Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Rain ❯ Prologue

Disclaimer:

I am a relationshipper. This I will admit without reserve. I am a dedicated Sonic/Amy relationshipper, and as far as I am concerned Sally Acorn can take a flying leap at the moon. This story is a short fluff-fic based on Sonic Adventure... short, by my standards, and fluffy, in that it doesn't really do much in the way of high adventure. It is a long overdue follow-up to CE:TOH, my other Sonic fanfic. See that for the general disclaimer-type thinggit.

Wholly, unashamedly SegaSonic... thank God the Archieverse is going out of fashion.

Rain

A Sonic the Hedgehog fanfiction by GTK
Sonic the Hedgehog copyright Sega Enterprises 1991-2001
Used without permission and for a non-profit fan enterprise
Written for Samantha, whose request it was

God, the heat, she thought. It was absolutely unbearable--and there was no getting away from it, not down here in Station Square. She was wearing only the skimpiest of her nightgowns, and all the same the heat crept up around her, enfolding her limbs in its clammy grasp, as if it was a living thing and hell-bent on stifling her.

It was the middle of July in Station Square, only a couple of months since Chaos had laid waste to it, and they were now in the iron grip not of the water-monster but of a heatwave. The building work filled the air with a fine dust that dried everything it touched, so that it was horrible to go out in it. It was a cloudy sort of heat, and it was everywhere, muggy, heavy, cotton-wool thundercloud heat. Pneumatic drills juddered out the message of the heat all across the city, like some kind of morse code.

"If this goes on much longer," Amy Rose said out loud, "I'll lie down and die." Nobody listened to her.

She sat up. It was early afternoon and the heat had come creeping in through her window like a great gray cat, setting its foggy claws into the air-conditioning and filling the apartment with its muggy stench. An afternoon nap was definitely out of the question; she wasn't going to get to sleep in this. Even dressed as flimsily as she was, and lying on top of the duvet, she could feel the heat-cat crawling over her, settling itself over her body and going off into a hot, heavy, purring sleep.

Amy got off the bed, leaving a damp and rumpled mark where she had been lying, pulled off the nightgown and padded into the bathroom to have a shower. Even the water that came out of the faucet was warm, though she whirled the dial all the way round to the deep icy blue of Cold. Standing in a cascade of warmish water, she stared at the cool cobalt of the blue spot on the tap and considered putting her head in the freezer for a while.

The shower failed to do the trick, and by the time she gave up and clambered out to towel herself dry, the heat-cat had gotten to the towels and they were fluffy with it, hot and scratchy and horrible to the touch. Amy dried herself as best she could and went to the closet to find something to wear. There was no point staying indoors in this--she might as well go out. She found a light and flustery skirt and pulled it on, and then a thin sleeveless tee-shirt in tie-dyed stormcloud gray. The clothes didn't suit her, but she was dressing for coolness not style.

She sat on the floor and put on some light sandals. The heat-cat purred into the back of her neck; a whuff of hot air from the ventilation shaft. Amy groaned and got to her feet as if she had just run a ten-mile marathon. She had to get out of the apartment, she just had to... but where?

The beach wasn't any fun in this weather. The sky might be clouded, but the heat there was even more intense than it was up here in her apartment block which was at least above the ground. The sea was too warm now to offer solace, she knew, because she had been swimming just last week in an effort to cool down. Twinkle Park... Amy didn't fancy Twinkle Park in the heat, with the hot, flustered crowds pushing past on their way to the Shooting Star. And shopping in the heat was a nightmare... one she had actually dreamed several times over the past month. She had been trapped in a gigantic department store, and the heat made everything wobbly; she had looked for the door, with increasing desperation, but she could find no way out; she ran frantically between towering walls of perfumes and Tupperware like a mouse in a maze.

Amy picked up the phone and dialed the number of Angel Island's PHS, and was suddenly afflicted with a painfully beautiful vision of the island in the sky. Its pale beaches, the color of snow in winter, were overhung by dark green pine-trees swollen with cool water. The lakes and rivers would be chilly when you stepped in, as cold and clear as sapphires.

The phone rang and rang without an answer. She realized that Knuckles had probably zonked out in the heat; the echidna was more sensitive to changes in temperature than they were. Another picture rose up before her inner eye--the island, all its plants wilted and brown, stinking of the heat-cat's musk under the glowering cloudy sky. Just like the landbound countryside...

Amy put the phone down, waited a moment then dialed another number. She counted sixteen rings before she got an answer.

"Yes?" It was a computerized voice but she suppressed a smile at its familiarity.

"Hi, Gamma," she said. "It's Amy. I don't suppose Tails is there, is he?"

"Please hold." She heard Gamma lay the receiver down carefully, then the whirring thuds of his footsteps as the big mech moved off in search of his much smaller friend. Gamma had rejoined them a few months ago, rebuilt by Tails, and had been just in time for their adventure with Perfect Chaos. Amy liked Gamma; there was a kind of patient solidity to him that comforted her in their dangerous, changing world.

She waited patiently until there was another click--someone had picked up the receiver again. "Hello?" Tails asked. His voice was sleepy with the heat.

"Hi," she said. "Did I wake you up?"

"Kinda." The fox sounded slightly apologetic. "I fell asleep on my workbench. I was working on some parts for the Wasp."

"Sorry to bother you, but I was wondering... what's the weather like where you are?"

"Hot as hell," Tails answered with a laugh. "Why?"

"No reason," Amy mumbled. "It's hot here too. I just wondered if it was any cooler there..."

"'Fraid not. It's pretty impressive, really. The lake's almost dried up, and the waterfall's a trickle. Everything's gone brown." Tails sighed a crackle into her ear. "If it doesn't rain soon, I'm gonna go nuts out here. At least you can buy ice-creams where you are."

"I guess." She smiled, though he couldn't see it. "Thanks, Tails. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"You got it." There was a click and then the soft hum of an open line. Amy listened vaguely to the sound for a few minutes, until it drilled into her head and she hurriedly replaced the receiver.

She waited for a few moments, then picked it up again with a determined look. She dialed one more number and waited.

And waited .

After the phone had rung for fully twenty rings, she hung up. Sonic either wasn't out, or he wasn't answering the phone. She supposed she couldn't blame him, but she wished she knew where he was.

The heat-cat had crept into her clothes, and they felt prickly and horrible now. Her skin was sticky beneath her short pink fur. Amy groaned, shooting a pleading glance at her window, but the heat-cat was merciless in its advance. She stepped back from the telephone and picked up her bag where it lay on the ground by the door. Opening the door, Amy shouldered her bag and slipped out, closing it on the heat. She got into the elevator, and realized the heat-cat was in here too--she could feel its hot breath wreathing her head. It was hard to breathe.

She stumbled out of the elevator and into the lobby of the apartment block, then down the steps and out into the dusty street. Heat crackled over the streetlights, and on the sidewalk; it shivered around the distant buildings. The dust was everywhere, and Amy felt her lips drying up almost instantly. She rummaged in her bag to find some lip balm and liberally applied it; it helped, a little.

A swift jump into a taxi full of heat brought her into the heart of the town. Most of the shops, and the station, were open now in some way, although the spars of half-finished roofs still jutted out into the clouded sky. Amy wandered along the street, glancing disinterestedly into the windows she passed. Her tee-shirt stuck clammily to her back.

There was a distant rumble from somewhere, and she glanced up at the sky, but there was still no rain--heat lightning flickered over the sea, that was all. Amy turned a corner and came out in the big beachfront square; the station was on her right, and the big Beachfront Hotel was just across the road. She glanced quickly left and right, then crossed the road and came round to the beach. It was deserted. The sea was almost in--it lapped sluggishly at the raised sea wall, as if even it had no life right now.

Amy sat down on a bench, wishing for even the slightest breeze. She could feel slickness on her face; she drew the back of one hand across her forehead, feeling how damp it was. It was hotter still here. Amy turned her head and glanced at the Twinkle Park entrance a hundred yards down the sidewalk. The glass elevator was coated in a film of fine brownish dust. Even from here she could hear the squeals of children on the rides.

"Oh, man," she sighed, "oh, man..."

She sat back, resting her back and head against the bench's wooden support, closed her eyes and slept for a little while. A sea breeze caressed her hair and then withdrew.

*

When she woke up, the air was darker as the city moved towards evening. The sounds of hammering and drilling were louder now; the air was stiller. Amy sat up straight and rubbed at her sticky eyes. She felt drained; the snooze hadn't done her any good at all. After a few more moments she got up from the bench, dusted off her skirt which was now stained by that brown dust, and started down the steps onto the beach itself. She felt lost.

The sea was going out now, and it left a long brown swathe across the sand. Its surface was filmy with the dust. Amy wandered along the beech, getting sand in her sandals. The thought amused her slightly--sandy sandals.

The beach ended with rocks rising up to become cliffs--a place with rock pools, where children caught tiny crabs in nylon pole nets. Amy stumbled on a hidden stone and had to catch hold of the rocks to right herself. In doing so, she glanced up and saw, silhouetted against the sky, a lonely figure. Looking out to sea, dark against the setting sun, he had his legs drawn up and his thin arms clasped about his knees.

Sonic, she thought, and wondered what he was doing out here on his own. Black against the sunset, Sonic's spines were lightly touched with dull crimson light. Their normal sweeping curves were disturbed by the steady wind, and for a moment he looked like someone else--sinister and strange. She stared up at him, willing him to become her Sonic again.

He didn't move; he was still unaware of her. After a moment she laid her hands on the rough stones and began to climb up towards him. She skinned her knees and caught a thread out of her skirt scrambling upwards. At last she reached the top, and walked carefully along it to where he sat, his back to her, gazing out across the gray and tired ocean.

"Hi," she said quietly, standing a couple of feet away and feeling suddenly rather intrusive.

Sonic glanced back at her. "Hi." After a moment he looked away again, returning his gaze to the sea.

Amy frowned. She was strangely disturbed by her friend's quiet, subdued air; it wasn't like him. She hesitated, then walked forward, careful on the high stone, and sat down next to him. He didn't say anything, but he did move over slightly to let her sit down.

"You looked lonely up there," Amy said when the silence became unbearable. "I thought I'd come up and keep you company..." She looked up at him when he still didn't answer; his green eyes were hard and strange. "What are you looking for?"

He shrugged. "Dunno, really." Another heartbeat passed, then Sonic turned to her and the hard green emeralds softened slightly. "It's cooler here than anywhere else. I'm just trying to get out of the heat." He grinned.

"Horrible, isn't it?" Amy said with feeling. "There's nowhere you can go to escape it." She paused, then said, "Have you talked to Knux at all?"

Sonic shook his head. "He's not answering the phone. I hope he hasn't gotten heatstroke and passed out in Sandopolis or something." A sudden look of worry crossed his face and Amy felt a sharp pain in her chest--if she was in trouble, would he worry about her that way? Sonic didn't notice her change of expression; after a moment more he brightened again. "Still, he's got Tikal and Chaos up there to look after him now."

Amy imagined herself saying sharply, How come you care about him? You two were enemies. Why don't you care about me? Why don't you ever pay any attention to me? Instead, she said, "I tried to phone him this afternoon. I thought it might be cooler up there on Angel Island."

"It's higher, Amy, it gets more of the sun. It'll probably be even hotter than here." Sonic went quiet again, then said, "Is everything okay?"

She blinked, feeling that pain again--but mingled this time with a kind of pleasure. "Yeah, everything's fine, Sonie. Why'd you ask?"

A grin crossed his face and he turned to look at her direct. "You haven't asked me to marry you once today yet."

"Would you prefer it if I did?" she countered, laughing all the same but a little cross inside.

Sonic shook his head. "No way. You're almost bearable this way."

Her heart caught, she stared at him and felt the prickling of unshed tears in her eyes. He was so beautiful... so cruel. "Maybe I'd better go," she said, and heard with distaste the cowardly thickening of her voice. She got up clumsily, one foot slipping nerve-wrackingly on the stone, and turned to leave.

"Wait."

He was standing, too.

She glanced back at him, then turned away again.

"Wait." A hand caught her arm, fingers strong beneath the cotton glove despite their thinness. She shook his fingers off. "Wait," he said again. "Amy, wait. I'm sorry. That was cruel."

Surprised, she stared at him.

"You know me," he said, and smiled slightly. "Ol' Leap-Before-He-Looks. I shouldn't have said that. I apologize."

Amy felt a weak, watery smile threatening to break through onto her own face. "Does this mean you'll marry me?" she asked lightly, getting the joke back as best she could.

He shook his head. "Nope, sorry. I'm a confirmed bachelor hog." He laughed then, his green eyes sparkling, and looked so beautiful against the sunset that Amy struggled for breath amidst the conflicting feelings. If only... if only...

"Well, how about a date?"

"A date?" He stared at her, then smiled again. "You never give up. I'm kind of impressed."

"Ah, so I impressed you?" Amy grinned. "A small victory! Admit it, Sonie! I finally won one!"

"Don't tell me I've encouraged you now." He groaned theatrically, putting one gloved paw to his head.

She latched onto his arm, dragging his hand away from his beautiful emerald-green eyes. "Come on, Sonie," she coaxed him, "just a couple of hours. What harm could it do?" He wavered, and she pressed the advantage. "Just this once?"

"No date," Sonic said firmly. Then he smiled. "Would you settle for an evening between friends?"

"Oh, would I!" Amy wanted to throw her arms around him, but she was suddenly scared to touch him. She settled for visibly melting.

Sonic grinned at her. "Come on, then," he said, and started to slide and scramble down the rocks towards the beach. She followed, frightened of the sharp edges, and he helped her over the tougher bits, offering his hand and support. Almost bowled over by being in such close proximity to her idol, Amy perhaps accepted a little more help than she needed.

They reached the sand together, and started back across the long brown-stained expanse to the beach steps. The city was finally falling quiet as the builders retired for the night. Somewhere, a single lonely car drove by, on some road not visible from the beach.

She felt the sudden need to speak. "Sonie?" she said. "Remember that time at Never Lake? When Metaru turned up and took me hostage?"

He glanced at her in slight surprise. "Sure. Why?"

"I was never so scared as I was then... but somehow I knew it would be all right. Because you were there somewhere. I knew you would rescue me... even if..." She struggled with words that wouldn't do her feelings justice. "Even if it wasn't me you were coming for," she finished. "Even if you came because you had to rescue the Time Stones, and fight Metaru..."

"How do you know it wasn't you I was coming for?" he asked quietly, instantly overturning everything she thought she knew about him.

"Was it?" she asked breathlessly.

"No," Sonic said. "No." He paused. "But it could have been."

They ascended the steps and stood side by side on the plaza, the tall buildings, hotel and station and Speed Highway offices, rising up around them. "So," Amy said, "what are we going to do?"

He looked at her, amused. "This was your idea. You ought to say."

"You're the guy, remember?"

"This isn't a date." Sonic grinned, shaking his head in amusement. "Fine then," he said after a moment more, just when she was about to speak herself. "You hungry?"

*

It wasn't the most romantic meal--she would have preferred candlelit dinners in a beachside bistro, with an Italian waiter and maybe chamber music from a string quartet. But, in its own way, it was enjoyable, and it was so much more Sonic than anything else they might have done.

The hot dogs dripped with mustard and ketchup. He covered his with chili, and she did the same in silent tribute... although she didn't even like chili herself, it made her sneeze explosively whenever she took a large mouthful. Sonic bought the hot dogs from a stand in the park that was just closing, and they ate them sitting together on a park bench, with cans of 7-Up (chilled, oh, God, chilled!) between their legs. He wasn't a pretty eater, or a quiet one, but she didn't mind because he was enjoying the time--time spent with her. Afterwards, he bought a couple of cheap freeze pops from a hole-in-the-wall kiosk. They had no scissors so they tore the plastic with their teeth. He showed her how.

"Well," Sonic said, examining a mustard stain on his white glove, "now what?" He glanced at her, his green eyes mischievous.

"We could go do something," Amy said. "It's cooler now."

"Did you have anything in mind?"

Her eyes strayed to the Odeon cinema down the street; it was showing no fewer than four romantic movies this week, one a tear-jerker and the other three comedies. Sonic glanced in the same direction, but misread the look. "Twinkle Park," he said, "cool."

"Twinkle Park?"

He grabbed her arm and towed her out of the park; startled, she went with him, casting a regretful look back at the Odeon. She had nothing against amusement parks in general, but a movie would have been better on this muggy summer's evening--she didn't really want to spend this precious time rambling around Twinkle Park and fighting the summer crowds. Still, if it was Sonic's choice, she was willing to go with it. She stumbled after him, having to trot to keep up.

"It's a shame that 'cute couples' thing isn't on any more," she said, staring up at the glittering facade of the park. "We could have got in free."

She expected Sonic to say something pointed about that, but he just smiled and produced a couple of crumpled notes from somewhere about his person. Amy hurried after him as he pushed through the turnstiles and went on into the elevator. "I love this place," he said to her. "Have you ever been on the Shooting Star?"

"No way," Amy said. The elevator doors slid open and they trotted along the glass corridor that led to the park proper. "I'd be scared. Isn't it the fastest ride this side of Flickie Island?"

"Yep," he said, grinning. "And you're going on it."

"What? Sonie, no-!"

He dragged her the short distance through the Shooting Star's gates and then they were running along the twisting queue fences, Amy reluctant but all the same having to run after him just so she could catch him and pull him back. The Shooting Star rattled over their heads in a chorus of excited screaming, and she balked. "Sonic, I am not going on that thing!"

"Well, I am!" he yelled back; he was almost at the ride entrance. "Sure you don't wanna come? This is a date, after all!"

She wailed, caught both ways. "This isn't fair..!"

Sonic disappeared inside. Amy clambered through the three fences she still had to go and ran after him, catching him up just as he pushed past the bored ride attendant. The Shooting Star rattled to a stop in front of them, and Sonic headed straight for the front car. It was empty otherwise; most of the daytrippers had cleared out by now so the park wasn't as crowded as it had been.

"I hate you," Amy wailed, climbing in beside him.

"Really?" he asked, grinning at her. "That's no good, our date'll be over before it's gotten going."

"Are you doing this just to tease me?" The bar came down over them, pinning them into their seats, and she paled. "Oh, no..."

"Scared?" Sonic asked.

"Terrified."

Something warm touched her shoulder. He had put his arm around her. Amy was startled, but she snuggled into him anyway and felt a little bit of the abject terror fade away. She had never yet come to grief while he was around, anyway...

There was shouting from the fences, and a rowdy group of youths piled through the gate and onto the Shooting Star behind them. Amy felt momentarily disappointed that they weren't going to be alone on this ride--then there was a dull clunking and the cars began to move forward. Streams of hot white sparks poured out of the jets alongside each car; the reason the Shooting Star had its name. The cars clanked slowly up the tracks, up and up and up...

"It goes right over the park," Sonic said. "You can see everything from up here. It's fantastic. Everything looks like toys."

"Oh, don't, Sonie..." She took one glance over and shivered like a rabbit. "I can't believe I'm doing this..."

"Relax. You're safe." He grinned. "If you fall out, you can sue them for negligence."

"You are not helping!"

He pulled her tighter. "Really?"

"Well, maybe a little," Amy amended.

The clunking stopped, and there was a moment of awful absolute silence. They had reached the top. Slightly comforted by Sonic's grip around her shoulders, Amy opened her eyes and realized he hadn't exaggerated. The entire park was laid out before her like a mad toy town; the Pirate Ship at one end, the menacing black Ninja at the other. "Neat, huh?" Sonic said, grinning at her; his green eyes sparkled with the thrill.

She would have said something in reply, but at that moment the bottom dropped out of the world.

*

"I wasn't scared," Amy said as they walked across the park towards the Pirate Ship, where there was an ice-cream kiosk still open.

"Not scared?" He grinned at her. "You didn't stop screaming until we came to a complete stop."

"That was excitement, not fear." He snickered, and she glared at him. "It's true!"

"Amy Rose," Sonic said patiently, "you were terrified out of your wits."

"Okay," she admitted, "I was scared at first. But I wasn't terrified. I knew," she added more quietly, "I'd be okay as long as you had hold of me."

He laughed and shook his head. "You were safe enough anyway, Amy. There's never been a fatal accident in Twinkle Park."

"Oh, so there've been a couple of near-fatal ones?" she retorted.

The exhilarating speed of the Shooting Star had blown some of the heat out of the day, but all the same the ice-creams tasted brilliant. Sonic bought two towering confections with flakes and sprinkles. The vanilla soft-ice tasted like rich cream, smooth and chilly on the tongue.

Sonic waited only until he had snarfed his down before taking off in the direction of the Ninja; he left Amy to run after him, her sandals hurting, as she hurriedly licked down as much ice-cream as she could. Eating so much ice so fast gave her brainfreeze in the queue, which amused him no end.

The Ninja was a great big six-pointed thing that had been made up to look like a shuriken throwing star. Riders sat on the arms and were whirled about through the air in terrifying and unpredictable directions, as the star spun round and pivoted from its base. Ordinarily Amy would never have gone near the thing, but the Shooting Star hadn't been that bad. She threw the rest of her melting ice-cream away and joined Sonic at the very end of one of the arms. "It's best sitting here," he said, "because you get moved around most."

"Great," she said flatly. "I'm so glad about that."

"Aw, come on, it's fun." He grinned at her.

"I shouldn't have eaten that ice-cream," Amy wailed as the ride flipped them over and began to spin them dizzily towards the ground.

They had a go on everything--he dragged her onto the monstrous white-knucklers she wouldn't ordinarily have touched with a barge pole, and in retaliation she dragged him onto the smaller and more pathetic children's rides. Actually, they both quite liked the pink elephant carousel, which moved slowly around in a circle with all the elephants going up and down on the end of long poles to the tune of a music-box Nelly the Elephant. Their only other ride companions were a few five- and six-year-old children, who stared wide-eyed at the odd adults invading their space. Sonic whooped in delight and kicked his legs up and nearly got thrown off by the cross-looking attendant.

"That was fun," he said as they slipped off the elephants that had come down to roost. "What's next?"

"Haven't we done everything now?" Amy asked, glancing around. They had--they'd even gone on the little chuff-chuff train for the very smallest kids, though they'd both had to crunch their legs up to get into the tiny seats.

"We could go on the Shooting Star again," Sonic suggested, and looked up as it rattled over their heads again. The sparks were very bright in the dark and cloudy sky.

Amy stared. "Look, Sonie," she said, pointing. Up in the darkness, higher than the soaring rails of the rollercoaster, a pale light glimmered--the moon, shining through a momentary thinning in the thick dark blanket of cloud. "It's gotten real late," she said, surprised. "It's dark! How long have we spent in here?" The park was lit up by electricity now; they were standing in the warm white pool of a street lamp. It was still hot.

Sonic shrugged. "Dunno. I don't have a watch. We'd better get going."

"Yeah," she said, slightly reluctant to go. She didn't really want to have to trail back to her sticky apartment, full of flat, hot air and static. Still, it was fully dark now, and they couldn't stay out all night--the park would be closing soon. They started to make their way back across it towards the exit. Amy slipped her hand into Sonic's, and he lightly returned her grasp. Suddenly she felt very tired--she moved closer to him, so that their shoulders touched very faintly--a mere brush now and then. He didn't pull away as she expected him to do. A moment later she felt his arm gently slide around her waist. Full of sudden magic, Amy glanced up at him; he was looking faraway and dreamy, his eyes more the color of jade in the darkness, though there were sudden flashes of emerald when the electric lights caught them.

It felt painful. She loved him; she knew it. It wasn't just some childish infatuation any more. She loved him deeply in her heart of hearts. She loved everything about him, from those beautiful green eyes to the way he laughed when he teased her. She loved the way he was cruel and then apologized so sweetly. She loved being brushed off, but even more she loved it when he didn't pull away. Right now, she felt as if she were floating on a fluffy cloud. The heat couldn't touch her any more--she had pulled right away from the earth and was up there in the chilly beauty of the stars.

There was another low rumble in the sky, and Amy looked up nervously, shaken out of her daydreams.

"It's just thunder," Sonic said carelessly.

"I wondered if it was going to rain, that's all... there's lots of cloud."

"It hasn't rained for days, and it's been cloudy all this time."

She sighed. "I hate this weather... this heat..."

"Me too." Sonic glanced up at the overcast sky. "It's like being smothered in a pillow. There isn't enough air to go round."

Amy thought about telling him her own fancy of the heat--the way it seemed to her like a big gray cat--but she decided against it. He might laugh at her silly ideas, and she didn't want anything to spoil the evening, beautiful and funny and magical as it had been.

They left Twinkle Park behind and walked out together into the quiet golden streets. The sodium lamps were on, and Amy saw in surprise that Sonic's cobalt fur had gone black again under the orange: black, with edges that glistened with light. She shivered involuntarily, seeing for a moment that strange other hedgehog he had seemed to be. The black spines tinted with crimson...

He glanced at her, and she pulled away; his green eyes looked dark red under the sodium lamps. Not emerald but ruby... The transformation was complete. Amy stared at him, unnerved.

"What?" Sonic said, looking puzzled, and for a moment fully himself again. He held out one hand to her. "What is it?"

"You look different under the orange light," she said stupidly. "Sorry," she added, embarrassed at herself. "It's the color. It changes."

"I guess," he said, and looked down at himself. He smiled. "I guess I do look a bit sinister. You change too, ya know... you've gone all orange."

"Orange? Ew!" The strangeness went out of the day, and everything felt right again. She felt relieved. She took his hand again, and they walked on. All the same, that image remained in Amy's mind. She wondered why.

They could have gotten a taxi--they passed plenty of taxi ranks while walking across the city. But neither of them said so, and Amy was happy with that. It was a long way back to her apartment and she daydreamed much of the way there. The heat was even worse now, and for a little while her pleasant dreams were interrupted by thoughts of how she might look, windblown and sweat-stained. Ugh.

There was another crackle of thunder, closer now. Lightning flickered in the sky. "Why doesn't it rain?" Amy asked crossly.

Sonic shrugged. "Guess it'll do it when it's ready. I'm hot too." He smiled at her. "Remember the Ice Cap? When you rescued me?"

"Oh yeah... I thought we were gonna freeze to death up there." She laughed a little. "Guess we'll boil instead."

Sonic looked quite serious. "Boil? Nah. I'd say it's more of a dry roast, really."

"Or a pressure-cooker?"

"It's not wet enough for that. You get steam in pressure-cookers."

"And since when are you a cook, Sonic Takeshi?"

"What a stupid conversation," he said, grinning.

"You started it."

"I did not, you did."

"You did."

No matter who had started it, she didn't want it to end.

Half a block from home, the thunder came again, and this time it was heralded by another arrival. A fat droplet of water splashed down through the breezeless air to land before them on the dusty sidewalk. The raindrop soaked into the dust, leaving a large wet splotch on the ground.

"Is that rain?" Amy asked, startled.

The question was answered by another droplet falling hard on the heels of the first, and then another. Sonic glanced up quizzically into the darkness, holding one hand out to catch the rain. "It's dirty," he said, showing her; his white glove was marked with the brown dust as the droplets soaked in. "It's picking up all the dust in the air."

"Good," she said fervently. "I hate that dust."

The rain was falling thick and hard now, coating them in water; it was muddy with the dust. Water slid over the sidewalk, pooling in the small depressions made by feet. It ran down through runnels into the road and from there to the drains, washing the streets clear of the builders' dust. Amy ducked under a store awning, horror-stricken at the thought of what all the dirt was going to do to her thin clothes.

Sonic stood outside, ignoring the rain soaking his cobalt pelt. "Come on," he said, holding his hand out.

"Can't we wait?" she complained. "We'll get soaked in this! My clothes will be ruined!"

"Don't be such a coward." He grinned and reached forward, grabbing her hand. "Run. It's only just ahead."

"It's too far. I'm not going!"

"Come on. You can't stay there all night." Sonic smiled at her. "I won't let you get wet."

"How?" she asked. But she had let her guard down--suddenly he yanked her off her feet. Amy squealed as Sonic took off with her in his arms, darting with his blistering speed from awning to awning. They covered the distance in a few brief seconds, and true to his word he avoided nearly all the rain that was coming down thick. He skidded to a halt on the dry ground under her own apartment block, and set a shaky Amy down on her feet.

"There," he said, grinning at her.

She shook her head to clear it, then looked up at him. "Thanks, Sonie."

"Anytime."

"No--" She struggled with herself for a moment. "I mean, for the day. It was fun." Amy paused again, unable to find the words she needed. "Look, I know--I'm fighting a losing battle here. But it's okay. If--if we can just--you know, do stuff sometimes--together--I'll be happy. Is that okay?"

Sonic stood there in the rain, looking at her with an odd half-smile on his face. Suddenly, before she knew what was happening, he leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the cheek. Feeling thunderstruck she stared at him, frozen to the spot.

He grinned widely. A big puddle had formed around his feet in the short time, and his trainers were in inch-deep water. As Amy stared, Sonic jumped high into the air and came down with both feet first. Muddy water washed over her from head to toe. She screamed in shock and anger.

Laughing like a loon, the blue hedgehog spun on his heel and took off down the street, dodging the rain. In moments he had vanished around the corner of the block.

Amy Rose stood in the no-longer-needed shade of the awning, feeling muddy water dripping into her sandals. She pressed one hand to her cheek and stared in the direction he had gone, a goofy smile spreading across her face.

She could feel her heart singing softly.

fin.
July 24, 2001