"A Pulse Through Time"
Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic, Amy, Tails, Metal, Robotnik/Eggman, or any other copyrighted or trademarked characters/settings/objects in this story - they belong to Sega, Sonic Team, and any other respective companies/parties.
Summary: Remember when Sonic had to race Metal to rescue Amy in Sonic CD? This is the story of what happened that night, and how Sonic discovered his feelings for Amy.
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Sonic the Hedgehog stared down at his plate of chili dogs and curly fries. Normally, such a sight would excite his appetite and the food would be gone faster than you could say "cholesterol," but tonight, something that had been plaguing our blue hero for weeks seemed to be taking a greater toll than before...
He was sitting in a booth in Piston's Diner, in downtown Carr's Point. Sonic called the place "Wacky Workbench" more often, as that was the code name given to the entire sector by the Federal Union, the legitimate government of Little Planet. He was sent there to stop the attempts of the maniacal Dr. Robotnik to take control of the city's numerous power plants - warping through time, he succeeded in thwarting Eggman's plans, and had been hailed as a hero in Carr's Point for the past few days.
Sonic welcomed the praise, but the victory over Robotnik was bittersweet. Since his good friend Amy Rose had been kidnapped by Robotnik's accursed creation, Metal Sonic, some weeks back, Sonic had conducted four separate campaigns against Eggman - all without seeing Amy turn up. No one knew what Robotnik had done to her - he was a very hard person to get intelligence on, even with the boy genius Tails Prower on the case. So, Sonic grew more worried about Amy with each passing day. He had been commended by the Federal Union and the people of Little Planet many times for all his success against Robotnik so far, but, with Amy missing, the importance of what he was doing was not obvious to him at the moment.
Sonic sighed and popped a curly fry into his mouth, staring out the window. A light rain was falling on the streets, giving everything a blue glow from the industrial lights. The sheer size of Carr's Point made Sonic wonder if he would ever find Amy - she wasn't here, after all, and this was just one city on an entire planet! Now that Robotnik's immediate threat to the city was gone, Sonic's mind was free to settle on what worried him, as he chewed his food and stared out into the rain.
The blue hedgehog had been on other rescues before, without knowing the fate of the captives - why was this one so different? Amy and Sonic had known each other for a long time - several years, before all the mess on Little Planet started. Amy had the world's biggest crush on Sonic, after he became a hero known across the world for almost single-handedly stopping Robotnik twice and recovering the Chaos Emeralds. Amy pursued Sonic constantly, even finding out where he lived and moving into an apartment near him. Of course, Sonic ran, knowing nothing more about his pink pursuer other than that he wanted her to leave him alone. It wasn't that Sonic disliked Amy - he just found her very odd for chasing him so much. Eventually, one day, Sonic confronted Amy and told her how he felt - he did not have a romantic interest in her, but was flattered that he had someone who admired him so much, and wished to be friends with her.
Amy was a bit heartbroken at first, and Sonic felt truly sorry for her. But after a while, Sonic and Amy became the best of friends, nearly as close as Sonic and Tails. They cared deeply for one another - Sonic in a platonic way, but he knew that Amy still had a huge crush on him…or at least, he thought…
Sonic saw Amy almost every day - but now, she had been missing for several months, and Sonic felt like there was a void in his heart. Robotnik had made the fight very, very personal - Sonic was determined not to let that deter him, but Amy still dominated his thoughts.
His thoughts weren't just worries, either. As the weeks went by, Sonic found himself picturing what it might be like when he saw her again; he imagine running his hands through her hair, embracing her, kissing her. In her absence, Sonic started to wonder what his true feelings for Amy were, now that he knew the real person, not the obsessive fangirl. Not only had Amy become more attractive physically, she had been nothing less than a caring, loyal friend to Sonic for a long time – he couldn't help being attracted to her sweet personality and compassionate nature. Every little quality about Amy made Sonic smile, from the way she greeted him to the red headband she still wore. Not a night went by when he didn't pull out his photo album, and lovingly looked at all the pictures with Amy in them - and each time he did, he was nearly brought to tears, wondering if someone who might have turned out to be the love of his life would never be seen again...
He continued to mull the situation over as he ate - it took him almost two hours to eat a plate that would normally have taken him five minutes. Around closing time, he paid at the register and made his way outside.
The streets were nearly deserted - Carr's Point was a huge city, but it was largely an industrial town, and there wasn't much to do after the workers went home each day, so the nights were generally quiet - this was the case again tonight. Too wrapped up in his own thoughts (and too full of chili dogs) to run, he walked back to the Federal Union's military facility on the west side of town and found his bed. He'd be getting a briefing about his next assignment tomorrow, but now, all he wanted to do was sleep, and get away from his worries...
"SONIC! HEY, SONIC!"
There was a pounding on Sonic's door that awoke him suddenly - it was about three in the morning. Sonic flung open the door, and standing there was Jimmy, a young feline Federal Union pilot that Sonic had made friends with during his time there.
"What's up, Jimmy?"
"Tails is on the comlink for you. Says it's an emergency…Come quick..."
Sonic got his shoes on and ran down the hallway, eventually reaching a communications room with a large television screen, upon which was Tails's face, looking very anxious.
Tails started talking before Sonic could even say hello. "Sonic! We know where Amy is!"
Sonic's heart skipped a beat. "You mean she's okay!"
"We think so, but we're not sure - the other intelligence guys and I are over here near the Stardust Speedway, high above the capital. We're here because we got word from some observant locals that Robotnik might be sending scouts here as part of a larger attack to take over the Speedway and use it as a point from which to launch aerial attacks on the city. And we saw the scouts fly by a few minutes ago - and one was carrying Amy, but they just vanished into thin air! She must have been taken across time--"
"Which way? Do you know where she is now?"
"We have schematics of the Speedway that we were able to get from a captured robot - it looks like, judging by the point where she vanished, she was taken into the future."
As soon as Tails uttered that last word, Sonic sped off toward the capital.
As he ran, Tails talked to him over the communicator in his ear.
"Sonic, Eggman's brought in two Transporters, and he's already gotten them to the past! I think you'll need to take care of those first--"
"Screw that!" Sonic yelled, "There's no time!"
"Sonic, listen to me! Robotnik's being way too obvious about this - you know how he usually is when he wants to take over - set everything up out of sight, then make a concerted attack when the time is right, so no one can interfere - but this time, he's making a big show of it, like he wants you to come - if you go to the future without getting rid of the Transporters, you'll walk right into a trap!"
"I CAN HANDLE IT!" Sonic roared. "He's got Amy, I can't just--"
"This is no time for your stupid ego to be getting in the way! If you don't do what I say, you'll never save her!"
Sonic pondered this as he ran. Deep down, he knew Tails was right. He would never mislead Sonic, and certainly not now. The comment Tails made about his ego hit home with him - it made him flash back to all the times he ran from Amy - did he think he was too good for her? Sonic couldn't believe his own behavior, if that was true.
But at the time, there were more important things to worry about. "All right. All right...you're right, Tails..."
A Transporter, of course, was a device that Robotnik placed in the past after traveling back in time; it allowed his robots to travel freely across time and ensuring no one could get rid of them without time-traveling to the past themselves. Eggman was probably using it this very moment to teleport his robots to the future, probably to guard Amy's location and spring a trap for Sonic.
Sonic arrived at the Stardust Speedway in a matter of minutes. Although it was technically a speedway (car races were held there from time to time), most of the year it simply served as a scenic walkway above the capital.
"I'm here, Tails. Where can I get to the past?"
"Follow the right fork ahead of you; there's a warp point about two miles down."
He quickly came up on a flashing post, which was the time warp point. Robotnik constructed a few of these in every area he conquered - to use them, a person or object had to be traveling very fast, so his robots couldn't use them; just Robotnik in his Egg-O-Matic (which of course was capable of reaching high speeds), and Metal Sonic.
Sonic ran past the post at top speed and suddenly felt himself floating upward through a bright white void, the fifth dimension...
A few seconds later, he landed back on the speedway. The whole place was a lot quieter, since the capital was much smaller in the past - Sonic knew he had succeeded. He'd have to find the Transporters on his own, since the communicator was useless across time. Fortunately, it didn't take him long. They were both guarded by only about three badniks each - Sonic smirked when he saw them, satisfied. Robotnik had been banking on Sonic's impulsiveness - with the skeleton guard he left, he obviously thought Sonic would go straight to the future for Amy, and walk into his trap. Sonic felt very lucky that Tails had knocked some sense into him...
He went into a spin, fueled by anger and determination, and sliced through the robot guards and the Transporters. Quickly finding another warp point a short distance down the speedway, he got back to the present.
"Done - the Transporters are history. What now?" he asked Tails over the communicator.
"Amy vanished about a mile ahead of your present location; there should be a warp there."
Sonic took off, and found the post - Tails and the intel guys are really saving my neck on this one, Sonic thought as he entered the warp...
When the world around him returned to normal, Sonic couldn't believe his eyes; the capital below him had seemed to grow about fivefold in size, and the view was even more breathtaking. He was in the future, and there wasn't a badnik in sight; it appeared that he had foiled Robotnik's trap. Now, he had to find Amy...
Sonic picked a direction and set off, but after just a few seconds, he heard, "HE'S HERE! HE'S HERE! KILL THE GIRL!"
Looking up, Sonic saw Robotnik floating above him in the Egg-O-Matic, and a second later, saw who he was shouting to: Metal Sonic, who had already torn off down the speedway.
Sonic's heart jumped into his throat - Amy's gonna die! he thought frantically. He sped off after Metal Sonic, knowing Amy's life was on the line. He burned with a rage like he had never felt before; nothing was going to stop him from getting to Amy, especially not some idiotic metallic rendition of himself.
Of course, he knew it wouldn't be simple - Sonic had barely gone a quarter of a mile when Metal started hurling spikes at Sonic, who was still lagging behind. As if that weren't enough, Robotnik started firing a laser indiscriminately down the speedway, trying to blow Sonic away before he could get to Amy. Sonic dodged their attacks in every way he could - he swung around the guardrails, leapt into the air, and went into spins - it worked, but the extra maneuvering was causing him to fall further behind Metal.
The situation looked nearly hopeless – he couldn't dodge the relentless attacks and catch up to Metal at the same time. But then, he saw his chance...the speedway took a huge dip and bend ahead, and Metal simply followed it...yet Sonic, of course, had the presence of mind no android could have. He swung himself off a streetlight and flew through the air, landing on the lower part of the speedway, ahead of Metal. Sonic immediately started sprinting again and saw his goal up ahead - a small building at the speedway's terminus. Amy had to be inside!
Robotnik and Metal were both gaining again on Sonic - Metal turned on his afterburners, and nearly nailed Sonic in the process. Sonic was able to keep his balance, but now he and Metal were neck and neck, shoving each other for position...
Not like this... Sonic thought, if I only succeed once more in my life, please, please let it be this once...
Suddenly, brilliant images flashed before Sonic's eyes...Amy, chasing him down a busy street, with passersby staring...Amy, looking on with delight as Tails blew out candles at his birthday party...Amy, running to Sonic for a warm embrace last Christmas...Amy, as she and Sonic watched the sunset just before she was taken away, her hand wrapped around his...
Sonic knew he could be on the brink of death - and Amy was the only one he saw. Suddenly, Sonic knew that he'd win - there was no question, no doubt.
With an incredible burst of speed, Sonic got through the blast door before Metal and closed it. Seconds later, the building was rocked by an explosion, and Sonic heard Eggman yelling, "AAAHHHH!"
Sonic opened the door to find a very much destroyed Metal Sonic lying at his feet - Metal had crashed into the door and exploded. He kicked the debris aside and off the speedway, where it plummeted to the ground. Good riddance, Sonic thought. Then, looking beyond the guardrail, he saw Robotnik, his Egg-O-Matic badly damaged by the explosion. He sped off, a trail of smoke behind him. The last thing Sonic heard was a cry of "DAMN YOU, HEDGEHOG!" as Eggman fled into the horizon.
Sonic turned around and headed back inside - he saw Amy tied to a post, gagged and blindfolded. The sight broke his heart, but Amy was kicking around and yelling, obviously frightened by the explosion - she looked to be all right.
He ran up to the post and quickly freed her. When she first caught a glimpse of her rescuer, she yelled "SONIC!" and nearly knocked him over as she pulled him into an embrace. She started crying into his chest, uncontrollably - Sonic walked her outside and they sat on a bench on one side of the speedway. Amy was still crying her eyes out.
After a few minutes, she stopped, looked up at Sonic, and simply whispered, "Thank you," tears still streaming down her face. She rested her head on Sonic's shoulder, still sobbing for a while. All Sonic could do was whisper into her ear, "Shh, it's okay," feeling as if the weight of the world was off of him, now that she had been freed. She stopped sobbing and wiped her eyes after some time.
"How did you find me?"
"Tails. He was out here with the intel guys - back in our own time, of course - and said they saw you getting taken here, into the future...I came over as quickly as I could."
"But...how did you get to me? How did you survive? That's why I was crying so much - I thought you'd die for sure if you came after me, I heard Robotnik talking, he said he brought me here as a trap..."
"I owe Tails and the intel guys big time. I was actually about to rush into the trap, but Tails told me to warp into the past and destroy the Transporters...I did that, so it really wasn't too bad..."
"So modest...but what about that explosion I heard?"
"That was Metal being blown into a million tiny bits. Let's just say he lost a race." Sonic was now grinning from ear to ear.
"And Robotnik?"
"Gone from the Speedway. His only stronghold left now is his headquarters, on the other side of the planet."
"Sonic...you are amazing..."
"No...I'm not. If Tails hadn't stood up to my stupid ego, I would have been overwhelmed by Eggman's forces, and we might both be dead..."
"Don't say that...you did far more to save me than I could ever do for you...you always find a way."
Amy put her arms around Sonic again as they both stared off the speedway into the lights of the future version of the capital. The lights gave everything a soft green glow, just like a certain pair of eyes Sonic knew well...and now, he had shifted his gaze, and was staring into them. Suddenly, Sonic deeply wondered how Amy felt about him - he was impulsive, brash, and stubborn - the night could have ended very badly if he had rushed into the future on his impulsiveness. Could Amy really love someone like him? He knew that it was now or never...
"Amy...you have no idea how much I've missed you."
Amy laughed. "But I'm the one with the silly little crush, remember?" she joked.
"No, really...listen, when you were kidnapped, I was angry that I had such a good friend being taken away from me. I swore to do whatever it took to get you back. It's been a long time since then...and Amy, not a day has gone by when you haven't been in my thoughts. I've felt numb these past few weeks - I did what I needed to do, but all the while I was worried sick about you...and while I was going through that, I realized something..."
Amy gulped, and started to look a little nervous. "What, Sonic?"
"When we first met, truly met and talked, I thought we'd always just be friends...but what I realized while you were gone is that, as close as we've gotten over the years, I've fallen in love with you, Amy Rose...you're everything to me..."
Amy stared at Sonic, shocked, tears forming in her eyes again. Sonic was on pins and needles, waiting for her reaction; did Amy ever actually love him, or were her feelings just a shallow infatuation? She didn't react for a few seconds...maybe, it just wasn't meant to be...
He didn't have to wait long for the tense moment to be broken, though; Amy leaned in, rested her forehead against his, whispered, "You've made me the happiest girl in the world, Sonic..." and kissed him, burning with passion.
When they broke, she said, "This is...a dream come true. I had that crush on you, but after we became good friends, and I saw the real Sonic, I fell madly in love with you." Amy ran her hand along the side of Sonic's face and continued, "I never told you, because I thought you never wanted anything more than my friendship...but I truly, deeply...love you..."
Amy leaned in for another kiss. After another few minutes, they broke apart, but still in each others' arms as they began to doze off. As Sonic was about to fall asleep, staring off into the lights of what looked like an endless city below him, he knew that now, with the love of his life in his arms beside him, he would conquer any challenge that came before him for the rest of his days, regardless of his shortcomings, because there was nothing across space or time that could drive him and Amy apart.