Chapter 13

For Amy and Sonic, starting training back up was bittersweet. When they first met in the glade again, it felt like lifetimes had passed and they were both wholly new people.

They each felt tender, like the wounds they had opened up with the other - whether by betrayal, forgiveness, or reliving painful memories - had barely begun closing, and they struggled to find their footing as they searched for balance and navigated healing with each other.

The first nights, touching each other was foreign and exciting again, and boundaries were different; moved and pushed to fit their new closeness. But eventually familiarity came back to them with a vengeance, and soon enough they were able to laugh easily, talk candidly, and fight freely.

They learned more benign things about each other over the course of the week - the little details and preferences they each had that added up to create a complete image of a complex person. Sonic told Amy that his favorite food was chili. Amy told Sonic that she had a sweet tooth. Sonic confided that he could play the lute quite skillfully. Amy vowed that Sonic would never know a day of peace again until he played for her.

Each new fact they learned about the other felt like unearthed treasures, gems of knowledge that they both lovingly locked away in their hearts until it all piled up into a veritable horde of knowledge.

Amy ran drills for the rest of the week and practiced getting her swings, postures, and stances perfectly in her body - still only half-clad in over-bulky armor. She had thought, at first, that practicing her basics would be unnecessary, but she learned that Sonic was right, and going through the movements night after night was like pouring oil on her rusted joints and gears.

She had to have a candid conversation with Cream early in the week as training resumed about bathing. She couldn't go back to washing off in the pond and riding home wet, so instead she took the plunge and told the girl in the privacy of her chamber that she would be needing a clean pail of water in her chamber every evening or morning.

Cream seemed to take the request easily. She didn't appear too curious about it, but she did smile with interest as Amy spoke about why she needed such a thing. Amy was lying through her teeth about it until Cream put up a hand.

"I'll happily do this for you, Miss Amy," Cream said in her sweet whisper of a voice. "And you don't need to tell me any more than you want to, it's not my duty to judge - just to support. Your choices are your own."

Amy let out a long breath and thanked the girl, and from that morning on a steaming pail of water greeted Amy when she returned to her chamber without fail.

Sonic held out for as long as he could before telling Tails and Knuckles about Amy, robbing restlessly during the day and training vigorously at night to justify his procrastination.

Finally, at the end of the week, Sonic knew he could stall no longer. Knuckles had barely talked to him since the rescue mission, except to express his displeasure with Sonic's clandestine behavior via grunts and snide comments, and Sonic could feel the man's violet eyes staring daggers into his back whenever he turned away. Despite the hostility, Sonic knew that Amy was expecting two new trainers the next evening, and he would rather face Knuckles' anger than Amy's disappointment any day of the week.

As the group raced through the forest on their way to the main road to settle and steal for the day, Sonic slowed until he trotted alongside Knuckles. Knuckles made a point of not turning to look at Sonic, and Tails wisely began to trail farther behind the two men, sensing that tempers were about to reach a boiling point and - more than likely - bubble over.

"Sooo…" Sonic batted his eyelashes as he tried to catch Knuckles' attention, "I've got an exciting business proposition for you. Both of you," Sonic spared a glance back for Tails, who watched them with familiar wariness.

When Knuckles didn't take his bait and kept pounding through the brush, Sonic sighed and grabbed the man's shoulder, halting them in a grove of thick trees. Tails pulled up behind them, still keeping a respectful distance. Sonic took quick stock of the area, satisfied that they were well-hidden and not likely to be intruded upon by anyone.

"I… don't want you guys to get angry, alright?" Sonic began, and Knuckles' eyes narrowed. "I need your help with something - something that's gonna sound really big, and it is, but I promise that what we have on our hands is a real opportunity and your involvement will only be beneficial to all -"

"If it's about the noble lady, spit it out already," Knuckles grumbled, stepping back from Sonic and crossing his arms.

"Right," Sonic pulled at his bandana and glanced back at Tails.

Tails only offered him a conciliatory shrug.

"Here we go… cards on the table about everything. Remember the night we went to the village and the Princess showed up?" Sonic started sheepishly. "Remember how I kinda… stormed off after that?"

Tails nodded, and Knuckles didn't even bat an eye.

"It's because…" Sonic shook his head and glanced around again apprehensively. Speaking the secret felt so dangerous that even if there was no one around to hear it, Sonic was afraid the wind itself might carry it to the wrong ears. Information was slippery like that.

"...It's because I had just seen the Princess for the first time. And when I looked at her I… learned that the Princess…" he paused to see if either of them had put it together yet. He was greeted by blank stares.

"...And the noble I was - am - training…" he paused again, and saw Tails' ears twitch and his mouth drop open as the kid sucked in a breath and turned his head to the side - as if preparing to take a blow.

"Don't say it," Tails whispered, closing his eyes. Knuckles finally spared Tails a confused glance.

"...they're one and the same," Sonic finished, then bit his lip and waited for the other shoe to drop.

Knuckles cocked his head, mouth open and forehead wrinkled with confusion. At the same time, Tails put a hand to his head and pinched his temple. Tails wasn't usually one for cursing, but Sonic could tell he was muttering a few expletives.

"Is… he saying what I think he's saying?" Knuckles asked Tails, as unencumbered rage slowly filled his eyes, and every bit of his fire-red fur stood on end.

Tails just shook his head disappointedly.

"Knucks, now, hold on -" Sonic said, stepping toward the man.

"You asked us to cover for you every night this week," Knuckles interrupted him slowly, his arms unfurling and fists clenching angrily at his sides as he worked through his thoughts, "you put our necks out on the chopping block, so you could go out every night and play Prince with the fucking Princess!"

Sonic could hear the bewilderment in Knuckles' voice as the man suddenly glowered fiercely and lowered his upper body as if readying to charge at him.

"Are you out of your goddamn mind?" Knuckles roared, his hands thrown back as he shouted furiously.

"Knuckles, watch yourself," Sonic growled, glancing around.

"Watch myself?" Knuckles bellowed vindictively. "You watch yourself, Sonic! You're running out every night to meet the Princess and not telling us?"

The big man stormed up and bent to Sonic's eye-level with a sneer. "You know, I never even thought you were training a noble," Knuckles spit at Sonic, "I thought you were sneaking away to get laid and you were too embarrassed to admit you'd caught feelings. And now, you're telling me that you were sneaking away to fuck the -"

Before he could finish, Sonic sprang on him, locking his arms around the man's neck and rolling them both to the ground.

"Shut up!" Sonic hissed as he pinned and silenced Knuckles by laying his forearm across the man's throat. "It wasn't like that, and someone could hear you! Don't you dare -"

Knuckles punched Sonic squarely in the jaw, throwing him off with tremendous force. Dazed, Sonic stumbled backward, landing on the ground, and Knuckles strode forward and placed his boot on Sonic's chest, pushing him down on his back. The formidable echidna glowered over him.

"What does it matter to you whether she gets found out or not? Huh?" Knuckles goaded. "It's not like you care about her more than us, right? Or do you?"

"Knuckles, hold on," Tails stepped forward, reaching out.

Before Tails could join the scrap, Sonic pushed Knuckles' foot from his chest and rolled out from under him. He sprang up lithely and dashed to jump on Knuckles' broad back, hooking his arms around Knuckles' neck in a desperate attempt to quiet the man.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Knucks!" Sonic grunted, his legs swinging out wildly as Knuckles whirled around trying to grab him from off his back. "If you keep screaming like this you'll give us away, and you don't understand the full -"

Knuckles barked with angry laughter at that.

"Oh, I understand plenty - I understand that you're a selfish idiot! What about 'honor among thieves,' Sonic, huh? You've got no sense of honor!" Knuckles struggled between grunts to get the words out as Sonic yanked him about the brush by the neck.

"Would both of you get a grip!" Tails shouted with exasperation, finally scurrying between them to claw at Sonic's jacket, trying to avoid his wildly swinging legs. "We can't fight like this, not now! We're all we have left - stop it!" His voice cracked into something deeper as he took to the air to try and push between the two men, to unhook Sonic's iron grip.

"You idiot!" Knuckles cried over Tails' plea, clawing at Sonic's arms with his large hands, "This is what you get for thinking with your -"

A twig snapped behind them, and all three men froze mid-scrap, turning their heads quietly toward the noise.

Sonic fell off Knuckles in an ungraceful huff as Knuckles stumbled back to lean heavily on a tree.

"Tails!" Sonic commanded almost hysterically from the dirt, pointing toward the noise. Though he cast a sad glance back at Sonic, Tails took off into the bushes without a word of protest.

"Now you've done it…" Knuckles grumbled, dusting off his shirt and tucking it back into his slacks.

"Me?!" Sonic stood and whirled around, his anger plain in his eyes. "Don't you get it, Knucklehead? This is serious. I started helping Amy learn to fight because of Silver, yes - but she's trying to become Queen, you idiot! She wants to fight for us, to change this kingdom for the better - that's the truth!"

"This is so typical of you," Knuckles crossed his arms and sneered. "Pretend you're doing the right thing, but really you're just doing what's best for you. If she really wanted to help us - where's the gold, huh? The supplies? The royal guard here to bust Scourge up and free us? There isn't any, because she'd throw us all in jail in a heartbeat. Once she's done getting whatever it is she's getting from you, you'll end up in a noose, Sonic. Mark my words." Knuckles turned away, sulking over to lean against a tree and wait for Tails' return.

"I - You don't know her," Sonic said with annoyance, unable to contain the hysteria bursting from his voice as he tried not to think about what would happen if Tails found someone snooping. "We're… friends, and I trust her to do what's right. Unlike you - you didn't want to rescue Silver, you don't want to hear what I have to say now that I'm ready to talk! You never stick your neck out for anyone, whether I tell you what's going on or not - Amy is sticking her neck out for everyone by -"

"Don't you try and turn this on me!" Knuckles snapped, "Don't drag me into your mess, not until you apologize -"

"For what?!" Sonic's hands flew into the air in exasperation.

"For lying to us," Knuckles bellowed, turning to him. "If shit was ever to go down with Scourge, or anyone else, I know I can handle myself - but for putting Tails in danger by messing around with the Princess of all people…"

Sonic sighed, pacing nervously. He couldn't argue with Knuckles on that point.

"You're gonna keep seeing her?" Knuckles asked after a tense beat, pulling Sonic away from his raging thoughts.

Sonic sucked in a breath, knowing full-well he had already pledged to Amy he would see her through all the way to the Tournament.

"Just tell me the truth, Sonic," Knuckles demanded, his deep voice booming with an angry authority.

Sonic groaned in agony, spinning wildly to look Knuckles in the eyes.

"Yes!" he admitted, throwing his hands up in defeat. "Yes, I'm going to see her again - are you happy now? I have to stick with her because..." he trailed off and shook his head.

Knuckles 'hmphed' judgmentally and sat down to wait.

Sonic muttered expletives and paced as he waited for Tails, his heart pounding as he thought about all the ways they were totally fucked if someone had heard them. Worse, all the ways Amy was fucked if someone had heard them. When he heard the sound of rustling leaves cutting through the brush Sonic looked up expectantly, running to Tails as the fox landed back on the ground, sweating.

"I didn't see anyone, it could've been just the wind or one of us - it doesn't mean someone was listening necessarily," Tails said encouragingly between breaths, glancing at both men and sensing the mood between them was still tense.

Sonic cursed under his breath. "But we don't know that. We might not be safe anymore," he bit his lip, knowing there was only one way to know for sure.

"...Why didn't you tell us, Sonic?" Tails said softly. "We would've -"

"Understood?" Sonic laughed darkly, his exasperation reaching a fever pitch as he gestured wildly. "Knuckles doesn't, clearly! I just… I thought training her would be casual, something fun that I could capitalize on… but now -"

"You like her?" Tails finished, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Sonic stopped in his tracks.

"No!" Sonic sputtered. Knuckles rolled his eyes. "I don't - I've been trying to tell you guys - she is going to be Queen one day and she needs my help. Our help, now!" Sonic groaned with frustration, his eyes begging for Tails to understand.

"She's entering the Tournament of Champions," Sonic finally said, throwing his hands up. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. She's putting her life on the line to take the throne by entering the Tournament illegally. She needs to win to take over the kingdom alone - as Queen - and if she doesn't win… she'll more than likely be killed," Sonic admitted painfully.

Knuckles glanced up at him for the first time. Sonic caught Knuckles hesitating, pushing down the instinct to be impressed, and Sonic jumped at the reaction in an attempt to coax out the man's curiosity.

"I know," Sonic egged him on. "She's insane to try it. But she's a good fighter, and with my help she has a real chance of winning. With all of our help, even. Knuckles, with your -"

"No."

"You didn't even hear what I have to say, Knuckles," Sonic pleaded and took cautious steps towards him. "I know you're mad and I… look, I am sorry, ok? But Amy… she's just like you! She's a powerhouse, in fact - she could punch circles around you!"

Knuckles scoffed. "Yeah right, I'd like to see her try."

"Then come to training with me tomorrow and she'll show you! She needs our help if she's going to take over," Sonic begged, hoping his friends could see how this was bigger than them.

"And why do you care if she does?" This came from Tails, who piped up behind Sonic, looking at him with genuine curiosity and a discerning gaze that made Sonic feel like Tails knew something that Sonic himself did not.

Sonic blinked as he considered this, and he heard Knuckles huff at him from behind.

"She'll… be a great ruler. She's… good," he said simply, and shook his head at how inadequate the words were to describe everything he thought Amy deserved. "She wants to do things - she told me about plans for a university, for people like you, buddy," Sonic said, turning to appeal to Tails. "If you would both just come with me tomorrow and meet her," Sonic pressed on, "help me keep this covered up, and I promise - once she's Queen, she'll get you anything you want. She's already said as much."

"You can't trust a noble, Sonic," Tails pointed out, but the kid's eyes softened at the mention of a university. Tails bit his lip and looked back to Knuckles. Sonic knew Tails would follow him anywhere, but he wasn't going to leave Knuckles behind either.

"Amy is different, Tails - I know her. If she wanted to turn us in, she would've done it long ago. She busted Silver out, for Chaos' sake. And Knucks," Sonic said softly, "she needs you if she's going to be a champion. She needs you to make her a winner. I know you wish it could be you, but she's the next best thing we've got."

Knuckles looked away. Sonic could tell he had hit on something, he just hoped he had hit it hard enough.

"I'll think about it," Knuckles said gruffly before ending the conversation by turning and continuing on to their stakeout place for the day.

"You mean you'll do it?" Sonic pressed, jogging to keep up.

"Don't press your luck, dimwit," Knuckles growled.

When Sonic turned back to look at Tails for reassurance, the kit only nodded solemnly at him. Tails was in, Sonic knew, but that didn't mean he was right with either of them by any means.

Sonic wasn't worried about his friends. He knew that when they met Amy, her enthusiasm and potential would speak for itself. She was a champion at winning people over.

What haunted him the rest of the afternoon and into the next day was the ominous echo of a twig snapping in the woods. When they got back to camp, Scourge seemed his usual level of volatile, and no one said a word to any of them about overhearing their scuffle, but still, the twig snap stuck with him. It planted itself like a seed of dread in his stomach, and only grew more and more the longer it went without explanation.