CHAPTER 10

Amy returned to her room, feeling lost and confused. They never mentioned the name, but she had a feeling that they were talking about her. What did all this mean? Was she an angel stolen from her home in the clouds? Does that mean Shadow was not her father? The thought made her heart flutter with hope, but at the same time it was crushed because it meant Shadow lied to her.

No.

If she really thought about it, Shadow never claimed to be her father. She just assumed he was.

(MEANWHILE)

While Amy was at a loss, Shadow paced back and forth in front of Satan's throne, waiting for his return. It honestly didn't take long. After about an hour, he returned to his seat in a smoke of poisonous gas that was as dark as the black walls around them.

"I hate travelling! It's such a waste of time!" Satan complained.

"So did the Heavens-?"

"I mean, it's so light up there! Burns your eyes!"

"Satan-"

"That's another reason why sinners don't go to Heaven! They won't be able to live under that light! And the constant singing? Argh!"

"...Satan-"

"I don't know how those angels do it! My eyes still burn from going up there!"

"You were only gone for an hour. Did they-"

"And it's so cold! It's much warmer down here, Shadow."

"SATAN! SHUT UP AND TELL ME IF THEY CHANGED THEIR MINDS!"

Satan stopped his ranting and looked at Shadow. "I told you, Shadow. Heaven always wins. There was nothing I could do." Shadow continued to stare at him with hard, cruel eyes. "I can't believe you tricked me into going up there, too. What a waste of time."

Shadow's ears twitched and suddenly, he looked very calm and at peace. His body stiffened into a resting stance. "I'm sorry to have wasted your time."

"Thank you! Finally, some appreciation!" Satan exclaimed, throwing his arms up.

"Sorry to have extended your life, that is."

Satan sat up in his throne and stared incredulously at Shadow. "Are you threatening me?"

Shadow's eyes turned to stone and his face masked over into an emotionless state- just like how he always became before a murder. Wordlessly, he raised his red sword that was forever stained with blood. His heart pounded faster and faster. The adrenaline roared in his ears and before Satan's very eyes, Shadow turned against his own superior.

The last thing Satan saw were those blood-red eyes as Shadow killed him mercilessly.

To Shadow, it was an awakening. Power surged through him and Hell reshaped itself as it made room for its new ruler- one that was stronger than the fallen one. Shadow hardly paid any attention. He merely strolled over to the throne and sat, claiming his rightful place. The once invisible, black flames brightened into a deep red. The walls around Shadow disintegrated to reveal the dark world- a land of torture and punishment where everywhere you looked, there were erupting volcanoes- poor, sinful souls cried out- the sky was a smoky black with violet clouds circling around a blood-red moon- a moon that almost matched Shadow's ruby eyes. The area around the throne rose to an amazing height so that anyone sitting on it could see the view from a bird's eye view.

Frowning grimly, Shadow took a deep breath to let his new strength settle in and as if that breath was a command, all the demons and sinful souls stopped their labor and looked up to their new King.

"We're going to war." Shadow announced.

The sound was barely a whisper, but the words flew to every part of Hell and its inhabitants answered it. Suddenly, swords clanged together for battle. Sparks flew in preparation for the new weapons. Monsters arose from the grounds and molted walls.

(In Heaven)

The angels felt the change of winds the moment Satan died and in response, began to prepare for battle themselves. The Angel Council murmured amongst themselves.

"Michaelis! What do we do? Shadow is not one to back down." an angel whispered fiercely into the ears of a silver furred rabbit.

"Don't worry. Amy is destined to return to us. She is an angel after all." Michaelis said. "As for Shadow, he will become obedient once we obtain Amy."

The angel nodded once and flew away.

"Unfortunate." Michaelis mumbled to himself. "What will you do Amy Rose?"

(In Amy's Room)

Amy blinked in the sunlight that shone through her window from outside. She had been up all night worrying. Something was obviously wrong.

Amy rubbed her eyes to try and clear away the fog from her vision. The war inside her brain, however, would not go away like the foggy vision.

'Shadow wouldn't have lied to me, right?'

'But he let you think of him as your father.'

'That's not exactly lying though.'

'But he didn't tell you the truth either...'

She turned to look at her mirror that stood against the wall across her bed that she sat on. The image reflected was of a pink hedgehog- but it wasn't her. The eyes and nose were the same. The color was the same. The body form, lips, ears, everything was the same.

But it wasn't her.

When Amy blinked again, she was no longer in her room.

'Oh, great! It was bad enough to worry about Shadow, but now I have to worry about where I am!" Amy looked around and sighed. 'Guess I'll try to figure out where I am.'

So Amy wandered around, trying to find out where she was exactly, but the place was empty and sometimes, she wondered if she was on the floor, the ceiling, or the wall. The place was white. Not ivory or cream white. Just white. Nothing but white as far as the eye could see. That is why the moment a color other than white appeared, Amy ran to it without a second thought.

The closer she got, the more she realized that it was a pink hedgehog.

'Am I looking into a mirror, again?' she thought.

But if it was a reflection, she would be copying Amy's movements. The figure smiled sadly and stared into her eyes. Emeralds looked into emeralds of the same color and shape.

"Who are you?" Amy asked.

"I'm Amy Rose, the Golden One." the figure answered. "Who are you?"

"I-I'm Shadow's...daughter."

"If that is true, then why do you look like you are suffering?"

Amy blinked. "B-Because... (sigh) it's complicated."

The figure continued to stare into Amy's eyes. "It's okay for you to love him the way you do. It's natural after all."

"Natural to be in love with your own... f-father?" Amy blurted out.

"To love Shadow is natural, because you aren't his daughter. And neither am I."

"Wh- What are you talking about?"

"Your existence is the result of Michaelis' influence. He's the Archangel of Heaven and it is part of his job to 'reward' the Golden Ones for a job well done with a new start." the figure's eyes grew even sadder. "Your existence is here to replace me."

The figure collapsed into a fit of tears. Feeling the same pain, Amy knelt down beside her and put her hand on the figure's back in an act of comfort.

"Hey, don't cry. Are you sad because I'm replacing you?"

The figure shook her head. "No. I'm just sad. Sad, sad. Shadow...he...I won't see him anymore... we won't see him anymore."

Amy stiffened. "What do you mean?" she demanded. "Why won't I see him anymore?"

"Shadow killed Satan."

Amy's eyes widened. "How do you know that?"

"Because I've been watching him." The figure started crying again. "Poor Shadow! He's done so much for me and I... I-I..." She shook her head, unable to continue.

"...You love him." Amy whispered. "And since we technically are the same, I feel your love as if it's my own." The figure didn't answer. "That's right isn't it? Isn't it? Gosh! You need to go and tell him! Tell Shadow that you love him!"

The figure raised her head. "What about you?"

"Well...um...I got it!" Amy stood up and smiled triumphantly down at her other form. "We can just mix!"

"Mix?"

"Yeah! Like cake batter! We're basically the same person, so if Michaelis could separate us or whatever he did, then we can just merge back together into one Amy!"

The other Amy stood up. "It's worth a try I guess. Will it hurt?"

"Don't know."

"Baahh!"

The two Amys turned around to see Tula standing just a few feet away. (Wonder how she got in Amy's conscience. O.o)

"Baahh!" Tula wagged her tail a little and started to walk away.

The Amys looked at each other.

"Ready to go?" One Amy said.

"Ready." The other Amy said.

Holding each others' hands, they followed Tula through the white maze.

So the father figure love thing isn't as awkward anymore, right? Since Michaelis' Amy isn't the same hedgehog who sacrificed herself and her love for Shadow was not hers but the first Amy's. Yeah...Kind of confusing.

If you have any questions about the story so far, please feel free to ask!

And THANK TO EVERYONE who is still reading this! ^^ I hope it is still worthy of your time!