Black Petals: Chapter 11 ~ Civilization

"Finally here..." Shadow stated as they arrived at Amy's apartment in Central City. It had been a 5 hour long trip, but they made it, with little attention drawn to Amy's unwittingly revealing attire. "Yeah, but it took a while to get here," Amy said. "Why no Chaos Control for the trip?" Shadow shrugged and replied, "I'm trying conserve my energy these days. I need to be ready for anything, especially at night. The last thing I need to happen is to be ambushed by random monsters."

Amy unlocked her door and asked, "What do you mean? Are you talking about the Dark Gaia incident?" Shadow nodded as they stepped inside. "I don't know much about it, but if the Doctor was foolish enough to resort to splitting the whole damn planet apart to feed his ambitions, who know what other cans of evil he's willing to unseal." Amy flipped a light switch. "Yeah, he's a stubborn old man, huh?" She looked around and, satisfied that everything was as she'd left it, headed for her bedroom. "Make yourself at home, Shadow."

Shadow nodded in thanks and looked around her apartment. It was clean (despite the dust, of course) and well kept, as to be expected of its owner. There were frilly decorations about and an overall cozy feeling. One thing Shadow could not help but notice was a wall with numerous pictures, most of which were, predictably, of Sonic. Shadow sighed and shook his head in annoyance. 'It hasn't been long, but as long as I have known her, she's always been obsessed with him. Regardless of how many times he's childishly ditched and rebuffed her advances half-heartedly, she always came back for more. I can't even begin to assume how heart-breaking each instance must have been for her.' Shadow glared at one picture in particular, which was of Sonic and Amy at Twinkle Park. Amy was blissfully ignorant of how uncomfortable Sonic was. 'Why couldn't you just man up and be straight with her then, Sonic?'

Meanwhile, Amy was in her room, looking at herself in her mirror and noticing her new figure for the first time. She looked at her longer, sharper spines, making a note to make them look less messy. She also got a better look at her body, running her hands over the areas she never thought she'd grow in. Amy could not help but feel her confidence soar the more she gazed upon her new, stronger-looking figure. However, there was an issue that came to her mind. If her Extreme Gear outfit is too small for her now, wouldn't that mean her other clothes would not fit anymore?

An hour passed and Shadow began to get bored. At that moment, he was cleaning his favorite pistol (the Commander tended to be a stickler about weapons upkeep). It was then that Amy emerged from her bedroom, wearing nothing but a bathrobe. As Shadow glanced at her, he found his jaw dropping in spite of himself. "W-What?" Amy asked shyly. "N-None of my clothes fit anymore." Shadow fought down his growing blush as best he could and said, "...I see. You'll have to get some new ones."

"Obviously," she said, "But I'm not going alone." Shadow knew immediately what she was getting at. "I am most certainly not accompanying you to shop for clothes. I have far more important things to be doing with my time." Amy was about to fuss at him for his callousness, but instead said, "...Ok, if that's what you want." Shadow looked at her tentatively. "It is."

Amy continued, "I mean, it's not as though you are obligated to help me out or anything, even though you're responsible for my current condition. I mean, I did ask you to train me and all, but you were the one to agree to it. Now, with my current amazing figure – which I have you to thank for, by the way - I can't possibly wear my old clothes. I'd have to browse around for hours for just the right outfits, thereby taking up so much time which could be better spent looking for that Chaos Emerald I need to continue my training. And who knows? *gasp* Dr. Eggman may show up out of nowhere to kidnap me again! Without my Piko Piko Hammer - which is still lodged in a boulder, thanks to you - and with only 18 measly months of combat training to fall back on, I'd be hard pressed to stop him from doing whatever he wished with me. Then, of course, you would have to search high and low to get me back, wouldn't you?  On the other hand, if you were with me, we'd finish up so much quicker, avoiding all that potential danger as a result. But, if you really have more important things to do than remedy what you've began-

"ALL RIGHT, ALREADY!" Shadow shouted, "WE'LL GO SHOPPING IN THE MORNING!"

"Really? Goody! Thank you, Shadow!" Amy said with a coy wink. "You're welcome..." Shadow growled. "Ok, then! Guess we need some dinner, then," Amy stated. "How much money do you have on you, Shadow?" He kept glaring as he answered, "Enough. Why?" Amy looked at him incredulously. "Duh! I haven't been home in months! The food I have has probably gone bad by now." Shadow found it hard to argue against that point. "And I can't go out like this," she continued, "So you'll have to do the shopping."

Shadow seethed, "Why am I being subjected to this nonsense?" Amy smirked and replied, "Think of it as retribution for the hellish training you've put me through." Shadow just rolled his eyes. "Whatever." Amy walked to the kitchen and yanked a note from her bulletin board, giving it to Shadow. "Here's a shopping list I made before I left." Shadow raised his eyebrows, mildly impressed. "Hm. You're more prepared than I expected." Amy smiled shyly, always enjoying Shadow's praise, mainly because it was so rare when it didn't involve training.

Shadow put the list and his pistol away and said, "All right. I'll be back soon." Amy cheekily said, "Hurry back, now. I'm getting hungry." Shadow just growled and left via Chaos Control, as she giggled triumphantly. "It's about time I got him for something. He's been teasing me all this time while I've been at his mercy!" She hopped up and down giddily. "It feels great to have the upper hand against a guy, especially without needing my hammer!"