Here's chapter 2, as promised.

Enjoy.;)

~Caro

Chapter 2

It was morning. Amy awoke with dreary eyes and glanced towards her digital alarm clock to notice that it was still quite a bit early. The time read 6:00 a.m. However, she knew that there would be no sense in going back to sleep since her dreams were filled with someone she'd rather not think about at the moment. A grim look came over her face as she rolled out of bed and headed towards her bathroom. Once in, she glanced at her reflection in the mirror and noticed her solemn expression, but then ignored it as she started to get ready.

When she has finished getting dressed and washed up, she headed downstairs towards her kitchen and started looking for something to eat. However, everything she glanced at didn't seem to satisfy her, so she decided to make some tea. While heating up the water in her tea kettle on the stove, she couldn't help but ponder on the many things that had been eating away at her for the past four days now. She just couldn't get the thought of Sonic being dead somewhere out of her mind. Or if he was hurt and needed help but had no way of contacting them. Of course, there could always be a chance that he was alright, but she knew better than that. Something was definitely off, but it was something she'd least expect.

Amy was finally awoken from her train of thoughts as she heard the whistle from her tea kettle. She slowly got up from her seat next to the kitchen table, and turned off the flames on the stove. She then walked up to one of her cabinets, opened it up and grabbed a pink coffee mug. She then poured the hot water in and grabbed a chamomile teabag to dunk in her tea. When it was ready, she tried taking a few short sips. It calmed her a little bit, but she still wandered in her thoughts.

The pink hedgehog was so out of it, that when her phone started ringing, she nearly jumped out of her chair. However, she quickly calmed herself out of her surprised state and walked over to pick up her phone that was still ringing on the kitchen counter.

"Hello?" Amy asked, while still in somewhat of a distant demeanor.

"Hey Amy. You'll never guess who's here!" A young male's voice spoke from the other end. It was Tails and she could tell he was enthusiastic about something.

"Who is it?" Amy questioned in slight curiosity.

"It's Sonic! He's back!" Tails exclaimed.

Sonic…? Back?

Amy was completely lost in her thoughts once again and seemingly forgot that she had Tails waiting on the other line. Her attention wasn't brought back until he spoke again.

"Amy? Are you still there?"

Amy was instantly brought back to the real world as she said, "Uh…Yeah. Sorry about that Tails." She answered sheepishly. "I'll be there right away!"

Tails smiled. "All right then. See ya soon. Bye Amy."

"Bye." Amy finished. The line ended and she slowly put the phone back in its holder and sighed. Sonic was home and yet she still had a feeling that things weren't all right. Yet at the same time she felt happy to know that he was home safe. Amy just knew that her thoughts wouldn't be confirmed that this news was real until she saw him for herself though. So she quickly walked to her front door, slipped on her red and white striped boots, and headed out. She then started running towards the Mystic Ruins to get to Tails' house.

- At Tails' place-

"I still don't understand Sonic. Why can't you tell her the truth?" Tails questioned in annoyance.

Sonic shook his head while facing down with a sad expression like he had for the past hour. "I don't want to make her worry more than she already has."

Tails sighed. "Well then, what are you going to tell her once she gets here?"

"Heh… I'm not so sure myself." Sonic answered in slight embarrassment while shrugging his shoulders.

Tails glared at him as he said, "This is serious Sonic! Amy hasn't been herself since you've been gone. She's been pushing herself day and night to find you and you expect her to believe that you were out vacationing or something?!"

Sonic looked up at his best friend with much surprise. His eyes had widened quite a bit and his mouth was agape. He couldn't believe how Tails was acting. Then again, he wasn't here to witness anything. Tails just told him that Amy and the rest of the gang had been worried about him, but had kept their hopes that he'd return. He didn't realize how much impact he'd made. What was he supposed to do though? It was bad enough that he'd had to get used to his form before even ending up back home. However, he knew that he was being a bit unreasonable for both Tails' and Amy's sake.

"I'm… Sorry Tails. I'm just afraid that Amy won't accept me for what I've become." Sonic then glanced at his ungloved hands. "I'm not even sure if you will either." Both of his arms dropped down at this point as he sighed in distress.

Tails then walked up to his blue friend and put his hand on his shoulder. Sonic then slightly turned to face the young fox as Tails said, "Sonic… It doesn't matter how you look on the outside. It's what's in the inside that counts." Tails then smiled. "And I'm sure Amy would feel the same even in this situation."

Sonic smirked. "You're probably right Tails. You're probably right."

Then, as if all issues had been resolved, a loud knock could be heard coming from the front door.

Tails gave Sonic a look as if to make sure that he'd go through with telling the truth, and right away, Sonic nodded his head to comply. The fox then walked up to his front door and opened it to reveal a worn out Amy. From the looks of it, she most likely ran to get here.

"Uh, Amy? Are you okay?" Tails asked while quirking his brow.

"Of…Course…I'm… Fine…" Amy gasped after each word.

"Sure… And so is Sonic." Tails muttered sarcastically.

A look of confusion crossed over Amy's face. "What was that?"

"N-nothing." Tails answered back while sweat dropping and quickly waving his hands in the air.

Amy didn't seem to be bothered by his actions however; for her eyes had already drifted over to the person she was looking for. Her eyes widened in surprise. "S-sonic?"

The said hedgehog grinned. "Hey Amy."

Amy just couldn't believe it. Her Sonic was back! Tears poured from her emerald eyes as she ran up to him and tightly embraced him. "Oh Sonic! You have no idea how worried I was. I-I thought…" She couldn't finish for she started to cry uncontrollably.

Sonic was never one to deal well with emotions, especially when it came to someone like Amy. He always felt awkward around her. Yet, for some reason he had started feeling some emotion towards her ever since his thoughts were focused on his friends after the fall back to earth. He never had to deal with a threat quite as big as this before and so he felt some remorse for his friends. More so for Amy though.

The azure hedgehog had always known that deep down he truly cared for her. He just never had the guts to admit it to himself or his friends. Now however, he felt that he owed her something. So, without any more hesitation, Sonic embraced her as he said, "Shh… It's alright Amy. I'm here."

As Amy looked up from her tear filled gaze, she took noticed of the small smile that graced Sonic's lips. The pink hedgehog wiped her tears away and couldn't help but wonder why Sonic was being so nice to her. Not to mention the fact that he was standing so close to her.

"Sonic… What exactly happened to you while you were gone?" Amy inquired curiously. She then paused as she asked, "And why are you acting so…different?" A look of confusion crossed over her features and Sonic understood her completely. Even he was surprised that he had allowed his emotions to show, but then… Well he did admit to a certain friend that he did care for her.

This said friend happened to be hiding behind one of Tails' chairs at the moment and was awaiting Sonic's answer, as well as everyone else. If Sonic didn't hurry up then he'd get him to say something sooner or later. It was enough that he had to listen to Tails and Sonic arguing about the blue hedgehog telling Amy the truth.

Sonic sighed as he realized that time was running short. Amy's eyes seemed to peel through him and he knew that her patience was beginning to thin. "Amy I…uh…well… you see…" And then Sonic wasn't all that sure about telling her anymore. He didn't want her to think he was crazy or anything and then turn away from him (or run away for that matter). He looked to Tails for guidance, but the young kitsune gave him a look that said 'you're on your own on this one.' Sonic really didn't know how to word his thoughts but knew he had to say something.

Chip's patience had finally run low and he therefore decided to make his appearance by flying over to Sonic and Amy. Amy took noticed this right away and a look of confusion came over her. She'd never met Chip before, so it was only normal that she'd wonder why this little critter was here. At the same time, Sonic was nervous at Chip's sudden appearance and hoped that he wouldn't say anything too drastic.

"What Sonic is trying to tell you is that he's not quite the same as he was before." Chip finally stated for Sonic. The little guy then looked back towards Sonic to see that the blue hero held a relieved expression on his face. Sonic wasn't all that sure what his friend would say, but now that he'd said it, he decided it was just about time to fill in the blanks for Amy.

"Thanks Chip. I'll take it from here." Chip looked to him with an unsure expression as he asked, "Are you sure, Sonic?" Sonic nodded. Chip nodded his head back and so flew next to the blue hedgehog's side.

Sonic sighed deeply and decided to finally tell her his story. "Okay Amy, It's like this… When I left earth to finish off Eggman on his ship in space, I knew for sure that I would win. I brought along all of the Chaos emeralds thinking it would help me in the end, but instead I got the opposite effect. After I had turned super and destroyed Eggman's robot, I made sure to follow him to his main base so that he wouldn't have any ideas of escape. Once I got there however, things didn't turn out the way I had planned. Eggman tricked me into believing that he had given up and because of that, I fell right into his trap." Sonic glanced downwards and grimaced as he recalled what had happened to him after this point. He didn't want to delve into all the details though, so he decided to tell her only what was needed. The blue hero looked back up at Amy as he hesitantly said, "I-I lost my super powers in the process and started to transform into something entirely different." He paused as if contemplating his next thought. "It was probably because of all the negative energy around me or maybe it had something to do with the monster that Eggman had awakened. The next thing I knew, both the Chaos Emeralds and I were sent hurtling through space. I wasn't sure if I'd make it back to earth, but somehow I did. Then I met up with my friend Chip here." He pointed towards the flying critter next to him. "I also found out that all of the chaos emeralds power had been drained. I'm not sure what to do with them but I'm hoping that Knuckles might be able to help…"

"But you're all right now, right Sonic?" Amy interrupted as she looked at Sonic with a hopeful expression. However, her look turned to concern once she saw Sonic look down to his hands. He shook his head in remorse. "No Amy."

Confusion crossed over Amy's features as she asked, "But you don't look any different." The pink hedgehog then took notice of Sonic's ungloved hands. "Oh!" She exclaimed in surprise. "What happened to your gloves Sonic?" Amy then reached out for his hands but Sonic immediately took one step away from her. A look of concern came over her once again as she realized that maybe Sonic did change. She shook her head however, for she knew it didn't matter, he was still the same Sonic in the inside and that's what mattered most, right?

"Sonic…" Amy reached out towards his hands and this time he didn't move; although he flinched a little. The rose hedgehog seemed to ignore it though.

"Yeah Amy?" Sonic questioned while gazing at the floor.

"Please look at me." The pink hedgehog brought her gloved hand to his face and got him to face towards her. A slight blush was on his face and Amy couldn't help but wonder why. However, she was more concerned about his actions than his emotions right now.

"Sonic… Just because you may look different like you said, doesn't mean that I won't love you the same. You're still my Sonic after all." Amy smiled as she finished and gazed deeply into Sonic's eyes to see if she somehow got through to him.

Sonic meanwhile was lost in his thoughts, contemplating what she just said. He knew he shouldn't be surprised by Amy's words but he still wasn't too sure what either of his friends would think of him once they saw him in his new form. However, he knew he shouldn't dwell on it for too long. Besides… Chip wasn't as close of a friend to him as Tails and Amy were and the little critter wasn't afraid of him in the least. They got along together like two peas in a pod. So, knowing that, Sonic at least had some hope that his long time friends would accept him. They just had to! Shadow and Knuckles though? Sonic couldn't stop himself from chuckling softly as he thought of their encounters with him as the werehog. That was just a disaster waiting to happen. There was no way he wouldn't get in a fight with them even if he explained what had happened to him.

Sonic's thoughts were then brought to an abrupt halt as he heard Amy's voice once again. "Sonic…! Are you even listening to me?" She shouted in annoyance.

The said hedgehog glanced back at Amy and took notice of her frustrated features. Both of Amy's hands were balled up into fists and she had a pouted expression on her face. At this point, Sonic couldn't stop himself from laughing once again, but this time he tried to control it a bit more, considering that he didn't want to hurt her feelings.

"I'm sorry Amy. I was just thinking about something, that's all. There's no reason to get all upset, although it is kind of cute." Sonic smirked as he finished his sentence.

Amy covered her mouth in surprise and instantly blushed. "Sonic…? D-did you just say what I think you said?"

"Oops…" Sonic muttered silently while blushing immensely. He had never meant to let that word slip out, but it did, and now he'd have to face the consequences from Amy.

Sonic scratched his head nervously as he said, "Heh, yeah… I guess I did."

Amy instantly ran up to him and nuzzled into his chest. "Aw Sonic… You really think so?"

Sonic smiled while trying to inch away a little. As much as he cared for Amy, he didn't want her this close. "Of course I do Amy. Although sometimes you scare me with that hammer of yours."

The pink hedgehog blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry about that. I just can't help myself. Although sometimes you can be a real pain Sonic."

"Oh really now?" Sonic smirked. "Well we'll just have to change that."

While Sonic and Amy were talking amongst themselves, Tails couldn't help but grin at how close the two of them had gotten together. Change sure can make a difference to Sonic. He almost felt sorry for him; because they'd have a lot of work cut out for them to bring this planet back together. Then again, to Sonic, it was a whole other adventure.

Tails smiled and sighed. "Well Sonic, I guess we'd better head out and see how Knuckles is doing."

As Sonic heard his friend's voice, he was instantly brought to attention. "Ol' Knucklehead, huh?" The blue hero instantly grinned. "Heh… I but he won't be expecting a visit from all of us."

Tails smirked. "Yeah… You know that he was worried about you right?"

"Huh? Me?!?" Sonic asked in mock surprise. He then grinned. "Well then I'd love to see the look on his face when he see's that I'm back!"

"Although he'll probably just keep it to himself." Amy answered while crossing her arms.

Sonic couldn't help but laugh at that remark. "Heh… Probably."

Sonic then smiled and thought, 'Although it's nice to know that he care's about me.'

Sonic then brushed his thoughts away as he said, "Well it's time we get this show on the road!"

Tails nodded instantly. "Right! I'll go get the Tornado ready." He then ran into his garage while leaving Sonic and Amy to themselves. Whether that was intentionally or not, Sonic didn't know.

The blue hero then turned to Amy. "You ready for this?"

She smiled. "If it's an adventure with you, then of course I am."

Sonic smirked and gave a thumbs up. "Okay! Then let's get going!"

To Amy's surprise, he quickly swept her off her feet and ran towards Tails' workshop.

She couldn't believe that Sonic was finally back and that they'd once again be going on another adventure. Most of all however, she couldn't believe how kind and close he's been to her since she showed up at Tails' house. It made Amy begin to wonder what his true feelings for her were. However, as much as she'd like to ask him, she felt content right where they were.

As Amy laid her head back on Sonic's shoulder, the blue hero couldn't help but smile at her happy and relaxed behavior. Things would probably get rough in the next few days, but with her by his side, he began to wonder why he was worrying at all. Yes, Eggman had broken the world into parts, and yes, Sonic was transformed into some monstrous being, but with his friends by his side, maybe things wouldn't be so bad. For the sake of his friends, and his world, he would make it through this.

Once Sonic finally skidded to a halt by the doorway to Tails' garage, he felt like the weight had lifted from his shoulders. Looking up to his smiling fox friend and his ingenious plane, he realized that his adventure had just begun.

Sonic and all related character's (c) SEGA

Sonic Unleashed concept (c) SEGA

story and ideas (c) me