FicWad

A/N: Hey guys, I thought you might be interested in reading this songfic I wrote. It's my first songfic, so I probably haven't quite nailed the various intricacies of the genre. Still, hopefully it's alright.

This fanfic is set in the Sonic X universe, after Episode 78. It contains spoilers for Episodes 77 and 78, as well as for the Japanese version of Episode 52.

The song used in this fanfic is "Better Man" by the Warren Brothers (not the Robbie Williams version, this one's way better).

With all that said, please read, enjoy and (hopefully) review.


Better Man

It was a clear spring day. Sonic and his friends had gathered together at Cream's house. It was the first time in over a year that they had all been together. Eggman appeared to have given up any serious plans of world conquest, although he still liked to find new ways to try and beat Sonic, all of which failed. With no real threat present, there had been no real cause for them all to unite. Indeed, it had only been when Cream suggested that they should all meet up again that Sonic had realised how long it had been.

I met some old friends

The other day

The Chaotix had gotten a large table and a set of chairs from their office and arranged them in the garden. Everyone had agreed that it was too nice a day to spend indoors, and there was also the fact that Cream's house wasn't designed to hold such a large group. As Sonic's chair wobbled beneath him, though, he thought that possibly the Chaotix weren't the best suited for the job of setting anything up.

The seating arrangements aptly reflected the changes that they had all undergone over the last few years. Vector and Vanilla sat together, as they had wed a little over a year ago. Indeed, their wedding had been the last time the whole group had been together. Cream had taken the news hard at first, and had isolated herself from the others. It had been Tails who had finally managed to cheer her up. How he had done it had remained a mystery to everyone, but the two had been very close ever since. It was because of that that they currently sat together at the table.

Rouge sat with Knuckles, as they had been living together on Angel Island for nearly two years. They were one couple that everyone knew they should have seen coming a mile away, and yet they still found it hard to believe. Certainly, neither had changed greatly. They still argued on a regular basis, but they always made up soon afterwards. There was no doubt that Rouge had maintained her sly nature through the years. "You know," she said as she looked at Tails and Cream, "you two make such a cute couple."

At these words, Tails and Cream blushed, and began to sputter out some gibberish. They shook their heads and waved their arms in almost spasmodic manner. This only served to increase the volume of the laughter that erupted around the table. Even Cheese, who sat on the table and remained on the other side of Cream from Tails, joined in on the act. The tiny, light-blue chao had been reluctant to accept Tails and Cream's relationship at first, but ever since his reincarnation six months ago, he'd seemed more willing to let little matters like that slide. Clearly, he deemed that there were more important things in life.

As the laughter died down, there was an awkward silence. Remarkably, it was Espio who broke the silence. He and Charmy had conveniently chosen to sit down right in front of the majority of Vanilla's cakes. They had been stuffing their faces ever since they got there, and had barely even said a word to anyone. "You two will be fine," Espio said, not thinking to finish his mouthful of food, "so long as Vector doesn't try to set you up."

Vector nearly choked on the cake he'd manage to sneak in while Espio had been talking. With a bit of effort, he managed to force it down. "Hey, you're just jealous," he said, as he clutched Vanilla around the waist, "because you know nothing of the ways of love."

"Oh yeah," Espio remarked, "you're a real professional in that field. By the way, did you ever clean that handkerchief?"

Vector pointed an accusing finger at Espio. "Hey, that situation was totally different. I had no resources for the job, and I still pulled it off in the end, and..." Vector glanced over at Tails, whose expression had turned downcast as Vector was talking. "Sorry." Vector sank back into the chair. He and Espio had been referring to an incident where they had tried to pair up Tails and Cosmo, and everyone knew this.

Tails shook his head. "No, that's alright." He didn't look convinced. Tails turned his head around. Everyone else turned with him. Their eyes were all fixed upon one thing: the giant tree that now grew in the garden. It was all that remained of Cosmo, Tails' first love. She had sacrificed herself to save the universe and, although Sonic and Shadow had tried their hardest to save her, they had only been able to get one seed from her remains. Still, Tails had held onto what little hope he had, and had planted the seed. When the tree had outgrown its pot, he replanted it in the garden, for its soil was more fertile than that around Tails' lab. It had been over two and a half years since Cosmo died, but Tails still visited the tree on a daily basis.

Tails turned away from the tree and sighed. He managed a weak smile. "Let's talk about something else," he said, "like you two." Tails had pointed at Sonic and Amy, who were sitting together. They had shocked everyone by turning up together, and when they had shared a kiss, they literally made everyone speechless, at least until Charmy had begun making fake gagging noises.

"Yeah, Sonic, did you finally give in and hook up with Amy?" Knuckles asked.

"No!" Sonic exclaimed. "Well, yeah, but you're putting it all wrong."

Knuckles shrugged. "All I know is that you would never have done something like this before." Everyone else, except for Sonic and Amy, nodded in agreement. Sonic knew he'd changed, but it wasn't nearly as sudden as they suggested.

And all they could talk about

Was how I've changed.

"Come on, Sonic," Tails added, "we all know this isn't like you. You've spent years avoiding Amy, and then you decide to get together with her out of the blue. Of course we're going to think it's weird."

Sonic was just about ready to rise out of his chair, but he resisted the urge. "I'll have you know that we've being going out for nearly two years now!" he exclaimed

All Sonic could see around him were lots of dropped jaws. Knuckles shook his head a few times, as if hoping that would erase what had been said. "You're kidding, right?"

Sonic shook his head. "Knuckles, I've never been more serious in my entire life." He put his arm around Amy to illustrate his point.

Knuckles shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose even you wouldn't joke about something like this. But you can't blame us for being a little shocked. It used to be the case that you couldn't even stay in one place for more than a few hours at most, and now we find out that you've been dating Amy for two years. It seems like you're settling down, and that's not like you at all."

Sonic's composure wavered ever so slightly. It was true that he was starting to settle down, but to hear his friends' disbelief at the idea threw his plans for the day into a mental disarray.

They thought I'd be the last one

To ever settle down.

"Well, I for one think it's wonderful," Vanilla said. She had that maternal expression that she usually gained when she was talking from the heart. "You two look happier than I've ever seen you. Amy, you've finally achieved what you've dreamed of since Cream first introduced you to me." Amy smiled and nodded. Vanilla turned her head towards Sonic. "And Sonic, when I first met you I thought I saw an empty spot in your heart. Well, I can tell now that it's been filled. It seems that what you were looking for was right beside you the whole time."

For a moment, there was silence. "Whoa," Vector finally said, "that even puts my tales of romance to shame." Sonic agreed, and he could definitely see where Vanilla was coming from.

They can't believe I can't believe I'm flying so high

With both feet on the ground.

Everyone was looking at Sonic now. It appeared that they were seeking validation of Vanilla's theory. Sonic shrugged. "Yeah, I guess that's true. Still, I prefer to say that, after years of fighting Eggman, mostly for no real reason, I finally found someone who I could fight for. Not just in terms of fighting bad guys, but in fighting my own faults, and trying to make myself better."

And you make me

Wanna' be a better man.

And you make me

Wanna' do the best I can.

Amy gently grabbed Sonic's hand. He felt a warm feeling rushing through his body. Amy had a smile on her face, and although tears were forming in her eyes, they were clearly tears of joy. "That was so sweet," she whispered, as her mouth moved towards Sonic's. He made that final leap as their lips locked in a long, deep kiss. As Sonic's eyes closed, he felt like he was in heaven.

I feel a little stronger

Every time you hold my hand.

You make me wanna' be

A better man.

The kiss was interrupted as Charmy once again broke into a fit of loud, fake gagging noises. Sonic and Amy both glared at him, but he seemed unrepentant. Instead, he just resumed his rapid feasting.

Knuckles folded his arms across his chest, and grinned. "So, no more wild running streaks for you, eh?"

Sonic shrugged. "Not many," he said vaguely. "I still go out for the occasional run, just to make sure I'm prepared for when Eggman strikes again, as he surely will."

Now it was Knuckles' turn to shrug. "Your loss, man. You used to have more freedom than anyone, and now you're tied down. I mean, I've only ever been able to leave Angel Island and the Master Emerald for short periods. Rouge moving in just meant that I had to sleep with one eye open, to make sure she didn't sneak off with the Master Emerald again." Everyone at the table laughed. They all knew that Rouge hadn't shown any interest in jewels in a long time, but it didn't stop Knuckles from joking about it occasionally. "But it's different for you, Sonic. You had all the freedom in the world, and you gave it up."

Now there was a time

When I ran wild as a Texas wind.

"Knuckles is right, you know," Tails said. "You always made it sound like your freedom was more important to you than anything else. Heck, I only managed to become your friend because I could just about keep up with you. Everyone wanted to be like you. Even back on Earth, everyone went around mimicking your lifestyle. Everyone wanted your freedom, and yet you gave it up. Why?"

Never slowing down enough

To ever let that party end.

"I already told you, buddy," Sonic replied without hesitation. "I guess I just grew up. I found someone to fight for." Sonic hesitated before he continued. He knew that what he was about to say was a huge step. "I found love."

Whoa, then your love surrounded me,

Like the shelter from the storm.

Everyone gasped. Even Amy looked quite shocked. Although Sonic had said things like that before, he had never done so publicly. Vector leaned towards Sonic. "Sonic, you know that after you say that four-letter word, you can't go back, right?" Vector asked. "It's rule number one of romance."

Sonic nodded. "Yeah, I know that, but it's the truth. I've known it for a long time, but I've only recently gained the guts to act on it. The fact of the matter is that Amy's always believed in me, and there just came a time when I really needed that."

Whoa, baby you believe in me like

No one has before.

Vector stroked his snout, as if lost in thought. "Yes, that's always a good way for love to come about," he said. "And I suppose now you want to repay her for this event that you won't tell us about."

Sonic nodded. "Exactly."

And you make me

Wanna' be a better man.

And you make me

Wanna' do the best I can.

"Come on Sonic, stop playing around with us," Knuckles groaned. "When have you ever needed a confidence boost? We all know your ego's too big for your head as it is."

Vector nodded. "Actually, I'd really like to know the exact event that brought the whole thing about," he suggested. Somehow, he'd pulled a notepad and pen out, seemingly from nowhere. "It would be great to add to my collection of romance tales."

Sonic and Amy shook their heads in unison. "It's private," they both said. They turned towards each other, and smiled. Sonic, at least, could certainly remember that day when everything between them had changed, for the better...

I feel a little stronger

Every time you hold my hand.

You make me wanna' be

A better man.

*

Nearly two years before that day, at dawn, Sonic had been standing on the edge of a familiar crater. It was the crater where the Metarex had taken the Planet Egg from the world of Sonic and the others. Strangely, the crater remained present and barren, even though the Planet Egg had been returned months ago. Sonic frowned and closed his eyes. To him, this crater was a permanent reminder of when things had started to go wrong.

"Sonic?" asked a voice from behind him. Sonic slowly turned his head around, and he saw that Amy was standing there.

Sonic turned back towards the crater. "What are you doing here?" he muttered.

"You know why I'm here, Sonic. I'm here to tell you snap out of this state you're in. Ever since we came back, you haven't been yourself. It seems that you come to this crater everyday, and just stand there, staring at something that no one can figure out. You refuse to tell anyone what's bothering you, and I'm here to tell you that I'm not leaving until you tell me."

Sonic was silent. He knew that Amy would stick to her word. It was just as well, actually, for part of Sonic's mind had been hoping that someone would give him such an ultimatum. It seemed that it was only in those sorts of situations that Sonic ever showed his true colours.

Sonic sighed. "Very well then, Amy, you win," he said, his gaze still fixed on the crater. "Do you know why this crater ever existed in the first place?"

"Because the Metarex took the Planet Egg."

Sonic scowled. Amy didn't seem to understand at all. "Because I failed to stop them. And do you know why Shadow's vanished?" The black hedgehog's whereabouts had remained unknown ever since he'd used Chaos Control to teleport the exploding remains of Dark Oak's planet.

This question seemed to come closer to stumping Amy. Finally, she managed to say, "I guess it's because he knew that he had less to live for than you."

Sonic shook his head. "No," he growled, "it's because at every turn, I failed to destroy Dark Oak myself. And do you know why Cosmo died?"

"Well, it's because she sacrificed herself to save us all."

"Well, she shouldn't have had to. The truth of the matter is that Cosmo died because I couldn't save her."

"That makes no sense. There's no way you could have been expected to save her."

Sonic turned his whole body around to face Amy. "Tails never told you where he got that seed from, did he?" Amy shook her head. Sonic nodded vaguely in reply. "Well, I think it's time I told you. As Dark Oak's planet broke apart after Shadow and I hit it, we fired off what were nearly our last reserves of energy at the planet. The aim was twofold. First, it was to give the Planet Eggs the energy to get back to their proper resting places. Second, it was to try and save Cosmo. But the second aim failed. All we were able to save was that seed."

Amy nodded. "Well, I guess that explains why Tails is taking such good care of that plant. But you did all you could. No one can ask for any more than that."

Sonic shook his head. "That's just it, Amy. I didn't do all I could. I still had energy left after that puny attempt. I could have spent it all, and I could have saved Cosmo. I know I could have."

"Sonic, if you'd spent all your energy, you would have died."

"If you knew what happened next, you might not think that was such a bad thing. Do you want to know what happened when I gave Tails the seed?" Amy was silent for a moment, but finally she managed to nod. Sonic sighed once again. "It was the worst thing I'd ever seen. I handed him that seed, and he just started crying. I've seen guys cry before, but never like that. He said that he'd trusted me to save her. He couldn't believe that I'd failed." Sonic knew that there were tears forming in his eyes now, but he didn't care. He couldn't hold back his emotion any longer. "You know what was worse than that, though? While he was standing right in front of me, crying his eyes out, I did nothing. I didn't say anything; I didn't try to comfort him. My mind told me to do something, but I just couldn't." The tears were flowing freely now. "What sort of horrible person am I, when I can't even comfort my best friend?"

"Sonic, that was a tough time for all of us," Amy replied, but it was a weak reply at best.

"And it only happened because of me. All of those bad things that happened were my fault!"

Now it was Amy's turn to sigh. "Sonic, if that's what you want to believe, then I'm not going to try and stop you. It would be pointless to, anyway, even if I believe that what happened couldn't possibly be your fault. But I've just got one thing to say first."

Amy looked more serious than Sonic had seen her in a long time. He didn't know what to expect when she was like that. "What is it?" he whispered.

"We all make mistakes, Sonic. You've led a life where you've always been able to save the day. In a way, this was just the failure that needed to happen. I doubt that anyone, even Tails, truly thinks any worse of you for it, and I know I don't."

Well, you know sometimes I stumble.

Yeah, everybody does.

Sonic hurriedly wiped away his remaining tears. As much as he hated to admit it, Amy made a good case. Those were truly the words he needed to hear. "Thanks for that, Amy," he said. "I'm sorry I went and acted like an overemotional idiot. I guess I just needed to let it all out."

"Sonic, I'm sure I've acted far worse on occasion," Amy replied, "but you've never stopped putting up with me." Amy smiled, and Sonic managed a weak grin in return. Truthfully, Sonic did feel better now that he'd let all his negative feelings out. "Well, I guess I'll be off now," Amy said. She turned around and began to walk away.

Sonic knew that if he was going to say the remainder of what was on his mind, then it would have to be now. "Amy, wait!" he shouted. Amy stopped in her tracks. Sonic was sure this was very shocking for her, since usually their positions were reversed. Amy turned to face Sonic with a puzzled expression on her face.

"What is it?" she asked weakly.

"I did at least learn something from all of this."

Amy flinched. "Um, what?"

Sonic took a deep breath. He was certain that what he was about to say would be harder than anything else he had ever had to say. "Life is short. We never know when we or someone close to us may die. All we can really do is live each day as if it was our last, to keep us from having regrets. Well, I know what I'd do on the last day of my life, and it wouldn't be running."

Amy opened and closed her mouth a few times, but no sound came out. Tears were starting to form in her eyes. "You mean...?"

Sonic shrugged. "Amy, I told you how I felt about you the day I came back from Chris' world. I told you I love you, and that hasn't changed. Ever since that day, though, I've been absolutely rotten in showing my love. Sometimes I feel like I'd been avoiding you more than I had been before that day. Well, I'm officially ending that. From now, I'm not going to run away from you, Amy. In fact, I'd rather we were together more."

Sonic was quite certain that, since the day he'd confessed his love for her, he hadn't seen her as happy as she was now. "Does this make us a couple?"

Sonic chuckled to himself. "Call it what you like, Amy. I've never really cared much for those words." He clutched Amy around the waist, and drew her closer to him. "All I know is that I can't run away from my problems anymore." Their lips were getting very close, and Sonic and Amy's eyes began to close in unison. "And if there's one more thing we can learn from these past few months, it's that love can be one big problem."

Then, Sonic and Amy's lips locked together, as they shared a long, deep kiss that seemed so sudden, and yet felt so right.

But you keep me reaching for the man I can be

And not the man I was, no...

*

Sonic brought himself back to reality. Vector was looking for answers, and the crocodile didn't give up that easily. "Well, Vector," Sonic said, "I suppose you can just put down that, after years of saving Amy, she finally managed to save me from myself."

Vector whistled to himself. "Whoa, that is a good one," he said as he wrote in his notepad.

I feel a little stronger

Every time you hold my hand.

You make me wanna' be

A better man.

Espio rolled his eyes. "Give me that," he groaned. In an instant, he had silently snatched the notepad out of Vector's hands. Espio flicked through the notepad rapidly, before suddenly stopping on one page. His jaw dropped as he stared at the notepad. "Vector, why have you paired me up the way you did in this? I don't even swing that way!"

Vector leant back in his chair, and shrugged. "Then why did you turn down all the attractive women I tried to set you up with?"

Charmy burst into fits of laughter, but everyone ignored him. "Two reasons," Espio replied. "One, they were all different species than me, and two, they were all idiots."

Vector seemed unfazed. "One, if species made any difference, then most of the romance in this group wouldn't have happened, and two, most guys have to work their way up to the top. Not everyone gets a classic romance story."

Charmy yanked the notepad out of Espio's hands. "This I've got to see!" he exclaimed between fits of laughter. When he laid his eyes upon the page, though, the laughter stopped. Instead, Charmy's eyeballs bulged. He looked at Vector and Espio, as if looking for some sort of denial, but none came. "Eeewwwwww!" he shouted as he tossed the notepad away. It bounced off the table, and landed right between Sonic and Amy's chairs.

Amy looked set to bend down and get it, but Sonic raised a hand to stop her. "I'll get it," he said. He pushed his chair back, and knelt down on knee, his body facing Amy. He didn't care for the notebook, although it had provided him with just the opportunity he'd been waiting for. It was time to do what he'd truly come here to do.

"Amy Rose..." Sonic said. Amy appeared shocked at the use of her full name, but Sonic had his reasons. He reached inside his right sock. He had washed his feet extra carefully this morning, so they were surprisingly clean for him. Sonic pulled out a small box and held it up to Amy. As he opened it, as gold ring with a small diamond attached was revealed. Sonic took a deep breath, and said, "Will you marry me?"

Everyone at the table gasped. Amy looked like she was about to faint. For one moment, Sonic was afraid she would refuse, but then she smiled and said, "Of course!" Sonic slipped the ring onto her finger. For a moment, she was rendered silent by her awe. Then, she managed to say, "But why now?"

Sonic grinned as he shrugged his shoulders. To him, it was all so simple. "Because...

You make me wanna' be

A better man.