Chapter 8 Shadow Forgets an Apocalypse and Amy becomes a Hostess
Shadow tapped his fingers on his desk. "Where's the punchline?"
Silver stared at him in shock. "What?"
Shadow poured himself another glass of wine and sighed. "It's just like you to make everything serious. And we were all having so much fun."
"Come on, Shadow, I thought you would at least listen to me."
"I am, but can't a man enjoy his peace?" He took a drink and stared into his glass. "I'll help, but I need details."
Silver shrugged. "Sorry. All I know is that the epicenter of the world's destruction is this island."
"That sounds right. Anything else?"
Silver stared at him blankly. "Nope. Sorry. Anyway, I've got a lot of work to do. Bye, Shadow."
He flew out the window and Shadow returned to his desk. "Well, that was helpful." He grabbed another glass from his desk drawer. "Want a drink?"
He felt a slight breeze, and Rouge descended from the high ceiling of his office. She sat on his desk and took the glass, appraising it closely.
"I guess I can't surprise you anymore." she said smiling.
"Nothing surprises me now."
"Not even what Silver just said?"
Shadow shrugged. "His predictions are always vague. The cataclysm he saw could be centuries from now, but I'll stop it. In the meantime," he filled her glass, "share a drink with me?"
Rouge smiled warmly. "How could I refuse?"
"By saying no?"
"Don't ruin the mood, Shadow." She took a sip of his wine. "How's Mariah?"
"She said her classes went well." He thought for a moment. "I hope she's enjoying this life."
"She's bound to if she keeps hanging out with you. I'm starting to like that girl. Don't get me wrong, she's crazy, but she uses her craziness in the right ways—like protecting you."
Shadow frowned. "Are you upset? That used to be your job."
Rouge laughed. "I'm protecting your bank accounts, sweetie, and how could I be upset when you're so happy? Mariah isn't the only one enjoying life a little more." She finished her glass and leaned in closer, whispering, "any chance I can get some of that extra joy?"
Shadow hesitated as he stared into her eyes—strangely tender yet aggressive. Rouge was certainly not the type to be shy about her feelings.
Eventually, Shadow placed his forehead against hers and sighed. "I'm sorry, Rouge, but I can't do this right now."
She pulled away from him, crossing her arms. "And why not?"
He swiveled his chair around and stared out the window. "You've always supported me, and you know how grateful I am just for that, but I can't indulge myself. Maria wouldn't want me to. There are too many people in this world who need my help."
Rouge sighed and stared at the floor. "You think Maria wouldn't want you to be happy?"
"Happiness and pleasure are very different."
She smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry, Shadow. I get it. You're too strong."
He glanced at her over his shoulder. "What do you mean?"
"Feeling a real romantic love for someone would make you vulnerable, but you have to stay strong for everyone on this planet, especially now."
He returned his gaze to the window and the stars above. "I guess you're right."
"But one day, you won't be so strong, and you'll need me to get you back on your feet." Rouge draped herself over the back of his chair and kissed his ear. "When that day comes, I'll be there."
She flew to the door and started to leave when Shadow quietly said, "thanks, Rouge . . . and don't underestimate your own strength."
"Alright!" Sonic said as he met his friends at Meh Burger. "It's the weekend and you guys don't have to go to school. What do you wanna do first? Race around the entire island, play volleyball, throw a crazy house party at Amy's?"
"How about sleep?" Tails suggested.
"Or work on homework?" Amy said.
"Or complain about how tired we are?" said Knuckles.
Sonic stared at them all in shock. "Come on, guys, don't let this school thing get you down. Why can't Eggman hurry up and destroy that place already?"
"Don't say that, Sonic!" Amy yelled. "Silver's school is an oasis of knowledge in our island's otherwise desert of ignorance. I've already learned so much, and Mariah and I have gotten so close. You're really missing out, Sonic."
"Please." He sneered. "I don't have to know stuff to be a hero. How's it going for you, buddy?"
"So much work to grade." Tails said. "So much work."
Sonic shrugged. "Eh, just give them all A's if they show up."
"That's not how life works, Sonic."
He looked over his shoulder and saw Shadow entering Meh Burger, looking even more serious than usual.
"Hey, Shadow, your school is really draining my friends. Can you give them a vacation or something?"
He scowled at him. "They'll get one in two months. Listen, Sonic, there's something really important I have to tell you. It's about Silver. He said—"
"Shadow!" Amy ran to him and grabbed his hand. "Just the man I wanted to see. First, I just wanted to say that Mariah is doing such a great job teaching, and second, I came up with this great idea to earn a few extra rings so I can pay back Sonic's debt and pay for my textbooks. I'd like to work as a hostess at one of your casinos!"
Sonic spit out his soda all over Tails. "A what?"
Shadow rubbed his chin. "I could always use more hostesses. Are you sure?"
"One hundred percent!"
"Wait, wait, wait." Sonic ran between them. "Amy, you can't be a hostess. Rich old men will just take advantage of you, and you'll complain about your life even more than you do already."
Amy pushed him away. "Please, Sonic, I can look after myself. So, when can I start?"
Shadow smiled, obviously enjoying Sonic's distress. "How about tonight?"
"Tonight?" Sonic screamed. "This is a prank, right? Come on, guys, where's the camera?"
"Deal." Amy said, shaking Shadow's hand. "See you this evening."
"No, no, wait." Sonic put his arm around Shadow. "I'm renting Amy every night she's working for the rest of this month. I'll pay in advance."
Shadow stared at him. "That's a lot of rings, hedgehog."
"I don't care. Just don't let anyone else have her, okay?"
"I'll do what I can." Shadow stared at the ground. "Now, what was I going to tell you? Something about Silver. . . . My amnesia's acting up again. I'm sure it wasn't important."
"Don't worry, Shadow." Sticks said happily. "It'll probably come back to you in a PTSD-induced nightmare."
He smiled. "Yeah, that's usually how it works. See you tonight, Amy. . . . Oh, and Sonic, I guess you'll be there too."
He walked over to Mariah's café, and everyone stared at Sonic and Amy in rapt anticipation.
"Oh, this is too good." Tails said, rubbing his hands together.
"I know." Knuckles said. "Amy's dating Shadow now, right?"
"A hostess, seriously?" said Sonic, throwing up his hands. "Couldn't you be a janitor or something?"
"This makes a lot more money, and we need it." Amy smiled mischievously. "What's wrong, Sonic? Why can't I be a hostess? Afraid I'll get the attention of another man?"
"What? No!" Sonic said, crossing his arms. "You can do whatever you want, you know, as long as I'm there to make sure you don't do certain things."
"Uh, huh. See you tonight, Sonic." She left Meh Burger, waving at him over her shoulder.
Sonic clenched his fists and ran to Sticks. "Come on, Sticks. You hang out with Amy all the time. What's her angle?"
"She's got no angle. Her head's too round." Sticks said, annoyed. "She just wants some cash."
"Oh, come on. She doesn't need money that badly."
"She's probably just trying to make you jealous and manipulate you." Tails said.
"I know, and it's working. . . . Well, guys, I gotta run and get ready for tonight. . . . and by 'get ready,' I mean help Amy get ready. See ya."
Sonic sat in a booth at Shadow's Chaos Casino. He was tapping his fingers on the table as he waited for Amy. He looked around at all the people, playing slot machines and consuming alcohol in various forms. Everyone was so absorbed in their vices, they did not seem to notice Amy when she walked out from behind the bar. She was wearing a black dress like all the casino's hostesses. She was carrying a magnum of champagne as well as two glasses. In her other hand was a tray of snacks.
Why is no one looking at my girl?
She sat down next to him, and Sonic noticed she had tied black ribbons in her quills that swayed slightly with her head.
"Wow, Amy, you look different . . . in a nice way." Sonic said.
"Thanks, Sonic, and thank you for visiting the Chaos Casino." she said, mechanically pouring him a glass of champagne. "I'm your host, Amy Rose."
"Yeah, I've kind of known you my whole life." He downed his entire glass. "Hey, having you serve me drinks and snacks isn't so bad. I don't know what I was so worried about except you serving drinks and snacks to other men."
"And why is that so worrying?" Amy asked, crossing her arms.
"Because I don't want anyone taking advantage of you." Sonic said, pouring her a drink this time.
"Thanks, but there are rules the customers have to follow, you know?"
"And you know what they say about rules."
"Shadow kills anyone who breaks them?" Amy sipped her champagne. "This is nice. . . . Sonic, we need to talk. What are we doing here?"
"I'm paying to hang out with you when I could just hang out with you for free anytime."
She smiled softly. "That's the point. We both love hanging out with each other. We help and support each other. We're together all the time. What are we?"
"We're best friends." he said with a shrug.
Amy rolled her eyes. "No, my best friend is Sticks, and I'm even more comfortable around you than I am her."
"Well, yeah, it's Sticks."
She frowned. "And you don't spend tens of thousands of rings to make sure nobody else gets to spend time with your best friend for a whole month."
Sonic laughed and tugged on his scarf. "Yeah, you got me there."
"You have no idea how happy it made me feel when you told Shadow you wanted to hang out with me every night. Sometimes you can be so ambivalent. I was starting to think you didn't care about me."
He smiled awkwardly. "What? Amy, of course I care about you. You're so much fun and you're . . . special, alright? That's why I didn't want any other guys spending time with you."
"Well, you didn't have to try so hard." Amy said, staring at the table. "The manager said nobody even asked about me tonight. Maybe I'm not that special."
"No, you are," he took her hand and she smiled, "to me."
She wiped a tear from her eye. "Then show me that I'm special—please. I'm tired of playing games and second-guessing myself. I just want something real and genuine, so I can love you unconditionally. Then, I know we'll be unstoppable. How does that sound?"
He smiled and put his hands on her back. "That sounds . . . pretty fun."
Sonic kissed her softly at first, but then Amy grabbed him by the quills and pressed her face against his.
"Please tell me we're an official thing now." Amy said, grinning madly.
"If by 'thing' you mean a pair of possessive, mentally disturbed lovers, then yes."
Amy screamed and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Oh, Sonic, this is the best night of my life! It feels like I'm finally living for the first time in years. And it's still so early. What should we do? Hit the slots? Play roulette? Watch the fireworks?"
He looked around at all the people aimlessly throwing away their rings. "How about a walk on the beach?"
Amy took his hand and smiled weakly. "That sounds nice."
Eggman propped his legs up on his new beechwood desk and sighed. "Coffee is hot, test scores are up, and the money is rolling in. Life is good, boys."
Orbot and Cubot looked at each other, wondering why their boss had brought them to his office at the University of Maria Robotnik.
"Sir, where are you getting this money?" Orbot asked. "Isn't this a nonprofit school?"
"Not when I blackmailed the mayor into giving me a stipend and a significant percentage of the town's tax revenue. All I have to do is reveal his insider trading and the entire ruling class on this island is finished."
"Well done, sir, and what do you intend to do with the money?"
"Give it back to your hardworking faculty and staff?" Cubot suggested.
"No, you talking paperweight. I'm going to use it to build a subterranean volcano lair. Since volcanos are trending in Evil Lair Monthly, they'll have no choice but to put me on the front page. . . . and if they don't, I'll just blow up the island. It's a win-win!
"Yeah, until you lose." Cubot said.
Eggman kicked him away. "I can't lose this time. My construction project is a complete secret. As long as Shadow doesn't follow the money, we're in the clear. . . . Who am I kidding? We're screwed."