A/N: LOL I bet you guys are getting really tired of me putting up the wrong chapters... heh, whoops. Anyways, in case you're wondering, no, it didn't really take me this long to type up this chapter. The documents page wouldn't let me upload for some reason... it must hate me. Also, I can't keep up with the chapter/week thing anymore. No, I'm not too lazy, but my mom won't let me go on the computer everyday anymore, only on weekends, or for homework. And that's the other thing. ALL MY TEACHERS ARE PILING HOMEWORK ON ME LIKE THERE'S NO TOMMOROW!

Yeah... you probably don't care, do you?

Disclaimer: If I owned Sonic, I would use the money to outlaw homework...

Character Ages

Sonic: 23

Amy: 20

Tails: 16

Cream: 14

Eggman: Unknown

Metal Sonic: Unknown

Knuckles: 24

Rouge: 26

Shadow: Older than I'll ever live to be...

Vector: 28

Espio: 24

Charmy: 14

They say that nothing is truly pure…

No living thing has ever existed without committing even a single sin…

Light cannot exist without darkness…

…and not even the sky is always blue…

The sky seemed to howl with rage. The tumultuous wind roared, only overtaken in sound by the thunder as it crashed deafeningly. Lightening flashed and danced, leaping from one dark, billowing cloud to another, illuminating the scene that was far, far below.

The rain was starting to fall harder and harder around Amy. She scarcely felt them though, as they mixed with her tears, as it dripped into her fur and slid onto the ground. She couldn't feel Rouge's arms as they tightened around her shoulders, and she couldn't feel the eyes of her friends as they watched the ceremony unfold. A ceremony that her hero and love, Sonic, had sacrificed himself to be apart of…

'Just to save me…'

'Just because I was the one in danger again…'

The white sphere that contained Sonic seemed to spin faster and faster. The Chaos Emeralds glowed brightly as the energy was sapped from them, and the Master Emerald pulsed as the ancient words of the dark spell slipped from Dr. Robotnik's lips.

High above, the lightening seemed to flash more and more brilliantly, dazzling everyone's eyes, even though they weren't even looking at it. They seemed to dance with even more velocity, almost lifelike, almost like they were rearing back their heads; a wild horse without a rider as it strikes the earth over and over.

Then, one of the riders-less lightening bolts charged from the sky, and hit the white prison.

Beams of light exploded from the sphere. They shone in all directions, blinding everyone who was watching. Amy shielded her eyes with her hand as she tried to look through her fingers, hoping against fate that Sonic will emerge from the light unharmed and unchanged.

The light ebbed away ever slowly, until the only light left was from the flashed of lightening as the storm wore on.

Amy still had her eyes covered for a long while. She was afraid…

Afraid of what she'll see once she emerged from her sanctuary.

Afraid of the one soul she thought would never hurt her.

But she knew that she couldn't hide forever.

So she uncovered her eyes…

The first thing she saw was a golden-quilled, floating hedgehog in the space where the confinement had once been, the wounds that he had carried now gone. Scattered around the form and now dripping with rain water were the Chaos Emeralds, useless and drained of the energy they needed to remain balanced. The Master Emerald floated slightly above the golden hedgehog's head for a while, almost as if it was weak. Then, it too crashed onto the ground, the sound barely heard above the storm, but amplified to everyone's ears.

There was another flash of lightening, illuminating the hedgehog's face.

Then, his eyes flew open.

Pools of blood-red eyes stared back at them all. Cruel, cold eyes, and to Amy, it felt as if they were looking right through her.

Those eyes made her feel everything around her melt away.

The destroyed base faded.

The monstrous storm dimmed.

One by one, her friends disappeared into nothingness.

All that was left was the darkness, her, and the blood-lusting eyes of Sonic.

It seemed like an eternity had passed before Super Sonic spoke.

"Who was the one who freed me?"

His words seemed to be carried by the very wind itself, chilling everyone to the bone.

Eggman seemed to be awed by his very own creation as he stepped forward within his machine.

"It was I, Dr. Robotnik," he replied in an almost grand voice, hiding his awe.

A ghost of a cruel smirk flitted across in hedgehog's features. "Ah, my good friend Eggman, huh?"

From behind his indigo sunglasses, Eggman's eyes widened slightly in surprise. He hadn't counted on Sonic to still have retained all his memories.

Super Sonic laughed, as if reading his thoughts. "Did you expect me to be a confused, lonely hedgehog stuck in a big, wide world when you released me?" he asked disdainfully, looking down at the doctor.

Dr. Robotnik felt a bead of sweat roll down his neck, fear starting to edge it's way through his body. 'This is not going the way it's supposed to!' he thought, a bit frantic now that his adversary was starting to watch him with a wicked smile on his face.

"Were you planning on using me to do your bidding?" he half-snarled as he floated ever closer. Eggman stepped back a little, stammering in fear.

"I… I…"

"And you!" he spat at the mechanical hedgehog who was a few feet away from him. "You thought that you could destroy me?"

The words that Metal Sonic uttered in reply were not the wisest ones to say at that moment. Maybe even years from now, everyone will still wonder why he said those words. Was he too proud? Did his artificial soul not allow him to admit defeat? Or was it just because he had an ego as big as his original?

Whatever the reason was, what he said next sealed his fate.

"I never knew that Sonic the Hedgehog was such a weakling."

There was another flash. Nobody could quite tell if it was a flash from the sky, or the blur of Sonic as he raced towards his duplicate. But, in the next second, Metal Sonic was lying on the side of his face, a whole in his chest where his heart might have been. In Super Sonic's hands were sparking, sizzling wires.

He dropped them down in front of the dying machine's face, where they were swept away by the wind to join the other bits of debris. Sonic looked down at him, his eyes not portraying even a hint of pity or sorrow. "You dare call me weak?" he asked, his voice low and barely heard.

Metal Sonic's eyes flickered. His body twitched a little, as if he was trying to stand up. He gave a mechanical groan as he tried to speak.

Finally he was able to say his last words.

Last words that would haunt Amy in her darkest nightmares if she does survive this chapter of her life.

"Sonic, you would give up your soul so easily? You would let a monster tear you apart without even a fight? You are a weakling. Nothing more than a weakling…"

There was a final gasp from him. Then he died.

He was no more.

Sonic had killed someone without even batting an eye.

Slowly, he turned his head until it was staring at the speechless group.

His eyes locked with Amy.

Amy gasped as her eyes met with Sonic's. She moaned, clutching her head. It felt like it was going to explode any second! She saw mental images of her as pain seared through her like a wild, white-hot fire. Her blood coated the floor in a sea of red as it slowly dripped off Sonic's hand. Her ears met with the sound of Sonic's delighted laughter as he watched her collapse on the ground. She felt her heart beat slower and slower as she died. Most of all, she felt her spirit rip apart as the figure who was Sonic, yet wasn't Sonic, betray the love that she had poured out so openly to him.

"What have you done to her?" Knuckles demanded as Amy writhed on the ground and the helpless Rouge and Cream tried to calm her.

A smile creeped up onto Sonic's face. He turned to Knuckles. "I just showed her what the future has in store for her."

"Sonic, snap out of it!" pleaded Tails. "I know that the real Sonic wouldn't do this!"

In a blink of an eye, Sonic had Tails pinned by the throat to the wall. "Then…" he whispered, his breath brushing Tails face as he struggled against his vice-like grip. "You obviously didn't know the real me…"

"Get off him!" Knuckles growled madly. Swiftly, he ran towards the pair. Sonic, though, calmly let go of Tails so that he dropped weakly to the floor, and generated a shield. Knuckles couldn't stop in time as he hit the shield, and a jolt of Chaos energy ravaged through him, so that he too dropped to the ground at Sonic's feet.

"Knuckles!" cried Vector. All his friend could do was groan weakly in reply. "We have to help him, boys!"

"Do you really think that your disgrace of a detective agency can really do anything to me?" teased Sonic.

Vector seemed to swell up in anger. "Disgrace! Why you…"

"Enough," a calm, cold voice rang through the rainy air.

The golden hedgehog smirked when he met the icy stare of Shadow the Hedgehog.

"I never knew that the Ultimate Life Form cared so much for people who obviously hate him."

Shadow's eyes flashed a bit. "I never knew that someone like you would actually be so willing to kill your friends," he retorted, trying to cover up the slight flash of emotion he had given away.

Sonic laughed out loud, opening his arms as if welcoming the rain. "Friends? Friends?" he asked, with fake incredulousness. "They're nothing to me. Nothing but pawns for me to fulfill my needs."

"Pawns?" asked Shadow, his voice full of contempt. "These 'pawns' cared for you like their own family. They gave you what you wanted to take away the loneliness. You know that you don't want to lose them."

Sonic didn't miss a beat in replying. "You mean like the way you lost Maria?"

Shadow growled silently. Sonic had defiantly hit a nerve. "Yes, exactly like the way I lost Maria."

"Shadow," started Sonic. "I couldn't care less if they died. I told you, they are just my pawns. And besides," Sonic sneered. "I won't spend my life fulfilling the wishes of a dead bit-"

Sonic couldn't finish the sentence. He was slammed against the floor on some broken glass, cutting his back in the process. Shadow had his face right up to Sonic's, his teeth bared, his quills sticking up. "Don't you dare…" His chest heaved up and down, like it had took all his energy to throw Sonic back. He had completely thrown away his usually calm demeanor, as the air around him almost seemed to crackle.

Sonic completely ignored these warnings. "I won't spend my life fulfilling the wishes of a dead bitch."

Shadow seemed to lose all sense of self control. He threw a fist at Sonic's face with enough velocity to smash through a metal tank truck. But he didn't stop with just one punch. He just kept punching and punching every inch of Sonic he could reach, his mind not reacting to the call of voices behind him. 'Dead bitch…' Those words infuriated him even further, giving him even more energy to continue.

Finally, when the floor beneath him cracked from all the force, his mind reacted. He regained some control as he slowly stepped back from his handiwork. A small part of him sincerely hoped that Sonic had died somehow, as punishment for what he had said about Maria.

"S-Shadow…"

He turned an eye to Amy, who had finally calmed down. He swallowed, now a little ashamed that Amy had to see him lose control like this.

"You should pay more attention…"

Shadow was barely able to block Sonic as he came charging at him. Both there fists were now locked together, as both tried to overpower the other. Amazingly, Sonic didn't have a scratch on him. It was like he had merely fallen asleep on the ground, not pummeled by an angry hedgehog. The air whipped up around them, the rain lashed down even harder, yet both of them seemed to be equal in strength.

"I'm impressed, Shadow." Super Sonic chuckled as he saw the sweat running down the black hedgehog's fur, mixing together with the rain. "You've managed to survive so far."

Shadow pushed harder, trying in vain to topple Sonic over. "Faker, don't make me do this…"

Sonic laughed. To him, this was all a game. They will be all dead, soon enough. This hedgehog will probably be the last challenging thing that will ever face him, and he wanted to toy with him just a little longer…

"Do what?" mocked the hedgehog. "What can you do to me in your condition? Face it. Everyone is helpless," his eyes swept through the room, emphasizing his point. "None of them could even lift a finger at me. Why not just give up now? Your death might be… just a little less painless."

Shadow could feel his muscles kicking into overdrive as Super Sonic applied even more strength in his pushing. 'He's just toying with me…' he realized. He knew that he couldn't last much longer like this. He didn't want to hurt Sonic, but he didn't know what to do anymore. His life had been always plagued by indecision, but this was one of the hardest choices he ever had to make.

Shadow felt the familiar sensation of his hands starting to burn red-hot. The feeling of dark energy ran through him, spreading from his body to his hands. His hands started to glow a slight purplish colour, as in his mind, he made his decision. "If I can't talk to back to your senses," he said, as Super Sonic's eyes widened in surprise, "then I'll beat you back to your senses."

He let go off Sonic, causing him to lunge forwards. Swiftly, Shadow grabbed the Sonic's arms, and then threw him as high as he could into the stormy sky. Then, he cupped his hands together, so that the purple Chaos energy welled in his palms into a beam of energy. He aimed it at Sonic. "Sorry…" he heard himself say. The energy beam exploded from his hands.

Sonic righted himself just in time to see the attack coming. Quickly, he cupped his hands as well, and a surge of gold energy rushed out of them to meet the oncoming attack.

The two attacks collided. A blast of air exploded through the base, sweeping everyone off the ground. Amy tired to grab onto anything she could, finally clutching desperately at a piece of overturned earth as she felt her body being flung back.

Gradually, she forced herself to regain her footing. The wind kept her from going any closer, and she had to squint to see what was going on. She couldn't stand it. Sonic was fighting Shadow, and from the look she saw in both of them, they were very willing to kill each other. This thought shocked her the most.

As Amy continued to watch the battle, she saw that it was just another standby. Neither seemed to be gaining the upper hand. But, even though she couldn't see the strained look in Shadow's eyes, she could see that his attack was receding, bit by bit.

"No…" she whispered.

"No…"

"No…"

"NO!"

Blindly, she forced herself to run forward. She stumbled every few steps, but one thought kept her going. 'Please, don't let this happen! Please… I don't want this! I don't want any of this!'

"STOP!" she screamed.

"Sonic! Please don't do this!"

Shadow turned around, surprised. "Amy!" he ordered. "Stay back!"

Amy ignored him. She stood as close as she could to the pair. "Sonic!" she shouted up at him. "Sonic, please!" she cried, crystal droplets running down her face. Her voice came out as a strangled sob. "I know you're in there. I know that the real Sonic is somewhere in there! Fight it! Fight it for your friends! Fight it for me!"

Far above, Super Sonic still somehow found the energy to laugh at the desperate hedgehog. "You are still as naïve as ever, Amy. The Sonic you thought you knew is gone. He's not coming back!"

"No!" Amy yelled hoarsely, still trying to come closer. "I won't lose faith in him. I love him!"

"I love him!"

Three small words…

Sonic felt himself pulse. A massive headache soared in his head. He almost faltered in his attack. 'What…'

'Amy…'

The steady pulsing increased in tempo. The headache grew and grew with every pulse.

'What are you still doing here? You should've been banished from my mind…'

He heard the "other" Sonic laugh half-heartedly. 'As a good friend of mine once said, "I am a part of you."'

The headache was almost unbearable now. 'It's… it's that girl, isn't it?'

He could almost feel his other half give a mental grin. 'Quite a handful, isn't she?'

The Chaos energy-induced Sonic gave an evil laugh. 'Then I know what I must do…'

He felt the cocky Sonic slowly start to panic. 'What? Don't you dare…'

He never got the chance to finish his threat.

'…I must kill her…'

The golden light in his hands suddenly disappeared. He was quickly engulfed by Shadow's attack.

"NO!" Amy screamed, as Sonic disappeared in front of her very eyes.

She collapsed on the ground, her mind numb.

'Sonic is gone…'

'Sonic… is… gone…'

As the smoke cleared, she saw a black figure lying amongst the litter on the ground.

Scrambling to her feet, she ran towards Shadow, her ruby-red boots almost falling off her feet in her haste.

She never made it to Shadow.

Something stopped her.

And that something was standing in front of her, his eyes wide with malice.

"Hello…"

"Sonic…" Amy didn't know what to feel. A thousand images blurred in her mind, too fast for her to follow.

Sonic was alive. Alive, but he had lost his Super form. He was now covered in bruises and scratches, many of them oozing droplets of blood.

Sonic advanced on her, and Amy felt herself being reminded painfully of the first time Sonic had tried to kill her.

The sound of clinking metal behind her made her stop.

"If any of you try to stop me, I'll kill all of you," threatened Sonic without taking his eyes off her.

Amy registered the sound of Espio trying to help. "Don't," she commanded, in a voice that strangely sounded alien to her. "Please, protect the others. I'll take care of this. Trust me."

Sonic sneered. "Take care of this? You can't even take care of yourself! All the times I had to save you from Eggman… you're like a little kid who needs a babysitter to watch her every move!"

'Eggman… where is Eggman?' She found herself wondering this. She shook her head, trying to get rid of her thoughts, but at the same time, trying to defy this "new" Sonic.

Sonic narrowed his eyes. Suddenly, he stooped down, so that his face was right up against hers. "Did you say that you love me?"

Amy tried to back away even more from him, but she was forcefully held to her spot by Sonic, who had grabbed her by the shoulders.

"I'll ask you one last time…" said Sonic. "Did you say that you love me?"

Lightening flashed behind him, giving his eyes an even darker look.

Amy already teary eyes started to well up with even more tears. 'Sonic, I love you!' she wanted to scream. But she couldn't say them. Instead, she felt herself stammering in fear.

Sonic didn't wait any longer. He was ready to kill her. His hand was reared back, ready to strike the final blow. "Useless," he hissed, aiming for her heart.

The screams behind them echoed loudly.

Amy squeezed her eyes shut, knowing that no one could help her this time.

'NO!'

Sonic stopped, the tip of his finger just brushing Amy's fur.

'Stop! Stop! Stop!'

Sonic fell to his knees on the ground, relinquishing his hold on Amy.

'Amy! AMY!'

Sonic panted, his face facing Amy's knees, eyes unseeing.

Amy opened her eyes, meeting this strange sight. "Sonic…?"

"Run…"

Amy gasped, hearing the old tone of Sonic. Her Sonic.

"Is that you?"

"Run Amy… get away from me… get everyone away from me…"

He was fighting hard for control. He hurt everywhere. It was like trying to tear away his arm, no, even worse, but he knew that he needed to get them away.

"Get away…" he pleaded once again.

Amy shook her head fiercely. "I'm not leaving you!"

Sonic couldn't reply. He just moaned in pain and despair.

Amy shook her head again. "I'm staying right here with you," she whispered. Then, without warning, she threw herself at Sonic.

Sonic felt the pain increase tenfold as Amy's arms encircled him. 'Amy… why didn't you leave?'

Amy buried herself into Sonic's chest fur as the rain pounded against her. She could feel Sonic struggling, she could swear that she could almost feel his pain. 'How do I stop this?' She almost cried to herself.

"Sonic," she heard herself say, not even sure Sonic could hear her. "I know that you're in there…"

"I just want you to know…"

"That I love you…"

Amy tightened her grip even more, as if trying to somehow call Sonic to her. But she knew that right now, words weren't enough.

So she leaned forward…

And placed her velvet-soft lips on his.

She closed her eyes, tears leaking out.

'Sonic… come back to me…'

'Stay with me…'

'…because I love you…'

'I LOVE YOU!'

A/N: So? What do you think? It'll take me a while to put up next chapter. Don't know how long, but I'll try to put one up ASAP. Don't worry, I'll try not to wait 'till like a month to put one up. (Note that I said "try")

Answers to Anonymous Reviews:

hedge8701: Yeah, you're right. I still go complaints though... meh. ARIGATO!

Jeanette Harrell: LOL If they made this into a movie... well, let's just say that Sonic the Hedgehog will no longer be rated "E." (Though Shadow theHedgehog was rated "T..." hmm...) THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING!

Panic Attack: (In mental cell next door) Hey... are you one of my reviewers? I just wanna say thanks!

azngirlchibi