A/N: Finally, after a severe writer's block, I got this chapter done! This was a little tough because I didn't quite know what to put after...
Uh, I'm not going to spoil anything.
Enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 7: Options?
Sonic panted as he ran into town, Tails and Knuckles trying to catch up with him.
Although Sonic was starting to slow down, the duo still had difficulty keeping up.
"Sonic! Wait, I forgot to tell you something!" Tails yelled, trying to grab either Sonic's incredibly short tail or Sonic's ankle...Tails prefered trying to grab his tail.
As if knowing exactly what Tails was thinking, Knuckles nodded and tried to slow Sonic down so that Tails could get into a good grabbing range.
As Tails grabbed Sonic's tail, he yanked the blue hero back toward him, resulting in a startled yelp from said hero and a groan from Tails as Sonic barreled into him.
"What was that for, Tails?" Sonic groaned.
"Because I forgot to tell you something!" Tails glared.
Sonic rolled his eyes. "What is it?"
Before Tails could open his mouth to say something, a sudden flash of light lit up the bushes next to them, and out stepped a wide-eyed Shadow the Hedgehog.
"What is it, Shadow? Can't you see we're-"
"Save it, faker," Shadow snapped. "Amy Rose is gone. Someone took her."
Sonic's mouth dropped open. "Wha-at?"
"Yeah. I couldn't tell who the guy was, but by the looks of things, it seemed to be Scourge the Hedgehog. I didn't make out any colors because it was so dark, but she was sobbing 'Take me with you!' and all that. Also? The guy was wearing dark-lensed shades." Shadow explained, leaning on a tree.
Sonic took a bit to interpret what this meant. "Then...then she's in danger!"
Shadow rolled his eyes. "No shit, Sherlock. I think we all came to that conclusion before you did."
Sonic glared at him. "Shut it, Shadow!"
"I think I'll shut up whenever I damn well please." Shadow growled.
"Ladies, please!" Knuckles frowned at each, raising his hands between them. "Stop catfighting! I think we can all just assume for the moment that in order to save her, we have to work together. It's the only way."
Sonic turned away and pouted. "I'm not a girl."
"I know that, dumbass." Knuckles shot back.
"Well, I-"
"Guys!" Tails interrupted. "Can we please get a move on?"
All three looked at him.
"I just want to find Amy before I lose Cream forever. You know?" Tails blushed.
"Yeah, yeah, I know too." Knuckles muttered, looking down. "Rouge told me all about it. She was really mad."
"Well, all the more reason to find her!" Tails exclaimed.
"But..." Sonic butted in. "What if...what if she's truly happy, wherever she is? God knows we treated her pretty badly back at Station Square."
"Well, wherever she is, you have to tell her the truth. It's the only way to stop her - and yourself - from making the biggest mistake of your lives. I say go for it, Sonic." Tails smiled at his best friend.
Sonic, overcome with a sudden burst of courage and determination, struck a pose and stuck out his chest. "Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's find Amy!"
"All right!" Knuckles agreed.
Amy hiccupped, drying her eyes for what seemed like the tenth time that night.
Ever since Scourge had proposed to her, he'd given her a few days off from being his personal chef, somehow sensing she needed time to think of the marriage arrangement.
"What if I'm just making a big mistake?" She whispered to herself. "Or am I just dreaming?"
She closed her eyes and pinched herself. Ouch. Nope, I'm definitely awake.
Amy reopened her puffy, red eyes, sniffling to herself. Where's Sonic? If there's ever been a time when I need him, it's now.
A sudden knock at the door broke Amy from her thoughts as she jumped in surprise, eyes going wide. "Y-yes?"
"Miss Rose, I need to talk to you." Miles's muffled voice came through the door.
"O-okay. You may come in."
As he opened the door, Amy noticed something...unusually strange, about him. Like he just wasn't his normal self. He just stood there, staring at her with a somewhat sad look in his eyes.
"Miles?" Amy's voice broke through the thick, tense air. "What's wrong?"
Sonic couldn't take it anymore. He was exausted, he was hungry, and he was mad.
Why, damn it? Why couldn't she just suck it up and stay here? She'd cause less fucking trouble that way!
Sonic stopped himself before he sank deeper in anger towards the pinkette. Whoa. Back this truck up. It's not entirely Amy's fault; it's mine. I should've told her everything, from the beginning. I should've known my 'engagement' to Sally was a bad idea. Amy...really hasn't done anything. Boy, when I think about it that way, I'm a real douche.
He sighed in frustration, not even noticing Tails's sympathetic pat on the back.
"Don't worry, Sonic." His voice was soothing, yet it really wasn't helping the situation. "We'll find her. You'll see."
"No, we won't." Sonic snapped back. "Why are we even still looking? For all we know, she's dead. We should just go home."
There was a pause.
"Sonic, listen to yourself! You're being selfish. It isn't Amy's fault she had her heart broken! It's like the old saying: Why blame a rape victim for being raped? It's just not taking common sense."
"Shut up!" Sonic yelled, finally turning to face Tails. "We're not going to find her! She's dead by now! Dead or starved!"
Tails glowered at him. "What makes you say that? Your gut?"
Enraged, Sonic slapped Tails across the face, his nails digging into Tails's skin as the fox flew backward and tumbled to the ground in a painful spiral. "Don't...don't talk about my gut that way! I'm skinny!"
Panting, Sonic's eyes grew wide as he realized what he'd just done - especially when Tails struggled to get up, moans of agony escaping his throat as he barely touched where the nails had scraped.
Both Knuckles and Shadow looked on, Knuckles in shock and Shadow in cold indifference.
"Oh my god..." Sonic whispered, then raced to his best friend. "Oh, no no no, shit, Tails. I'm so sor-"
"Stay away!" Tails exploded, crawling away from Sonic as he cradled his face in one paw. "Just stay away!"
Sonic looked at him helplessly, pain written on his face, as Tails sobbed in pain, blood seeping from the slash marks.
"Tails, I..." Sonic's words got caught in his throat. It really was painful to see his best friend like that.
"Just go, Sonic." Tails sniffled, being careful not to touch the slashes when wiping his eyes. "Just go. I'll be there."
"But...but Tails, I-"
"JUST GO!" Tails screamed, blue eyes going navy with anger.
Sonic flinched back but nodded, stepping away quickly.
Tears continued to stream down Tails's face as Sonic and the others left. He let out a shaky breath and pulled out a communicator, dialing a familiar number.
"H-hello? Uh-huh, they're coming your way. Mkay, bye." Tails had a quick conversation with the person on the other end of the line and wiped away the tears once again, pulling out a roll of bandages.
"Sonic, you jerk." He mumbled, wrapping his head with the bandages.
"Miss Rose, you do know about Scourge's past, right?"
Amy blinked. "Yeah, a bit of it."
Miles nodded. "Well, his Highness has been through a lot these past few years...he really loves you. He just...doesn't know how to show it. It's been a long time since he's courted a lady."
Amy blushed at Miles calling her a lady, but kept her composure. "And?"
"And he wanted me to tell you..." Miles drew a breath. "...you have the decision of breaking off the marriage whenever you feel it too...how should I say this...distressing?"
Amy nodded, then stopped. "Wait...but wouldn't that hurt him?"
"It may," Miles nodded in agreement. "but his Highness has your interests in mind. He doesn't want you to enter a loveless marriage, that's all."
"I don't think I could ever do that to someone, especially after what I went through," Amy admitted.
"That's why he wanted me to let you know that option is always open, and you can always return to Mobius for as long as you wish."
"Wow...really?" Amy whispered. "He does so much for me, and I don't even know..."
"I understand if you need time to think of this. I will leave you to your thoughts. Good night, Miss Rose."
As Miles stood up and turned to leave, Amy snapped out of her thoughts and reached towards him. "Wait, Miles!"
He stopped. "Yes, Miss Rose?"
"Tell Scourge..." She breathed deeply. "Tell Scourge that, no matter what, I'll stick by him. I just can't break somebody's heart after mine was broke by the one I loved."
Miles smiled an understanding smile. "That I will, Miss Rose."
"Okay." Amy yawned, rubbing her eyes. "Good night, Miles."
"Good night, Miss Rose."
As Miles shut the door, Amy's mind was swarmed with thoughts.
Thoughts of Sonic, and the team.
Thoughts of Shadow, of the palace workers she'd made such friendships with.
And finally, thoughts of Scourge, the king of Anti-Mobius, and her once-sworn enemy.
I really have a strange tendency to get myself into all sorts of trouble.
A/N: And yes, to TrueSonicBlue22, (Ooh, I like your name! It rhymes! :3) there'll be a ton of ScourAmy, and a bit of SonAmy, along with some other pairings here and there, like Tails x Cream and Knuckles x Rouge.
