~Chapter 2~
As soon as Amy got up from bed she found Sonic and Bella the kitchen tucking into breakfast.
"Morning." Sonic greeted. "You feeling okay?"
"A little bit..." Amy murmured.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Did you happen to move Bella's crib to the wall?"
Amy's head shot up with a confused look on her face.
"No, why?" she said.
"Well, I found it up against the wall in the nursery." Sonic explained. "And I thought that was kinda odd."
Amy had a frown on her face. A cold, icy, and terrible feeling erupted in her gut. She thought that Mephiles had somehow came back to plague both her and Bella. But that had to be impossible. She saw him get destroyed by Super Sonic and Super Shadow. Maybe the sakura hedgehog was starting to go crazy.
"You alright, Ames?" Sonic called out. "You look kinda sick..."
"No...I'm...I'm alright." the cherry-pink female replied.
"Ma...Mama!" Bella yammered.
She reached out to Amy wanting to be picked up and held by her. Amy happily obliged after leaning over and giving her daughter a nuzzle.
'Maybe Sonic's right. Maybe I am getting all paranoid.'
XXXXXXX
Back at Tails' Lab, Knuckles was doing some detective work. While the saffron fox was fixing the echidna's extreme gear, Knuckles went and inspected the infirmary room where he and Tails discovered the mysterious withered roses.
The room itself seemed somewhat familiar. But the ruby guardian couldn't quite put his finger on what made it so. He went around the room, looking through things and such. But when he got to the bio-bed, Knuckles experienced something very unusual. The fur on his body stood on end and his whole form froze almost completely. Jolts of dark electricity shocked his nerves. It almost started to take ahold of the crimson echidna. Quickly and in a swift move, Knuckles backed away from the bio-bed and into the wall. After regaining his bearings, he blinked his violet eyes frantically and breathing in gasps.
'Damn...what the hell was that?!
Collecting himself, Knuckles went back over to the bio-bed. The strange feeling he felt before did not come back.
'There's a presence in this room.' he thought. 'I know it.'
The ruby guardian went back to the main computer room where Tails was still at work on his extreme gear air board.
"Almost done, Knuckles." the young kit said.
"Thanks." Knuckles replied. "Say Tails, that infirmary room...has anyone used it recently."
"Ummm, not really. The last person to use that room was Amy."
Knuckles' eyes widened. Now he remembered why the room felt familiar. Then he started to put things together and the worst thought and possibility came across his mind.
'Impossible. It can't be...'
xxxxxxx
Amy was at home by herself with Bella. Sonic had gone out to the store to get groceries. While the young flower was busy bottle feeding her hoglett, the telephone rang. She got to her and answered it, holding Bella in one arm and the phone in the other.
"Hello?"
"Amy? It's me, Knuckles."
"Oh hi, Knuckles! How've ya been?"
"Good. Listen, I have something important to ask you."
"Okay shoot."
"Have any weird, odd, or out of place occurrences been happening?"
The sakura hedgehog made a face.
"A little bit." she admitted wryly. "Why do you ask?"
"Just tell me everything that happened from start to finish." Knuckles told her.
Amy let out a sigh. She set Bella down on the couch and returned to the phone. As the seconds ticked by, the cherry-pink female explained all the things that had been happening for the past few days to the ruby guardian.
"Hmmm...that say a lot actually." Knuckles finally said. "Would you mind f I came over for a bit?"
"Not at all." Amy replied. "I don't think Sonic would have a problem with it either."
"Good. I'll be over in a few then."
"Okay, Knuckles. Goodbye."
She hung up and went back to the couch. Bella had nodded off on a cushion while her mother was away on the phone. With a smile, Amy sat down and scooped the slumbering hoglett into her arms, giving her a tender nuzzle. A few minutes of watching the television set, the young flower started to fall asleep herself...
The next thing the sakura hedgehog knew, she was back in that void again. And this time, a sleeping Bella was with her.
'Oh no.' Amy thought with dread, holding her daughter close.
"She's very beautiful. Just like her mother..."
"Y-you stay away from us!"
The cherry-pink female's response was a dark chuckle. Amy then started to run. She didn't care if everything was pitch dark around her. She just wanted to get the hell away.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Where do you think you are running to, dear one?"
"Leave us alone! Please!" Amy cried, with tears pooling in her jade eyes.
There was a silence. Instead of feeling relief, it made her feel more paranoid. Then she felt arms snaking around both her and Bella.
"NO!" Amy wailed, quickly breaking away.
"Hmph..."
Even as she attempted to get away from Mephiles, another pair of snaked around her waist, shoulders, and ankles, holding her in place and ensuring that she stay there. Amy tried to break free without hurting herself or Bella but sadly, she failed.
"How amazing that our child still slumbers through your screams, my love..."
Amy began to tremble.
"Please, leave us alone..."
"Ames. Ames?"
the young flower's eyes snapped open as she was being awakened by her royal blue mate after he had returned from the store.
"Hey, you okay?" he asked.
"...yeah..I'm fine." Amy replied in a low voice.
Sonic grinned and joined her on the couch. He gently pulled her into his arms and started to nuzzle her. Amy promptly nuzzled him back, a little bit furiously too.
"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" the cyan hedgehog asked.
"Mmmmhmmm." Amy replied again.
He petted the top of her head as she got even closer to him. Then Sonic started to stroke Bella's quills as the toddler snoozed in Amy's arms.
"Dang. Munchkin sure does sleep like a log." the cerulean speedster quirked.
Amy giggled at his comment. She was already forgetting her inner demons. Sonic had this weird way of making anyone feel safe and positive. She began to nuzzle him underneath his chin. In response, he captured her in a kiss. Amy kissed him back, with all the love she had to offer him. Then there was a knock at the front door, snapping the pair out of their love making.
"Who could that be?" Sonic asked.
"Oh yeah." the cherry-pink female remembered with a nervous smile. "Knuckles called earlier and said he was coming over."
"Thanks for telling me." Sonic groaned.
"Sorry."
The pair got up with Amy heading down the hall with Bella and Sonic going to the front door to answer it.
"Hey, Knux." the blue blur greeted. "What's up?"
"Weird stuff that's what." Knuckles said.
"Oh you too?"
"Not really. But why don't you tell me your side of things."
"Well, our house got broken into but nobody stole anything, Amy's having nightmares because of it I think, and I keep finding Bella's crib in a completely different place every morning."
Knuckles raised his eyebrow as Sonic ranted.
"Hmm, that's what Amy tells me." the echidna mused.
"So what weird shit has been happening with you?" Sonic asked.
The crimson guardian's expression then turned grave and serious.
"Sonic, I know this is gonna sound crazy as all hell, but I think Mephiles the Dark came back somehow." he said.
Expectantly, the cyan hedgehog's started at him in total disbelief.
"You're kidding me, right?" Sonic retorted. "That big huge explosion of purple light we both saw was just a hallucination?"
"Look, at Tails' place there was a bunch of shriveled up roses all over the floor of the infirmary room that Amy stayed in during that whole mess. Plus, I've been getting these weird jittery feelings in my nerves." Knuckles explained.
"Well...I gotta admit Amy's nightmares with that, does adds everything up. But even if Mephil-Jerk did survive all that, how the heck is he doing stuff and right under our noses?"
"Perhaps he doesn't exist physically, but spiritually."
"You're saying he's a ghost?"
"It's a possibility. But until we know for sure, keep an extra close watch on Amy and Bella. Especially if they're being specifically targeted."
"Of course."
XXXXXXX
That night, the hedgehogs were in deep slumber with Sonic's form wrapped almost completely around Amy's. The house was entirely still and dark. Then, around 3:30 in the morning, the cerulean speedster had rolled over a little so that he wasn't securely around Amy, and an unseen presence entered the room. It made the air a little chilly, making the young flower shiver in her sleep. Suddenly, this presence took ahold of her ankle and jerked her out of bed. Of course it awoke Amy with a start and she backed away towards the wall.
'Wha...what was that?!' she frantically thought.
Sonic also heard her tumble to the floor and slowly woke up.
"Amy?" he groggily called out.
Before he was able to get an answer from his mate, the presence got ahold of her ankle again and slowly began to drag her across the room. Amy was so startled and confused, it took her a few seconds before realizing what was happening.
"Sonic...SONIC HELP! SOOONNNIICCCC!"
Instantly like lightning, the blue blur got onto his feet just in time to see Amy getting violently pulled out of the bedroom. The poor female was just screaming at the top of her lungs, absolutely terrified. Luckily, Sonic managed to catch up to her just as she was being dragged down the basement. With much effort and speed, Sonic grabbed ahold of her, pulled her towards him, and scooped her into his arms. The poor sakura hedgehog was practically hysterical and clinging to her royal blue mate for dear life. Sonic was going to take Amy back to their room, but after hearing Bella wailing from hearing her mother's screams, he decided to head for the nursery instead. Once inside, Amy frantically rushed to the crib, picking up a frightened and sobbing Bella. Sonic bolted the door as Amy held her hoglett close trying to comfort her while trying to get ahold of herself. Sonic, after making sure they were safe, went over to his cherry-pink mate's and step-daughter. He wrapped his arms around them with Amy trembling and Bella whimpering.
"Okay calm down, you two." the cerulean speedster cooed softly. "You're alright."
Amy let out a whimper herself as Bella sniffled and furiously nuzzled him into his chest.
XXXXXXX
The next morning, Tails came over with the completed security system. Sonic went to answer the door after the doorbell ring.
"Hi Sonic!" the saffron fox greeted. He then frowned once seeing the dark circles under his friend's eyes. "Whoa, are you okay?"
"Yeah, Amy and I had a rough night last night." Sonic replied.
"Well, I've got your security system all ready to go."
"Great!"
10 minutes later, as the young kit was nearly finished installing the equipment, Knuckles came over. He too was befuddled to see Sonic as he was.
"So what happened last night?" Knuckles asked.
The cyan hedgehog relayed to him what had occurred the night before. Even now, Sonic had to admit and could not deny the possibility that Mephiles had indeed returned. But how? And how the hell was he getting to Amy?!
'I can feel his presence originate here in the house.' Knuckles thought. 'But where?!'
"You think maybe we should call for back up?" Sonic suggested.
"Not just yet." Knuckles replied. "Until we know for sure what exactly we're dealing with, I don't wanna bring an army upon an anthill."
The blue blur snorted.
"Nice metaphor."
Meanwhile, in the bedroom, Amy was fast asleep. Since she wasn't able to get much sleep the night before, Sonic insisted that she get some rest and that he would take care of Bella. The young flower was curled up on the bed and clutching a pillow. Last night terrified the living hell out of her. Thinking about it kept her awake until she finally drifted off into slumber. But just as soon as Amy was in dream land, her demon was poised and ready to attack...
He had her in his hold yet again. She was just too tired to fight back this time. Amy unknowingly allowed Mephiles to cuddle her.
"Hmmm...you don't seem to be fighting back, little one." the demon mused. "Have you finally come to your senses?"
"N-nooo.." Amy moaned.
"Hmm...I do believe I can fix that."
Then the next thing the sakura hedgehog felt was Mephiles' fangs just barely touching her neck...
Amy jolted up out of her sleep and frantically crawled backwards until her back met the headboard of the bed. Her hand had latched itself onto her neck, as if instinctively protecting it from it from any harm possible. She was almost hyperventilating. Then, after a few minutes of realizing she was only dreaming again, Amy brought her knees to her face and buried it in them.
XXXXXXX
As soon as Tails was done installing the security system, he helped Sonic and Knuckles search the house for anything unusual. They first started with the basement, but everything seemed to be normal and nothing out of the ordinary no matter how many times they looked. It drove Knuckles absolutely crazy because it was there where the dark presence seemed stronger. Finally, they all admitted 'defeat' and decided to move on to other parts of the house.
"What about the attic?" Tails suggested. "Any weird stuff happening there?"
"Not really." Sonic replied. "At least not that I know of."
"Let's look in there anyway." Knuckles said in a directing tone. "Just to make sure."
As the trio went down the hall towards the attic crawl space, Sonic's emerald eyes were caught by something in his room. It was Amy, sitting up in a crouched position on the bed and clutching a pillow in her arms. Frowning, Sonic went in and sat beside her.
"Hey, what's up?" he softly asked her, rubbing the top of her head.
"I can't sleep." Amy whimpered into the cushion. "I just can't sleep. He won't let me."
The cerulean speedster's concerned expression turned soft and he wrapped his arms around her comfortingly.
"Come here." he whispered.
Amy reluctantly let him pull her towards him. Sonic nuzzled her neck, which wasn't really smart since it made the fearful cherry-pink female jump. She didn't mean to flinch at his touch, but she couldn't help it. Sonic rested his head on hers and pulled her closer as she started to cry. All this was beginning to stress her out and it made poor Amy start to lose her nerve. Sonic stroked her quills in an attempt to soothe her fears.
"It's gonna be okay, Ames." the blue blur softly cooed. "It's gonna be okay."
XXXXXXX
At the G.U.N. HQ, Shadow the Hedgehog was working alone, as his partner, Rouge the Bat was out on a solo mission. While the Ultimate Lifeform was busy on a computer, his communicator chimed.
"Yes? This is Shadow." he answered.
"Hey Shadow, it's Knuckles. I'm in need of your assistance."
Shadow raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? What for?" he asked.
"Don't flip, but we, and by we I mean Sonic, Tails, and myself, believe that Mephiles is back."
Shadow looked as if he were just greatly insulted.
"You're joking...correct?!" he growled.
"I'm afraid not." the crimson echidna told him. "It's definitely him. There's no mistake."
The pen in the ebony hedgehog's hand snapped in two as he angrily grasped it. He was there and took part in the demon's destruction himself. To have Knuckles to come and say with 100% certainty that Mephiles had survived it was more than insulting.
"What about the child?!" Shadow spat.
"Errrm..I don't think she's behind this, Shadow." Knuckles sighed. "Besides, she's just a baby after all."
The crimson-splashed male wasn't convinced. But then he was always on edge when it came to the toddler. He constantly thought that she would turn out very troublesome.
"Then what do you think it is?!" Shadow demanded.
"Will you chill for moment?!" Knuckles ranted. "I think Mephiles is somehow being channeled around like a ghost. We need to flush him out."
"You mean perform an exorcism?"
"Something to that effect."
Shadow then let out a sigh.
"Very well then."
XXXXXXX
The next few afternoons at Tails' Workshop, the young kit was again at work on his airplane, the Tornado, when his best friend came knocking hysterically on his door.
"Tails! Open up quick, please!"
A bit shocked and surprised by the desperation in the cyan hedgehog's voice, Tails rushed to the front door to answer it. Sonic, with Bella in a carrier on his shoulders, stood on the porch with a comatose Amy in his arms.
"Oh my gosh, what happened to Amy?" Tails cried.
"Mama fall down..." Bella rambled.
"Amy was walking down the hall and she just collapsed." Sonic frantically explained. "I tried waking her up and she won't wake up!"
"Let's get her inside and quick."
The pair brought Amy into another infirmary room since the other one was sealed off by Knuckles out of caution. After examining the young flower, Tails couldn't find anything wrong with her.
"Well Sonic, she's basically healthy." the saffron fox said.
"But there has to be something wrong, Tails." Sonic wailed. "Amy wouldn't just fall over like that!"
"Hey! Anyone home?" A voice called out.
It was Knuckles along with Shadow. They were there to ask Tails if he happened to catch anything strange on the surveillance cameras. The ruby guardian's features turned sour when he saw Amy on the bio bed.
"What the hell happened to Amy?!" he demanded.
"She just fell faint out of nowhere." Sonic told him. "We can't get her to wake up."
As Knuckles went over to inspect the sakura hedgehog, Shadow gave Bella the evil eye. He still thought that somehow Mephiles' powers were being channeled through her.
"Hmm, it feels like Mephiles is telepathically pulling her under." Knuckles mused.
"Can you bring her out of it?" Sonic asked.
"I'll try."
The crimson echidna then attempted to telepathically connect to Amy.
"Amy...where are you?"
In a moment he got a response.
"Knuckles...help!"
"Tell me where you are."
"I...can't...it's so dark."
"Just try."
"...I think I see a small window. It's high up. It...I..think it's our basement...I'm not sure..."
In the mind's eye, Knuckles saw a dark blurry image of the basement in Sonic's house.
"You think you can show me more, Amy?"
He got no response.
"Amy...?"
"...GET OUT..."
Suddenly, the echidna was violently hurled backwards by an unseen force. It made everyone else in the room jump in shock.
"Wha...what the hell?!" Sonic rasped.
"Knuckles! Are you okay?! Tails cried as he and the cyan hedgehog rushed to help him up.
"Y-yeah...I'm fine." Knuckles sputtered. "But that basterd definitely has her. We need to search Sonic's basement again."
"Right, let's go." Sonic replied. "Tails you stay and watch Amy."
"No Sonic, you need to stay with Amy. She'll need to hear your voice to get out of that."
The cerulean speedster hesitated for a moment, but then nodded in agreement.
"Alright, Knux. But you guys be careful." he said.
Everyone nodded in reply and with that Knuckles, Tails, and Shadow left.
XXXXXXX
Amy was surrounded in darkness. No matter how hard she yelled screamed, she could reach Knuckles again.
"Knuckles wait! Don't leave me!" she called out.
"Hmph, now that guardian pest is out of the way..."
The cherry-pink female felt Mephiles' arms snake around her like a python and held her in a tight iron-like grip.
"Let me go!" she wailed. "Please just leave me alone!"
"Never. Never again, you're mine. Now and forever. And once I have you as my own again, we'll have our child join us."
"NO! You leave Bella alone! I won't let you have her!"
"She's my flesh and blood, little one. I have a natural right to her."
"No..please. Not her."
Suddenly, Amy felt like she was thrown to the ground and pinned firmly down.
"I grow tired of your defiance." Mephiles hissed in a low tone. "I curse that insolent hedgehog for poisoning your mind."
Amy let out a whimper...
At the infirmary in Tails' Workshop, Sonic, with Bella still in her carrier on his shoulders, was seated beside the bio bed in which the young flower laid on. Then he saw tears leaking out of her closed eyes and rolling down her muzzle. Sonic made a face and wiped them away with his thumb.
"Hang in there, Ames." he affectionately whispered.
xxxxxxx
The trio led by Knuckles, marched right over to Sonic and Amy's house. As they neared it, they already felt a very dark force surrounding it. It especially made Tails shiver.
"Be ready for anything guys." Knuckles warned.
He opened the front door and it was like entering a really thick fog.
"Mephiles' aura has gotten very strong in here." Shadow observed.
"Come on, the basement's this way." Knuckles said.
They went into the living room and found the door to the basement. Suddenly, Tails started to feel really, really faint.
"Ooohhh man..."
"Are you okay, Tails?" Knuckles asked.
"I feel kinda sick."
"Perhaps it's best if you remain outdoors." Shadow said.
"Yeah, go on Tails." the ruby guardian told the young kit.
After Tails was safely outside, both Knuckles and Shadow proceeded down the stairs to the basement. The dark aura was even thicker down there than upstairs. It was enough to make a normal person sick and dizzy.
"I don't get it." Knuckles said. "We searched this place thoroughly last time."
"Mephiles is a conniving imbecile." Shadow replied thoughtfully.
The room was also pitch dark. It was difficult for the two males to make their way through. Then something caught the Ultimate Lifeform's attention.
"Knuckles, look there!"
The guardian swerved around and saw a soft purple glow behind some boxes. The two cautiously approached and removed the boxes. What they saw next shocked them.
"What the hell?!" Knuckles sputtered.
Lying on the floor beneath all the cardboard was a small patch of purple crystals. Shadow narrowed his blood-red eyes.
"So, this is how Mephiles' been hiding." he hissed.
"This still baffles the hell out of me." Knuckles said as he scratched his head. "How did this get in here in the first place?!"
"That does not matter now, what matters is that we get rid of it."
"Right."
The pair approached the patch but it suddenly glowed bright and emitted a shrill noise, repelling them.
"URGH! DAMN!" Knuckles shouted.
XXXXXXX
Amy was still trapped in the void that Mephiles pulled her into. Even worse, the demon was slowly stripping the young flower of her clothes despite her attempts to make him stop.
"There that's better." he sneered.
Amy could only whimper at this point, being defeated by him. Again. Then suddenly, a speck of light penetrated the deep darkness, making Mephiles growl in annoyance.
"Who dares...?!"
Amy thought she saw Knuckles and Shadow in the small light. But Mephiles quickly used his powers to cover it back up with darkness. As that was happening, the sakura hedgehog thought she was hearing Sonic's voice.
"Come on, Ames." he said. "Come back to us."
"Sonic!" the cherry-pink female cried out. "I'm right here!"
She attempted to follow the blue blur's voice but Mephiles caught her beforehand.
"No...you will not escape me, little flower..." he growled.
'Sonic help me!'
xxxxxxx
"DAMMIT!"
Knuckles was flung backwards again by the glowing patch of crystals. Shadow was able to catch the echidna with his teleportation before Knuckles slammed into the wall. The patch of crystals started to grow.
"It would appear that he's not easy to get rid of." the ebony hedgehog observed. "Nevertheless he is not as strong as he once was."
"So what do you propose we do now, Shadow?" Knuckles asked.
"Hmmm...I have one other alternative we might try."
Shadow then began to taking off his inhibitor rings.
"Go upstairs." he told Knuckles. "This is going to certainly get ugly."
"Right." Knuckles replied. "Just be careful, Shadow."
The ebony hedgehog nodded and once the ruby guardian left the basement, Shadow unleashed his Chaos Control upon the growing patch of crystals...
Mephiles pinned Amy back down on the ground, but knowing that her friends were trying to rescue her, gave the young flower a newfound energy to fight back. Mephiles on the other hand, was partly astonished that her will wasn't broken just yet.
"You still wish to fight, little one?" he asked with a sigh.
"I'll die fighting you!" Amy shrieked at him, trying to punch the demon away.
"Well I do hope you enjoy the disappointment."
Once he had her firmly pinned down, Mephiles started licking her neck before choosing a spot to bite down on. Of course Amy let out a piercing scream when he did so but back in reality where Sonic kept in constant vigil on her, he only heard a small cry. The scar on her neck then began to turn red.
Amy squirmed in Mephiles' hold trying to get him off her. She felt that familiar sensation of the demon's venom coursing through her form.
'No please...not again!' she frantically thought.
Just when Mephiles thought he had his victory, an even brighter and bigger light pierced the darkness and started to repel it.
"WHAT'S THIS?!" the demon shouted in rage.
In the light, Shadow was there glowing red with Chaos power and blowing away everything in his path.
"Today, you die for good!" the Ultimate Lifeform proclaimed in annoyed tone.
Mephiles couldn't match him, especially in the form he was in now.
"ARRRRGGGHHHH!"
Shadow obliterated the patch of crystals so completely, that even the dust did not remain. Just smoke and vapor. But in any case, it was over. The demon's last short-lived reign of terror was now history. Shadow, after powering down, fell to the floor, exhausted. Something that always happened when he took off his inhibitor rings. Knuckles quickly ran back down into the basement.
"Shadow! You okay?!" he called out.
"I...am fine." Shadow rasped as he was lifted up to his feet.
The two then stared at the spot where the patch of crystals once stood.
"Come, we must return to the fox's Workshop." Shadow said.
"Yes. But first I need to purify this spot. Just in case." Knuckles replied.
XXXXXXX
Back in Tails' Workshop, the red mark on Amy's neck started to disappear and a look of peace came over her features.
"Come on, Ames." Sonic cooed. "Wake up."
"Wake up, mama!" Bella squeaked, mimicking the cerulean speedster a little.
Freed from Mephiles again, Amy followed Sonic's voice and a few seconds later, she fluttered her jade eyes open to her mate and daughter. The sakura hedgehog gave a smile as her orbs met Sonic's.
"Mama!" Bella excitedly piped.
Amy lifted her arms to Sonic and he promptly leaned forward and embraced her passionately.
"You gave us a scare there, Ames." the cyan hedgehog quipped. "How are you feeling?"
Amy's smile became wider.
"Never better."
AN: Well I hoped you enjoyed this sequel. Stay tuned for more on Cherry Blossoms and the upcoming Shadowed Roses.