A/N: I'm just not going to say anything… -dies-

Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic and co.

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Amy sat hugging her knees to her chest in an attempt to keep warm in the barrage of water droplets falling from the sky. The bench she sat on was situated in the center of the park so there were no trees to shelter her from the wind and rain.

Stifling another sob, Amy squeezed her eyes shut and hugged her knees even closer in an attempt to stop the tears that threatened to fall, but to no avail.

As optimistic and cheerful as she was, Amy wasn't an idiot. She knew Sonic never showed up at any of their dates, but she couldn't help but hope every time. However, just like every other time, her blue hero did not appear.

And now she was sitting huddled on a bench in the middle of a thunderstorm.

A large portion of her brain was telling her to get up and go home, but as much as she wanted to listen to that voice, she couldn't. Because

a) she wanted to believe that he would show up and sheer determination rooted her to the spot and

b) her body was so numb that she wouldn't be able to stand without collapsing anyways.

So there she was, sitting outside in the pouring rain whilst everyone else she knew was sitting indoors with a hot cup of cocoa in their hands.

Amy briefly wondered why she liked Sonic in the first place, but quickly pushed the though away. He was a hero. He saved her countless times and he never failed her in her time of need.

Thinking of the blue hedgehog merely made her heart clench painfully inside her chest. He didn't love her. He would never love her.

It was so unfair really.

She loved him with all her heart and yet he never returned any of those feelings. She would die for him and he didn't really care.

Amy sighed and let her tears fall from her eyes to mingle with the rain. The pink hedgehog looked up to the heavens and she closed her eyes.

"The sky is crying too…" Amy smiled ruefully.

Deciding that she had enough, Amy unfurled her legs and slowly stood up; holding onto the bench for support. At first, her legs buckled beneath her weight but after a few more tries, she managed to successfully stand up. Amy did not realize just how long she had been sitting there.

The young hedgehog staggered a few feet and was near the entrance of the park when she heard several gunshots.

Senses alert, Amy looked around cautiously and searched for the location in which the sound came from. She scanned the perimeter of the park and her ears twitched as she picked up another shot being fired from the direction of the forest.

Temporarily forgetting the numbness of her legs, Amy ran towards the sound. Adrenaline pumped in her veins and she summoned her piko piko hammer. When she came nearer to the place where the sounds were coming from, Amy slowed to a walk and silently crept forwards.

A rustle in the bushes next to her alerted her that she had been seen. Using her quick reflexes, Amy ducked just as a leg swung above her. Bringing her hammer back, Amy launched her hammer forwards to where her attacker was hidden. However the only thing her hammer hit was a tree. Pivoting quickly on her right foot, the pink hedgehog barely managed to parry an oncoming punch. Amy gasped at the force of the punch. Staggering backwards, she fell to the ground trying to dodge another swift jab at her head. Preparing her hammer for another attack, Amy raised it high above her head only to have it knocked away by a cloaked black figure that was now standing in front of her.

"You put up a good fight for someone who's been sitting in the rain for the past 2 hours," the figure said, "it's just too bad that you won't live to recover from your fever." A cloaked hand pointed a gun directly to her forehead.

Amy knew that she should feel terrified, but for some odd reason, all she felt was anger. Anger that this person had to show up and beat her around after such a horrible day. Anger that the person KNEW she was getting a fever from staying in the rain too long.

And…

Anger that this person was about to end her life.

Amy smirked at the figure, "well… it's too bad that you…" she gathered the last of her strength and summoned her hammer, "…WON'T GET THE SATISFACTION OF KILLING ME SO EASILY!"

Amy swung her hammer with all the force she could muster and heard a satisfying crack of bones as it hit her target square in the sides.

The cloaked figure was sent flying to the side and hit a nearby tree with such force that the trunk of the tree itself broke in half.

Amy felt a wave of triumph wash over her before her vision started to swirl before her eyes.

Dammit… stupid…fever… Amy thought as her line of sight slowly blurred before the darkness took over.

Her body slumped to the grass. Breaths were coming out of her mouth in short, quick pants as if the pink hedgehog was struggling to breathe.

Suddenly, from the shadows emerged another cloaked figure. Taking a look at the two unconscious bodies on the forest floor, the person sighed before grabbing both of them and disappearing in a flash of bright green light.

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Sonic couldn't help but fidget from his seat by the window. The stupid rain was preventing him from going out and doing what he loved most – running.

Absently, he wondered how mad Amy would be for bailing out on their date.

But then again, it wasn't like he wanted to ditch her. It was raining and she KNEW how much he hated getting wet…

Ah, who was he kidding? He wouldn't have gone anyways even if it was bright and sunny.

A bright flash of lightning seared the sky, followed by the ear splitting boom of thunder. The rain began to pelt against the window pane harder than ever. Sonic felt his stomach churn with worry.

Even though Amy would never admit it, Sonic knew that she was terrified of thunderstorms. The only reason he knew this was because he once found her in the middle of a thunderstorm huddled between two giant tree roots with her hands over her ears while sobbing quietly. But that was a few years ago, maybe she had changed, he didn't know for sure.

You're worrying over nothing, Sonic told himself, Amy probably went home as soon as the rain started. She's not stupid enough to wait outside in the rain…is she?

Sonic felt another wave of worry wash over him.

"Whatcha thinking about Sonic?" Tails walked up behind him with two steaming cups of cocoa in his hands.

"Nothin' really…" Sonic nodded gratefully as he took the cup offered to him.

Taking a nice long sip, the blue hero sighed comfortably as the hot liquid warmed his stomach.

They both sat in silence for a while, just staring up at the water droplets falling from the sky.

Sonic glanced sideways to his best friend and saw that the fox's twin tails were twisting and untwisting over and over; a habit that Tails had developed whenever he wanted to ask something but was unsure if it was appropriate.

Sonic sighed and put his cup down, "just ask already Tails."

The orange fox flushed a bit from being so easy to read. Taking a deep breath, he blurted out, "Why did you ditch Amy again?"

The blue hedgehog looked at him blankly for a moment before turning away.

"I…" Sonic began slowly, "…don't really know."

"Do you…hate her…?" Tails mumbled quietly.

Sonic stared at the fox with wide eyes, "hate her…?" he repeated, "I could never hate her…"

"Then why do you keep hurting her? She loves you, you know."

Sonic sighed, "Yeah… I know little buddy, I know…"

Stretching a bit, Sonic jumped up and gave his trademark wink and thumbs up, "Enough of this depressing talk, I gotta go now, all this sitting around is making me uneasy. See ya later Tails!" With that, he sped off to some other part of Tail's workshop.

The kitsune looked at the trailing dust and sighed, "He's avoiding it again…"

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Amy groaned and sat up. Her head was pounding and for a second, Amy was glad that the place where she was currently was relatively dark. Clutching her head with a gloved hand, Amy attempted to gather her wits about her. Suddenly, the memories of the fight in the forest came rushing back and her senses were once again on full out alert mode. Since it was dark, she couldn't see much, although from the feel of it, Amy figured out that she was currently laying on a rather comfortable king sized bed.

Straining her ears, Amy could make out the sound of pots and pans clanging around somewhere underneath the floor which indicated that she was currently on the second floor of some building.

Letting her eyes adjust to the darkness, Amy saw that she was in a well furnished room. The canopy of the bed was made of a translucent fabric which allowed her to see her surroundings. Directly in front of her was a wooden desk with papers stacked neatly one atop another. To the left of the table was a matching dresser. Amy slipped her feet off the bed and onto the floor. Ignoring the sharp throbbing of her head, Amy began to explore the room. On wall east of the bed was a door that was half open. Peeking inside, the hedgehog was happy to find that it was a bathroom. Quickly turning the silver faucet, Amy let the cool water run over her hands, washing away some of the dirt that remained on her gloves. Cupping her hands, she gathered some water in the palm of her hand and splashed it on her face. The cool feel of the water was refreshing against her burning forehead.

Once she was done washing up, Amy exited the bathroom. By now, her eyes had completely adjusted to the darkness and she was able to see everything clearly.

On the wall opposite of the bathroom, there was a large window-like door whose length spanned the entire length from the floor to the ceiling. The thick curtains however were closed so Amy couldn't see outside. The bottom of the curtains fluttered to and fro indicating that the window was open. Approaching cautiously, Amy drew aside the heavy fabric and looked out onto a beautiful white balcony.

"Kirei…" She breathed as she walked around.

It was almost like a mini garden. Flowers were seen left and right and around the outer edges of the door in which she came, long green vines twisted and turned, entwining with each other creating the most beautiful arch. Although no buds were seen yet, Amy could tell that roses would soon sprout from the thick vines.

"So you've finally woken up?" A deep baritone voice startled Amy out of her thoughts.

She whipped around and automatically slipped into a defensive position.

The man laughed, lowering his sunglasses to look at the pink hedgehog with his dark, beady eyes. Pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, he took off the hat that adorned his head to reveal black hair, slicked back.

"Who are you?" Amy glared, never once wavering from her position.

"Me? I am but a lowly scientist who has been generous enough to allow you to recover in his humble abode." He waved his hand in a gesture towards the building, which Amy quickly realized was nothing less than a castle.

"Why?" The young girl was suspicious. The man before her certainly did not LOOK very kind. In fact, he looked kinda… shady.

The man sighed and stuck his hands into the pockets of his long trench coat, which was billowing out behind him in the wind as he turned his head to look at the full moon.

"Because that idiot Felix decided to send his student out to kill someone while civilians," he looked at her when he said this, "were still around."

Amy tensed. Kill someone? Kill who? Would she be killed too? Though she tried hard not to show it, her body started to tremble slightly in fear.

The man did not fail to notice this. He chuckled and started towards the pink hedgehog. He stopped next to her, still staring ahead.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to have you killed." He continued walking till he reached the railing. Heaving a big sigh, he placed his arms on the top of the railing and leaned forwards.

It was silent for a moment. The man standing there, staring at the moon and Amy, glaring suspiciously at the person.

There was something left unsaid in the man's words and Amy heard it.

"So then what do you want with me?"

He did not answer for a moment.

"I want…" he began after a while, "You to help me test out my new serum."

Amy gaped. What was she? A guinea pig? She opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off.

"I have spent my entire life breaking down the components of the 4 elements. Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water. Each element is composed of different combinations of chemicals that give it its unique properties. The serum contains these chemical bonds. So therefore when a being consumes this serum, a part of each element enters their body and fuses with their DNA. Once fused, the person will be able to control the elements; to bend and summon it at their will. However intense training will be needed for the person to control their powers, for it is highly dangerous and potentially destructive if not handled properly."

"So," Amy interrupted, "You are offering me a chance at power?"

The man turned around and smiled, "Yes."

"But why me? Why not some other person? Why does it have to be me?"

"Because you are more emotional that others." Amy stared at him. What was that supposed to mean?

"The thing that the elements will most likely respond to will be the wielder's emotions. You feel your emotions strong and thus will be the best person to wield this power." He stated simply.

By now, he had turned around complete and was facing her. He had taken his sunglasses off and was now staring at her intently; his dark eyes boring into her own emerald ones.

"I don't want your stupid powers. I want to go home." Amy glared and crossed her arms.

"You will change your mind later." He took a step forwards.

"No I won't," Amy shot back, "Let me go home."

The man looked at her silently once more and turned around, walking back to the edge of the balcony.

"If you change you mind. Just call for 'Nick' and someone will take you to me." He spoke softly.

"Don't worry, I won't."

"Then home you go," she could almost hear the sad smile in his voice before someone hit her sharply on the back of her head and darkness took over.

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When Amy came to, her headache was back with a vengeance.

She groaned and tried to pry open her heavy eyelids.

"Amy? Amy dear, how are you feeling?" a gentle voice floated to her ears.

"Vanilla? Is that you…?" Amy murmured, still trying to make her vision swim back into focus.

"Oh Amy! Thank goodness you're okay! You certainly had everybody worrying over you. What on earth were you doing lying in the middle of the street? You would have been run over if Sonic hadn't saved you!" Vanilla chided gently while removing the damp cloth on Amy's forehead.

"Lying in the middle of the street…?" Amy repeated confused.

"Yes! Why, if you were that tired you could have called for me or Cream to come take you to our house to rest! You needn't sleep in the middle of the street!" The cool cloth was once again placed on Amy's burning forehead.

"I don't remember falling asleep in the middle of the street… the last thing I remember was…" Amy paused, memories of the scientist called 'Nick' and his offer flooding back to her.

Vanilla looked at her questioningly.

At that moment, the door burst open and a blue blur skidded to a stop at the foot of the bed.

"Hey Ames! Glad to see you're okay!" Sonic winked and gave her a thumbs up. His other hand was hidden behind his back.

"Sonic…?" Amy's head was still in a daze as she tried to process everything.

"Of course it's me Ames! Who else is as blue as me?" He laughed.

She stared at him blankly for a second and Sonic shuffled nervously under her gaze. I hope she's not still mad at me for ditching our date.

"Sonic," she repeated. This time a bit firmer than before, but her voice still held a confused tone.

"Yup! Oh hey, and these are for you. A get-well-soon present from me," he whipped his arm out from behind his back to produce a bouquet of freshly picked flowers; all the different colors contrasting beautifully against one another.

"Oh how beautiful!" Vanilla exclaimed softly, "I"ll go put these in a vase for you Amy. I'll be right back." The older rabbit grabbed the bouquet from the blue hero and walked out the door.

When the door shut with a small click. An awkward silence descended upon the room.

"Sonic." Amy repeated again. This time the confusion was replaced with…anger?

"HOW DARE YOU SKIP OUT ON OUR DATE!" She summoned her Piko Piko hammer and leapt at him.

"Whoa!" Sonic dodged to the side as the large yellow and red weapon fell upon the place where he stood mere moments ago.

"STAY. STILL!" Amy ground out, readying herself for another attack. Sonic raised his hands in front of him and backed away slowly. However at that moment Amy's fever decided to act up and a wave of dizziness washed over her.

"Ugh…" Amy clutched her head and stumbled forwards a bit before collapsing.

With a small puff, the giant hammer disappeared and the pink hedgehog slipped into unconsciousness.

Approaching cautiously, Sonic made sure she was completely out before picking her up gently, and setting her back on the bed. He pulled the covers up to her chin and replaced the wet cloth.

Backing out as quiet as he could, Sonic shut the door behind him with a sigh.

He leaned back against the wood and slid to the floor.

"She's still mad…" Sonic mumbled, his ears flattening against his head.

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A week passed, and under Vanilla's motherly care, Amy quickly recovered from her fever.

Now, as Amy walked quickly down the road towards her own home, she began to think about Nick and his offer. It all seemed like a dream really. From what Vanilla and everybody else who had visited her – Knuckles, Rouge, Cream, Vector, Charmy, Espio and Chris (who had managed to get the portal working again miraculously) – told her, she was pretty much found passed out in the middle of the road. Amy told Rouge about what happened but the bat simply shook her head and told Amy, "Hun, that was all a dream. You were delirious when you had your fever. Just forget all of it, okay?"

Truth was, even though she wanted to take her best friend's advice, she just couldn't forget it; no matter how hard she tried.

As her red boots padded against the dirt road, she felt a gust of wind pick up and she hugged her jacket tighter to her small body. Once the wind died down, she continued her walk home.

"So… change your mind yet?" A voice chuckled behind her.

Amy whipped around and glared at the cloaked figure sitting on the fence running along the side of the road.

"Who are you? You work for Nick don't you." Amy glared.

"Well… not really. Felix is sorta more my boss. However I think teacher would be a more appropriate name for him."

The pink female looked at him before realization dawned upon her.

"You were that guy I fought in the forest!!" She pointed a finger at him.

The person laughed before pushing his hood backwards, revealing a wolf with dark blue fur.

"Bingo. My name is Gabriel the wolf. I gotta say that you beat me up pretty bad that day. I had no idea such a small girl could pack such a large amount of strength in that condition!" His golden eyes sparkled in appreciation.

Amy felt a wave of guilt wash over her.

"Umm…" she began.

"Yea?"
"Are you…" she started, "…are your ribs okay? Should you be up and about so soon?"

Gabriel threw his head back and laughed, his baritone laugh seemed to almost echo throughout the open space.

"I'm fine. I'm much tougher than you think. Besides, that teach of mine is a damn good healer. He fixed my ribs right up when Kaeldra brought us back!" it seemed to Amy that a smile was permanently stuck on his face, for during their entire conversation, it never once left his face.

"Kaeldra? Who is she?" She questioned curiously, "What do you mean 'brought us back'?"

Gabriel looked at her and leapt from his sitting position to a standing one. From underneath his cloak, she could see his two feet balancing perfectly on the narrow fence.

"Kaeldra is my wife," he winked at the dumbfounded expression on Amy's face, "she's a wolf too. When you knocked me against the tree and fainted, she grabbed the both of us and warped out of there back to the castle."

"You mean she was there watching the entire time?"

"Haha! Yup, you got that right!"

Amy didn't know whether to laugh with him or be wary. If she was watching their fight the entire time, how could Amy have missed her presence?

Gabriel looked at the expression on the pink hedgehog's face and laughed, "Don't fret, little one. My wife is a master at being hidden. Heck, if she didn't want you to find her, you could search for a million years and never lay eyes upon her again!"

Amy tensed, "Then is she here now?" she glanced around warily.

The wolf let out another howl of laughter, "Her? Hardly. She doesn't go anywhere that she doesn't deem worth her time. Besides, someone's gotta make sure the doc doesn't blow up the castle."

"Doc? I thought he was a scientist."

"Doctor, scientist, same difference." He waved his hand dismissively.

"Anyways…" he let out one last chuckle, "You still haven't answered me if you've changed your mind yet or not."

The question brought Amy back to reality. Mustering the biggest glare she could, she aimed it right at the smiling wolf and gave a dark, "No."

"Alright, you're the boss." He laughed again, shrugging. He gave her one last chuckle before he disappeared right before her eyes in a gust of wind.

Amy dropped her gaze to the floor. She wasn't going to change her mind. Not in a million years. Amy Rose was no test dummy. Nor was she a guinea pig for some weird doctor who just so happened to live in a castle.

"Stupid doctor…" She grumbled as she walked the rest of the way home.

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"Sonic!! Take a look at this!" Tails cried, running into the room, flicking on the TV.

The rather large television showed a large airship hovering right above the shopping district on Mobius. Tails clicked a button on the remote and suddenly the TV zoomed in on a small egg shaped aircraft that seemed to be watching the destruction from above.

The fat man in red was impossible not to recognize.

"Eggman's at it again? Man, I thought he didn't have any butt left to kick after all those times." Sonic got up and patted the invisible dust off his behind, "Looks like it's my time to run. See ya there Tails!"

The twin tailed fox didn't have to see the streak of blur to know that Sonic had already left. Turning around and running back to his workshop, Tails leapt into the X-Tornado and prepared for take-off.

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"Hahahahahahaha! I certainly have outdone myself this time, if I must say so myself!" Eggman cackled from position overlooking the havoc and destruction his robots were currently wrecking upon the city.

Sweeping his glance across the scattered rubble and broken buildings, Eggman noticed that there was still a portion of the district that had yet to be demolished to make room for his Egg Empire.

Pushing one of the numerous buttons in front of him, he summoned more robots and directed them to destroy the spoken area.

Eggman couldn't help but cackle again. However his laughter – if you could even call it that – was cut short as several of his robots suddenly exploded.

"Whaat?!" The evil genius roared in outrage.

"Hey what's up Eggy? Miss me?" Sonic stood in the middle of all the destruction and gave the scientist a mocking thumbs up.

"Sonic! Damn you, this will be the last time you ever mess with me!" Eggman cried. Pushing another button, he ordered all his robots to take out the annoying blue hedgehog.

"I'm hurt Eggman! After all we've been through, this is the greeting I get?" Sonic grinned and destroyed several robots with his spin dash.

"Fine! You want a better greeting than you got it!" He summoned another dozen robots. However when they were dropping from the master aircraft, they were destroyed by several missiles.

"I got your back Sonic!" Tails yelled as he brought the X-tornado in for another attack.

The blue hero grinned, "Time to beat these buckets of bolts back to where they belong!"

Sonic readied another attack and let loose, however Eggman seemed to have a never ending army of robots.

"Augh! That's it! I've had just about enough of this!" A familiar voice drifted to Sonic's ears.

A few meters away, Rouge the bat was seen taking out several of Eggman's minions with her drill kick.

"Heya Rouge, come to join the fun?" Sonic called from where he was currently fighting.

"No, these stupid robots happened to destroy the jewellery that I was going to visit today!" the bat snarled viscously. She was obviously not in a good mood.

"Then what's the knucklehead doing here with you?" Sonic jerked his head towards the red echidna punching the enemies into oblivion beside her.

"He's the one who was supposed to buy the jewellery for me!" Sonic winced as another robot was smashed to pieces by the enraged female. Oh boy, you know things are bad when you start feeling sympathy towards one of Eggman's creations.

"SOONNIICCC!" a soprano voice cried out. It was a voice that he knew all too well.

"Amy? Amy get away! It's too dangerous!" Sonic yelled as he watched the pink hedgehog whack another robot out of her way as she plowed her way through the chaos.

She didn't heed his warning as always and fought her way to her blue hero.

"AMY!" Sonic yelled and made a dash towards her.

Picking her up bridal style, he just barely managed to dodge the giant fist that crushed the earth they stood on moments before.

"Amy, get out of here. It's too dangerous, you'll get hurt." Sonic said, all hints of cockiness gone from his voice.

Truth be told he was kinda pissed. Destroying the city no longer made Sonic mad, in fact, even the inhabitants of Mobius had gotten kinda used to Eggman's crazy attacks. However, attacking Amy was a whole different issue. Holding her hostage at least meant that she would be kept in the best shape possible until he got there.

Amy leapt down from his arms and unwrapped her own from his neck.

"I'll be fine! You just worry about kicking some robot-" He cut her off. His voice a tad bit louder than he had intended.

"Amy get out of here," Sonic said, he had never raised his voice with her before and it shocked her, "I know you can fight, but I can't fight while trying to look out for both you and myself at the same time."

"I can take care of myself!" Amy shot back, anger starting to bubble rapidly.

"No you can't! Didn't you just see what happened? If I wasn't here you could've been dead! You're too-! Ugh, never mind, just get out of here. I don't want to see you get hurt." Sonic turned away from her and smashed another robot.

Amy stood there, hurt evident on her face. She heard what had been left unsaid.

You're too weak.

Dammit, she wasn't weak! And by God, she'd prove it to him!

Readying her hammer, she was about to attack when she felt a hand stop her.

"Don't. Lets get you out of here hun." Rouge shook her head and grabbed a hold of her best friend.

"Let me go! I can fight!" Amy struggled against the flying bat.

"Amy, you heard Sonic. That boy is pissed and I don't think it's a good idea to disobey him right now." She continued to manoeuvre her way through the flying debris.

Below them, Knuckles followed, destroying everything that tried to prevent the two girls from escaping.

Once they had reached safety. Rouge landed and put Amy on her feet. Soon after, Knuckles came running towards them.

"Thanks Knuckies, you helped us a lot." The bat winked at him and he turned away, the color of his face starting to match his fur.

Amy stayed silent, her eyes downcast and her bangs shadowing half her face.

"Hey Rouge… Knuckles…" Amy said silently.

They looked at her questioningly, silently urging her to go on.

"I'm not weak right…?"

There was an awkward silence.

"What are you saying Amy? Of course you're not weak," Rouge replied, almost outraged by the question.

"Yeah Amy! Heck, you're probably one of the strongest girls I know!" Knuckles chimed in.

"Everyone's strong in their own way Amy. Like Knuckles here is strong in terms of strength! And I'm strong in terms or finding jewels," Rouge sighed for a moment, just thinking about all the shiny gems waiting to be stolen.

"Rouge is right, Amy. Everyone is strong in their own way," the red echidna nodded, "Your strength just happens to be loyalty and determination."

"Sou ka*…" Amy forced a shaky laugh.

She did not know what to say. So instead of saying anything, Amy Rose simply turned around and walked silently home.

When she arrived at her house, she did not bother turning on the lights even though the sun was quickly setting. Instead, she closed the door behind her and slowly slid against it until she felt her bottom hit the floor.

"Gabriel…" she whispered quietly to the dark.

As if by magic, the dark blue wolf appeared in front of her. Just like before, he had a smile on his face. It was like it had never left.

He did not say anything, for it was not needed. He merely offered his hand to her.

Amy reached for his hand with her own, but hesitated.

Was this really what she wanted? To leave behind everyone that she loved? But it hurt so much. No one understood how much it hurt. Maybe Sonic didn't love her because she wasn't strong like him. Maybe he would love her if she could actually hold her own in a battle. But then again, was it really because she wanted Sonic to love her that she wished to seek out power? Surely not. She sought power for her own personal gain. All her life, Amy Rose had been selfless. Constantly helping those around her and never expecting anything in return. Maybe it was time that she indulged herself. Maybe it was time for the Amy Rose everyone knew, to change.

With a firm resolution, gloved hands grabbed onto dark blue ones and with a flash, both figures disappeared just as the last ray of sunlight died behind the horizon.

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Nick was startled, to say in the least, when Gabriel suddenly warped into his laboratory with a pink hedgehog in tow.

"I thought I told you to call 'Nick' not 'Gabriel'," the scientist grumbled.

"You're just jealous," Gabriel laughed.

Ignoring him, Nick turned to the pink hedgehog standing nervously to the side.

"So you've changed your mind?" he asked. His voice was gentle, but his eyes were serious.

Amy slowly looked up. Her usually soft emerald eyes hardened with determination.

"I want to be strong."

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A/N: HOWS THAT FOR A FIRST CHAPTER?!?! I haven't written anything in so long. Hopefully my writing hasn't deteriorated.

Anyways, you know the drill! READ AND REVIEW. REVIEWS MAKE ME VERY HAPPY.

* - i couldn't really think of an english response... and like, even the translation of 'Sou ka' doesn't really fit there. so yeah.