Chapter Twenty: Oxygen
Nov. 16, 2009
Dear Diary:
So Sonic running off with absolutely no explanation is the opposite of helpful. He didn't even say where he was going. And now that we were polite and accepted Emberlain's hospitality, we can go and try to get more Chaos Emeralds. Except we can't because Sonic decided to run off.
Normally I wouldn't care. Okay, so maybe I would, a little, but for different reasons. Right now, I just want to keep moving so we can end this nightmare, which sounds horrible. It's nothing against Angel. In fact, she's one of the sweetest people I've ever met. She's so much like Sonic and nothing like Nova, which makes her instantly more likable. It's just the fact that if she lives, I don't. I want to be with Sonic, and I wish that didn't mean she couldn't live.
I just…can't tell what he's thinking anymore and that drives me crazy. He used to do a lot of things without any known rhyme or reason, but at least then I could see the look on his face and know what he was thinking. His face tells me nothing now. Any emotion he allows to remain across his features now could just as easily be a lie.
And now with the Legend of Dark Chaos. We have a list of problems one hundred miles long and no way to solve them. And if my…fight with Nova is any indication, then it's only a matter of time before we all reach our breaking points.
Love,
Amy Rose
Amy sat on a wooden fence along a dirt road leading away from the capital. While the other side of the city was populated by trees, this side had more the quality of pasture. Long grass waved lazily in the gentle breeze. The wooden fence where Amy had seated herself stood at the edge of one of the pastures. It was quiet out there, strangely more deserted than even the forest. At least in the forest you heard the small animals. The pasture was empty of most sound but the gentle wind. While most of Amy's friends had gone shopping for supplies or sight-seeing while they worried away the time, Amy enjoyed her first chance to be truly alone in weeks. She closed her eyes as the wind swept over her. She gripped the fence so tightly in her fingers that they ached, but she didn't mind. The pain stabilized her.
Amy opened her eyes and looked up at the clear blue sky. It still amazed her how oblivious the world could be. The Metarex attacked, the planet burned, Amy was going to die, Sonic was going to have a kid with a girl that was not Amy, and yet the sky remained a picturesque shade of robin's egg.
Amy heard footsteps behind her and turned quickly. Nova walked up the road wearing a bubble-gum pink dress with gray ankle boots and a high, bouncy ponytail. Amy rolled her eyes. Of course, of everyone who could have crossed her path, it had to be the irritating fairy.
Nova's footsteps slowed to a stop. But after a moment, Amy didn't hear Nova's footsteps restart as she made the decision to retreat. Finally, Amy turned to her and snapped, "What?"
Nova raised her eyebrows. "You don't look okay."
"Really? Why shouldn't I be okay?" Amy said sarcastically. "I mean, everything's just working in my favor lately, isn't it?"
Nova shook her head, looking back over her shoulder. She already looked like she was regretting her decision to talk to Amy. But she did not step away and instead, actually stepped closer. "I'm not enjoying this anymore than you are," she murmured.
Amy glared at the ground, unable to meet Nova's eyes. Nova sighed. "Can you at least just listen to what I have to say?"
Amy didn't reply; he feared what might come out if she did.
Eventually, Nova continued, "Fine, I'll take that as a yes." Nova crossed her arms. "You do realize that in no reality do I want to be with Sonic, don't you? I have a remote feeling for him that's almost friendship and that's it. Trust me, I'm not a threat to whatever relationship you want with that hedgehog."
"I'm not mad at you," Amy snapped but quickly clamped her mouth shut. She looked up to see Nova's expression and was surprised by the confusion there.
Nova's arms fell to her sides. "What do you mean, you're not mad at me? How is this not mad?"
Amy winced, her face burning in shame. "I'm more mad at Sonic," Amy admitted. "And Angel too, I guess."
"Why?"
Nova wandered over and sat down on the fence next to Amy. The breeze shifted and drifted through the space between them. Amy took a deep breath. "I saw the way Shadow looked at you in the infirmary, like you were the only thing in the entire universe that kept him breathing. And the way you looked at him, like nothing could make you happier than being with him." Amy looked at Nova through her eyelashes. "Nova, you love him more than your own life. You could never care about Sonic that way."
Nova's cheeks flushed, even as maintained a schooled expression. She said, "But you're afraid Sonic might?"
Amy nodded slowly. Nova smiled. "I can't see you letting that happen."
"But it could if I'm dead."
"So?"
Amy tightened her grip on the fence. Any tighter and it would break between her fingers. "You don't know how it was before. It took five years of being under Metarex control before he decided he cared about me as more than a friend. Before then, I chased him around like a fangirl for years. I'm dispensable. He could change his mind; he gets bored so fast."
Nova shook her head. "He's impulsive and reckless, sure, but he's not a bad person. He couldn't do that to you."
Amy's heart continued to sink lower. "But I'm not sure that he actually even loves me. He's only said it, like, five times, we've only had one really good kiss and that was immediately after the time change."
Nova shrugged. "Different guys do things differently. Shadow's only said he loves me once, but that doesn't mean I doubt that he continues to do so. Trust me, there's nothing to worry about."
"But he loves being her dad!" Amy burst suddenly. She bit her tongue as her face burned.
"Yeah, I love her too," Nova said easily, as if Amy had continued on conversationally, rather than snapped. "She's our daughter. It's only natural that we try to protect her. She has our DNA. She didn't do anything wrong by coming here. I admire her for her bravery."
Amy twisted to look directly at Nova. "But do you think you would choose her over Shadow? That Sonic would choose her over me?"
Nova sighed. "I don't know," she whispered. "It's not really a choice you can make."
Amy looked away, knowing Nova was right. Nova continued slowly, "But he loves you, Amy. I've seen the way he smiles at you. The way his attention completely focuses on you when you're scared or in pain. In the Metarex fight on Mobius, after he heard you scream, he was the most serious and dangerous I have ever seen him. I'm not saying this is easy, because it's not. But he loves you."
Both of them sat there in silence for a long time. The only noise was that of the breeze sweeping over them. Finally, Amy asked softly, "Why do you even care?"
Nova gave a small half smile. "Because, believe it or not, I really do care about others. And on top of that, I see so much of myself in you. You care about things like no one else. And, though it may be selfish, I don't want you to hate me."
Amy smirked. "I don't hate you. I'm just scared because you're kind of one of the people who decides my fate."
"Thing is, I'm not the only one who makes that choice."
No, Nova wasn't. There was another very big factor. Was Amy scared of the power Sonic had in determining her fate? Amy bit her lip. Maybe.
-(-)-
Angel's View
Angel wandered through the forest on the other side of the city, Cream trailing not far behind. "What are you looking for?" Cream asked.
Cheese chimed in, "Chao! Chao-chao?"
"I'm trying to figure out what happened, why the fire went away. It can't just do that," Angel said.
Angel circled trees, climbed over rocks and through streams but found nothing that could explain how quickly the fire dissipated. Eventually, she halted, scowling, and crossed her arms. Why would the Metarex want to set a planet on fire and then just take it away? she wondered. A distraction or a trap or something?
Suddenly, Cream cried out behind Angel. Angel spun around, charging magic in her hand. But Cream wasn't behind her. Angel's energy dropped quickly, her power still not fully charged from the last battle. She panted, flashing her gaze every which way. "Cream!" Angel shouted. "CREAM!"
A cloth clamped over her mouth, held by a rough metallic hand. As she breathed in its sickly-sweet smell, Angel let her magic fly behind her. Something cried out, and the cloth slipped away. Without another warning, another metallic hand lashed out and slammed against Angel's head. Black crushed her vision and all her thoughts cut off as she dropped to the ground.
