Knuckles spent the next few days at Knothole and helped clean up the
mess at Mystic Ruins. He also helped organize teams to penetrate
Robotropolis to destroy the remaining robots created by Robotnik.
Knuckles was in charge of training the fighters while Tails trained
several people on computers. After the training was well underway
Knuckles went back to Angel Island. Things were still going smoothly
after Knuckles left. Amy seldom left Sonic's side the entire time he was
in the hospital. He seemed to be healing a little faster than he normally
would have. Amy absently brushed the observation aside.
Sonic was finally allowed to leave the hospital. He was back to his old
self except for the fact that he hung around closer to everybody. He
played with Tirza and talked with Keira, Tails and Cream. He always felt
mixed feelings around Amy. He didn't really avoid her but he didn't make
a point to be around her either. He always felt a strange stirring within
himself when around Amy, it made him very uncomfortable. It was as if
he was receiving two different messages, 'hug Amy and stay close to her'
and, 'Amy is just my friend, I'm closer to Tails than her'. Sonic didn't
really seem affected by the fact that Shadow was dead, despite Amy
saying she held Shadow as he died, he felt that Shadow was alright.
Amy never cried in front of anyone. She saved her tears until she visited
the makeshift memorial she'd built for Shadow out in the woods. Sure
she smiled when she was around people but it was a lie, a mask to hide
her pain. Knuckles had easily looked through her mask and awkwardly
tried to comfort her. What hurt the most was Sonic's insensitive response
to the news. He'd acted like nothing was wrong. Even Tails and Keira
had cried with her over Shadow's death, but not Sonic. Everyone was
trying their best to keep Amy from isolating herself except Sonic. Sonic
always fidgeted when he was around her, as though uncomfortable. She
clutched the yellow Chaos Emerald to her as though it were her very life
and cried again.
Sonic found himself having not exactly mood swings but partial
personality changes. No one else seemed to notice them so Sonic
shrugged it off and ignored it. One day, instead of going to the fighter's
training he went for a walk. He found himself doing that a lot lately. He
heard someone crying and immediately checked it out. It was Amy, Sonic
was surprised. He never expected her to still be hurting and not this
much. If ever Sonic went against his nature it was now. He went and
gave Amy a very tender, comforting hug. Amy pushed him away roughly.
"Leave me alone Sonic. I'm crying for Shadow, something you wouldn't
understand." "Amy, I miss him too. Please don't be mad at me. Shadow
told you everything would be fine. I believe him, somehow I feel that
he's alive and somewhere close. He always bounces back when he gets
hurt. . . When I fought him on ARK he acted like he didn't really want to
fight me. He hesitated so my attack that probably would have missed
connected, hard. Amy, he went four feet into solid ground, got up and
walked away. I heard his heart skip a beat though. Maybe that's what
happened just before he left." Amy looked up at him with a tear streaked
face but there was some hope in her eyes. "Do you really think he's still
alive Sonic?" "Yes, I do." Amy let herself fall into Sonic's arms and
sighed deeply.