In the End
Part 2
Chapter 35- Two Years Later
The wind blew softly, gently rustling a few leaves that had just sprouted from the rough bark of earth's children. High above, in the sapphire sky, hung a few ivory clouds, surrounding the great yellow ball that gave life to everything on the planet.
The city of Station Square enjoyed the first days of summer, for it was the month of May. Spring had just bloomed and blossomed, bringing new plants and animals into the world. The residents of the city went on with their normal lives, unaware of the events to come.
The grand forest that surrounded the city on all sides bloomed with an array of colors, all adding to the delicate mix that made up nature itself in all its beauty.
Through the brush and trees, past the chirps of birds, slow but steady foot steps echoed through the air. Leaves crunched and twisted under the shoes of the one walking through the area, a dirty red cloak fluttering about the figure like a crimson curtain.
His face was hidden within the shadows, but one distinct feature that alienated the rest of his persona stood out from beneath the darkness:
Two determined jade eyes.
A seductive white bat, now at the blooming age of nineteen, strolled through the bustling streets of Station Square, her aquamarine eyes scanning the occasional window of a shop to see if she found anything she was interested in.
After all, it wasn't every day that Tikal and Chaos decided to give them a day off from their rigorous training. She even had to temporarily close down Club Rouge in order to fulfill the wishes of the echidna princess.
But, it was all going to be worth it when they brought Shadow back. That was the driving force that had pushed Rouge on these past two years. Amy, not wanting to be bested by the bat, had also been working just as hard and had made amazing progress.
Rouge's look had changed slightly over the years.
She had discarded her old spy suite, cladding herself in a pair of snowy white shorts that reached to just below her well-developed thighs.
A pair of padded, black leather boots that hugged her feet and legs perfectly reached to a point just below her knees, allowing her to maneuver around more easily.
Covering her upper body was a simple white tank top with straps that looked a little more like it could have passed for a sports bra since it hugged onto Rouge's form tightly, giving the occasional pervert something to stare at.
The tank top was a little too short, showing off her tanned, well-defined stomach muscles.
The gloves that graced her beautiful hands were not as long as her old ones. They were a plain black color and reached to just above her wrists, although she did remove them a lot, primarily only using them in combat training.
No make-up of any kind tainted the bat's face, letting her natural beauty radiate from her. The huntress' snowy white locks hung around her face, since she had decided not to cut them anymore, instead letting them reach to the top of her neck.
On her back were two black straps that crossed each other. Each strap was attached to a pouch that had a hilt sticking out of it, making it obvious that the huntress was carrying two short swords on her back.
Some strands of hair covered part of her face, sometimes her right eye as well which gave the woman an ever greater sex-appeal as far as the males of Station Square were concerned.
"Hm, I wonder where Amy ran off to," Rouge asked herself quietly, ignoring a few stares from a bunch of teenage hedgehogs.
As if rehearsed, the door of a nearby clothing store busted open and out ran Amy Rose, complete in her new attire that she had obtained over the years with a few shopping bags in her hands.
The now sixteen year old hedgehog had bloomed well over the years. Her natural female curves and assets had kicked in while she had been training on Angel Island, giving the pink one a more womanly look.
Red boots, not unlike those that Rouge wore, were firmly hugging her legs and feet, although they were open-toed at the bottom so that Amy's toes complete with their red paint on the nails poked out. The boots, made of a more conservative material than Rouge's, reached to a point below her knees as well.
Hanging on the rose hedgehog's hips was a white skirt that reached to her calves with an open slit up the left side. Knowing full well what men thought, the girl had decided to wear a pair of black latex shorts under her skirt that reached to a point about two inches above the ending point of the skirt.
Her gloves were not as puffy and childish as her old ones were and the golden accessory rings on her wrists were discarded. Her new gloves, fingerless black ones, hugged onto her hands tightly to give her a more mature look.
Concealing her upper body was a mature and womanly red tank top similar to Rouge's, although it had a little more length, covering Amy's stomach completely. At the back of her hip was a large beige pouch that most likely contained the hedgehog's newest weapon.
Her delicate pink quills had grown quite a bit, so Amy had decided to put all of her "hair" into a pony tail that dangled just above her shoulders behind her. The girl could only be described in a single word: gorgeous.
"Amy," the former G.U.N. agent sighed, helping her friend with the bags by grabbing a few of them. "You know that you can't take all of this back to Angel Island."
The rose hedgehog huffed, eying her friend in annoyance. "What Tikal won't know, won't hurt her."
The albino bat smiled, motioning for the other female to follow her. So, the two girls that had trained on Angel Island for two years strolled through Station Square and into the forest on the path back to Angel Island.
"It's just about time, isn't it?" Amy asked suddenly, catching Rouge's attention.
The two were currently walking on a small dirt path through the forest that lead directly towards the plain below Angel Island. The shadows that the trees created rolled over their faces and forms as they continued to head towards their destination.
"Time for what?" the bat counter-questioned.
The pink hedgehog paused slightly, her eyes shifting to the side before she spoke again. "Time for Sonic to come back."
The huntress was slightly caught off guard by her friend's words. But, now that she really thought about, two years had passed since the cerulean hedgehog had left to train. And that meant it was almost time to go chase after Shadow again.
Unwillingly letting memories resurface from the depths of her mind, Rouge became lost in her own thoughts as they rekindled a buried sadness deep within her being.
Luckily for her, Amy chose to interrupt her reminiscing at that moment.
"It's been two years, hasn't it?" she asked, her soft emerald eyes refocusing on her bat friend.
Rouge nodded slightly, her eyes still focused on the path that was currently coming to an end. Noting the change of scenery, the huntress knew that they were coming up towards the plain that was below the floating island of echidnas.
The bat's internal alarms immediately rang through her at the sight of a figure in a tattered crimson cloak standing in the middle of the wide open grassy plain, just next to the giant shadow the island above him was creating on the ground.
Amy and Rouge both stopped a couple of yards away from the robed figure, its back turned to both of them and its head tilted upwards as if it were staring at the island above them.
"Who are you?" Amy asked her voice a little shaky and timid in light of the newcomer's presence.
"You know," the figure responded nonchalantly, beginning to turn towards them. "When someone talks about you, you're supposed to sneeze."
Both females gasped as the figure completed its turn and faced both of them fully. The shadows of his hood rolled over his face and disappeared as a direct ray of sun light hit his face, revealing his features to the two girls.
Two peaceful emerald eyes and a big toothy grin. There was no mistaking it.
"That's a complete lie."
"Sonic?" Amy blurted out, unable to keep her composure in the presence of her crush. "Is that you?"
The robed one smiled, tugging the hood off his head with a wave of his hand. Spiky blue quills that had lengthened quite a bit were the first things the two females noticed about him.
A tan face poked out from the heavy red robe, a big toothy grin still present on his face. "The one and only."
A loud whiz cut through the air and before the robed hedgehog knew it, he was back-first on the ground with a sobbing pink hedgehog clutching him tightly, crying into the gruff of his neck.
'She has changed physically, she's a lot taller now, but not mentally I suppose,' Sonic thought with a mental sigh at the hysterical rose hedgehog.
A shadow fell over him as he looked up, seeing a nineteen year old Rouge standing above him with a smile. "Welcome back, Sonic."
The cerulean hero nodded at the bat with a grin. "It's good to be back."
"Sonic!" Amy wailed again, clutching her crush even harder in fear of him leaving for another two years.
"It's all right Amy," Sonic cooed, not unlike how he had when he had left two years prior. "I'm back now. Please get off me so I can breathe."
The rosette hedgehog smiled awkwardly, a small blush of embarrassment powdering her tan cheeks. "Sorry."
Releasing the blue hedgehog from her death grip and standing up, she dusted her white skirt off with a few brushes of her gloved hands.
Sonic jumped back to his feet as well, only to receive another, less-violent, hug from Rouge. The blue hero smiled and patted his female friend on the back a few times before she released him. Her eyes also held a few tears, although they were unshed.
"I'm glad to have you back, Sonic."
The speed demon smiled, before redirecting his gaze up towards Angel Island. "So, that's where you guys have been training, huh?"
Amy nodded. "Yeah, it's been really exhausting."
Sonic eyed both of them momentarily. "So how do you two usually get back up there?"
The albino bat of the group put a black-gloved finger to her chin, "Well, usually I go and get Knuckles, he grabs Amy and I fly up there myself."
Something flashed across Sonic's eyes and less than a second later, both females found themselves in the arms of the blue hero, one girl under each arm like two packages waiting to be delivered.
Sonic smiled, bending his knees slightly. "That's too much of a hassle!"
Then, accompanied by the surprised screams of both females as well as the flutter of his blood-red cloak, the legendary hero took off, jumping high into the air past heights that seemed impossible to anyone else, heading straight for Angel Island.
There was no wildlife on Angel Island. No birds chirped, no insects crawled, no squirrels scurried. It could have been called a wasteland of an island if it had not been for the abundant amount of trees that jutted from the ground and the rich fruits they bore as their children.
Reminiscent of a tropical forest deep within the heart of the Amazon, trees stood high and mighty above all else, covering ancient echidnian ruins to display their dominance. In the very center of the giant floating island was an ancient temple made of crumbling, chiseled rock.
There, at the very center of the altar that was preset by a flight of stone steps resided the Master Emerald, master and commander of the legendary seven Chaos Emeralds. Its green beauty radiated throughout the island, giving it the mystical power to float.
Below the altar, a few yards away from the stone steps, were three figures, two of which modern science had no way of explaining or comprehending.
Knuckles the Echidna, guardian of the Master Emerald until he had found a worthy replacement, stood and conversed quietly with the princess of echidnas, Tikal.
Next to them, not a few feet away, stood a creature that seemed humanoid but was made completely of water. Something that looked like a brain floated within its head and two eyes that seemed like two green emeralds were attached to its face.
Causing a sudden alarm, a shadow clashed against the sun, catching the attention of the three and turning them defensive. The shadow descended upon the island and landed with a heavy thud, releasing two items that it held under its arms, two items that let off simultaneous squeals.
"Honestly Sonic," Rouge fumed, jumping back up to her feet, staring the ground-ridden hedgehog directly in the eyes. "Couldn't you have at least warned us first?"
The hero shrugged, pushing his body up as well. Amy, who was lying next to him, followed suite. "It's not my fault; I thought you guys had trained for this stuff!"
"We didn't train to endure a two hundred-meter jump!" Amy screeched. "And the worst part is that I lost my shopping bags!"
Sonic laughed slightly, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry Amy, I thought you had a good hold on them."
The pink hedgehog huffed and turned her head away from the blue hero with a jerk. "That's fine; you're going to buy me new clothes anyway."
Emerald eyes widened. "W-Wait a second," Sonic stuttered, backing up from the rosette female. "I don't have that kind of money!"
Rouge grinned, patting the cloaked hero on the back. "It's either that or you can sew her some new clothes."
The azure hedgehog was about to respond when another voice rang through the air, catching his attention and making him catch his retort. "It seems you have returned, blue hedgehog. Just in time."
Sonic looked towards the source of the voice to find two echidnas walking towards him. He recognized them instantly: Knuckles and Tikal.
"In time for what?" the speedster asked unsurely.
The echidna princess smiled, coming to a stop on the grassy ground.
"In time to learn of your destiny."
A lone robed figure sitting in a large, throne-like chair lifted its head. The flashing, dead blue lights of computer screens bounced off its heavy-looking cloak. Its slitted eyes crinkled, hinting at a small smirk.
"At last, things can start to progress."
Author's Note: Be sure to check back on tomorrow, when Chapter 36, Taboo, gets posted!