The big 1,0! :) Thank you, Welshausten, Rachel-1994 :D , Mana the Cat Magician, ChReNiC, silverdawn2010, Koollolly, and IHeartSonAmy. The chapter title might have got you shocked so I'll let you read ;)...

Chapter 10 – The Wedding

Sonic watched the rest of his friends preparing themselves from a distance, remaining silent as he rested on the tree branch outside Tails' workshop. Rouge was neatening Knuckles' bow tie, and pinching his cheeks playfully. Tails and Cosmo were brushing themselves down, smiling at each other. Even the Chaotix gang were there, with large instrument cases. They were supposed to be playing their music for the occasion, and Vector smiled proudly as he stood beside the other two members of his team, waiting for everybody to finish so that they could go. Once they felt that their appearances were acceptable, they moved together, ready to leave for Angel Island, where Amy and Jecht had decided to hold the ceremony.

.

Tails quickly ran back to the tree that Sonic was lying in, and he propelled himself up to meet the hedgehog. "Sonic, are you sure you don't want to come to the wedding?" he asked, his eyes filled with sympathy.

"Positive. Besides, I don't think that Amy would want me there," he said.

Tails stayed for the moment, his ears lowering slightly, clearly reluctant to leave his older brother.

"Don't worry about me, Tails, just go," Sonic said, sounding far more cheerful and confident than he felt.

"Well… okay," Tails said quietly. "See you later," he called, flying back down to meet the others.

Without wasting another second, they hurried off, leaving Sonic alone. He sighed deeply, as if he was now free to relax, or let out his emotions at least, not that there were many. Since the day he'd found out about Amy and Jecht's engagement, he'd been so shocked that it had provided a barricade against all other emotions, although not a long-lasting one. He was too empty to cry now; he'd already done that for several nights in a row, when no one was around to notice. Even with all the movies he'd seen, he'd never known how painful heartbreak could be. In fact, heartbreak was a terrible word for it, he thought. Something like 'Heart-smash' or 'Heart-rip-out-and-step-on' would be far more appropriate. It really did feel like his heart had been torn from his chest, squeezed and then crushed, leaving him to suffer. Five months and he still hadn't gotten over it. Of course Tails had been good to him, trying to make him feel better about it and even Knuckles had slapped him on the back and said, "Sorry, man."

.

They all acted like Amy had died instead of falling for someone else, which was probably because it almost seemed that way. She took no notice of him whatsoever, and her personality had changed so much that it was nearly impossible to believe that it was her. Being with Jecht had changed her so drastically; she was cockier, more difficult, and she even flirted a lot more. To Sonic, it seemed like she was a female version of Jecht, but deep down… she was still Amy, his Amy, the girl that he'd fallen in love with. Occasionally he'd seen it in her eyes, for a second. Only a second, but it was enough. There'd be a flash of sorrow, as though she missed the old days. A flash of sorrow mixed with remorse and even a tiny bit of love, he was sure.

.

Part of him, a teeny, miniscule part of him was still held together by a strand of hope that he had a chance of bringing her back. He'd prayed so often that he could make that flash of the old Amy grow until she'd come back to him. He'd tell her how much he loved her and he she'd run into his arms and they'd never leave each other again, or so that was his plan. Surely that was all that he had to do? If only she knew that he loved her, then maybe she'd give him a chance? It was a small chance, a very small chance, but by that point, Sonic was willing to bet on anything.

So what am I still doing here? he thought incredulously. He slid down the tree trunk, stabilised himself and sped off into his highest possible velocity. He pumped his legs as hard as they would go, a concentrated frown set in his features.

This is Sonic the wedding-crasher, he thought to himself as he raced onwards. Next stop, Angel Island.

.

He skidded to a halt in front of the Master Emerald shrine, where Amy and Jecht were standing hand in hand at the altar. They were smiling at each other, Amy's smile was full of joy and sweetness, but Jecht's was smug, almost evil. It was like a dragon marrying a harmless kitten, but he was tainting her with his evil, slowly destroying the goodness left in her.

Sonic raced down the aisle, and shouted "I object!" Every head in the crowd turned to face him, surprise and annoyance etched onto their expressions. He felt his face heating up nervously.

Was I supposed to say that? he wondered suddenly. Shrek didn't have a plan when he said that, did he?

He brushed the movie out of his mind, focusing on his own plan, not that he had one, exactly. Amy and Jecht were looking at him too, and they didn't look too happy to see him, to say the least. He cleared his throat. "Sorry to crash the party, guys but I-" he turned to face Amy - "I have to talk to you," he said firmly, his eyes pleading with her.

She frowned at him, clearly not impressed. "There's nothing to talk about, Sonic" she said.

"Yes, there is!" he said. "Look, Amy, I- I know that I ran away from you a lot, and let's be honest here, I was a jerk. But when I heard that you were marrying Jecht I was devastated." He swallowed, but kept his eyes fixated on her. "He makes you happy, but something's not right about him! Can't you see it? He's going to hurt you, Amy, I know he is!"

.

Jecht narrowed his eyes but his smirk remained on his face as he turned to her. "You don't seriously believe that, do you, Amy?" he said calmly, using his charming tone.

She smiled at him. "No, of course not."

Sonic felt his hope beginning to crumble. "Amy, you've got to believe me! I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing it for you! I want you to be happy," he insisted. "When it comes down to it, your happiness matters to me way more than my own. Because…I…I love you, Amy," he said, putting all of the sincerity that he had into his voice and his expression. He gazed into her eyes, willing her to understand. "I always have been, always will be." He meant what he said and he could tell that she knew that by the look of recognition on her face.

.

Jecht glared at Sonic, before turning back to his fiancée. "Amy," he said, his tone indicating that he was waiting to hear what she'd say. He sent her a forceful look, as if to demand that she told Sonic exactly what she thought of him.

She smirked. "Don't worry, Jecht," she said. She turned back to Sonic, a spiteful glint in her eye. "He means nothing to me," she hissed, taking Jecht's hands again.

Sonic stared at her, his eyes boring into hers. He felt her words stab him like several sharp daggers, slashing at him viciously. He literally felt the pain of it, and the sentence echoed in his mind like a broken record.

'He means nothing to me, nothing to me, nothing to me-'

It continued to repeat itself in his head, every syllable pounding his ears. He clamped his hands over them, clenching his eyes shut. "No," he whimpered, shaking with the pain that it was causing him. Tears were now trickling down his face, burning him. "No!" He curled himself into a ball, desperately trying to escape the hurt, but it wasn't working. Nothing was working. He was losing her…

.

"AMY!" Sonic shot up, taking in ragged breaths. He glanced around his surroundings - still struggling to catch his breath - and realised that it was in fact morning and that he was lying on the branch of a large willow tree. He closed his eyes for a moment and opened them again, to double-check. Yes, still in the tree. His breathing was gradually returning to a normal rate, and memories of the past day flooded his mind. He hadn't wanted to face Tails after finding out that Amy and Jecht were a couple, so he'd wandered around in the park for the rest of the evening, before eventually falling asleep in that tree.

Man, am I glad that was a nightmare? he thought, closing his eyes again in relief. He examined his arms, noticing that they were clammy.

Whoa, it must have really freaked me out.

.

He then realised that his cheeks felt a little sticky, and he traced them with his fingers. His face was wet, there were little streams that led to his eyes; they were wet as well. Sonic felt his mouth open in surprise.

Was I… crying? In my sleep?

He instantly wiped the wetness away with his hands, slightly unnerved that he'd managed to get so distressed by a nightmare.

It sure felt real, though.

He suddenly paused as his mind lead him to a worrying thought.

Amy wouldn't really marry that guy, would she? Hah, there's no way.

Even in his thoughts, he didn't sound too convinced. If she liked him enough to be his girlfriend, it could grow, and then… she actually might consider it. He felt his stomach flip, as if to protest against the idea. He gulped, striving to ignore the sinking feeling inside of him. He'd told himself yesterday that he'd accept Amy's feelings for Jecht so that's what he'd do.

.

He jumped to the ground and straightened again, surveying the area around him. Mobians were already up and about, wandering through the park. He watched them for a moment before shaking his head.

I can't hang around here all day.

With that last thought in mind, he set off through the trees, leaving a dust cloud where he'd been standing. He began to zoom around the city, taking in the sights.

Where am I going, anyway?

He brought his eyes back up to face the road ahead of him, only to see Amy's house in the distance.

Whoa, whoa. Not going there, he thought firmly, and pivoted to run in the opposite direction. He felt somewhat alarmed that his feet had led him there, as though they were programmed to pull him closer to her. He urged his legs faster, racing in and out of streets, dodging cars. He dashed around the city one or two times before ending up back at the park, digging his sneakers into the dirt until he stopped. His brow furrowed slightly at the repetition in his journey, before shrugging it off.

Looks like I'm staying here for a while, he thought.

.

He strolled along the path, letting his instincts take over as he ended up walking to the most popular part of the park. His neutral expression hardened into a frown as he saw who was there. Amy, Jecht and a few of his other friends were sitting on the grass, obviously enjoying conversation amongst themselves. He hovered there for a moment, unsure of what to do. Finally, he settled for staying where he was, standing on top of a hill that looked over his friends. He didn't quite understand what it was, but he couldn't leave. He found himself feeling compelled to stay and watch, and not only that, but no matter how hard he tried to stop it, his eyes were continually being drawn towards Jecht and Amy. He was gazing at them so closely that he didn't notice Shadow walking up to stand behind him.

The red and black hedgehog smirked. "You lost your chance then, faker?"

Sonic jumped, and twisted his head back to acknowledge Shadow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

.

Shadow folded his arms and grunted. "Hmph. You really think that you can ignore how much it's bothering you? Who are you trying to convince? I'm certainly not going to believe it, and if you have any sense left, neither will you," he said harshly.

Sonic let his gaze drop to his feet. There was no point denying it to Shadow. Besides, the black hedgehog wasn't one to gossip. "Is it really that obvious?" It wasn't really a question, it was more of a confession, he supposed, but his voice sounded so dead that it surprised himself.

Shadow chuckled. "To me, perhaps." He eyed the blue hero, curious more than anything else. "Why don't you just tell her how you feel?"

Sonic breathed an aggravated sigh. "Been there, done that, then found out that she's his girlfriend. Worst idea ever," he said flatly.

That made Shadow raise an eyebrow, genuinely interested. "So you quit. Just like that, you gave up? I must say, Sonic, that sounds highly unlike you," he said.

"You better believe it," Sonic said, without a trace of humour in his voice.

Shadow's eyes narrowed at the blue hedgehog. "You're not being how you should be," he stated, and Sonic faced him, confusion tracing his features. Shadow stepped closer until he was right next to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. His intense, crimson orbs stared into Sonic's bewildered, lime-green ones with a meaningful gaze. "You're not being Sonic."

.

The blue hedgehog stared at his rival, a little dazed at this statement. Shadow was not exactly your typical sensitive type. He kept his ears upright, listening as the ebony hedgehog continued.

"The Sonic that I know wouldn't stop because of one person taking an interest in somebody that he loves. He'd win her back, because that's who he is. He's irritating, persistent, and sometimes," he said, his wry smile stretching, "He's even a good fighter."

Sonic felt his eyes grow even wider, astounded. He felt a smile tugging at his lips, and although he wouldn't say it out loud, he was somewhat moved at what the ebony and red hedgehog had said. It was quite a statement from Shadow, he knew. They allowed themselves to smile at each other, an unspoken understanding between them for a moment. Of course Shadow was the first to break it.

"Remember, Sonic, I may be just as strong as you but I've had years of knowledge. So I'm more intelligent, too," he smirked.

Sonic raised an eyebrow, the spark returning to his eyes. "What you're saying is that you're an old grandpa," he grinned.

.

The so-called 'understanding' was definitely out of the window now, as Shadow's smirk turned into a scowl. "Watch what you say, faker." He took one last look at the pink and green hedgehogs. "Believe me, I'm not doing this for your benefit," he reminded Sonic sharply. "She deserves to be with the one who truly loves her," he said, his tone softening a little.

Sonic observed his counterpart curiously. Why was he intent on Amy being happy?

Shadow sent him a half-smile. "She reminds me of Maria," he stated, as if to explain himself.

Sonic nodded to show that he understood, and once again there was a flash of appreciation between the two hedgehogs.

Shadow's expression hardened again. "Tell her," he said firmly and gave a nod of goodbye to the blue male, before walking into the distance. Sonic stared after him, his smile spreading a little.

You're not half-bad, Shadow, he thought. Not half-bad.

He gazed at the scene before him, contemplating the option of rushing down to see Amy and confess to her then and there. He was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't seen Tails run up to him. The fox watched him in confusion, and waved a hand in front of his face.

"Sonic?"

.

Sonic blinked as he suddenly became aware of the younger boy's presence. "Hey, Tails." His brow furrowed as he noted the concern in the fox's eyes.

"Sonic, where were you last night?" Tails asked. "I checked the tree outside the workshop and you weren't there. I haven't seen you since yesterday morning," he said. "I wanted to ask you about Amy, but…" he trailed off, his eyes shifting to 'The Creep' and Amy, "I guess you didn't tell her, huh?" he said softly. There was a sympathetic look about him, making Sonic feel slightly uncomfortable.

"No, I didn't," Sonic replied, "Guess I was too slow for once." His voice became quieter at the end of the sentence, as the reality of it sank in.

"You're still gonna talk to her about it, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Sonic said, smiling. His eyes darted above Tails' shoulder as he saw Jecht and Amy walking away from the park, hand in hand. "Hey, where are they going?" he asked quickly.

Tails turned his head to watch them as he replied. "Oh, I forgot. They're going out today," he said apologetically. "To the movies, I think."

Sonic sighed under his breath. He noticed that Tails was now focusing on him, probably wondering if he was annoyed. He put on a half-smile. "I can always tell her later," he said.

.

Suddenly, Sonic found his eyes being attracted to the spot where the new couple had been; something was reflecting the sunlight. He stood still for a moment, straining his vision to try and decipher what it was. He slid down the hill and knelt in the grass. The object was thin and white, and he picked it up. It was an ID card, he realised, with Jecht's picture in the corner. He observed it more closely, detecting the complicated security code and the holographic symbol to prove its validity. His eyes scanned over the data, picking out anything of interest, and he found something very interesting indeed. His gaze remained on the last line of the records, as he re-read it. 'Jecht the Hedgehog: Agent #02.'

He's an agent?

Sonic narrowed his eyes.

I knew there was something funny about him!

He was partially annoyed because Jecht was clearly a shifty character, but what annoyed even more was that he was sure Jecht's real job had a connection to his interest in Amy, so his feelings weren't real, right? Well, that was a mistake on Jecht's part because he was going to regret it, badly.

Hands up if you thought the wedding was real! :P So Sonic had a nightmare and then a lecture from Shadow :P Nice, lol. It looks like he might be onto Jecht's secret :O The Creep is gonna pay... :)
Reviews are appreciated ^_^