Disclaimer: All non-original characters are property of SEGA or their respective creators.
Inescapable Past, Act 30: Paths That Cross Will Cross Again
"Wait up!" yelled Amy over the din of gridlocked traffic.
The shout proved loud enough to immobilize the sprinting Tangle.
"What's up?" she asked, looking over her shoulder. She kept hold of Amy's hand.
"Can we slow down for a second?" asked the hedgehog between heaving breaths.
Frowning, the lemur cast a glance at the crosswalk up ahead. On the other side of the road, the octagonal glass tower of King Maximilian Acorn Free Hospital loomed large, gleaming in the afternoon sun.
"But Principal Acorn told us to hurry," she said, looking back at Amy, "Don't you wanna see Shadow?"
"Of course I do!"
"Then what're we standing here for?"
Amy lowered her eyes. Tangle let go of her hand in favor of putting an arm around the twelve-year-old.
"What is it?" she asked, tilting her head.
"I don't wanna upset him," muttered Amy, keeping her eyes on the sidewalk.
"How d'you plan to do that?" said Tangle bemusedly.
Amy peered up at the lemur through her bangs. "I have to tell him about Omega."
"What's to tell?"
"He was Shadow's best friend," said Amy, "He is, I mean. Not was. Is."
Tangle furrowed her brow. "Which one is it?"
"Both…kind of."
Watching the lemur's face contort in confusion, Amy dropped her head.
"See? If I don't upset him, I'll just confuse him."
"Hey now, don't be like that," cooed Tangle, leaning in to touch foreheads with the hedgehog, "Just because a scatterbrain like me can't keep up. What the hell does that prove?"
"You're just saying that," mumbled Amy.
Tangle scoffed gently. "My friend Jewel might have something to say about that."
The hedgehog suddenly nestled up to the lemur.
"You're so nice," she murmured.
Unsure how to reply, the lemur rubbed Amy's shoulder. Meanwhile, the tip of her tail stroked the twelve-year-old's braided quills.
"So, uh, how about we, like—"
Tangle inhaled sharply through her nose as Amy's lips touched hers. The fifteen-year-old stood stock-still for the eternal few seconds her first kiss lasted.
"Sorry," whispered Amy as she pulled away, "It's just…you're really, really, really nice."
Tangle's mouth hung open. More than merely lost for words, her vocal cords suddenly seemed out of commission.
"Maybe we should go see Shadow now," said the hedgehog, tugging on the lemur's yellow-and-black-striped necktie like she was ringing an old-timey doorbell.
"Yeah…okay," uttered Tangle airily, clasping Amy's left shoulder.
Seeing what she'd done to the teenager, Amy smiled sheepishly as she threaded her good arm around the dazed lemur's waist and steered her towards the crosswalk. Together, the entwined youngsters made their way across the road and onwards to the hospital.
The afterglow of her long-awaited first kiss — albeit not with the Mobian she'd long envisioned —abandoned Amy as they traversed the hospital's parking lot. It wasn't nervousness, but something much more immediate.
"Where do we go now?" she muttered, gazing hopelessly at the bustling main entrance, "Sally never said."
"I'll bet she knows," remarked Tangle.
The lemur's tail pointed out Rouge. Dressed in a purple jumpsuit, the bat was perched on the lip of a concrete planter near the entrance, engrossed in her cellphone.
"Yo! Bat lady!" hollered Tangle.
Rouge's head snapped up. She was promptly on her feet and clacking her way towards the duo.
"Tangle?" she said disbelievingly.
"Hey again," said the lemur, flashing a meek smile.
"I thought the boss—"
"I don't have a boss," Tangle cut in, "Just a really, really pissed-off principal."
The bat smirked. "Is that so?"
Tangle pinched her blush-pink pencil skirt. "Would you choose to wear this?"
"Where's Shadow?" interjected Amy.
Meeting the hedgehog's gaze, Rouge's smirk evaporated. She sighed, then nodded.
"Come with me, girls."
Amy and Tangle followed the stilettoed bat as she clacked her way around the exterior of the octagonal glass tower. The hedgehog's hold on the lemur's waist grew steadily tighter. Pain soon forced the teenager to wiggle free.
"Sorry," whispered Amy.
"It's okay," said Tangle, massaging her liberated hip.
"Will you come see Shadow with me?" asked the hedgehog as they descended a slope down to the parking garage for hospital's ambulance fleet.
"Err, sure," said the lemur, "Just…don't introduce me as 'Tangela', I'm begging you."
Inside the garage, they found an ambulance emblazoned with the Red Ring symbol and below it, the words 'Westopolis University Medical Center' in red letters. Its rear doors were open. A chipmunk was perched on its bumper, dressed in a blue business suit. He jumped up at the sound of Rouge's echoing footsteps and came over to greet the trio.
"Hello, Amy," he said.
"Hi, Elias," replied the hedgehog.
"And this would be—"
"Tangela, Your Ma-ma-mister Acorn, sir!" gibbered Tangle, pinching the hem of her skirt in an awkward curtsy.
Elias blinked in bemusement.
"N-nice to meet you…Tangela," said the chipmunk, glancing at his watch, "Hmm. You girls had best get in there."
Amy nodded and grabbed Tangle's left hand.
"What happened to 'don't introduce me as Tangela'?" the hedgehog whispered as they slowly approached the ambulance.
"I panicked," replied the lemur as they mounted the ambulance's foldout steps, "You could've warned me Prince-frickin'-Acorn would be here."
Before Amy could giggle, she saw Shadow. The black hedgehog lay flat on the collapsible gurney, eyes closed, apparently asleep. Beside him, a mysterious blue machine hummed gently. Meanwhile, Elias shut the ambulance doors behind him.
"What is that thing?" asked Amy quietly, tracing the red tubes connecting the machine to Shadow's left forearm.
"Oh, that's a, uh, lemme get this right…a di-a-lys-is machine," said Tangle.
"Di-a-what-is?"
"Basically, it's cleaning his blood."
"That's his blood?!" squeaked Amy, eyeing the tubes with fresh terror.
"It's not as serious as it sounds," said Tangle hurriedly, leaning round to put her face in the hedgehog's eyeline, "I promise."
The twelve-year-old gnawed her lip, then nodded haltingly.
"O-okay," she murmured.
"Attagirl," said Tangle, ruffling her braided quills, "Seriously, though, I don't think they were kidding about time. You better go say hi."
With another halting nod, Amy gingerly started towards the gurney, trying her best not to focus on the tubes.
"Shadow?"
The black hedgehog stirred instantly. Amy faltered. Tangle's tail prodding her in the back urged her on.
"Are you awake, Shadow?"
"Amy?" he murmured groggily.
"Shadow!" Amy squealed, lurching forward to clasp his left hand.
"Tubes!" blurted Tangle.
The pink hedgehog froze accordingly. Taking a moment to assess Shadow's arm, she got down on her haunches and delicately laid her hand on top of his. The black hedgehog's eyelids gradually opened a fraction.
"Hi," he said, his voice no louder than a whisper.
"Hey," she said softly.
"Your arm?" he said, opening his eyes a little wider.
"Don't worry," said Amy, "You got the guy that did it."
The barest hint of a smile crossed Shadow's lips.
"Guy…had it coming."
"He sure did," said Amy, echoing his smile.
Itching to hug the Ultimate Life Form, she made do with nuzzling his knuckles.
"Oh," she said, glancing over her shoulder at Tangle, "Th-this is Tangle, by the way."
Amy motioned at the lemur with her head. Shadow opened his eyelids a little more. Then they shot wide open.
"Her?!" he growled, shifting as if to stand up.
The panicked Amy stood up and pushed down on his belly as he strained against the gurney's straps.
"It's not like that!" she squeaked, "She's nice. She helped us get away!"
"Us?" breathed Shadow.
Amy nodded so vigorously, her red hairband slipped down over her face.
"Uh-huh! She's the one that carried you out of there!"
Amy shot a glance at Tangle. The terrified lemur had flattened herself against the ambulance doors, her eyes fixed on Shadow's incendiary scarlet glare.
"She's really nice," the twelve-year-old went on, "Like, really really nice."
Another tense few moments elapsed. Then, Amy felt the pressure against her hand on Shadow's belly ease. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
"Eep!"
Tangle toppled backwards out of the ambulance as the doors at her back suddenly opened.
"Sorry, sweetie" said Rouge, catching the lemur in her arms.
"Th-that's okay," said the lemur breathlessly.
"Sorry, girls, but it's time," said Elias, craning his neck to see inside the ambulance.
Amy looked round at the chipmunk, then back at Shadow. She sucked in her lips.
"I guess I've gotta go," she mumbled.
"Go on," murmured the black hedgehog, "You'll know where to find me."
"Good, because you owe Tangle an apology," said Amy, backing away from the gurney.
Shadow snorted softly.
"Go away," he muttered, closing his eyes.
Amy grinned to herself. Wary of exiting the ambulance the way Tangle had, she turned around in time to jump down the foldout steps. She went to join the lemur as Elias beckoned over a team of waiting orderlies.
"What's that smile about?" asked Tangle, eyeing the pink hedgehog's grin suspiciously.
"Thanks for going in there with me," said Amy.
"S'okay," said the lemur, "It's, uh, not like I made the best first impression."
Amy went up on tiptoes and pecked Tangle on the cheek. "Well, I forgive you."
Blindsided, the fifteen-year-old slowly rubbed the chosen cheek.
"Are you gonna, like, keep doing that?" she asked.
"Maybe," replied Amy, flashing an impish smile.
The unmistakable clack of heels on concrete heralded Rouge's approach. She sidled up to them, draping an arm around both the uniformed youngsters.
"Would you girls happen to be up for a bit of a walk?" she asked.
"Huh?" uttered Tangle.
"Where?" asked Amy pointedly.
Rouge smiled wryly.
"You should know by now that's not my style," she said, offering them both a hand to hold, "Shadow will appreciate you coming, I promise."
