Sweet Release

Jade eyes shuddered and ran over the place once again. She was still stuck here. Just like the day before, and the day before that, and the day before that. In fact, she didn't know how long she'd been here. It felt like forever. Maybe she'd been born here? She couldn't remember anywhere else she'd ever been. Occasionally she would have a flash, a memory echo through the darkest recesses of her mind, but it was shadowy and the voices were as soft as a ladybird's footsteps. It was like watching an old film, everything was fuzzy and black and white, in places she couldn't recognise. Maybe she'd never been to them? Maybe they didn't exist? Maybe it was more of their tricks?

She flicked her pink quills out of her eyes and took off her headband to reposition it, however she stopped before doing so. She thoughtfully regarded the object in her hand. It had once been brilliant red and shiny, she could just about remember, but now the colour had dulled and the fabric was old, almost dusty looking. Her hand ran over it.

'I must have gotten it from somewhere.' The thought ran through her mind. 'But where and when? I've had it for so long…' The headband was so old she considered just throwing it out of the window. Away into the darkness of the night, just another useless memory that could never be remembered. And yet, for some reason she could not bring herself to do it. It was just too important to her. It held a special place in her heart for a reason she had not been able to recall for a long time.

Sighing, she replaced the garment on her head. She slowly wandered around the tiny room. As empty and dusty as ever. There was never anything in there apart from a bed, a door to the bathroom and an old mirror hidden beneath a dirty grey sheet. Dust covered everything in a thick blanket and made the whole place look grimy and disgusting.

Her fingers trailed aimlessly over the cloth covering the mirror. It had been so long since she had seen anyone apart from those two, not even herself. She didn't know when she had last seen her reflection, so far she hadn't been able to bear the thought of what she must look like. After all, why else would she be a prisoner here? She must be some kind of monster. Letting out a long, slow breath, she glanced down at her form. She thought she looked okay. A little unkempt perhaps, but her body didn't look like that of a monster. Thin pale arms and gloved hands attached to a gently curving torso hidden beneath a short, red dress of similar colour to her headband, and under the hem of the dress small pink legs peeked out and large red boots with a stripe that had once of a day been white. Nothing scary about any of that, right?

'It must be my face.' She thought to herself, gently putting one of her small hands to feel her cheek. 'I must be so hideous that they locked me away. Or maybe I hid myself away because I frightened people? Maybe they hired those two to keep watch over me and make sure I never scared anyone again?' She hated not knowing.

Her eyes returned to the mirror, and her hand grabbed the sheet of its own accord. She had been here so long that she couldn't even remember her name, so a face would be nice. Or would it not? She didn't know. Clenching her teeth, she made a choice and squeezed her eyes shut as she yanked at the cloth. It came away with a soft flump and she coughed, waiting for the unsettled dust to die down.

'At least the glass will be clear enough to see in.' She figured.

Mentally counting to three, she slid one eye open, peeking at the mirror before opening her eyes properly and blinking at her reflection. Before her stood a pasty cheeked young hedgehog, with large green eyes that shimmered in the moonlight. Her quills were a bright pink and hung down to her shoulders, tucked away neatly behind her headband which rested against two small triangular ears. She cocked her head to one side, and the girl on the other side of the glass did the same.

'Well gee, I don't think I'm that ugly…' She smiled into the mirror, and was greeted with a pretty grin that flashed plenty of neat and even pearly-whites. 'Nope. Not that ugly at all.' That was some comfort at least, but it did nothing to solve her dilemma of why she had been put up here.

She stared at the image in the mirror for a few more seconds before a couple of words came to mind. Amy Rose. She couldn't get them out of her head.

"Amy Rose." She said them aloud. It sounded like a name. She stared at the girl in the mirror and said the words again. "Amy Rose." The reflection mirrored her perfectly, and grinned when she did. The words seemed to fit the mirror girl, which meant that it was probably her name too.

"Amy Rose." She smiled to herself and turned away from the mirror, pulling the cloth back over it as she did so. So she still didn't know that much about why she was here, but at least she had her name back.

Her feet carried her to the window and she stared out of it once again. The garden was more like a forest, wild and badly kept. Weeds grew everywhere and gnarled trees stood with their bony fingers outstretched towards the lonely dirt road that lead into the old house where she was kept. Her eyes travelled to the night sky, gazing at the bright stars.

'Full moon tonight.' She thought languidly, her eyelids drooping sadly over her eyes. 'It's a shame it's so cloudy. I won't be able to see it.' She tore her eyes away from the window and went over to the hard, creaky old bed. Despite it being extremely uncomfortable, she flopped down gratefully onto its broken springs, snuggling up under the thin blankets she had been given. 'Maybe they'll actually let me sleep tonight…' She tiredly wondered as her eyes closed and she drifted off to dreamland.

He scratched absentmindedly behind his ear, not believing a word this guy was saying. Haunted house, yeah right. He almost laughed out loud at the absurd idea. A small voice spoke beside him.

"Is the house really haunted? Really and truly?" The tiny voice matched the tiny body of the winged creature with huge ears and a white puffy tail, matching the fluffy fringe on top of his head.

"Of course it's not Chip." He snorted, running a gloved hand through his sapphire blue quills. "It's just a folk tale to scare people and attract tourists. Right friend?" He directed the question to the man in front of him, who solemnly shook his head and leaned in closer, probably for effect.

"They say that once you go in, you never return."

Chip squeaked and shook. "Sonic! I think we should go home right now!" The hedgehog sighed and laid a hand on his small friend's head.

"Don't worry about it Chip. He's just messing with you."

"No I'm not!" The man stamped his foot angrily. "I'll tell you a tale so chilling it'll make your ears drop off!" Chip squealed and hung on to his overly large ears in fright. Sonic wondered vaguely if he should just follow Chip's advice and head home, but the look on the guy's face had him intrigued.

"Go on then." He smiled and sat in a nearby chair, watching the man interestedly. "This story sounds cool."

Taking a deep breath, the man began.

"They say that hundreds of years ago this entire village was ruled by a baron, kind and true. This place prospered and was well known for its friendly folk and hospitality. The village's pride and joy was a young girl, with quills as pink as a rose and eyes that shone with mirth. They say her charming ways drew people to this village like bees to honey, but even so she stood no nonsense and was always willing to help those in need. Her name has been lost over time, but nowadays we refer to her as Fumiko, meaning child of treasured beauty. Now, during the time she lived here, there were two murderers on the loose. We never speak their names here, for it is said a curse will be placed upon anyone that does. Anyway, in the dead of the night during one fateful full moon, they snuck into the baron's house intending to steal his wealth. Unfortunately one of them was somewhat clumsy, and the baron awoke. He fought the attackers off but to no avail. That night, there and then, they murdered the baron and their souls were doomed forever to haunt his home…"

"But if they were murderers." Sonic interrupted. "Why were they only doomed to haunt his home?"

"My tale is not finished yet! I'm getting to that bit. Anyway, because the baron was so kind and pure spirited, the two had their fate sealed. A few months later they died and strange goings on began to happen in the baron's abandoned house. No one went in there anymore you see, and so it was left to rot. Then, a blue hedgehog came to town, with fancy ways and strange ideas. He suggested cleaning up the house, but was rejected immediately and left the village not long after on some fantasy adventure. But one girl felt sad that such a magnificent house was going to waste and agreed with the stranger. She began to leave of an evening to clean and tidy the place, although no matter how often anyone went, she never seemed to be able to keep it nice on her own. Of course the young girl was Fumiko, being the angel that she was. And then, when the next full moon rose as she trotted off once again, with much eagerness and willing, unlike anything she had ever shown before, it happened.

Some say it was an earthquake, others say it was something more powerful, perhaps a god of some kind, but whatever it was the ground shook so hard that houses fell to the ground and people soon followed. The baron's old house began to flicker and waver like a candle in the wind and an eerie laugh was brought to the village on the breeze. Some of the men ran to the house, knowing that Fumiko was inside, but they never found her. They said that the ground was covered in dust and the place was a wreck, the garden had suddenly grown out of control and they were ejected from the property. To this day no one knows what became of Fumiko, and all who enter the house to find her either come back with tales of ghosts and empty suits of armour, or just don't come back at all."

He wound down and concluded.

Sonic sat calmly, watching the old man before him. Chip on the other hand was shaking like a leaf. Sonic gave a trademark grin and got out of his chair, shaking the man's hand.

"Wow, that was some tale." He chuckled admiringly. "I think I'll go and get a look at that house myself." Beside him Chip quivered harder. He shook his head at the creature beside him. "Geez Chip I'm joking!" All he got was a squeak in return. "Thank you for telling us." He turned back to the storyteller. "But we'd best be on our way now."

"I wouldn't." He looked out at the sky. "Looks like there's a storm coming on."

Sonic shrugged. "Thanks for the warning, but we'll be fine. Come on Chip." He walked out of the door into the cool night air, studying the sky anxiously. Chip sat on his shoulder.

"Sonic?"

"It's a full moon tonight right?"

"Yeah."

"We need to get out of the village then. I don't want to frighten them if those clouds break."

Chip got his meaning and flew on ahead, leading him out of the village. Overhead the dark clouds grew and grew, getting darker with every step. Sonic squinted up ahead.

"Hmm, looks like that guy was right. This storm will be heavy." He glanced over to his tiny companion. "I don't think you'll be able to fly in the strong winds, let's find some shelter."

He gently grabbed hold of his flying friend and ran on as fast as he dared in the dark (pretty fast) In no time at all though, he felt a heavy drop land on his hand, followed by another and another. Soon the rain was so heavy he was forced to slow down in case he went skidding out of control. Walking as fast as he could, he noticed a large old house off to his left.

'No other choice really.' Ran through his head, and he turned and staggered up to the door, knocking when he reached it. No one answered so he tried again, but still he got no reply. Deciding enough was enough, he let Chip fly out of his grasp and pushed the huge heavy door open before wandering into the cold hallway. Shutting the door behind him, Sonic walked down the corridor, glancing curiously at the long mirror beside him and at the various tattered paintings on the wall. A strange sensation fell over him, as though he knew this place, as though this was where he was supposed to be all along. Behind him, Chip screamed. He whirled around with his fists up, but saw only Chip staring into the mirror.

"Chip I swear, you nearly gave me a heart attack little buddy! What's wrong?"

The small creature pointed a shaking finger at his reflection in the mirror.

"It pulled a weird face at me and I didn't make a face!"

Sonic rolled his eyes.

"You let that ghost story get to you, that's all. Nothing to worry about." He pulled his shivering friend in the direction of the stairs. He let go of Chip and ran on ahead slightly, looking through some of the doors for any sign of people.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Chip's voice shrieked through the halls once again. Sonic sighed and walked back.

"What is it this time? You look as though you've seen a ghost."

Chip had gone white as a sheet and stared up at him as though he'd said a forbidden word.

"I did." He whispered. "It jumped out at me. Oh I don't like this place. Let's get out of here!" He made a mad dash for the door, but Sonic pulled him back.

"Look this isn't funny. You'll wake the whole house! They'll think we're robbers or something now be quiet." And he wandered on. Chip shivered.

"The house is awake alright." He muttered nervously to himself, catching up with the blue hedgehog and sticking to him this time.

They came to a large empty room, probably the banquet hall Sonic supposed. There were to suits of armour on either side of the room, and a large window through which the night sky could be seen. From somewhere to his left, he heard a clanking.

"Hello?" He called out. "Hello? We're looking for a place to stay out of the rain. Do you mind if we wait here until it stops?"

"Oh we don't mind." Someone cackled to his right. He twirled around, searching for the person, only to hear more clanking behind him.

Slowly turning his head, he got the shock of his life. There right in front of his eyes, was an empty suit of armour walking stiffly towards him. Chip squealed an "I told you so!" Next to him, but he was so surprised he couldn't speak.

Amy blinked her eyes and bolted out of bed. She had heard someone scream, no doubt about it, and it wasn't the usual screams of those two either. She pressed her ear to the locked door of her room, straining to hear more. There was clanking and yelling, laughing and the sound of fists meeting heavy metal armour. Her eyes widened.

'Oh no. Who came in? Don't they know that those two will kill them?!' She panicked, wanting to help but unable to as always.

She couldn't even scream out to the person to run away, since they wouldn't be able to hear her over the sound of the fight. Tears filled her eyes and she ran back to the window, unable to listen to anymore of the torment downstairs. She lifted her jade-filled orbs to the heavens and sobbed.

"Do something!" She screeched at the sky. "DO ANYTHING! HELP THEM!" As if mocking her, the clouds parted and the full moon shone down brightly. "Are you having a laugh?!" She ranted to no one. "HELP THEM PROPERLY!" But nothing more happened and she resigned herself to sitting on the bed. Waiting and listening were all she could do now.

Sonic shuddered. This fight was not going well. How was he supposed to fight ghosts? They weren't showing themselves and there was no point in him keep punching the suits of armour. They were heaps of metal, they couldn't feel pain. Then, by some sort of twisted miracle, the clouds split apart and the full moon shone down on him with a pasty white glow. He felt the familiar change come over his body and he roared in pain as his hands bent and enlargened, splitting his gloves at the seams, his feet grew to enormous proportions and his shoes changed to match. His arms lengthened until they almost scraped the ground and his knees bent. He felt his gums sting in pain, as his teeth grew and sharpened themselves, cutting the gums wider as they did so. Then the worst bit came. The feeling of red hot needles bursting through every pore on his skin as the thick fur grew and replaced his normal fur. Transformation complete, he howled his thanks to whatever god had saved him, while Chip watched him, shocked as always at the sudden change.

The cackling changed to an interested 'oooooh'. Two large ghosts appeared as if from nowhere, glowing green and eerie. They were both huge, though one was larger than the other, with a red neckerchief, fangs almost as big as Sonic's and two of the largest horns he had ever seen sat upon his fat face. His companion laughed loudly, being the slightly skinnier of the two.

"So the little hero has returned!" He giggled delightedly while Sonic stared on in confusion. "I have to admit, we thought you'd given up. Left her hanging here without a shred of hope forever more with us!"

"Sonic?" Chip seemed just as puzzled as he did. Sonic shrugged his shoulders, conveying his own astonishment.

"Don't tell us you've forgotten!" The larger one shrieked with laughter. "Your little blossom?" He put on a stupidly pathetic voice. "I'll come back for you. Even if I have to become a monster to do it! I'll come back! Pah." He spat. "Pathetic."

Sonic's eyes narrowed. The words sounded familiar, but they were from far, far away. He didn't know he even knew them…

The thin one guffawed delightedly. "I'll just go and tell your little Rose how alone she really is!" And with that, he was gone.

'I'll just go and tell your little Rose.' The words rang through his head. 'Go and tell your little Rose…Tell your little Rose…Little Rose…Rose…Rose…Rose…' His head swam as the one word reverberated through his mind loud as a gong.

Then, from out of nowhere a fist came flying and he was sent high up into the ceiling. He shook his head, trying to concentrate on the fight at hand as he flipped his body around and came crashing with his foot straight into the ghost's face. He reached out with his stretchy arms and grabbed the thing around the middle, swinging it around and around like a shot-put in the Olympics, before releasing the huge beast and sending him straight into a wall. Sonic focused his eyes on his opponent and snarled, but still that one word remained in the back of his mind.

'Rose…'

Amy twiddled her thumbs, waiting for one of them to appear as she knew they would. They always did.

"Sorry sunshine, not this time." That was their usual catchphrase. She didn't know what they meant by that, but from the tone of their voice it was something that certainly did not benefit her. As she expected, he came floating in through the door. It was the small one today.

"Your lucky day Rosie-posie." He grinned. "Your knight in shi…uh…furry armour has just arrived. What a shame he's forgotten all about you eh?" And with that he was gone.

She narrowed her eyes. What did he mean by that? Someone knew she was here? No one knew she was here, that was impossible! She pushed herself against the door, listening hard to the punches and clangs she heard. Whatever was going on down there, the tables seemed to be turning as a deafening roar, followed by another shook the floor and she heard the smashing of a wall.

"What on earth?" She muttered.

Frowning she turned the handle, before realising of course that the door was locked. Her frustration grew and she angrily kicked the slab of wood as though it was the door's fault. Collapsing back onto the bed she held her head in her hand as she waited to see what would happen. She didn't have to wait long.

Sonic ran up the stairs as fast as his legs would take him. He didn't know just yet what that guy was on about, but whatever it was he somehow knew that it was up here. As he ran up, the darkness grew, until he couldn't see an inch in front of his face, but he didn't slow. He knew he had to hurry. He had only managed to knock that one ghost out, he'd be awake soon and either way his friend was still out there. Suddenly, he ran into something hard and it gave way and snapped off the wall, tumbling and rolling forward with him into an almost empty room.

He got to his feet and growled at the door he had just broken, kicking it to one side angrily. His emerald eyes softened a little though, and scanned the room meeting with two other eyes of brilliant green. He jumped back slightly in surprise and she did the same. For a moment or two, all they did was stare at each other. Sonic felt like he knew her, but he couldn't quite place where from. His ears twitched as he heard a groan from downstairs and remembered he had to move again. Slowly, so as not to frighten her, he held out a giant hand towards her own small one. She regarded him with those eyes for a couple more seconds before a look of determination settled on her face. Placing her hand in his, she allowed him to take control.

Chip was fluttering off to one side awkwardly, so Sonic smiled and gestured to the window. They were going to jump out, since going back downstairs would be too risky. Adjusting the girl until she was comfortable in his arm, he leapt through the window, lowering his head so she wouldn't get hurt on the glass. A small gasped escaped her lips and she clung to his long fur. A strange thumping blossomed in his chest that he couldn't understand, and as he ran he began to wonder where he'd seen this girl before. The pink hedgehog he held gave a small sigh and fell unconscious. Panicking slightly, he headed straight for the village he'd left but a few hours ago.

About and hour later and still in werehog form, Sonic sat on the rug of the storyteller he had met earlier. Beside him, on the couch lay the girl he had rescued, breathing heavily and squirming a bit. A twang of pity zipped through his heart as he watched her sleeping form suffer from unseen nightmares. She was so pretty too… Sonic winced as he felt a headache start to come on. It had been a long night, and the old man and Chip were sleeping in the main bedroom while he remained out here, guarding over the girl.

'Rose…' The word swirled around his mind still. 'Rose…Where do I know that from?' He kept wanting to say Amy in front of it.

The girl stirred and he moved closer, concerned. She turned over and grabbed at his fur mumbling something in her sleep. He moved closer and listened.

She skipped through the night giggling. This was it, he promised to take her away forever. The village was nice and the people were lovely sure, but she wanted to go to other places and see other things! Not be stuck in one place for the rest of her life. And then he had come along, emerald fire dancing in his eyes and fur as blue as the ocean, with stories of far off lands. They had talked for hours about the subject, away from the village of course. She had used the excuse of cleaning up the baron's house in order to go and meet up with him and slowly things had grown between them. Last week he had told her he loved her, and promised to meet her at the baron's place on the night of the full moon to take her away to somewhere better than here, hence the reason for her taking this old path.

She sat on the front step of the house, humming a tune and waiting for him to come when she heard the door behind her creak. A monster stared at her, with a green glow and huge horns. She screamed in fright and was taken to a room high in the house. From downstairs she heard her beloved shouting her name. She called back and he burst through the door. Things became blurry and she heard a cry of pain escape his lips. Together, they stared down at his chest where a knife protruded. In slow motion he fell to the floor, his hands slipping from her shoulders as he collapsed. She heard cackling and saw the thing that had kidnapped her float through a wall, leaving them alone.

She called to him again and again, but his breath came in short pants and he gripped his wound in pain. He brought her close to his mouth and whispered one final message in her ear, to which she replied.

"I will wait for you, even if it takes forever…Sonikku…"

As he watched her grip his chest fur in growing astonishment, she suddenly cried out and tears streamed down her cheeks.

"SONIKKU!"

A pain exploded between his eyes and he wrenched himself away from her, roaring in agony and clutching his head. Lights flashed before him and he ran for the forest. Her voice trailed after him even though he knew she wasn't shouting anymore. It was in his own head. He could hear it. He could see it. He could…remember it.

His legs carried him up the stairs as fast as they could. She was up there calling for him, alone and frightened. Bursting through the door, she ran to him and he held her close, his arms on her shoulders and a lump in his throat as he saw the scared tears in her eyes. Then a spike of torturing pain shot through his chest. Her huge eyes stared into his in horror, and as he looked down he knew she did too. A sword, dripping with blood, his blood, stuck out from his chest. He heard cackling from far away and his world began to go black. He vaguely felt a thump as he hit the floor, but it was nothing compared to the fire in his chest, the burning agony that swept through him as he struggled to keep breathing. It was over. He knew that. All he could hear was her sweet voice saying his name over and over, smell her beautiful scent and see her angelic face full of sorrow and anguish. He didn't want her to cry, this wasn't how he wanted her to remember him. But he knew they wouldn't let her leave. They'd keep her here. There was no way he'd allow that. He pulled her close so he could whisper to her, grasping his chest in an attempt to stem the blood flow and pain somewhat. Using his last few breaths, he whispered.

"Amy, don't give up hope. I'll…" He groaned in pain. "I'll come back for you." His voice was strained. It was harder to draw breath, but he had to tell her, to help her know and understand. "Even if I have to become a monster to do it…I'll come back…I promise…"

He heard her sob and reply, "I will wait for you, even if it takes forever…Sonikku…" Then, everything went dark and he knew no more as the light of the full moon bathed his body gently.

Sonic's body shook and trembled. The next time he had awoken he had forgotten everything and became a werehog at night, as soon as the moonlight shone on him. It explained everything…

Amy sat up and rubbed her eyes. She was in a cosy little house on a nice soft couch. Looking around, tears filled her eyes. She remembered everything and looked around for the beast that saved her.

"Sonic…" She whispered. "My Sonikku…you came back for me, just like you promised."

She had forgotten all about Sonic, all about her pet name for him, everything. But now she remembered and the creature was nowhere to be seen. She rose off the sofa and walked erratically out of the door, following her senses and hoping she would find him. Her walk lead her to a clearing in the forest, where she found a mass of quivering grey fur on the floor, whimpering.

"Sonic?" She called gently.

Her soft voice washed over him and he felt the pain in his head lessen to a dull ache, then vanish completely. He raised his head and turned to meet her amazing eyes, not realising just how much he had missed them. His heart ached as he watched her smile and his chest heaved in anticipation as she ran to him. Opening his arms wide, he enveloped her in a huge hug, nuzzling into her velvety pink quills and inhaling her intoxicating scent. He felt as though an empty hole somewhere deep inside had been filled and he grinned.

A pain shot through his chest and he pulled away from her in shock. She stared at him and her hands flew to her mouth as she pointed at his chest. A large wound was opening up, the one he had gotten from his death. He understood now. He was dead, but he had come back hundreds of years later to save the woman he loved. Her soul had remained in the same place, waiting for him, just as she had said. A calm look crossed his face, and he laid himself down gently. Amy watched him in horror, but the look in his eyes soothed her, and she knew it would be okay. She laid herself next to him and tenderly kissed him, feeling his large fangs slide over her lips so gently, like a butterfly on a flower. He smiled and exhaled, closing his eyes and going back into his deep, final rest.

She stroked his ears for a time and then rested her head on his chest which was not moving.

"You've fulfilled your promise Sonikku. Be at peace as you really are." She murmured the words as though she had been rehearsing this her whole life.

His body shrank and his fur shortened. Fangs sank back into his mouth and before she knew it, there he was, whole and normal again. The man she loved. As the energy it had taken to return him to normal drained from her, she shifted herself so that her top half was laying on him. Giving him one last kiss on the lips, she snuggled into the crook where his shoulder met his neck and sighed, before she followed him to the other side where nothing could hurt them anymore.

With their two souls finally released into paradise, their temporarily borrowed bodies slowly altered, until there were two large groups of butterflies in their place. Together the two groups flew into the air and off, to far away places while the souls of the two lovers finally laid at rest where they belonged.

With each other.

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Whew it's finished! I spent all night writing this (sad I know) but I really hope you like it! 15 pages on word if you're interested, which you probably aren't. I got the idea from that 'Sonic Night of the werehog' trailer. You can find it on youtube really easily. It actually says Sonic Unleashed – Night of the Werehog – Movie Trailer. I don't actually know the story behind it (and yes I KNOW there is only one ghost in the trailer) but I thought it would be interesting to twist it around so it becomes a SonAmy story. Nice title huh? I think it fits in really well! By the way, I am writing this late at night, so if you don't get the story, or you're confused about something, feel free to comment or leave a note telling me and I'll try to explain it for you. Now…so tired…must go to bed…zzzzZZZZZ.