Hey guys! -dodges sharp objects- AHH! I'M SORRY! ;-; It has been way too long since my last update, and I apologize. ;-; I've been really busy the past little while, but I promise I'll pick back up.

This is probably the worst epilouge I've ever written. But the sequel will be better. Just stick it out until the end. ;D

Thanks for reading, and for all of the support I've had from all my readers!

If I Fall

Epilouge

The funeral held for Amy was small. Of course, it was a private funeral. Only those closest to Amy was told of her arrangements. Tails himself took care of most of the details, while Sonic stayed with Elli in the hospital. After two or three heartbreaking, tear-filled nights, Tails had finished the arrangements for Amy, and that following Saturday, they were to lay her into the ground.

At the funeral, Sonic and Tails arrived together, and as they neared the church, Sonic stopped, staring into the open doors. Tails said nothing, simply following his gaze into the church. The wind ruffled their fur gently, and Tails shuddered, feeling the tears already leaking into his eyes. Carefully, he turned his gaze to Sonic, and the hedgehog kept staring straight ahead.

"...Sonic," Tails said quietly, after a second. The hedgehog's ears twitched, and he glanced at Tails, his green eyes dull. "...I think we'd better go in." Sonic looked back inside, and nodded, biting his lip.

"...I know, Tails," he whispered, and crossed his arms, as if to keep the pain in his chest from getting any worse. "But I know...I know seeing her...in that casket..." He looked away, sniffing quietly. "...It'll make it final...she won't be coming back..."

Tails said nothing, closing his eyes against the tears beginning to fall from his eyes. When he reopened them, Sonic was moving, slowly forward, and Tails caught up with him in a single stride. And the two entered the church together.

From where he stood behind the pews, Tails could see the open casket in the front of the room. He heard Sonic gasp, as if he had been struck, and he moved closer to him, allowing their shoulders to brush slightly. Together, they walked forward, closer and closer to the casket.

When Sonic saw Amy, he froze, his eyes narrowing quickly. Tails fought against tears as he looked down at her. Her pink fur was neat, her favorite red dress ironed. Her hands were folded against her chest, and her eyes were closed. It almost looked as if a simple shake would wake her, would bring her back to them.

Next to him, Tails felt Sonic shake, and a low moan escaped his lips. Tails was afraid to look at him as the hedgehog stumbled numbly to the edge of the coffin. When he arrived at her side, he dropped to his knees, reaching slowly for her folded hands, stroking one gently. Tails muffled a sob, but couldn't look away. Sonic was crying silently, an after a moment of simply looking at her, he placed his forehead against the side of the casket, as if it were too heavy to hold up anymore. After a few more seconds, Tails finally approached him, crouching next to Sonic beside Amy. He grasped Sonic's shoulder, squeezing it hard, as he too leaned his head against the casket and cried for all he lost.

Behind him, Tails could hear the few people arriving, and they stood silent far behind them, respecting their space. As Sonic cried next to him, Tails was grateful no one could see it at that moment. The kitsune gritted his teeth as he lifted his head to look at Amy, how peaceful she looked sleeping. Beside him, a soft sob escaped Sonic's lips, and Tails echoed it with his own.

It wasn't too much longer that both kitsune and hedgehog stood, pulling themselves together to face the crowd that had gathered behind them. Sonic turned around, his eyes full of tears, and Tails did the same. He saw Knuckles, Shadow, Cream, Rouge, even Vector, Charmy, and Espio. They all had eyes for Sonic, sympathy and sadness swirling in the many different faces. Sonic said nothing, and led him and Tails to the front pew. They sat down together, and Sonic dropped his head into his hands as the others slowly surrounded Amy's casket. Tails heard the murmurs and whispers from them.

Knuckles was the first one to depart from the casket, and he headed toward Sonic and Tails with sad violet eyes. Hesitantly, almost embarrassingly, he took a seat on the other side of Sonic, placing a gentle hand on the hedgehogs shoulders. Tails heard him whispering, but payed no mind to what he said, and Sonic sniffled, nodding as he lifted his head from his hands.

"...I just don't know what I'm going to do..." he whispered in a broken voice, almost falling into tears once more.

xxx

They buried Amy the following day. She was buried on the cliff just outside the Mystic Ruins. The cliff overlooked the waterfall and the ocean itself, and it was quiet and away from everything.

When they had lowered her into the ground, it was as if the world stopped, like everyone and everything was mourning and crying over her death. Sonic, as tradition would have it, walked to the burial site, and after a second of just looking down at the sealed coffin, he picked up a handful of dirt and tossed it gently onto the metal of the casket. It made a clanging noise when it hit, and Sonic, struggling to keep it together, walked back to Tails, and nearly dropped to the ground. Tails supported him, and the two watched as the dirt was piled onto the forever sleeping Amy.

As Tails allowed Sonic to lean on him, the hedgehog sobbed quietly, and Tails could swear he heard the rest of his heart shatter.

xxx

Tails arrived back at the hospital around 3, leaving Sonic alone with Amy to come to terms with what happened. He walked into the room they allowed them to keep with Elli, and a nurse was just leaving the room. She smiled at Tails, and the kitsune asked about the baby.

"I'll bring her right out, Mr. Prower," she told him as she walked past him. "She's been crying since you two left this morning."

Tails walked into the room to wait, and he glanced out the window at the parking lot below. Cars were coming and going, and those that were parked seemed untouched for days. Tails settled down into the seat nearest to the window, and allowed his mind to wander as he waited for Elli.

It was only a couple minutes later when the same nurse came back with a small bundle in her arms, a bundle that was crying quietly. The nurse was soothingly whispering to her, and when she reached Tails, she chuckled slightly.

"I think heres what you've been looking for," she told the baby, handing her over to Tails. Elli was sobbing quietly when Tails nervously took her into his arms, and when she opened her eyes, her soft jade eyes, and looked at Tails, she fell quiet almost immediately, staring at him strangely, as if she remembered him from somewhere and couldn't place it. Tails smiled at her, and the nurse left the room without a word.

Elli blinked at Tails, and the kitsune rocked her back and forth, simply watching her. Elli lifted a hand, a small, tinny hand, and Tails lifted his own, allowing her to wrap her tiny hand on his finger. She examined his finger curiously, turning her hand around it. Tails laughed quietly, tears springing into his eyes as he thought of Amy.

"...You know, you're mother was the most incredible person," he told her quietly, continuing to rock. She looked up at him, as if he had her undivided attention. "She loved you very much...even before you were here." He didn't take his eyes from her. "You look alot like her. I can see her spirit in you." He smiled. "And you'll really be as stubborn as your dad too. I can just see it. His daughter..." His smile widened. "I never in a million years believe Sonic would have a daughter. He really...he really loved your mother...He really did." His mind flashed back to only a couple months ago. "He used to light up when he talked about her, when he saw her, he just changed. It really...really killed him to see her go. I think it killed everyone though..."

Elli clutched at his finger, still paying attention as if she knew every word he was saying. "And now...now he'll love you. More than anything in this world. You have an amazing father, Elli. I know...he practically raised me." He smiled again, and closed his eyes. "It seems like only yesterday he was running from Amy...not to her..." He sighed, rocking slower. "You're in really good hands, Elli. Really good hands."

Tails felt a presence in the room quiet suddenly, and his eyes shot open, taking the room in a single glance. Sonic was standing in the doorway, disheveled and tear-stained, staring at Tails and Elli as if they were his very tie to the Earth. And truthfully, they were. Tails stood quickly, and Sonic crossed the room slowly. A single sob was released before he took both Elli and Tails into a tight embrace, burying his head into his daughters fur. Tails couldn't stop the tears any longer, and as he continued to hold Elli tightly, he sobbed quietly.

"I will take care of you, Elli...Tails is right..." he sniffed quietly, stroking his daughters head gently. "Tails is right...You're in good hands..." He looked up at Tails. "Me and my brother will take excellent care you...Just as me and your mother would have."

Elli made no noise as her two guardians sobbed quietly above her. She simply watched them, listening to the soft sounds they made as they leaned against each other. She reached for Tails fur, burying her tiny head in it, and whimpered quietly.

End of Story