Fun Fact: Tikal is dead. I just wanted to point that out, because I keep seeing a bunch of KnuxXTikal things…She's a spirit, and she's like a million years older than the rest of the people. The only reason she had a body temporarily in Sonic Adventure was the power of the Chaos Emeralds and the fact that Chaos needed to be stopped.

Chapter 4

There was an extremely loud crash. Both Sonic an Amy were jarred awake from not only the sound, but the tremor that occurred simultaneously. It was still late at night, about 3 a.m.

"What was that!?" Sonic yelled out almost instantly, completely alert. Amy just sat up and was breathing hard from the sudden jolt. The two both ran outside to see what had happened.

"…I see nothing." Amy said after a few seconds.

"…Maybe whatever it was got scared." Sonic started to joke.

"Yeah, maybe they…Sonic…Look!" Amy pointed up as she saw one shooting star after another appear, their numbers growing until it grew to an entire meteor shower.

He glimpsed up, but then noticed something off in the distance on the mountain.

"…Amy…" Sonic slowly said as a small puff of smoke was rising from the mountainside.

"Yeah…?" Amy was mesmerized by the beautiful astral display, and was hardly listening.

"…I think I know what the crash was."

A split second after Sonic finished his sentence, the sound of what Sonic saw was heard. Another crash. The two looked up at the sky, and saw red-orange dots falling at a very fast pace.

"GET EVERYTHING WE HAVE!! MOVE!!" The blue hedgehog barked out as he began to pack up as much as he could. Amy quickly responded as she realized what was going on.

Right as Amy finished getting everything out of the tent, another crash happened right next to them, as well as a sudden heat wave. The girl jumped and shrieked a little, but continued to secure everything as quickly as she could.

"Help me take down the tent!!" She called for Sonic, who had just finished packing his things as well.

CRASH!!

Things were beginning to heat up a little, but Sonic and Amy attempted to take down the tent anyway. They had the last pole out, when Sonic looked up suddenly.

"LOOK OUT!!" He screamed as he shoved Amy out of the way of a somewhat large meteor coming right for the pair.

CRASH!!

Amy was slightly disoriented, but quickly regained her senses. She looked to see the fare of Sonic, but only saw that the tent had been hit directly by the flaming projectile.

"SONIC!!" The girl screamed out frantically, now fearing for her love's life. She got up and searched around the immediate area as fast as she could.

"…Sonic!!" Amy found her love laying passed out somewhat close to the burning rock, but also found it hard to even approach him due to the immense heat. She clenched her teeth and ran in to pick him up as fast as she could. Her fur beginning to feel like it was going to catch fire, the girl struggled with Sonic, but eventually dragged him far enough away that he wasn't in immediate danger anymore.

"Sonic, wake up…!" The girl was beginning to tear up a little.

CRASH!!

Suddenly jolted out of her trance, Amy decided now was the time for action. She grabbed her pack of supplies and managed to lift Sonic as well. The supplies Sonic had brought would have to stay, though.

"I…have to get him to safety…!" Amy determinedly growled out over her strain to carry as much as she could. The girl walked at a semi-slow but steady pace away from the hill they were camping on.

The meteors were hitting more frequently now, and a few trees in the area had caught fire. Luckily, there weren't enough to start a total inferno of death, but it was still dangerous.

Amy considered herself lucky to find a small cave embedded into the other side of the hill; she decided that the rock walls would have to prove sturdy enough, considering she was already extremely tired.

Setting down her backpack, the young girl sat down on the hard, unforgiving ground with Sonic in her arms still. She sat for a moment looking at his face.

Please be alive…Amy held him close and a small tear fell down her cheek. Oh god, please…

She set him down on the ground and went for her gear. She went through it until she found the first-aid kit, and then opened it up. She rifled through it until she found the burn cream and patches with gauze and cleaner, then immediately went over to her love.

"Please let this work…" She mumbled to herself as the earthquakes grew in intensity and frequency.

Ignoring her own minor burns, Amy applied the contents of the tube to all of the singed spots she could see on Sonic, following up with cleaning his cuts. She placed a small patch and wrapped them all; it might have been a little unnecessary on a few cuts, but Amy was too shocked to care. All that mattered was getting Sonic as better as she could.

Sitting back and looking at her work, Amy felt a little more at ease knowing she did everything she could. Checking his breathing, the girl was relieved to see that he was just passed out and not something more serious.

"God…What have we gotten into?" She said as she peered out of the entrance to see the hail of fire still coming down. It was getting so bad that Amy could feel the heat starting to flow in.

Attempting to fix the problem, the girl unpacked as many non-flammable objects as she could and made a small wall out of them. Placing Sonic behind the wall, she hoped that would shield him from the heat at least a little.

"Sonic…" Amy began to speak to him, "If you die…I don't know what I'd do…I love you so much…Please be alright…" She laid a few feet away from him, and curled up and held her knees. She began to cry silently and slowly drifted off to a tormented sleep.

"Amy…" A voice called out. "Amy…"

She turned around and saw Sonic standing there, smiling.

"Amy, I want to thank you for helping me." He said calmly.

"You're more than welcome, believe me…" She replied as she went to hug him. However, she was stopped by Sonic's hand.

"No, Amy, I can't…"

"…Why not?"

"It's…too late for me."

Just then, Sonic's fur began to singe, and Amy could clearly feel the heat suddenly radiating from his body.

"This is…my damnation…!" The blue hedgehog dropped to his knees, and then he suddenly burst into flames.

"SONIC!!" Amy jumped back suddenly and was completely shocked at what she was watching.

The hedgehog screamed out in pain. "THIS…IS HELL!! PAIN, SUFFERING, DAMNATION!!"

Amy could do nothing but watch as her love burnt right in front of her. His skin was lit now, and the odor was absolutely foul.

"YOU…BITCH!!" Sonic suddenly screamed out. "YOU DID THIS TO ME!!" Sonic stood up, and Amy could now see his muscle and some tendons underneath his melting skin.

Amy backed up slowly, but couldn't manage more than that. "S-Sonic!" She choked out.

"YOU WILL BURN IN HELL WITH ME!!" His ribs and beating heart were showing now, as well as a majority of his skull. The blue hedgehog grabbed Amy's shoulders, and she screamed out in pain as she was lit as well.

"AMY!!" Sonic screamed out.

Amy's eyes shot open, and they were full of tears. She was breathing heavily, and obviously distressed.

"Amy, calm down!!" Sonic said worriedly while holder her shoulders.

"Wha-What's going on…!?" The confused girl yelled out, looking around frantically.

"Get a hold of yourself!!" Sonic shook her a little. Amy then realized she wasn't dreaming anymore and stopped looking around. She was still breathing heavily and teary-eyed, however.

"S-sonic…?"

"It's me, Amy. Calm down, you're awake now." He tried to comfort her.

"What happened…A nightmare?" Amy began to breathe normally again.

"I think so. Either that, or you're possessed." Sonic attempted to joke a little to lighten the mood.

Amy didn't find it funny nor insulting, she just ignored it. "Are you ok, Sonic?"

"Am I ok? I should be asking that, not you. You were screaming in your sleep…"

"I'm fine, but are you?"

"…Yeah, Amy. I'm fine. Thanks for helping me out back there. I owe you one." Sonic grinned.

Amy sat up fully, and Sonic got up to stretch his legs. "Sonic, if this is supposed to be virtual, how did they manage to-"

"-Shoot meteors at us?" Sonic finished for her. He stretched his arms out. "I have no clue, but it wasn't cool. The last thing I remember before waking up here was our tent being completely trashed." He stretched upwards and held his breath, then let it out as he relaxed. "That means we're gonna have to sleep outside, or under natural cover from here on out…"

Amy looked down in her lap. Hearing something like that should have been a good thing, but the current circumstances proved otherwise.

"So, if it rains, or if another meteor shower…?" She began to ask.

"If it snows, lightnings, hurricanes, or if the sky falls, that's how it goes." Sonic sat back down in front of her. "Hey, by the way, what happened to all of my stuff? I only noticed your bag in here."

"Well, I could only carry you and one bag, and mine had the first-aid kit…"

"Yeah, I get it. Let's go up and see if it survived; I need to get out of this cave anyway." The blue hedgehog jumped up, then offered a hand to help Amy. She gladly took it and giggled a little.

"…What?" Sonic asked.

"He he…nothing." Amy stifled her giggling. Can't ever keep that guy down…yet another reason why I love you, Sonic…

"Well, let's go then!" Sonic led her out.

When the two walked outside, they were instantly shocked – the entire beautiful scene that was once there had been eliminated for miles. There was still the majestic mountain in the distance, but most of the grassy plain had been burnt and filled with craters.

They climbed the hill and back to the spot where their original camp was, and found a large crater right where the tent was. All that was left was a few charred stubs of the poles, and maybe a little scrap of cloth or two. The rest had been reduced to ash.

"Wow, we were lucky to get out when we did…There's way more craters than there was when I left!" Amy noted. It was true, before there were about 3 or 4 on top of the hill, but now you couldn't go 5 steps without finding one.

"Yeah…Strange how there seems to be more RIGHT on this hill than anywhere else…" Sonic added.

They looked around a little, and then Amy found what they were looking for.

"Sonic…I don't think your pack is going to be much use." Amy grimly said as she looked at the charred remains of Sonic's backpack. The hedgehog zipped over to see, and his expression turned to a disappointed frown.

"Well, that sucks, quite frankly…Let's see if we can at least salvage ANYTHING. It wasn't hit dead on, so maybe…"

The two rifled through the pack and found a couple cans of food that were unharmed, as well as the swiss army knife and can-opener. Other than that, the entire pack was charred beyond use, including the backpack itself.

"That means we have half the amount of food we started with…" Amy quietly stated.

"And that also means we're gonna have to hurry." Sonic told his companion. "We can't just sit here with only this much food left; who knows how much longer we're gonna be in here."

"…Right." Amy agreed as she stood up. The two started to go back down the hill, and Sonic had a grim look in his face.

"What's wrong, Sonic?" Amy asked casually.

"Ah, nothing…Just thinking. It's not important, we just gotta keep on trekking." Sonic answered a few seconds later. The two made it back to the small cave and had the two cans they found in Sonic's pack for breakfast, and then packed the two remaining items into Amy's backpack.

Before they left, Amy saw a small problem in having only one pack. "Who's gonna carry it?"

"I will, don't worry…" Sonic assured her.

"Not in the state you're in; you might not know it, but you were hurt badly last night." Amy warned.

"…Fine, we'll take turns. Ok?" The blue hedgehog smiled.

"Alright, but I get it first." Amy picked up the hiking backpack and put it on. "No complaining." Amy smiled teasingly and walked past her love. Sonic just shook his head with a smile and followed her.

The two barely had gotten 30 feet from the entrance of the cave, when yet another problem presented itself.

"The compass was in YOUR backpack, wasn't it?" Amy asked as the two walked along the charred warzone.

"Yeah…So was that paper with the safety instructions…" Sonic verified.

"Great." The girl said sarcastically.

"Let's just hope we won't need them…I mean, the mountains are pretty easy to see, and as long as something completely horrible doesn't happen, we shouldn't need to get out instantly…" The blue hedgehog explained.

"Wait, you wouldn't call what just happened horrible?" Amy asked.

"We're still alive and on our way, aren't we?"

"…Good point." They both laughed a little and kept walking.

After about an hour more of walking, the craters from the meteors gradually got farther apart until they disappeared completely. They had traveled out of the plains and gotten to a naturally dirt and small rock covered ground. Also, the sound of running water was increasingly apparent as they pressed forward.

"Would a river have lots of cover around it?" Amy asked eventually as they both knew what was ahead for them.

"I don't know, but if we get there early enough, we shouldn't care." Sonic replied.

"Why not?" Amy ignorantly asked.

"Because we're gonna have to cross it, duh." Sonic laughed at his own joke. Amy saw what she missed, and was a little embarrassed, but laughed it off with Sonic.

Despite what Sonic had said, getting to the river took longer than both of them had thought. And when they saw it, they realized why they could hear it from so far away.

"That has got to be the BIGGEST river I have EVER seen…" Sonic said nervously.

"Yeah…And we have to cross that thing?" Amy asked shakily.

"…Yeah…Somehow…" Sonic gulped a little, but then shook it off. "It can't be that bad…I mean, we'll just find a shallow spot, or a narrow fjord or something."

Amy looked up in the sky and saw that the sun was beginning to lay down to rest behind the mountains. "Sonic, we're gonna have to deal with that tomorrow, because we have the issue of figuring out how to ration our food and where to stay for now…"

"…Sure. Can't sleep when we're all wet, anyway. Come on; let's go find a good spot."

Sonic and Amy walked alongside the river for about a half-mile before they found a very large tree growing about 20 feet from the edge of the water. Sonic deemed that it would do as a perfect landmark for camp, and Amy agreed. They set the gear down and Amy laid out all of the food they had.

"Alright, if we skip lunch and have one can each for breakfast and dinner, that leaves us with food for…" Amy thought for a moment. "…4 days."

"4 days, huh? And that's living on only a portion of what we SHOULD get in a day…Hm." Sonic leaned against the tree and thought about it. "If we find more berry bushes, or some other source of food, that could substitute for lunch, or maybe even save us a can for dinner or breakfast…"

The two hedgehogs sat in silence for a moment, and Amy really let what had happened sink in.

"Are…Are we going to live?" Amy asked a little shakily.

"What?" Sonic replied in disbelief. "Of course, don't worry about a thing."

"But…But what if…?"

"Amy, there is no what if." The hedgehog interrupted her. "Just keep your chin up, and live for the moment. We'll make it through, no sweat. I mean, it's only a simulation, right? I'm sure that if something really did go HORRIBLY wrong, they'd shut it down."

"…Then the meteors?"

"Probably just to scare us, see if we have the will to continue."

"…Well then how did they burn you and destroy our things?"

Sonic sat up and then put a hand on Amy's shoulder. Her heart jumped for a second, but she calmed herself.

"Amy, nothing will happen. I give you my word." The two smiled as their eyes met. "Now settle down and relax, we got a big day tomorrow. And the next day, too!" Sonic laughed lightly at his own joke, and Amy just sighed with a mix of joy and confusion.

Seriously, Sonic. You can't ever be beat…Nothing can dampen your spirits for long.

The two set up their meager camp, which consisted of the sleeping bags on the ground, and the extra blankets folded up for pillows or extra warmth. The tree would act as cover, although there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

As they got ready for bed, Sonic noticed that Amy had been noticeably quiet. More than usual, she would at least hum a song to herself in times of long silence.

"Hey Amy, what's up?" He asked in a casual tone.

"…what? Oh, nothing…" The girl folded her legs underneath herself and looked into her lap.

"Come on, Amy. We're the only two out here, and we need to stay open if things are gonna run smoothly. So come on, tell me."

The girl sat for a moment, and then finally spoke up. "…It's just…Well, what if we don't make it? What if something terrible happens to us…?"

"Amy…" Sonic started, but he was cut off.

"Or even worse: What if something happens to you, but not me? What if I'm left alone after watching you die?" The girl was beginning to shake a little. She had thought herself into a torment.

"That's enough Amy." Sonic stopped her. "Nothing is going to happen, I mean that. Again, none of this is real."

"But…It is, Sonic. If you didn't know it was a simulation, you would never have guessed…"

"Listen, I swear on my supersonic speed and overall awesomeness that nothing, and I repeat, NOTHING, will happen to us."

"But…"

"AND, if something DOES happen to us, which it won't, I'll make sure you get out safe. Which, in turn, will get me out, so nothing WILL happen to us!" Sonic somewhat contradicted himself, but he made his point.

"…Alright, I believe you." Amy quietly said, then looked up with a faint smile. "I feel safe just knowing you're here with me, anyway…" The girl stopped herself from saying what she wanted to finish with, but her mouth still was moving.

Sonic, being able to read lips well enough, got the message. It was an 'I love you'.

"Yeah, ok…" Sonic shuffled into his sleeping bag and turned the other way. "We need to rest up so we can get going tomorrow. Night, Amy."

Amy realized her mistake and cursed herself silently, but got into her sleeping bag nonetheless.

"…Good night." She replied.

Sonikku…My love.