#Marine the raccoon | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

theflashdriver · 1 day ago

Text

Summer in Winter (A Silvaze + Sonamy Fanfic)

The soggy splash of a boot disappearing into wintery slush sent a fresh chill down Amy Rose' spine. She could see Tails' workshop up ahead, she'd almost made it the whole way without freezing herself to the bone, only to stumble during the final steps. Her fists clenched, her brow hardened, but the pink hedgehog pushed forward despite the disgust. She was on the cusp of freedom from this icy nightmare, she couldn't let the cold stop her now!

Every winter she thought it would be different, that finally she'd spend the early nights by an open fire with hot chocolate in hand and her beloved by her side... but each and every time, her fantasies had revealed themselves to be delusions. No matter how she tried to deny it, Amy was a Summer girl. She longed for the warm touch of sun on her skin, the taste of strawberry ice cream, and, more than almost anything, getting to go out without freezing her toes off!

Her teeth were chattering as she hiked the last steps of the hill, why did it have to be so wet?! Around her wasn't the winter wonderland she longed for yearly, but a world claimed by grey sludge where icy spittle and frozen winds endlessly threatened to throw the hood from her head. The world simply refused to grant her the delicate tumble of snowflakes, caught on gentle winds; enough to prompt Sonic to pull her close rather than complain about being wet.

Arriving at the workshop's doorstep, the pink hedgehog kicked her heels against the thick metal wall. She patted herself down, wiping wet snow from her puffer jacket, before adjusting the bag at her side. Today she would wait no longer for that perfect winter day; today they would escape to a land of Summer!

Amy burst through the door only to be met with a room just as cold as the outdoors. Sonic and Knuckles were sat on opposite ends of a couch, bickering and kicking as both tried to lounge. Nearby, a young yellow fox was tinkering with a large ring made from metal and attached through various wires to a purple emerald on a plinth.

"Tails, is it ready?" The pink hedgehog immediately asked, gripping her elbows as a fresh shiver rocked her core, "I need out of this cold. Now!"

"Chill Amy," She could hear the smirk in Sonic's tone, "Everything's cool."

"That's the problem, and you know it," Amy huffed at him, "If you'd just kept me warm I wouldn't have had to turn to such a dramatic course of action. We could be all huddled up, sipping hot chocolate, but-

"You know he wouldn't sit still for that Amy. He's been antsy all week, running in and out of the wet," Knuckles cut her off, "Every time he shows up he looks even more pathetic, soaked to the bone and sneezing."

"At least I have the sense to come back inside," Sonic snapped back, "How long were you sat up on your island, letting yourself freeze? It's a good thing Rouge caught you when she did."

"I've toughed it out before!" The echidna hissed.

"Yes, and I'm sure you've enjoyed it every time," Amy strode across the room, waving the duo to separate, "Budge."

Their limbs untangled and Amy took her spot between the boys, setting her bag on her lap. Looking to her left, she found the Knuckles had brought a small green sack on a pole down from the island with him. A glance to her right showed the Sonic had nabbed a towel from Tails rather than bring his own; an inflatable ring was already around his waist. Neither of them looked nearly as prepared as she was.

"It's almost done Amy," Tails called from the midst of his toiling, "This is delicate work. If things are off, even just a little, we could end up anywhere; we could even teleport to the wrong dimension."

"I know Tails, but I've been looking forward to this all week. I can't wait a minute longer," Catching Sonic slouching, the cunning girl slipped an arm around his shoulders and a hand onto his chest, "Well, at least I've got my darling Sonic to keep me warm in the meantime."

"Amy, you're soaking!" He was so quick to fluster, "Freezing too!"

"That's because you haven't been keeping me warm," She singsonged back at him, leaning in closer still, "Let's make up for lost time."

"Do you two have to flirt right next to me?" The guardian shuffled further away.

"We're not flirting; she's crushing me! Knuckles, help!" Sonic foolishly called aloud.

"You did this to yourself, it's karma," Amy fizzed, "If you'd just come when I called, you'd be warm all year."

The heat radiating from the blue blur was undeniable, "If I came on those dates I'd be boiling all year, you'd be wrapped around me twenty-four seven."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Amy teased further, "We both know you'd enjoy-

A knock at the door prompted Knuckles to stand, "That'll be Cream and Vanilla, I'll leave you lovebirds to get cosy."

"Knuckles, don't leave me," Sonic whimpered.

"Don't worry, I'm still here my darling," Amy relaxed, pulling back just a little to claim some of Knuckles' vacated space, "I'm surprised you agreed to come to the beach, daring to wander so close to the ocean... it's because I'll be by your side, isn't it?"

"Better warm and wet than cold and wet," He snorted, "Besides, it's a new place to run."

"I suppose I might join you," Amy batted her eyes, "If you'll take me for ice cream afterwards."

"As long as you don't expect me to join you in the sea," Without Knuckles to mock him, the blue blur seemed to have relaxed a little, "Your bag's way too full, you must have something planned."

"Some of us need more to get by than a stolen towel," Amy huffed, poking the inner tube around his gut, "And a floaty, of course."

"Hey now, Tails designed this. It's a life preserver, not a floaty," Sonic feigned offence.

"Floaty,"Amy repeated, sticking out her tongue at him.

"When I have to swim out to save you, you'll see just how useful it is," He fake huffed.

"You say that like anything involving your belly-donut could be classed as swimming," She poked the tube once more for emphasis.

"Miss Amy!" A familiar call and the sound of footsteps pulled Amy from her teasing.

"Cream, Vanilla!" Amy beamed, "You made it!"

The rabbit pair looked to have been about as drenched as Amy, with slushy splats on their warm looking trench coats and dripping from their boots. They were plainly better prepared than Sonic and Knuckles, a full looking duffle bag was slung over the older rabbit's shoulder. If Amy had forgotten anything, she could certainly count on Vanilla.

"We were snowed in this morning, I had to call the Chaotix," Vanilla informed the room, beating the winter off of her coat, "I invited them, but Vector insisted that they'd deice the entire house... I'll have to bring them back some sort of reward..."

"I'm sure he's already regretting that choice," Sonic smirked at Amy knowingly, "I'm surprised Charmy didn't tag along."

"He was really enjoying himself in the snow," Cream explained, "Mister Espio didn't look so happy, but he said something about mastering discipline and self-control. He was meditating in the garden with an icicle hanging off of his horn..."

"He'll miss seeing Silver then," Knuckles commented through chittering teeth, "Tails, are we ready?"

"Almost..." With a loud clunk the purple emerald started to glow, "There! That should do it!"

With a spark and a swirl the ring first filled with flickering purple light before stabilising. While no visual of the other side was provided, the sound of waves splashing immediately filled the space. With a deep breath through a cold and slightly snotty nose, Amy immediately recognised the salty scent of the sea.

"The dimensional tunnel is secure, we're good to go!" The fox announced.

"And not a moment too soon!" Faster than even Sonic could rise, Amy leapt for the portal.

The transition was instantaneous, in less than a blink she went from shivering in a freezing shed atop a hillside to sweating in her heavy coat. It was all perfect- the warmth of the sun, the sound of the sea! Ahead of her stretched bright yellow sand sand and perfect aquamarine ocean all the way to the horizon. There was barely a cloud in the sky, scarcely a breeze in the air, and only a handful of confused looking koala onlookers.

Amy threw off her jacket and kicked off her boots as she dashed across the sands, fully acclimatising. Revealed beneath the former were the shoulder straps of a swimsuit she'd managed to pick up cheap during the winter. The one piece was styled like an inverted strawberry, with a leaf green miniskirt obscuring her upper thighs. Immediately she felt that warm summer comfort she'd so desperately sought; vitamin D at last!

"Blaze? Silver! Are you guys here?" Amy called across the beach, scanning the horizon.

"Wrong way, Amy!" A familiar voice called from behind.

She turned back to the portal just in time to see the others emerge, while a certain white furred psychic poked his head around the warbling disk of purple energy. The pink hedgehog rushed back, zooming past her friends once more. Before the hedgehog could react she'd pulled him into a hug, grasping low to ensure that she hoisted him off the ground.

"A-Amy, it's me, Silver!" The time-traveller wheezed, "Sonic's over there!"

"I know you big oaf, I'm not that blind! It's just been so long," She went from teasing to serious in a blink, still holding him, "While I've been freezing in the present, I see that you've been sunning it up in another dimension."

Silver's usually sun kissed muzzle was a full shade darker than she recalled, surely owing to time spent by the beach. His quills were pulled back into a neat ponytail, but they were almost certainly shorter than when Amy had last seen them. Those differences aside, the flip-flops he was wearing and the unbuttoned mint-green mini-coconut covered shirt were the real smoking gun- just how long had he lingered in this dimension?

"I've only been back for a couple of days, honest!" He professed.

"A likely story,"Amy chided, setting him down, "How's Blaze doing?"

"She's fine," He'd answered much too quickly, did Amy detect a hint of panic? "We set up a little further off, we brought some longing chairs and drinks and stuff down from the palace- but, I take it we shouldn't leave the portal alone," Now he was rambling, "I'll go grab her and the stuff!"

The hedgehog quickly flew off, fleeing the pink hedgehog's inquisitive gaze. Amy had concocted a rather fantastical view of the pair's partnership- ever since she'd learned that the two got along and that he frequented her reality, the thought of them sharing romantic rendezvous in the quiet depths of the palace had rather solidified in the romantic's brain. Already her sixth sense was was buzzing; something more than aesthetic had changed since she last saw Silver...

"Amy, don't tell me you scared him off already," Sonic teased from behind her.

As the pink hedgehog turned back she couldn't stop herself from laughing. To accompany his floating donut, the hedgehog had slipped into a pair of blaze orange inflatable armbands. As if that wasn't bad enough, a set of flippers had taken the place of his shoes and a snorkel was strapped to his forehead.

She fake swooned against his shoulder, "Every time I see you, you're more handsome, my darling."

"Laugh it up," He retorted, "I've seen this world's tropical storms, I'm not taking any chances- the last time one caught me I woke up on the shore," Sonic turned his attention to the sea, "I wonder if Marine's nearby..."

"She's going to show me how to surf!" Cream appeared around Sonic's side, kitted out in a full wetsuit.

"And I'm certain she'll have new ships to show us," Tails concurred, currently in the process of setting up a cone barrier around the portal- to prevent anyone accidentally falling into a much colder reality.

"It sounds like you all have full days planned," Vanilla emerged, having folded her coat away to reveal a beautiful white sundress, "I think I'll just catch some rays for now."

"If you wouldn't mind sitting by the portal, I'd really appreciate it," Tails chirped, "I was going ask Knuckles to guard it but..."

The fox had gestured out to sea- a set of tussled red quills could be seen occasionally breaching above the water, following the pattern of an intense butterfly stroke. The calmness of the waves meant that he was making good headway, soon he was little more than a speck on the horizon. He knew this was a nation of islands, didn't he? Perhaps he planned to swim to one and back? Well, working out atop a frigid Angel Island must have been difficult- maybe this was the first chance he'd got to train in a while...

"I'm more than willing to fill in until he's back," She smiled, before nonchalantly stating, "Ah, here come some flying chairs."

A swarm of deck chairs, made from dark wood with white fabric seating, were sailing their way across the sky in a cyan psychic sheen. One by one they descended to land on the sands surrounding the portal, arriving like highly convenient meteorites. Accompanying them descended Silver, carrying a large trough filled with ice and bottled drinks, and a grill to barbecue over with various equipment.

"Good morning," A new yet familiar voice sounded from one of the landed chairs behind Amy, "I'm glad to see you all arrived unscathed."

Lounging as if she'd always been sat there was Blaze the cat with a book in hand. She was wearing a sundress not dissimilar to Vanilla's, though a broad sunhat topped her head. Her garb was a warm mustard colour and, based on the thick dark straps on her shoulders, she'd done the logical thing of wearing a swimsuit underneath. A set of dark sunglasses sat on the edge of her nose, completing the outfit.

"Blaze, it's so good to see you again!" Amy beamed, pulling the cat into a hug, "It's been so long!"

"Likewise," Her tone was professional as ever, but Amy felt her briefly return the cuddle before she was released, "Feel free to make yourselves at home; the forecast is as perfect as we could have hoped for."

"I'm glad to hear it," Sonic approved, "And good to see you're doing better with heights now, nice show with the chairs Silver!"

"Oh that was nothing, you should see Blaze soar! We've been flying a lot lately," Silver began to retell with a grin, "There are some brilliant views out across the islands. Just last week we made it out to-

"I can speak for myself, Silver," Amy caught the hedgehog grimacing as Blaze suddenly interrupted,"But yes, I'm much more comfortable with heights now, I've been spending time to overcome that failing."

"Well, uh," Even Sonic looked perplexed at Blaze's utter frankness, "That's great, congrats!"

An awkward silence spread amongst the group, punctuated only by the lapping of waves and Tails continuing to place his barrier around the portal. Something was going on, as Amy's drama detector was ringing she caught the eye of a perturbed Vanilla. Blaze's attention seem to have dropped back to her book while Silver was tugging at his chest fur, neither were looking at the other!

Were they fighting? Was that allowed? What would they even fight over? Amy's imagined late night visits through bedroom balcony windows were quickly turning to dust!

"I'm going to go a walk and pick up some driftwood for the barbecue, does anyone want to tag along?" Silver cut the quiet, resting a hand on the grill.

"Sounds like it'll keep me out of the water, count me in," Sonic offered.

Silver's head cocked to the right, "You've got all that on, but you're not going to swim?"

"It's in case he gets swept out to sea," Amy answered, "I'll come too, to help keep him grounded."

As the white and blue pair started to head off, Amy quickly threw a pleading glance to Vanilla. The mother rabbit rolled her eyes but gave an understanding nod. She was willing to act as the portal's bodyguard and the romantic's spy at the same time! With a mouthed thank you Amy rushed to catch up with her fellow hedgehogs.

"Some of Marine's ships wrecked off the coast near here, so there's usually some good wood around..." Silver said, quickly seeming to catch himself, "Oh, that sounds bad, she's fine! Blaze makes sure at least one of us always with her when she's testing a new vessel and usually they don't crash... most of the time."

"She's still up to her old tricks then," Sonic chuckled, "Cream and Tails are excited to see her again."

"I think she'll be around shortly, she wanted to make a big show of her arrival," Silver recalled, "Expect a big boat and maybe some kind of explosion," The psychic forewarned, squinting at the horizon, "Oh, that looks like a big chunk of boat over there! It looks pretty familiar."

As the trio made their way over, Amy couldn't help but notice that Silver was still tugging at his chest fur. He'd found this task to busy himself but still his mind was elsewhere. Had he left it behind with the rest of the group; was he dwelling on one person in particular? As they arrived at the flotsam he did pull himself from a daydream enough to psychically tug a great portion of wood away from the water's edge and to their feet.

"Amy, would you like do the honours?" Sonic proposed.

"Scared you'll pop a floaty?" She snorted, manifesting her hammer with no more than a gesture and slamming it down, "Marine built this thing tough, I'm surprised it wrecked."

The wood had splintered but not broken, "Yeah, she was pretty proud of this one. I think she crashed it trying to set some kind of ocean speed record using wind alone. Naturally that meant going out in a storm. The whole thing flipped and we had to bail. Must have bounced off a bad wave- it felt like we'd hit something."

"Did she break the record?" Of course Sonic asked that; she cut off the time traveller's answer with another hammer swing.

"So, Silver," A section broke free with her third strike, "How's life in this dimension? You've been visiting for a while, right? You must be a local by now."

"I guess I sort of am yeah, with the future always in flux it's nice to have somewhere stable to sleep," He recalled aloud, psychically separating the section she'd chipped off.

"Oh? Where do you stay while you're here?" He'd taken the bait, he was on the hook, "With Marine, or?"

"There's a guest room in the palace I usually use. It started like all the others, but," He seemed to catch himself, his hand returned to his chest fur, "It's been redecorated a bit."

"You seem like the kind of person who'd own a lava lamp," Sonic stupidly snickered, "Am I right?"

Amy pulled back for another swing, "I'm sure Silver has enough sense-

"Two," It was a good thing that Silver interrupted, "No, wait, three now. I found another in the last future I visited."

Sonic's smug grin would have been cute if he wasn't distracting from Amy's investigation, "I guess you must see more of Blaze than almost anyone else then, right?"

The scandalous implication drew a raised brow from Sonic, while Silver still tugged at his fur, "She's usually busy with her duties and meetings; almost everything she does has to be scheduled, even today."

"Ah, but what about the early mornings and evenings?" Amy's hammer came smashing down once more, "I suppose that's when you found time to give Blaze some flying lessons."

"We might have found some hours around sunset when things aren't too busy," He finally admitted, "It's not a common thing though."

"Right, of course. Not a common thing," Amy agreed, continuing to hammer.

That was proof enough, the two had absolutely been dating- Amy was convinced, but something must have changed recently. Maybe rumours of their relationship had spread and Silver's lowborn status, let alone him not being a citizen, had proven too great a faux pas than the public could accept. Perhaps some shady suitor had proposed an alliance too bountiful for Blaze to deny, resulting in the cat sacrificing her relationship with Silver for the good of her people. Their split could have even owed to a combination of the two; with distinct perspectives surely weighing on them so thoroughly!

"Woah, Amy, I think that's enough!" Lost in her thoughts, she'd rather gone wild on the remains of the ship- rendering a chunk into splinters.

"It's okay, kindling is important to get the fire going," Silver responded, casting psychic light over the larger chunks, "If you guys handle that, I'll bring the big bits back to the barbecue."

"You got it," Sonic swept up some sticks in his arms, careful to keep the pointed ends away from his inflatables.

Amy gathered some kindling too, banishing her hammer, but caught the blue blur's eyes in hers as she did so. With a nod of her head, Sonic caught her drift. Soon the two of them had slipped away from Silver as he gathered, wandering ahead and just out of earshot.

"What do you know about the political situation here? Do you think Blaze sees many suitors..." The pink hedgehog asked, only to be met by a thoroughly perplexed frown.

"Amy, we're here to have fun and relax," Sonic sighed, "Don't work yourself into some kind of investigation. When we planned today, I was sure you were going to focus on-

Dropping more than a few sticks, Amy pushed a finger to his lips, "What if there's some law that princess can't marry a non-citizen! Could she overturn it?"

"You don't even know that they're a couple, let alone on the verge of getting married," The speedster groaned.

"Oh, I know that they're not a couple now, but they certainly have been and more than likely will be again," Amy insisted, "You're not seeing the full picture. If such a law exists, and she can't overturn it, then she could never be seen with him. The impropriety it would imply is simply too scandalous..."

"You've been watching too many movies," He tutted, "Let's just dump the firewood and then you can try to drag me out to sea," She could hear from his tone, Sonic knew she wasn't listening, "Come on, you came all this way in a swimsuit. It'd be a waste not to splash around a little."

"Perhaps later," By the sound of psychic whirring, she could hear Silver catching up, "For now, I've got an informant to meet with."

While Cream and Tails had moved on to create sandcastles, the former with traditional tools while the latter seemed to have brought some kind of mini-excavator for the task. Where once his barriers were only served to protect the portal, they now also cordoned off a sand focused building site. Regardless, Amy found Vanilla and Blaze still lazing on their chairs. She needed a method to separate the older rabbit and cat...

"Mister Silver!" Was Cream about to create an opportunity? "Can you use your power to create sandcastles?"

"I don't think I've never tried," The hedgehog set down the broken chunks of ship, "Maybe later we can give it a shot Cream, I need to set up the-

"I can set up the barbecue, go have fun," Amy waved him off, taking head position above the grill.

"You're sure?" Silver blinked, "It's really no problem, I can-

"I insist, I've barely brought anything to share, it's the least I can do," Amy pushed, ignoring Sonic's rolled eyes and shooting a look to Vanilla.

"Oh, ok," Silver accepted, "Thanks!"

The mother managed to avoid Amy's stare for almost a full minute before finally rising. She started to slink her way over, looking just a little frustrated. To disguise the clandestine effort the pink hedgehog quickly stacked a few of Sonic's kindling sticks into a small pile beneath the grill. By the time Amy popped back up Vanilla was looking over her, practically blocking out the sun.

"Miss Rose, is there something you wish to discuss?" The mother sweetly asked.

"Oh, you know," Amy tried to lean casually on the barbecue, "I was just wondering how our mutual friend is doing?"

"We didn't speak much, she seemed a little tense," That was unsurprising, "It's difficult to tell where she's looking, those glasses are too dark, but she was barely reading. I think she was watching you all instead..."

"Not all of us, just one..." Amy hypothesised aloud, as she quickly remembered she should have been building a pyre, "Did she mention anything strange?"

"No. We just talked about her schedule, the poor dear really is being run ragged," With a sigh, the rabbit's tone shifted to become somewhat more serious, "I think we should just let her relax and people watch if she wants."

"I promise I won't bother her," Amy got her message, still stacking wood, "I just need to get to the bottom of this."

"Need to, or want to?" Vanilla's motherly tone retained a hint of ice

"Both,"Amy squeaked, before realising she didn't have any matches, "Um, Blaze- can you shoot us a light?"

The feline didn't respond, Amy followed the approximate angle of her sunglasses lenses only to estimate she staring at something quite marvellous. In the brief time that Amy had semi-successfully stocked the grill, the psychic had proven that his powers did indeed work on sand. Between that effort, Tails' excavator, and Cream's sandcastle creating experience, the three had rapidly shaped what could only be described as a grand palace.

Columns of sand with toothed tops reached for the sky, each of them carved and stylised to give the appearance of brickwork and bearing shield shaped windows. At the centre stood a great square building, evidently strong enough to hold the weight of Tails' excavator as he shaped decorative features on what was supposed to be the roof. Currently he seemed to be styling something of a rooftop garden made of sand? Perhaps it was set to be decorated with shells...

Atop the closest spire were Silver and Cream, the former's hands still aglow. On the advice of the young rabbit, he was still expanding the palace grounds. The sand beneath the pink hedgehog smoothed and patterned itself with no more than a wave from him, taking on the appearance of hexagonal cobblestone. As she watched the pattern spread, her eyes were drawn back to the feline- now she was certain the cat was focused on her psychic companion.

"Blaze!" Amy called louder.

The feline flinched as if snapping out a daydream, flipping a page of her book before quickly turning to Amy.

She gestured to the grill, "Would you mind?"

Wordlessly, the cat snapped her fingers and sent a spark tracing across the sands. With no more than a point she guided the ember to bounce to and fro before making a final leap into the pile of wood at the base of the grill. As the flame enlarged Amy curtsied, receiving a sitting bow from the princess in response. The cat looked down to her book but, shortly after Amy had drawn some skewers from the barbecue equipment, her gaze seemed to have raised once more- had she and her beloved locked eyes?

"Hey, Blaze! Do you want..." The hedgehog seemed to catch himself, Amy swore she saw him grimace as Blaze flipped another pack of her book, "Never mind, we're fine!"

A glance back to Blaze revealed that her tail was sweeping up a sandstorm, had that always been the case? What had he wanted to ask her? What was going on between them?! Before awkwardness could claim reality once more, the blare of a foghorn filled the air.

"It's Marine!" Cream called out, waving out to sea from on high.

"About time," Sonic sounded from over Amy's shoulder.

Somehow, Amy had forgotten that her hero was stood right there and that he'd surely overheard her clandestine rendezvous with Vanilla. Come to think of it, he hadn't quite taken to the summery island in the way Amy had anticipated. She'd rather expected him to act like Knuckles had, only a good bit more landlocked.

"Oh darling," Amy fluttered her eyelashes, "Would you mind taking over on the grill? I haven't seen Marine in so very long..."

"Are you really going to abandon me again to meet up with one of your spies," Sonic huffed, "In your hands, Marine will practically be a double agent."

"Well, you can be my eyes and ears on land," Amy cooed, before realising, "Are you jealous?"

"What? Me? No," He said, like a very jealous hedgehog.

"We've got plenty of time, my love," She stepped away from him, only to look back over her shoulder in the most theatrical way possible, "I'm sure we'll have time for a swimming lesson before the sun sets..."

With no more than a teasing wave, the pink rascal slipped away from her beloved to round the castle. She regained her view of the sea just in time to see a puff of smoke and hear a detonation. Launched as if from a canon, skirting upon the ocean's surface like a thrown stone, was the shape of a small form clinging to a surfboard. Rather than riding the waves properly, the figure skimmed back and forth- creating sprays of froth with each bounce. It was only as the form drew close that Amy realised it would not stop in time- a surfer shaped torpedo was about to crash into the sandy palace!

Psychic energy thrummed above, generating a cyan glow upon the sands. Amy watched as the earth at the water's edge rose and fell, creating a series of bumpy waves reaching out to sea. One by one they cushioned the incoming surfer, gently lowering her speed until she came to an inevitable splashing halt by the shore's edge.

Amy looked up to the psychic, "Did you know you could do that?"

"Yes?" He didn't sound at all certain.

"Sorry I'm late, mates!" Marine so casually chirped from upon the water, "Strewth, that castle is almost as big as yours Blaze!"

The overexcited raccoon seemed to entirely ignore Silver's saving her life- instead rushing around to greet everyone with her usual overenthusiastic glee. She was dressed in what could best be described as a midpoint between pirate cosplay and a wetsuit, plainly of her own design judging by it's mixture of bright green and orange shades. As Silver sent Cream down to say her hellos, Amy seized the opportunity to grab the rabbit youngster by the shoulder.

"Cream," Amy leaned down close, "Do you know what Silver was going to ask Blaze? When you two were up on top of the castle?"

"Oh, he suggested making a statue of her to go with the palace. He was going to ask her to do a pose he could copy," The youngster answered, "Then he remembered, she's really focused on her reading- she doesn't want to be interrupted until it's done."

The youngster was released to bounce around with Marine. How very suspicious, why would that give him pause? The cat wasn't reading, she'd been staring at him the whole time. Her reading couldn't possibly be the reason he'd changed course, had he forgotten something else? Was he avoiding her?

"Alright, time for surfing lessons and showing off," Marine boldly announced, returning to the water's edge, "Tails, Cream- hop on board!"

"I think that surfboard's only built for one, maybe two at most, Marine," Tails called out, still working on the castle, "I'll come see the ship later, you two have fun!"

"My boards can totally handle up to eight real heavy folks," The raccoon fumed, plopping down on her surfboard, "Silver, are you coming?"

"I'll stay here to catch you both," Silver suggested, only to catch a dirty look from Marine, "Just on the off chance that history repeats itself."

"Well, if they's space going spare, I'll certainly join you," Amy quickly offered, slinking toward the board.

"Strewth! Have you ever surfed before, mate?" The raccoon asked.

"Once or twice, I've mostly just paddled," Amy lied, not wanting to steal the little girl's thunder.

"We can teach you, Miss Amy," Cream chirped, taking her spot behind Marine.

"Silver, if you're not going to come, can we at least get a push?" Marine pleaded.

Before Amy could really prepare herself, the board lifted itself from the shore. The pink hedgehog leapt onto the back of the surfboard, wrapping her arms around the two smaller beachgoers and grasping the wood for stability. With a sudden jolt the trio were pushed out to skim across the water's surface, bouncing twice before settling into a more natural yet accelerated drift- free of cyan cowling.

As the sound of splashing calmed, they found themselves close to halfway toward Marine's boat. The ship was truly gigantic, it was a shock that she'd seemingly sailed it all the way out here by her lonesome. With three massive sails and a figurehead that looked like a sabre wielding version of the raccoon herself, it seemed like it'd be capable of transporting close to a hundred sailors. On the side, Amy could see the massive cannon she'd clearly used to launch her and the surfboard.

"Did you see Mister Knuckles in your travels?" Cream queried, breaking the hedgehog's pondering, "He swam out to sea a while ago."

"I don't think so..." Marine confirmed, before frowning, "Hope I didn't hit him..."

"If you had, you'd have known about it. I'm certain he'd have started hammering at your ship," Amy confirmed, "He seems to be in an exercising mood; would probably have enjoyed the challenge."

A quick glance to the surrounding waters yielded no sight of the red echidna. They said that time flies when you're having fun, but had the guardian already reached another island? She had no idea he was such an adept swimmer. Still, since they were out here with only Cream capable of eavesdropping...

"So, Marine," Any pretence of subtly sank beneath the waves, "What's going on between Silver and Blaze?"

The excitable girl's expression said so much and yet so little. She looked as if Amy had offered her an impossible ultimatum and countless lives hung in the balance. For a solid minute her cheeks puffed and her brows furrowed, as if she was doing some ludicrous calculation. Finally, the raccoon's ears dipped as she finally averted her gaze, having made her choice.

"I'm sorry mate, I really am," Marine bleated, "But I can't tell you anything; they made me swear not to!"

"But that means they are keeping a secret," Amy wedged, "Can you really not tell me anything?"

"Not if I want..." The youngster realised she'd been caught out, "What I've been promised."

"Has someone bribed you?" The hedgehog processed before gasping, "Did they bribe you together? What is the price of your silence?! I'll double whatever they're paying!"

"C-Come on mate, let's just focus on surfing," The raccoon turned back around and started to paddle.

"I'll triple it Marine, please!" Amy paddled too, as if that might somehow close the Cream shaped distance between them, "Just-

A geyser tore skyward, splitting Marine's ship in two and sending a giant wave surging toward them. On instinct, Amy conjured her hammer and used it as a paddle to spin the surfboard. Banishing the mallet once more, she grasped the edge of the board.

"Hold on tight!"Amy commanded.

Cream and Marine hunkered down just as the wave caught the back of the board. They'd gone from being launched in one direction to being shoved in the other! Harnessing what surfing experience she had, once they were in the grasp of the wave, Amy clambered to stand. Having glanced up to estimate the collapse of the wave, Amy started to lean with all her might. The board angled to cut along the forming curve of the wave, sparing the three of them from spilling out as they surfed in a more typical manner.

On the shore she could see panic erupting, all of her friends had gathered to be cloaked in Silver's psychic aura. Quickly they were flying as a cloud, soaring close- plainly on the offensive and ready to get revenge for the sunken ship. Despite their reactions from the far side of the wave, Amy had no idea what had destroyed Marine's boat!

"Keep holding on!" Amy commanded the youngsters, timing their movements.

With a well timed swivel of the surfboard, the three of them slid up the wave and into the air! Above the whooping of Marine and the surprised squeal of Cream, the pink hedgehog heard the whir of psychic energy convalescing around the three of them. Still on the board and well above the water, they found themselves in flight between in inflatable laden Sonic and a Blaze seemingly unfazed by her airborne position- being levitated toward where the ship has been split.

Emerged from the water, looming between the sinking halves of Marine's masterwork, was a ludicrously large robotic creature. Though Amy already expected Eggman would be responsible, the presence of his insignia grinning across the face of a great metal whale was more than proof enough. In the water surrounding the false mammal, a series of large inflatable rafts enlarged to float on the surface, escaping from the gaping holes in Marine's sinking creation.

"At least the lifeboats are still shipshape," The raccoon moaned, "I was really exited to show you all that boat..."

"They'll work as platforms," Tails quickly analysed from somewhere to the back of the floating bundle, "We can attack from them!"

"Silver!" Blaze called out.

"On it!" All of a sudden, they were in sync again!

Amy felt her stomach lurch as they all shot forward faster, closing in on the scene. On top of the great whale a familiar figure was hunched over and actively pummelling the ground he stood upon. As they drew closer Amy noticed a series of great gashes in the hull of the machine leaking water, and quickly intuited just what had happened. Knuckles' swim had been interrupted by a vessel after all.

It was only as those details became discernable that the enemy's maw stretched open. Attached to a red mechanical tongue, sat within a glass domed cockpit, was another familiar face. Eggman was fiddling with dials and levers, quickly this variation of his egg mobile was both guarded and flanked by a series of further tongue-like mechanical arms wielding a variety of ludicrous weapons.

One of the life-rafts was quickly cloaked in cyan and tossed toward the doctor. All at once the mechanical limbs began to slice, dice, tear at the dingy. Despite the danger the armaments seemed to pose, they were struggling to break through the thick rubbery material. Marine built everything way too tough; it gave the perfect opportunity for them to land! Amy watched as her friends were launched toward the awful machine.

Blaze was sent down first, landing to the right of the great maw. Flames erupted from her hands, immediately scorching the side of the great whale and starting to warm its darl metal to orange. Sonic was sent down next- despite being laden with floatation devices, he quickly set to work combating the metal arms that were breaching the life raft. Tails was a lot more tactical upon landing- grabbing one of the metal limbs Sonic had dispatched and using it to strike the metal Blaze was heating. Already more holes were opening on the whale, perhaps they could sink it...

Silver repositioned to hover within earshot, "Where should I put you down?"

With the kids alongside her, Amy was in a difficult situation, "Set us down on top of the whale with Knuckles. We'll find a way to harm it from up there!"

There was a risk the machine's top could pose a distinct threat, but Knuckles seemed to be uninterrupted in his pummelling. Up there they'd be away from the lashing tongues and on solid ground. When their foe was defeated they could either jump for the lifeboats or have Silver sweep them up.

Psychic energy whirred as the three of them were sent to land atop Eggman's machine. Immediately Amy set to work, conjuring her hammer and striking down hard. She could hear Cream and Marine getting to work as well, but judging by the sharp pain in her forearms this whale was tougher than the doctor's usual machines. It was only as she got to work that Amy noticed Vanilla had been stranded up here too- Silver must have accidentally brought her along! Well, with her watching the kids, the rosy rascal could go all out!

"What are you all doing here!?" A scream sounded over a tannoy, "Finally I decide to make my glorious unanticipated return to this dimension, without my worse-half no less, only to find you all here waiting for me?! What's even the point!"

The sound of rubber tearing filled the air, the mechanical arms had fully broke free of the life raft. Amy rushed to the edge of the faux head just in time to see Sonic, still dressed in all his floaties, spin kick a sharp looking blade free from the limb wielding it. The gleaming weapon flew through the air only to catch in the side of the whale's head! An opening had been created, a point she could strike! Amy rushed over and brought her hammer down; in one strong swing the blade penetrated to disappear inside the machine, leaving a gash in its wake.

With her newfound method in mind, the pink hedgehog rushed toward the sound of another clang. She found a saw blade embedded just beneath her level. With a well aimed swing the pointed disk was sent spinning down the edge of the robot and down beneath the waterline. As it disappeared, out the corner of her eye she spotted a rather scorched looking spear spinning through the air. Amy leapt and, timing the swing perfectly, spiked the point into the ground beneath her. With a second strike that weapon too completely vanished into the mecha-whale's interior.

"Well, looks like it's now or never!" A frustrated yell blared from the cockpit bellow.

A loud metal clunk turned Amy's eyes right only to see a new opening on the top of the whale- a blowhole! She ran for Cream, Vanilla, and Marine, expecting to defend them from some kind of attack, only to end up watching as missile after missile flew free from the hole. In mere moments, a barrage of almost thirty gigantic rockets were shot into the air! They were flying as a volley, cutting quickly through the sky on an arc toward the shore. Was Eggman aiming for the beach or the palace? The missiles could have been heading for the town!

"I've got them!" Silver yelled, taking off once more and chasing after the explosives.

"Amy, what do you want us to do?" Vanilla asked, her arms around the two girls.

A sigh of relief breached Amy's lips, "I think we're safe up here, but be ready to jump for the rafts at any moment."

Before Marine could pipe up with some adventurous scheme, Amy was on the run again. She cleaved her hammer down onto the quickly sealing opening where the missiles had emerged. With three good swings the metal was buckled and broken, surely incapable of reopening to unleash another salvo. Despite four further strikes, she wasn't able to smash her way through- to tear things up from the inside.

At the edge of her vision Amy sighted a great band of cyan hanging above the beach, Silver had succeeded! With the missile threat paused, they could really focus on sinking Eggman. The hammer wielding hedgehog spiked what looked to be a redirected cannonball back down onto machine that had produced it, doing annoyingly little damage.

Eggman's voice crackled through a speaker, "Oh, what a shame, Silver stopped my missiles..." A flash of light at the shoreline spun Amy, "Good thing I can detonate them mid-flight!"

The flash of light was quickly followed by the sound of a cacophonous explosion. Silver's psychic grasp was replaced by a line of red flame cutting across the sky. The force was severe enough to render the sand palace into a mere pile and shake the seas. In its wake, Amy saw a mote of cyan tumble toward the ground.

"Silver!" The cat screamed in panic.

Amy caught Blaze's stare, "Go to him, we can deal with Eggman!"

The cat first leapt for the great metal whale, her body alight as she bounced off its iron shell and into the air. In the aftermath a glowing mark was left; another weak point to strike! Amy took advantage, swinging her hammer and breaking a hole into heated metal. When Eggman sunk, his ship would never resurface!

As Amy pounded and tore at the melted opening- she saw the feline soar as a burning meteor, blazing across the sky to land amongst the collapsed castle. Soon the cat was completely out of view, the pink hedgehog could only guess what was going on at the shore. The best thing she could do now was-

"Well, it's not the victory I wanted, but it'll have to do!" As Eggman laughed, she felt the craft beneath her shift.

Was he intentionally diving?! The water was rapidly approaching, either the machine was sinking or the doctor had made a play. Did he have something else planned? By the time Amy turned to look for her three allies, they were already jumping from the whale without hesitation.

"Knuckles, we need to go!" Amy called out.

She saw the echidna finally rise from his pummelling position as she leapt after the kids; before the craft could fully disappear beneath the waves, he too had landed on a floating platform. Bubbles thundered to the surface as the metal whale dove- surely a result of the various holes they'd torn in the device. Amy was beginning to think the doctor had foolishly sealed his own fate; that was until green light flashed beneath the waves. In its wake, the great shadow beneath the waves was gone. Eggman plainly had no intention of going down with his ship- he'd made it to this dimension after all, it made sense that he had preplanned a way of escaping it...

"Is everyone okay?" Amy called out.

Sonic had somehow made it out without bursting any of his floaties, Knuckles seemed more frustrated than anything, and Tails looked simply exhausted. Of Marine's six rafts only two had survived the conflict, though one of them was much worse for wear. Soon the group had piled onto the better looking craft.

"I can't see Mister Silver or Miss Blaze on the beach," Cream bleated, her eyes to the shore, "I think he might need help."

"The portal should still be standing. If he's hurt we can take him straight into my workshop, I've got a first aid kit in there," Tails suggested.

"Or I could run in and grab the kit, if moving him's a bad idea," Sonic proposed.

It took the most mature of them, Vanilla, to notice the issue with their plans, "How are we going to get back to shore?"

Quiet claimed the group as they realised their method of getting here and their companion, newly confident in her flying capabilities, were both on the shore. Tails could fly, but the distance to beach was sure too great for him to cross while carrying all of them. Despite how large and bulky the life raft was, there was no sign of any motor or paddles to row with. All eyes fell on the creator of this craft, who was herself looking around the very barren floor of the giant life raft.

"Where are the oars?!" Marine slapped her forehead, "I knew I forgot something when I designed these..."

"I can drag a raft back, but it won't be quick..." Knuckles offered.

"We'll probably go faster if we used my tails like a propeller too?" Tails piped up, "But Sonic, could you run across the water?"

The hedgehog hopped from foot to foot, the rubber of their pontoon shifted on the water, "I can't get a proper running start, even if the ground was stable- there's not enough of a runway..."

Amy's eyes caught on Marine's surfboard floating on the water and an idea flashed in her mind. She couldn't get all of them to shore, but she had the skill to navigate over the waves. If Silver was hurt, speed was a necessity.

"You two get started on that, but in the meantime," Amy fished the board closer using her hammer, "Sonic, get ready to kick!"

"Huh?" The hedgehog blinked as she grabbed him.

Amy stepped out onto the board, "I said I'd give you a swimming lesson, it's time!"

As the blue hedgehog was sat at the rear of the surfboard trepidation didn't so much as touch his face, "You got it, Ames!"

He swivelled onto his belly, grappled the sides of the surfboard, and began to kick with all his might. A spray of water leapt up behind them as they rocketed forward, Amy swayed at the sudden burst of speed but managed to keep her footing. Soon the two of them were well ahead of their allies, heading toward the coastline at breakneck speed.

"Thank you, Sonic. I know this isn't easy for you," She called back, "Even if you can't keep going, we'll make it to shore and see that they're okay, I promise!"

"Are you doubting me Amy? That's a first," He tutted, maintaining his cocky attitude as ever, "Of course we'll make it, I've got you watching my back!"

They ramped off of a forming wave, hitting the water and bouncing like a skimmed stone. As her knees bent in response and she reached down to stabilise, her hand grazed the back of his head. As their board made contact with the water it suddenly veered hard to the right despite how Amy was leaning! As she rose to focus more of her weight their board curved without issue.

It took pink hedgehog a moment to hypothesise just what had happened. She leaned down again, reaching her fingers to mess among Sonic's quills. A tussle to the left made the board shift right, a tug on his right swept them out to arc left. With that, her experiment was an instant success.

"Amy, is now really the time?" Was he blushing?

"Don't worry about it, my little motor," She continued to tease his quills, "Let's just focus on getting to shore!"

Using Sonic's head to control the rudder, Amy quite easily steered their vessel around the choppier waves. As the board made landfall the two of them were sent tumbling over each other. She landed on top of him, straddling his belly. If the situation were any less dire she would have taken the opportunity to tease him some more, but there was no sign of them on the beach- just the crumbled remains of the previous sand structure.

"Come on, they have to be nearby!" She stumbled off of him.

"Right behind you," She heard him mutter, for once lagging behind.

The pink lass conjured her hammer as she approached the great mound of sand that'd once been the castle. She swung the weapon back and forth, excavating a path through the remains in search of where Blaze had landed and that psychic light had fallen. Soon she found herself in something of a clearing- her eyes fell upon a pile of purple and white.

Among the largely collapsed remains of the sandcastle, though still obscured from their surroundings by its ruins, the time traveller was laying with his head in the princess' lap. He looked a little worse for wear, quills tossed and fur dirtied by sand- his cyan symbols dulled- but ultimately mostly unharmed. He was reaching up, about to tuck an errant strand of hair back into her ponytail... that was, until, the cat took his fingers in hers and brought his knuckle to her lips.

Amy's mind was racing. Had that really just happened? Had she just kissed his hand? Had Blaze the cat, princess guardian of the Sol Emeralds, just kissed Silver the hedgehog, time traveling psychic?!

"What is going on in this dimension!" Amy screamed, turning both of their heads, "I thought you two were fighting!"

For a beat, the pair looked back to each other- as if now psychically communicating, trying to come up with some kind of rational explanation. Blaze's tail had gone completely stiff, her ears had folded back, and she was completely avoiding the pink girl's stare. Silver meanwhile looked as if he had just been scolded rather than kissed, his quills drooping and pleading stare undeniable.

All at once Amy put the pieces together- the secret flying lessons, their brief squabbles, his palace guest room, Blaze's sunglasses, Marine's secret, even Silver's tan! The two of them had been keeping a distance from each other to avoid suspicion, only to rouse hers. They weren't fighting, not remotely. The reality was quite the opposite- oh how romantic summer love was...

"Ames? Have you found them?" Sonic's voice called from behind.

"Oh darling," Amy turned around, rushing to meet him, "I believe the situation has been handled."

"What?" His head tilted, he tried to look past but Amy stepped into his way, "Is Silver okay?"

"He's more than okay, he's great," She began to push him out of the ruined sandcastle, "Blaze is too. Let's leave them be for now," A broad smirk crossed her muzzle, "Time to cure your jealous streak."

"Jealous? Who's jealous?" He huffed, turning as he allowed himself to be shoved back toward the water.

The two would be free emerge whenever they were ready, no explanation needed. After all, Amy had known the truth all along. They were fools to try to hide it!

#sonamy #silvaze #sonic the hedgehog #amy rose #blaze the cat #silver the hedgehog #knuckles the echidna #tails the fox #marine the raccoon #cream the rabbit #vanilla the rabbit

26 notes · View notes