Chapter Eight
A cool breeze blew through the trees of the great forest and the birds began to sing their dawn chorus.
In the glade several miles away from Knothole, Sonic and Sally lay sleeping in the grass, Sally lay on her back with Sonic resting his head on her breast as well as clasping one of her hands.
The breeze blew over their bodies rippling through their fur and Sally slowly opened her eyes.
When she saw the light pouring through the thick leaves of the trees above her as well as the grass, she started to wonder why she was there and not in her own bed in her hut at Knothole.
She then felt the warm weight on her breast, and she looked down to see Sonic laying there still asleep.
She smiled softly as she remembered where they were and why they were there, and she thought back to that magical night last night.
Sally then felt Sonic stir and the hedgehog yawned and opened his eyes.
"Huh? Hmmm? Where am I?" he questioned then he saw Sally below him and he smiled.
"Morning Beautiful!" he greeted her.
"Morning Handsome!" Sally replied and Sonic reached down and kissed her nose making her giggle.
"That was an amazing night." Sally said, "Thank you for bringing me here."
"Anytime Sal!" Sonic winked then looked around for their clothes which had been thrown aside.
They soon found their items and got dressed.
"I can't believe we stayed here all night!" Sally exclaimed as she looked around.
"I know right!" Sonic replied with a laugh "We should do this again!"
Sally laughed in agreement.
"What time is it?" she asked thinking she was going get a response from Nicole, but Sonic answered her question.
"It's nine O five." He reported.
"Oh Gosh!" Sally cried "Breakfast will be being served to the village and we got a meeting with Rotor and the others straight after!"
"No sweat, I'll get us back in no time!" Sonic reassured the ground squirrel and he held out his arms to Sally and she put her arms around his shoulders and he in turn scooped her up.
"Let's Juice!" he grinned then revved up his feet before taking off into the forest back to Knothole.
When they arrived, they saw the whole village was lining up for breakfast at the picnic tables.
Sally immediately ran her hands over her short auburn hair and Sonic shook out his quills since they got a bit wild when running back.
As they arrived, a young pink hedgehog in a red dress looked up.
"Sonic! Princess!?" she said in a loud voice to which everyone looked up and Sonic felt a bit awkward as everyone stared at them due to the pink hedgehog's announcement.
"Where have you been all morning?" the hedgehog asked again.
"Just for an early morning walk." Sally said quickly "Or run in my case!" Sonic added.
"I came to your hut thinking you have slept in!" the hedgehog announced "Yet you didn't answer! It was a little worrying."
"I see your concern, Amy." Sally replied, "And I apologise."
She looked over to Bunnie who was waiting in the queue with Antoine who gave her a funny look.
At the same time, Rotor looked at Sonic and gave him a sideways look.
"Wish I could have joined you Sonic!" Sonic looked to his left to see Tails appear and Sonic went a little pink.
"Maybe next time little bro?" he promised the young fox and Tails grinned "Alright!" he said.
"Trust me you wouldn't have wanted to join me earlier!" Sonic thought to himself as he stood in the queue to get his breakfast along with Sally.
Before long, everyone had been served breakfast and Sally sat at a table with Bunnie, Rotor, Sonic and Antoine who were already in deep conversation about the next mission to Robotropolis.
As she sat down to eat, the Princess noticed that Rouge was sitting at a table on her own eating her breakfast.
Sally sighed sadly.
Within the two years Rouge had been with the Freedom Fighters, many of the Knothole residents refused to have any contact with her because of who she was.
She looked at the other residents who sat at their tables.
She could see Tails was talking with an 11-year-old light cream and orange coloured rabbit who had a blue chao hovering next to her, and a larger female rabbit with the same colouring talking to a tall male crocodile.
Sally smiled softly at Tails as he spoke with the female rabbit.
She was glad there was another Knothole resident close to his age, Cream the Rabbit was a resident of Mobotropolis and was only a baby when she and her mother Vanilla who was talking to the crocodile fled the city.
Also sitting with Tails and Cream was the pink hedgehog who had spoken up earlier.
Amy had joined the Freedom Fighters five years before as Swatbots had attacked her village and she along with a few survivors of the massacre had been sentenced to be roboticized into slavery, but thanks to Sonic and Sally, they were freed before Robotnik had touched them.
Since then, Amy was determined to be an active member of the Freedom Fighters and join Sally, Sonic and the others in the field, yet Sally believed Amy was too young and needed more training before she could join them.
"Sally?" Rotor's voice brought her back down to earth, and the Princess turned to the Walrus.
"Yes Rotor?" she asked.
"I was just wondering who else should join us at the meeting after breakfast?" the Walrus asked.
"I can name a few." Sally replied then looked around the area "Apart from us present at this table, I believe Rouge should, along with Vector Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon, Mighty the Armadillo, Dulcy…" she paused.
"I shall gather those I believe will be able to assist us on our latest mission."
Bunnie took a sip of carrot juice and looked over Sally's shoulder towards Amy who was deep in conversation with a couple of cats, a purple one with a white muzzle and shoulder length purple hair, and a black one with a tan muzzle and a white streak in her long black hair.
"I'm willing to bet the farm young Amy Rose will insist on joining us!" she said.
Sally looked behind her and upon the pink hedgehog and sighed.
"She might do yes." she said, "Part of me does want to give her a chance, yet I still don't think she's ready for the field yet."
Sonic frowned as he looked at Amy.
He remembered the day he had saved her, as if it were yesterday.
Flashback
5 years ago
Sonic held his breath as he crept along the corridors of the lower brig of Robotnik's fortress in Robotropolis, he, along with Sally, Rotor, Bunnie, Antoine, and a few other Freedom Fighters were on a routine mission within the Metal City that was once their home.
According to the information Sally had acquired from Nicole, there were a few prisoners not yet Robotized and they only had a limited time to free them, so Sonic knew he had to move quickly.
Sonic knew he didn't have to worry when it came to speed, but he had to be careful if he was to free the prisoners then get out of there alive and in one piece.
He soon came to what he was looking for and he saw many cells with prisoners within them, all awaiting their fate.
Within, he saw a female pink hedgehog along with a couple of female cats, one black and one purple, a couple of female lizards and a male raccoon and shrew.
He also saw there were some Swatbots marching around the area.
"Okay." The hedgehog thought to himself "Gotta find a way to distract those metal creeps so I can get to the prisoners!"
He thought for a moment then clicked his fingers and pulled a glass from his backpack and spoke into it changing his voice slightly, so he sounded more gruff and threatening.
"Attention Swatbots! This is Dr Robotnik, report to the boardroom immediately!"
At the sound of his voice, the Swatbots moved away from the cells and Sonic grinned triumphantly before sprinting over to the cells.
As soon as they saw him, the prisoners gasped in amazement, and the pink hedgehog rushed to the front.
"Our hero!" she cried "You come to save us?"
"Hey guys!" Sonic called to them "Hang in there! We're gonna blow this joint!"
He then put the glass to his mouth and spoke into the control panel outside the cells.
"Open Cell Number fifty-four!" he growled in the same gruff voice to imitate Robotnik.
"Voice Print approved! Handprint necessary for certification" the monotone voice of the cell security droned.
"Open up this cell or I'll rip open your electronic brain!" Sonic spoke again into the glass with the same imitation of Robotnik.
"Certification unnecessary! You are Robotnik!" the computer voice replied then the cell doors opened and the prisoners rushed out cheering.
Sonic grinned happily but was knocked off his feet as the pink hedgehog embraced him and kissed him gratefully.
"Oh, Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! My hero!" she squealed.
'Whoa! Easy there girl!" Sonic chuckled "You're welcome! It's a hero's job! Come on! We gotta get out of here before Robotnik finds out!"
He took out a walkie talkie as he ushered the prisoners forward in front of him.
"Sal! I got the prisoners! I'm leading them out of here!"
"Well done Sonic!" Sally's voice was heard "I'll meet you at the meeting point!"
"Gotcha Sal! Over and out!" Sonic replied then moved behind the prisoners "Keep going guys! Stick together and keep quiet!"
End Flashback
After that mission, Sonic had noticed Amy was rather attracted to him, doing all she could to get him to notice her, always coming up to talk to him about everything, even asking if she could join in on missions even though Sally said she was too young and inexperienced.
He looked back at Sally who continued to talk to Bunnie about the meeting later.
"I'm wondering whether to include Amy in this if she is that willing, but I want to make sure she is capable, I don't want to risk any more lives!"
"I agree Sally girl!" Bunnie agreed.
Sonic looked at Amy then back at Sally.
"I see no harm in including her on the info Sal!" he said.
Everyone looked at Sonic.
"You wish to give her a chance Sonic?" Rotor asked.
"Is that a wise choice?" Antoine added "She is…still a young girl."
"I'm not sure guys." Sonic asked "But with all we've had to deal with, maybe we could use all the help we can get and if Amy is that desperate, maybe…. just maybe we could put her to the test?"
Sally pondered as she curled a finger in her short hair then licked her lips.
"Hmmm." She said "Well, I do admire all those who wish to help with the cause, I suppose I could give her a chance to prove herself."
She looked to the others.
'Okay," she said clearing her throat "Once breakfast is over, we gather here for our next plan of action, I will inform those I wish present at the meeting!"
"Gotcha Sal!" Sonic agreed and the others gave a thumbs up.
So we've gotten a little bit of a backstory on how Amy joined the Freedom Fighters and how Sally wishes to give her a chance.
And we've also met some other characters such as Cream, Vanilla and Vector, they will be given bigger roles I assure you!
Also, SATam fans might notice some of the dialogue from the episode 'Sonic and Sally' Comment if you did!
Keep checking back for more soon!