Title: What's In A Name?
Rating: K
Pairings/Characters: Amy, Knuckles, KnuxAmy if you squint
Summary: Amy's dwelling on a well known topic causes her to rethink her outlook on reality.

OK, backstory... umm... I recently heard the Sonic DDR song, "They Call Me Sonic", and as the title suggests, the basic lyrics of the song are why they call him Sonic. Repeated. (There honestly isn't much to the song). I heard the words and thought "Oh, they call you somthing other than Sonic?", my voice thick like sarcastic marmite. But then I started thinking about it and realized, almost paranoid... what if his name wasn't really Sonic?

Well, to me, that thought is basically saying that everything I know is a cake... I mean lie. And then I thought of Amy's reaction, and, well... read on to find out.

Sonic.

They called him Sonic.

…How did she not see this before?

For the past three years of her life, she had followed him without question. She remembered seeing him for the first time on the news, when she was just nine years old (he had been eleven); he had single-handedly defeated Dr. Robotnik.

She saw his face the first time that day, an image burned into her mind; he was a handsome boy, still was, and was now just as wild and free as the wind itself, like he always was. It was an exhilarating moment for her, seeing him there, smiling, emerald eyes glowing with a passion. For the first time, she saw that even people as young as she could make a difference and save the day when the adults couldn't. She remembered then asking her parents for his name.

And they told her, "They call him 'Sonic'."

In retrospect, such an answer is acceptable to a nine-year-old girl. If an adult tells you what something is called at that young an age, you usually listen and assume that "what it's called" is equal to "what it's named". So she assumed his name was Sonic.

But how did she know that?

Three years- three years of avoiding that one question- were now just a blur to her, just like he was. He was always a blur… because they called him Sonic.

When the thought first came to her mind, she thought nothing of it, and laughed it off. After all, Tails wasn't really named Tails, and no one minded that. So what if "Sonic" could be a nickname, then? It made no difference. He, like Tails, was still the same.

Of course, it was approximately fifteen seconds after that thought that she realized, with dull despair, that, although "Tails" was just a nickname, everyone still acknowledged him as "Miles".

So if that was true, how did she know she knew "Sonic" at all? She, who so many a time before, proclaimed proudly that she would one day marry him? If she didn't even know his real name, why… what sort of a person did that make her?

For the first time in her young life, she was scared. Truly, truly afraid. Yes, the adrenaline from her kidnappings and the countless world-saving exploits before certainly had her worked up then, but this was fear in its most pure state. It was as though she was losing a grip on reality, a grip she thought she knew she had.

She needed help. But who could she turn to? Anyone on her level of society would just say she was thinking too much. But how did they know? How would they possibly understand her thoughts unless they had thought them themselves?

And then she thought of him.

That was why she know found herself here, on this island that until recent events she would have considered just a flight of fantasy, as the guest of its soul inhabitant. Beneath his rough, stubborn, and maybe even thick persona, she knew his true colors; he was a sweetheart, a protector, the ideal big brother for the happy-go-lucky girl.

But, as someone who had lived their entire life alone and was not used to people, she knew that, if she truly wanted to know if she was losing her mind, she just had to ask him that one question.

Of course, that one question didn't arise until well into the day. They had spent the hours they had together, laughing, smiling, swinging their legs carelessly off the edge of that altar, the green light shining through the giant gem blanketing their backs. It was around that time when he brought out treat for her; apparently Tails had stopped by earlier with ice cream. (Kudos to you, Tails, kudos.)

And as they sat there, eating their treats in silence, she asked him.

"Knuckles… your name… it really is Knuckles, right…?"

He looked at her, and laughed.

"No, it's Ankles McElbowson. Of course it's my name! You know that."

She blushed, and looked away.

"I guess I do."

"Waaaiiit, what's with the face? Is something wrong?"

"N… Nothing's wrong!"

"Oh, yes there is!"

"Oh, no there isn't!"

"Well, I'll just make you tell me then!"

"Wait, wha- ahh, no! Knuckles, don't! Not there, please!"

And as they played there, with him tickling her to her own demise, she started to laugh, but really, Amy Rose was crying inside and secretly thanking him for his words.

Her hero changed for a while that day.