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According to Sonic, the saccharine sweetness of those cheesy pop songs Amy kept singing is plain disgusting. Not like that stopped her. From the boombox blasted the excessively catchy hot songs of the week, whatever that meant. They all sounded the same to him, anyway. He made a face, looking at the small vacuum in his hand.“If ya got a problem with the music, you can change it!” Amy said, waving her feather duster from across the room.He groaned, chiding himself for the smile that crept across his face. She’s as happy as these songs, Sonic noted in his head. Somehow, he ended up getting roped up into helping Amy with her spring cleaning.“I thought you don’t like speed metal,” Sonic said, raising an eyebrow as he handed her a rag.“Nah, it’s just a lot harder to sing along to,” Amy shrugged. She wiped the sweat from her forehead before turning back to clean the windows.Sonic found himself distracted by the current song as it faded in. The beat was electronic, and the vocal melody synthesized beyond recognition. Something about it was familiar, but he couldn't shake why.“Sonic, could you help me with that?” Amy pointed to a porcelain knick-knack placed high on a shelf she couldn’t reach. It took him an extra second to realize Amy asked him a question, but connected the dots when he saw where her hand was pointing.“What? Yeah.” Without thinking, Sonic picked up Amy by the waist and hoisted her up higher. She grabbed it easily, then looked back at Sonic as he put her down.“You know, you’re tall enough to have grabbed it yourself,” she said.
♫ I've been here before and I know that
We must stand up tall ♫
“What can I say,” Sonic teased. “I’m just following the music’s orders.”“Whatever you say,” Amy replied, still confused. “I’ll just grab a step-stool.” She left the room, leaving Sonic to his own thoughts.
♫ ...If you could tell me how to lend a hand
I would try to understand
No words could say how much I care
Together we can take a stand ♫
He blinked, trying to figure out why he felt so weird about this song. His mind wandered to Amy, and how she might tease him if he admitted this one in particular was alright in his book.“Hey Amy?” he called loudly so she could hear him in the other room. “I’m gonna switch it to rock.”Beep-blip! An electronic jingle rang out from their communicators.“Guys,” Tails said through the call. “You’re probably gonna want to turn on the TV.”Amy hit the power button on her remote, and the screen lit up with Comedy Chimp’s familiar face.“We’re holding auditions for Unnamed Idol down in the town plaza tomorrow!” announced Comedy Chimp. “One lucky resident is gonna win a contract from the Grammy award-winning label, Eggman Industries.” The camera panned over, revealing Doctor Eggman as the guest of the day.“You can’t be serious,” Sonic groaned. Amy bumped up the volume up a bit higher.“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Eggman said. He sat poised in the chair, enjoying the limelight.“Aren’t we legally named Hedgehog Village?” Comedy Chimp asked, continuing with the interview. “Why is the competition named Unnamed Idol?”“As if I’m going to give any credit to that blue pineapple,” Eggman groaned. “Plus, there’s only three hedgehogs on this entire island, as far as I’m concerned. Doesn’t make too much sense.”“He has a point,” Knuckles chimed in over the communicator.“We should probably check it out,” Amy said into her communicator as she gave Sonic a nod.“Will you vote for me if I audition?” Knuckles asked.“Someone fill me in,” Sticks said impatiently. It was already obvious she wasn’t willingly going to watch the program.“Looks like Eggman is sponsoring a music competition,” Sonic began.“Ah, It’s going to be some mind control hoax, like all reality television,” Sticks said.“Probably,” Sonic agreed. “But it’s not like we have anything better to do.”
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The line to the stage wrapped around the block. It seemed that just about everyone wanted to be part of the competition, or at least watch the worst ones get verbally torn apart. A crowd had gathered to share their input.“Next!” T.W. Barker folded his arms, annoyed. He sat at a desk behind a small placard that read “screening judges.” The panel comprised of him, Lady Walrus, and Dixon, the uppity TV producer.Knuckles approached the microphone proudly, puffing out his chest.“Who are you, and what are you going to sing?” Dixon asked, not really caring about the answer either way.“This is Knuckles, and you've reached the Death Chamber,” he started.Tails, sitting in the front row, slapped his forehead. “I gave you so many songs to choose from, and you picked that one?!”“Death chamber…?” Knuckles mumbled under his breath.“I’ve heard enough. Next!” Dixon yelled.Eggman pointed Knuckles to the door, grinning slyly. He looked at the rest of the line, satisfied with the turnout. It wouldn’t be surprising if this whole plan based solely on the satisfaction of rejection.“What’s your deal, Egghead?” Sonic asked, hands on his hips.“I’m over all this cliché music the radio keeps playing,” Eggman argued. “I’m looking for real talent, so move along now.”“Hey, you’re saying I’m not talented?” Sonic puffed out his cheeks.“Oh, I didn’t need to hold a competition for that.”“I said next!” Dixon grumbled impatiently.“Knucks, come back!” Sonic called after his friend, slinging his guitar strap over his shoulder. “Tails, you too! Let’s rock this place!”Knuckles shuffled back to the drum set, somewhat sad from the last rejection. His energy quickly returned as he sat down, however. Tails hovered slightly off the ground in excitment.“1, 2, 3!” Knuckles counted, clicking his drum sticks together.Sonic didn’t even get a word out before he noticed the complete lack of interest.“Wait, what gives?” he asked, suspicious that Duditude’s sudden reunion wasn’t more warmly received.“There’s something funky happening,” Tails said, turning to grab a device.“Funky might serve you better,” Lady Walrus insisted. “We don’t need to hear that rock or rap noise."“Looks like you’re not as popular as you thought,” Eggman said in a mock-whisper, taunting them.“Wait, what?” Sonic asked, disappointed. “We saved this village with the power of music already. Doesn’t that count for something?”“The panel is under my control. And since the whole town listens to whoever’s on TV, they’ll never want to listen to your dumb band again. Soon, they’ll all turn to my music as respite!” Eggman threw his arms up triumphantly.Sonic scoffed. “Your music?”“I am an award winning artist, after all.”“Is the award for dumbest facial hair?”“That’s none of your business,” Eggman grumbled. “It was best facial hair,” he added quietly. “And a Grammy.”“Mind control doesn’t make your stuff any good,” Sonic said, rolling his eyes. “We already learned that with the whole Justin Beaver fiasco.”“I wasn’t even in that episode. And you can’t do anything to stop me,” Eggman gloated. “Go on, try.” He waved his hand dismissively, gesturing to the microphone.Sonic approached the stand. He hadn’t even had time to open his mouth before the crowd began to mutter in disapproval.“Uh, hey guys!” Sonic tried. He was out of luck, considering that rock made up practically the entirety of his repertoire. Thinking quickly, he looked at Amy, who was trying to process the situation. Sonic grinned, forming an idea.“We’re the backing band for the next contestant,” he continued. “Give it up for Amy Rose!”“What!?” Amy felt her heart jump. “I’m supposed to be your agent.” She scowled at Sonic, who only smoothly flashed her a smile.“Do it for me?” Sonic asked, leaning away from the microphone. He knew she would give in to his puppy-dog eyes. “You’re a good singer, so it’s not like you have anything to worry about.”Amy huffed. She wasn’t going to complain after Sonic had complimented her, of all things. “Fine,” she mumbled, making her way to microphone perched in front of the boys.
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“What kind of sound are you looking for?” Amy asked the judges, trying to stall for time.“Something fun, but a little sassy,” Dixon offered. “Nothing that’s on the radio right now.”“But that’s… everything they play on the radio,” Amy said.“It should be original too,” Lady Walrus added, bringing another layer to the challenge.“Wait, what?”“This is a good cliffhanger for a commercial,” Eggman thought out loud. “Take a break, everyone!”The judges and audience got up from their seats to amble around and stretch. The cameramen stopped recording, giving Sticks the opportunity to approach the stage.“That conveniently gives us time to figure out our plan,” Sonic noted.“I know the label ‘reality’ television is a lie, but I’m invested. You really ramped up the stakes,” Sticks said encouragingly. “Everyone’s wondering what kind of performance Amy’s gonna put on!”“You think I could get away with juggling?” Amy asked.“No, this ain’t the circus,” Sticks shot down the idea without a second thought.“Tough crowd.”“I want to mention there’s never been a time where I’m more glad I can’t sing,” Sticks said, grinning at her best friend.Amy rolled her eyes.“I don’t have a song or anything prepared,” she argued, feeling trapped. “And didn’t Eggman just tell us about mind control? How does me singing help us get in?”“If our rock-and-roll frequencies got Justin Beaver out of his mind control, it should work the other way too,” Tails urged. “Luckily, this device I have is perfect for us.”He flew towards the teleprompter, placing an odd-looking antenna on top. The screen cycled through a few channels, before reverting to static.“We’ll play you a song,” Tails explained, pointing at the screen. “Whenever this detects music, you can get automatically-generated lyrics right here.”As a test, Sonic played the opening riff to a song on the guitar. Immediately, the device rotated towards the source, deciphering the notes.“Woo!”The screen blinked, pulling up lyrics.“Really? City Escape?” Amy asked, disgruntled.“Wanted to see how it worked. No time for guessing,” he shrugged.“Yeah, yeah,” she waved her hand dismissively. “Follow your plan instead,” she finished the line, unamused.“Anyway, all those pop songs you listen to use the same chords,” Sonic offered. “Singing along to the tune shouldn’t be hard, even if you haven’t heard it before.”“You guys ready yet?” Barker asked, interrupting the conversation. The audience had since returned to their seats, and most people were ready to get back to their positions.“As we’ll ever be,” Knuckles retorted. “So, …no. But we’ll make it work.”“Smooth, Knucks,” Sonic quipped.“What the?” Eggman said, coming closer to take a look at the device Tails placed on the console. “There is to be no cheating in my reality TV show.”“It just brings up the lyrics! But be careful, it’s—” Tails cried.Like a cat knocking off every object on the counter, Eggman shoved the device to the floor without a second thought.“…Fragile.”“Eh, I don’t have time for this,” said Eggman. “Start rolling!”Sticks scrambled back to the chairs, while the rest of Team Sonic fiddled with their instruments in an attempt to look busy.“I should check if the song lyric generator is still functioning…” Tails realized, sneaking his way towards it so that he wouldn’t be caught by the cameras.“So Amy, what song are you singing today?” asked Dixon, clearly trying to drum up drama.“It’s uh…um...” Amy’s eyes darted between the panel and Tails tiptoeing towards the device, drawing out her words. “…a surprise.”“And original?” Barker asked, raising an eyebrow.“Y-yep!” So original, I haven’t even heard it before! Amy thought.Tails returned back to center stage, only able to offer a shrug.“It looks like it works, but I have no idea how well,” he whispered before picking up his guitar. “Just go with what you got.”This would be a good time to be amazing at improv, Amy thought to herself as the boys began to play opening notes. She tensed, hearing the same opening cue Knuckles used for his own songs, but began to smile as the guitars switched up the tune. To kill time, Amy vocalized the notes, familiarizing herself with the tune as she went along.
♫ I got out my map and chose a place I wanted to go to ♫
She grinned just a little bit wider, relieved to find that the machine had actually given her lyrics to work off of.
♫ I know that your lucky color is that cool shade of blue ♫
Feeling a bit more confident, she turned to Sonic, giving him a wink. The crowd ate it up immediately, cheering for the flirtatious persona.
♫ I guess I'm so easy to understand I just do whatever comes to me naturally ♫
Amy’s eyes widened when Eggman approached the teleprompter as she continued to sing. Unwilling to interrupt the song, she could only watch as he rubbed his hands together, plotting something. Innocently whistling, he flicked the antenna, making it vibrate wildly before standing straight up again. The screen jittered, only to reveal a bizarre set of lyrics for the second verse.
♫ …I do understand the feelings of a Persian Cat
but the Sphinx looked so cute, I had to shave it
He reminds me of parsley when he's standing there all alone… ♫Trooper that she is, Amy sang along proudly, managing make it sound like this was her plan the whole time. The rest of the song seemed to amaze the audience, who had been blindsided by the nonsense that came out of her mouth just a verse ago.They were clapping. The audience was clapping. Amy heaved a sigh of relief.“With a performance like that, you’re in for the finals,” Lady Walrus said, giving a polite golf clap.“The finals?” asked Amy. “This is the first audition.”“There’s probably what, 30 people in this village? Not everyone can stretch a show about the same five people for a whole season,” Barker pointed out.Sonic leaned towards Amy to whisper so the microphones wouldn’t pick it up. “Yikes, Sticks is not going to like that.”As if on cue, Sticks grumbled to herself. “I don’t like it when they get self-referential. That’s my job.”“The final round is in three days,” Barker said. “Make sure you have a new song,”“Otherwise we won’t care,” Dixon added bluntly.“I’ll get right on it!” Amy said with a practiced smile. At the very least, she could use her status as a hero to stay a crowd favorite. Eggman could only manage a confused stare as the group happily exited the stage.“Hey! The show is starting!” Knuckles said, jostling the bowl of popcorn on his lap.“Welcome to the first episode of Unnamed Idol,” said Comedy Chimp. He was front and center as the show’s host, which included all his lame jokes. “Let’s meet the contestants!”The drivel continued, sprinkled in with footage from the best and worst of the singers. Amy watched as Sonic’s eyes glazed over in boredom. She couldn’t blame him—there were so many other fast paced things to watch, and they were stuck with reality television.“Oh, that’s us!” said Tails, drawing attention to the screen. She saw Sonic puff out his cheeks as the crowd refused to cheer for his band.“After a literal rocky start, Sonic and friends almost failed the first round,” the announcer explained. “Do Sonic and Amy have the spark to win it all?”“What?” said Sonic, feeling heat creep up to his ears. “How is that—How are me and Amy relevant to winning a singing competition?”“This is how they rack up views,” Amy replied, facepalming. She watched a little more intently as they replayed her winking at Sonic at least three times over. Whoever edited the show had thrown in hearts and romantic music every time they got remotely close to each other.“I was literally telling you about Sticks here,” Sonic pointed out defensively.“…I think Eggman just played us.”
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“What do you want?” Eggman grumbled as Team Sonic approached him. “Can’t you see I’m running a show here?” He gestured at the long line that had once again formed for the second day of auditions.“Where do you benefit from making me and Amy some item?,” Sonic said, cutting straight to the point. “Are you trying to screw up our image?” His mouth formed a tight frown, obviously annoyed at the red tape of being a public hero.“It’s just the business of it,” he said dismissively. “Really, do you know how much this costs me?”“Why spend all the money then?” Tails interjected.“Because! If I can’t take over the world with robots, maybe I can with the help of fanatic teenagers,” he replies. “Sometimes you gotta make a career out of what’s available.”“You have fanatic teenagers at your disposal?” asked Sticks.“No, not yet,” he replied. “But that’s the nature of the genre. Once the winner signs with my record label, I’ll be unstoppable! It’s like mind control, but blind willingness.”“What if we win? I’m not signing any contract,” Sonic argued.“You’re not supposed to win. Plus, I wouldn’t count on that happening,” Eggman said. “You need votes, and everyone expects a cheesy love song out of you two.”Sonic grimaced. Gross. Still, his competitive side managed to shine through. “Alright, fine. We’ll deliver.”Eggman’s jaw dropped, but he quickly recovered. Suspecting Sonic was bluffing, he laughed. “Funny. Now you best run along before I call security,” he said somewhat sweetly.“What, you can’t do anything if we win, then?” Sonic asked, a typical smirk spreading across his face.“Fat chance of that happening. Scram!”“You doing okay?” Amy asked Sonic, standing between him and the TV. “You haven’t moved in fifteen minutes and it’s scaring me.” Amy had invited him over to help with the rest of her chores, but he managed to wipe the place spotless in under a minute out of sheer boredom.“Not wailing on robots is the worst,” he whined. “Egghead’s too busy producing trash TV like this to fight us.” Sonic gestured to the screen.“Fix-it Sisters?” Amy asked, skeptical of the title.“Staci and Perci go around the village fixing up people’s junk,” Sonic grumbled. “I couldn’t make this up if I tried.”“If you hate it, why are you watching?”“I can’t stop.”Instead of badgering any further, Amy took the seat next to Sonic, trying to decipher what was happening.“Are they qualified to do this?” she asked, noting the lack of tools at their disposal.“They’re twins,” Sonic said. “That’s enough to be on TV, apparently.”“No way,” Amy said. “That backsplash is gonna make them go way over budget.”“It opens up the space,” Sonic argued. “The color needs an overhaul, anyway.”Amy paused. Never in her life did she think she’d actually agree with Sonic over interior design.“Sonic?”“Yeah?”“I understand what Eggman means by mind control now. We’re been watching this for an hour now.”“No way,” Sonic said, looking at the time. “Seriously?”“Wanna watch The Bachelor instead?”“...Absolutely.”“She deserved better, anyway,” quipped Sonic as the girl he was rooting for was snubbed a rose.“The guy isn’t exactly a dreamboat, either,” Amy commented, shaking her head. Sonic grimaced, displeased with Amy's word choice.The feeling that they should be doing something, anything else returned to Amy. Wasn’t this what old married couples do? It definitely didn’t seem to fit in the schedule of world-saving teenagers.She tapped her fingers on the seat cushion. They were forgetting something, but she couldn’t fathom what. Then, she realized:“Dude. You wasted the whole day watching TV.”“We wasted the whole day watching TV,” he pointed out.“Sonic. We have one day to write a song.”
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“How hard is it to come up with cutesy lyrics?” Sonic asked, scratching his head. They had the whole day ahead of them to come up with the song to perform, but little progress was being made.“It’s not really working out on my end,” Amy grumbled, tapping her pencil against the desk. She crossed out cheesy lyrics she couldn’t bring herself to say out loud.“You’re the cute one, anyway,” he continued. “Shouldn’t this come more naturally to you?”Amy looked up from her notes. “I’m sorry, what?” She felt her cheeks burn after hearing Sonic compliment her so casually. Amy found it hard to think straight in times like this.“Like… you’re uh…Team Sonic’s …girl, y’know?” Sonic stumbled to explain. “Not that Sticks isn’t a girl, but you’re pink and sweet and already have the whole cute and marketable thing going for you.”“Huh.” As his cute comment fell flat, the butterflies in Amy’s stomach stopped being such a nuisance. She rolled her eyes, but smiled anyway.“Yeah,” Sonic rubbed his nose, avoiding eye contact. He had the sneaking suspicion he could have handled that better, and distracted himself by looking out the window.“Sonic,” Amy said, calling him to attention.“Yeah?”“Remind me why we’re doing this when Tails has a robot that’ll do it for us?”“Yeah, I fixed the song device immediately after the show,” Tails said. “You were supposed to have sorted this out yesterday.” His voice rang clear from Sonic’s communicator.“Our bad,” Sonic apologized.“We ended up sucked in an endless Bachelor marathon and forgot what day it was,” Amy explained.“Just head over to the lab when you’re ready,” Tails groaned.
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The village was all gathered for the big finale, and the final contestants prepared backstage. The footage was going to air live, meaning that there was no turning back now.“Ready?” Sonic asked Amy, who was adjusting the microphone attached to her headset. Before she could reply, another contestant spoke up.“Nice to finally meet the star couple!” he said eagerly.“O-oh, it’s not really like… that…” Amy stuttered out. She was completely caught off guard. Sonic tried to stifle his laugh as her face went red.“I hear you wrote a duet for this finale,” another finalist chirped. Suddenly, Amy’s embarrassment wasn’t quite as funny.“D-duet?” Sonic balked.“That’s what Eggman promises you were going to do. The ratings are kinda riding on you guys.”“Uhhh,” Amy stalled. “Yeah. That’s what we did. Yep.” She clenched her teeth in an awkward smile.Amy looked at Sonic, trying to mask her bewilderment. She cocked her head slightly, which he nodded to in response—a silent agreement. They had already gone through so many hoops trying to throw Eggman off his game, so this new layer was just another inconvenience they could sidestep.Amy hummed to herself, visibly uncomfortable. “If you excuse us…” She yanked Sonic out the door and out of earshot.“We can just do every other verse or something?” he whispered, wary of the camera that was very clearly trained on catching their every movement.“Sounds good to me,” Amy agreed. She shot the camera an innocent smile before shooing it away shyly. “Normally, I’d be tempted to hammer that thing away. But we have to play by the rules to win this thing.”Five more acts until their performance. Amy paced around the back room, too many nerves to keep her still.Two more acts until their performance. Sonic tapped his fingers repeatedly on the couch, unsure how to handle his impatience. He had forced Amy to sit down, but now he felt fairly bottled up. He was starting to feel the jitters.One more act until their performance. Amy had made the mistake of checking social media. “Team ‘SonAmy’ is trending locally,” she noted aloud. Sonic rolled his eyes. Before he could quip back anything snarky, an announcement came over the speaker.“Give a round of applause to Amy Rose and Sonic the Hedgehog!”She could feel the nervous energy creeping up from her fingers, making her whole arms shake. It wasn’t like she was unprepared—she had memorized the melody and lyrics just fine. No surprise singing about cat shaving was going to come this time around. Amy steeled herself, desperately trying to turn the nervous energy into enthusiasm.Sonic wasn’t convinced.“Hey, it’ll be great,” he urged. He reached for her hands, holding them tightly. “You got this. We got this.”Amy smiled for a second, thankful. She was amused by the fact he even threw on his sequined jacket for the show’s sake; Sonic really was the type to go all out for one performance.He strummed along, providing the melody to the undeniably cheery song that played over the speakers.Earnestly, Amy sang along.
♫ Anywhere you want to go,
Anything you need to know…
All the best in life,
I want to get it for you! ♫
The crowd just about lost it when Sonic continued the sentiment.
♫ Lately I just feel so fine,
I imagine that you're mine
In my world you're gold I only wanna protect you!
Whatever I want,
I get… ♫
His words trailed off, caught off guard by how happy Amy looked. She jumped in to finish the line.
♫ I want a shooting star! ♫
It took all of Sonic’s willpower to not start laughing right then and there. Her smile was beginning to win him over, too. When did these lame pop songs start being so appealing? Perhaps this whole reality television thing held a a bit of truth.
...If you just follow me in my dreams!~ ♫
Sonic grinned. Amy’s performance was fantastic. What he didn’t notice, however, was what direction she was looking as she held the last note.Amy gulped. “Sonic. Please forgive me for what I’m about to do.”Sonic’s guitar playing stopped abruptly as the backing music swelled.“Wh—” Sonic’s response was interrupted by Amy yanking his bandana, shoving her lips against his, earning the cheering support of the crowd.
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“They’re tallying the votes outside,” Amy mumbled to the rest of the gang. Sonic had sped off after the performance, unsurprisingly. His cheeks were probably as red as Knuckles in that moment. He returned after gauging the crowd’s reaction. “I think it’s pretty safe to say we won,” he reported, avoiding Amy’s gaze.“Sonic,” she said, trying to get his attention. “Mnn?” Sonic nodded, avoiding eye contact. “Could we have a minute, guys?” Amy asked. Sticks, Knuckles, and Tails agreed to step outside. Amy twiddled her fingers, breathing in sharply.“I know the kiss was a lot, and I’m sorry,” she began.“It was nice,” Sonic admitted, feeling himself blush as he looked towards the ceiling. “It’s just that usually I get to be the one who shows off and saves the day.”“Yeah,” said Amy. “That’s what you’re the leader for,” she giggled. It was nice? she wanted to press further, but decided against it.“I’m glad you got to have your moment,” Sonic said. “And... I’m glad I got to share it with you.”“Sonic?” She could only blink as he was closing in on her with a dreamy expression. “Please forgive me for what I’m about to do,” he said with smug, half-lidded eyes, parroting her words. He leaned forward, closing the gap between his lips and hers. Eggman, who was in the doorway, smirked. He was unsure whether or not it was worth trying to take down Sonic at that point. Then again, they ended up being a jackpot when it came to raking in views. He decided to take the small victories in this failed scheme.Had they looked up, they may have noticed the live camera streaming the entire intimate moment for the world to share in. “Congratulations to our winners.”