Just wait out here for a sec," Amy says to the three boys in the hall outside of her apartment room before she goes inside and shuts the door.
The hallway has a nice color of wooden brown and has a scent that smells of sunflowers. The actual complex itself is surprisingly neat, making Tails question Amy's occupation. Having lived the past five years off of war benefits, the young fox has thankfully never had to enter the working field. There, he would surely get mocked like he used to before he began a life of mostly isolation.
"This is a waste of time," Knuckles grunts.
"Is there ever a time when you're not grumpy?" Sonic asks with his usual smirk.
Knuckles doesn't know what it is about that smirk, but it makes him want to punch it right off of the hedgehog's blue face.
"We don't know how close the enemy is to finding us right now!" he continues. "We should've just taken the emerald by force. That girl would understand if she knew what was at stake."
"Okay, one- you of all people should know how it feels to have something important to you stolen," Sonic says. "And two- you shouldn't be worried about how close Robotnik is... unless you're a chicken."
"What's a chicken?" Knuckles asks.
Sonic doesn't know how to respond. Tails breaks the silence.
"He's saying you're scared-"
"I AM NOT SCARED!" Knuckles announces to his allies and the surrounding rooms. "I am a proud echidna! We crush all opposition and demolish those who stand in our way!"
"Atta boy, Knux," Sonic says. "Then there should be no issue. Let's just explain the situation to this kind girl, take the emerald, and continue the search for the others. If Robotnik gets in our way, we'll smash his robots, wipe the floor with his mercenaries, and maybe squash him in the process. Then we'll have all seven and foil whatever scheme he's cooking up."
On cue, Amy opens the door to her apartment, smiling as her cheeks still blush red.
"Okay, you can come in now!" she says.
Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles walk into the apartment, and the two boys with the exception of Knuckles are wowed at how neat it looks. The front hall has a welcoming, pink rug, the living room has a large white sofa positioned next to a window where a potted plant sits, and in front of it is a coffee table where a pile of books is. In the kitchen area, the counter has a vase of roses, and the rest of it is clean as can be with a good refrigerator and stove. The fragrance of the apartment is also very pleasing to inhale, as it somehow smells like a fresh garden.
"This is a nice place you got here, Rose," Sonic says as he walks into the living room.
"Oh, thank you, Sonic!" Amy says, her calm expression not at all reflecting her bubbling insides. "And just Amy is fine!"
As Sonic looks around, his eyes wander to another hall leading to what is presumably Amy's bedroom. The hedgehog first notices the pink lighting, then the shelf, then- his eyes widen. Filling each of the shelves are... action figures of himself. All of them come in different shapes, sizes, and materials, but they are all unmistakeably him. Just to the left of the shelf, he can see half of a poster from where he is currently. He can make out very familiar blue quills and-
Sonic feels a breeze shoot past him. Amy sprints to the bedroom and slams the door shut, startling Tails and Knuckles.
"Don't mind that!" Amy says in between pants. "That room belongs to my, uh... roommate! Yes, my roommate! She's not here often but she seems to be a pretty big fan of yours! Hehe... heh."
Sonic just stands there, at a loss for words. Before he can find a way to change the subject, Amy quickly does so for him.
"So what is it you wanted to talk to me about, Sonic?" Amy says, approaching him.
"Something important," he answers. "You might want to sit down for this one, Amy."
HE CALLED ME AMY! HE CALLED ME AMY! HE CALLED ME AMY! The pink hedgehog thinks to herself as she sits down on the white sofa in the living room.
"Is this... yours?" Tails asks Amy as he picks up a giant pink mallet in the corner of the living room, barely able to lift it.
"Oh, that's for security," Amy nonchalantly answers. "There's a lot of creeps and trouble-makers here in Grand Metropolis. Better safe than sorry y'know. Anyway, what did you come all this way to talk to me about Sonic? It's extraordinarily rare to meet another hedgehog."
"Well, there's uh... something I need to tell you, Amy," Sonic says.
"Yes?" She asks, leaning closer.
"Robotnik is back."
That certainly was not the news the hedgehog was expecting judging from the way she sinks back into her couch in shock.
"You mean... Eggman?!
Sonic nods.
"But... how?!" Amy asks, flustered. "I thought we beat him, I thought he was gone forever, is there going to be another war?!"
"Don't worry, Amy," Sonic says, rubbing his nose. "I beat that creep before, I'll do it again with no sweat."
Amy looks up at him, questioning if it's even possible to experience the perfect reality she is right now. The one and only Sonic the Hedgehog is in her living room, reassuring her that everything will be alright. Reassuring her that he won't let anything bad happen to Mobius... that he won't let anything bad happen to her.
"However, Robotnik is after something," he says. "Something that you have... your necklace."
Amy's eyes widen having heard this. She pulls out her necklace and looks at it confused.
"But why would he-?"
"That jewel on the end of your necklace isn't just some fashion accessory," Sonic explains. "It's a chaos emerald. Something that's really powerful!"
"It, along with the others, are the seven most powerful objects in the universe," Knuckles interjects.
"Yeah, we get the picture, Knux," Sonic says before turning back to Amy. "Robotnik won't stop until he has that emerald you're holding, along with all the others. We don't know what he's going to do with all of them, but whatever it is, it's no good. I know this is asking a lot of you, Amy... but can we have this emerald? I know it means a lot to you."
Amy looks down at her necklace for a moment in silence.
"You know... I always knew there was something strange about this necklace," Amy says with a small smile. "I've always felt a strong attachment to it, almost as if it's a part of me somehow. Wearing it gives me a strange sense of joy and confidence every time I put it on. My father had found it one day after receiving it from a stranger. He was old and on his way out, but the smile he had when he came home with it... I'll never forget that smile. He gave it to me and told me that no matter what, I should always hold onto it since it's more than a jewel. If only I knew what he meant back then."
After a moment of admiring the beautiful light of the red emerald, she takes off her necklace and holds it up to Sonic.
"If giving this to you will save the world... then I trust you, Sonic the Hedgehog."
Sonic smiles as the red light dazzle in his eyes. He extends a hand to grab it-
The front door to the apartment flies off its hinges and slams against Knuckles, making him fly into the coffee table next to Sonic. Everyone looks at the doorway and is equally shocked at the dark figure standing there. Whoever the dark stranger is, he has an uncanny similarity to Sonic. The blue hedgehog stares at his dark twin with confusion. It's like looking in a mirror.
"CHAOS...!" The stranger yells as he reels his arm back.
He stops. His attention is no longer set on Sonic or the chaos emerald. Instead, he looks at Amy and the terrified, bewildered look on her face. He can't bring his arm forward. Sonic is about to act when he quickly notices something flying outside the apartment window. He only has enough time to grab Amy and Knuckles and speed them out the way before the living erupts in falling debris, shattering glass, and fire, courtesy of a rocket.
...