Sonic Camping Trip - 1

-x-

Sonic knew something was up when he spied bacon on the table. Tails rarely cooked breakfast; heck, he barely cooked, period. He found that Tails would rather spend his time in the lab or in the library then slaving over a hot stove. Not that he blamed him or anything. Sonic himself barely knew how to make toast. The only exception to this rule was that he knew how to make chili dogs. Not nearly as good as Amy, of course, but he could make a decent one when he was in the mood... and he was always in the mood for chili dogs.

And everything looked so good, too! His original plan had been to walk right past and converse with Tails about why he was trying to bribe him with breakfast, but it looked delicious. Gourmet, maybe. Where had Tails learned to cook like this? The aroma of the food eased into him and he felt his will power melt instantly. Mmm. He was hungry, after all...

He made a sharp turn and sat himself down at the kitchen table. He wasn't about to allow only one of his senses to be praised by this gift! He grabbed the fork and promptly dug in to the feast that was before him. By the time Tails finally realized that Sonic had begun eating and gotten down stairs, Sonic had so much food stuffed into his mouth that it was impossible to hold a conversation with him. "Couldn't you wait until after we chatted?" Tails sighed as he sat down in the chair opposite his older brother figure.

Sonic shook his head and chugged down the orange juice. After swallowing, he gave Tails his signature grin and leaned backwards in the seat, resting his feet on the table. Tails shook his head. Would Sonic ever understand how impolite it was to do that?

"So," Sonic started as he licked his lips. "what was the catch for that lovely breakfast?"

"For you to come to summer camp with me." Tails answered, meekly.

Sonic closed his eyes and took in a few even breaths. "Summer camp, huh? Aren't I a little too old for summer camp, little buddy?"

"Not this one!" Tails said, suddenly animated. "There's no listed age limit, and even so, you're always telling me how you don't really want us to address you as an adult, so..."

"I can't really object, huh?" Sonic sighed as he sat back down, all four legs of the chair resting on the floor. "Considering I already scarfed down the food. By the way, how'd you make all of that? It was great!"

"I had a little help from your girlfriend." Tails said with a smug smile as he stood up and slid the camp flyer across the table at the blue blur.

He watched Sonic's usual cool, calm demeanor turn uptight and panicked. "Amy is not my girlfriend." He said, quicker then needed. His hands even raised up in defense.

"I never said Amy was. You got that yourself. But, yes. She helped me." Tails teased as he walked out. "I'll be in the lab, if you need me. You should seriously think about beginning to pack your stuff. We leave at noon."

Thanks for the heads up, Tails, Sonic thought with a sigh as he stood up. His stomach purred pleasantly. It was content with Amy's cooking. It always was.

-x-

Amy awoke as soon as her alarm clock began to sing. She hit the off button instantly and sat right up in a perky manner. Her viridian eyes were wide as she looked around her dimly lit room, anxiety already pouring into the situation. She leaped out of bed and dashed over to the window and ripped open the curtains, allowing the vibrant sunlight to dance across her room. She sighed sweetly and skipped over to her closet doors. Her slender fingers wrapped around the knobs as she flung the doors open.

She pulled out her desired clothing for the day. A pair of jean shorts and a white short sleeved shirt and pink trainers. She shut her closet doors gently and pealed her soft cotton nightgown off of her thin body. Her eyes raised up from the nightgown on the floor to meet her mirror. Surely there was nothing wrong with the way she looked. Her quills rested just past her slim shoulders. Most everything about her was slim and slender; she had both a small build and stature. Her feet were the exception. Her lower lip plucked out at the sight of the flaw. Her feet were larger then need be. Her legs were trimmed, her hips were nicely shaped. She came upon the conclusion that she was lovely.

She dragged the shorts along her legs and pulled the shirt over her head. She positioned it better upon herself and looked back up at the mirror and gave it a perky smile. She positioned herself into a cutesy pose, pulling her hands in front of her body and giving the mirror doe eyes just as her phone began to ring. Her eyes darted to the source of the sound as she skid across the floor, still in her socks, and pulled it up to her ear. "Hello?" she asked. "Tails?"

"The hedgehog is running." He said in a low voice. "I repeat, the hedgehog is running."

"Sonic is running?" Amy asked, switching ears and resting the phone between her ear and her shoulder. "What does that have to do with camp?" She asked as she sat down on her cushioned bed and laced up her pink shoe.

"No! That's code!" Tails leapt.

"Huh?" she asked as she placed her left foot on the floor and brought her right foot onto the bed and slid the sneaker on it.

She heard Tails sigh. "Sonic is coming." He said finally.

Amy squealed audibly and stood straight up, her feet positioned inward, pigeon toed as always. She paced across her room, her phone still sandwiched in between her face and her shoulder, as she ran a brush through her petal pink locks. "You managed to convince him! That's great! I'm so happy!"

"I figured you would. Now, remember what Rouge told you." He lectured. "Don't jump all over him. You're going to be elusive, right?"

Amy rolled her eyes as she shifted the phone again from ear to ear. "Of course, Tails. How could I forget already? How ditzy do you think I am?"

There was no answer.

Amy's nose flared. "TAILS!" She gasped in a heated voice. It was sharp. Tails instantly knew that he'd be in a world of hurt later for that one.

"I'm sorry!" He apologized quickly. "Really, I am!"

"Yeah, yeah. You should be." She brushed the subject of with a swig of her hair brush. "Anyways, your positive this is going to work?"

"Absolutely. I'm positive he's into you. This is just going to drive him crazy until he finally cracks and dates you."

"Great!" She cheered. "I gotta go, okay? I need to eat before I take off. You guys are leaving around noon, right?"

"Affirmative."

Amy took that as geek-speak for 'yes'. "Okie dokie, then I'll be leaving around 11. It's a further journey from my house to the camp then your house, you know?"

"Yeah." He paused. "And Amy?"

"Yes, Tails?"

"You gotta stop saying 'okie dokie'." He laughed. "It's not very attractive. It's kinda childish."

"I'll stop saying things like 'okie dokie' when you stop saying things like 'affirmative'." She countered, running a slim hand over her soft, bouncy quills. They curled around her face pleasantly. Her vibrant eyes shot to the mirror again, analyzing her appearance.

"Touche." And with that, Tails hung up. Amy shook her head. He had never been one for chatting. She placed the phone back on the receiver and pulled her bag over her shoulder and carried it into her kitchen. She waddled down the hallway and dropped it near the doorway before practically skipping into her kitchen.

This was going to be the best week ever, she thought cheerily to herself.

-x-

Blaze's golden yellow eyes glared into her albino furred friend's own pair. She presumed he wasn't kidding by the serious look that flickered across his face, one that seemed  a little outlandish considering she hadn't seen him in a serious mood since she made a bet with him about whether or not he could beat her in a race.

"What do you mean summer camp?" Blaze questioned him, not dropping her gaze.

Silver's serious face twisted into a bright smile. "Summer camp, Blaze!" He said, clearly excited about whatever idea he had conjured up.

Blaze rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat, fiddling with the silverware that was set up on the table they were currently seated at. "I heard that much, Silver. I'm simply trying to figure out what summer camp has to do with anything we're currently dealing with."

Silver chewed on the inside of his cheek, trying to word what he wanted to tell his best friend in his head first. Blaze's serious and indifferent tone was a bit on the unnerving side, especially since he was trying to ask her to leave her duties to come to a camp ground. He knew that wouldn't appeal to her, not in the least bit... maybe he could guilt her into it?

"Well spit it out, Silver." Blaze said her voice clipped with impatience. He had invited her out to breakfast for a reason, and she was sure it wasn't about any of the meaningless nonsense he had spluttered out to her. It obviously was something about this summer camp.

"Okay, okay!" Silver said, sighing loudly and giving Blaze a determined look with his sunburst yellow eyes. "When was the last time you've taken a break?"

Blaze stared at him, bemused. "I don't believe I've ever taken a break." She said slowly, trying to figure out what her taking a break had to do with the thing he called summer camp. "I've never had a reason or need to."

Silver laughed. "Blaze, come on! I've been working a lot in the future, and things are really starting to turn around, you know?"

"Mhm. And I've been busy guarding the sol emeralds, Silver. What does it matter?"

"You need to take a break." Silver said.

Blaze was tempted to smirk at Silver, but she pushed the urge away, succeeding just barely. "Silver, I don't need a break. What I require is getting back to my dimension before I am missed." She took a quick glance out the window to see that the sun had risen from the east and was now floating overhead, brightening up the skies to a daring sky blue. It truly was getting late, and she had only been half aware that the time had been ticking by quickly. Her meetings with Silver generally lasted longer than usual, and when she arrived home she'd always have a antsy Marine and the Coconut Crew (Particularly Gardon) on her case. Not exactly how she wished to spend the rest of her day.

"Hello, earth to Blaze?" Silver called, waving a gloved hand swiftly in front of Blaze's face to draw her attention from the window back to himself.

Blaze blinked. "What now, Silver?" She asked exasperatedly.

"Look, Blaze. I'm asking you as a favor, not just for me, but for Sonic, Tails, and the others as well. Will you come spend your summer at a summer camp with us?" He said, finally spitting out what he had been trying to ask her since she had arrived.

"I..." Blaze said, a little bewildered, but overall not entirely sure what to say. She tugged on her pale glove thinking of some way to tell Silver that she didn't desire to go and stay with him and the other at a summer camp or whatever it was called. Not only was she concerned about seeing the others, but she was concerned about leaving her home for too long.

"Come on, I'm sure Tails can set up some sort of trans-dimensional phone or something so you can stay in touch with your people, and if you really want to, you can go home any time." Silver reasoned. He was sure that the only way to get Blaze to agree was to ensure her that her dimension would be safe if she wasn't there.

Blaze considered Silver's offer. Tails was smart... and she was certainly positive that he could do just that. She looked out the window again, this time catching her reflection as the sun beat down against the small restaurant building. She looked worn and tired, though she didn't have to look at herself to know that. She'd spent nights awake worrying about things that probably were not worth thinking about, and she'd been a little bit more grouchy than usual... maybe Silver was right. She did need a break.

Blaze turned to Silver, pursed her lips slightly before making her final decision, then nodded her head stiffly. "I'll go, Silver-"

"Awesome!" Silver exclaimed, positively beaming.

"But," Blaze said, making Silver's smile evaporate just as quickly as it had appeared. "If anything happens in my dimension," She eyed Silver to make sure he was listening. He was. "then I'm heading straight back. Deal?"

Silver smiled brightly again and grabbed Blaze's hand, shaking it once before dropping it again. "Deal."

-x-

"Knuckles!"

The red echidna was rudely torn from his sun bathing by a highish-pitched female voice. One that he knew all too well. He just wasn't used to it calling his name. He was more-so used to it squealing the blue blur's name. Needless to say, he wasn't any more enthused by the fact that it was his name she was shrieking.

Knuckles let out an exasperated sigh and opened his eyes, revealing annoyed looking pools of violet. He watched Amy dash over to his form, her pink quills fraying in every which direction as she ran. His face scrunched up in serious thought. How was it possible to be that energetic?

She stopped before him, her hands on her knees, as she panted. Her chest heaved inwards and outwards several times before she finally caught her breath. She looked up at him and grinned. "Hiya, Knuckles!"

"How did you get on Angel Island?" He asked, bemused.

She flashed him an odd grin. "Magic, silly." She then proceeded to wiggle her fingers at him, as if that were to symbolize magic or something. It symbolized craziness, to Knuckles, but he wasn't about to admit that to her face. If there was one thing that was certain to him about the moody pink hedgehog it was simply that. She was moody. Say one wrong thing and you'd have a hot date with her Piko Piko Hammer.

Knuckles smirked and chuckled a bit. He was sure Sonic knew all about that.

"What's so funny?" She asked, leaning in front of him. He jumped, caught off guard. Her head was tilted slightly, pink quills falling upon her face in a cute sort of way. Now, Knuckles never was one for cute, so it didn't faze him at all. That cute little face that she used to get whatever she wanted wasn't going to work.

"Nothing." He answered. "Seriously, though, why are you here?"

"Because." She said boldly, standing up straighter and folding her hands together behind her back. "I wanted to know if you would come to summer camp with me."

"With you?" He snorted. Her expression turned livid. That familiar blazing look in her jade eyes returned. "Amy, I'm not going to summer camp. Not with you, not with anyone. I have to guard the Master Emerald."

"You could push Sonic in the lake." She chirped with a smile. He was half concerned that she could offer up Sonic's pain on a silver platter to him like that.  

"No." He grunted, stubbornly. Her lower lip plucked out in annoyance. "I don't care who's going. No."

"Not even Rouge?" Amy grinned as his expression twitched just slightly. She knew she hit a nerve. She had been sensing something going on between the echidna and bat for a long time-- since the Ark incident-- and was finally able to use it to her advantage. Truth be told, she wanted Knuckles to come along so she could play match maker. Not because she really wanted him there. Knuckles was a real stick in the mud. "I hear she bought a new bikini." She said with a smug smile pricking at her rosy lips.

He stayed put for a moment, silent. Amy figured he was imaging the sight. It was no secret that Rouge was a knockout. She wasn't going to deny that Rouge was much more shapely then she was. "I don't care." He finally said. "I don't care about that thieving batgirl. All the more reason to stay here and protect the Master Emerald."

"Let that go, would ya?!" She gasped. "She's got gonna fly all the way from camp just to steal your stupid emerald!"

He's so stubborn, she thought forcefully. Her hands found their way back to her slim hips.

"I beg to differ. That woman is batty." He grunted and he closed his eyes. "And the Master Emerald is not stupid. It--"

"Please don't start preaching again, Knuckles. I've heard the story before." Amy moaned as she shifted her weight, her doll hips moving just slightly. Knuckles snorted. One, his eyes were closed, so he didn't really know how Amy thought that little flirty move would work on him, and two, he wasn't Sonic. "If it makes you feel any better, I have some friends who are willing to protect the Master Emerald."

His eyes opened to slits. His annoyed glance met her cheerful glance and she grinned wider. Was she finally getting through to the hard headed echidna? It seamed almost too easy...

"I don't want Charmy anywhere near-" He was cut off.

"NO. Not them. Vector's a camp consular anyways." She waved her hand dismissively. Suddenly, Knuckles thought, summer camp looked like even less of a good idea then it did a few moments ago. "These girls are good. One of them is dating Espio."

"Seriously?" Knuckles sat up a bit, his eyes opening more so. His interest was peaked. Espio was the only one out of that detective group that he found trustworthy. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. "He's dating her?"

"No." Knuckles face faulted as Amy continued. "But they might as well be. I mean, it's so obvious that they're into each other. And Kyo's got no powers, ya know, but she can kick some real butt..."

"How many of them are there?" Knuckles asked. He wasn't quite sure if he wanted to know.

Amy caught his wavering glance. "Only three. Cinder's a real sweetheart, and she's got some... interesting powers." She finished, looking back at her slightly large feet and kicking the ground meekly. Her hands were held behind her thin body, curling around one another timidly. Why did she give off such an innocent demeanor when she possessed such a fiery personality?

"I don't need sweethearts protecting the Master Emerald." Knuckles grunted.

"Well, I'm a sweetheart, and I can still fend for myself." Amy tweeted, cheerfully. Knuckles suppressed a remark or two. "And besides, Shadow is coming. Do you really want to leave Rouge alone with Shadow? Especially in her new bikini?"

Again. She hit another nerve. Knuckles had always been touchy about Rouge's friendship with Shadow. They were close. Amy knew that they were strictly friends and not particularly into each other, but Knuckles, clearly, wasn't too sure. She knew that Rouge had more then just a 'thing' for Knuckles. Knuckles was either too dense-- or stupid, take your pick-- to realize it. Just as Rouge didn't see that he liked her back. They both thought that the other one hated each other. What a big fat lie, Amy thought. Why can't everyone be more like me and be so clear with their feelings? Life would be so much easier...

She watched his expression turned strained. It was obvious that she had hit a touchy subject. He paused for a moment before looking at her seriously. "I'm coming."

She leapt over to him, full of energy once again, and wrapped her small arms around his bold frame. He looked down at her awkwardly. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" Amy asked, her eyebrows furrowed considerably. "I'm hugging you, duh."

"Oh." He paused. "Yeah, uh, don't do that. Ever."

"Agreed." Amy quickly let go of him.

"Too close."

"I hear ya."

-x-

Rouge the bat let a flirtatious smile slip over her lips as she examined herself in front of her mirror. She was dressed in a bright vermillion colored bikini that revealed some of her better features. She had picked it out specifically for the summer camp trip, completely aware that both Knuckles and Shadow would be going... at the least as far as they knew. Rouge flipped her ivory hair out of her face and leaned in closer to the mirror to make sure that her make-up hadn't been altered or smudged in any way. Sure enough, it was perfectly fine. She pursed her lips and leaned away from the mirror.

"Rouge!" A deep voice hollered, echoing through the hallways loud enough that she could hear it through her door.

Shadow, Rouge thought, grinning at herself in the mirror. "In here, Shads!" She called, turning away from her prepossessing reflection to look at the door. No sooner than five seconds, the door was thrown open and Shadow's dispassionate face appeared.

"Uh-" He said, his facing quickly shifting from emotionless to uncomfortable.

Rouge grinned at him. "You need something?"

Slam.

"Too easy," She said, tittering to herself before returning to her reflection. If she could get that response out of Shadow, she was curious and excited to see how Knuckles would respond at the summer camp.

-x-

Shadow rubbed his temples in irritation. Only Rouge would pull something stupid like that just for her own amusement. "God, I really need to move out of here," he muttered to himself. He'd been staying in Rouge's apartment for a long time. He didn't exactly have anywhere else to say, and since they were partners while working for G.U.N then it made things like communication a little bit easier. Living with Rouge had been quite an adventure, though. She had a tendency to pull things like what she had just done very often. Anything to get a good laugh or humiliate him in some manner, sure enough.

Shadow's ears twitched as he heard the clicking of Rouge's heels on the linoleum. His crimson orbs flickered to the doorway of the kitchen as soon as Rouge entered, her usual coquettish grin spread over her ruby lips. His eyes met her aqua-green ones for a split second and he knew she wanted something.

"What is it?" He asked, slightly exasperated.

Rouge stopped walking when she neared him and the table, and cocked a perfectly shaped eyebrow at him. "Whatever do you mean?" She asked, in clear mock confusion.

"Don't bother acting like I don't know you want something," Shadow said, and Rouge instantly pushed his feet off of her table where they had previously been resting.  He glared at her and sat up correctly in his seat before she decided this would be a good time to lecture him about his 'horrid posture'.

"I never said I wanted anything."

Shadow flashed her an agitated glance only earning himself a playful grin from the ivory haired bat. "Oh really?"

"Yup. I'm demanding it." She said, grin still in place. Her aqua-green eyes challenged Shadow, and he leaned back in his chair, putting his feet back on the table.

"Well what is it that you're demanding?" Shadow asked her, closing his eyes.

"That you come to summer camp with me and the others."

Shadow's eyes flashed open and glared at Rouge. "No." He said curtly before rolling his feet off of the table and standing up.

"But, Shadow!" Rouge called as he headed for his room. She sighed when she heard his door slam. "God he's so stubborn." She muttered before heading down the hallway and knocking on his door. He didn't respond.

"Shadow, come on!" Rouge yelled, fiddling with the doorknob. The door was locked. Rouge straightened her back, took in a quick breath then swiftly lifted her leg into the air and kicked the door in.

"ROUGE!" Shadow shouted at her, clearly miffed that she had just completely destroyed his only means of privacy. The wood of the door was splintered, and hanging off it's hinges. Half of it was missing. It had made an unruly impact with the wall on the other side of the room, destroying a lamp in the process.

Rouge jutted her hip to the side and planted a hand there. "Shadow the hedgehog, I suggest you get off of your ass and start packing. NOW." She said, giving him the 'Rouge-glare', making sure to add extra eye-twitch.

"N-"

She ripped off the other half of the door and chucked it towards him.

Shadow yelped and ducked, avoiding the massive hunk of wood just barely. "Christ, Rouge!" He shouted, standing back up now. "Give me one good reason why I should come with you and the rest of those moronic idiots, particularly Sonic?" He questioned.

Rouge brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face then held her hand out in front of her so she could look at her red nails. "Two reasons," She said, not looking at him. "One, you come with me, or I severely injure your body with this lamp,"

Shadow stood in place, waiting for her to continue.

She looked up at him, through her fingers. "And two, there's some people I'd like you to meet."

Shadow groaned. No, he wasn't particularly interested in seeing anybody, more or less meeting anybody, but he wasn't too sure how far Rouge would be willing to go to get him to come... or how many things she could turn into weapons in the apartment. He really wasn't in the mood to get his head knocked clear off of his shoulders. "Fine," He muttered.

Rouge put her hand down. "What was that?" She asked him.

"Fine! I'll go pack my bloody bag." He said. "Now get out of my room."

Rouge grinned, and let her wings flutter rapidly for a few seconds, making papers fly across Shadow's room.

Shadow turned to glare at her. "Was that necessary?"  He inquired.

"Yes, I do believe it was." Rouge said, turning on her heels and exiting Shadow's room.

His eyes looked over his room. It was now a disaster with papers, glass from the broken lamp, and splinters of wood coating the floor. Sometimes he really detested Rouge and her mannerism of getting him to do what she wanted.

-x-