Amy's story, By Mufasa

Disclaimer:
The charaters Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy Rose and co. are copyright of 
SEGA.   Permission is granted by the author to freely distribute this story,
so long as:
a: no recompense of financial value is received or given by the person who
distributes the story, and
b: the distributed copy is identical to the story as originally authored.
In other words, don't sell it, and don't alter it.

	Chapter one

  The sun, hitting the plain with its sunrays, started to set over an immense forest of
evergreens. The aerial view of the place looked overall like a green Island, thanks to
grass except for a quite rocky plateau, small in area, and mostly covered by grassless soil.
  On this plateau were a blue hedgehog in the activity of making a fire, a brown-orange
fox, and, a little bit apart, a pink female hedgehog, and anybody could recognize them
as Sonic "Don't Break My Heart" the Hedgehog and Tails the Fox. Tails had the ability
to fly using his tails as helicopter blades, while Sonic was the fastest runner on
Mobius. There was also Amy "the Rascal" the Hedgehog. She looked to be daydreaming a bit.
  Tails came towards her.
"What's the matter, Amy? Are you okay?" he asked. 
Amy suddenly woke up. "What?" she asked.
"You seem pretty unusual today. You look like you're almost depressed. Are you?"
"Well... Kinda. But I do not want to talk about it."
"Once I felt exactly like you do now. Something was on my mind, but I really didn't want
to tell anyone about it because I didn't feel it was their business. Sonic pressured me
so much to tell the truth that I quickly told him the story. He informed some of his
friends about my confession. Eventually things worked out and - hey Amy, are you listening?"
Amy had turned her back on Tails and was now contemplating the view. The Island blending
into the forest...
"Are you trying to transmit to me some kind of hidden message here?" she asked
sarcastically.
"I'm just trying to tell you that telling me... or somebody, could help. Don't you
think?"
"Oh, all right."
"Shoot."
"Let's see... How can I put it... I was... um..."
Tails grew impatient. "I'm listening!" he said.
"...lost." Amy finished.
"Lost?"
"Lost in this still unknown area of Mobius. These past few weeks I did nothing but
walking in search for a bit of civilization. I have not seen anybody since nearly two
months until I saw you and Sonic, yesterday."
"Wow," said Tails. "That's why your were so happy to see us yesterday. I thought that you
had some crazy hysteria going on in your brain or something."
Amy continued: "You cannot imagine. I haven't seen anybody for two months, and you wanted
me to stay calm? At first it was like in a dream. I was so happy. I had finally
accomplished my... um, that is, um... you... I mean..." Amy stopped talking.
"Goal?"
Amy did not speak. She looked down.
"Heeey," said Tails with a big smile. "What's that?"
"Shut up, Tails," said Amy angrily, without even looking at Tails.
"Don't tell me a word," Tails replied, still with that same smile, "now I understand. Wait
'till Sonic hears this."
"No", said Amy with an angry voice. "Don't tell Sonic, Tails. It's none of your business,
you damned fox."
"Amy! Why are you so serious about it?"
Amy did not answer.
"Anyway," said Tails, "now that you have accomplished your "goal," where will you go? We're
on a mission, you know. Sonic won't let you come with us."
"I'll have to go with you two. It's the only way," she replied.
"Oh no. You will be very undesirable. Sonic is going to move fast. And I can't carry you.
Besides, you seem to have catched a cold."
"I didn't!" said Amy, "and I think you have no choice but to take me with you!"
"Sorry, Amy, but you're sick. It's not bad, but I heard a of coughing from you last night."
"I'm going with you anyway." she said. "And I don't think I'm sick enough for you to use
it as an excuse for not taking me with you!" But then she started to cough. A loud, greasy
cough. But she didn't stop. It was getting harder and louder. She fell down, still coughing,
and she couldn't breathe very well.
"SONIC!" shouted Tails, "come here quick!" 
Sonic came up to Amy in less than a second and he started to tap Amy's back; fortunately
she had stopped coughing right after Tails had yelled.
"Amy, you're okay?" asked Sonic. "Tails! Go get one of my sleeping bags right now!" Tails
immediately executed Sonic's order and placed the sleeping bag right under Amy.
"Now Amy," said Sonic, "you just rest for a moment. I'll take care of you." He went to get
some medicine.
Tails, pensive, was looking at Amy. "What were you telling me again? How did you get lost?"
  Amy, still recovering, poorly replied: "don't tell any of this to Sonic. I'm in love with
him. I could bet anything that I have more love for him than any other girl. So I tried to
move to Mobius. To do everything I could to make him love me; but I didn't land on the
right spot. I landed somewhere in this big forest with nowhere to go, and absolutely no
hint to the direction I could go to find a bit of civilization." Amy stopped talking. She
closed her eyes and laid down, as if she was ready to sleep. 
  Tails saw she was near crying. He bent down and whispered in Amy's ear: "Amy, I am leaving
tonight."
Amy slowly moved her lips forming a "Why".
"Sonic will explain you later," said Tails. "Tomorrow, I guess. Me, I'm leaving in the
next half-hour."
Amy felt cold. She had seen Tails as the "lawyer" who could reason Sonic to accept taking
her with them. But now he was leaving. "Have a nice trip," she muttered.
Tails did not answer. He walked away to talk to Sonic and to finish preparing his departure.
"This is it," said Sonic after a couple of minutes.
"Bye Sonic," said Tails.
Amy opened her eyes just a bit to look at Tails, but almost with an expression of contempt.
Tails did not meet her look. After a last goodbye to Sonic, he opened his tails, and flew
away under the sunset of the evening.

The night fell on the high plain. By eight a clock, Sonic and Amy had finished eating. Sonic
had found himself forced to wake up Amy to eat dinner, but now that it was finished, she
could sleep all she wanted to, he thought. After cleaning up everything, Sonic carried Amy
inside the small tent, believing she was asleep. However, after Sonic got in his sleeping
bag and closed his eyes, Amy whispered to him: "Sonic, what are you going to do about me?"
Sonic thought for a moment. And then: "I haven't decided yet. I'll tell you tomorrow. But
relax: I'm not going to leave you here all alone."
  Amy wanted to discuss it more, but she was so tired she let it go. She soon fell asleep.

	Chapter two

  As soon as she saw Knuckles coming towards her, Amy felt anguish. Knuckles was here to kill
her. Amy immediately turned back and ran in fear as fast as she possibly could, but she
tripped and fell on the ground. She was now on the edge of the Floating Island. Knuckles
was still approaching her. She began to distinguish Knuckles' maddened face. She could not
get up.
  She moved backwards, knowing that she would fall over the edge of the Island. And she did.
Luckily this unrealistic scene was only a dream. Amy woke up, and she saw Sonic outside the
tent cooking breakfast. She figured it was about eight thirty in the morning. She thought
about her nightmare. It was only a nightmare, but built from pieces of memory. Recent memory.
She tried to erase all this from her mind. She did not want to think about this.
  But all she could think of was that she feared Knuckles "the Terror", a red creature that
had almost the strongest fists in the known world. Amy had the idea he was out to kill her.
Her dream had developed a phobia from now on. She had to stay with Sonic. Knuckles was, or
would be, soon enough, searching for her.
She went outside the tent, where Sonic was cooking breakfast.
"Hi Amy," said Sonic when he saw her. "Did you have a good night sleep?"
"Mm..." Amy answered.
"Would you like some coffee for breakfast?" Sonic asked.
"No thanks: I drink chocolate milk," Amy replied.
"All right Amy. I'll get some milk at the village ten miles south." Five minutes later he
returned and started heating it over the fire. Amy sat next to Sonic. 
"Sonic," she asked, "will you tell me what you and Tails are looking for?"
"Sure Amy. Have you ever heard of the Perfect Leaves?"
"The what?" Amy asked.
"The Perfect Leaves are said to be two leaves that are from heaven."
"Cool," Amy said. "Now what's the use of trying to get them? Do they have some king of
special power or something?"
"We don't know what they're for, but right now some people are racing us to get it," Sonic
answered. After a pause, he said: "Actually, it's more us that are racing them. They
started to search the leaves before us."
"Who are 'they'?" Amy asked.
"Well, our main opponent is this guy whose name's El. Ever heard of him?"
Amy shook her head.
Sonic continued: "He's a really nasty person. He's in possession of some pretty nasty
technology, and his H.Q. is guarded by a bunch of sneaky 'bots he made up. He now installed
his base deep in this forest, where he's searching for our Perfect Leaves, that are supposed to be there."
"Okay..." said Amy. "So that's the guy against us."
"But we are also racing against someone else," said Sonic. "We, the people of Mobius, have
no special hate for this El. El's enemy is this guy searching for the leaves too; he is in
fact our old friend Knuckles, and..."
Sonic kept talking, but Amy didn't hear him. She felt as if she was hit by a knife going
through her stomach, and that knife was Knuckles himself. Her whole body was trembling now.
"Amy are you okay?" Sonic asked.
"Knuc-Knuckles is searching f-for..." Amy said with fear. She was now looking at Sonic
straight in the eyes.
"What's the matter Amy?" asked Sonic.
When Amy heard Sonic, she controlled herself and stopped trembling. "Nothing," she said,
"go on."
Sonic tried not to bring Knuckles in the discussion again. He continued: "El's base is
about 5000 miles northwest from where we are. Normally we can make it there in ten days."
Amy was surprised. "Ten days when it only took you five minutes to run ten miles?"
"Actually twenty miles, 'cause I had to go back. And I spent a minute purchasing the milk."
"Yeah, well..."
"It's because in the forest it's a lot harder to run fast because it's easier to run into
an obstacle. Also you will be slowing me down. You're kind of heavy to carry, you know."
"Wait... Does that mean I'm going with you?" Amy asked, overjoyed.
"Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you," Sonic explained, "you're coming. It's really that I had
no choice, the people in the village next door don't even speak our language, and - HEY!"
Amy had literally jumped on Sonic hugging him tight: "Oh, thanks very much Sonic..."
"Uh..." said Sonic as he tried to escape Amy's embrace, "no problem."

The next half-hour Sonic and Amy had everything packed up and were ready to go.
"Okay, let's go." Sonic said. "Give me your hand Amy."
Since she did not respond as quickly as Sonic wished, he actually grabbed her by the waist
and ran into the forest, carrying Amy.

 	Chapter Three

  And so Sonic and Amy traveled together in the forest in the northern part of Mobius, Sonic
carrying Amy all the time. At noon they would stop for about half an hour to eat lunch. And
at about seven on the evening they would stop to eat dinner and spend the night. The first
two evenings, Amy felt total happiness when they got in the tent to sleep, because Sonic
slept in the same tent as her. Of course, they didn't do anything special, but each night
Amy could observe Sonic, and talk to Sonic... And each night she would dream about him.
  Then came the third evening. Sonic stopped to run at about six-forty-five. They set up
their tent in a clearing in the forest. "Amy, go get some wood for the fire," ordered Sonic.
"Me? You want me to do it?"
"Course! It's your turn today," Sonic answered, "I did it yesterday and the day before
yesterday."
"Okay, I'll do it then," Amy finally said. Unfortunately, since it had rained a lot this
day, wood was very hard to find.
  Amy, while searching for what Sonic wanted, suddenly was struck by the memory of her
journey to the Floating Island. The Island was a chunk of earth several miles long and wide
that was floating in the sky using the power of the Chaos Emeralds. There was a whole
environment and population living on the Island, and Knuckles was the boss over there.
Knuckles was able to control the Chaos Emeralds, which meant he could also control the
direction and the speed at which the Island was moving.
  Amy remembered how she had traveled from her homeplanet to someplace in Mobius, near where
the Floating Island was passing by, which was what she wanted. Her goal was to find Sonic,
and the people of the Island knew far more better than her how to reach Sonic's village.
Once the Island stopped, and Knuckles had to leave for several hours. With Knuckles gone,
Amy secretly got on the Island where she met Knuckles' friend: Espio the Chameleon.
  Espio asked Amy what she was doing on the Island. He called her a trespasser and said he
would turn her in to Knuckles, who was not the kind of guy to accept Amy on his Island now,
since they were, Espio explained, in a critical situation.
  Amy said that she was looking for someone since long, because she was all alone in the
forest. She said she didn't know how to live in the forest and that she would probably die
in a few weeks if she stayed in the forest. "This Island is my only hope," Amy cried.
  Espio was really embarrassed, seeing this girl cry in front of him. "Look," he said, "it's
okay with me if you stay, but you gotta understand: Knuckles is not gonna like this. You
better hide quick, 'cause he'll be back soon."
"But where can I hide in this Island?" Amy asked.
"I can find some place for you in Knuckles's town," Espio replied.
"No, not Knuckles's town," Amy pleaded, "if I'm go there someone will probably recognize me
and talk about me to Knuckles! Hide me in your home instead."
"IN MY HOME? Are you out of your mind, girl? Who do you think I am?"
"Pleaaase," Amy said as she got down on her knees in front of Espio.
Espio was really embarrassed by now. "Look..." he started, "um... gee, I don't know." He
wanted to get out of there quickly. "I think I hear my pals! Hide somewhere, quick!"
"Your pals," said Amy as she got up again.
"Yeah, my teammates, the guys I work with. Quick, run somewhere and hide!"
Amy did not need more advice: she quickly hid under a bush while Mighty the Armadillo
arrived at the scene.
"Hey Espio," Mighty said. He looked around. "Where's Knuckles?"
"Down there," Espio replied. "I think he's going back up now. Oh, there he is."
Knuckles appeared over the edge of the Island. He came towards Mighty and Espio. "Okay
guys, I got it. We gotta move west: should take us about four weeks to get there. That's
long enough, so don't delay it any further. Let's go!"
"Got it," said Espio. "I'll direct the Island's direction, 'cause you gotta rest."
"Really?" said Knuckles.
"Yeah," said Mighty. "We can take care of business, so go ahead."
"I guess you're right. See ya later guys," said Knuckles as he left the scene.		
"Okay, that's very nice, but now we gotta get this Island movin'!" said Espio. "Why don't
you get that done, Mighty?"
"Got it, man. 'Later."
As Mighty left, Amy came out of the bush she was hiding in.
Espio was a little surprised to see Amy: he had kind if forgotten about her.
"So can I hide into your house?" Amy asked again.
"What!? I... No, that's out of the question!... Until when would that be?"
"Well, you could take me to Sonic's village. How long would it take to get there?"
"Who's village?"
"Sonic the Hedgehog's."
"Oh OK. But no, we can't do it. It would delay..."
"Delay what?"
"Shh. You're not supposed to know about it."
"C'mon... Do it. Pleaaase" Amy said as she again got on her knees in front of Espio.
"DON'T DO THAT! I hate when you do that! Stop it!" said Espio, visibly annoyed.
"Sorry," said Amy as she got back up again.
Espio sighed. "All right I'll find you a place. But we cannot change our itinerary to make
a stop at whatever his name is' village."
"Sonic," Amy said.
"Huh?"
"Sonic. That's his name."
"Fine, fine! Look, girl... What's your name?"
"Amy."
"Okay Amy. You're not supposed to be here. If Knuckles or even Mighty or Vector or whatever
finds out you're here, you're dead. You're a trespasser, you know that? And for these guys,
girls = trouble. And trouble is the very least thing we want now. Got it?"
Amy was frightened. "Wa-wa-what if s-someone finds out I'm here? Will they drop me over the
edge or something?" Amy asked, trembling.
"I don't know... But I know that I shouldn't be doing this! My duty is to turn you in right
now!!!"
Amy screamed for several seconds until she fainted...

	Chapter Four

Amy's thoughts were cut off when she heard Sonic call her.  She returned to the clearing and
was satisfied to see Sonic after her memories had troubled her.  Still, she was pretty upset.
"Amy!" said Sonic.  "You haven't picked up a single piece of wood!  What are you doing?"
Amy realized she had completely forgotten about the wood.  "Um, uh..." She was like a child
waiting to be scolded.  "I'm sorry, Sonic."
"Yeah, well 'sorry' doesn't bring any wood here!" said an annoyed Sonic, as he returned to
the tent he was trying to set up.
Amy thought again of her journey to the Floating Island and of Knuckles.
Sonic looked at Amy again and saw that she was pretty upset.  He thought he might have been
too harsh on her.  "Hey Amy, it's okay really."  He gave her a smile.

The rest of the evening Amy felt happiness again.  She had prepared the dinner herself and
it was much better than when Sonic cooked.  Sonic was impressed, and Amy felt like she was
just flying...  Then the two hedgehogs played cards, and an hour later they stopped and went
to sit around the fire.  At first they just sat there and stayed silent.  But then:
"Sonic," Amy said, "where's Tails?"
Sonic didn't answer immediately.  Staring at the fire, he seemed to be thinking.  But then,
turning to Amy, he said:
"Tails went to check out El's HQ.  He went ahead of us because I knew you would be hampering
us during our trip..."
Amy looked up to Sonic.  "Aren't you afraid he'll get captured?" she asked.  "I mean, he's
not your most experienced fighter.
Sonic laughed.  "Yeah but he's the only fighter around!"  He calmed down.  "Nah, Amy, you
haven't seen Tails lately.  He's already thirteen, and he sure knows how to... not get
caught."
" 'Not get caught'?"  Does he do things... not..."
"What?" asked Sonic.
"I mean, does he do stuff... Like, does he stuff he wants to do?"
"Yeah.  He really has an independent mind."
"How so?" asked Amy.
"Well, for instance he does a lotta things I don't like him to do... and he knows it!  He's
very hotheaded.  If I expose a plan to him and he doesn't like it, he won't participate in
it."
"Hmmm... Well I wouldn't be like that if I was your sidekick."
Sonic looked at the fire.
"I wouldn't fool around like that," Amy continued.  "I'd follow all your-"
"Yeah well good for you.  You aren't Tails," Sonic interrupted.
"Yeah well I'm just saying that's how I would be if I was your sidekick," said Amy.
"But you are not my sidekick," said Sonic.
Amy didn't say more.  Neither did Sonic.  And neither of them looked at each other for a
while.
Sonic, sitting in his chair with his elbows on his knees, looked to Amy as if he was
deciding that she was an annoyance to him.
"You know," he said, "I think that since Knux is also going to our battlefield, we'll meet
with him soon.  I'll ask him if you can go up to the Island while me and him take care of
El."
Amy, suddenly angry, frustrated, frightened, but trying to hide her emotions, said: "Sonic."
"What?" said the hedgehog.
"No."
Pause.
"What, 'no'?" asked Sonic.
"No because I said no!"
"What's your problem now?!" asked Sonic, raising his tone of voice.
"I just don't want to!"
"Yeah well what if I don't want to have you by my side?!  What am I supposed to do?"
"Oh that's it.  That's why you'll do it!  That's why you'll send me to the Island!  Not
because 'it'll be too dangerous on the battlefield'!"
Sonic got up.  "Oh that's IT, sister.  Can't you quit being so selfish?  Don't you realize
that the reason why I took you with me was that I had no choice?!!  And now you're saying
you'll be with me because you want to, not because you have to!!
"NO..." said Amy, looking pale.
"You wanna be by my side?  Well you can't."
"No... It's not that..." said Amy, tears in her eyes.
"What is it then?"
"I... can't tell you," cried Amy.
"Seems I'll to talk this one out with Knux," Sonic said coldly.
"NO!...  No, don't do it !"  Amy, sobbing, fell on her knees.
"Yeah well that's that."  Sonic walked away.  "I'm going to bed.  If you have something to
say, come find me."  He disappeared inside the tent.
Amy fell completely, her head on the grass.  "No," she kept crying.  "No..."
For a long time she just stayed there, flat on her stomach on the grass.  She was
half-awake, half-asleep, and always thinking about the Floating Island and about Sonic.
Rain began to pour down, and the fire died out.  Amy was completely wet after awhile, but
she did not know it.
Still crying, her head on the grass, Amy was going through a semi-awakeness.  She was
dreaming about Sonic, about Tails... about Knuckles.  Oh, the damn animal that was the cause
of it all.  He was the cause of her fear, her conflicts, her lack of security, her feud
with Sonic...  But even in moments of hate like this one, Amy could not help herself fearing
the red guy.  She felt she could never strike at the horrible creature.  She could only run
away.
All of a sudden, she woke up.  It was the middle of the night and still raining.  Amy
looked around and Sonic's tent.  As she was about to go in, she saw a shadow in the bushes
a few meters away.  She turned her head away and opened the tent, but when she looked
again, whatever it was she saw was gone.

	Chapter Five

When Amy became awake the next morning, she realized that she had caught a cold, a serious
one that she got from staying outside the night before for so long.  Sonic gave her some
medicine, even though he was very unhappy.
"How do you think I can have you by my side when you're holding back the expedition like you
are right now?" he said.
Amy was utterly disappointed.  She had strongly hoped that Sonic would have apologized for
his behavior the previous day.
And the rest f the trip was to be the same for Amy.  To her, Sonic was always tired and
annoyed to have her around.  Whenever there was a problem Sonic always sent reproached to
her.  And when they were travelling, Sonic would never more carry her.  He would only hold
her hand.
Amy now wished a thousand gods that Tails would be here.  The day of his departure she had
kind of forgotten about their friendship, but now that Sonic was rejecting her, Amy badly
needed a friend.  But Amy needed Tails for more than that.  She needed him because he
would side with her and would defend her against Sonic.
Sonic... Now that she was with him, Amy was living one of the most intense periods of her
life.  She liked Sonic as much as she possibly could, and it torn her apart that it was
him against whom she needed defense.  But she needed Sonic to actually defend her against
Knuckles... This whole story was dream, a nightmare, and drama.  Amy was at last with the
one se admired, but these days she could not bear to be with him... or to be without him.
She was scared...
Knuckles.  He was the danger.  Amy was psychologically tortured when Sonic wanted to give
her in to him, that red creature.  Red.  The devil.  Sonic was taking her to that red thing.

The trip continued.  Each night Sonic and Amy stopped for the night but never anymore did
they have discussions.  Sonic looked tired to have Amy.  He kept telling her that this
situation wasn't going to last, because he had to get rid of her.
For Amy, the trip became a tragedy.  She was going through utter depression since that night
when Sonic adopted an unfriendly behavior.  But she still loved him more than ever...
The eighth evening Amy and Sonic again stopped at a clearing.  After they ate dinner Amy 
noticed a furtive black silhouette once again.  Whatever it was, it was hiding behind a
tree.  Amy, who was at first daydreaming now appeared to be on guard and Sonic noticed
that.
"Hey Amy, what's goin' on?" he asked.
"Uh, Sonic, I think there is someone out there spying on us" replied the pink hedgehog.
Sonic looked to where Amy was looking.  "I sure don't see anything," he said.
"I just saw something behind that tree" said Amy, pointing to where she thought she had
seen something.
Sonic got up and walked over there.  He went around the tree and examined the area around
it, but he did not find anything.
"Heh, it's nothin'..." he said, walking back to where he was sitting.
"But Sonic I'm telling you I saw something."
"Well I sure didn't, so that's it for now, okay?"
"Mm..." Amy wasn't convinced.  "Sonic, this is not the first time that I notice that someone
is-"
"Can't you pipe down for once in your life?" Sonic interrupted.  "I said there was nothing."
Amy was furious that Sonic could not accept anything that she said these days.  But she was
sure someone was prowling around the camp.
Later the two hedgehogs got inside the tent.  They both got ready to sleep, but Sonic read
for a while.  Amy was just thinking of her journey to the Floating Island.  She remembered
how, after fainting from the fright that Espio gave her, she had waken up in a small house
inside the earth...
A weird sound brought Amy back to reality, pushing her memories away.  She looked at Sonic,
than she tried to listen for some more.  Some noise coming from outside came again to Amy's
ears.
"Sonic..."
"Yeah?"
"I think there is somebody outside," she said.
"Yeah, I heard it too.  I'm not sure if it's someone though.  It might only be a small
animal."
"I doubt it," said Amy.  "Because if it was an animal it would continue to make noise.  I
think that it is someone that doesn't want us to know he's there, because he's stopped
making noise now?
"That's right, I don't hear anything more," said Sonic.  He got up and said: "Okay, I'm
going out to see what it is.  With me outside, whoever is out there won't last long."
"WAIT!" said Amy.
Sonic turned back.  "What?" he asked.
"Maybe that's what he's waiting for.  To get you out of there."
Sonic though for two seconds, then he said: "that's a good point, but if he wanted to get
us out, he would set fire to the tent."
"Maybe he still wants you out."
"Yeah well if this technique doesn't work then he'll set fire to the tent.  So I'm better
out there anyway."
"But what if he wants me?" Amy asked.
Sonic sighed.  "Don't worry.  He doesn't."
"How do you know?"
"I think that he doesn't."
"Why not?"
"Because... If he wants someone, it's me," Sonic concluded as he left the tent.
Amy heard Sonic's footsteps as he was walking around and away.  But soon Amy did not hear
anything more.
Minutes passed.  For Amy the wait was becoming unbearable.  She had previously thought that
Sonic had left just for a minute or two, but now he wasn't coming back.  The silence was
getting to be frightening.
Then Amy suddenly heard someone walking toward the camp.  At first, Amy thought that it was
Sonic, but whoever was outside was not going to the tent.  Amy listened some more and heard
that the sound of these footsteps was not the sound of Sonic's footsteps.  "If this isn't
Sonic," Amy thought, "then... it's the prowler!"  Amy was so suddenly scared to death, she
almost screamed like mad.  But she controlled herself and did not move.  The creature
outside was walking somewhere near the tent.  Then Amy heard his footsteps louder and louder.
Then it stopped.  The creature was right in front of the tent!  Amy could hear his breath.
The prowler crouched.  Amy did not move a muscle.
Suddenly the creature got up again and quickly left the place.  Amy let her breath go.  She
was still scared though.  Twenty minutes passed and Sonic still didn't come back.  Amy
could not bear to wait any longer.  She decided to go look for him.
Amy left the tent with a flashlight. She went around the clearing scanning the forest.
After a minute she thought that it might be very stupid to go ahead and penetrate the
woods to find Sonic.  She decided to get back to the tent.  She walked up to it an opened
it.  As she was ready to enter, someone behind her grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed
her inside.  Amy screamed.
"Hey, hold on, it's me."  It was Sonic.
Amy stopped screaming.  She was relieved.
"What's the big idea with screaming like that?" asked Sonic.
Amy didn't answer as she was still recovering from her fright.  Them she said: "Sonic what
took you so long?"
"I went pretty far because each time I thought I was seeing something, I went over there,
and then there was nothing" Sonic answered.  "Hey, you haven't answered my question."
"Well, you scared me," Amy said.
"Yeah well if you're gonna scream like that each time someone comes up like this, you can
say bye-bye to me, sister."
"Hey, when I go to see you I don't sneak up on you like that" said Amy angrily.
"Hey I wasn't sneaking up on anyone.  I was just coming up and I thought you had heard me"
said Sonic.  "But heck, why do I even have to justify myself?"
"Because you gave me the fright of my life!" shouted Amy.  "Isn't that enough of a reas-"
With amazing speed, Sonic jumped on Amy, putting her to the ground, closing her mouth with
one hand and holding both of Amy's hands with the other.  Them he raised his head up as if
he was listening for something.
For about thirty seconds Sonic did not move at all.  But then he let Amy go and sat on his
bag.  Amy did the same.
"Thought I had heard something," said Sonic.
"Okay," replied Amy.
"I think that he's not far.  I'll go chase him now." Sonic prepared to leave, but Amy
grabbed his hand.
"Oh no Sonic, please don't go," Amy pleaded.
"Why not?" asked Sonic.
"Because you were gone for so long last time."
This time I won't be long," said Sonic.
"SONIC... You don't know what happened to me last time you left!"
"Yeah? What happened?"
Amy told Sonic about what she had lived when he had been outside.  After she finished,
Sonic said: "Okay, I understand, but don't worry I won't be gone long."  And before Amy
had the chance to say something, Sonic was outside.
This time Sonic returned after two minutes only.  Nothing more happened that night.  But
Amy started to fear that the person who had been outside might be... that red devil.

	Chapter Six

The next day, as the two hedgehogs were travelling, once again Amy thought her journey to
the Floating Island...

Amy remembered how, after meeting Espio for the first time, she had fainted when he had
scared her.  The was the beginning of her fear for Knuckles...
When she opened her eyes, she realized she wasn't outside anymore.  She was lying on a bed
inside a small dusty house that was almost inside the Floating Island's earth.  She looked
around but nobody was there.  After a few minutes she sat up on the bed.  Quickly she
remembered all the events that had preceded this episode.  "Whoa... Am I on the Floating
Island or what?" she thought to herself.  Suddenly she heard someone outside walk
downstairs to the entrance.  The person then stopped, and after a few seconds went back
outside without opening the door.  Amy could not see ho it was, but wanted to know, so she
ran to the entrance, only to find out that it was locked from the outside.
"Oh darn..." said Amy out loud, "I wonder if I'm not in very big trouble."  Amy put her
hand on her mouth, realizing that she had said something being alone in the room.  She
laughed silently.
She sat on the bed again, thinking of her situation. For one thing, she was sure hoping
that Espio had not turned  her in to Knuckles.  Anyway,, she was still determined to get
to Sonic's village.
After a half-hour she started to get bored.  She looked around the room and her eyes fell
on an old broom that had probably been standing here for years.  So, since this room was
very dusty, she picked up the broom and started to sweep the floor.
Ten minutes later, Amy was still sweeping when she heard someone outside descending the
stairs to the entrance door.  The creature unlocked and opened the door.  It was Espio.
He was alone.
"Hey", he said.
"Hello," said a visibly angry Amy.
"So, you're back alive now, yeah?" said Espio timidly.
Amy didn't answer.
Espio's confused smile vanished.  The two creatures looked at themselves for a long while.
Finally Amy said: "So, where are we?"
"Uh, this used to be one of my friend's house, but since he's dead, that place has not yet
been used for about eight years now."
"Well it's still in good shape.  I can see, even the lock works" said Amy, looking angrily
at Espio.
"Uh, yeah, I guess it does... Whatever."
"May I asked why you used it?"
"What?" asked Espio.  "the house?"
"NO, the lock, ya idiot!  Why the hell did you lock me inside?"
"Hey, hey, no need to talk like that, girl, were not on Mobius you know."  He continued:
"hey, you know what: I think that in the times that will follow, you'll have to make sure
that nobody ever sees you on this island.  Because if one of my guys finds out something...
Well that means death for both of us."
"So that's why you locked me inside."
He nodded.  "After you fainted I brought you here and went to look to someone to get you
back alive.  But when I came back, I saw you were okay, so I didn't come in."
Amy felt a little more comfortable.  She decided that she should probably a little more
easy on that purple guy.  "Ok," she said, "well thanks for everything."
"Yep...  Hey, you know what, I really shouldn't be doing this.  Heck, I don't even know why
the hell I'm doing it."
"It's called: compassion for someone who doesn't have all the advantages that you guys
have, and because of it has been alone inside the forest for... a long time."
Espio looked at Amy for awhile.  "Whatever" he said.
"So.. Will we be at Sonic's soon?" Amy asked.
"What?  Oh, that guy.  Remember, I told you we can't go there" said Espio.
"But what's happening for me them of we're not going there?"
"Well, I don't know, but that should you problem; you're the one who got on the island,
remember?"
"It's your problem too, now, right?"
"Hey..."
"I mean, I'm right here on your island and I can't stay locked in here for long, so I'll be
easily found.  And of I'm found we're both in trouble, right?  You're the one who said it."
"Hey, watch it girl, don't try to force me to do something for you.  And you know what, I
 know some people who have been locked inside a room for their whole life."
"But I won't stand it."
"What's your name again?"
"Amy."
"Ok, well you'll have to stand it then."
Amy lied down on the bed.  She sighed and looked at Espio again.
"You just don't have the guts to do it, do you?" she asked.
Espio looked at Amy and started walking toward her.
Amy got up.  "It isn't a hard thing to do but you still won't have the guts to do it," she
said. Espio was getting madder and madder.
"Even if Knuckles is off for several days to rest, you still won't do it," Amy continued.
"Boy, what are you, a-"
"SHUT UP!!" shouted an angry Espio as he violently pushed Amy on the bed.  "The next time
you provoke me like that, I'll turn you in!"
"Fine.  Turn me in.  You'd rather do that, because you aren't capable of doing something
less easy.  Fine.  Take the easy and cowardly way.  Okay, turn me in and be a conservative
nerd, if you can't show more-"
Before Amy could finish, Espio slapped her on the face.  Them he left the room and locked
the door from outside.
After Espio had left, Amy thought of what she had done.  Maybe she was getting into very
serious trouble, but she still had a chance to get to Sonic.  She had challenged Espio and
she now allowed herself to really hope for him to fall into her trap and play her game.
But...  Wasn't she making herself an enemy of the Chaotix?  Ah...  They could not be too
bad, she thought.  From what Sonic and told her, they were pretty nice and fun guys, even if
the crocodile was a little too obnoxious.
They're cool, except for... Knuckles.  The most dangerous of the pack.
Hours passed.  Amy was still locked inside the house.  She started to get really hungry.
Unfortunately, no one showed up.. And no one was about to show up.  The day ended and the
evening came.  Amy's patience was being consumed.  The wait was becoming unbearable.  The
hunger and the thirst became more important as time sped by.  All of that was driving her
crazy.  Finally, she resigned herself and, after a few more hours, she went to bed.  Even
though she was hungry, she fell asleep quickly, only to dream about Sonic coming to the
Floating Island to pick her up...
Next morning, when she woke up, no one was there, but on the table there was a bowl full of
freshly picked fruits as well as a small piece of paper.  On it was written:

	I, with the Island, am taking you to your hedgehog.
					Espio.

Sonic stopped running, interrupting Amy's train of thoughts.  The two hedgehogs were
getting to the edge of the forest, and in front of plain was a fifteen-mile wide plain.  The
place was as flat as it could be, except for the center where there was a crater which was
not very deep.  A huge building stood inside that crater, big enough so that its top could
be seen even from the edge of the forest.  Except for the grass and for a few trees here
and there, the place was deprived of vegetation.  The forest surrounded the whole thing.
"Whoa.  Is that it?" Amy asked.
"Yep, we're here...  That's El's HQ."
"But uh...  Why do we need to be at his place to get the stuff?  You wanna kill him first
or what?"
"No, what we're looking for is here."
"How do you know?"
Sonic looked once again at the ugly building.
"Don't worry, I know..."

	Chapter Seven

	The two hedgehogs settled their camp near the edge of the forest, but still behind
a few trees so that they could not be seen from the building.  By the time they had 
finished setting up the camp, the evening had come, so Sonic decided that he would wait 
until the next day before checking out El's base.  So, the two creatures ate dinner and 
got ready to sleep.  Sonic fell asleep immediately, exhausted from having run all week,
but Amy could not do the same.  She kept thinking about Knuckles and about her journey 
to the Floating Island.  She could not accept the thought that Sonic would turn her in 
to the red guy instead of defending her against that devil.  Amy's fear for Knuckles was 
getting stronger than her love for Sonic.
	After a few hours Amy finally finally fell asleep, but only to dream about 
Knuckles.  The sequence where she fell off the Floating Island was coming back.  Amy 
screamed.

Amy woke up from her bad dream.  It was already light out, and Sonic was not in the tent.  
Amy stretched herself, took some time to wake up.  After a few minutes she was completely 
awake and decided to go outside.  But no one was outside either.  She looked onto the 
great plain, but she saw no one.  The place was completely empty of sound, and it made 
her think of an old deserted battlefield.  But Sonic was nowhere to be seen.
	Amy just started to prepare her breakfast.  She wondered where Sonic went though.  
Oh, he probably is just checking out the field, she said to herself.  So she ate her 
breakfast and waited the whole morning for Sonic.  But the blue guy did not come back.
	Since she had nothing to do, Amy decided that she should write about her journey 
to Mobius.  So she went towards the tent to get some paper.  When she got inside, she 
noticed there was a note on Sonic's bed.  The note said:

"Amy, I have gone to El's HQ to check things out.
"I should be back some time this evening, or if you fall asleep before I'll probably
"be there tomorrow morning with the Leaves.  Just chill and guard the camp until I get back.
"signed: Sonic.

	Amy felt a little relieved for knowing that Sonic wasn't gone for no safe
reason.  She was a bit mad at herself though for not finding that note before now.
	The rest of the day Amy just kept on writing and thinking.  She thought 
of Sonic and she asked herself, why is he acting so mean towards me?  She kept asking 
herself that question over and over again but she realized that she really could not 
do much about Sonic's behavior, since she had already screwed it for good.  The fear 
came back when she thought of that.  Amy could not trust Sonic, but she had to trust 
someone.  She needed someone to defend her against Knuckles.  Yes, that red creature 
was to be coming soon to this battlefield.  And what a battlefield it would be for Amy!  
A death field, that was how it was going to be.  Amy shuddered at the thought of Knuckles 
coming to get her.  She now felt so threatened, that every ten seconds she was turning 
her head back to see if someone was approaching from behind.  For Amy, Knuckles could 
always be right behind her, and about to make her suffer.  Paranoid, that was what Amy 
was becoming.  Please, she thought, I need someone.  Sonic does not care.  Tails!  
Tails would care, I need Tails.  Tails... Knuckles is coming...  Help... Help...  
Tails...  Someone...  Help...  Knuckles is coming...
	Amy, lying on her sleeping bag inside the tent, was becoming even more 
paranoid...  Sonic was everywhere... But for every Sonic Amy saw, Knuckles was always 
there, right behind the blue guys, even inside the multiplied hedgehog.  Sonic was 
untrustworthy...  Amy always wanted to go for Sonic, to give herself to him and to 
trust him completely...  But in her mind Amy saw Sonic as polluted even though her 
heard could not cut its faith in the blue guy.  Knuckles was always right behind Sonic, 
as if he was with Sonic.  Knuckles was in him.  Amy then saw that every Sonic had their 
eyes transforming into Knuckles' eyes.  Sonic's body but Knuckles' eyes.  Knuckles was 
coming...
	Amy woke up from her thoughts.  She looked around her and saw that it was dark 
outside.  She left the tent and looked around the camp for her love.
	"Sonic?" she called.
	No answer.  Oh well, she thought, he'll be back tomorrow.  Hopefully, he'll 
have his Leaves and Tails will be with him.
	Amy fixed herself a sandwich, then went back to the tent to go to sleep.  
However, as she was about to enter, she once again saw a dark silhouette moving swiftly 
behind the trees.
	At this moment, all the shadow, all the fears came back to Amy.  She could not 
help herself to not put Knuckles' face on that enemy a few yards away.
	The silhouette then revealed itself.  It wasn't Knuckles, it was just a small 
squirrel.  Amy was relieved.  She went inside the tent at last and prepared to get ready 
to sleep.  At one point, she caught her backpack, opened it, and browsed into it a 
little, until she found a sheet of paper with a poem written on it.  She looked over 
it a remembered it was a short song about Sonic that she had written several months 
ago.  She began to sing the song.  As she was singing she started crying.  The poem 
was a blue poem, a blue poem with its own eyes.  Sonic's eyes were now red, different.
	Oh, hell with it, Amy thought, as she put the paper back in her backpack.  
She tried to sleep but she could not find it.  She finally did, but only after a few 
hours.  Once again, she dreamt of Sonic... and of Knuckles.

	Amy had high hopes of seeing Sonic returning the next day, but they were all 
deceived.  Sonic wasn't there when she woke up.  All day Amy waited, but the blue guy 
never showed up.  Amy began to worry seriously.
	The evening came again and Sonic still wasn't back.  Where could he be?  Amy's 
best guess was that he was captured by El, but Amy didn't dare to try and find out.  She 
remembered how Sonic had told her that the place was full of Robotnik's old robots.
	Amy went to sleep pretty late.  She had waited too long, she was tired of 
thinking every moment that Sonic was arriving when he actually wasn't.  Amy once again 
had trouble going to sleep.  She could think of nothing else but Sonic.

	The next morning when Amy woke up, it was already light out.  Amy went outside 
and of course Sonic wasn't there.  Oh brother, she thought.  This time she decided to 
go climb a tree to its top so she could observe the battlefield from certain 
heights. She wanted too see for herself what was that thing so terrible that kept Sonic 
occupied for so long... albeit she wanted to see this from a safe place.  So she climbed 
to the top of the highest tree she could find.  Using Sonic's binoculars, she scanned the 
whole area.  She didn't see anything new; the place seemed pretty much deserted.  Not a 
trace of Sonic, nor of Tails, nor of a robot.  All that was new to Amy was, a few miles 
left of the building, south of the plain, another deeper crater than the building's 
crater.  Separated from El's HQ by a small hill and located right next to the edge of 
the forest, it contained a small lake, so small it looked more like a pool.  The place 
was about six miles away from the two hedgehogs' camp.
	Amy looked the other was, towards the forest east of the plain.  She didn't 
see anything but trees, though at one point she was something in the sky, something 
very very distant from her, so distant that she could not recognize what it was.  But 
she could guess too well at what it was, she thought, as a knot tied in her stomach.  
She looked up through the binoculars... and saw the Floating Island heading her way.
	Amy was suddenly so frightened that she lost equilibrium and fell off the 
branch she was on.  Her fall was a long one, for the tree was high, but the multiple 
leaves and branches softened her landing.  Still scared to death, Amy didn't wait to 
recover.  She had a few injuries, and her clothes were torn up, but she didn't care.  
Once again frightened as hell, Amy ran away as fast as she could without thinking.  
She ran to the edge of the forest, then followed it, going southwest towards the pool.  
She was still running like mad, trying to get away from the red devil.
	Amy was almost to the pool, when she fell over, exhausted.  She went unconscious 
for a few seconds, as someone was approaching her.  Amy felt someone pick her up and using 
a tree to place her in a sitting position.  Amy opened her eyes but she saw everything 
blurry; she just saw a big blue creature in front of her.  That creature revealed itself
to be a hedgehog, as Amy's vision ameliorated.
	"Sonic?" she asked in a poor voice.  Amy was at first relieved, but then was 
scared again when she realized that the blue hedgehog in front of her was not Sonic.
	"You okay?" asked the stranger in a nice voice.  Amy was still scared, she 
tried to run away, but she was still too weak for that.  The creature grabbed Amy's 
hands hard until she stopped to struggle.
	"Hey, it's ok," he said, "I'm cool."
	Amy first tried to fight the guy's grip but she let go after a few seconds.  
The stranger wasn't a frightening one, he was just a hedgehog about the some size as 
Sonic, with a darker blue skin, and his top quills were black.  One of his eyes was a 
bit distorted, as it seemed to have suffered in the past.
	"You're okay now?" he asked.
	Amy nodded.  The hedgehog then let go of her.
	"Good, I'm glad" he said, trying to be nice.  "I was at the pool over there and 
I saw you coming and collapsing.  So, I came over to help," he said.  "Anyway, what 
were you running for like that?  I never saw anyone run as hard."
	Amy didn't answer.
	"You were running away?"
	Amy nodded.  The hedgehog sat down besides her.  "You don't talk much, do you?" 
he said.
	Amy didn't answer.
	"So...  What's your name?" he asked.
	"Amy Rose" answered Amy.
	"Alright, you can talk! I was wondering. Well, Amy Rose, what's happenin'? 
How come your clothes are all torn up like that."
	Amy looked at the guy.  "Nothin'" she said.
	"Really... Okay, well I'll talk to ya later, 'cuz I gotta leave.  Sorry I could 
not help you out much..." he said, as he got up. "By the way, I'm Joey," said the 
hedgehog as he walked away towards the pool and the hill up north.
	Once Joey was out of sight, Amy was suddenly submerged by a feeling of
depression, a will to just let go of everything.
	After awhile, Amy finally picked herself up, and walked west again, following 
the edge of the forest.  At all times Amy wanted to let go though.  She was tired of 
all this story.  She thought she should never have left her planet.  All of this wasn't 
worth doing it, especially now that Sonic hated her.
	After a half-hour Amy stopped walking.  Her feet were too tired from all the 
running and the walking, and her injuries started to hurt more seriously.  Also, she 
was very dirty and her clothes were almost completely torn up.
	"Amy!" said a voice behind her.
	"Tails? TAILS!!" shouted Amy as Tails came up to her.
	"What's up, Amy," said Tails with a big smile.
	Amy and Tails hugged each other for a long time, Amy in particular hugged her 
favorite fox very hard.  "I'm so glad to see you!" she cried.
	"I'm glad to see you, too," Tails said.
	"Oh, Tails, you wouldn't imagine believe what I went through while you were gone!" 
Amy said as she hugged Tails once again, so happy she was to see him.
	"Oh Amy, what happened to you?" asked Tails, "you look completely messed up!  
I've never seen you that way."
	Amy didn't answer, she was still crying all over her friend.
	"Man, a lot happened since I saw you last, heh?" said the fox.
	"Yeah...." Amy replied, "you wouldn't believe."

	Chapter Eight

	Tails' camp was located just about half a kilometer south of the pool, in the 
forest.  When they arrived there Amy and Tails settled down for a few minutes, then 
Tails said:
	"Uh, Amy, I gotta go to El's base before it gets dark.  So, just stay here and 
chill, I won't be gone long."
	Amy was disappointed that Tails was leaving already.  "Tails, wait! We have 
stuff to talk about, don't leave yet you just found me."
	"Amy, its okay, I'll be back tonight. Just make yourself at home.  You go bathe 
in the pool if you want.  You actually really need it."
	Amy looked at her arms, her hands, her legs.  They were all dirty and smelly.
	"Sigh... I guess you're right.... But that doesn't mean you have to leave!"
	"Don't worry, I won't get caught."
	"How can you be so sure?"
	"Believe me... I have been here for seven days, and everyday I went to El's base 
and never have I been captured, unlike..." Tails stopped.
	"Unlike who?..." Amy asked.
	"I'll explain later. Just make yourself at home, and try to have dinner ready for 
when I come back, okay?"
	"Okay..."
	Tails left, and Amy kept thinking that Tails had been about to say "unlike Sonic."
	Amy did as Tails had told her though.  She first went to rest for a half-hour, 
then she looked through Tails' stuff, grabbed a bar of soap, and went back to the pool 
to bathe and to wash her clothes.  She couldn't repair her clothes though, for she didn't 
have string and needle.  After her clothes had dried, she got dressed and went back to 
Tails' camp.  At about seven a clock in the evening she started to prepare dinner.  Tails 
then reappeared.  Sneaking up from behind, he silently approached Amy and stood right 
behind her, and in his normal voice he said:
	"What's for dinner?"
	"AAH!" shouted Amy. "Oh Tails it's you! Golly..."
	Tails couldn't help himself but grin. "Did I scare you?"
	"Sure did."
	"Man, you were the best" laughed Tails. "I really caught ya this time."
	"TAILS..."
	Tails faked a high-pitched voice. "Yeeeeeees?" He burst out laughing and after 
awhile Amy started laughing too.  Then she hugged Tails once more.
	"It's okay rascal" said Tails smiling.
	"Oh I'm so glad to see you... I hope you're gonna help me out... with Sonic."
	Maybe... uh... So, what's cookin'?" asked Tails, trying to change the subject.
	"Uh... Not much, just some leftovers."
	"I think I'm gonna open up a can of sardines in your honor" said Tails.
	"Yay!... uh... sardines?"
	"It's about the best I have left."
	"Oh, are you running out of food?"
	"Kind of.  But I'm still okay for a few days. Sonic has all the supplies though."
	"Oh okay..." said Amy, slightly uncomfortable at this point, because she knew she 
left Sonic's camp unsupervised.
	Later, as Tails and Amy were eating dinner, Tails announced:
	"Hey Amy, I gotta leave again soon for a few hours."
	"What? Again?"
	"Don't worry I'll make it short, I'll try to get back by nine."
	"Come on.... I spent all afternoon waiting for you and now that you're here you 
have leave again?"
	"Amy, don't argue this.  Don't worry, I'll be back sooner and then we can talk."
	"I wonder if you're doing all those excursions because of my arrival..."
	"I'll be back.  I know there's some stuff we have to talk about."
	"Yeah" said Amy, "I wonder though..."
	"What?"
	"Nothin'" she said, but she thought that maybe he was trying to make up something 
for their talk.
	Tails left a little before eight.  Amy cleaned up everything and then went to 
lie down inside Tails' tent.  As she rested she thought of Tails.  Was Tails really to 
be trusted?  Ever since Amy saw him earlier this day she had thought she had finally
reached the plain good, the most trustworthy.  However, with Tails' new leave, she wasn't 
so sure, as she suspected something fishy was going on with her friend.  Oh, she thought, 
he's probably doing this so he doesn't have to prepare dinner and clean up afterwards.
	Tails showed up at about nine thirty as Amy was a light moving towards the tent 
she was in.  Tails entered and took off his sneakers.
	"Hey" he said.
	"How'd it go?" Amy asked.
	"Better this time" replied Tails as he got in his sleeping bag.
	"You don't mind me invading your tent, do you?" asked Amy.
	Tails grinned. "Of course I do.  In fact I command you to go sleep outside this 
minute."
	They both laughed, albeit Amy's laugh was a bit forced.
	"So," said Amy, "what's up?"
	"With me?"
	"With you and with Sonic."
	Tails lied down and put his hands on his stomach, looking up. "I'm fine." He 
paused, then explained. "I got here a week ago and I pretty much surveyed the whole 
area..." Tails said no more.
	"Easy?" asked Amy.
	Tails shook his head, his face showing no emotion. "Nah."
	Amy looked a little to the side, almost towards Tails. "How is it?"
	"I got trouble entering the building," said Tails.
	"But, is it dangerous?"
	Tails chuckled, and replied: "On the field, not really. Depends. The building 
is usually dangerous because of El."
	"El?"
	"Nasty. Really. He always knows more than you think. With him you need good 
timing."
	"Good timing as in combat?"
	"Also as in when you should penetrate the base. I learned this from surveying 
everything for hours, through long observation." He paused and sighed. "Well, for my 
part, I was careful."
	"As opposed to..."
	"Yes.... Sonic of course. We didn't meet until it was too late."
	Amy was suddenly worried.  She looked at Tails, who looked back at her. "What? 
Do you mean he's..."
	Tails took his eyes off Amy and smiled. "No, 'course he's not."
	"Oh." Amy was relieved. "What happened then?"
	"He was captured. He went to check the base before meeting me, and he wasn't 
prepared. I saw him yesterday, he's in one of El's prison cells."
	"Uh uh..."
	"But we're kinda stuck now...."
	"Hm."
	".... El has pretty much hold of the game," he finished with a sigh.
	"What did Sonic say when you last saw him?"
	"We talked about how to handle El... I taught him what I knew, that El's 
basically vicious, sadistic, but very intelligent. Very mysterious too. You almost
never get to see him, but he's always where you don't want him to be... He's pretty 
in control of everything on his home turf."
	"But I mean... what did Sonic say about me?" Amy asked.
	Tails looked up to Amy, then took his eyes off her again and smiled. After a
few seconds, he said:
	"Well to tell you the truth... He hasn't said very nice things about you."
	"Like..."
	"You ready for this?"
	"Just say it."
	"Like that you were basically a selfish little bitch that didn't deserve to be 
looked after."
	Amy was shocked.  "What?" she said between two tears. "He said that?"
	"Well... I guess he didn't say that way."
	Amy started crying a little. "Oh, who am I kidding... Of course he said that!"
	"Take it easy Amy."
	Amy wiped off her tears. "Anything else?"
	"Not much about you, except that you were basically a big burden to us. But 
usually he doesn't even want to talk about you."
	"Well he hasn't heard all my side of the story."
	Tails looked at Amy. "Then what is your side of the story?"
	Amy kept her eyes away from him. "I can't tell you yet."
	"Have it your way then." He lied back down on his back. "But why didn't you tell 

Sonic about it?"
	"Because it's even worse than what he already knows."
	Both grew silent, as Amy thought about Sonic. Then Tails suggested:
	"You need to go do something."
	"Like what?"
	"Like something helpful to us."
	"Like get him outta jail."
	Tails laughed. "If you do that I will be surprised."
	"I'll still try," answered Amy.
	They stayed quiet for another minute, then Tails:
	"You do what you wanna do. But if you get him outta jail, maybe he would 
forgive ya... because right now... he considers that his capture is your fault?"
	"What?! How could he say that?"
	"Don't ask me, sister."
	"Tails... Are you on Sonic's side?"
	"Why do you say that?"
	"You called me 'sister'. That's what Sonic calls me when he's mad."
	Tails laughed. "At least I don't despise you as he does."
	Amy closed her eyes. "... He despises me?... Really. Oh God..."
	"Well if you wanna try and free Sonic, go ahead. I'll be gone everyday anyway 
so..."
	"Okay..."
	Amy said no more that evening.  Tails grew quiet also and fell asleep pretty 
quickly.  Amy thought of her chances. "Tomorrow I'll be on the field..."

END OF PART ONE

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