When I went to Metal's base over a week ago, he gave me a bunch of door codes because he wanted to lock down on a bunch of security. I think there were codes for the entrance, the bedroom, kitchen, elevator, and even the big lab... Of course, not the garden. Grr! Oh well. I had the codes written down and stored in an obscure place until I could reliably remember them.



One thing's for sure: I didn't regret telling Metal to stay away from my house. I've been coming across the Chaotix far more in my neighborhood, and it wasn't any sort of coincidence. I think they did believe me back when we had our 'chat', but they're keeping an eye out to make sure I'm not somehow a target for Eggman. Their wariness was sweet, but they unintentionally made my life more difficult. Their whole investigation made me so curious what was going on, but it wasn't like I had anyone to ask. I was extra careful going anywhere, even going out to Metal's base. We hung out plenty since the door code changes, so there was that... At least the tightened security lessened the chance for misunderstandings.



I didn't want to think about a bunch of guys for a while; they've been taking up too much of my brain space. That, and my failed Ultimate Love Letter drafts were getting to me. I drove to Vanilla's house to pick up Cream and Cheese and spend the afternoon with them. Cream needed some help with her studies and I thought it'd be a great chance to hang out. Also, I wanted someone to come see my redecorated house!



"Ta-da!" I gestured proudly to what I now dubbed the 'flower wall'. I took a lot of photos down on the wall behind my kitchen table and carefully placed frames of old flowers I pressed over the years onto it, making a pretty bouquet all on its own. My special shiny flower was right in the middle of the flower wall, drawing the eye immediately and showing off its fancy metallic frame. I moved a lot of my framed pictures to a different wall and spread them out a bit; I did remove a few of the Sonic ones but that was only because I had so many that looked the same.



"Oh, wow!" gasped Cream. "You're so good at decorating, Amy... You always have the prettiest flowers!" she said. Cheese eagerly clapped.



Yay! I won with not only my decorating skills, but also with Cream calling me by my first name instead of Ms. Rose or Ms. Amy.



"Oh yeah," I said with utmost pride. I patted the the center-most frame. "I'm very proud of this collection."



"Where do you get them?" Cream asked, tilting her head.



"They're gifts! From someone special to me," I said to her truthfully. "I like to press the flowers so I can still keep them instead of throwing them away." I excitedly showed her the bouquet on the counter and she gasped in awe. Cheese flew over to the flowers, then sniffed them, the little ball above their head turning into a heart. Both their reactions made me blush!



I had enough of my bragging for a little bit, so we settled at my kitchen table while Cream brought out all her homework. We talked about her for a little while, what she was up to, then we got to the studying. Cream was so bright, I honestly wasn't sure why she needed me at all! Maybe she just wanted to hang out, too. Not forgetting 'ol Amy over here...



I was looking over some of her math homework when she groaned and slapped her head on the table. I lifted my head up, raising a brow. "What's wrong? I think you're doing great."



"You're so kind, Amy..." she sighed, lifting her head back up. A piece of paper stuck to her head, which Cheese took off to stare at. "Truthfully, I'm a little stressed... I do care about my studies and I wanna make Mama proud... But I really miss going on adventures. Sometimes I can convince Mr. Vector to let me and Cheese join him on his trips, though he's been extra firm lately."



Ah, the truth revealed itself. I laughed a little. "I get the same way, so needless to say, you've come to the right person! We knocked out all your work, anyway... You wanna go have some fun?"



Her eyes brightened. "Yes, please!"



As a fellow fan of flowers, Cream and I went to the meadows out past the city. There was a field of gorgeous yellow and pink flowers, completely taking over everything! I helped Cream pick some flowers for her mom, and we playfully exchanged flowers to put behind our ears; I had a yellow one and she had a pink one. Ugh, I should've brought my instant camera! I at least had the memory.



The sun was going to set soon, so I was about to tell Cream we needed to leave. I thought we could go get some ice cream or something before I took her home... Uh, she disappeared.



"A-Amy!" Cream exclaimed, flying over to me with her floppy ears. "I came across a rogue robot!"



Rogue robot, huh? I prepared my hammer and followed Cream and Cheese to wherever they went off to. At the edge of the field was a huge mossy robot, carrying a giant hammer on its own. Its state made me think of robot-me... But it definitely was an Egg Hammer! It was purple and red with some menacing green eyes. Upon seeing us, it gave some aggressive machine gibberish and stepped towards us.



"Oh, man..." It's been ages since I fought one of these... And it looked like ages since the bot fought anything.



"I wish we had Mr. Big! We could handle it easy with all three of us..." sighed Cream.



"I'd love him too, but we can do this. Cream, go distract 'em and I'll knock it off its feet!"



Cream confidently nodded and flew back to the bot, her eyes focused and determined. She and Cheese quickly grabbed its attention, the bot swishing its hammer at them. They dodged, but stayed in its focus so I could whip up my own moves.



I sneaked behind it and prepared my hammer. With a deep breath, I rapidly spun around, then launched a gust of wind forward with a huge whoosh! A mini-cyclone formed and engulfed the Egg Hammer, causing it to slip and fall to the ground.



"Yeah!" Cream yelled.



"C'mon, Cream!" I held my hammer like a bat and gave her a specific look. She gave a firm nod, then bounced towards me while rolling up into a ball.



Piko! I swung her towards the bot and she slammed right into its head! The whole thing exploded, causing random machine parts to rain onto the field.



... I kinda felt bad. Was... I mean, was it sentient? It looked old... Oh, God, I couldn't think about this with every Eggman robot.



"We did it!" beamed the energetic little bunny. She bounced up and down excitedly, eagerly hugging Cheese and then flying over to me. I smiled at her and wiped a smudge of soot off of her cheek.



"We did! See, we didn't need extra help. Aw, you lost your flower, though," I pouted.



She giggled and covered her mouth with one of her hands. "You did too!"



"I did?" I felt behind my ear. "Aw, shoot."



Cheese put a pink flower on Cream's head, then a yellow one on mine. "Chao chao!" They looked very pleased with themselves.



I lovingly pet Cheese, then patted Cream on the shoulder. "Okay, that's enough of our mini adventure, it's getting late for you." Yeesh, the moon was already out. I didn't wanna get on Vanilla's bad side, but maybe the bouquet would soften things a little. I knew it worked on me!



I took Cream home with all her stuff and said goodnight. I drove back home, though I wasn't ready to go back inside yet. I decided to take a night stroll out into the neighborhood, feel the cool air... And maybe give myself some time to ponder about the cruelty of Eggman's creations.



I walked down my neighborhood's sidewalk and headed towards a small, nearby park. There were brick walls bordering the park with a cute open gate entrance. I loved how the moonlight looked on the trees. I let myself wander for a little while and enjoyed being the only one there.



...



Okay, so, like, Metal mentioned sentient bots before, so that meant not all of them were. He definitely was, and probably his little brothers and Sage were too, though she technically wasn't a bot. Belle was technically an Eggman creation so she also counted. Oh! and Omega, and... I was getting sidetracked. How many sentient bots were still with Eggman? Did the pawns have that?



I honestly was scared to ask Metal. Have I just been killing machines that deserved better lives? Sure, ones powered by defenseless animals couldn't stick around, but... Were there other bots capable of making their own choices...? Even the Egg Pawns had personalities I didn't think were intended! And there was that peaceful robo fish in Big's lake... Oh, God...



... Thinking about all this just reminded me how cruel Eggman actually was. I thought of the conversation I had with Metal back when we were cleaning the kitchen at his base. I wouldn't say Metal was closed off to discussing Eggman, but he acted differently when he was a topic. I already knew his feelings about Eggman were complicated, but man, they must've been really messy... I felt special that he was opening up more to me, slowly but surely. I believed in him.



Skreeee!



What was that? I brought out my hammer out of pure instinct. I heard a terrible scraping against the brick wall closest to me, but it came from the outside. I warily left the park and followed around the brick wall.



... There were claw marks in the bricks.



Clang!



Sounded like a trash can toppled over. I followed the sound between two buildings, deep into an alleyway. I kinda wanted to ask who was there, but I second guessed my decision. I was definitely being watched.



...



I turned around. In the shadows of the alley, I saw two bright red eyes. I knew those eyes anywhere, but...



The gaze was different.



Whiiiirrrr...



The gaze angled down. And I suddenly saw a burst of light. I gasped and held up my hammer--



Metal collided into me so hard that I skidded to the other edge of the alley. The handle of my hammer saved me from taking the whole impact. I wanted to ask him what he was doing, but his look was too serious. He was forced to be here. Forced to fight.



That was not good.



He stopped pushing me forward. His eyes flashed red as his lower body totally rotated, rapidly kicking me. I could just barely block in time; he was so fast. I forgot how quick even his own attacks could be.



I had to fight him. As soon as I had the opportunity, I swung at him-- he lunged backwards, evading. I launched myself up in the air with my hammer as momentum, spinning down towards him.



Crunch! I hit the ground instead.



"Gah!" I was grabbed from behind. I didn't know where he was taking me, but I couldn't find out. I shifted our weight and pulled myself down; we smashed through the brick wall that went into the park. He let go of me, making me roll to the ground. I grunted and tried to right myself-- my hammer slipped out of my hands...



I looked around-- there it was, just a few yards from me! I glanced to find Metal; he was covered in rubble, slowly standing. He noticed the hammer too.



Whiiirrrr...



No! I went for my hammer as fast as I could, then swung without even thinking.



Pi-ko!



I hit him! Metal spiraled out into the air from my impact... And he landed perfectly on his feet. His head was backwards, but he rotated it back towards me, gaze unrelenting.



The last time we fought, I needed to get out of his sight. He would never give up as long as he knew where I was, and I was no match for his speed. But this park was so open and there weren't any big trees for cover. I didn't want to knock him out, either--



Crrrackle! Zrrrrt! There was a shield of electricity around him. I heard his turbine whirring again. Damn it! I needed to get into a more enclosed space. I scrambled up to my feet, and as he took off after me, I just barely evaded his attack by launching myself back into the air. I quickly looked for any vantage points-- Wait. Horrible idea, but it had to work!



I leapt over the park walls and went out into the street. Metal blasted through and stood menacingly at the other side of the road. I took a deep breath.



He prepared another energy-fueled attack.



"Come on, come on..." I pried open a manhole to the sewers. Metal rocketed towards me again; I threw the manhole cover upwards and socked it at him with my hammer. I heard a loud gong! but I wasn't gonna see if that slowed him down. I hurried into the sewer and turned as many corners as I could. My boots were soaked but I wasn't in the position to care or think about my hygiene.



I heard his turbine echo through the tunnels. He was down here, but he no longer had me in his sights. I had to get back to my house, assuming he could still honor the 'neutral' location. I ran when I couldn't hear anything and stopped when I heard him flying nearby. I could hide, but he had better vision in the dark than I did. I needed to be careful.



I took a second to catch my breath and listen. The turbine got more and more faint...



...



It was quiet. The air felt heavy... But there was another manhole cover near me. I had to take a chance if he was still down here.



I went for the ladder up to the manhole cover and--



!!!



I was grabbed and slammed into the wall. Metal roughly pinned my wrist, forcing me to drop my hammer. He kicked it away and restricted my movement entirely. My heart was pounding and not in the good way. I didn't know what he had to do.



...



"I win," he said. He pressed his muzzle gently to mine-- zrrt! A little kiss.



My eyes were wider than they've ever been. He could talk? He kissed me? That meant one thing and one thing only:



"You didn't have to fight me?!" I screamed.



"No. But if this was a real fight... You would have lost." He averted his eyes. "You prioritized getting out of my sights, which was clever... but you relied too much on sound. I assumed you could hear me, so I intentionally stopped running, allowing me to track your own movements easily. You should have watched for me. My eyes are a giveaway."



"Wh-- excuse me?!" I was... I was pissed!!!



He gave me another serious gaze, but this one was less menacing. He still had me pinned because he probably knew I was going to strangle him. "I enjoy my time with you, my Rosy... But we are still at an opposition. You can't forget that we may actually clash in the future."



"I ran into a sewer and it wasn't anything even-- Rrrrgh...!!!"



"You fought well." He tilted his head a little as his eyes flicked down. He was admiring me. He finally let go of me, then picked up my hammer to offer it.



I sighed and took it from him. "So you ambushed me as practice?"



"Practice for both of us. Since we started dating, my focus has only gotten worse. I needed to hone my focus... and I remember you mentioning you would struggle fighting me. To your credit, I didn't sense you were trying to go easy on me."



"I was scared!" I said, frowning. "I didn't know what Eggman wanted!"



He stared for a while, then averted his eyes. "... I do not get enjoyment out of scaring you," he said a little quieter.



"I'm not actually upset," I sighed. Okay, well, not upset since I knew he wasn't messing with me for fun. "I get you're trying to be helpful in your own weird way." I rolled my eyes a little. "And I wasn't in a neutral location, so, fair. We agreed on these terms long ago."



"I'm glad you understand..." He let a short moment of silence fall between us before speaking again: "You dented my head with the manhole cover." He spoke in a way more eager tone than I expected. He took my hand and let me feel a dent on the side of his head; it wasn't big, but it was definitely there. Aw, Metal...



"You made me run through sewer water, so I guess we're even," I said to try to cover up my own sadness. I hugged his head and rubbed my cheek against the dent. I didn't want to hurt him...



"I was very impressed. Your strength allowed something insignificant to damage me. I love you even more now."



I laughed. "You really are so weird." New date idea: whack a bunch of dangerous objects in his direction with my hammer. I shook my head, smiling. "Okay... Next time you ambush me, I'll be more prepared."



"Always fight like your life depends on it," he replied. I let go of him and felt his face. We watched each other for another moment... "I will let you leave, Rosy... Goodnight."



I sighed. "I want to take you back to my house..."



"Me too," he said, his gaze briefly leaving mine again. "... We will still see each other later." He gave a small nod.



I kissed him. "Yeah... Goodnight, Metal." I let my hand fall down his cheek, then finally separated from him. I went for the ladder and went out into the street.



When I was walking back home, I saw a streak of light shoot up into the sky from far away. He'd better be as cute as possible in our next encounter if he knew what was good for him... Luckily for him, that wasn't too hard to do.



I thought about my own performance in our fight. I mean, he was right... Solid peace wouldn't last forever. Maybe even his decision to ambush me meant that Eggman was planning something, but I was just taking guesses. Regardless... we definitely needed a round two.