing Pete the amount of galleons they had.

"Well, madam, I gotta be honest with ya," Pete said, relighting his cigar. "This is all I got for today. Plus, most of them have all but been renovated or reservated in advance for refurbishment."

Sonic then thought of an idea.

"You don't want these kids..." Pete then blew smoke towards the little girl, "goin' without a toy chest, now, do ya?"

"We are gonna get something, aren't we, Daddy?" the girl said.

"Um, this is all we have," the father said.

"Well, that'll be just fine-" Pete chuckled. "...for a down payment."

The kids then looked at their dad, as he looked at them and then back at Pete.

"Get your foot off the brake, Pops. The kids are waitin'." Pete said.

"Hey! How about these?" Sonic said, showing them a few collectibles inside a wooden chest. "I, uh, I found them out back. Plus, I packed it with a tea set and some other valuable items you can use. It hasn't been "reservated" or anything like that."

"Wow! It's beautiful," the girl said, looking at the clock, nesting doll set, and many more.

The dad gave Pete the money for it, "It's perfect! We'll take it."

Pete was shocked, before he grumbled with angry mumbling.

Sonic helped them load the chest onto their cart.

"And thank you again." the family said.

"Thanks a lot!" the girl said.

"No problem! Happy to help! Have a…"

Sonic looked up to see Pete growling at him angrily.

"…nice day. Uhh, is there a problem?"

The growling continued before Pete spoke up, "I had them on the hook for a bunch of premium collectables!"

"And for that, I'll just take what I would have made off of that purchase..." Pete took the money bag from Sonic, "….out of your pay!"

"Hey! I worked hard on that!" Sonic said, taking the money back. "You can't just get people to pay for what you want! It's up to them to decide what they want to buy, not you!"

It then agitated Pete, "WHY YOU LITTLE-! That does it! YOU'RE FIRED! Now get off of my lot!"

He then threw Sonic outside his shop, causing the hedgehog to land on his butt. He then turned around, and gave an angry look at his former employer. "Greedy jerk…"

"Phew! Chump," Pete said, after putting his other recent payment in his pocket, without noticing his cigar in there, until it started burning his butt.

He then took a whiff, "Hmm. Somebody's burning their ham."

He then realized his bum was burning, "Ooh! Ow! Ow! Ooh!"

He then started screaming, "A little warm!"

He then bumped into his entire stock, as some of them got caught on fire, "Ah, you watta-"

As he yelled and grunted before one of the metal jars touched his burning butt while removing one of the big jars off his head as it was stuck, he was then shot out of the rooftop, screaming in pain from all that heat.

Sonic however couldn't decide what to do, before he then thought of an idea.

Pete then landed into a huge tub full of water, scaring a flock of hens, until his entire shop was on fire.

He then got put the wet tub before landing face flat onto a pile of mud with 4 pigs, where he looked in horror at his burning shop.

"Not my antique workshop!" he cried, before the fire brigade came to put it out.

Meanwhile, Sonic sat on the caper near a few produce stands thinking about how he lost his job, and the goodness he showed towards those people.

"I'm not giving up. I'll find a way," Sonic said. His stomach then made a grumbling noise, he then sees a stand full of melons, and then thought of an idea.

A proprietor held up a melon towards the passing crowd, "Try this, your taste buds will dance and sing."

"I'll take one of those to go please?" a voice said, as the proprietor saw Sonic standing there, and exchanging 3 galleons for the melon.

"Thank you for your purchase! Have a good day!" he said, as Sonic walked off after taking his melon, and after setting himself near the caper and on a edge of a building, he broke the melon open and started eating.

Suddenly, a mysteriously disguised Amy was walking through the street.

"Pretty lady, buy a pot. No finer pot in brass or silver."

"Sugar dates, sugar dates and figs! Sugar dates and pistachios!"

"Would the lady like a necklace? A pretty necklace for a pretty lady."

"Pies for sale!"

She was charmed by the action, but was then startled by a fish thrusted into her face.

"Fresh fish! We catch 'em, you buy 'em!"

"I don't think so," Amy said, as she backed away, but bumped into a fire eater, who was startled into swallowing his fire. "Oh, excuse me."

He gulped, then belched fire from his mouth. Amy was disgusted, as the fire eater was pleased and tapped his stomach.

Sonic then saw her, before a strange look came over his face.

"I'm really very sorry."

He felt that he was now obviously deeply in love with her, "Wow…"

She pulled the hood of her cloak over her head, with Sonic still entranced by her beauty.

Amy stopped at the fruit stand and saw a young homeless child reaching for a piece of fruit, "Oh, you must be hungry." She picked one up and gave it to him. "Here you go." The boy ran off.

"You'd better be able to pay for that," the proprietor said.

Amy was mystified, "Pay?"

The proprietor got angry, "No one steals from my cart."

"Oh, I'm sorry sir. I don't have any money," Amy said.

"Thief," the proprietor said.

"Please, if you let me go to the palace, I can get some from the king himself," Amy said.

"Do you know what the penalty is for stealing?" the proprietor asked, as he took her hand and pinned it down on the table, intending to chop it off.

"No, no please," Amy begged.

The sword dropped, but his hand was stopped by Sonic.

"Thank you, kind sir. I'm so glad you've found her. I've been looking all over for you," Sonic said, holding Amy's shoulders.

Amy then whispered, "What are you doing?"

Sonic whispered back, "Just play along."

"You know this girl?" the proprietor asked.

Sonic then thought up of something, "Sadly, yes. She is my sister. She's a little crazy." He circled his finger around his ear. Amy was shocked.

The proprietor grabbed him by the arm, "She said she knows the king."

"Well, she thinks that all the time. Tragic, isn't it?" He leaned forward, paying for the apple Amy stole and giving the coins to the proprietor. "But, so far no harm done." He then walked over to Amy. "Now come along sis. Time to see the doctor."

Amy looked at a donkey standing nearby, "Oh, hello doctor. How are you?"

"No, no, no. Not that one," Sonic said, before lifting Amy off her feet and holding her bridal style. "Better hold on tight," he whispered.

He then ran off in the speed of sound with Amy in his arms.

Later on, Sonic and Amy climbed up a few ladders to the rooftops of a few houses in the village. "Almost there," Sonic said.

Amy climbed over the top, but tripped and fell into Sonic's arms. She then stood up.

"I want to thank you for stopping that man," Amy said.

"No problem. Besides, I had enough money to pay for that apple," Sonic replied, as he grabbed a pole. "So, uh, this is your first time in the marketplace, huh?"

Sonic then pole vaulted to the next building, leaving Amy behind.

"Is it that obvious?" Amy asked.

"Well, you do kinda stand out," Sonic said, staring at her, still in love. Amy then returned the look. But he realized what he was doing, and returned to normal, "I mean, uh, you don't seem to know how dangerous the village can be." He laid a plank between the buildings for her to walk over, but as he was leaned down, she vaulted over his head. He looked back in surprise. She tossed the pole to him. His eyes buldged.

"I'm a fast learner," Amy said.

"Right. C'mon, this way," Sonic said. They went inside the roof of a building, dodging planks and beams as they go. "Whoa. Watch your head there. Be careful."

"Is this where you live?" Amy asked.

"Yep. Just me. Come and go as I please," Sonic replied, while starting to boil a kettle.

"Fabulous," Amy said.

"Well, it's not much," Sonic said, as he pulled back the curtain and exposed the castle from the distance. "…but it's got a great view. Castle looks pretty amazing, huh?"

"Oh, it's wonderful," Amy said.

"I wonder what it would be like to live there, to have servants and valets…" Sonic said, imagining living in the castle.

"Oh, sure. People who tell you where to go and how to dress," Amy said.

"It's better than here. Always selling hand–me–down antiques and earning money for food and shelter," Sonic said.

"You're not free to make your own choices," Amy said.

"Sometimes you feel so-"

"You're just-"

"-trapped." they both said in unison

They looked at each other, realizing that they're perfect for one another. But Sonic then realized where he is, and breaks the look. He then hears the kettle whistling before walking over to make the tea. He then brought the kettle over, along with a tray with two cups and saucers, and three bowls carrying cream, honey and sugar.

Sonic then set up the tray for the cream, honey and sugar, and then while holding the kettle looked at Amy, "Tea?"

"Thank you," Amy said.

"So, uh, where're you from?" Sonic asked, while pouring her tea, allowing her to take it and add the cream and sugar.

Before Amy could drink her tea, she then spoke, "What does it matter? I ran away, and I am not going back."

Sonic then swallowed his tea, "Really? How come?"

"My father's forcing me to get married," Amy said, still holding her tea cup.

"That's-that's awful," Sonic said. "Well, you wanna know something?"

"What?" Amy asked.

Sonic then put his tea cup down, "From your appearance, I'm getting a personal feeling that only someone very particular could afford special clothing like that underneath the cloak. And that fancy cotton lining is imported, too. It comes from the merchant boats straight to the castle. But not to servants. At least not most servants. Which means you... are probably lucky to get something like that."

Amy then sighed in relief, "Impressive."

"You think that's impressive. You should see the city from up there," Sonic said.

"Yeah, Avalar. It's so beautiful. I should get out more and probably see the rest of Mobius," Amy said.

"You should tell the Princess to get out more. The people haven't seen or met her in years," Sonic said.

"I-They won't let her. Ever since the war between nations, the King's been afraid. So she's kept locked away." Amy said.

Sonic was impressed, "Seems everyone's been afraid since then. But the people of Avalar had nothing to do with that. The people loved her."

"They did, didn't they?" Amy then saw Sonic's mother's ring around his neck. "Is this yours?"

Sonic looked and held the ring around his neck, "Yeah. It belonged to my mother, whoever she was."

Amy was confused, "Oh?"

Sonic said, "It's all I remember of her."

"And what about your father?" Amy asked.

Sonic then replied, "Same with him. I lost them both when I was very young. Been on my own ever since, but after Longclaw came in and took care of me. It's all right, it's just..."

"What?"

"It's a little sad... having an owl warrior as the only parental authority in your life, before they sacrifice themselves to save your life from invaders. I get by. Every day, I just... think things will be different, but it never seems to change. Just sometimes, I feel like..." Sonic then stopped.

"Like you... can't escape what you were born into?" Amy asked.

"Yep," Sonic replied.

"I sometimes feel the same way," Amy said.

"But Longclaw would usually tell me that sometimes life isn't fair, no matter how much it hurts," Sonic said.

"Oh you think so?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, of course," Sonic said.

"And did Longclaw have anything else to say?" Amy asked.

"Well, uh, she would also say there was always something I could do to help myself out in the world, even if it involves doing the same for other people, maybe someone… like you," Sonic said.

"Hmm... that's very... sweet," Amy said.

They then started getting closer and closer, until Sonic leans in to kiss her. He was interrupted, however, as Amy realized something, "I have to go." She then got up and started walking out of the building. "Where are you going?" Sonic asked.

"Home. Don't worry, I know the way back," Amy said. "Thanks for the tea, by the way. Goodbye."

Sonic waved back, before he sat down and watched the sunset.

Amy was turning yet another corner but still, nothing looked familiar, and she started to panic. "I'm so stupid. Why did I run away in the first place? What could I have possibly been thinking?" She then decided to walk back, and turned the other corner, until she suddenly heard voices from the next corner while she was getting closer.

Happy to finally find people who may point her in the right direction, she speed up her walking, and soon she saw a group of wolves talking loudly with each other. "E-Excuse me. Could you maybe help me? I'm lost and can't find the way back to the marketplace," Amy asked shyly.

One of them, a gray and black wolf with a scar across his eye and dirty-looking black clothes, turned around and stared at her for a second before he chuckled and asked, "Well, well, well, fellas. What have we got here?"

They all grinned mischievously, as the wolf spoke again. "You look like a rich girl." He then sniffed her, as he got a scent of her perfume. "You smell good."

"Uhh, thanks," Amy said nervously.

"You look like a rich girl. How much are you gonna pay for my help?" the wolf asked.

"I-I'm sorry. B-But I don't have any money on me," Amy said as she made a step back as the wolf stepped closer to her.

"Well, that's unfortunate. How about you give me the tiara on your pretty head for payment?" The dirty-looking wolf asked, pointing to the gold and silver tiara on her head.

"I can't give you that, it's too important for me," Amy said, as she hid her tiara behind her hands.

"Too bad, I like this tiara. So if you don't wanna get hurt, hand it over," The wolf said growling. Amy was about to run away but another of the group, a hulking bird, grabbed her arm.

"Let go of me, please. I just wanna go home." Amy said as she struggled to pull her arm free.

"You can go after I have that tiara." The wolf, who was the boss of the group said and was about to pull the ornament off her but yet another, a bengal tiger interrupted.

"Hold on boss, she looks kinda familiar," the tiger said, as the wolf took a better look at the pink hedgehog.

"Holy cow, your right. Isn't she the little princess of the castle?" The bird asked.

"This is perfect. If we hold her for ransom, we could be rich. Take her with you," the wolf said, as he and the tiger turned around to walk to the small shack they live in.

The big bird was about to follow them inside with their captive, but Amy kicked the bird's shin and ran off as the bird let go of her. "Can't you do anything right?!" the wolf asked.

"Sorry, boss," the bird said.

"What are you idiots waiting for? Let's go after her!" The wolf shouted as the trio ran after her.

As Sonic finished cleaning up the tea set, he suddenly heard running footsteps in a pair of high heels, and then saw Amy rushing inside until Sonic carefully caught her.

"Hey, hey. What's wrong?" Sonic asked.

"I need your help!" Amy said.

"Why? What's up?" Sonic asked.

"There you are!" the bird said.

"Let's get her!" the tiger said.

Amy gasped in horror, "They're after me!"

"They're after you? What for?" he asked, but then thought of an idea after looking at the window. "You know what? Doesn't matter."

The tiger and bird smashed the wooden pillars for a pathway, while Amy stood there terrified.

"Do you trust me?" Sonic asked.

"What?" Amy asked.

"Do you trust me?" Sonic asked again, extending his hand.

"Yes…" she replied, taking his hand.

"Then don't worry. I know exactly what to do," Sonic said, as he carefully lifted Amy off her feet and then held her in a bridal pose. "Hold on!"

They both jumped off the roof, falling and landing in a pile of hay loaded in a cart. They tried to get away, but the exit was blocked by the three thugs.

"Well, well, looks like we've got ourselves a new player. Nowhere to run, baby. Nowhere to hide," the wolf said. "Last chance, hand over the tiara."

Sonic then took a wooden pole, and then spun it around before catching it with his arm as Amy got behind him, "You guys sure have a lot of nerve showing up invading my house, and bullying a young lady for no reason."

"I will beat you into a pulp, you little brat if you don't stay out of the way," the wolf replied.

"I mean, sure, you can try, but I'm gonna warn you. I'm a lot faster than you think," Sonic said, as he made a defensive stance. "And if you want to get to her, you're gonna have to go. Through. Me!"

The wolf then growled. "Deal with him, while I get our lucky pink gold pot over there." The boss said, leaving his two followers to deal with the blue hedgehog.

"Sure thing, boss."

Being faster than the tiger and the big bird, Sonic could easily dodge their attacks while making fun of their fighting skills. He performed a 540° double air kick to the bird, before maneuvering from a split kick to a short spin attack, and finishing him off with a homing attack.

"Why… don't you… stand still… and die?!" the tiger said, while trying to pummel Sonic, who performed a horse kick, before finishing him off corkscrew battering ram towards the tiger, and then did a spinning backflip judo throw after grabbing him.

The wolf then managed to take Amy's tiara by force, before Sonic saw that happening, "No you don't!" He then wall-jumped and delivered a down aerial kick to the wolf's face, until doing an air scissors kick, and then after doing another homing attack, he sent him flying with a back aerial kick.

"We better go before they get up," Sonic said, as she took his hand before they both started running off.

"Easy! I'm in heels!" Amy said, as she kept holding Sonic's hand.

The crooks suddenly got up and ran after them.

Suddenly, Shadow, along with Knuckles and Blaze, in the middle of patrolling the marketplace, heard the commotion as they looked to see Sonic and Amy running from the three crooks, who were getting closer. Shadow then took action and froze them with his Chaos Punishment technique, until he then let them down, before Knuckles cuffed them one at a time, and put them in chains in a single line.

"Wow, I'm guessing you three are Knights of the Round Table, am I right?" Sonic asked.

"Correct," Shadow said.

"Why, hello there," Blaze said.

"Hi… Percival, right?" Sonic asked.

Blaze then giggled, "You can just call me Blaze."

"Sorry. I just didn't want to be rude in front of the elite squadron of the king's Royal Guard," Sonic said.

"Don't push your luck," Shadow said.

"Shadow?" Amy asked, standing up and pulling off the hood of her cloak. "Is that you?"

The guards suddenly stopped to bow, allowing Sonic and forcing the crooks to bow as well.

"Princess Amelia," Shadow said.

"The princess?" Sonic asked.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Amy said.

"What are you doing outside the palace?" Knuckles asked.

"We've been looking all over for you," Blaze said.

"And I assumed you kidnapped her as well," Shadow said. "That's a very serious crime."

"He didn't kidnap me! I ran away!" Amy said. "He's the one who rescued me from those scoundrels. And he's been keeping me company."

"Is this true?" Blaze asked.

"Yes, it's true," Sonic replied.

"Thanks for looking put for her," Knuckles said.

"We'll tell the king to send you our best regards as a token of our gratitude," Blaze said.

"No problem," Sonic said.

"I guess I better get going. It was nice meeting you, and thanks for everything," Amy said, before she leaned over and kissed his cheek and walked off with the knights.

"This day just got better and better," Sonic said.