Indescribable Loss, Final Chapter

They were all tired. It was hot, way too hot, and it was hard enough scrounging for sustenance in the scratchy bushes. Shadow finally emerged from a clump of trees, patches of dirt covering his dark fur and brambles stuck in his quills. "I've found...a...coconut..." he panted, holding out the dark-brown delicacy. Amy and Knuckles hurried over, and they looked it over in awe, only to immediately crack it open with a sledgehammer that they had happened to bring with them on the ship, and they ate the coconut meat and drank the coconut milk. As soon as they had eaten as much as they could, they rested for a few minutes in the small shade of an overhanging cliff, and then started searching for more food.

Tails was worried; perhaps Knuckles and Shadow had gotten lost? Floating somewhere, helpless, while their motor had died out on them? There were a million possibilities. Rouge, as if knowing what he was thinking, placed her arm around his shoulder. "They're going to be okay", she said comfortingly as they sat inside the tent, observing the dying campfire through the flap. "Don't be such a worrywart," she resumed. "...They're probably close by. I can sense them." Her ears quivered. "Speaking of which..." Knuckles, Amy and Shadow marched into camp, all tattered and torn.

"We...got a little sidetracked." Knuckles explained. Rouge and Tails bolted out of the tent, and embraced the others in hugs.

"We're so glad you got back!" exclaimed Tails. "I was worried sick..."

"Yeah," continued Rouge, "we've been waiting for you this whole time. We thought you were marooned or something." Knuckles glanced around nervously.

"No, we're fine...just a little hungry, that's all." Knuckles said, his stomach rumbling.

"We have plenty of food here." Rouge gestured, and offered the echidna a stick of something that appeared to be rabbit. Knuckles looked up at the bat graciously, and ate the food, as the others did the same.

Sunset-------------------------------------------------

Amy stared out into the fading horizon, taking in the warmth. It didn't suit the past events. Ever since Sonic died, she had felt an emptiness in her heart that she had tried to fill, but it just wouldn't go away. It felt like an enormous block of lead had been dropped onto her shoulders, weighing her down. If she thought about Sonic, she cried. But there wasn't much else to think about. The waves were dying down, and there was only the slightest hint of a current. Tails had gone to bed, but Knuckles and Shadow were guarding the campsite. Amy didn't know where Rouge had gone. She didn't really care, quite frankly. She was too depressed. Everything had happened in a flash, and Amy desperately wished to be able to change the past.

Rouge silently glided through the trees, spying Amy sitting by the cliffside. Dropping down silently, she sidled over to the pink hedgehog, who was clearly in distress. "Amy." She said quietly. Amy looked over her shoulder at the ex-jewel hunter, and turned away again.

"Hi." She said simply, still faced away from the bat.

"It must be hard, to lose someone you love." Said the bat to no one in particular, standing by Amy's side. Amy nodded silently in agreement.

"Like my heart was just...ripped out." She added. Rouge dropped down to the ground, and hugged Amy.

"It's okay." Amy heard these words, and all the intense feelings she had these past few days all came back into one outburst. She began crying, an endless stream, the colors blurring. She didn't know where the time had gone. The universe had stopped. She had to face it; her obsession was gone. The one she had idolized since being saved from Metal Sonic, near the Little Planet; he was as he was. He was dead.

Everyone gathered around the shore the next day. A plane had landed; it was a rescuer. The friends had gratefully boarded, taking one last glance at the burial place of their beloved Sonic. "We destroyed the last of those 'bots," Shadow and Knuckles told Amy. "...they had reserves. But we destroyed them all, and the island is safe now."

"A worthy burial place for the one and only, Sonic the Hedgehog." Amy declared.

The End