A Rose And A Thorn

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A Rose And A Thorn

Co-Written By Harley Quinn hyenaholic and Froggy22651

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Harley: Anonymous, of course Sonic is going to screw up. You have no idea how badly… I’m glad you enjoyed Chapter Eight with its solid sex scene. Anna, I’m sorry you had to miss it, but this isn’t an NC-17 fanfic for nothing.

Froggy: And RAW19 wins for Most Intelligent Review. Why? Because he asked questions. More pairings? It really depends on whether you class rape as a pairing. This is not a spoiler because it’s compulsory to warn you in the summary. What would be a spoiler is if we told you who’s going to get raped. But we’re not. As for what this is based on, it’s mostly the games, and locations are centred around Sonic Battle.

Harley: This week people, this week the game “Shadow the Hedgehog” comes out. Find out Shadow’s past by playing it a minimum of ten times! Is he a hideous robot clone, or a love machine? How should I know, I’m not going to buy it. But Froggy has!

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Chapter Nine: Fight Club

Rouge's eyes fluttered open, and she breathed in the fresh morning air... with a hint of musk. Oh, yes... She looked over at Sonic, who had slumped off her at some point during the night, and shook her head. Men... She pulled away from him slowly, careful not to wake him, and left the room. She had to think, and think hard. Last night had been... interesting. No doubt about that. But she had the nagging feeling that Sonic had taken it far more seriously than she had. As she showered, she let the thoughts run over her like the water. So he was good. So what? That meant nothing. Besides, he was no use to her if he totally forgot about Amy. She pulled on her dressing gown and left her bathroom.

Sonic shifted in bed towards the spot that Rouge had vacated, mumbling something in his sleep. Unconsciously noticing the lack of another warm body, he began to wake up slowly, opening his eyes.

"Mmph… Rouge?" he mumbled, feeling around in the covers for the bat. He remembered quite clearly what happened the night before, and he’d expected her to be there when he woke up. Wondering where she had gone, he sat up, stretched, and yawned. His fur was matted, his quills were a mess, and he smelled heavily of sex. A shower was called for. The blue hedgehog slid out of bed and walked towards the bathroom with half-closed eyes, still not entirely awake.

Rouge wasn't entirely sure how to react when she saw the blue hedgehog walking down the hall. She settled quickly for the innocent schoolgirl approach, and deliberately blushed when she saw Sonic walking towards her, "No, Sonic," she said, letting the dressing-gown slip a little, "This is my bathroom," she closed the door behind her, but he caught sight of a large bath, a shower, and a lot of purple and black, "Guest's bathroom is at the end of the hall. Can't have people walking in on me in the bath," she blushed again.

Sonic blinked, took a moment for all that to get through his sleep-fogged brain, and said, "Oh... Sorry..." He made his way to the guest bathroom, visions of seductive Rouge in his mind, and stepped into the shower. It felt good for the hot water to run through his fur, washing away dried sweat and other body fluids. Sex sure was enjoyable, but messy as well.

Rouge brushed her fur and applied her makeup, the better for another day of flirting with men she barely knew. Finally, she put on one of her favourite outfits - a tiny skirt that was more like a belt, high boots, and the tight leather top with the dodgy zip on the front. Now she was ready to face whatever the world could throw at her.

She smiled. What was first on her list of things to do today? She picked up her diary and flicked through it, ‘Whup Shadow's ass’ was first on the list for the next month. Second... second, she had to hire that new DJ and a couple of bouncers. Busy day. She wondered if Sonic could take care of Shadow and save her some time...

Sonic stepped out of the shower, feeling awake and refreshed. Things were a whole lot more clear now. That night with Rouge had changed things for him... he no longer was jealous of Shadow, now that he had found a lover of his own, but that still didn't change the fact that Amy was in danger and that Shadow had to pay. Amy was still his friend, and he couldn't let that psycho hurt her or anyone else. Slipping on his socks, sneakers, and gloves, he waited for Rouge to emerge from her bathroom

Rouge left her bathroom, almost walking straight into Sonic, "Oh! Morning, Sonic. Now you're really awake," she draped herself on him, and gestured to her outfit, "You like?" she asked.

Sonic smirked and crossed his arms, looking her over, "Looks good on you. How are you feeling, Rouge?"

"Very... different," Rouge smiled. This at least was true. Then she blushed, "Last night... was rather... spontaneous," she said, "I didn't mean... exactly... you see... I get the feeling I'm probably not good enough for you..."

Sonic continued smiling, "Don't say that... you're more than good enough for me. Everything will turn out fine, I promise. I'm going to find that faker, and teach him a lesson he won't forget!"

Rouge smirked mentally, "Oh Sonic, don't hurt him too much!" she pleaded, "I know he's a jerk, but... Amy likes him."

"She'll thank me someday... I hope." The smile disappeared. He was pretty sure that she genuinely liked Shadow now, and he didn't want her to be angry with him, as he was sure she would be. But he had to do this.

Rouge put her hand on his arm, "But last night... thank you... for seeing me as I am, and not just as a thief. I'm more than that, I’m sure." I'm a spy too, she thought.

Sonic smiled again, "I know you are, Rouge," He was about to say something else, but his stomach interrupted them with an angry growl.

"Oh, you must be hungry," Rouge smiled. She wasn't a great cook - in fact she was a fruitbat, and hardly cooked at all, "I'll... uh... get us some cereal, shall I? I'll try not to burn it..."

Sonic chuckled, "Thanks. I'm starving. You really wore me out last night." Which, coming from a speedy hedgehog superhero, said something.

Rouge realised to her horror that she was blushing for real. And why in the world had she offered anything at all? Shadow had to make his own breakfast when he was here, and she hadn't used him any less than she planned to use Sonic. Too late to take it back... she went into her kitchen, pulled some Fruity Nuts Cereal out of the cupboard and put it in two bowls, which she filled with milk and placed them on the table. Then she started to carefully eat around the cereal and pick out the fruit.

Sonic happily took a seat and ate the bowl of cereal ravenously. Before long, he was finished, "Ah... thanks again. I needed that."

"There's a lot of work that goes into running a Club, especially one as popular as mine," Rouge picked up an orange and peeled it, "Hiring and firing new acts, making sure there's enough alcohol in storage, making sure the bouncers don't find it... if you go out, I'll probably be here all day, unless something important happens. If you want to see me, that is..." she started to eat the orange, watching Sonic carefully.

"Of course I want to see you again," he assured her, "But I can't stay... I've got to go check on Amy and make sure things are all right with her. I'll swing by later. Don't worry about Shadow... I don't think he's going to bother you again."

"Neither do I," Rouge smiled. She already knew Shadow wouldn't come to see her unless he was tied up and dragged to the club with a poker up his ass.

~~~

Amy was arranging flowers in the shop window, humming to herself happily as she mixed roses with carnations, magnolias with bluebells, lilies with daffodils... she loved her job, and she knew she was good at it.

The wind suddenly picked up as a blue blur solidified into hedgehog form just outside the shop. Sonic walked up to the door and stepped inside, smiling when he saw Amy. He was simultaneously relieved and disappointed to discover that Shadow wasn't there, "Good morning, Amy."

"Morning, Sonic," Amy said, not looking up as she arranged some carnations.

It was downright eerie to Sonic. She didn't even lift her head. She really had changed... "Um... how are ya?'

Amy finally looked up, "I'm fine, thanks Sonic," she smiled brightly, "But I can't discuss relationships in here - I'm at work."

"I didn't say anything about relationships... I'm just here to see you, that's all." Well, at least she smiled at him. That was something.

"Oh, that's nice," Amy smiled and went back to the till. Now there was a desk between them, "Why?"

Sonic shrugged, "Do I really need a reason to see a friend of mine? We are still friends, right?"

"Sure we are!" Amy smiled, glad that Sonic was seemingly getting over her.

Sonic smiled back, glad for the very same reason. Part of him actually believed that things had changed for the better. But the problem was how it changed... because of Shadow. That faking, lying bastard who was going to hurt her as soon as he got the chance. Sonic couldn't allow that. He just hoped that Amy wasn't around when he had to deal with him... "Awesome. No hard feelings, Ames. Um... how has Shadow been?"

"As sweet and as caring as he always is," Amy answered, knowing that saying that annoyed Sonic, and not caring, "Last night I took him to see his first movie. He's been denied so much, and I... I just enjoy being able to give it to him."

Sonic suppressed a shiver. Shadow was good at hiding his intentions, that was for sure.

"Something wrong, Sonic?" Amy asked him.

"No... Of course not!" he said cheerfully, smiling again. He couldn't let her know that he intended to confront Shadow; she would either warn him or try to stop it. Her intentions were good; she just didn't know the whole truth. Somehow, Sonic doubted she would listen if he tried to tell her. She was always stubborn like that, "Um... Amy? I also came here to, uh..." Sonic looked nervous all of a sudden, like he was afraid to ask for something.

"Yes?" Amy asked.

"Well... I was hoping to get something here. A gift..."

"Sure, but we only sell flowers," Amy answered, "So what flowers would you like to buy?"

Sonic scratched the back of his head, a sheepish expression on his face, "I don't know much about flowers, and was kinda hoping you could help me."

"Okay... well, gimme a moment..." Amy produced a large book, which was titled, ‘Say It With Flowers’. "What are you looking to say to the young lady - it is a girl, right?" She grinned mischieviously.

"Of course," he said, slightly annoyed by the implications of that, "But... I dunno. I just really met her recently. She's gone through something rough, and I was hoping to make her feel better, show her that I care, you know?"

Amy tried to put this all into one sentence, "You care... that would be... Ivy with a touch of Migonette... You're my friend, and you're the best... Yes, that would be the best interpretation..." she glanced at Sonic sideways, "Right?"

Sonic didn't blush very often, but he started to now, "Uh... not exactly. We're kinda closer than friends..."

"Oh, reeeally," Amy looked amused, "Over me so soon? Well, let's see... replace the Ivy with Almond blossom... Mignonette with Sweet pea... Let's meet again soon, there's nobody else for me... better?"

Sonic chuckled nervously, "Yeah, that'll do just fine. Thank you..."

"Right..." Amy started to gather the flowers from around the shop, arranging them into a small, but very beautiful bouquet, "Sometimes less is more," she said, handing Sonic the bouquet. She stepped behind the desk and tapped at the till, "That'll be... R17.98."

"Er, yeah, right." Sonic quickly got out the cash and paid for the bouquet. He couldn't ever recall buying flowers for a girl before, but he trusted Amy's judgement in the matter.

"Okay, see you around, Sonic," Amy smiled, "Might I ask who the young lady's name is?" she asked suddenly.

Sonic had never been a good liar, and telling Amy ‘no’ wouldn't be very nice. That left running away, or just telling her the truth, and Sonic didn't feel like running from her anymore, "Rouge," he said, as he turned towards the door, "Her name is Rouge."

Amy's jaw dropped, "What? Rouge? You mean, Rouge the Bat? The Spy? The Thief?"

Sonic winced and turned around. "Yeah, that Rouge. Do you have a problem with that?"

"Well... only a slight concern for your emotional well-being," Amy admitted.

"Hey, it's me!" he said with a grin, "I'll be alright, Ames. Always am." He wondered what Shadow had told Amy about Rouge. Probably tried to make her seem much worse than she really was.

"No, no, Rouge was really mean to Shadow... she used him for sex and his Chaos Control skills," Amy insisted, "I've no doubt she'll try the same thing with you!"

Sonic stiffened up, feeling the anger rise up in him again, "She's not like that. I don't know what Shadow has told you about her, but it was all a lie!"

“Sonic, you know that little voice that most people have in their heads, the one that tells them to quit while they’re ahead?” Amy stepped from behind the desk, “You don’t seem to have one. But let’s pretend you have. What would it be saying about Rouge? Listen… carefully,” she tugged at his ear quite hard, “Rouge is…”

“… really hot?” Sonic suggested.

"Ugh... you're impossible," Amy released his ear and waved a hand, "Rouge is unreliable. Don't say I didn't warn you… oh and here..." She tossed him some flowers, "Give these to her when she shows her true nature.”

"Huh?"

"Magnolias... I'm heartbroken, but I'll survive."

Sonic frowned, looking at the flowers she had tossed him, "Shadow isn't all you think he is, Amy," he said, staring intently at those flowers, "He's going to hurt you, I know it, just like he hurt Rouge."

"Pfft... yeah, right..." Amy dismissed him, “If anybody got hurt in that sorry excuse for a relationship, it was Shadow.”

"I'm serious, Amy!" he said, looking up at her, more serious than she could ever recall. He threw the flowers to the floor, "I was there. I saw what he did to her, and so did the police."

"Oh, you saw something happen?" Amy looked disbelieving.

"Well... I wasn't there when it happened, but come on! Shadow has never been right in the head, and you know it! Maybe they messed up some part of his brain when they made him, or something, but there's something not right in him, and it's going to come out again! I... I don't want him to hurt you, Amy."

"That's strange," Amy looked slightly angry, "I'd say the way you treated me hurt me pretty bad."

"I'm sorry, Amy!" Sonic shouted, "I'm sorry that I'm not the perfect hero you always thought I was! I'm sorry that I let you down! But you've got to believe me! Shadow is-"

"What am I?" a deep voice said angrily behind him.

Sonic spun around in surprise to find two crimson eyes glaring laser beams into his own. Shadow had come to visit, too, and he had caught enough of the conversation, "You're insane!" Sonic growled, "I won't let you get away with what you've done!"

"Sonic, stop arguing with Shadow!" Amy called, but her request went unheeded.

"What I've done?" Shadow asked, obviously irritated by the disruption Sonic had caused, "And just what is it that I have done?"

"Don't you play innocent with me! You hurt Rouge and you plan to do the same to Amy!"

Shadow snorted, crossed his arms over his chest, and gave Sonic his trademark scowl, "I have done no such thing, Sonic. It sounds to me like Rouge is playing you against me. It fits her style. Let me guess, she came to you in tears with a story about how I tried to rape her, convinced you to stay the night to keep her safe, and then climbed into bed with you and fucked you good and hard as soon as she got the chance. Am I close?"

Sonic looked stunned, unable to come up with a decent reply to that, "Sh-she wasn't lying, you faker! You're twisting things around! Next I suppose you’re going to tell me to stay away from your girl!"

Shadow chuckled and turned his back on the blue hedgehog, "Huh. If I had to do that, she wouldn’t be my girl. And I didn't think you of all people, would fall so easily for Rouge’s charms. Knuckles is so going to love hearing about this..."

The world became a red haze as Sonic glared at Shadow's back. In a rage, he picked up a nearby vase and hurled it at Shadow. Sensing it without seeing, Shadow dodged the projectile, which sailed past his head and smashed through the store window.

"No, no, no!" Amy shouted, and leapt at Sonic, trying to pin him down.

Sonic stumbled backwards, slipped, and fell, trying to push Amy off him, "Amy! You've got to let me do this!"

"No!" Amy shouted, "I won't let you two fight over me!"

"I'm not fighting over you, I'm fighting FOR you!" he shouted back, pushing her away.

As he scrambled to his feet, Shadow continued to stand there calmly, "I would never hurt Amy. Ever. Nor would I hurt Rouge, no matter how she used me."

"Amy!" a shocked voice spoke up, and Amy looked up with a gasp. The shop-owner, an elderly, greying red squirrel, pulled her up, "What is going on here?"

"..." Amy tried to answer, "Miss Flora! They started arguing and I-"

"Isn't that your boyfriend?" asked the squirrel, looking at Sonic.

"Yes," said Sonic.

"No," said Amy.

"Humph," said Shadow.

The squirrel sighed, "Amy, a moment in private..."

Amy left the shop itself and went into the back with the squirrel, while Shadow and Sonic stood glaring at each other silently.

"Amy, you're a hard worker, but I can't have the lads who like you destroying my shop every time they meet you in here," Miss Flora sighed, "You'll have to leave."

"But... but..."

"Amy... your uniform," Miss Flora said firmly.

Slowly, with fingers that didn't feel like they belonged to her, Amy removed her uniform and handed it over to the squirrel.

"Now, you may leave," said Miss Flora.

Amy looked tearful, but nodded, and left through the front of the shop, her head hanging. She didn't look up at Shadow or Sonic, but they heard her mutter as she left, "It was a lousy job anyway..."

Shadow’s glare turned nasty, "I hope you are proud of yourself, blue hedgehog," he growled. Then he turned and walked into the backroom to speak with Amy's boss. A confused and angry Sonic took off after Amy. She heard him coming after her, and kept walking, not looking behind.

"Amy! I... I'm sorry... I didn't mean for that to..." Sonic stuttered, trying to apologize.

"Thanks to you, I just lost my job," Amy sniffled.

"I didn't mean for that to happen, Ames... Don't you get it? Shadow is dangerous!"

"Don't you dare tell me Shadow's dangerous!" Amy cried, "I suppose you just happened to pick up that vase and it accidentally flew out of your hand at his head, huh?"

"What am I supposed to do? Reason with him?!" he shouted.

"That would be a start!" Amy shouted back.

“That psychopath wouldn’t reason with a blind old lady!” Sonic snarled in frustration, turned, and started walking away, "You used to believe in me, Amy Rose!"

"I believed in a dream!" Amy shouted, "I hate you, Sonic! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!"

Sonic stopped, and tried to think of something to say. Failing, he kept walking, a stunned expression on his face.

Amy turned in the opposite direction and ran home, hoping she could get back to her apartment before she burst into tears in public.

~~~

"Miss Flora, am I correct?" Shadow said calmly as he stepped over to the elderly squirrel.

"Yes, that is my name," said Miss Flora, turning to look at the dark hedgehog.

Shadow nodded briefly and continued, "If you would hear me out... I don't think Amy should be held responsible for Sonic's actions."

"I'm sorry young man," the squirrel peered short-sightedly at him, "I don't hold her responsible. But you and her and the other lad seem to be having some conflict - that window will cost a lot of money to repair, and this is only a small shop. I can't risk it happening again the next time you two have a chance meeting in my shop."

Shadow took a calming breath, thinking of some way to defuse the situation in a more pleasant manner, "Punishing Amy for something she had no control over isn't right. Sonic should be the one to be punished. Call the police and report this disturbance... but don't fire her. I will do my best to make up for the damage. Perhaps... if I could deliver for you for free if you gave her job back?"

Miss Flora looked thoughtful, "Well... I don't know..." she gave it some consideration, "Very well... you may tell her she can have her job back, I'm too old to go running after her. But if it happens again..." she said warningly, “You can both start tomorrow – it’ll take me the rest of the day to sort this mess out. But I don’t want your relationship getting in the way of your jobs.”

"I understand," Shadow said with a short bow, "Running is a specialty of mine... you won't regret this, ma'am." Giving the squirrel a smile, he turned and walked out of the store. Once he was far enough away, he took off running home.

~~~

When Shadow got back to Amy’s apartment, she was in her bedroom, crying bitterly. Contrary to what she'd said back in the shop, she rather enjoyed her job at the florists. How was she supposed to pay the bills without a job?

Frowning, Shadow walked over and gently knocked on the door, "Amy? May I come in?"

There was a long silence, "Oh, okay..." Amy sniffled.

Shadow walked inside and took a seat near her on the bed, "I got you your job back."

Amy looked up at him, "Huh? What? How?" she asked.

Shadow smirked, "I had a friendly chat with Miss Flora. I convinced her that it wasn't right to blame you for someone else's mistake, and then to make up for the damages, I offered to be her free Ultimate Delivery Boy for a while."

Amy sat still for a moment, absorbing all of this, then her face broke into that delighted smile that she had once lavished so much on Sonic. She jumped forward and hugged Shadow tightly, knocking him onto his back, "Oh, thank you so much, Shadow!" she laughed, still hugging.

"Hey!" Shadow grunted as she pounced on him, and then smiled widely, chuckling as he returned the hug, "Anytime, Amy."

Amy continued to hug him for a while, then released her bone-crushing grip, "Are you sure you want to do this? I mean... it is a bit of a step down from being the Ultimate Lifeform..."

"I need something to do anyway, and with my abilities, it'll be easy to accomplish," Shadow explained, "Besides, a bonus of the job is that I get to spend more time around you."

"Not if you're delivering all the time," Amy pointed out, but she was still smiling.

"That's just an incentive to move faster." He kissed her gently on the lips, running his hands through her quills.

Amy smiled and kissed him back, "I love you so much, Shadow," she told him.

"I love you too, Amy," he told her, smiling down at her. For the millionth time, he felt eternally grateful for meeting her.

Amy found herself comparing Sonic and Shadow again. Once again she was finding that Shadow was so much sweeter, kinder, more considerate than Sonic had ever been, "I'm so proud of you, Shadow," she told him, "Sonic attacked you, and you didn't instinctively fight him back."

True. A few days ago, Shadow would have fought Sonic for such an affront, and probably would have torn the store to pieces in the process. "You've rubbed off on me."

"I knew you'd improve," Amy nuzzled Shadow's chest, "But I'm not rubbing off on you... you're learning yourself that you don't have to fight him to be better than him."

"Perhaps." He didn't feel the need to prove himself to Sonic anymore. All he had to do was stand there and let Sonic prove himself the lesser of the two.

~~~

Harley: End of Chapter Nine! Dear god, Sonic is so damn stupid! Buying Rouge flowers! Heh...

Froggy: And Shadow’s so wonderful! Next chapter, some more Rougic, and Shadow plays the hero for once!

Harley: In his own, marginally psychopathic way.