Commission for TheMaskedTime on DeviantArt. I do not own Sonic The Hedgehog or The Mask.

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The night had indeed come and went - and now, just like most mornings, Tails was busy at work in his shop. But this time, he had a whole different objective to pursue.

It had been almost two hours of research and testing, and he was still no closer to figuring out the secrets of the wooden mask on the table. Obviously Tails knew from his experiences the day before that this object was powerful beyond compare - but how?

Although it emitted a strange glow, there appeared to be no source of Chaos energy that Tails was accustomed to. Despite its plain wooden look, any attempt to cut it merely produced a shower of sparks, even with the sharpest saw he could find. And even though it was discovered in an echidna temple, it didn't seem to have any of the qualities associated with their species - in fact, it didn't really look like it was made for any known species on Mobius.

In one of the very few times ever, Tails was stumped. He was lucky to have found this before Eggman, and was content with the knowledge it was safe from any evildoers. But what he had come across, he just could not understand.

Hearing a knock from upstairs, he left the lab to greet them - whoever it was, he could use a break. Opening the door, he was greeted by the familiar face of a pink hedgehog.

"Hey Tails!!"

"Hey Amy. What brings you around today?"

"Well, there was something I saw yesterday that I thought you might want to hear about. Mind if I come in?"

"Ummm…I guess so."

"Great!!" Pulling up a seat at the small kitchen table, Amy made herself at home, much to Tails' dismay. Did she possibly see his "alter ego" at work?

"So, do you hear about the tornado that almost hit Station Square yesterday? Pretty wild, don't you think?"

"Yeah, it was…it was pretty wild, I would say."

Munching down on a biscuit, Amy continued. "I had to take cover in one of the shops in the arts district, but before I did, I saw someone unusual…"

"It was some kind of fox, he almost looked like you! He had your same yellow fur and was about the same size…but his head was massive and green! You wouldn't happen to know anything about him, would you Tails?"

Tail stuttered for a moment, then decided to come clean. "Actually Amy, I would. Let me just sit down here…"

Taking a seat next to her, he spilled the whole details - how he learned of the mask through hacking Eggman's servers, the chase to the temple, how he ended up putting it on, and the incredible powers he possessed in that short time. The whole situation was starting to overwhelm Tails - reliving the experience again, he felt terrified that his abilities had put Amy in danger, to say nothing of the thousands of others in Station Square yesterday.

A great relief off his chest, Tails wondered what Amy would say next - instead, she asked another question.

"So, where is this mask now?"

"Down in the workshop, the safest place I can find. What do you think I should do with it?"

Amy was unsure of the answer, but she knew someone who could help.

"Have you tried asking Sonic? Maybe he'll have a better answer! He's probably out in Green Hill, so if you want to head out that way…"

Tails agreed - with an item of this power, the three of them needed to make a decision together.

"All right. I'll get the Tornado started up and go find him. There's plenty of food in the fridge, but don't go into the workshop!"

Grabbing his scarf and goggles, Tails shut the door behind him, Amy finishing up a cup of coffee with her biscuit.

As the sputtering engine marked Tails' departure, Amy got up from the table. She really didn't want to be a snoop, but she had to see for herself the great artifact in his workshop. She made a promise as she went down the stairs that she wouldn't touch it. After all, there was no harm in merely looking at something, was there?

Reaching the bottom step, she tiptoed through the workshop, past Tails' favorite inventions and some that were still works in progress. On his work bench, she saw it - sitting face down, she peered over to look.

Just as Tails described, it was an old beat-up wooden mask, with apparent flecks of green left over from a long-ago paint job. A solitary silver bar ran down what would be its nose, four rivets and some sort of "L" symbol at the very top that connected it to the old wood. It had rudimentary cutouts of eyes and a mouth, although it would be difficult for her to possibly see through them.

Amy was unimpressed. If this held such great power, why did it look so ugly? There should have been gold, or jewels, something befitting a great empire. Against her promise, she picked it up, hoping to understand what she was missing.

Turning it over, she looked at a finely-grained wood surface. Well-made, but not exactly what she was expecting. Maybe Tails had just imagined this.

About to set it back, she momentarily paused as a flash of green light swept across its surface. Whoa! It sparkled like a Christmas tree, a dazzling sight to her curious eyes.

Not even realizing it, Amy's arms were moving with a mind of its own, bringing the mask closer and closer. Before she could realize it…

MRHMPH!!!

As it touched her nose, the mask suddenly sprung to life, its wooden edges spouting tendrils that began to crawl through the pink hedgehog's quills. Becoming aware of her predicament, Amy reached her gloves up to pull, only to find a hot rubber surface that was impossible to grasp. Worse yet, she could feel the creature merge itself at the back of her head, a sudden jolt of pain leading to a cry for help.

"SONIC!!! TAILS!!!! HELP ME!!!!!!"

Her plea unheeded, Amy was at the mercy of the monster. Jerking her one way, it abruptly jerked her the other way, sending her body spinning into a pink and black twister, lighting flashing and thunder booming as it bounced off the workshop's walls.

A screech of car tires bringing the storm to a sudden halt, green smoke rose off the hedgehog that had been inside - it was immediately evident that Amy Rose was no more.

Standing there was an entirely new creature. Her red and white boots had been replaced with black shoes with hot pink streaks, silver spikes anchoring her to the ground. A jet black skirt and a red and black striped shirt stood in place of her more cheery outfit. Her flat chest had received a noticeable pair of breasts, and black armbands with more silver spikes sat below her white gloves. Even with the same pink body, this was a radical reinvention.

But it was the creature's head that was strangest of all. It was bright green in color, with darker green quills and made of a thick rubber texture. Her normal green eyes were now scarlet red, and black lipstick ran around the edge of a mouth with colossal white teeth. A solitary earring was stuck in her new green ears, silver and shaped like the head of her one true love Sonic.

Pulling out a mirror, the new Amy looked at her spectacular new look. She was strong, powerful - and now, a complete badass. Green was most definitely her color.

"Every rose has its thorn - and baby, I'm full of them!! Time for this bad girl to get down and dirty!!!!"

Spinning into a twister, she streaked up the stairs and crashed through the front door, leaving a cartoonish hole behind. With the world at her fingertips, she had unfinished business to take care of - and it started now.