In The Last Chapter: Shadow lets Amy off . . . for the moment, and returns to Prison Island, when she latches onto him suddenly. He allows her ten seconds to do whatever she wants to do- free Sonic, of course!- while he was busy getting back to business, which included planting a bomb near the dynamite boxes. The clock started at five minutes, but it turns into two minutes while Shadow had gotten distracted again, but this time by Rouge's teasing. Now that that's over with, he rushes to grab his hostage again, but does he know how close she is to Sonic by now?
"Sonic! There you are! I finally found you!"
She beamed brightly as she raced down the long hallway to Sonic's cell. She was more than overjoyed to see that her hero was alright, but she was surprised that Shadow hadn't caught up to her yet. That had to have been about two minutes since they came back from Space Colony ARK. The thought came and went in an instant as she whipped out her hammer and then, with a mighty cry, banged his cell door down with one merciless swing. It quivered at her mercy, breaking from its hinges from her unimaginable force, and then it fell over on its side and onto the floor, giving Sonic the chance to jump out and escape.
He had jumped at the sound of her voice, and then stood up from his previous laid out position in an attempt to get a decent nap. He looked at her, and then Shadow's words rung throughout his ears, the words he said only a while before that doppleganger took him out.
"I don't intend to leave, and I doubt your little pink girlfriend would want me to either."
"She had the gall to try and fight me. Me, Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate creation. Quite an interesting girl you have. It'd be a shame if she were to have her little neck snapped."
Amy had lied to him! She said she never got to see him, but she had done more than that. She even tried to fight him herself, something that worried the hero. She was strong, of course, but just will power and strength isn't enough to beat someone as fast as Sonic.
He looked away for a moment, thinking everything over in confusion. She never had a reason to lie to the hero she always chased after and had such confidence in, so why was she suddenly acting different when an imposter comes into the scene? Why didn't she tell him something that important, or lie about seeing the doppelganger Sonic had been desperately searching for? Now Sonic was even more worried and confused after finding out her rather peculiar secrecy. He looked at her after a while with a little hurt and a bit of irritation weighing on his shoulders. They were friends, weren't they? She trusted him, didn't she?
At this point, he had been too still, too unresponsive to her valiant rescue, and too distant that it frightened the pink hedgehog. She Iooked at Sonic in concern before walking into the cell and softly guiding him out on her own accord. She called his name a few times to get his attention, and after a moment, he did respond. Just not in the way that she expected. " . . . You know, after about four years, I thought you trusted your idol more."
"What?" She was shocked at his irritated glare aimed directly at her, and the harsh chill behind his words. She was confused; what drove out this sudden frustration inside of him? She just rescued him!
"Amy . . . He told me what you did." Her eyes grew wide, and she swore to beat that arrogant ebony hedgehog into the ground later for spilling the beans. She knew Sonic wouldn't have liked hearing her confrontation with that creature, and so she didn't tell him. She walked around that subject so he wouldn't worry about her.
" . . . I-I only wanted to save those people inside-" He cut her off with a wave of his hand.
"I have no problem with you being a hero. What I want to know is why you didn't tell me he tried to hurt you when I asked why you looked burnt and bruised when I saw you yesterday. I was worried about you, but you lied to me and left me running all around town for the guy when you knew what direction he went." She winced and stared down at her hands in shame. When he said it like that, she felt so guilty. Maybe if she had just told him, he wouldn't have felt betrayed. And because she didn't tell Sonic where he went, the cobalt hero was up during midnight searching, and then was abruptly confronted by the culprit while he was on an empty stomach. She felt like she was part of the reason why Sonic had been taken to Prison Island now.
She looked up at him with tears hanging at the edges of her eyes. " . . . Because I . . . I wanted you to see that I'm not a damsel in distress anymore." He blinked in shock at her response. He wasn't quite expecting that. Now he was the one feeling guilty. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "You're always saving me and worrying about me. I don't want to be a burden on you, or an annoyance. I just wanted you to believe in me like I believe in you."
He smiled at that and gave her a reassuring smile. She was surprised when he suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her close to his torso. She could hear his steady heartbeat, the tempo of his breathing matching in sync. He looked at her, right in the eyes, and spoke more gently, with more care and consideration in his tone and his words. " . . . I know you're strong, Amy, but this is a guy as strong as I am. Strength means nothing if you can't land a hit. But for the record, I never thought of you as a burden or an annoyance. You're just a little . . . overexcited and passionate, but that's not anything terrible about you either. It's what makes you the cheerful and positive girl everyone loves. And asking me not to worry and save you is something I just can't do. I do it because you mean a lot to me."
Her jaw dropped. Did he really just tell her that? She couldn't deny that beaming and beautiful smile of his was aiming at her, telling her that everything was true. He really did care about her. He really did see her for her strength and her determination, the bright sides of her that others couldn't quite see when they focused more on her crush on her hero. But he knew. She never knew that he did, but he knew his Amy Rose better than anyone. She could feel the tears coming back, but they were joyful ones. "S-Sonic . . ." She blinked, and a tear leaked from her right eye. "Do you really mean that?"
He smiled and gently held her cheek before wiping away that single tear and the trail it left behind. "Of course I do. I can't let this guy pose as me and hurt the people important to me. So I'm asking you if you've seen him after I was taken here. Can you trust me enough to tell me the truth?" She nodded her head eagerly, her beaming smile instantly shining again. Even her voice was chippy and filled with glee and excitement. Her eyes were starting to sparkle with renewed happiness. That's the Amy Rose Sonic knew.
"Of course, Sonic! In fact, he's-"
"Right here, you lousy Faker." They jumped in surprise, and Sonic was starting to blush at the thought of being caught like that. But his first priority was getting in front of Amy and using his arms to shield her while sending the threat a sharp glare. But much against his sudden actions, Amy tried to move beside him, peeking her head over Sonic's shoulder and even lowering the arm that was blocking her vision. It was Shadow alright, and by the looks of it, Amy figured he was back to his business mode, and had came to take her away.
"Shadow!" He looked at her surprised gleam in her eyes, and then at the blue hedgehog trying to cover her. He smirked.
"Oh, did I interrupt something? Too bad. It'll have to wait." And then he cracked his knuckles in preparation for another fight. "For your doom."
Sonic scoffed. "You again?! Why would you even be here if you already took the emeralds?" The ebony hedgehog did not even stare at Sonic as he answered, but mockingly, and knowingly, at the pink girl behind him.
"To complete my mission: eliminating you!" And just as Shadow predicted, she started to flare up. She took out her hammer in an instant, her body shoving itself beside Sonic's, and then she took her stance to cover him instead. By the looks of it, Sonic wasn't so sure if she could fight him off so well, but he had to believe in her will power and strength. She was unstoppable when she was determined, after all.
"I told you that I won't let you hurt him!" He chuckled, which startled the two uneasy hedgehogs.
"Don't need to. Whether I fight him or not, the mission will still be complete. Besides, I mainly came here to take you." At this, Sonic's eyes grew wide, and so did Amy's. She didn't understand what Shadow meant by that second sentence, but it didn't sound good. He must've had a plan set up. In that case, Sonic needed to get out of there! But the blue hedgehog was more focused on Shadow's true objective. He suddenly wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to his side protectively. He was practically snarling now, which startled her, but the thought of being this close to Sonic today was making her heartbeat accelerate and her cheeks turn pink.
"You're not going anywhere with her!" He crossed his arms over his chest, but his smirk never faltered.
"If she wants to live, she'll have to." Her eyes grew even wider. He was hinting at his plan, wasn't he? If he Chaos Controlled them away, she'd be safe, but Sonic would die! Did he set a bomb in the building that was going to explode!? Yes, that must be it! And the timer must be close to running out. Her mind raced for a solution to save them both before the unknown time reached zero, but her best idea was not a good one.
"I won't let you hurt her!" He got into a fighting stance, which brought Amy out of her thoughts as she looked at him, and then at Shadow's bored and reluctant expression.
"Not another pathetic fight. You're a waste of my time, insolent worm." He was out of her line of vision in an instant, startling them both. Sonic tried to refocus himself, but did not expect an aerial attack from the ceiling. The impact on his head definitely left him dizzy and knocked out for the moment. Amy gasped as Sonic collapsed to the ground.
"Sonic!" And then, to her horror, she felt another hand, larger and less gentle, taking a hold of her waist and prying her into his torso. She heard him chuckle, and then her ears perked up at the sound of his voice whispering in her ear. His breathe on her ear was making her shiver in fear, and she was quick to try and thrash about in order to get away. But he was stronger. He was faster. She had no such luck escaping.
"Now, then, little Rose, your time has long been over. Time to leave."
"Let go of me!" She could see the familiar red light glowing in his other hand, and she instantly knew that it was all over.
"Say goodbye to the Faker. Forever." Tears were starting to leak from her eyes by now. It was hopeless. He was unconscious, and he didn't know about the bomb that might blow off in a few seconds! Even if he were to wake up, he'd already be staring at the gates of heaven. It was too painful to let her watch it all unfold, to see this last image of him before being kidnapped. She would lose him. The hero of Möbius was going to die at the hands of his own impersonator!
"SONIC!" She called out to him in desperation. He had been right after all; Shadow was not an enemy Amy could handle on her own. He was on par with Sonic, and maybe even stronger, something just strength and courage and will couldn't help her beat. She needed a hero.
Her hero.
The sound of her frightened scream suddenly woke him up from his painful slumber. His eyes shot wide open. The familiar warmth of a Chaos Emerald at work made his blood run cold. He snapped his head around and saw Shadow holding Amy hostage before he muttered those two words that made Sonic try to leap with all of his might towards them.
"Chaos Control!" And just like that, the two were gone. Sonic had been so close to grabbing Shadow's arm and getting taken with them, with her, to hopefully protect her while she was left with that monster. But he was one second too late. His torso hit the cold tile floors, and he felt like punching himself for being too slow to save one of his friends. He had no idea where Shadow went, if Amy would be safe, or or how to find them. He cursed himself and banged his fist on the floor in frustration.
"AMY!" He knew she wasn't there. He knew she couldn't hear him from wherever she was right now, but he hoped that she knew that he was going to do whatever it takes to find her and make sure she would be safe.
And that would mean he would first have to get off of this stupid island!
He was quick to get his feet moving at his famous speed. He had raced out of the building in under ten seconds, and then he grimaced at the large body of water around the island. He could just barely see the buildings from the city off in the distance. He was also surprised that the security had suddenly gotten so poor. Some high-tech state-of-the-art security system this was! But this was no time to start snorting at the irony; he had to get out of this place. He figured Amy was able to get here by Tails, so where was the little guy?
"Sonic! Over here!" He smiled in relief as he looked off near the many trees where Tails was waving him over. "You have to hurry! Everyone evacuated because there's a bomb!" And then he noticed that something was clearly wrong. As Sonic grabbed Tails' hand and ran toward the plane, the kitsune asked in a worried voice, "Wait, Sonic! Where's Amy? I thought she went to save you!"
"We're gonna find her soon, Tails."
"You mean she's been kidnapped by Shadow!?"
"And the worst part is that I don't know where they could've gone. But we'll think of something. We always pull through in the end."
"Right. I'll make sure to check out all of Eggman's bases and find out where they're hiding, Sonic." He nodded as if not worried at all, but he mainly said it to give himself full confidence on eventually finding out Shadow's hiding spot. But it still didn't settle his nerves on what Shadow would do to Amy while she was helpless against him. He told Sonic he might snap her neck! The thought of her being intimidated by Shadow was driving him insane with worry. He sighed heavily, and he resorted to the only thing he could do at the moment: he prayed. And then he pledged to the girl that was on his mind that he'd find her quickly.
" . . . I swear I'll find you. I promise."