List: Mike Prower the Fox, Vulpus Griseus, GalexiatheChao, Lupus Silvae, AmyFan111, Sonic5521, and Rugtugba!

Thank you all soooo much for your reviews from the last chapter! They're so appreciated, and I don't think I'll ever get tired of opening my email and seeing reviews…Anyway, onwards, march!

Chapter 14

When Victory Soars

Two years earlier, Tails had taken a small portion of the power of the chaos emeralds, and had made seven, fake, emeralds. They were not nearly as powerful as the original seven. Their color was duller. They did not make Sonic completely super.

But what other choices did they have? The fake emeralds were better than a measly ring, weren't they?

He was nervous. Heck, he knew if anyone was to take his place, they'd be nervous. But, he knew he could hide his thoughts better than others, so when Tails shot seven fake gems towards him, he didn't even blink. He was doing this for the better good, he figured. Maybe he'd get Howard to get off his case if he ended up saving the day. Maybe he'd be able to get Amy back.

'If you don't die first.'

'Shut up.'

"Sonic?" It was Tails. The blue hedgehog knew. But he pretended not to hear his brother's next words. "You know we all love you right? And that we won't let you die, even for the world?"

"Tails!" Knuckles snapped into the walkie-talkie. "It's either the world or Sonic! Which is more important?" Sonic listened to them bicker for a second.

'What if I do die?'

'Aren't you ready to die?'

'…Who is, when they haven't said goodbye?'

"Guys, seriously!" Sonic barked. The fox and echidna stopped fighting and turned their attention to the blue hero. Sighing, the blue hedgehog turned his gaze to the seven blinking gems in front of him, and he closed his eyes. A sudden warmth rose inside his chest, but he realized quickly that it wasn't the same as turning super with the real gems. "Tell Amy I love her," he said softly. He didn't know if anyone heard him besides himself, but he did know that his sentence hadn't been necessary anyway.

Everyone knew he loved her.

When he opened his eyes again, he knew he was a light golden color, his eyes were a weak red, and that he was floating slightly in the air. Blinking, he shot towards a fireball that was shooting itself at an unaware building. Crashing into it, he wasn't prepared for the shock of pain that ran through his body as the fireball exploded.

'I really am not super right now.'

But he had still been able to destroy the fireball before it destroyed the building. With pain or not, he knew what he had to do.

With a quick burst of speed, the gold hedgehog lunged towards the fire monster, avoiding fireballs to preserve energy that hadn't already been lost, and he hit the creature with a crash, sending himself and the monster flying backwards. Stopping his own crash midair, the gold hedgehog panted softly to himself, ignoring the pain of not being fully super, and he again attacked the creature, which lay in a pile of rubble, still confused from the first attack. Seeing the golden hedgehog rushing towards it, the monster barely managed to stand and send three fireballs in the hedgehog's direction. Amy, who had been quiet up to this time, screamed angrily at the monster as she watched her love spiral backwards and hit a building, causing the skyscraper that had been hit to give in and collapse. With her anger came another hammer, and with her hammer, came, for the first time, a hit to the monster from her. Roaring, fire eyes turned to the pink hedgehog, its red eyes peering at her with mild amusement.

"You think you can win?"

It was the first time the monster had spoken, and Amy gasped, recoiling into herself as she let her second hammer fall below her. What sounded like an evil laugh escaped the monster's invisible mouth, and tears sprang to Amy's eyes.

'Don't let me die. I don't want to go yet. I haven't said goodbye.'

"Let go of her!" Sonic cried suddenly, and he shot himself back into the air, wincing at his pain. He hadn't wanted to get caught up with Amy's safety. Not now. He didn't have time for that.

But he had let himself get pulled back by her scream.

Again, the golden hedgehog attacked, but this time, he circled the monster midair over and over, his speed being too fast to calculate. Confused, the fire monster tried following the zooming hedgehog's path, but it didn't get far before it fell down, too dizzy and slow to catch Super Sonic. Smirking despite everything, the golden hedgehog was only vaguely aware of his fur turning dimmer, and he rushed towards the enemy, took a breath for reassurance, and plunged into the fire monster's middle.

He tried not to think about the pain of being on fire everywhere on his body, as he frantically searched for the chaos emeralds, somewhere within the belly of this creature. A low roar from outside reached the hedgehog's burning ears, and he knew he didn't have much time to deal with before either the monster somehow shot him out of its body, or before the fire consumed him.

And then he saw seven lights, side by side, each a different color. They were in a circle, ten feet deeper into the creature where the fire's temperature was sure to equal that of Hell's, Sonic was sure. His golden fur that usually would've kept him safe began to singe, and he swam through the fire towards the real emeralds, hoping for a miracle.

'You're not gonna get out of this alive.'

'Isn't that what a true hero knows in every circumstance?'

He reached out a burnt hand.

'Maybe I'll live…'

'Such faith. How can you be so sure?'

His hand touched the nearest emerald.

The golden hedgehog smirked.

'Well, for starters, I just won. So why not have faith?'

Power was entering the hedgehog's once weakened heart, and he could feel it as his once burned hand went from being in pain to being completely healed. He felt like crying out for joy. The plan had worked. They would get out of this alive.

All of them.

"Thank you," he murmured softly.

Letting the power of the emeralds consume him, he bolted out of the monster's belly, and without hesitation or pain, attacked the unknowing monster again and again, until he was quiet sure it was destroyed.

Just as he left the monster to explode, he pulled Amy away from the creature's fiery fingers, and climbed into the darkened sky, away from the monster as it without warning, blew up.

It had been two years since Sonic or anyone in the team had seen such an explosion.

Tails, Cream and Amy gasped, and the pink one fainted, exhaustion taking its toil. Sonic and Knuckles smirked, a twinkle in their eyes.

They had won.

At first, everyone, the crowds, the heroes, were silent. The only sound was the wind as it softly exclaimed for the last time,

'Sssstttteeeeaaalll it.'

And then the cheering began. Cream and Tails laughed and cried, hugging each other all the while, Cream pretending not to notice her cheeks grow warm at Tails' welcomed embrace. Knuckles stood among the cheerers, gladly taking any small gesture or pat on the back from the crowd members who hadn't been injured themselves.

But Sonic didn't see any of this. All of his priorities were on Amy, who lay burnt and injured in his arms. Trying not to panic, he put his golden hand on her face, and he watched as her skin was suddenly pink again and not black, a smile spreading across his lips the whole time. Blinking, Amy awoke from her pain slowly, and she also smiled up at the yellow hedgehog before her.

"I thought I'd lost you," she whispered. She put her own hand on Sonic's, which still rested on her cheek. The hero smirked.

"Me? Loose a battle? You've got to be joking." And before she could even respond, his mouth was on hers.

It didn't matter to either hedgehog that Howard might be watching from down below. In fact, both were secretly thinking in their hearts that if Howard was to still keep them separated, they could easily run off together. They had both reached a time where they didn't find it necessary to listen to someone Amy hadn't even known until a month earlier. And they were both adults.

The kiss was the most passionate one the two had shared in a long time. Usually, Sonic didn't do kissing. But this time, he seemed to find an exception.

Amy had never hugged, let alone make-out with Sonic while he was super. And immediately she could tell a difference, not in the way he kissed, no; that could never be changed. But with power practically running down the golden hedgehog, Amy felt more alive than ever, and she put her arms around Super Sonic's neck, while the gold hedgehog ran a hand down her back softly, pulling her closer to him. The kiss seemed to last forever, but it was mere seconds before the two separated enough to breathe, and then they were back at it, the two never seeming to have enough until, finally, Sonic was aware of the rest of the world.

Looking away from Amy's jade eyes for only a second, the hedgehogs suddenly became aware of being watched by thousands of stranded people, and of course, Howard. But Sonic didn't feel intimidated by the red hedgehog any longer, and he slowly began floating down to ground level, his fur turning back to its famous blue. Amy snuggled into him, sighing happily for the first time in what seemed like forever. Words were not needed between them. Both knew that.

It didn't take long for the two of them to hit the ground, and instantly a crowd of fans was surrounding them. Smiling dumbly, Sonic showed a thumbs up.

"Everything is under control," he stated freely, laughing at how bluntly he had put it. Amy giggled beside him, and the blue hedgehog set her down on her own two feet. Her hand was instantly back in his, however, and the reunited love birds walked through the thickening crowd, looking for familiar faces.

"Sonic, we did it, we did it!" Turning to the sound of his brother, Sonic was quickly attacked by a young teenage fox, a rabbit close behind him, but she went for Amy instead. Laughing, the four friends laughed and cried together for a minute, allowing Knuckles to join their bubble when he eventually found them. Praises towards each other were made, as were jokes, but in the end, everyone's joy was cut short the instant a red hedgehog stepped towards the group.

Howard.

The red hedgehog limped up towards the five heroes, his face stern, but his leg seeming to scare the heroes even more. Blood was seeping out of a rather large cut, and everyone could tell that it had been smashed. Sonic, who had been standing tall and proud a minute before, lowered his ears at the sight. The blue hedgehog chuckled nervously, and he put a hand behind his head, scratching his neck.

"Um…I'll pay for the hospital bill-"

Howard raised a weary hand, and Sonic closed his mouth.

"I want only three things," he whispered. All ears were on him. "One," he looked over at his family, Jamie and Barbara, both with fresh tears from all their worry for the red hedgehog. "To redo the past month." Amy's eyes filled with hope. Barbara closed her eyes, letting the tears fall. Jamie blinked, confused. And Sonic squeezed Amy's hand reassuringly. "Two…" He looked away from the heroes then, looking guilty. "To ask for forgiveness. From all of you."

"Don't worry 'bout-" Sonic started, but again, Howard raised his hand, and Sonic stopped mid-sentence.

"And three..." Everyone was holding their breath by this point. "For Amy to move back home." There was an awkward silence.

"Does that mean they can go back together?" Jamie questioned, blinking as she cocked her head. Everyone knew who she was referring to when she said 'they.' Howard turned to his daughter and smiled gently at her. The child walked towards the red hedgehog and smiled back up at him. "I'm right, huh, Daddy?"

"Yes, sweetheart," he answered. The girl took her father's hand as she grinned ear to ear.

"Good."

But Sonic and Amy were still in shock.

'It's happening…I can go back with Sonic!'

'Are you sure you're not dreaming?'

"You mean it?" Sonic asked breathlessly. His expression matched that of a child, who was finally allowed to do something he'd only been dreaming about for years.

'Somebody pinch me.'

Sonic bit his lip.

Yeah, he was awake.

Howard nodded slightly, and Sonic beamed.

"You have no idea how much this means, Howard, thank you-"

"No," Howard interrupted. "Thank you. Thank you for opening my eyes to true love. Thank you for showing me how much my family needs me…and for showing me how much I need them." The red hedgehog smiled knowingly at his wife, who walked up towards him, and took his other hand that Jamie wasn't squeezing. "You've done more than you know, Sonic. By offering your life to Amy two years ago, you've undoubtingly showed the whole world what true love is. And for that, you have my honor." Sonic took a step back, blinking in confusion.

"Whoa, man!" he exclaimed. "Enough with the long speeches!" Amy smiled at Sonic, seeing his true self come back for the first time, in a long time. His cocky side hadn't been around for so long, ever since the blue hedgehog had gotten back from the base. Maybe it was the battle. Maybe it had refreshed the hedgehog, like a nice, warm shower after a week of running to and fro. "Everyone's alive, right?" Sonic questioned. He waved his hand throughout the five heroes, Amy's family, and the crowd that still stood among them. "And we've all learned from experiences. Nothing new there."

At first, Howard didn't know if he should feel offended or not. But seeing Sonic's warm smile told him all he needed to know.

"You're right," the red hedgehog said.

"So…the past behind us?" Sonic questioned. His eyes held an unmistakable twinkle.

"Definitely," Howard replied.

"Good," Sonic quipped. He stuck out his free hand towards Howard. The red hedgehog, confused, stared at the hand, and then at Sonic. Sonic chuckled softly. "Hi," he started. "My name's Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. And yours?" Howard smiled at this, seeing that Sonic truly did want to start all over. He stuck out his own hand and the blue hedgehog shook it vigorously, making Amy laugh beside him.

"Howard," the red hedgehog replied. "I see you have a liking for my step-daughter."

"A liking?" Sonic voiced. He turned to the pink female. "Pardon me, sir, but 'a liking' is far from the dot. More like…"

"A head-over heels, lunatic, crazy, never there, kind of love?" Knuckles offered, and Sonic glared at his friend before breaking out in a smile.

"Exactly. Now if you excuse us, Amy and I have a run to go on." And before anyone could stop him, the blue hedgehog had Amy in his arms, and he took off at a speed that was uncommon to any creature beside himself. Laughing the whole time, Amy clutched to her boyfriend's chest, snuggling closer to his warmth.

'Thank you.'

Reaching a lake, Sonic screeched to a halt, and gently put Amy down beside him.

"What're we doing here?" Amy giggled as she felt Sonic take her hand.

"No reason," he answered. "I just…you know…"

"No, I don't know." Amy blinked in confusion as the two stopped at the edge of the water, and Sonic turned to her, mischief dancing in his green eyes. Leaning down towards her, Amy caught her breath, waiting impatiently for the kiss to begin. But it never did.

What did happen was enough to make Amy scream wildly as she was suddenly thrown into the air and thrown into the cold lake water. Water quickly surrounded her, and she climbed back up towards the surface, inhaling the life-giving oxygen.

"Sonic the Hedgehog, you're gonna pay for that!" Sonic laughed, making his eyes start to water, and Amy swam towards the edge, where the water came up to her knees.

"Aw, come on, Ames, that was awesome! And I needed pay back from the last time, remember?" He continued laughing, until suddenly Amy was splashing him and she grabbed his feet, making him trip into the water by her.

"Hey!" Sonic gasped when Amy finally allowed him up for air. "That was cheating!"

"Sure it was," Amy murmured, and she rubbed her nose with his, making Sonic close his eyes in peace, trusting Amy to not let him drown ('Like I can drown in two feet deep water,' Sonic figured). "But you loved it."

"Not nearly as much as I love you," Sonic answered. His lips brushed past hers, and he opened his eyes vaguely. "Our love will never die. I hope you know that."

"Silly hedgehog," Amy whispered softly as Sonic kissed her own nose. "Of course I know that."

Hold on! The story's not over yet!