Final Vision

Event 3: Lure of the Past
An hour and fifteen frustrating minutes later, Amy had finally paid for repairs to her motorcycle and left the auto shop. She threw herself over the passenger side door of Cream's car exhaling out her frustration. Her friend looked on with a blank stare.

"Got it all sorted out?" Cream asked.

"Yeah." Amy stood up and got into the car. "Now I hardly have any money left on me. Geez, how am I going to survive?"

Immediately Cream reached into the back seat and grabbed her small purse.

"No worries. I can pay for everything." she said digging through her purse.

"How?" the hedgehog asked suspiciously eyeing the girl.

In a flash, the ambitious teen whipped out a credit card sporting a satisfying grin.

"Credit, duh!"

"Seriously! Is there anything this girl doesn't have?" Amy gave herself a well-deserved slap to the forehead; heedless teenagers living like heedless adults…

With a noisy vroom!, the small car drove off down the main street as the girls looked for a place to lodge in until repairs were finished. In no time they came upon a small two-story hotel on the main street and pulled into the parking lot. Sometime later they managed to get a room and settled in with all of their belongings (most of it being Cream's though). It wasn't until they were unpacking when Cream looked across at a lonely Amy sitting on her bed, her only possessions being a small backpack, her leather jacket, and red helmet. Dropping everything she had, the rabbit scooped up her purse and grabbed her friend heading for the door.

"Whoa! Where are we going?" the young woman asked as she stumbled behind Cream.

"Shopping, duh! If we're going to be staying here for a while you're gonna need more clothes to wear."

Although her favorite past time, it didn't seem appropriate for the hedgehog at the moment. Nonetheless she didn't have much of a choice and followed the energetic girl, will or nil

Despite the small size of the town, there were quite a few stores to shop at for clothes. Hopping from one store to the next, Cream rushed around picking out clothes she thought looked cute and shoved them into Amy's arms.

"Here! Try these on!" the rabbit insisted dropping an arm full of blouses in her friend's care.

Without any time to react, Amy found herself pushed into a dressing room giving her a moment of peace and quiet. The blouses she held were cute but she wasn't really in the mood to try on new clothes. She sighed heavily and hung up the shirts on the wall hanger. A small bench in the corner served as a nice place to rest and so she did, stretching out her legs and gazing up at the florescent light on the ceiling.

"Oh my god! How many stores have we been in?" she asked herself overwhelmed and near exhaustion.

Slowly the hedgehog's eyes fell shut; fantasies of a calmer atmosphere poured into her mind. Away from the cities; away from civilization; away from Cream. Just herself and her renewed spirit in some calm field…

"Maybe with Sonic by my side heh…"

A smile grew on her face and she even managed out a giggle. Suddenly the dream was shatter by rapid knocking on the dressing room door.

"Amy!" Cream's voice called out from the other side. "How are the shirts working out for you? Can I come in and see them?"

"I uh… I'm not ready yet! Hang on a sec!"

The pink hedgehog rushed tearing off her jacket and shirt and immediately threw on one of the blouses. Maybe Cream's erractic shopping would be therapeutic to her.

…A glance in the mirror.

…Maybe she was being too optimistic.

"You ready yet Amy? Can I come in now?" the teen called out once more.

"Ugh… why can't this day end now?" Amy muttered to herself with a grimace.

The sun was heading for the western horizon by the time the girls made it back to the hotel. With both of their arms full of shipping bags, they shuffled into their room throwing thier bags on their beds respectively. Cream bounced onto her bed kicking off her shoes.

"Phew! I can't believe we got so much shopping done. And it didn't even cost us that much either! Can you believe it?" the rabbit asked digging through one of the bags next to her.

All Amy could reply with was a half-hearted smile and sat on the edge of her bed gazing at the floor. One by one, she gently removed her shoes neatly placing them at the foot of her bed. Unknown to her, Cream looked on with interest as if watching an elusive creature of the wild. A few seconds into the silence and Amy finally noticed the attention she grabbed and cautiously eyed her friend.

"Yeah?" she asked drawing out the word.

"Something's wrong with you…" Blatantly obvious, as a teen should be.

Even though her lack of interest in shopping showed like an ugly bruise, Amy still tried to hide it.

"What do you mean?" the hedgehog asked throwing in a nervous laugh. "I'm just exhausted from today. I mean with all that running around you made me do, anyone would be tired out!"

Again her weak laugh faded into silence as he quietly hoped that her friend bought the cover up. A short shrug from the girl confirmed that she took the bait and went back to rustling through the bags on her bed. The hedgehog took note and went through her bags as well, examining her new set of clothes. It wasn't like her to cover up her own feelings, yet she felt that her past in this town was one thing Cream didn't need to know…or anyone else for that matter.

"What happened here has to stay here." the young woman thought. "I can't let them follow me wherever I go…or I may never stop looking back on my past."

In the dark room, the digital clock on the nightstand between the two beds glowed 11:48PM in red. To the right of the furniture, a slumbering rabbit was half hidden by the covers, her hair strewn across her face. To the other side of the nightstand a restless hedgehog lay awake, her eyes brightly staring up at the white ceiling above her. Her flowing hair rested about her face in a goddess manner, yet her feelings were not even of royal status. The fact that she was back in the small town seemed to eat at her insides. The thought that this place had a grasp on her demolished her spirit. The anxiety in waiting for something to happen constantly occupied her.

"If this is what I'll feel like after a day…then I better get the wheels turning myself." Amy presumed with no evidence if it was necessary.

She sat up and moved out of her bed being watchful of Cream's actions. To avoid waking her slumbering friend, Amy moved about with the finesse of a feline, quietly dressing herself and slipping into her shoes. After a last look at the sleeping teen, Amy swiped her room key off the dresser and left the room gently closing the door behind her. In the cold autumn night, Amy realized how far it was to Shadow's home and entertained the idea of borrowing her friend's car for the short trip across town.

"No. The noise might wake her up." the hedgehog realized assuming that Cream had grown into the type of girl who was overprotective of her belongings.

Though she could've easily gone back in and snatched the car keys, she instead forced herself onward walking out to the main street. She was certainly a much better friend than that.

It was bitterly cold outside and the wind chill aided in making the trip harder to take. Yet the driving fire in Amy kept her warm enough to withstand the temperature. As she marched down the lifeless streets, a few shady figures roamed about staggering in the shadows, some showing signs of inebriation and drug habits. The hedgehog kept her eyes low wanting to avoid any contact with them and even hurried her pace.

Twenty minutes past and she was at her destination; standing before her in the icy moonlight was Shadow's former home still as deteriorated as it was hours ago when she first visited. She prepped herself for the first step that she would eventually take. She was successful but her heart jumped and was beating faster than she could count.

"What's happening?" Amy asked grabbing her chest. "Why can't I stop this?"

Most likely the answers she sought after lay within the house…and so she breathed in and moved forward. The front door opened with an agonizing moan and the pink haired woman peered in, her green eyes darting all around. The aging of the house showed terribly with chipping wood, cobwebs everywhere, and the unsettling smell of mold sneaking across Amy's nose. The stench singed the inside of her nostrils and she quickly covered it while boldly steeping in. The boards beneath her creaked and suddenly her heart's rapid motion stopped. Gently she laid a hand on her chest amazed at the unusual behavior of her artery.

"It's this house." she assumed. "Something in here is making me do this."

She took a few steps forward and stopped in the middle of the foyer, gazing around at her paths. Closed door to her left, another door to her front with the stairs right next to it, a hallway to the right if the stairs, and the living room on the far right. Where to go is all she had to figure out…

"…And then everything will fall together." the hedgehog finished her thought.

Timidly, she stepped towards the stairs remembering that the attic was the source of the events from years ago…there came a stir from the door next to the stairs. As it creaked open Amy could feel a cool breeze run up her pants. Curiously, she was drawn towards the door and pushed it open to reveal a narrow stairwell leading down into the basement. She was right; she made the first move and already the "wheel" was turning. Not wanting to stop the "wheel", Amy ventured down into the basement. The temperature dropped fiercely and in no time she was shivering uncontrollably.

Shrouded in complete darkness, Amy could barely see where she was going. It caught her off guard, the last step, and she stumbled over herself landing face first on the frosty stone floor. As she recovered from the fall, the curious woman noticed a breeze was in the room. Was a window open? Was there a hole somewhere in the walls? No, the air came from something in the room… something close to Amy. She pushed herself up and tried to see through the darkness though futile to do so. Just then a glimmer of light appeared. Her green eyes looked towards the floor and a few feet from her a blue light resonated from behind an object covered by a cloth. Slowly she stepped forward, drawn by the enchanting light and could make out the sheet that was covering it. With a swift pull she removed the sheet from the object it concealed.

Slowly the ragged cloth danced to the floor and before Amy stood a full length floor mirror. It's golden frame rusting into a dull almost black color while the reflecting glass slowly resonated the eerie azure color. The young woman positioned herself in front of the object and felt the bitter air flow into her. Just as she became lost in the fascinating light, it began to diminish catching her attention. Her eyes blinked twice and watched the mirror's light fade revealing not her reflection but rather a world of darkness that seemed to reside within the mirror. It was baffling but she had to know. Slowly a hand reached out and touched the smooth surface of the glass.

"Is this some kind of doorway?" she wondered.

Not that she wanted to venture into the dark world but it was just puzzling how she could see something that couldn't possibly fit into a mirror. Just to make sure there was no way in Amy gently leaned against the glass a few times and nothing happened. Bewilderment quickly changed to frustration as she began to wonder the true meaning of the mirror and why it was in Shadow's home in the first place. Pacing around it, she scratched her head and ended up back in front again.

"Maybe this is what's causing my heart to crazy; a mirror that…reveals my true feelings I guess…" she pondered out loud.

As strange as the explanation sounded, it seemed reasonable to the hedgehog. Her memories staying behind in a supernatural house taking on the shape of a mirror…it made plenty of sense within the boundaries of reason! And with that train of thought she sat herself on the floor in front of the mirror ready to face what was really eating her inside. Amy stared at the mirror with intent bracing herself for any shocking images that may appear or even fly out of the mirror.

Yet what happened next didn't even cross her mind as a possibility.

Faintly in the distance of the mirror's world a cloaked figure flashed before Amy's eyes. She blinked a few times losing her concentration.

"Maybe it was a light reflection…" she thought despite the lack of any light.

….A few seconds later it happened again…this time the figure moving slightly closer.

"W-what?" She now realized something was in there.

…Again and even closer.

"Dammit…" Amy was ready to jump up at any moment.

…Expectations were high but this time nothing happened. Had the figure gone away or was it really Amy's mind fooling with her? She sighed releasing her tension and looked back at the--

"OH SHIT!!" the young woman shouted shooting to her feet. In complete darkness she back away from the reflecting object bumping and stumbling over assorted junk that was behind her, hoping to hit the wall soon. Instead her foot got caught and the hedgehog fell back sitting on top of what probably was an overturned chair. However she didn't care. Her heart raced and her thoughts turned into a scrambled mess that all said the same thing: GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! But with her foot stuck she was forced to look into the mirror at the last thing she expected to find:

Shadow the Hedgehog.