Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Fear ❯ True Feelings ( Chapter 8 )

"Well, we've got all but one, Tails," Shadow said, mimicking Sonic's energy. "So where's the last one?"

"Three guesses," Tails said darkly.

"Eggman," Knuckles said evenly, standing there with his arms crossed.

"Yep," Amy said, lightly swinging her hammer. "He snatched the green one right out from under our noses in Onyx. It's only a hundred miles away from here. We should have gone for that one first."

"I-I'm sorry, Sonic. I just didn't look for its energy signal until it was too late, and—" Tails started guiltily.

"Relax Tails," Sonic said with a chuckle. "We'll just have to persuade Eggman to give us the emerald. No problem."

"Yeah! The party'll just be bigger, that's all!" Shadow laughed.

"Eggman must be terminated!" Omega said hotly, arming his machine gun.

"I'm sure you'll get your chance, Omega," Knuckles said with a nod. "Now, when do we go retrieve this emerald?"

"Well, unlike you, we actually need sleep," Tails said. "So I'd say tomorrow morning after breakfast. Sound good."

Shadow grumbled, but nodded. "Let's get to sleep then so we can get up early."

"I have dinner ready first," Tails said. "With lots of chilidogs," he said to Shadow as he smiled broadly.

"Alright! You read me like a data chip, Tails!" Shadow exclaimed, ribbing the fox, who laughed.

They walked to the table, and Shadow turned to Sonic. "I don't like chilidogs!" he hissed frantically.

"My body does. Go on and eat as much as you can. If you can't finish them, say we stopped by Tubby's before we came back here," Sonic whispered. "But if it's like me in this body, you'll find that you like whatever I do. Go for it."

They got to the table and the smell alone made Shadow's stomach growl hungrily. "Geez, I'm starving! Running really works up an appetite!" He blurred over and began to eat as fast as he could. Chilidogs for Sonic were, apparently, like cheeseburgers for him.

The smell of hot meat made Sonic gag. "Ugh, I hate those things!" he moaned.

"Don't worry, Knuckles, I've got a bowl of fruit and a salad for you," Tails assured him.

Sonic sat down and ate it gratefully as the others ate the meat. Knuckles just stood there staring at the burgers. Up to this point, he hadn't eaten meat yet, not even cheeseburgers, which he'd had a major craving for. Shadow and Sonic smiled to themselves and reached into his mind.

"The same applies for you, Knux," Sonic said as he popped a grape into his mouth.

"Just eat it," Shadow said. "My body absolutely loves them, and so do my taste buds. Just try it."

"Shadow?" Rouge asked, looking at Knuckles. "You going to eat?"

Knuckles shrugged and walked forward trepidaciously. To the outside viewer, he calmly picked up the burger and took a bite. Knuckles was internally cringing, waiting for his body to command him to spit it out...but it didn't happen. His stomach clenched hungrily and he took another bite. Oh, that was heaven. He went through five of them before he was full, but he did eat them neater than Shadow had eaten his chilidogs. When they were all full, they headed off to bed. Except for Shadow. He sat on the roof, staring up at the stars. He was emotionally exhausted. He wasn't used to feeling so much. There was a soft noise behind him and his ear flicked as footsteps sounded out. Amy settled beside him.

"Beautiful night," she said softly.

"Yeah. Real pretty," Shadow replied.

"Romantic, too," she said shyly.

Shadow froze and turned to look at her. "What?" he asked, dropping the act completely in shock.

"Perfect night for a first kiss."

She leaned in close, but three inches from his face, he stopped her by placing two fingers on her lips.

"You don't want to do that."

"Of course I do! Why won't you love me, Sonic?" she asked, tearing up.

Shadow blinked and stared at the pink hedgehog. He figured Sonic was asleep already, so he couldn't ask. So he grabbed her hands and stared into her green eyes. He reached into Sonic's thoughts and feelings and spoke the truth.

"It isn't that I don't love you, Amy," he said softly. "It's that you're trying to smother me. I love being free, and the way you act, being in a relationship would tie me down. I'm not ready for that. I don't think I'll ever be ready for that. I don't want children. I don't want to be forced to stay in one spot. I want to run. I want to explore the world a thousand times over. I want to fight Robotnik and bring down his reign. I want to have fun!"

"But what about me? Where do I fit in?"

"Right by my side, swinging that hammer," Shadow said with a smile. "But you've got to understand. If you do want me, if we start dating—notice I said if—I'm not going to settle down. I know you like horses. You know that stallion, Lightning Bolt?"

"Yeah?"

"Has anybody been able to tame him?"

"No, but he lets me ride him."

"So he allows you to?"

"Yeah. But he still does what he wants when I'm on his back."

"I'm like that horse. I might allow you to date me, but you won't tame me. You have to understand this, Amy. I'm wild and free, and I want to stay that way. But if you feel like joining in, that sounds pretty cool to me. You've got to stop smothering me, though. A real girl doesn't do the chasing. She lets herself be chased."

"But I can't run from you, Sonic," Amy said, looking away. "You'll catch me so quickly anyways."

Shadow laughed. "Aw, c'mon Amy. I might be fast, but it'll take a while to chase you down. You're quick in your own right, in ways that I, as a boy, can't get. How else could you keep finding me? But I think it'll be worth it. So what say we start a new game?"

Amy giggled, her cheeks warming in a blush. The joy faded and she sat back. "Do you really mean it, Sonic? I mean really? Or are you just tricking me again?"

"You want the truth?"

Shadow saw a flash of red in the corner of his eye. He could feel Sonic watching him carefully, waiting for his next words.

"I can swear that these are the true thoughts and feelings of Sonic the Hedgehog," he promised, "who just hasn't found time to slow down and tell you."

Amy studied him, narrowing her eyes. The two people who were not themselves waited for her verdict.

"Prove it," she finally said.

"Sonic?" Shadow asked, not looking at him.

"Kiss her cheek. Once."

Shadow tilted her chin up and pressed his lips to her cheek once, lingering for only a second. He pulled back and smiled at her. Her cheeks were bright red, and she giggled.

"You know, Sonic? I like when you play hard to get."

"Oh?" Shadow asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah. But…I like this you much better."

Sonic smiled at the admittance. He had always felt that way about Amy Rose. But he hadn't taken the time to slow down and tell her. He was afraid that she wouldn't like him slowed down. And he was scared of being trapped. He didn't like being trapped. But Shadow was giving him a break by telling her this stuff for him. He might never have had the courage to do so on his own. And that one thought of chasing instead of being chased. Oh, he always like a challenge, and catching and keeping a girl was supposed to be one of the hardest things in the universe. He relished the thought. But…he couldn't do anything to communicate that. Because he was Knuckles, not Sonic. It hurt that he couldn't be with Amy at the moment, and he really didn't want Shadow to do anything else with her. He would probably be uncomfortable, and she would be pissed if, or maybe it was a when, she found out that it wasn't Sonic himself saying these things. He didn't like a pissed off Amy. Especially not in this particular body. He couldn't outrun her.

"Sorry to break up the lovefest," Sonic said, crossing his arms. "But we really need to get some sleep. Come on, Sonic. You're bunking with me and Tails. Amy, you're with Rouge."

"Ugh, really?" she asked irritably as they stood. "I don't like her."

"Why not?" Shadow asked.

"I don't know…She's just a…a bitch," Amy muttered.

Shadow stopped walking. Amy and Sonic turned to look at him. His disapproving stare was burning into Amy, who started to blush.

"I didn't mean to curse, Sonic," she said softly. "I just couldn't find a way to express myself any other way."

"Yes…well don't do it again," Shadow muttered as he headed down to the room with Sonic. They dropped Amy off then walked slowly to their room. Shadow turned to complain to Sonic about what Amy had said, but Sonic shook his head.

"Do not say anything out loud about it, Shadow. There are cameras and microphones everywhere in here. We are not safe."

"Damn it, Rouge is not a bitch, Sonic!"

"I know that now. She's just misunderstood. But you can't let Tails hear you. It will be a dead giveaway."

Shadow thought of the foulest list of curses he could, and Sonic laughed heartily as the door to their room opened. They stopped. Knuckles was standing there, staring at them coolly.

"Hey, Shadow. What's up?" Shadow asked cheerfully.

"I am in need of a bed. Tails forgot about where I would be sleeping."

"I said I was sorry, Shadow. Just sleep in here with us!" Tails said.

"…No."

"Come on, I don't have any other rooms prepared!"

"Yeah, c'mon, Shadow. We're just going to sleep, and I can guarantee you that we won't try anything," Shadow said then added mentally. "It is so weird to say my own name like that."

"Amen to that," Sonic replied then spoke out loud. "I won't let them mess with you."

"Fine. But one trick, and I won't help you. You can deal with Fear on your own. Without my Chaos Emerald. Or Rouge's," Knuckles said firmly. "Now, where do I sleep?"

He was led to a bed and given two pillows and a blanket. He paused and looked back before crawling into bed and stilling. "I want to take off my gloves and shoes."

"Not a good idea," Sonic said. "Even I don't do that and we're best friends. To have what he thinks is Shadow do it? No."

"You're just going to have to sleep with them on," Shadow said. "I don't relish the thought, either, but we have no choice."

Tails was actually the first one asleep, as the others struggled to get past the discomfort. Even Sonic was having trouble, despite the fact that he had successfully done it for years. Eventually, exhaustion swept them away one by one, starting with the emotionally drained Shadow and ending with the excited Sonic, who couldn't wait to see how hard he could hit the robots that were surely waiting for him the next day.