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Air in and out, she turned on her heel and faced everyone. "Well...! This is it, I guess!"
Ah. What a typical, boring way to start, innit?
Amy thought something similar, but couldn't help it; her mind went blank and suddenly couldn't come up with anything better to say.
How are you supposed to say goodbye to some of the people you care the most in the world?
Clasping her hands over her skirt, she looked down. Ah, golly. She was bad at this, wasn't she?
The Wachowskis had followed her to the backyard. The sun had barely begun to set, and one could argue it was still too early for her to leave. Still, the girl had politely declined to stay for dinner.
'Please, no! One more second here and I think I'll have to stay forever...!!'
Yes, the thought had crossed her mind. Of course would never tell, nor take it seriously herself. 'As if...!'
Nobody had say a thing yet. They just stood around and simply looked at the girl. Amy was wearing her brown cloak again, the image brought flashbacks to everyone.
It was really hard to believe they had met so little time ago. By all means she was part of the family already...! Maybe that's why it bothered them so much she had to leave.
OH WELL...! Can't keep the girl captive, right?
Holding onto each other, Tom and Maddie were the first to approach. Amy met their faces and smiled gently.
"Thank you so much for receiving me and, well..." Arms open. "—for everything...!"
Tom lifted a hand. "Hey! You're the one who saved the future and whatnot!"
The girl chuckled. "Still!"
Maddie bent down and put a hand tenderly to the little girl's shoulder. "Feel free to come anytime you want, honey! Our door will always be open to you!"
Hand moving down, she took hold of Amy's.
"Oww...! Thank you so much! It really means a lot!" She moved her head. "—Sure! I bet my mom won't allow me to go out in a few MONTHS but...! I'll come around when I can!"
Maddie simply smiled.
Letting go of the woman's hand, she now reached to shake Tom's, who crouched slightly.
"—No worries! We still have plenty of the pastries you made, so I don't think we'll be forgetting about you anytime soon...!"
They retrieved. "Oh! I'll make sure to bring some more when I visit!"
Palms up. "Not gonna protest against that...!!" Got him a little nudge from his wife.
"You don't have to, having you here is enough, Amy."
They all exchanged another round of warm smiles before the girl turned to face her teammates. The very second she crossed eyes with Sonic and Knuckles her confidence flopped.
"I'm— Wait, where's Tails?" She looked around, everyone else followed.
Hold on, she's right! The little guy's not here. What?
"Over here...!!!" The yellow fox showed up, flying into the frame with just the perfect timing. Where did he came from? Directly from the attic, it seems...?
The helicopter-ish 'thwop-thwop-thwop' of his tails came to a halt soon enough. Now on foot, he trotted right into Amy's direction.
"—Sorry! I had to add the last touches to this...!" He stood right in front of her; he had approached rather confidently, but as he met the girl's surprised expression he suddenly doubted. "I ah- I made something for you...!"
"Oh...?"
The girl glanced down and received on her hands the piece of tech the boy handed to her. In size close to a tray, it had a large screen and many buttons on the sides; all encased in Tails' signature design style frames, only this time, instead of his usual yellow, it was pink.
"It's a communicator...! So we can keep in touch!" He smiled at her, a little bashful. "The chat is linked to my computer. I installed a camera and a mic too, so we can even videocall! —You can also take pictures, record and take notes...!" The girl could only blink and look between the device and the fox.
"Of course! A bit of a delay can be expected —I can only do so much for accelerating the wave frequencies throughout the galaxy—" Pointer fingers up. "But I'm working on that!!"
Amy remained stupefied. She blinked and finally spoke. "It's pink...!" A little smile formed.
"Ahy- Ahem." A finger to his cheek, he avoided her face for a moment. "Yeah, I thought you'd... appreciate that."
The fox leaned over to take partial hold of the thing again, with the press of a button it lit up to show several icons. "Here, I added instructions for installation and maintenance. All you've gotta do is take the antenna from the back and put it somewhere high. The very device is programmed to detect if it's connected properly or if there's any issues..."
"Tails."
"—Sure! I made this last minute and I didn't had time to test it too much, but it should work alright...! A-and I made an effort to make the UI friendly and intuitive!"
"Tails-"
"I designed it to also detect my existing line on the planet, it should connect automatically and that should help get a better signal, hopefully!"
A hand to his shoulder. "Tails!" He finally reacted and looked at her. She was smiling. "You're rambling."
He looked down. "...Sorry."
She bent over. "Hey." Caught his attention. "You are a ray of sunshine, you know that?"
Before he could say anything, the girl got down to her knees to hug him tenderly. "Thank you...!" She was moved.
The boy was quick to react and hold her with twice the strength. Eyes closed, smile wide on his little face.
The rest observed with endearment. It was just enough to push aside the little (not so little) shame they felt as they just now realized they had no way to contact Amy. Bless this fox and his much more advanced brain!
"I'll miss you..." His voice came out fragile. This whole 'having friends' deal was still rather new to his system; so you could tell it was hard for him to let go of any.
Amy held him tighter as she felt her heart melt a little. "Me toooooo...!!" She sobbed, high pitched.
Tails had to fight the sudden urge to straight up jump and wrap his legs around her. 'Heh, maybe next time...!'
Too bad!! We all know she would've LOVED that!
Alas, they finally stepped back. Eyes on eyes, arms kept holding each other lightly.
"But don't worry! I'll be back sooner than you think!"
"Promise...?"
"Yeah!" She leaned closer. "Trust me! Just wait a little and soon enough yall' get SICK-TIRED of me!!"
He chuckled. "Promise...!?"
Grin returned. "Promise!!"
A hand now moved to her cheek, Amy spoke into his ear. "Take care of those two while I'm gone, will ya'?" Wink.
Tails smirked, wink returned. "You got it!"
They giggled again. Gosh they're cute.
"Farewell, Miss Rose...!!" Knuckles walked over now, Amy stood up. He reached out a hand and the girl, smiling brightly, took hold of it.
"Our mission might be over, but I expect you'll keep training and working on your skills." He kept speaking. "You've proven to be a noble warrior, and a valuable member of our team. But you still have a long way to go...! You might not be one million percent muscle, you're more like... one hundred percent! —But you'll get there!"
Hah. "Hey, I'll take it!"
He smiled. "So, next time we see one another, I expect you'll show me your progress...!"
She grinned. "Oh, you BET!"
Both leaned closer, matching challenging looks on their faces. Shifting their arm position upwards they held their hands tighter, flexing their muscles. Eyes lighting up bright red and pink as their teeth showed for a moment. They finally let go, with a laugh.
When it eased Knuckles took hold of her shoulder. "Remember this. No matter the distance, you will always be part of our tribe."
Amy's face lit up, her lips pressing into a sweet smile. A second after, she had thrown herself at his chest, wrapping her arms around him.
The guy froze for a second, you could tell he was not expecting that. He blinked and stared ahead; was he blushing a little, too...?
He quickly snapped out of it, smiling again. Putting his own arms around the girl and crouching over. Ahh, her body almost disappeared within his.
"Oh, COME ON!! Is that all you've GOT!?" Amy suddenly spoke. "Give it to me! I can take it!!"
Knuckles scoffed. She was RIGHT!!
Taking a step back, he retrieved and dove again. Arms under hers, he bent back and lifted the girl in the air.
She was laughing and kicking her feet, holding tighter in response.
Everyone stared half entertained, half genuinely concerned (as they felt something would crack at any second). For their tranquility, the kids finally let go. Nothing seemed broken, so—! it was okay.
They shared another look. "All the best, Amy." She smiled.
"Ah—! Also, you must know that you've gained my respect, so if you so choose to keep courting Sonic, you have my-"
Jolt. "WHA— BUH-BUT THAT'S- I'M NOT—" Amy stopped herself.
Uhh, boy. That had come out much (much) louder than intended; and she didn't even know her voice could reach a pitch that HIGH!
She quickly avoided his shocked expression, one everyone around probably shared. Eyes darted to the grass below, she was blushing. Taking hold of her skirt she pressed her lips and tried to compose herself. "Geez...!"
Sigh. "Ahh... you know what?" She looked at him again. "I appreciate it, big guy." She patted his arm, and he seemed content.
In the background, Tom had leaned over to Tails to whisper. "Later, we're having a long conversation on whatever happened between those two during the trip...!"
Maddie followed through. "Yes. We want all the details."
Tails had moved his ear back, then simply nodded. "Roger."
Amy exchanged a few more words with Knuckles before turning to face... Sonic.
Oh...
Yeah, this was going to be the hard one, huh?
Their eyes met. Amy had taken a few steps naturally; but the moment she confronted his face and down expression, she stopped.
A wave of insecurity had taken over her. Everything she had planned to say? Poof! Vanished from her memory card.
Sonic noticed. And he'd be lying if he said he wasn't going through something similar. Not a 'goodbyes' kind of guy.
'Not at all.'
Sigh. He rolled his eyes and balanced to the side —head along— as he drew a smile on his face; before addressing the girl again. "Yeah, yeah...!" He opened his arms and gestured. "Bring it on...!"
Amy immediately beamed and launched forward, arms around his neck. It almost tumbled him down, and it's strength choked him and took the air out of him; even so, Sonic would never tell anyone it was the most tender, loving embrace he had ever received.
As he regained balance, he placed his arms around her; yet something stopped him from putting any force into it.
His brow flinched, and he pressed his lips together. Really forcing himself to remember the girl would be gone soon.
'It's now or never.' —Ahh tickle. And even when he knew it wasn't true, they would meet again, he couldn't just...
'ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!'
He punched down his pride and whatever other thing holding him back.
—'Too mature to hug goodbye!? B A L O N E Y.'
So he shut his eyes close and held her tight. And then he held her tighter.
Almost shoving his face between her head and shoulder, in an effort to hide from whatever funny face the others around could be giving him, and the world all together.
'Don't look. Don't say a thing. —PLEASE, just...! Let me have this. Just for a moment.'
It was a thought directed at himself as well. For reasons he couldn't grasp, he had been the first to cut the cable whenever Amy Rose came to mind. Something about her simply filled his head with all sorts of ideas. What was it about her that made him so... confused!?
Was it because she was a girl...!? Was that IT!? —It couldn't be...!!
The guy had faced foes a HUNDRED times his size and strength; DEATH itself, for crying out loud! MULTIPLE TIMES!!
—He REFUSED to believe a GIRL could mean a much bigger threat to his life!!
What kind of STUPID weakness was that!??
Maybe it was good thing she was leaving... He wasn't sure how much more of it he could take...
Ahhh...
'Warm.'
Amy was warm alright. Other words came to mind. 'Soft'; 'Tender'; 'Sweet'. They kept coming as he felt his face heat up.
Taking notion of their bodies, Sonic was reminded that he was taller than her. Not by much —say, four, five inches...?— still he had to bend over slightly.
It didn't bother him; quite the opposite, actually. I guess you could blame it on the guy being around humans most of his life, how he would still receive the capacity to meet others naturally face to face as a novelty.
A similar thought had crossed his mind before, that Amy was just about the 'right size'. How she seemed to just... fit within him.
He could wrap around her and she would just... click in place...!
Like a... phone, in a... phone case.
Yeah that —BUT LIKE... with a more cool, poetic; less lame analogy...
Made for each other...?
'BAH...!! Get out of here!!!'
Brother, there he was again thinking weird stuff because of her. 'See what I was talking about!?' Sonic was REALLY trying to be normal about this! He really was, but—!
You know what!? I for once I'm TIRED of it!!
I'm TIRED of throwing hints and keeping it vague to conserve his little pride or whatever. To dance around words so he can avoid the growing questions inside his boy head.
So I'm just gonna SAY IT!
HE LIKES HER!!! He likes the girl!
Sonic the Hedgehog has a CRUSH on Amy Rose!!!
If it wasn't for the killer robots trying to destroy the planet, she might as well be the single thing on his mind these past days! He simply couldn't help it. The girl made him feel NERVOUS, she made him feel FUZZY. —That heat I would always say it would take over him whenever around her!? IT WAS BLUSH. There, I said it!
It was BLUSH, he was BLUSHING; cause he felt EMBARRESED around her, CONSTANTLY!!
She could make his heart RACE, she could make his mind GLITCH. And he didn't understand it ONE BIT.
It frustrated him, it annoyed him. But at the same time, he simply couldn't get enough of it!!
Amy was the coolest girl he had ever met. True, he didn't know many, but STILL!!
He thought she was strong, and smart; brave, kind, selfless, funny, determined and-
UGH! How could it be that ANY positive adjective he could think of matched her!?? It couldn't be!! IT MADE NO SENSE!
But, DANG IT! It was!! He really thought that!!
A-And he thought she was PRETTY! —MORE THAN PRETTY!!
So much, in fact, it BOTHERED him. Cause he found himself stealing looks at her any given time, as if he couldn't even PROCESS the image before him!
And in the battlefield!? This girl could jump 50 feet in the air and obliterate a whole troop of robots with a single graceful swing and— MAN! He had to stop himself from whistling!
W H I S T L I N G .
GEEZ...!!!
'What's wrong with me...!?'
It was... scary. He had never felt like this before, he knew that; and in a way he hated it. He wanted to get rid of it...
But at the same time...
Boy, was it exciting. Downright THRILLING.
'Heh.'
They kept holding each other. Right, she was right there. Hopefully she hadn't heard any of his inner turmoil...
Sonic had made the silent promise that he wouldn't be the first to let go. He knew she needed this, so he would humor her as long as she wanted to. On her side, it was almost as she had got the memo, and understood it was up to her to end this. Amy didn't want to, she really didn't. But they couldn't stay like this forever.
'We've given enough of a show for everyone, haven't we...?' She smiled weakly. And finally separated.
Keeping hold of their arms, their eyes met again. The boy recognized that face, she wanted to say something, but in a way he knew she simply wouldn't do it this time.
So it was up to him, huh?
'Now or never.' The tickle returned.
Doubt. What was he supposed to say? His mind, flooded with thoughts a second ago, had suddenly emptied out. 'Thanks for nothing, brain.'
COME ON! Think of something, hedgehog! Before it becomes awkward!!
A voice suddenly reached deep in his mind, 'I don't want to rush... this.' It was Amy's. She had said that at some point. He didn't exactly knew what she meant, but... she was right.
—It hasn't been a MONTH. Why would it be ANY pressure to make up his mind RIGHT THIS INSTANT...!?
They were friends, and he enjoyed that! He was okay with that! —And probably would be the next day, and the next...!
True, she would be gone now. He would miss her, that he knew. But they would meet again! And they could pick it up right where they left it!
No need for any fancy words!
'No need for any fancy words.'
So he smiled at her; and she did the same. Had she reached to the same conclusion?
"Take care, Ames."
Her smile grew. "You too, Sonic."
Simple as that? Simple as that!
They let go, a little slower than intended.
Giving another look and a smile to each of them, Amy then took a deep breath and stepped to the side. Taking a ring from under her cloak, she tossed it at last. A portal opened and she began to walk towards it.
"Wait, Amy! You're forgetting the communicator!!" It was Tails voice.
She turned. "AH! Oh, shoot!!" Right, she had left it on the floor when she hugged Tails. The yellow fox saving the day once again!
He quickly stepped over to hand it to her. She brushed his head tenderly.
Okay, now she's ready.
"Woof!" She turned to see the family dog sprinting to her.
"Oww!! Ozzie!" She bend down to pet him. "I thought you had forgotten about me!"
"Woof-woof!"
"I'll miss you too! —Who's a good boy, who's a wuv boiii...!!~" She let go and straightened up. "I'll learn how to make treats for you! In the meantime take good care of the house, okay?"
"Woof!"
She smiled. Everyone around too.
Okay, now for real. Deep breath.
"—Oh, wait!" It was Sonic now?
"Eh?"
"Your scarf! I think it's still on the ship...!"
What even made him recall that...?
Glancing down, she noticed that as a matter of fact, she wasn't wearing it. Blinking back at the Blue, she let an airy scoff escape between her teeth in a 'seriously?' type expression. Pink arms opened and came down to slap her sides, her head shook. "Keep it!!"
Surprise. "Oh...?"
They were looking at one other again. The light of the portal made her silhouette shine, and his eyes sparkle.
Amy looked down for a moment, as if an idea had popped in her head. And when she faced him again, her grin had grown. She turned all the way and sprinted back to Sonic; standing on her tip toes, she took hold of his face. And then, without any regard for ANYONE but herself, she planted a kiss on his cheek.
A step back, she met his paralyzed expression. "Until next time!!" Wink.
Not loosing another second, she jumped inside the portal. Facing everyone again, she waved enthusiastically. "Thank you for everything!! You guys are amazing!!"
The others got closer, too began waving and saying goodbye.
"—I'll come back as soon as I can! I promise...!!" The portal was closing. With both hands she blew a big kiss. And right before it closed entirely, she lifted a hand up; giving one last shy wave.
O
o
•
"...That was uncalled for." Still frozen in place, Sonic broke the silence with a voice so monotone it was hard to believe it came out of him. The others began giggling, they simply couldn't hold it any longer.
Snap. "H-HEY! What are you laughing at!?" Arms out, frown on his face.
"NO-NO! Nothing!" Tom was quick to defend, hands up.
The boy was not convinced.
"Ahh... I guess it's time to make dinner now...!" Maddie spoke, changing the subject. Not too excited about the idea, though.
"We could order some pizza." Tom spoke again.
"We could." She repeated.
Tails and Knuckles quickly cheered, and head back inside behind her. Sonic had taken a few steps, but inevitably turned to face the spot the girl just vanished in.
Tom noticed. "You good, bud?"
"GAH—!" Busted. "Yes-Yes! Of course! Wh-why wouldn't I be!??"
Tom smiled. The little blue guy was growing up, huh? Ahh, it was too soon for him as well. "Don't worry. She'll be back."
"...I know." He mumbled.
A pat to his head. "Well—! You better come inside quick or you won't get to choose toppings!" Sonic let out a scoff.
The man then left, giving him some space.
Drifting his attention back to the same spot, he seeked for any remaining golden particle that could still be floating around. He couldn't help to imagine the portal would somehow open again; 'Actually, I think I'll stay a little longer!'
Gosh, he had never felt so selfish.
His fingers had reached over to the tickle in his cheek. She had played him again, huh? How she kept doing that...!?
"Hah..."
Closing his eyes for a moment, he traced an invisible outline, slowly building up her whole figure around it.
'Until next time!!' Her voice echoed in his mind, along with the embarrassing 'MWUAK' sound it had made.
He smiled.
Yeah, he didn't have to say what his heart was already screaming. And for once, he didn't care to try and stop it.
"Anything yet?" His foot tapped.
Click-click, press-press
"...No."
The boys let their heads and limbs fall loose. A combined whine escaped them.
It had become a routine. Each morning before breakfast they would check on Tails' computer to see if Amy had messaged them. The disappointment of the empty chat was piling up.
Hands to his face. "MAAAAN...! It's been three weeks!!!" Sonic would often make such comment. "I don't get it! Did something failed!?"
Tails lifted his head off the desk. "I made the instructions clear! I even made graphics! —Amy should've been able to install it properly." Hand to his head. "Maybe I miscalculated the delay it could have...? Maybe something else failed. —Ohh, man...!! I know I shouldn't have wasted that much time on designing the icons, and ran more tests!!"
"Maybe she just broke it." Knuckles spoke now, it was the less affected by the situation, but you could tell he was.
Silence.
"Maybe she just broke it..." The other two parroted.
Well, yeah...! It was a possibility.
Sigh. Was this it? Were they doomed? Should they simply give up and wait till she came back?
"Ahh... Well, we'll have to check tonight" Tails spun on his chair and stood up.
If you're wondering. The first days they would check constantly. Maddie had called them out and now they were only allowed to do so twice per day. 'You can't stay all day in front of that thing!! She'll get to you guys eventually, so chill!'.
Sonic spoke again, letting himself fall on his bed. "Maybe she just forgot about us..."
"I'm gonna start drawing a line each time you say that." Tails answered unamused, walking across the room.
"Ah... whatever." Jumping back to his feet, he tried to cheer himself up. "Let's go get some breakfast!" With his thumb, he pointed so. "It will happen sooner or later, there's no need to—"
"Dot-dot-dot... Dot-dot-dot..."
They turned. Knuckles was looking at the screen.
"Dot-dot-dot... Dot-dot-dot-dot..."
"...!!!"
"...!!!"
"IS SHE TYPING!???" They both jolted and rushed over to the screen. Her icon was shining.
They leaned closer.
Dot-dot-dot
Closer...
Dot-dot-dot
CLOSERRRRR...
Beep!
'—Hi?'
They simply stared for a moment.
"W-WELL! What are you waiting for!! Say something!!" Sonic shook Tails' seat.
"AH! Right!!"
Click-click-click
'—Hello, Amy? It's Tails.'
Stare.
No movement.
Stare.
Still no movement.
"Did she saw it?"
"No...? I'm not sure."
Grunt. "Stupid —intergalactic— delay. Maybe she sent that a week ago!"
"Mmnnno...? —Wait! It says she just sent it!!"
"What!? Are you sure!?"
"Not... really."
"OH WAIT, SHE'S TYPING AGAIN."
"GAH...!"
Stare.
Beep!
'—Hiiii Tails!!!'
"SHE ANSWERED! —Wait so it's live!? There's no delay!? Wh— How is that even possible!?"
AAAAAAAEEEEEEEEHHHHHHH... Movie magic!
Beep!
'—Oh my!! It really works!?? (*O*) This is so COOL!!'
Their faces lit up.
Beep!
'—I'm so so sorry!! >n< I wanted to try it before, but my mom had confiscated it!!!! She got really worried when I told her everything that happened. She has me trapped in the house too!!! (T_T)
She finally gave it back today. BUT SHE STILL HAS ALL MY RINGS!! She hid them somewhere, and trust me! When she hides something, it might as well had vanished forever!!
So I'm stuck!! D':'
Beep!
'—But I'm working on that!!'
They all smiled.
They quickly began throwing things for Tails to type. There was so much they wanted to share!
Sonic kept looking at her little pink icon; her messages read in his mind with her voice. If he squinted, it was almost as she was in front of him.
'Yeah...! This will work just fine...
...for now.'