Sorry that this has taken so long. I lost my notes again, I've been travelling the country and my friend is leaving the college I go to so I've been trying to spend as much time with her as possible. Anyway, updating should hopefully go back to normal now and check my profile for the new updating schedule I created – I just hope I can stick to it.

Thanks for the reviews and I own nothing.

XXV: The Final Leap

Sonic could barely register Amy's words and he stood there with a stupid look on his face while his other friends sprang into action around her, trying to pull the golden bracelet off her to no avail. Amy gasped weakly as they failed to yank it off her; not even Shadow could do it. All Sonic could think of was what he had done.

He'd murdered her.

In fighting back and defeating her, he had sealed her fate and now the bracelet was sucking the life out of her. Amy looked up and stared at him, her eyes hooded slightly as she fought to remain conscious. The guilt overwhelmed him and he felt like he was drowning in it. He felt like he would much rather be drowning in water than be engulfed with this feeling that he had never really felt at any point in his life.

"Do you remember us yet Amy?" Kiko asked, tears streaming down her face.

"No." Amy sighed out.

Sonic's heart lurched and he felt like he was going to throw up. She was going to die and what was worse she had forgotten all her friends. No. He wouldn't let that happen.

"There's got to be a way to reverse this." Sonic growled out as he took hold of Amy's hand gently.

"T-there's…no…way. Powerful…s-s-spell." Amy shivered and curled in on herself.

Sonic ignored her protests and gently picked her up, pulling her close to his body as he glared in the direction of the tribe.

"I'm sure there's one powerful person who can sort this out." Sonic said in a determined tone.

"The Oracle." Tails gasped out. "But will he help us after everything that's happened?"

"He's our only hope now." Kiko said placing a hand on Tails' shoulder and his cheeks turned a light pink at the contact.

"And if he refuses, then I'll make him." Sonic frowned before taking off towards the tribe.

The forest blurred past him and he held onto Amy almost painfully tight. He would save her. He had to. If the Zanybe could create this curse then surely they were powerful enough to reverse it. He just had to persuade them.

Amy squinted her eyes shut and whimpered as the pain continued to shoot through her body and his friends struggled to keep up with him as he ran faster than he ever had before.

He reached the tribe within minutes and skidded to a halt outside the Oracle's temple, being careful not to jolt Amy too much as the scorpion bracelet continued to glow and drain her life force.

"I demand to speak with the Oracle!" Sonic commanded as the Zanybe tribe gazed at them in confusion.

Right on cue, the large wooden doors of the temple burst open to reveal the old, grey hedgehog who glared down at them as soon as he noticed who had called his name.

"What pray tell is this?" The Oracle demanded as Nero and Ezra appeared next to him and gazed at their children in horror.

"Amy is dying and you're going to reverse it!" Sonic stated as his friends finally caught up with him and stood next to him, backing him up.

"What happened?" Ezra demanded, giving Sonic a deadly look. "What have you done to her?"

"I defeated her in battle and now the bracelet is draining her life. You need to reverse it." Sonic explained before he gasped as Amy wriggled herself free of Sonic's firm grip and fell to the floor, crawling slightly forward towards her father.

"Father, I'm sorry. I have failed the temple and I have failed you." She whimpered as she clutched hold of her stomach.

"You have Amy and I will no longer call you my daughter. I thought I could cure you, but clearly this blue hedgehog has more of an influence on you than I thought." Ezra growled out angrily, turning away from his daughter who began crying at her father's words.

"Why should I save her? She failed her duty and so she must perish." The Oracle said in an uncaring voice and Sonic could feel himself growing angrier and angrier.

"Obviously you misunderstood me before." Sonic threatened, taking a menacing step forward. "You will save her."

"I am the Oracle and I will not be dictated to."

"And I'm Sonic the Hedgehog and I will not let innocent people die."

Amy gasped as another wave of pain stabbed into her chest. Her whole body felt like it had erupted into flames and Sonic's friends gathered around her helplessly. Sonic stared at her with wide eyes as she tossed and turned in agony before he turned back to glare at the Oracle.

"Help her!" Sonic cried out, becoming more desperate.

The Oracle sighed. "Even if I wanted to I couldn't. The curse on that bracelet was placed there by the Scorpion god himself and I cannot reverse something that powerful. Amy is dead."

"Then take me instead!" Sonic begged before shouting up at the sky. "Scorpion god if you're up there! I offer myself up in Amy's place! Just let her live!"

Nothing happened and Nero stepped forward to pull on Sonic's arm.

"You're embarrassing yourself over a mere girl." Nero hissed at him. "Why do you care so much if she lives anyway? You defeated the scorpion guardian and therefore your victory must be celebrated."

"Get off me!" Sonic snarled as he yanked his arm out of Nero's grip before he punched him in the face, knocking the dark blue hedgehog to the ground.

"Amy is not a mere girl and I won't allow her to die." Sonic tried to control the tears that were threatening to spill out of his eyes. Surely there was a way the curse could be reversed. He didn't believe the Oracle when he said there wasn't a way. He refused to give up; not when Amy's life was on the line.

"Oh really?" Ezra challenged as he crossed his arms. "And why's that?"

"Because I love her!" Sonic blurted out before immediately covering his mouth with his hand.

His friends gasped and looked up to stare at Sonic in astonishment as words they never thought he would manage to say had flowed out of his mouth so easily.

"No." Nero gasped. "You have now shamed my family."

"I knew it." Ezra hissed. "He's the reason for all of this! Oracle, he must pay!"

"Indeed." The Oracle hummed, deep in thought before smiling sinisterly at Sonic. "For the expression of taboo magic and causing great disruption within our sacred tribe, I hereby curse you Sonic the Hedgehog, chosen one of chaos. Your full power has yet to be unlocked and through this curse, I unlock your power all at once and curse you to be a slave to your emotions seen as you have now decided to confess to them so carelessly."

Sonic gasped as a familiar black mist oozed out of the Oracle and began creeping towards him as the Oracle spoke. Two Zanybe guards appeared behind him and grabbed his arms as the mist got closer and closer.

"Sonic!" Tails called out to him in fear, before Sonic cried out in pain as the mist slowly entered his body.

He could feel it burning every single one of his cells and the Oracle laughed as Sonic continued to cry out in pain.

"This is what becomes of people who mess with taboo magic." The Oracle chuckled and Ezra and Nero nodded in agreement as they watched the scene with a morbid fascination.

Sonic wanted to thrashed around and try and shake off the pain, but the guards' strong vice like grips were preventing him from doing so; all he could do was scream in pain. The pain eventually began to subside and he began to feel weak. The guards loosened their grip and Sonic fell to his knees panting as he dug his fingers into the dirt.

He now knew what had happened and he braced himself as he waited. Nothing happened.

Sonic's eyes shot open in confusion as he felt no difference in himself. Shouldn't he be a raging dark version of himself right now? Not that he wanted it, but where was this dark transformation that everyone in the future went on about?

"What?" The Oracle gasped as he seemed just as confused as Sonic when nothing appeared to be happening.

"I don't understand." Nero whispered as he glared at his son.

Sonic slowly stood up and brushed the dirt off his gloves. "Looks like you'll have to go back to the drawing board 'coz no mere curse is going to stop me."

"I've had enough of this nonsense." Ezra spat as he reached for something tucked into his belt; Sonic was too busy smirking at the Oracle to notice.

He heard something fly through the air, but was startled by the sudden cry of his friends, Amy's cry piercing through him more than anyone else's. He looked up and saw the brief flash of silver before pink blocked his vision. Amy was thrown backwards, pushing Sonic down with her as her back collided with his front and then for Sonic, everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

Amy gasped and Sonic grunted as her weight landed on top of him and his back hit the ground with a loud smack. He heard his friend's yelling and crying out, but he couldn't register what was going on. He managed to gently push Amy off him before his eyes widened and he let out a pained cry when his eyes locked with the large knife sticking out of Amy's chest. There was no evidence of pain on her face as her eyes were closed, almost as if she was taking a calming nap. Blood began dripping out of the wound onto Sonic's fur as he clung to her, shaking her, trying to get her to open her eyes.

He grabbed hold of the knife and yanked it out of her chest, feeling sick when he saw how deep it had gone into her body…directly into her heart.

Tails dropped down on his knees next to him and began inspecting her body for signs of life. Sonic couldn't hold it back any more as the sobs erupted from his body and he clung onto Amy with all his strength. Tails let go of Amy's wrist and shook his head as he couldn't detect a pulse.

Amy Rose was dead.

Feel free to leave your opinion. I may update this story a bit more often than what my update schedule says due to it being nearly finished. It will mostly always be updated on the days I have said, but I'm just so excited to finish this story now.