Sonic: C O U N T E R P A R T

Chapter 9

Tails had landed the plane in a safer area near a town. Sonic hopped off the wing of the plane while still carrying Amy, who was still in a daze. Very quickly, she snapped out of it when she realized that she was fawning over her enemy.

Sonic placed her feet gently on the soft snow and released his hold on her. "Are you okay?"

Amy's cheeks flushed and her body grew rigid. "I... y-you!" She stammered.

"What were you doing on Ice Mountain by yourself? That area can get pretty dangerous, y'know." Tails frowned and hopped out of the plane. He noticed how the pink hedgehog was still stiff, probably shy or nervous. Maybe she was still afraid about what happened earlier. He decided to ease the tension and introduce themselves.

"I'm glad we saved you before something worse happened. Anyways, my name is Tails! And this is my best Buddy Sonic. What's your name?" Tails reached out to shake her hand.

"...." Amy stared at his hand and then back up to the two. Why in the world did they save her? What kind of game were they playing? Is this what Eggman warned her about? "N-no comment!" Amy spat and sprinted away, leaving Tails and Sonic to stare in confusion.

"What... just happened?" Tails blinked.

"No idea." Sonic shrugged.

"Did I scare her away? Was I too straightforward?" Tails frowned.

"Eh, don't worry about it Tails. She may be entranced by meeting the blue blur for the first time, as usual." Sonic smirked.

"I'm pretty sure that wasn't the case." Tails sighed. "We should probably head home now that we've got the emerald."

"Sounds good to me! I could use a nice long relaxing nap under the shade of a tall tree in the sun!" Sonic yawned.

"I just can't understand. Eggman's robot attacked us, but he wasn't there to claim fault. That's not like him at all."

"You're right." Sonic hummed. "But you did say he was back in Station Square earlier right?"

"Yeah, I saw him at one of the new restaurants." Tails pouted.

"Do you think he had one of his bots track us while he was on his break or whatever?"

"That has to be the case! But Eggman would've at least appeared by now."

"You have to keep the emerald close, make sure it doesn't fall into his hands." Sonic tossed the red gem back to Tails. "You should ask Knuckles if there was any suspicious activity while we were away."

"Oh yeah!" Tails chirped. "If anything, he would know since he was guarding the city against danger!"

That's what the two thought. But when they arrived back in Mystic Ruins to meet Knuckles a day later, the story was unchanged.

"Eggman? I saw him shopping for groceries yesterday." Knuckles shrugged. "You guys were attacked by Eggman?"

"Yes! Wait, no." Tails bit his lip. "We were attacked by one of his robots. But Eggman never showed up like he usually does."

"It makes sense. He was shopping ALL day. I watched him. And not once did he press any weird buttons on his gadgets."

"And that's why I'm so confused. I don't even think we've seen that robot before! I know it had the Egg logo. But there was no way that Eggman could've predicted the chaos emerald being at Ice Mountain before we got there if he's been sitting in Station Square relaxing this whole time."

"Eggman is never relaxed when it comes to chaos emeralds. He lets us do the finding and then he steals it away." Sonic snapped his fingers.

"I say we drag that punk here and question him!" Knuckles cracked his fists.

"Now, now, Knuckles, we don't need to do that if he hasn't been actively attacking. It'll only make him mad and start a fight." Sonic chimed and poked Knuckles in the nose.

"Get your nasty finger out of my face!" Knuckles spat.

"Did Eggman show any emotion at all yesterday? Like, his usual expression when we stop his bots?" Tails rolled his eyes.

"None at all." Knuckles shook his head.

"Do you think that girl we saw had anything to do with it?" Sonic mumbled.

"A girl?!" Knuckles eyes lit up. "What girl?"

"Sonic saved a hedgehog girl while we were attacked yesterday. It seemed like she was caught up in our battle."

"Sonic saved a GIRL? Oh!~ Sonic is she your girlfriend?" Knuckles teased.

"No." Sonic sneered. "She was just there, and I saved her. No big deal. I was only asking because I thought it was weird that she was there by herself. Ice Mountain isn't a generally safe area to hang around."

"Did she at least look pretty?"

"Knuckles, focus!" Tails snapped.

"Maybe she was trying to go skiing." Knuckles shrugged.

"Skiing... really Knucklehead?" Sonic laughed.

"Hey! We can't judge everyone for being at the wrong place at the wrong time!"

"That's true." Tails agreed. "I say we keep an eye on Eggman and make sure he's not up to anything suspicious."

~

"You... WHAT!?" Eggman screeched.

"It was a rookie mistake." Amy pouted. "It took me 3 days just to get back here. I used all my money, my clothes are dirty and soggy, and my quills are a mess. None of this would've happened if you had let me use a robot in the first place—"

"You used the Eggbomber after I specifically told you not to, it got destroyed because of your reckless decision, and you're blaming ME?" Eggman cackled. "Do you really think going against this hedgehog is like baking a cake? It's no piece of cake, this is hard work! And that's specifically why I commanded that you work your way up!"

"They have a chaos emerald, Doctor. I thought if I could take it, you'd—"

"The chaos emeralds? You aren't nearly ready enough to go after them! Tell me one reason why I shouldn't just kick you out and leave you to the streets!"

"...." Amy froze and looked down. She had no answer.

"I am livid. But on the other hand, what you did reminds me of me when I was younger. Your determination and persistence are promising, but where is the plan? Why do you think I have you clean the lair all the time? Planning and organization are the keys to success, Rose."

"You're right. I'm sorry." Amy sighed.

Eggman paused for a moment. Perhaps this was a good time to train her on the true deeds of evil. He was amazed that she even went after Sonic while he had the emerald. The potential was there, she just needed guidance.

"Next time, you're going to do things right, according to what I tell you."

"N-next time?" Amy glanced up at Eggman in surprise.

"Of course." Eggman chortled. "Don't tell me you've worked this much and haven't learned anything about that blue stick in the mud."

"I've learned a lot, Doctor!" Amy smiled.

"Good. I'm going to teach you how to do things the right way. Prepare yourself, as it won't be an easy task."

"I'll be more than ready!" Amy cheered.