Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog, his world or any of his friends. If I did, Maria would be brought back to life, or at least Shadow would finally get a girl that won't die (like Maria and Molly.)

Strange Start of the Day

It was just a normal morning for Amy Rose; she woke up in the morning, she got dressed, she ate breakfast, she flattered herself in front of the mirror and thought about what she was going to do today.

"Maybe Sonic wants to do something fun with me today?" she suggested hopefully to herself. And she clung to that thought. "Yeah, that's right! I'm gonna go look for my darling Sonic!"

And with that, she grabbed her Piko Piko Hammer, patted it lovingly on the handle and exited the house. She walked the road that would probably lead her to Sonic… one of these days.

For a moment, Amy stopped thinking about her one great blue love, and instead admired the view around her; the landscape of her beautiful home planet Mobius had always been amazing: Miles of green fields full of flowers, birds and butterflies, sparkling rivers and lakes, full of fish and lacustrine animals, deep and open woods with green trees, tall and short, with leaves flowing and whispering in the breeze.

Amy loved it. She always had, and always would. It was one of the few things – except from hanging out with her awesome friends – that could distract her from chasing Sonic all the time. Which reminded her; maybe Sonic was with Tails? Or with his siblings, Sonia and Manic? Maybe she would go to one of their houses first… and even if Sonic wasn't there, she would still see her friends.

The thought lightened her up, and with a sweet cheer on her face, she set off in hurried pace towards Tail's house, humming happily to herself.

As mentioned before, this day would probably have been just like any other day in Amy's life… at least it started off like that, up till when Amy suddenly noticed the shadow of a hedgehog when she cast a glance to her left, out on the field.

Amy immediately quit her humming and stopped on the road. At first, Amy thought it might be Sonic, and she was about to wave her arms and shout, but then she could make out, despite the distance, that this hedgehog was black with red stripes on his spikes, which certainly Sonic didn't have.

Shadow.

Amy wasn't afraid or uncomfortable around Shadow now the days, not like she'd been before, although she didn't know for sure if he was still on Eggman's side or not; maybe he was both? Or neither? She'd even tried to chat a little with him when she ran into him a few times (mostly because she mistook him for Sonic) and she had developed such a friendly attitude towards him that she was about to wave her hand, smile and shout out a "hello!" to him. But this time, there was something about his way of watching her that sent a chill through her body, and she didn't move nor say anything to him.

Both of them stood motionless for a while, and the atmosphere suddenly felt colder, and Amy felt the nervousness, and slight fright, in her gut. She swallowed slowly. Why was Shadow staring at her like that? There was something different about his gaze… and it crept her out.

"Shadow…?" she said carefully, when they'd been standing in silence for a while.

Shadow didn't answer, but he suddenly started walking, slowly, and closed the distance between the two. Amy slowly started walking backwards, because for some reason, she did not want the black hedgehog to come any closer to her.

Shadow stopped, and so did Amy. She felt her heart beat faster in her chest, and she was not sure at all what to do, when Shadow suddenly blurted out, loudly: "Pancakes…!"

Of all possible things that could've escaped those lips, that one word was the one Amy had least expected. But she didn't have the time to wonder, or even feel confusion, because the moment after Shadow spoke, he started walking towards her again, and this time much faster.

Amy's body acted before her mind did, and she spun around and ran.

She ran and ran, as fast as her slender legs would carry her, and with horror she felt in her frightened heart that Shadow was chasing her.

She felt like a scared rabbit running from a hungry wolf, and her indescribable fear increased when she could see her pursuer's dark shade in the corner of her eye.

She was panicking; she ran, if possible even faster, sprinted across the fields, scared off birds and butterflies and made the dirt spray behind her, but she was very well aware of that she was no match against Shadow's speed.

Her heart hammered in her chest, and she was panting in panic and exertion; what was she gonna do? What was she gonna do? What to do, what to do, what to do… She forced herself to think, which was nearly impossible in her current situation.

Sonia and Manic.

That's right! Their house was the closest she knew of; maybe a hundred meters away or something? But even a hundred meters was dangerously far right now. Would she make it? She had to make it! She forced herself not to think about what Shadow would do if he got her… and why he would do it.

She kept running in the same direction, into a small grove, which she knew, on the other side was Sonic's siblings' house.

"AMY ROSE!"

Shadow's roar almost made her heart jump out of her chest, and she sped up even more. She was almost flying over the ground now, running pass the trees, jumping over rocks and now smashing things that got in the way with her Piko Piko Hammer.

But now she could see the end of the trees, and with a final great sprint she flew out of the grove and slid down the hill that led to a fairly large house with a sign saying: "Hedgehog House: Knock before entering" on the door.

But Amy didn't knock, nor did she stop at all, but just jerked the door open and slammed it behind her, gasping and panting and shaking from fright and exhaustion, leaning against the thick wooden door with her heart hammering in her chest a few seconds before she turned around to face the two shocked hedgehogs in the middle of the room, who were staring at her as if she was an alien.

"Amy?" Sonia exclaimed. "What happened to y—"

"You've got to help me! Shadow's after me, he's gone insane!" Amy interrupted aghast.

Her two friends returned shocked expressions. "Shadow?" Manic said confusedly. "What are you talking about? Why would Shad—"

The green hedgehog was interrupted by the roar from outside, and then the sound of something jamming against the door.

"What the hell…?!" Manic's eyes widened, and Sonia automatically raised her hands to her chin. "Is that…?"

"It's Shadow!" Amy exclaimed in horror.

She didn't get to say anything else though, because the next second, the door exploded into pieces and Shadow emerged from the smoke, eyes fierce and gaze flaming with insanity.

"Amy, get the fuck out of here!" Manic shouted, and then he stood in front of Sonia for protection.

Out of fear and confusion, Amy obeyed, and she ran towards the window, threw her Piko Piko Hammer in front of her to smash the glass, and then she took a jump out of the window and grabbed her precious toy. The last thing she that saw before she turned away and started running again, was the horrible gasp of a male, and then Sonia's scream that felt like a stab in her heart: "MANIIC!"

Amy looked across her shoulder, and she felt tears emerge when she saw Manic fall to the floor and color their carpet red, and Sonia kneeling and crying over him before Shadow raised his hand once again…

Amy turned away when he yelled "CHAOS SPEAR!" and she continued running for her life, her head a blur of confusion, shock, grief and fear.

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