Nervously, she approached her friends’ home, not surprised to see Sonic already out waiting for her, with Tails and the others standing nearby.

In many ways, this didn’t seem so very different from their first encounter after her kidnapping, except now, of course, she was openly flying up to them (and quite a few events of ‘significance’ had taken place in between).

She had once again decided to approach bearing her ‘normal’ appearance, though this time it didn’t seem like such a ‘lie’. She had already begun to accept that she now had a metallic body in place of her previous organic one…but, as much as had changed, she felt she was unequivocally still ‘Amy’. This ‘appearance’ just made that easier to see and represented a truth that still hadn’t changed, however much else had.

Touching down a short distance away from Sonic and her other friends, she waited a moment, not entirely sure what to say.

“Ames…”

Sonic began with a great deal of obvious sadness, clearly suffering from the same problem. Eventually, Amy decided she had to be the first one to say something of significance.

“I’m sorry, Sonic, everyone….I really haven’t been acting like myself recently….I think I’m better now…much, much better…but I’m still sorry for everything I’ve put you through….”

She could tell the wariness hadn’t entirely faded from her friends’ faces, though a look of real hope began to enter Tails’ eyes, and, eventually, Sonic sighed, seemingly relieved.

“Yeah, Ames, we know that…wasn’t you, and that, if you had been in any way in real control at the time, you wouldn’t have done or said any of those things.”

Amy looked down for a moment, ashamed…and cautiously relieved.

“No…I really like to think that I wouldn’t…I’ve had the chance to correct some, unfortunately, I think the best thing to call it now would be…programming errors…and it shouldn’t ever happen again….I’m going to make sure of it. And, I’m sorry I even need to say something like this…but everything I said earlier, my ‘plan’ for you and the rest of the world…it was evil…and I don’t want anything like that to happen to anyone ever…most of all you, my friends….I’m just really, really, unbelievably sorry.”

Hesitantly, she looked up to see that all her friends, even Knuckles (though much more subdued), seemed to be smiling now and had begun to venture closer. Rouge was the first to speak, though others chimed in quickly.

“It’s good to have you back, Pinky. And like Blue said, none of us believed you were the one actually responsible for any of that.”

“Amy, I’m really glad you’re okay again!!”

Her little fox ‘brother’ was looking happier than she’d ever seen him, and Knuckles’ subdued grin even stretched a little wider.

“Yeah, Ames, it’s good to have you back.…Uh, no hard feelings about the earlier spin dash, right?”

It seemed now that they were apparently back on friendly terms, guilt concerning his earlier ‘attack’ against her was springing up (and possibly the concern that she might be a little…upset…about what he had done). Instead, Amy couldn’t help feeling ashamed of herself once more and even more apologetic than before.

“Of course not!! I was totally out of control then….I can’t even believe I attacked you, Sonic, or any of you…or any of the horrible things I did or said….I know I can probably never make it up to you all…but….”

Instead of any other response she might have been expecting, Sonic and Rouge just laughed, even if they also seemed to be crying a bit too, while Tails and Knuckles just continued to look extraordinarily pleased.

“Oh, Pinky, it is so good to have you back….”

And, for a moment, Amy just forgot about her guilt and spent time enjoying being back with her friends who clearly still loved and accepted her…even after all of this.

Still, after a while, Amy became a bit more somber again….There was something else she realized she still needed to deal with, something, in fact, that should have been handled a long time ago.

“Sonic, do you mind if we talk…alone? That is, if it’s alright with all of you as well?”

Sonic looked a little surprised before nodding.

“Sure, Ames.”

And, to Amy’s relief, no one else raised any protest. Knuckles just gave her a tiny nod, and Tails, while looking a bit confused, didn’t object either. Rouge seemed to have an understanding look in her eyes, even an approving one.

While the rest of their friends made their way back into the nearby home, Amy and Sonic proceeded a ways out into the surrounding woods. Neither said anything for a while before Amy spotted a fallen tree that looked like it would make a good seat and sat down on it. Sonic joined her a moment later.

“Sonic, I’ve had the chance to think about a lot of things recently….and I’m sorry.”

Since it was clear Sonic was about to protest, she just kept speaking.

“This time I mean not about all of this…or not just about all of this, because like I said earlier, I can’t even begin to express how sorry I am for everything I did and said recently…but I’m also sorry about the way I acted before all of this….I was never really ready to fully accept that you didn’t and were never likely to care about me the way…I wanted….”

Sonic apparently thought that was enough to justify finally interrupting.

“Ames, it really wasn’t that big of a deal. I mean, sure, it was pretty obvious to me and probably everyone else how you felt and what you would have liked, but you never actually tried to force the issue….I mean, sure, we could all tell that one day you were hoping I’d…”

Sonic actually began to blush a little.

“...uh, think of you that way, but the only thing you actually did to try to make that happen was make sure Tails and I had plenty of meals and that my little buddy, your, ah, ‘little brother’, took better care of himself and generally that we were both doing alright…which, honestly, I’m sure you would have done anyways even if you didn’t, ah, have a…”

Again, not really to Amy’s surprise, since it seemed that Sonic was, regrettably, never interested or comfortable when it came to ‘love stuff’, or at least the kind of ‘love’ she had been hoping for, it was clear that talking about even something as simple as this was making him uncomfortable.

“...a crush on you.”

She had mercy and finished the sentence for him, and then laughed.

“Yeah…I had it really bad for you, Sonic.”

She laughed some more at seeing how that caused his blush to deepen quite a bit more, before she sobered up some.

“But, really, that’s all it was. I see that now. A young girl’s crush I carried way too far, towards someone who had really helped her out when she needed it….And, though I’m glad you don’t really seem to have been bothered by it, it still wasn’t right of me to keep pursuing it for so long, once it was completely clear you weren’t interested. If I hadn’t, we could have been better friends, and I wouldn’t have wasted so much time.”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Sonic’s blush was suddenly replaced by a fierce look of denial.

“Ames, we are great friends….That crush…it didn’t really matter. It never affected anything important.”

Amy was relieved to hear that but....

“Thanks, Sonic, that does mean a lot to me to hear you say that….Still, it wasn’t respectful to you…or good for me.”

She looked down, ashamed once more.

“Sonic, over the years, I tried to ‘change’ myself to better become the girl I thought you wanted, the ‘one’ you would actually like and respect…the one you could ‘love’ in the way I was hoping for.”

For the first time in their conversation, Sonic looked truly shocked…and upset.

“Ames, I…!!”

This time Amy decided she was the one who needed to interrupt.

“Sonic, I know. I think I’ve always known…that you and all my friends appreciated me just for who I was and that I shouldn’t need to try to change myself for you or anyone else….It’s just I couldn’t really accept it.”

Amy gazed off for a moment.

“So, over the years, there were a lot of times that I began to spend less time gardening, cooking, or trying to perfect my latest fashion, the things I find the most enjoyable, and instead spent more time training, running, and even fighting, as much as I wasn’t really excited about any of those things, though mostly that just really meant the fighting part. It’s even why I first got this hammer.”

Sonic reared back for a moment in surprise (and a little reflexive fear) as Amy’s favorite hammer suddenly appeared in her hands (though, this time, it had been pulled out of her new subspace storage device). She looked at the hammer with a surprising fondness.

“Not everything about what I did…to impress you…was bad, I think, and while I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy running in quite the same way as you do or, ever, actually enjoy fighting, even if it is for a good cause….I do think it is important that I pushed myself some, even if for the wrong reasons.”

She gazed back at him with a look that seemed much more at peace than anything he had seen recently.

“Trying to ‘keep up’ with you and my other friends did force me to develop my talents in ways I probably wouldn’t have otherwise bothered…and probably to mature in ways that I really needed….The problem was, besides probably pushing myself too much in ways that weren’t really healthy…that I really began to think that…I just didn’t measure up to you or the others.”

At Amy’s sudden look of sorrow, Sonic began to obviously feel quite distressed himself.

“I really began to feel that I might be the…deadweight…on our little team….Not being as strong, fast, and cool as you, or as smart as Tails, or as strong and enduring as Knuckles…or as crafty…and…”

Amy’s projection began to blush a little.

“..sexy…as Rouge….”

For a moment, both of them were a little embarrassed.

“...Just that I really wasn’t good enough. Just a silly, weak…pathetic…girl that was trying to play at being a strong, capable defender like all of her friends actually were….That’s even more or less why I was captured by Robotnik in the first place. Even though I knew it was the smart thing to do when his Eggbots showed up, I just didn’t want to run, to be the girl that needed ‘rescuing’ once again….It….I know that it was stupid now, all of it, but it was what I thought at the time.”

Amy paused for a second.

“I think that is even part of why I ‘freaked out’ so much after this happened….as horrible as it was on its own….Because, suddenly, I was so much stronger, faster…smarter….I can even actually look however I want now….”

For a brief moment, she phased back into the dress she had admired earlier, along with ‘styling’ and ‘accessories’ that would have taken hours (and considerable expense) to prepare, before returning to her earlier ‘simpler’ appearance.

“...And after every time Robotnik mentioned how much better I was now and how pathetic I used to be….I really started to believe it….”

For a moment, Amy began to look despondent, and it was clear Sonic was just about to make his extreme objections known to such statements before Amy made that, partially, unnecessary.

“But, I know now that that is all complete junk!! Honestly, that even for a second, I could believe anything he had to say still shocks me…and I really should have brought some of this up with you a long time before…or even just talked about it with Rouge….I am sure there’s probably very little about how I was thinking and feeling that she didn’t already know…and there have definitely been times over the years where she has at least hinted at it…even if, unfortunately, I think I made it clear I wasn’t ready to listen or talk about it….”

Amy sighed, having run out of things to say….That basically covered most of the things she had been thinking about and finally needed to get off her chest, even if there were a lot of other things that would also eventually need attention.

Things remained quiet for a while before Sonic finally spoke up again.

“Well, Ames, I’m glad it seems you don’t need someone to tell you just how…” Sonic seemed to struggle for a moment to determine how best to put it. “...how not accurate that was. But, I still feel like I have to say what I, and everyone else, would definitely agree with, you are an amazing girl. Despite what you may have thought, not one of us would disagree that you are fast, strong, smart, and…” Sonic paused again for a moment. “...uhm, attractive…but most of all that you are our friend, Amy Rose, and that we wouldn’t want you to be anything or anyone else. And, absolutely none of us, least of all me, look down on you for your interest in gardening, cooking, and…uhm, fashion…”

Again, Sonic seemed to have a little trouble talking about this one, though it was clear not because he actually did look down on her obvious passion for such things, just that he found them a bit awkward to talk about…which, frankly, had been one of the things Amy had found cute about him.

“...and we wouldn’t think any less of you if you decided you didn’t want to be involved the next time Eggman or some other nutjob decides they want to take over the world…or whatever. Fighting really isn’t for everyone, and while I guess I do kind of enjoy the rush that comes with it, one of the main reasons I do it is so that other people don’t have to and can enjoy living peaceful lives where they can do exactly the kind of things you are more interested in. I mean I’m you sure you already know that I, and the others, don’t think any less of Vanilla or Cream just because all they seem interested in is running a flower shop?”

Amy couldn’t help smiling at the thought of their rabbit Mobian friends. She, Sonic, and the rest of the gang had encountered the widow, Vanilla, and her extremely adorable daughter, Cream, several years ago in connection with another of Robotnik’s schemes. After helping the two out, the mother and daughter had remained friends with their group ever since. Vanilla had eventually opened a flower shop that it was clear she was training up her daughter to one day take over.

Amy couldn’t imagine a duo who were less ‘Sonic’-like, or suitable to be involved in the kind of ‘adventures’ Sonic and her crew so regularly got caught up in. And, she knew that neither she nor any of her friends looked down on them in the slightest way because of that.

“No, of course, Sonic.…I...I know that….It, really, I just can’t believe how stupid I was being about all of that….It’s honestly one of the few things I am happy about concerning all the things that have recently happened is that I really recognize that now….That it’s fine just to be the way I’ve been…to like the kind of things I do…and just not worry about being anything but…I guess you can say…myself…and that my friends will still be my friends…no matter what.”

Sonic looked back at her smiling.

“Good for you, Ames….So…”

He paused.

“...I guess what now?”

Amy looked back at him, again with a look of peace he couldn’t entirely recall seeing on her before.

“Well…I’m not going to lie….This is definitely going to take some getting used to….”

She phased back to her metallic appearance, though she was still smiling (even with the new limitations her form included regarding that expression).

“But, I’m sure I’ll manage…especially with friends like you and the others to help.”

Sonic’s smile only grew.

“No probs, Ames. We’ve all got your back.”

Amy gave him a big smile in return before speaking once more.

“Still, there is one thing I need to take care of that I realize I have been putting off for far too long. I think Rouge might also appreciate coming along to…assist…me with it, or at least to watch.”

She returned once more to her ‘organic’ appearance, and the expression she now bore made Sonic uncomfortable, not because it seemed strange or unfamiliar but because it seemed very familiar. He’d seen this expression several times before on the face of his sweet, caring friend when he or another one of their group (or some other poor unfortunate) had done something that had particularly ‘peeved’ her.

Someone, and he had a pretty good guess as to who, was about to have a very bad day. Sonic almost felt sorry for him.