I Am...All of Me

Team Dark's Self-Care Night

Inspired by the short comic above...

    A lot had changed since Amy left Sonic and his team. She had always been the annoying fangirl to them, even after she had grown and matured past that stage. She wanted to be more than Sonic's tag-along; she wanted to find her own identity. So she left, and soon she found herself as a member of another very special group. G.U.N.'s Team Dark.

  That was a year ago, and she had never looked back.

   At first, Shadow wasn't quite sure what to think of the small pink hedgehog joining his team, but after a year's worth of fighting alongside her (and enjoying her cooking), he could confidently say that she was a valued member of Team Dark.

   The girl still had some...peculiarities though.

  "I'm home," Shadow called as he entered the team's shared apartment. It had been a long day at the base, and he was looking forward to a good meal and an early night. But as he entered the main living area, he couldn't but stop and stare at the bizarre sight before him.

   Rouge had changed out of her conforming uniform to a tank top and loose, pastel green sweatpants. For once, she wasn't wearing her customary blue eyeshadow, and the white bat was calmly painting her nails.

   Amy had also changed into a baggy yellow top, and fuchsia shorts, her quills pulled up and away from her face. The pinkette was happily painting Omega's claws like fingernails.

     "What is going on?" the dark agent asked carefully, yet, he couldn't help but feel that this strange phenomenon was someone Rose's doing.

   "Hey, handsome," Rouge purred without looking up from her little project.

   "Shadow," Omega greeted robotically, "I am receiving tactical customization."

    So that's how she talked him into it, Shadow thought.

   "We're having a self-care night," Amy explained cheerfully, "Wanna join?"

   "Pass," he replied almost instantly and moved to walk to his bedroom and away from this weirdness. Rose's voice floated to his ears with a knowing tone.

     "Dinner's almost ready."

     Shadow paused and sighed deeply. It was Amy's night to cook, which meant it would be the best meal he'd had all week, and he was genuinely starving. But the girl was a trickster, much like her bad influence Rouge, and he knew he wouldn't get any food from her if he didn't participate.

   "Fine, but I will not have my nails painted." He drew the line at that one.

   Amy giggled. "Self-care night isn't just about painting nails. There are other things too. Let me finish up Omega, and I'll show you."

   And that was how the Ultimate Lifeform was manipulated into deep brushing his quills and getting a face mask. While the experience was indeed very relaxing, just as Rose promised, he would never admit it to anyone. And he made his teammates swear to never breathe a word of it to anyone.

     After a hearty meal, Amy decided to end their night with a some TV time. Shadow had never heard of the show she had chosen, but Rouge had, and there went all chances of him getting to change channel.

   They were now on season thirteen, and Shadow still had no idea what was going on. But the  worst part was that they were out of popcorn, and he face felt weird from whatever concoction Amy had smeared on him.

   "Oh, come on! They would make a terrible couple!" Rouge complained, fully invested in the show. Shadow...not as much.

   "This show isn't very realistic."

  "It's a reality show. It's not supposed to be realistic," Amy explained. Shadow was about to say that a show about reality should be a realistic, but Omega cut him off.

   "I have found Rouge's secret chip stash for your consumption," Omega cheered, holding a giant bag of chips over his head in victory. That seemed to snap the white bag out of her daze.

   "Those Chao Ruffles are mine!"