March 9, 2012
Authoress Note: This is a request from Sonic47. The bad thing is that he requested it May 2010 so I'm almost two years late. My bad, Sonic47, please don't be mad at me. Anyway, now that I'm finally getting around to doing this, I hope you all enjoy reading it especially you, Sonic47.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. The basic plot is not even mine; it belongs to Sonic47.
Black Rose
It was the saddest day of their lives. Their champion had fallen. He had risked his own life to save them all from their archenemy. Now there was no one to be the "hero." The only good thing that came out of it was that they no longer had to worry about the villain coming back to cause chaos and mayhem ever again. But their best friend and companion was gone and there was no way of bringing him back.
Everyone stood around the hole in the ground as the minister said his sermon and spoke words of the fallen hero. The males were all wearing black bowties and the females were all wearing black dresses. Each individual held a red rose in their hand. One female stood out among all the individuals there. She wore a black dress which puffed out at the bottom and the sleeves were also puffy and covered only her shoulders. There was white lace around the edge of her sleeves, bottom of dress, collar, and midsection. She wore jet black stockings and black pumps. Her hands were covered with black lacey gloves and held a large bouquet of red, white, and pink roses. On her head she wore a black umbrella hat, which had lace around its rim and came down to cover her bowed head. Tears were falling from her eyes but one could not see, not that anyone had to see her face to know that she was crying.
When the minister finished, each comrade of the fallen champion walked up to the hole. They said their last goodbyes and dropped their rose onto the coffin which contained the body of the celebrity. Other people who came to pay their respects also went up to the hole to say goodbye. The female in the puff dress was the last to go. Slowly, she approached the hole. As she stared down into it, she dropped in each rose. They fell slowly and landed gracefully on top of the coffin. Before she dropped the last rose, she kissed it to send her affection to her love. Then she just stood there, staring down and shaking her head in disbelief while tears fell from her eyes and landed softly on the coffin.
Suddenly, the young female began to lean forward. She was heading straight for the hole. Before any of her friends could react, she had fallen face first into the hole and onto the coffin. When they ran over to see if she was alright, they saw she was hugging the coffin for dear life, not wanting to let go. She was crying hysterically now and kicking her feet.
"No, Sonic, no! Please don't leave me! NOOOOOOOOO!"
'It's been six months since Mr. Sonic's death. And although none of us are truly over it and can't believe it even happened, Amy is the one taking it the hardest among all of us. She has convinced herself that the whole thing was a dream and that Mr. Sonic is away on a mission and will come back soon. *sigh* Maybe today we'll make a break-through.'
Cream approached the pink house in Emerald Town. As she ascended the stairs to the porch, she could hear yelling, screaming, and crashing coming from the other side of the door. She sighed and shook her head.
"I guess no progress was made, huh, Cheese?" she rhetorically asked her Chao companion. Cheese shook her head.
With another sigh, Cream pulled the keys out of her pocket and unlocked the door. She slowly opened the door and peeked inside. Immediately, she saw a vase hit the wall right next to the door. She closed her eyes and looked away to avoid any sharp shards. With a deep breath, Cream quickly opened the door, went inside, and closed it behind her. She ducked to avoid being hit by a picture frame that was thrown. Before her, she saw an enraged Amy towering over a helpless Tails. She held her hammer above him and he held his hands up in defense and in plea.
"Amy, please don't hurt me. I was only trying to help," Tails cried. He was sniffling, a sign that he was crying. Amy's only response was a growl. She raised her hammer up higher, getting ready to deliver her final blow. Tails closed his eyes, not wanting to see the seemingly inevitable pain that was about to be bestowed upon him.
But the pain never came. Tails slowly opened his eyes. Amy was no longer standing over him. He looked to the floor in front of him. There he saw Amy lying on the floor, sleep. He turned to look behind him. Cream was putting a dart shooter in her pocket. She came over to him and helped him to his feet.
"Tranquilizer?" Tails asked slowly, catching his breath. Cream nodded and looked at Amy, who started to cry in her sleep.
"What happened?" she questioned looking back at Tails. He wiped away his tears.
"I tried to tell her what happened to Sonic. How he infiltrated Eggman's base and everything. She was listening until I got to the part where Eggman unleashed his newest creation. After that, she covered her ears and started yelling. Then she got up and started throwing things at me. I tried to get her to stop but it only made her angrier." Tails shivered. "I've never see Amy so angry, not even when Sonic was forgetting about their dates. And she was pissed off then." He started to pick things up off the floor. "I tried to tell her that Sonic wasn't coming back and this is what happened." He gestured to the destruction of Amy's living room. "She's not ready yet, Cream. She just can't handle it now." He let out a sigh. Cream frowned and started helping Tails clean up the mess.
Later, they took Amy to her bedroom to sleep. Cream began to make herself, Cheese, and Amy some dinner. Tails fixed the broken window.
"Are you staying for dinner?" Cream asked Tails. Tails shook his head.
"No, I've still got to clean out Sonic's room. I know it's late and all but I'm not sure what to do with his stuff." Tails looked downcast.
Cream put her hand on his shoulder. "Perhaps just pack it away and put it in the basement. That way you won't feel like you're throwing him out but at the same time, you can continue healing."
Tails gave Cream a small smile. "That's a good idea." He kissed her cheek. "Thanks."
"Any time." Cream smiled. "I'm here for you too." They gave each other a warm embrace. They just held each other for a few moments. Small tears fell from Cream's eyes. "I still can't believe he's gone," she whispered.
"Me neither, Cream. Me neither." Tails hugged her tighter to his body. Feeling the warm, cozy heat coming from her, he buried his face in her fur and placed a kiss on top her head.
Amy stared at her ceiling, unblinking as various scenes played out before her eyes. All the times she spent with Sonic, including the first time she saw him when he saved her life, were going in succession. As she watched, a small smile played on her lips and a few tears fell from her eyes.
"Oh, Sonic," she spoke aloud. "I miss you so much. When are you coming back? I know the world needs you but I need you too. Sonic, I miss you. Please come home soon. I want to see your face again. I want to see you smile. I want to hear your voice and laughter. I love you so much. I'll wait for you even after I die." She smiled and closed her eyes, falling asleep once more.
Sunlight shone through the living room window and onto the couch at its base. On it slept a young, female rabbit with a small blue creature. When the sunlight hit her face, she slowly stirred awake. She rubbed her eyes and opened them. Staring at the ceiling, she let out a sigh recalling the events that took place yesterday. She frowned, thinking of her mentally and emotionally unstable friend. Taking a deep breath, she slowly sat up on the couch, careful to avoid waking up Cheese. After standing, she placed Cheese gently on the couch then she went into the kitchen to start cooking some breakfast. Upon entering the kitchen, she saw that someone already occupied it.
"Amy? What are you doing up?" Cream asked. Amy turned away from the sink, where she was washing dishes.
"I made you breakfast. You were sleeping so peacefully, I didn't want to wake you," Amy explained with a smile. Cream looked over at the wall clock.
"Oh my goodness!" she cried. "It's almost noon. I can't believe I slept that long."
"You must have been really tired," Amy remarked as she pulled a plate out of the oven. "I kept it there to keep it warm," she explained. She put the plate on the table and got out some silverware. She put them by the plate. "There you go. What would you like to drink?"
Cream slowly sat at the table as she watched Amy for any signs. "Apple juice is fine."
"One glass of apple juice coming up." Amy took a glass from the drainer and went into the fridge. She pulled out the carton of apple juice and poured some into the glass. Then she gave it to Cream. "Here is your apple juice."
"Thank you," Cream responded. Amy smiled and went back to washing the dishes. Cream ate her breakfast in silence, keeping her eyes locked on Amy incase she cracked again. But Amy was just contently washing the dishes, humming a happy tune as she did so.
For a while Cream just sat at the kitchen table and watched Amy clean up the kitchen. Cheese woke up and joined Cream in watching Amy. Amy was just merrily cleaning up. She showed absolutely no signs of anger like yesterday or if she even remembered what she almost did yesterday. This actually wasn't unusual for Amy because she never could seem to remember whenever she had a psychotic break. Cream was just hoping that today would be different. She let out a sigh because it didn't seem like it was going to be.
"There," Amy started suddenly. "That should do it." She stood back to examine her work. She looked around the kitchen. It sparkled and smelled of lemon-scented cleanser. "What do you think, Cream?" Amy asked.
Cream looked around. "Wow, Amy. If you clean anymore, everything will be chrome."
Amy giggled. "Thanks, Cream. Are you doing anything today?" Cream shook her head. "Then how about we hang out together? I feel like we haven't spent any time together lately."
'That's because we haven't,' Cream thought to herself. "Sure, Amy, I'd love to hang out with you." Cream began walking to the front door. Amy followed. She grabbed her keys and the females left the house, after locking up.
Walking through town with Amy, Cream felt at ease. Everyone they saw in town, waved to them and greeted Amy like nothing was ever wrong. Everyone was aware of Amy's mental health and they treated her with caution but did not alert her to the fact that she had a problem. For this, Cream was very grateful. It would be bad for someone to bring up Sonic and have Amy go into a psychotic fit, trying to attack individuals. The last thing Cream needed was a repeat of yesterday. She didn't have many tranquilizer shots on her.
They arrived at the park, where many children were playing and proud parents were relaxing. Amy sat down on a bench; Cream followed suit. Cheese sat on Cream's lap, who petted her head. Amy sunk into the bench, taking her shoes off her feet, and letting her toes play with the grass. She held her head back and faced the sky with her eyes closed.
"Ah, what a beautiful day!" Amy remarked. "Why can't all days be like this?"
Cream smiled and looked up. "Yea, it is beautiful today." They just sat and took in the warm sunshine, enjoying the time they were spending together.
Walking back home, Amy, Cream and Cheese stopped for ice-cream. Amy ordered her favorite, strawberry, and Cream ordered mint chocolate chip for her and Cheese to share. Amy then ordered a blueberry smoothie.
Cream tilted her head. "Why did you buy that smoothie, Amy?"
Amy smiled. "It's for Sonic. I'm going to save it for him for when he comes back." She giggled and then went into a daydream that made her eyes sparkle. Cream and Cheese looked at each other and frowned. They continued walking back to Amy's house, licking their frozen desserts. Cream watched Amy carefully as Amy whistled a tune and ate her ice-cream.
Arriving at Amy's house, they saw someone was waiting outside. The figure was leaning against Amy's doorpost. Walking closer, they saw it was a black hedgehog.
"Shadow?" Amy called, while tilting her head. He opened his eyes at the call of his name and slowly raised his head to look at them. "What are you doing here?"
Shadow stood completely erect and step aside to let Amy open the door. "Just thought I'd stop by," he answered. He examined Amy as she opened the door. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine," Amy answered cheerfully. "But I am starting to get lonely since Sonic left."
"You mean since he d-" Shadow's sentence was cut off when Cream elbowed him in the side. He looked at her and she cast him a warning glance. 'She's not ready,' Cream mouthed to Shadow. Shadow's frown deepened and he rolled his eyes.
Amy turned to her companions. "Are you two coming in?" Cream nodded and walked inside Amy's house. Shadow stood there for a moment before walking into the pink abode. He closed and locked the door behind him.
Amy walked into the kitchen and placed the blueberry smoothie into the freezer. Cream went into the kitchen behind her. Shadow picked a wall furthest from the door and stairs and proceeded to lean against it like he always did. In the kitchen, the ladies were preparing dinner.
"Hey, Cream," Amy started.
"Hm?" Cream answered.
"When do you think Sonic will be back?"
'Never,' Cream thought to herself. To Amy she said, "I'm not sure. Maybe next week." Amy let out a sigh. Cream also let out a sigh but it was inward and for a different reason than Amy's sigh. Amy sighed out of loneliness and boredom for her hero. Cream sighed because this was getting repetitive. Every day, Amy asked the same question and every day Cream gave the same answer. Cream was starting to become a little frustrated. Why couldn't Amy just try to heal already like everyone else? Why couldn't Amy just accept that Sonic was never going to come back? Cream sighed again, only this time it was aloud.
"What's wrong, Cream?" Amy asked.
"Oh, nothing."
"You sure? You sounded sad."
"Yeah. Don't worry, I'm fine." Cream gave a sweet smile.
"Well, if you're sure. Remember you can talk to me about anything that's bothering you."
'That's not true.' "Yes, Amy, I remember."
~An hour and a half later~
"Hey, Shadow, dinner's ready," Amy called into the living room.
"Amy, I don't even think he's still here," Cream commented. Suddenly, Shadow appeared in the kitchen.
"I'm still here," he announced. Both girls gasped in surprise. Shadow smirked and let out a small chuckle.
"Don't do that!" Cream nearly screamed.
"Yeah, you almost gave us a heart attack!" Amy agreed. This just made Shadow snicker more. Amy frowned but then went to serve the plates. Cream gave Shadow a glare which he returned with a glare of his own. Amy saw the two glaring at each other.
"What's wrong with you two? Why are you looking at each other like that?" Amy asked her house guests. The two looked up at Amy quickly with wide eyes.
"Um, we were…" Cream started. "We were having a staring contest. That's all, Amy." Shadow looked over at Cream with a 'do you really think she will believe that?' expression. Cream shrugged her shoulders slightly. Amy raised an eyebrow at Cream's explanation and looked between the two individuals that sat before her. She shook her head slightly.
"Cream, that's hard to believe for the main fact that Shadow doesn't like to participate in anything he views as trivial. And I'm sure he considers staring contests to be trivial," Amy explained.
"Well, uh…" Cream started. Shadow let out an exasperated sigh and banged his hands on the table as he rose to his feet.
"Look, Amy! The reason this bunny keeps glaring at me is because she doesn't want me to tell you that Sonic is-" Cream jumped onto Shadow's head, clamping her hands over his mouth, causing him to stop talking suddenly and to stumble backwards. Amy watched with slight fear and intrigued as Shadow tried to pry Cream off his head. She saw he was heading for the window.
"Shadow, be careful! Look out behind you!" Amy screamed. Shadow turned slightly to see where he was heading. He stopped moving to avoid falling out the window and was able to pull Cream's hands off his mouth.
"Amy, Sonic is dead!" Shadow shouted before Cream could cover his mouth again. She jumped off his back and stood before him, glaring hard.
"Why would you say that?" Cream commanded.
"Because it's the truth and she needed to hear it!" Shadow shouted back in defense. "It doesn't help that you and all your stupid friends keep the truth from her. She needed to hear it; she was going to find out sooner or later anyway."
"And who are you to decide that she should hear it sooner?" Cream shouted.
"Who are you to decide she should hear it later?" Shadow shot back.
"HER BEST FRIEND!" Cream shouted at the top of her lungs.
Amy continued to stand on the other side of the table, staring in the direction of the two arguing but not at them. Instead, Amy stared at nothing as the two argued. Suddenly, she felt faint; her knees were shaking beneath her, signaling that they were about to give out on her. And Amy made no attempt to keep herself from falling.
The sound of dishes hitting the floor caused the hedgehog and rabbit to stop their arguing and look over to their sick friend. They no longer saw Amy standing there with dishes to set the table with, instead they saw the wall. Running over to the other side, they saw Amy lying on the floor with broken dishes laying about her. Both dropped down to Amy's side.
"Amy!" Cream cried. "Amy, please wake up!" She shook her best friend slightly but to no avail. "Look what you did!" She shouted at Shadow.
"Me?"
"Yes, you! If you had never said anything, Amy would be fine! She's not ready to handle the news. Why did you have to say it?"
Shadow stood and took a step back as Cream cuddled Amy and cried.
Cream was pacing in Amy's living room. Shadow already left half an hour ago after taking Amy to her room to rest. After he left, Cream called all their friends together for a meeting about what to do about Amy and even more so about what to do about Shadow. Cream was restless; every second that went past, she was convinced that Amy's heart and mind were slipping away into some sort of psychotic world where she would never return, at least not in the same way she got there.
Finally, the door bell rang. Cream jumped in shock and practically ran over to the door. She swung it open to reveal everyone she invited over. Coincidentally, they all arrived at the same time. Cream stepped aside to let everyone enter Amy's house. Once everyone was inside, she locked the door and quickly explained why she called them all here.
Knuckles, with his eyes closed, shook his head at Shadow. Rouge let out a sigh. Tails let out a low growl, "I can't stand him. He can be so insensitive at times. He makes me sick."
"You'd think he of all people would understand the pain of losing someone who you were close to," Espio added.
"True but the thing is, he can't remember losing Maria," Rouge explained. She received a few glares from her companions. She held her hands up in defense. "Don't get me wrong, everyone. I'm not saying Shadow is right in any way. I'm just saying that he doesn't understand the pain Amy is going through because he wasn't really close to Sonic and he doesn't remember losing Maria. That's all. I still think he was wrong."
"Well, what do we do?" Cream asked, clearly worried. She was wringing her hands together in anxiety. "Amy fainted from the shock, I know it."
"Perhaps Amy will be fine after she gets more rest," Vanilla suggested.
"She may need to see a therapist, depending on how much Shadow's words affected her," Vector added.
"Ugh! If he's caused her to be in more pain than she already was, I'm going to…" Cream growled and balled her hands into fists. Charmy placed his hands on Cream's.
"Don't worry, Cream," Charmy reassured. "If Amy needs to see a shrink, we'll make Shadow pay for the sessions." He chuckled lightly. Cream gave a small smile.
"Yea, he got money," Knuckles added. "He works for the government after all." He gave a sly smirk. Cream looked around at her friends; all were smiling in agreement. Cream smiled back at them.
"Yes, we can do that," Cream responded. "I just hope it doesn't come to that."
"I'm sure it won't," Charmy said as he wrapped his arm around Cream's shoulders. "Amy's strong; she'll pull through." He gave her a hug, which she returned.
"Speaking of which, I'll go check on Amy," Rouge offered. Cream nodded and Rouge walked upstairs to Amy's bedroom. Cream walked into the kitchen to prepare some snacks for her friends. Cream walked back into the living room with a tray filled with snacks and drinks. She walked past everyone as they took their cup and some snacks. She was in front of Charmy and her mother when Rouge flew down the stairs in frenzy.
"Amy's missing!" She shouted. The tray Cream was holding crashed to the floor at Cream's feet.
"What?" Cream shouted in shock and worry. "Are you sure?"
Rouge nodded. "Yea, I checked her room and the bathroom. Unless she came downstairs and I missed her, she's not here." And so began the frantic search for Amy throughout the inside and outside of the house. Every corner had been checked at least five times but no one found Amy anywhere on the premises. Everyone congregated back into the living room.
"Did anyone find her?" Cream asked in panic. All shook their heads solemnly. She began to worry even more than ever, grabbing her head in a futile attempt to remain calm. "We have to find her. We have to find her." Cream was beside herself with worry and started to get sick. She dropped to her knees for she could no longer stand. Charmy and Tails went to Cream's sides to comfort her.
"Where could Amy be?" Knuckles wondered aloud. All thought but could not think of anything.
Amy stirred in her sleep. She slowly opened her eyes and sat up. She rubbed her eyes to remove the sleep from them and yawned. Afterwards, she opened her eyes completely and took in her surroundings. What she saw took her breath away and not in a good way. Before her laid a plot of land filled with gravestones and headstones; she was at the cemetery. Amy quickly got to her feet and looked around.
"W- What? How did I get here? Why am I here? What's going on?" Amy asked aloud to herself. She took a few steps back before something overcame her that made her want to investigate. So she started walking throughout the cemetery.
Following the path that led deep into the cemetery, Amy looked around at the names on the headstones. She saw how so many people had lost their lives especially in the recent years and this revelation saddened her to no end. She even saw that young children also lost their lives, some before they were even 10 years old. Her eyes began to moisten.
Amy stopped walking and stood before a certain gravestone. Her heart was aching and tears were coming as waterfalls down her cheeks. Her knees were weak under her and she dropped to the ground. Sobs escaped her lips as she knelt in front of the gravestone for Sonic the Hedgehog.
"NO!" she cried. "This can't be true! No! No!" She continued to cry uncontrollably until she found that she could no longer produce any tears. She was left gasping for breath mixed in with hiccups. She was still sobbing though no more tears fell.
It took some time but soon Amy was making no noise at all. She just stared at the gravestone, silently reading it over and over in her mind, while her eyes stayed moist. The gravestone listed him as a companion, hero, philanthropist, and love-interest. Inwardly, Amy chuckled at the last description for she knew that came from her constant expression of her love for him. She loved him to death and now… she could prove that to others. She would stay faithful to Sonic no matter what.
Amy was so engrossed in her thoughts that she did not hear the footsteps coming up behind her. It wasn't until the individual was kneeling down next to her that she noticed their presence. She looked over out the corner of her eye.
"I guess you were right," she mumbled softly. "He is dead. He's gone."
Shadow turned his head slightly to examine her face. He saw that she held no emotion or expression that was typical of the usual Amy Rose. Instead, her countenance looked a lot like his on a daily basis. He turned his head back to the gravestone.
"I just can't believe he's gone," Amy continued. "Eggman succeeded."
"No, he didn't," Shadow stated as-a-matter-of fact. "First off, it was never the Doctor's intention of killing him. He just wanted to inhibit Sonic so Sonic wouldn't be able to stop him. Second of all, Eggman is gone too in case you were unaware."
Amy turned her head slowly to look over at Shadow. "Is Eggman really gone or are you teasing me?"
Shadow turned his head to show her his traditional 'do I look like I'm playing' face. "If Sonic died, Eggman would have no one's face to rub his glory in. And I don't joke around." He turned his head back. Amy continued to look at him.
Without looking at her, Shadow asked, "Why are you staring at me?"
"Why are you so difficult?" With that he turned his head sharply at her with a growl. "I know the others were trying to protect my mental health but you… you could care less right? I'm just some energetic girl who chased Sonic around and tried to make him love me, right? You don't care at all about anyone except yourself, right?" She looked away and sighed. "I really do feel bad for you. You walk around with no emotions or feelings of any kind. To me, that's just not living. To me, you only exist in this world but don't live in it."
"I'd rather be emotionless than having my heart broken every five minutes."
Amy gave a dry chuckle. "Only someone like you would say something like that. You could never possibly understand the feelings I've had. Especially love. You're just incapable of it."
Shadow grunted. "How would you know? You've never been around me much to know anything about me."
"I know you walk around here with a bad attitude like as if the world did something to you."
"The world did do something to me."
"Oh yea, like what?"
"They took away the one person who ever cared about me…"
Amy turned to look at Shadow, his face looking at the ground as if reflecting on something. "You mean Maria?"
Shadow looked at her. "No. I can't remember who that is though the name pops in my head from time to time."
Amy tilted her head a little. "Then who are you talking about?"
Shadow's mouth twitched slightly, as if he was going to smile but he restrained it. Amy was a little taken aback and was wondering if she should be scared right about now. "I'm talking about a different young lady who's help me quite a bit."
"Rouge?"
"No. But you do know her." He faced forward. "She's helped me in ways she doesn't know. Her attitude and the way she carries herself has helped me to realize that the world isn't entirely awful."
"Cream?"
"No, I'm not around her a lot."
Amy was now confused. She couldn't think of anyone else who Shadow may have been around who would have an attitude like the one he is describing. "Shadow, will you stop playing games and just tell me who you're talking about?"
Shadow chuckled – the kind of chuckle that showed he was genuinely amused. Amy was shocked by his reaction. She studied his face. What she found actually scared her and made her worry for her black hedgehog companion. "Shadow? Are you alright?" Amy asked, concerned.
"Yea, I'm fine, Rose. Why do you ask?"
"Because… you're smiling. You never smile."
"I said you know nothing about me. Perhaps if you spent more time around me, you might learn a thing or two."
"Yea but smiling, Shadow? I mean seriously? Besides, what is there for you to smile about now?"
Shadow lifted his head and looked straight ahead. Then he looked at Amy, a small smile on his lips, his eyes slightly sparkling. His entire countenance was the total opposite of what he usually holds. Amy frowned and leaned away from Shadow. "Because you still haven't figured out who I'm talking about and it's funny."
Amy was watching Shadow suspiciously. "Why don't you just tell me who you're talking about?"
Shadow rose to his feet. "Because then it wouldn't be any fun." He turned to walk away from her. Amy stood up.
"Shadow, wait!" Shadow stopped walking and turned slightly to look at her out of the corner of his eye. "Can… Can I have another hint?"
Shadow closed his eyes, contemplating the thought. "Her favorite flavor of ice-cream is… strawberry." He continued walking and left the cemetery. Amy stared after him, his weird behavior playing in her mind. She tilted her head in thought then turned to look at Sonic's tombstone. She knelt down before it and placed a few more tears over the place he was buried. 'You'll always be number one in my heart, Sonic. Always and forever.'
Cream was speaking to two officers who came to investigate Amy's disappearance. "I'm really sorry, miss. But there isn't much we can do unless the person goes missing for 48 hours."
"But she's mentally unstable," Cream protested, her voice rising. "Doesn't that count for anything? What if something happens to her in 48 hours?"
The officer held up his hands in defeat. "I'm sorry, but there really is nothing I can do. That's the way things work here."
Cream had tears in her eyes and the officers left. Tails slammed the door behind them once they were out, a clear sign that there was aggression in the air. Cream shook as she cried and Charmy wrapped her in a warm embrace.
"We should continue to look for her ourselves, without the police involvement," Espio suggested. "Besides, I'm sure we'll be able to find her a lot quicker than they will." Cream nodded and the others organized themselves into groups. Once organized, they set off to find Amy. Cream, Vanilla, and Tails stayed behind in Amy's house, just in case there was a call or Amy miraculously came back. They waved them off with good wishes.
~Two hours later~
The groups returned with their heads hung low. They searched high and low for their rose-colored friend, but no one could locate her. The sun was setting and the evening was cooling down. It had also begun to rain some time ago.
"It shouldn't be this hard to find a mentally disturbed person," Knuckles reported, feeling very frustrated. "I mean where in the world could she go?"
"She was kidnapped," Cream concluded. "That's the only explanation. And I know exactly who might have something to do with it." Her face frowned in disgust.
Shadow was resting on his couch when he heard a knock at his door. At first he thought he would ignore it, but then the knocking grew more persistent and he found ignoring it to be futile. The person simply wouldn't take the hint and go away. Feeling very angry that he was being disturbed, Shadow got up from the couch and stomped over to the door. With a Chaos Spear ready to fire, Shadow threw the door open. With his hand raised, Shadow looked at the person before him. There, on his steps, stood a soaked young lady. Her hair covered her eyes and her clothes were completely soaked all the way through. Shadow was dumbfounded. 'Why would she come here?' he thought.
"A- Are you going to let me?" she asked, shivering. "Or are you g- going to make me s- stand out here all night?" Shadow stepped aside and allowed the female to enter his home. Immediately, she went over to the fireplace and knelt down in front of it in an effort to warm up.
Shadow closed the door and stood a couple of feet behind the young lady. He was surely surprised to see her, especially considering the weather condition outside. Judging from the amount of water she brought in with her, he guessed that she made no attempt to go home after he left a few hours ago. 'What brought her here?' Shadow couldn't help but ask himself. Shadow was not one for having visitors or entertain company; in fact, it was the absolute last thing anyone would find Shadow doing. He wasn't a social person and yet, at this very moment, the most sociable person he ever met was here in his house. Although she hasn't been herself over the past few months, no one could match her hospitality and social skills – not Cream, not Rouge.
"What are you doing here?" he finally asked his house guest. For a moment she said nothing, and instead sneezed into the fireplace. But then she slowly stood and turned to face him. But when she did that, he found he was no longer standing there.
"What the…?" she said as she looked around the area. She sighed and rolled her eyes, then took her place back before the fireplace. Suddenly, she felt someone standing over her. Looking up, she found Shadow. She would have jumped into the fireplace from the sudden surprise had Shadow not grabbed her wrist.
"What the heck? Don't go appearing behind someone like that! You almost gave me a heart attack!" She received a smirk as a response. "I'm serious! That's not funny!"
"It's funny to me." Amy pouted.
"Are you going to release me any time soon?" She said as she looked at her wrist in his hand. Shadow drew his attention to that too and chose that moment to study the physical contact. In general, Shadow was not comfortable with the idea of someone physically touching him, especially for extended periods of time. But for some reason, the thought of having to release Amy's wrist slightly saddened him. Slowly he loosened his grip and Amy withdrew her wrist from him. Shadow watched as she did so, studying her movement.
"What's gotten into you?" Amy's question pulled him from his thoughts and he slowly looked up at her. His face showed no emotion. But Amy looked in his eyes and found sadness in them.
"I don't know," he answered slowly. Then he held up his arm, which held articles of clothing. "These are for you. I figured it would be better for you to wear these instead of the wet clothes." Amy nodded and took the clothes from Shadow. "There's a bathroom down the hall. Or you can use a bedroom upstairs." Shadow walked away from her, his face molding to show that something was on his mind.
Amy watched him leave then decided on where she would go to change. At first she thought about going upstairs to explore since it was her first time in Shadow's house, but she figured she would save that for another time and instead went down the hall to the bathroom. After she was done changing, she came back into the living room; her wet clothes wrung out and folded in her arms. Shadow had given her an over-sized black T-shirt and a pair of blue plaid boxers. Why Shadow even owned articles of clothing was a mystery to her and she decided she'd question him about it some other time.
Amy decided to use this opportunity to fully take in her surroundings. Surprisingly enough, Shadow had a very nice home. It wasn't that Amy thought Shadow lived in a dump, but she didn't expect it to be so … homey. It was quite comfortable. And it had light-colored walls. Amy tilted her head slightly to this fact. 'I guess Shadow is not as depressing as I thought,' she said to herself. 'I guess I really don't know him.' The sound of footsteps caught Amy's attention and she turned to find Shadow with two cups in his hands. He walked over and extended one to her. She took it, sensing the warmth and steam coming from the beverage.
"Thank you," she murmured, taking in the smell of peppermint. "I had no idea you knew how to make tea. This is a surprise." He merely chuckled and sipped his tea. Then he went over to the couch and sat down, putting his left ankle on his right knee, and letting his right hand hang over the back of the couch. He stared at the fireplace, deep in thought. He was so deep in thought that he barely noticed when Amy came over and sat on the couch next to him. What shocked him even more was when Amy leaned into him; her back against his chest. Shadow looked down at her.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"The same thing you're doing – thinking," she responded casually as she sipped more tea.
"Hmph" was his response as he watched the fire dance around the wood, cracking, splitting, and dissolving it with its heated passion. A long moment passed without either of them uttering a word.
"Shadow…" Amy began, breaking the silence. He looked down at her. She continued to stare across the room. "I really hope you don't expect anything from me."
"What do you mean?"
Amy paused to sip more tea. "I know who you were talking about back in the cemetery." Shadow took a thoughtful sip. Amy continued. "It's just hard for me now. I promised that I would love him forever and that he would be number one in my heart forever. I just can't love anyone else the same way. It would feel too much like I'm cheating on him." She stared down into her cup as her eyes began to moisten. "I can't betray him like that. I can't forget him."
Shadow shifted, causing Amy to sit up. She looked at him, confused and saw his eyes were sad yet sympathetic. Amy was surprised to see this on him. A few tears fell from her eyes. "I'm not asking you to forget him nor am I asking you to feel the same about me. I just…" He trailed off, a bit unsure on how to continue. "I just… want… I just want a chance. Please…" His eyes were almost pleading with her. Seeing she felt torn, he closed his eyes and looked away. He turned his attention back to the fire and placed his half empty cup on the table in front of the couch.
Silence fell over the two again. However, unlike the first silence, this one was much more awkward. Shadow, in his own way, just admitted his feelings for Amy. And Amy, who couldn't completely grasp what she was feeling, didn't say anything at all. Shadow was feeling uncomfortable because he just opened up and already felt the repercussions of his actions. Now he wished he hadn't said anything at all and just let Amy deal with the death of Sonic in whatever way the mortals felt was necessary. He was suddenly feeling very guilty and regretful. He wished she would say something, anything, to get rid of this uncomfortable silence that surrounded them.
"I…" Amy began. Shadow slightly turned his head to look at her. "I'm sorry. I just can't right now. I…" She took a breath and slowly released it into the air. "What I mean is, I still need time to sort things out. Everything is running around in my head and not making any sense. My heart is torn. I still love Sonic but at the same time, I feel the need to comfort you for some odd reason. It's like… I want to get close to you but yet… I'm afraid. Afraid that… you'll make me forget about him. And I never want to forget him. I can't forget him."
Shadow let out a sigh. That was the last thing he wanted to hear from her. And though he partly anticipated this reaction from her, it didn't ease the pain that he felt in his heart. "I understand," he managed to breathe out. He was finding it hard to think, much less breathe. He was beginning to lose control of his emotions. It took everything in his power to not cry from heartache in front of her. "It was foolish of me to think that you would ever… Nevermind. Forget it." He rose to his feet, ready to walk away, but something stopped him. Shadow turned to see two hands grabbing on tightly to his right one. His eyes followed the trail up the arms to the small face of Amy. She was staring at him with wide, moist eyes. Shadow was greatly perplexed by her actions.
"Please… stay…" she pleaded. Shadow took a step toward her but continued standing. "I don't want you to leave. I don't want to be alone again like I've been for the past six months." Tears accompanied her words. They made Shadow's heart ache. He wanted to scoop her up in his arms and show her just how much he wanted her, how much he desired her, but he didn't think that would do much at this moment. He let out a sigh.
"I don't think that's a good idea," he admitted.
"Please, Shadow. I'm scared." With another sigh, Shadow sat on the couch. Once he was settled, Amy nuzzled into his chest. This really made Shadow confused. He could have sworn she said she would never feel for him the same way she felt about Sonic. And yet here she was, curling up next to him like he was some kind of teddy bear. They sat in silence for the third time that night. This time though, Shadow was growing tired and started to close his eyes.
"Shadow?" Amy interrupted the silence.
"Hm?" Shadow responded, not opening his eyes.
"Can you promise me something?" He nodded slowly. "Can you promise me you'll never make me forget about Sonic? Or take his place in my heart?"
Shadow never opened his eyes as he held Amy closer to his body. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead. With his lips still very close to her forehead, he said, "I promise." His breath causing shivers to go down her spine. "I don't want to take his place. I just want to help you heal." He took her hand in his, softly caressing it. "I don't want you to be afraid to love." They snuggled closer together, warming each other with their own body heat. Shadow rested his chin on Amy's head as she nuzzled into his chest.
"I will try…" Amy spoke in a low voice, barely above a whisper. "I will try for you." They stayed in each other's embrace for the rest of the night.
~*~*~End~*~*~
Authoress Note: Oh my goodness… I finally finished this. Can't believe this seriously took me almost two years to do. I ended up going in a different direction than I planned. Hopefully, you all enjoyed reading this. Again, this was a request from Sonic47 and I'm so sorry this took me so long to complete. Well, please leave a critic if you have the time. I'm looking to improve my skills. Thank you for your time and patience. ~AA1