All characters are Copyrights of DIC, SEGA, and/or Archie comics (I try not to use Archie, but I have a feeling I might have at somepoint or will in the future).

* = thoughts

Let's Mecha Deal

All was peaceful in the Great Forest until a bright light penetrated the darkness of the night. The light originated from a flashlight held by a small animal. In the dark, you couldn't make out any features other than its silhouette. The animal stopped walking and pulled a map out of the pack it was wearing and put the flashlight's light onto it.

"Now where is it. I'm sure he wouldn't give me fake directions to Knothole. After all, he said I could visit anytime I wanted to," said the figure in a female voice. The figure then put the map back into its pack and started walking again towards the direction of Knothole.

**********

Sonic had just fallen asleep after a long day that had involved taking out another of Snively's factories. They managed to get away, but not before Mecha-Sonic had clipped him in the arm with one of his claws. It didn't do anything other than cause a slight bleeding that only lasted about a minute, but it still stung.

Because Mecha-Sonic no longer had his turbo engine, it was a whole lot easier just to outrun the robotic hedgehog. But he still managed to get the drop on Sonic every so often, and he knew he would have to be on the look out for him every mission. All of a sudden, there was a knock at the door. Sonic stirred for a minute, still half asleep.

"What do you want, Tails? Did you have another nightmare?" he asked. Usually the young fox would have nightmares about his abduction by Mecha-Sonic a few weeks ago and come knocking at either his or Sally's hut to help him calm down enough to get back to sleep. He was getting better, though. He was having the dreams less often every night. The knocking stopped and he was left in silence again. Figuring Tails had left for Sally's, he fell back asleep.

After about a minute, the door slowly opened to reveal the figure from the forest. Because of the moon's light, only the figure's silhouette was visible. The figure tiptoed up next to Sonic's bed and gave him a slight nudge. Sonic let out a groan and turned over, facing the figure.

"Come on, wake up," said the figure as it bent down and started shaking him. Sonic opened his eyes, still half asleep. When his eyes had adjusted to the light, he found himself staring right into the eyes of someone else. Sonic's yell and the crash that followed was loud enough to wake Freedom Fighters all the way on the other side of the village. Everyone woke up with a start, all wondering what had caused it.

Rotor was the first one the reach Sonic's hut. He turned on the light and what he found made him burst out laughing. There, lying on floor with his feet on top of the bed, was Sonic. Standing next to the bed was a young, pink hedgehog in a red dress and red shoes. Sonic was still trying to catch his breath when he noticed the lights were on. He looked over at the door to see Rotor trying desperately to keep his laughter under control.

"What are you laughin' at, Rote?" asked Sonic as he stood up. Finally, Rotor got his laughter under control.

"Sorry, Sonic. I just can't believe that a little girl could scare you like that. By the way, who is she?" asked Rotor. Sonic looked over at his "intruder" for the first time, only to find out that it was someone he knew all too well.

"Uh...Amy? Is that you?" asked Sonic as the girl hedgehog ran around the bed and gave Sonic a hug.

"Oh, Sonic! You do remember me!" she shouted happily as she jumped up and down. By now, Sally and Bunnie had reached the hut.

"Sonic, what was..." was all Sally got out of her mouth before she noticed Amy hugging him.

"Oh mah stars," said Bunnie as she held her hand up to her mouth. Sonic saw that look on Sally's face that said that she was more angry than anything else.

"Do you mind explaining exactly what is going on here?" asked Sally, putting her hands on her hips. Sonic started to get nervous.

"Sal, it's not what you think," said Sonic nervously. Amy finally stopped hugging him and looked up at Sally, Bunnie, and Rotor.

"Hey, who are you guys?" she asked.

"I think we should be the ones asking that question, young lady," said Sally as she walked over to Amy. Sonic knew what was going to happen when Amy found out about his and Sally's "friendship", and he knew it was only going to get worse from there.

"Just how did you get here and how do you know Sonic?" asked Sally.

"Well, Sonic and me are old friends. He saved my life once. As for knowing where Knothole was, Sonic gave me the directions," said Amy, trying to act innocent. Sally looked over at Sonic with a slight hint of confusion. Sonic sighed as he walked over to Sally and whispered something in her ear. Sally nodded and Sonic turned towards the others.

"Excuse us for a sec," said Sonic as he took Sally's hand and sped out of the hut.

"Now what do y'all think Sugar-hog was telling Sally-girl?" asked Bunnie, looking over at Rotor and Amy. Both of them just shrugged.

**********

When they were far enough away from his hut, Sonic stopped as Sally crossed her arms.

"Who is she and why did you give her directions to Knothole?" asked Sally. Sonic sighed again. He knew that the time had come for him to tell her about Amy.

"Well, do you remember a couple of years ago when I told you I was headed for Never Lake to do some business?" asked Sonic. Sally had to think about it for a minute, but then nodded as she remembered.

"Yeah, I remember you leaving without telling us why you had left," said Sally.

"Sorry about that, but if I told you why I had left, you would have stopped me," said Sonic as he looked up in the sky, "I went to Never Lake to go to Little Planet." With that remark, Sally's eyes widened. She knew as well as Sonic that Little Planet was home to seven Time Stones.

While the two Time Stones on Mobius only had the power to transport someone back and forth through time, the Time Stones of Little Planet had the power to alter time itself. The only thing about Little Planet was the fact that because of the presence of the Time Stones, the planet would shift its position in time constantly. But for some odd reason, it always appeared on the last month of the year over Never Lake.

"Why did you go there?" asked Sally.

"I figured that with them, we could change the past so Robotnik would never come into power," said Sonic.

"You know we tried that with Mobius' Time Stones and it just backfired," said Sally, even as she remembered that because of their trip, Rosie had been saved from becoming Roboticized.

"Well, I actually forgot about that," he said sheepishly.

"So what is that little hedgehog's name and how did she become friends with you?" asked Sally.

"Well, her name is Amy. She's about...11 years old...I think. But as for how she became friends with me, I still find it hard to talk about," said Sonic. Sally looked more confused than ever.

"What do you mean, 'find it hard to talk about'?" she asked.

"Let's just say that I saved her from being captured by Swatbots and leave it at that," said Sonic. Sally knew that Sonic was hiding something, but she also knew that he would probably not tell her what it was. She just shook her head and headed off to her hut. Sonic hated keeping what had happened from her, but knew that it would only end in ruin if he told her. He closed his eyes as he thought back to the day him and Amy had met.

It had been a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. He remembered arriving at Never Lake and finding a squad of Swatbots capturing a young girl hedgehog. He had then lead the Swatbots on a chase that had ended with the final Swatbot having him pinned to the side of a cliff. He had just given up hope when the young girl had thrown a good-sized rock at the Swatbot and hit it in the back of the head. As soon as it had turned to see what had hit it, he had gone into his buzz saw attack and had split the Swatbot into two separate pieces.

What had happened right after that was what Sonic knew would bring about a rivalry between Sally and Amy. As soon as he had come out of his buzz saw attack, Amy had jumped up into his arms and had laid a full kiss right on his lips. He chuckled slightly as he recalled falling to the ground in surprise when she had done that. He just thought that she was caught up in the moment and that would be the end of it. But, boy, he had no idea about what was to follow that one kiss.

He still remembered their walk back to where she had made a home away from Robotnik's eyes. He found himself still surprised at the little home she had made up on top of a mountain near Never Lake. When he went inside, he had found a fireplace with something cooking over it, a twin bed, and a bathroom. He had been quite amazed at the home the young hedgehog had built.

Amy had offered him to stay the night, and he accepted only because it was getting dark outside and the trip back to Knothole would take about a day if he only made a few pit stops. They had eaten some kind of stew made with some vegetables from a garden that she had outside. They then talked about themselves and how they had handled themselves with the war. She had asked if there were any other people living in Knothole that were about her age. So Sonic filled her in about Tails, who she found very interesting.

When they had gone to sleep, he could still recall vividly what had happened. He had been sleeping on an inflatable mattress (He had hated sleeping on that thing, especially when he had popped it with his quills the next morning when he tried to get up), and was awaken by something pressing against his side. He had sat up only to find Amy lying on top of the sheets next to him.

He was about to wake her up to ask her what she was doing; but before he could, she said something to him in her sleep that sent a chill down his spine and remained imprinted in his head forever. Her exact words were "Oh Sonic, you're my hero. I will always love you," and then she had rolled over and put her arms around him. He regretted letting her stay on the floor with him that night, but she had looked so peaceful sleeping next to him that he couldn't find the heart to wake her.

But what he had done the next day had haunted him since then. When they had finished breakfast, she asked where he lived. He told her and then gave her directions to Knothole, telling her that she could visit anytime she wanted to. It wasn't until he was about half way back to Knothole before he skidded to a halt and realized what would happen if Sally found out about what had happened. Even worse, what if Amy actually came to Knothole just to visit him! He had put himself in the trap, now all that was needed was someone to set it off. And now his worst nightmare had come true.

When he had met Amy, she had followed him closely the whole time he had been around her. And since he always saw Sally at least once a day, there was no way to keep the two apart for any length of time if she ended up following him everywhere again. Hopefully, they wouldn't get into any fights; but it still worried him, even as he went back to his hut.

"What was that all about, Sonic?" asked Rotor. Sonic just raised his hand towards Rotor.

"Nothing that you need to know, Rotor," said Sonic. Rotor was kind of surprised that Sonic had called him by his full name. That usually meant that he was in the most serious of moods. But he knew better that to argue Sonic. He just shrugged and went back to his hut. Amy, on the other hand, was not going to let Sonic off that easily.

"Who was that girl?" she asked. Sonic hesitated before answering her; afraid of saying something that might lead to problems.

"That's Sally. She's the leader of our Freedom Fighters and one of my best friends," said Sonic. Amy just nodded. She knew better than to believe that Sonic and Sally were only friends. She made a mental note to have a talk with the older ground squirrel tomorrow. But it had been a long journey from her house to Knothole and right now, she was more concerned where she was going to sleep.

"So, Sonic. Where am I supposed to stay for tonight?" she asked. Her tone made Sonic a little nervous. The way she said it was that she was hoping to stay in his hut tonight. But fortunately, he thought of someone more suitable for her to spend the night with. He turned towards her and tried to look like he was thinking hard.

"Well...I guess you can stay with Bunnie. I'm sure she won't mind," said Sonic. Amy looked a little upset about it, but she was still okay with it.

**********

Bunnie had been more than happy to let Amy stay with her until morning, but now she was feeling a little uneasy at the way she just kept going on about Sonic. After a half-hour of hearing about how much she adored him, Bunnie knew that she had to have a crush on Sonic.

"I do declare, Amy-girl. I've never heard anyone talk about Sugar-hog for so long," said Bunnie as she took a few carrots out of the fridge and put them in a juicer. It was then that Amy thought of something else to talk about besides Sonic.

"I want to ask you something, but if you don't feel comfortable talking about it, it's okay," said Amy. Bunnie just smiled, relieved to go to another topic of discussion beside the blue hedgehog.

"What is it, honey?" asked Bunnie.

"Well, why are your legs and left arm robotic?" she asked. Bunnie just smiled as she turned on the juicer. She figured that question would come up eventually.

"Well, honey, when the coup happened, I was captured and put in the Roboticizer. But I sure was lucky, because Sugar-hog saved me from totally turning into a robot," she said. Amy just looked puzzled. The juicer stopped and Bunnie poured the fresh carrot juice into two cups.

"I hope you like carrot juice," she said.

"I do, thanks," said Amy as she took a cup, "What exactly is the Roboticizer?"

"Well, its this awful machine that can turn y'all into mindless robots," said Bunnie. Amy shivered at the thought of not having a mind. Bunnie saw her reaction and regretted telling her about the horrible machine. By now, it was nearly midnight and she was getting sleepy.

"Well, I think it's time we turn in for the night," said Bunnie, covering a yawn with her hand. Amy got up and walked over to the small bed and laid down while Bunnie went to the closet to get some extra blankets. When she came back to the bed, she couldn't help but smile. Amy was fast asleep on the bed. So Bunnie covered her with a couple of blankets. Then she made a bed for herself on the couch and fell fast asleep.

**********

Sonic awoke the next morning to the sound of someone yelling in Sally's hut. He was still half-asleep from the previous night and wasn't sure what was going on. It was about ten seconds later that he realized whose voice it was yelling.

*Oh no! That's Amy's voice!*, thought Sonic as he quickly put on his sneakers and dashed out the door.

The moment she had awaken that morning, Amy had went straight to Sally's hut. To her amazement, Sally was already awake and making herself a nice breakfast of pancakes and milk. She was kind of surprised when the young hedgehog had asked if she could talk to her so early in the morning. But what the talking was about surprised her even more.

The first thing out of Amy's mouth had been a threat for her to stay away from Sonic because he was hers. That had set Sally off right away. The two of them had argued back and forth for almost two hours. Sally saying that she had known Sonic for a lot longer than her, Amy saying that Sally should find someone of her own species. When Sonic ran up to the door, the argument was just ending.

"You will regret ever coming between me and my Sonic!" yelled Amy as she stormed out of the hut and headed for the borders of Knothole. Sonic watched her leave and then went inside.

"Yo, Sal. What was going on in here?" he asked. Sally turned towards him, a little calmer now that Amy had left.

"The little creep. She just thinks she can walk in here and make threats to me," said Sally. Sonic walked up to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"What did you do to get her so mad, anyway?" he asked. Sally just looked up at him in disbelief.

"What did I do! Sonic, she came in here at the crack of dawn and started telling me that I should find someone of my own species to be my boyfriend," she said.

"Well...maybe I can clear this up," said Sonic as he sat down in a chair. Over the next two hours, he told her everything that had happened on his trip to Never Lake. When he had finished, Sally looked just dumbfounded.

"I never knew that she had a crush on you," said Sally. Sonic sighed as he looked up at the ceiling.

"Sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I thought that if you found out about how Amy felt about me, you would go all ballistic on either her or me," said Sonic.

"Well, I guess I had better find her and apologize for getting so angry with her," said Sally as she put on her boots and walked out of the hut.

**********

Amy had been so mad at Sally for the way she had talked to her that she had left the forest and didn't even notice at first that she had entered Robotropolis. She continued to walk further into the city until the fowl smell of burning sulfur from a steel mill caught her nose.

"Yuck! What's that smell!" she cried as she pinched her nose. She then noticed that she was in the giant city and that she was lost. "Oh no! Where am I?"

**********&

*I hate these rummaging missions!* That was all Mecha-Sonic could think about as he dug through a pile of old scrap metal in search of usable parts. Digging in other piles were several Swatbots and Workerbots, but they paid no attention to the boredom of the task at hand. *Stupid robots. They don't even know when they are being punished.* Snively had been angry over the loss of another factory; and once again, he was taking his anger out on Mecha-Sonic.

There was a slight crash and he heard a small voice curse from behind a pile about twenty feet away.

"All units and workers, halt activity until further notice," said Mecha-Sonic. All the robots stopped what they were doing and stood at attention. Mecha-Sonic then started walking over to the source of the sound. But before he could get there, something jumped out of the shadows at him. But before he had a chance to react, the figure had tackled him and knocked him to the ground.

"Oh Sonic, I knew you would come and find me," said Amy as she tried to give the robotic hedgehog a hug. But she quickly jumped back off when she realized that it wasn't Sonic.

"Hey, you're not Sonic. Who are you?" she asked as Mecha-Sonic picked himself off the ground. The robotic hedgehog looked over at her with rage in his eyes. Before Amy knew what hit her, Mecha-Sonic had grabbed her by arm and lifted her up off the ground.

"I am your worst nightmare!" growled Mecha-Sonic as he raised his sharp claws to slash her.

"Sonic! Help me!" cried Amy at the top of her lungs. But the blow never came, for as soon as she had said Sonic's name out loud, Mecha-Sonic put her back down to the ground and let go of her.

"Why did you put me down?" she asked. Mecha-Sonic turned around to see the other robots still standing at attention. It was then that an idea hit him. He knew exactly how he could capture the elusive hedgehog.

"Sorry about that," he said in his sweetest voice, which was hard for a robotic hedgehog programmed to kill. "I thought you were someone else."

"That's okay. But who did you think I was?" she asked. Mecha-Sonic started to get nervous.

"Uh...I thought you were...uh," he stuttered as he tried to find an answer. So he said the first name that came to mind. "Princess Sally," he finished. When he said that name, he was shocked at the display that started to unfold in front of him. Amy walked up to the pile next to them and kicked the side of a sheet of metal, putting a dent in it.

"Is there something wrong?" asked Mecha-Sonic. Amy just turned her head towards him. Even from this distance, he could see the fire in her eyes.

" I hate that...that...SQUIRREL! She stole Sonic's heart from me! He was mine first!" she screamed. Mecha-Sonic couldn't help but smile when he found out how much she hated Sally.

*This is perfect. I know exactly how I can capture both the princess and the hedgehog,* thought Mecha-Sonic. He walked up to Amy and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Listen. I think I know a way to get rid of the princess if you want to have Sonic all to yourself," he said. Immediately, Amy jumped up and knocked him to the cold ground and gave him a hug for the second time in five minutes. It took Mecha-Sonic every ounce of his patience to keep from hurting her.

"How are you going to do that?" she asked. Mecha-Sonic thought about it for a minute before he pointed towards a nearby building with a pole sticking out of its side.

"I'll make you a deal. If you will be the bait to get the princess near that building, I will capture her. Then she will be out of your hair and you will be free to have Sonic as a boyfriend," said Mecha-Sonic.

"But what are you going to do to her when she's captured?" she asked, breaking the hug as she remembered what Bunnie had told her about the Roboticizer.

"Oh, nothing much. Probably just keep her in a cell for a while," said Mecha-Sonic, knowing full well that he was lying. Amy thought about it for a second, then stared Mecha-Sonic right in the eyes.

"Promise me you won't do anymore than put her in a cell for a few days," she said as she stuck her pinky out towards Mecha-Sonic. Mecha-Sonic just stared at her with confusion.

"What are you doing?", asked Mecha-Sonic. Amy sighed as she took a hold of his "pinky" claw with her pinky.

"It's called a 'pinky swear'. It means that no matter what, you have to keep the promise you make," she said. Mecha-Sonic nodded, understanding what she meant, but finding no logic behind it.

"Okay, I... 'pinky swear'...that I will only put the princess in a cell for a few days," said Mecha-Sonic as he shook her pinky. Amy smiled with satisfaction, not realizing that Mecha-Sonic had his other hand behind his back with two of his claws crossed.

"Then it's a deal. When do we do it?" she asked. Mecha-Sonic smiled as he walked over towards the robots, which were still standing at attention.

"How about now?" he asked. Amy looked surprised as Mecha-Sonic pointed to a bird Workerbot. "You, fetch me a rope!" He turned back towards Amy. "You realize, my dear, that the Freedom Fighters surely would have noticed you're missing by now. And more than likely, one of them saw you headed this way. The princess is almost always with any group that comes here."

"I guess that makes sense," she said as Mecha-Sonic took the rope from the Workerbot and tied her hands behind her back in a knot.

"Now, let's be on our way," said Mecha-Sonic as he picked her up and put her inside of a nearby hover-unit.

**********

"Amy!" cried Sally as she walked up to the Power Ring pool. She was getting very worried about Amy. No one had seen her since that morning. Sonic was out in Green Meadow searching for her. Sally was really regretting fighting with her that morning. A sonic boom sounded as Sonic ran up next to her.

"Any luck, Sonic?" asked Sally. Sonic just shook his head.

"Nope, I can't find her anywhere," said Sonic as they both sat down on the log next to the pool.

"Oh, Sonic. Do you think I went to hard on her?" asked Sally.

"Sure," said Sonic. Sally looked up at him in surprise. "I mean, she's only 11. How would you feel if you were her age and had a crush on someone, only to find out that he was in love with someone else?" Sally let out a sigh and put her head on Sonic's shoulder.

"I guess you're right," she said. They did not notice two figures walk up behind them until one had put its hand on Sally's shoulder, causing her to gasp. They both turned around to see Antoine and Dulcy standing behind them.

"Forgive me, my Princess. I was not meaning to surprise you," said Antoine in his French accent.

"That's okay, Antoine," said Sally, returning her gaze to the pool. Antoine and Dulcy both exchanged a glance at each other.

"Sally, what's the matter?" asked Dulcy.

"It's just that a young girl is missing and we can't find her," she said. Antoine perked up when he heard that the missing person was a girl.

"Pardon me, my Princess, but would this girl be being a pink hedgehog?" asked Antoine. Sally jerked upright, turned around, and grabbed Antoine by his uniform.

"You saw her! Which way did she go! When did she leave!" yelled Sally.

"I-I-I," stuttered Antoine. Luckily for him, Dulcy took the questions into her own hands.

"We saw her this morning. She seemed pretty mad about something. She was headed towards Robotropolis," said Dulcy.

"You...let her go...to Robotropolis...by herself?" said a stunned Sally. Sonic was just as stunned as Sally was.

"Sal! She could be in mondo trouble," said Sonic.

"I know, and it's all my fault," said Sally.

"Don't worry, Sal. We'll bring her back," said Sonic. Sally turned towards Antoine and Dulcy, a slight hint of anger in her eyes.

"You two are hereby banned from lookout duty for three weeks," she said. Antoine and Dulcy both looked at each other and let out a sigh. Lookout duty was their favorite time of the day. But they both knew that when Sally made up her mind, it was set in stone.

"I'll juice back to my hut and grab my pack and a flare gun. The next ring is due in about two minutes, so grab the ring and meet me at the entrance to Knothole," said Sonic. Sally nodded as Sonic blasted away from the pool. Five minutes later, they were on their way.

**********

Mecha-Sonic let out a small laugh as he tied Amy to the pole sticking out of the building.

"Why are you laughing?" she asked. Mecha-Sonic realized that he might have just blown his cover. He quickly thought up something.

"Well, I just can't help but laugh when I think about a hedgehog and a squirrel being 'best friends'," said Mecha-Sonic. Amy just nodded. "Anyway, they should be here anytime, so be ready to act your part."

"Don't worry. I remember everything you told me to say," she replied.

**********&

A sonic boom sounded as Sonic and Sally reached the outer limits of Robotropolis. Sally let go of Sonic as he looked around the city for signs of Amy. After finding no trace of her and not wanting to draw attention by yelling, he turned back towards Sally.

"Let's split up. You take the flare gun and signal me if there's trouble," said Sonic. Sally nodded as she took the flare gun from Sonic's pack. Sonic then ran off while Sally started walking in a different direction.

She had been walking for about fifteen minutes when she came across the piles of scrape metal where Amy and Mecha-Sonic had met. It was then that she noticed a set of footprints in the dirt. She recognized them as Amy's shoe prints. She let out a gasp when she noticed a second pair of footprints next to hers. These tracks belonged to none other than Mecha-Sonic.

She dropped to the ground, realizing that Amy had probably been captured or killed by the robotic hedgehog. But her head jerked upright when she heard a faint cry for help. She quickly got up and started running towards the sound of the cry. It was getting more distinct the closer she got to the source. She then realized it was Amy's voice and started to run even faster.

She ran out into a clearing to find Amy hanging from the pole with Mecha-Sonic suspended beside her with his foot thrusters.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Sally," said Mecha-Sonic when he noticed her in the clearing. Sally clenched both of the hands into fists.

"Let her go!" she yelled to the robotic hedgehog, who just laughed at her.

"Why would I want to let her go. She has the makings of a good Workerbot," said Mecha-Sonic. Amy looked down at Sally with a sad look in her eyes.

"Sally, help me!" she cried. Sally started to take the flare gun out of her vest pocket when Mecha-Sonic raised his laser arm to Amy's head.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Mecha-Sonic. Sally hesitated, then put the flare gun back into her pocket. She knew Mecha-Sonic wanted something, or else he would have killed Amy by now.

"What do you want?" asked Sally. Mecha-Sonic pointed right at Sally.

"I want you," he said coldly. Sally looked back up at Amy, who still had the same sad look on her face. She then looked at Mecha-Sonic with an angry glare.

"First, let Amy go. And you have my word that I will offer no resistance," she said. Mecha-Sonic scratched his chin like he was in deep thought. He then cut the ropes holding Amy. She started to fall, but Mecha-Sonic caught her by the leg. He landed and let her go.

Amy ran behind a pile of scrape metal and out of sight. Sally closed her eyes and stuck both her arms out as Mecha-Sonic took the rope and tied her hands together behind her back. When he made sure she was secure, he motioned towards the pile of metal Amy had ran behind. Sally's face turned to complete horror when Amy walked out from behind the pile with a smile on her face.

"Amy? What's going on here?" asked Sally in disbelief. Amy just laughed a little, as did Mecha-Sonic.

"I told you that you would regret coming between me and Sonic," she said. "Now you'll be in a cell and out of my hair for a few days and by the time you're free, Sonic will be mine!" By this time, Mecha-Sonic was putting Sally into the hover-unit as it waited for take-off.

"You traitor! You'll never get away with this!" was all Sally could say before the hover-unit's door closed. Mecha-Sonic turned to Amy and was now laughing hysterically.

"What are you laughing at?" asked Amy. Mecha-Sonic stopped laughing and looked down at her.

"You foolish girl. You just helped me capture the leader of the Freedom Fighters. And now, I think I'll capture you as well now that you have served your purpose," said Mecha-Sonic as he raised his laser arm and set it for stun. Amy started walking backwards when her foot brushed against something. She looked down to see it was the flare gun, which had slipped out of Sally's vest when she had been bent over while being tied. Amy reached down and picked up the flare gun and pointed it at Mecha-Sonic, who just laughed.

"You idiot. That little pea shooter won't even scratch my armor plating," said Mecha-Sonic. Amy noticed about a dozen barrels right behind Mecha-Sonic and aimed a little higher.

"Think again!" she cried as she shot a flare from the gun. Mecha-Sonic turned around when the flare shot past him to see one of the barrels get hit by the flare and burst into flames. He then realized what was in the barrels. It was fuel for hover-units.

"Oh no," said Mecha-Sonic as the barrels exploded, sending him flying backwards about fifty feet to the ground. Amy was also thrown to the ground by the explosion.

**********

On the other side of the city, Sonic was just about to give up and find Sally when he saw a cloud of orange fire shoot up into the air about half a mile away.

"Whoa! Looks like Sal started the party without me," said Sonic as he revved up and blasted towards the growing cloud of smoke.

**********

Amy picked herself off the ground only to see Mecha-Sonic already standing and his laser arm pointed right at her.

"You will pay for that," said Mecha-Sonic as he fired. Before the beam hit Amy, a blue blur pushed her out of the way; but not before the beam hit the blur. Amy rolled along the ground. When she stopped, she looked up to see that the thing that had saved her was none other than Sonic.

"Oh no! Sonic!" she cried. Mecha-Sonic laughed when he saw what he had hit.

"Well, this is an unexpected bonus. Now I have the princess and Sonic," he said as he walked up next to Sonic and kicked him with his foot. Amy just stared with tears in her eyes as Mecha-Sonic looked up at her.

"Awe, I think you should join him. After all, you wanted to be with him," said Mecha-Sonic as he raised his laser arm. Amy was jolted out of her trance when she saw him aim right for her. But when Mecha-Sonic fired, she did a back flip and landed five feet behind where she had been knelt.

Mecha-Sonic was momentarily caught off guard by the display of gymnastics, allowing Amy to make a run for it. She started running around the piles of scrap metal as she tried to figure out how to lose the robotic hedgehog.

"You can run, little one, but you can not hide!" yelled Mecha-Sonic as he picked up Sonic, activated his foot thrusters, and flew up into the air. Amy looked around desperately as she tried to figure some way to escape. But before she could think of anything, an arm shot out of the pile next to her and yanked her in. She started to scream, but a hand came up and covered her mouth. She quieted when she heard a shush noise from behind her.

By now, Mecha-Sonic had reached the pile they were hiding in and had landed right outside of it, putting Sonic down to the ground. Amy's eyes went wide when the robotic hedgehog turned towards the pile. But after about a minute, he cursed to himself, picked up Sonic, and flew off. When he was gone, Amy pulled the hand away from her mouth and turned around to see who or what had just saved her.

"I want to thank you for saving me from that robot. But who are you?" she asked. A flashlight flickered and then came on to reveal a young fox sitting next to her.

"I'm Miles Prower, but everyone calls me Tails," answered the fox. It was then that Amy noticed he had two tails and remembered Sonic telling her about this young fox.

"Sonic's told me a lot about you," said Amy.

"I'm sure he has, but I kind of want to get out of this pile of junk," said Tails. Amy nodded with agreement and both of them climbed out.

"I think we'd better find out where Mecha-Sonic took Sonic and Sally. More than likely, he took them to become Roboticized," said Tails.

"Why would he do that? He promised me that her wouldn't turn them into robots," said Amy. Tails looked at her with a confused look on his face. Amy sighed and told Tails the deal she had made with Mecha-Sonic. Tails was surprised that Amy truly believed what the robotic hedgehog had told her, but said nothing.

"I made a huge mistake. Now Sonic and Sally are going to pay for my foolishness," said Amy. Tails put his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, we'll get them back," he said. Amy took a step back to feel her foot brush up against something on the ground. She looked down to see Nicole, which had fallen off of Sally's boot, sitting on the ground next to her. She bent down and picked it up.

"Hey Tails, what is this thing?" she asked. Tails ears perked up in surprise when he noticed Amy holding onto Nicole.

"Where did you find this?" he asked as he took Nicole from Amy.

"I found it on the ground, why?" she answered.

"We can use this to find out where Sonic and Sally are most likely to be," said Tails. He opened Nicole and pushed one of her buttons.

"Good day, Tails," said Nicole. Tails let himself smile. No matter how many times he heard Nicole say that greeting, he still found it amusing.

"Nicole, access Robotropolis building information and locations," said Tails, having no trouble handling the small computer. He had seen and heard Sally give orders to the handheld computer so many times, he had memorized most of the commands. Nicole beeped a few times before a holograph appeared in front of Tails and Amy.

"Let's see. We are right here," he said, pointing to one of the buildings on the holograph. "And the Roboticizer lab is right...here," he said, pointing to a building just a few blocks away from them.

"But we have to go around so many building to reach the lab. How are we ever going to get there before they are turned into robots?" asked Amy. Tails gave her a thumbs up.

"That's not a problem. Just watch," he said, winding up his twin tails and taking to the air. Amy's jaw almost dropped to the floor when she saw what the young fox was capable of doing with his two tails. "Grab a hold!" he called to her. Amy grasped his hands in hers as Tails flew above the piles of junk and towards the lab.

**********&

Just outside the lab, the hover-unit that was carrying Sally landed and two Swatbots led her inside. Once inside the lab, she was bound to the floor by two cuffs built into the floor as the Swatbots turned and left. She looked up as a door whooshed open to reveal Mecha-Sonic carrying a still unconscious Sonic in his arms.

"Ah, you're here ahead of schedule," said Mecha-Sonic as he walked over to the Roboticizer. He placed Sonic on the platform as the containment tube came down, trapping him inside.

"You...fiend!" was all Sally could cry out. Mecha-Sonic walked over to the controls, letting out a small laugh.

"Come now, princess. Surely you of all people can come up with something better to call me," teased Mecha-Sonic as he started the activation sequence.

**********&

Meanwhile, Tails and Amy had found an air duct that went into the lab. As they crawled through the duct, Amy was too busy trying to get the cobwebs off of her to notice where they were going. Tails, on the other hand, knew where they were going. He stopped when he noticed a light coming from a vent in the duct. He crawled over to it and looked down. Below him, he saw Sally with the binders on her feet. He also saw Mecha-Sonic busy preparing the Roboticizer. He motioned to Amy to come over to him.

"Did you find them?" she asked as she crawled up next to him. Tails nodded and put his finger up to his lips to show her to be quiet. Amy looked down and saw Sally as well. But her attention was mostly on Mecha-Sonic. She wanted to get back at the robotic hedgehog for tricking her. She also noticed there were several thick cables hanging from the middle of the ceiling that reached out as far as the vent they were in. She got an idea as she slowly took the cover off of the vent.

"Hey! What are you doing!?" whispered Tails as Amy reached her hand down and grabbed one of the cables.

**********&

Inside the Roboticizer, Sonic started to stir. He sat up, groaned, and rubbed his head. Sally would have jumped for joy when Sonic woke up if she could have.

"Sonic! You're awake!" she cried. Mecha-Sonic turned around from the Roboticizer's controls to see that sure enough, his organic double was awake.

"Well, look who finally decided to wake up. Did you have a nice last nap, hedgehog?" asked Mecha-Sonic. It was then Sonic realized where he was.

"Hey! Let me outta here!" demanded Sonic as he pounded on the tube. Mecha-Sonic only laughed and crossed his arms.

"Now why should I do that? For more than a month I've tried to either kill or capture you. Now I have you and I will finally be rewarded for my success," said Mecha-Sonic as he reached for the lever that would turn on the evil device. Sonic closed his eyes, waiting for the beam to hit him and started turning him into a robot.

But what happened caught everyone in the room off guard. Before Mecha-Sonic could throw the switch, a loud scream sounded off from the ceiling. Everyone looked up to see Amy swing feet first at Mecha-Sonic. He raised his laser arm to shoot her, but he wasn't fast enough. Amy slammed her feet right into Mecha-Sonic's face, sending him flying back into the control panel and putting a dent in it.

"Take that, you creep," said Amy as she started to run over to the controls that would release Sally. But before she could reach them, a laser blast blew up the control panel. Amy whipped around to see a very angry Mecha-Sonic with his laser arm pointed right at her head.

"You little fool. You came back to save your friends, only to die in the process," said Mecha-Sonic. But before he could shoot, another yell sounded off from the ceiling. Mecha-sonic looked up to see Tails swing down from the ceiling towards him.

"Not again..." sighed Mecha-Sonic as Tails' feet connected with Mecha-Sonic's chest plate, sending him flying right back into the same control panel. Tails and Amy ran over to Sally and tried to pry the bonds off of her feet.

"Just go! Leave us!" cried Sally.

"I'm not going to let him turn you into a robot!" yelled Amy.

"Maybe you should have just left when you had the chance," said Mecha-Sonic as he stood up and raised his laser arm once again in their direction. "Now, all three of you will..." Mecha-Sonic was cut off as the control panel behind him exploded, sending the robotic hedgehog flying towards the containment tube.

Sonic ducked to the ground as Mecha-Sonic crashed through the tube, shattering it to pieces before slamming into the wall. While his armor plating had protected him from the explosion, he still shut down temporarily when he hit the wall. Sonic quickly got out of the tube and ran over to Sally.

"Hold totally still, Sal. I'll have you out of there in a sonic second," said Sonic as he went into his buzz saw attack and cut the bonds off of her feet. He then ran over and picked up his pack from the floor. "Get a grip guys, cause we are gonna juice," he said as he took out the Power Ring. The ring glowed as its energy surged through Sonic's body. They formed a chain behind Sonic and he took of with a supersonic boom.

**********

Snively was almost smiling as his hovercraft landed just outside the Roboticizer lab. He was still full of excitement from when he had received a priority one message from Mecha-Sonic to come to the lab. A priority one message usually meant that the robotic hedgehog had good news to report. And since the message had said to go to the lab, he knew Mecha-Sonic had to have caught someone very important.

"I can't wait to see who Mecha-Sonic has captured," said Snively to himself as he was walking down the corridor leading to the lab. But his smile turned into a frown when his nose caught the smell of smoke. He quickened his pace towards the lab. He reached the door and it whooshed open. He couldn't believe what his eyes told him.

The whole lab was filled with smoke. His eyes went even wider when he saw the containment tube and the main control panel smashed. He let out a yell as Mecha-Sonic's eyelights came back on. He sat up, rubbing his metal head.

"Mecha-Sonic! What in the world happened in here!" cried Snively. Mecha-Sonic got up and started slowly backing into the corner.

"Well...you see...a funny thing happened to me on your way over here," stuttered Mecha-Sonic. Snively let out a yell of anger and frustration.

**********&

Back in Knothole, Amy had asked Sally if she could talk to her for a minute. They were now sitting on Sally's bed, discussing what had happened.

"I wish I had never even thought about doing something like that," said Amy.

"Well, when I think about it, I can see why you want me out of the picture so bad. I mean, if I was your age and someone already liked someone I really liked; I would not want them around, either," said Sally. Amy looked up at Sally.

"I sorry about what I did," she said. Sally looked over at her.

"It's okay. I forgive you," she said. There was a knock on the door. "Come in." The door opened to reveal Sonic with a chilidog in his hand.

"Hey! Are you two coming to dinner or not?" he asked. Both of them got up off the bed and followed Sonic to the campfire. After they told the story of their day (leaving out the part about the deal between Amy and Mecha-Sonic), everyone turned in for the night. Sonic was feeling a little sorry for Amy, so he decided to do the one thing he thought he would never do.

"Hey Amy. Do you want to stay at my place tonight?" asked Sonic.

"No, but thanks anyway. I think I'll stay with Bunnie tonight," she said, catching Sonic totally off guard.

**********&

Inside Bunnie's hut, they helped each other set up their beds for the evening. Bunnie had just made a fresh batch of carrot juice and the two were sitting in chairs, talking about themselves.

"You know, honey, I think we'd better turn in for the night. It's getting late," said Bunnie when they finished their juice.

"All right, Bunnie. But can I ask you a quick question?" asked Amy.

"Sure y'all can," answered Bunnie as she started to sit back down in the chair.

"Well, what do you think about...Tails?", asked Amy. This question caught Bunnie way off guard, which was evident when she almost missed the chair when sitting down.

"Uh...well, he's a nice young man. Why do y'all ask?" she answered.

"Oh, nothing. I was just wanting an outside opinion and I trust what you say," said Amy. "Well, I'm ready for bed." She climbed into her bed as Bunnie tucked her in. Bunnie then got into her make, wondering why Amy had just asked her that question.

**********

The next morning, Amy was in Bunnie's hut preparing to depart. She almost had everything packed when Sonic knocked on the door.

"Come in," said Amy as Sonic walked into the hut. "Oh, good morning Sonic."

"Good morning Amy. I was just coming to check on you. Are you sure you have to go so soon?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think I'd better. Besides, my garden's probably almost dried out by now," she answered. Sonic felt bad about letting her walk all the way back to Never Lake by herself. But then he got an idea.

"I think I know a way to get you back there pretty easily," said Sonic as he walked out the door. He whistled loudly. "Yo! Dulcy, come here!" he yelled.

"Who's Dulcy?" asked Amy. Sonic pointed towards the sky out in front of them where a shadow was coming closer at a very fast pace. Dulcy had heard his call and was heading straight for them. It was then Sonic realized that he and Amy were right in Dulcy's landing path.

"Oh no," said Sonic and he grabbed Amy's hand and ran out of the way as Dulcy went into a power dive. She landed feet first on the ground, only to fall over onto her face from the speed of her landing.

"Are you okay, Dulcy?" asked Sonic, leaning over the dragon.

"I'm fine, Ma," answered Dulcy.

"Is she okay?" asked Amy. Sonic laughed a little.

"Oh yeah, she's fine," he said as Dulcy picked herself up off the ground and shook her head.

"Hey Dulcy, can I ask you for a favor?" asked Sonic.

"Sure, Sonic. What do you need?" asked Dulcy.

"Can you take Amy here back to Never Lake?" he asked.

"Sure can. Do you mean right now?" asked the dragon. Sonic looked over at Amy, who just shook her head.

"No, not right away. When she tells you she's ready, then take her," instructed Sonic. Dulcy nodded and then flew off.

**********

A little while later, Amy had finished her good-byes with everyone except a certain two-tailed fox. She found Tails sitting on the log next to the Power Ring pool.

"Hey there, Tails. Do you mind if I sit down with you?" asked Amy. Tails looked up from the pool and turned his head back to her.

"No, it's okay," he answered. Amy walked over and sat down next to him.

"You know, Tails. Saving me from Mecha-Sonic in the lab was very brave," she said as she scooted closer to him. Tails started to get nervous.

"Hey! No problem," he said. Amy scooted a little closer to him.

"Well, I never did get to thank you," she said. The two of them didn't notice that two figures were watching them from behind a bush.

"Man, I never would have pictured those two," said Sonic as he watched Amy scoot closer to Tails.

"I know what ya mean, Sugar-hog," said Bunnie. They watched as Amy put her head on Tails shoulder.

"Oh, you don't need to thank me," said Tails as he started to sweat. Amy took her head off his shoulder and looked him in the eye. Tails was too scared to move, so Amy decided to make the move. She leaned forward and kissed him on his cheek.

Usually, Tails would have jumped off the log and wiped at where he had been kissed, but he shocked both himself and the two watching them when he didn't do anything but just continue staring off into space. Amy got up and left the pool to leave a stunned Tails sitting on the log.

**********

Amy had finally located Dulcy and was preparing to set out for Never Lake. Sonic, Sally, Bunnie, Rotor, Antoine, and Tails were there to see her off. All of them had said their final good-byes when Bunnie got an idea.

"Wait a minute, honey. I think someone should go with y'all on this here trip. I mean, it's could be dangerous," said Bunnie, winking at Sonic. Sonic caught the wink and realized what Bunnie was planning.

"Yeah, maybe you should have someone go with you just in case you run into trouble," said Sonic. Everyone else agreed that it was a sensible idea.

"I think Tails should go with her," said Sonic. Tails looked a little surprised at what Sonic had just suggested, but everyone else was in full agreement, considering that they each had already planned their day. "Is that okay, little bro?" asked Sonic.

"Yeah, that's fine," he said as he flew up onto Dulcy's saddle in front of Amy. Sonic whispered something into Dulcy's ear. She nodded, flapped her wings, and took off into air vanishing into the treetops.

**********

When they reached Never Lake, Dulcy had let Tails take Amy off of her before she tried to land. Amy had pleaded with Tails before they had arrived for him t carry her down to the ground after seeing Dulcy's crash landing in Knothole. When they landed, Tails expect to see Dulcy come crashing down to the ground, but she never did. She just flew off to the other side of the lake and hovered.

"Well, I guess this is good-bye," said Amy, folding her hands behind her back.

"Yeah, I guess so," said Tails. He looked into Amy's eyes and found that she was also looking right into his eyes. Tails then did something that surprised both of them. He leaned forward and gave Amy a kiss. Afterwards, Amy looked a little stunned.

"I...guess I'd better get going," stuttered Amy. Tails nodded as Amy turned around and started walking up the path towards her house. Deep down, Tails knew that Amy's true feelings were for Sonic, but what could a kiss between good friends hurt. Tails wound up his tails and took off towards Dulcy. Seeing him coming, she started flying towards him. When they met, Tails landed on Dulcy's saddle and she started back towards Knothole, smiling the whole trip.

THE END

I would like to thank Sonique the Hedgehog and especially KM Holler for the encouragement I needed to start writing again and to continue with it. Thank you both.

Here's a preview of my next fanfic, "Dragon Tales":

"Well, since Dragon's Cave is about 750 miles to the south of us, the person most likely to make the trip would be Sonic. There's no way to get there before he does, so I'm not sure how to handle it," said Snively. He started pacing back and forth as he tried to think of a way to deal with the miserable hedgehog. He stopped and snapped his fingers as he thought of something.

"Come with me. I know a way you can take care of that hedgehog personally," he said as he walked out of the room.

"Now that's music to my ears," said Mecha-Sonic as he followed him out of the room.

You may e-mail me your comments at GuGoomba@aol.com