NeckBreak, Amefloza13, Lynkia, Kyle Williams - SuperSonicSpy1, IT'S NO USE I'M OUTTA USE, kimchi-tan, Blancis16, LadySonamy:

This chapter is fun, and it's serious. It's emotional, and it's light-hearted. It's heartbreaking, and it's heart mending. I pulled it from the depths of my soul, and threw in quite a few bits of humor. It's a roller coaster, it's Nine Hours.

Enjoy!

Chapter 11: Hero

(Third Person)

"So, how's it going?" Cream asked Tails, as the two huddled into a corner, avoiding the nearby hustle and bustle. All of their friends were busy enjoying the pre-ceremony buzz, catching up with folks they hadn't seen in years. But the two of them didn't have time to enjoy the festivities - they had to make sure everything was going perfect for Sonic and Amy's big day.

The two hedgehogs wanted to get married as soon as possible, but with Sonic stuck in the hospital recovering, and Amy refusing to leave his side (other than one undisclosed errand), it was up to Tails and Cream to plan everything. Amy had given them two weeks, but Sonic insisted on one, as he wanted to marry as soon as he was well enough to get around on his own. It was only Sonic's second day out of the hospital, but it was the date everyone had agreed on coming. Both of them wanted a small wedding with only close friends, and strictly no press members within 5 miles.

So far... well... it was slightly less than a success.

"Oh, just great," Tails said with sarcasm. "I mean, Sonic is having another panic attack and can't stop running, and Shadow is chasing him to try and talk him down. Vector is already drunk and louder than usual. I'm trying to keep Charmy away from the food, and Silver from embarrassing himself even more, he's seriously lost without Blaze. Espio keeps disappearing. Literally. What else? Oh, right, Knuckles, Mighty, and Ray are too busy being bouncers and keeping the media out to help me with the actual guests. Big will not keep his fishing pole out of the punch, so I just gave up and let him have it. He's still trying to catch Froggy as we speak."

Cream pouted. "Yeah, sounds about how it's gone in the bridal suite - the girls haven't been much better. Sticks and Marine wouldn't stop arguing about evil alien plant people who eat bride's dresses until Mom finally kicked them out. That's when Blaze came in and casually said that Sonic was being a basket case, and Amy freaked out wondering what she meant. Big surprise, her and Rouge got in a fight and Mom kicked them out too. It's probably for the best it's just me, Mom, and Amy allowed in there now."

Tails shook his head. "I guess this is what happens when you plan a wedding in less than a week."

"You know neither of them would have it any other way."

Tails crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. "Good luck with your girl drama, I gotta see if Shadow has had any luck. We can't have this wedding without Sonic."

"Hey, it's not just girl drama," Cream put her hands on her hips. "We can't have this wedding without the bride, either. Amy's waited for this day her whole life. And Sonic's been through a lot. Both of them deserve this, and we have to make it work, Tails."

Tails rubbed his temples. "I know, but this such a disaster. In some ways it feels like more than a wedding - it's also Sonic's coming back party, and his coming out party, and his get well party, I just want it all to be perfect, and it's been anything but. I've been off work all week, but I might just take next week for an actual vacation."

Cream took his hands. "Maybe we could go somewhere together, just you and me - it's been a long time since we traveled. Or even been together, really."

Tails interlocked their fingers. "Yeah, I know. I've missed you a ton. We haven't had much time together lately that hasn't involved this planning stuff."

"Tails!" Knuckles called out to the fox.

"Gotta go," Tails leaned in to kiss his girl on the cheek before waving goodbye. "Reassure Amy everything will be okay."

The fox found Knuckles, who gestured to a new guest. "Is she or is she not on the list?"

Tails looked the girl up and down, and shook his head. "Never seen her before."

The girl frowned. "No, I know Sonic, honestly I do! Oh, and Blaze, too!" She gestured towards the cat.

"That's Tangle the Lemur," Blaze came over to say. "We've met up with Sonic once, a long time ago. I told her she could come."

"Tails is in charge of the guest list, Blaze, not you," Knuckles said. "This is a private party, not for fangirls."

"What? I'm not a fangirl!" Tangle protested.

"Sonic is literally marrying his biggest fangirl is he not?" Blaze said.

"Shut up, Amy is way more than that, and you know that's not the point," Rouge said to her, and the two women stared each other down. "You're just jealous, aren't you? That's why you're trying to ruin this wedding by telling Amy Sonic's having issues!"

"No need to get emotional. I didn't ruin anything. I just spoke the truth," Blaze shrugged. "You just don't like having other women around who steal your spotlight."

"So, um, can I stay or not?" Tangle asked, her eyes huge as she looked at Tails.

Everyone ignored Tangle as Rouge continued to stare Blaze down. "This is why you weren't invited to my wedding."

Blaze kept a cool gaze right back at her. "And this is why you won't be invited to mine."

Silver gasped. "What? Blaze, are you getting married? Why didn't you tell me, I'm your best friend! And I thought I was your boyfriend, too…." he said the last few words quietly.

"You are, Silver. And I'm not getting married yet. But when we do, Rouge will certainly not be there."

"Wait… you said 'we'?" Silver spoke softly, and Blaze's strong demeanor was momentarily broken as she realized what she'd let slip.

The tense moment was only broken by one obnoxious voice.

"Oh, hey, hey! Does anyone have any candy?" Charmy Bee yelled out.

Absolutely everyone turned to glare at him.

"Charmy! Do not say that word, you hear me? I already told you this!" Tails growled at him.

Sonic suddenly came to a complete halt right in front of the bee. "What did you say?"

Charmy pointed and laughed. "Oh, hey, look I got him to stop! I said -" Knuckles suddenly tackled the insect, smothering his mouth with his massive gloved hands.

"Shut your mouth," the echidna demanded as he wrestled the insect to the ground.

"No, what did he say? I gotta know," Sonic stared at Charmy with wide, hollow eyes, panting as if he were losing control. "I thought I heard him say…"

Charmy managed to break free of Knuckles grasp by poking him with his stinger. Knuckles cried out in pain, and Charmy belted out:

"I asked if anyone had any candy!"

A look of pure panic raced across Sonic's face and he took off again. Charmy started cracking up until Knuckles suckerpunched him across the field.

"You think this is funny, you idiot? Do you have absolutely no compassion, sympathy, or emotions at all? Get the fuck out of here. You think you're so cool and edgy, but you're just a bully that hasn't grown up at all."

Charmy snorted in disgust. "Oh please, he was quote on quote 'raped' by a girl. C'mon, that's not even possible. He had to have liked it."

"You're way over the line, and off the list, Charmy," Tails glared at him. "Get out, now."

"Aw, can't I have a slice of that cake first?"

"No!"

"Fine, what a dumb party," The bee flew off, muttering, "Bunch of overly sensitive snowflakes here who can't take a joke. Can't believe any guy would let themselves get beat up by a girl, how pathetic."

Shadow had come to a stop once Sonic did, and finally spoke as he watched Charmy's retreating form. "Only a teenager, and already a lost cause."

"Shadow! How's Sonic?" Tails asked.

The black hedgehog shook his head. "He's obviously having a panic attack and won't listen to reason. He keeps repeating 'I can't do this, I can't do this' over and over. That and, 'fuck you Shadow.' I can't get through to him."

"You have to! You're the only one who can keep up with him."

"You're going to have to find some other way. He refuses to listen to me. I'm just going to make sure the hero doesn't get too far away from his own wedding." Shadow took off again, a black blur chasing a blue one.

Tails let out an exasperated sigh. "Do you all seriously want to ruin Sonic and Amy's wedding? Are you Sonic's friends or not? And have you forgotten what Amy's like when she's mad? Can you all just get along and be nice for like two seconds? Is it that hard?"

Unfortunately no one really heard Tails' impassioned plea, because Vector was making a fool of himself and no one could take their eyes off of him. Apparently he was trying to see how many soda cans he could fit in his gigantic crocodile mouth at once without choking, while standing on one leg, and holding both Sticks and Marine over his head. A small group had gathered around to watch, and Tails was somewhat relieved Rouge and Blaze were distracted from each other. He'd told them to leave their bad blood at the door, but apparently that was too much to ask. The drama had happened several years ago, but neither woman could forgive the other, not even on a day like this.

Off the the side, Rouge was talking to her husband, inspecting the painful bee sting he'd just acquired. "That was pretty nasty - does it hurt still?" she asked as she applied ice to the red bump.

"Nah, I'll be alright. My arm will just swell up a bit," Knuckles shrugged.

Rouge rubbed his bicep gently, but then gave him a flirty smile as she stroked his muscles. "Mmm, I wouldn't mind that too much. You know how much I love your arms, but... " she stopped to bite her lip, then ran her tongue over it. "I wonder what else I can make swell up…?"

Knuckles' jaw dropped and his face turned redder than his fur, but he liked where this was going. "What did you have in mind?" He flirted back, letting his hands rest on her hips as he pulled her closer.

"Mmm-hmm… something even harder than these arms…" she gave his biceps another squeeze. "...and these rock-hard abs…" her hand drifted down his torso.

He gasped a little as her hands wandered even more. "Rouge, we're out in the open…" His purple eyes widened, and his mouth stayed agape as he held back making any pleasurable noises.

"I know," she purred into his ear. "No one is paying attention to us but they could any second. Isn't this hot?"

"Oh yeah," Knuckles moaned as his eyes closed. His hands migrated from her waist to her butt, gripping it firmly.

"You're so naughty," she giggled with a hushed whisper.

"Oh, I'm naughty, right," he responded, laughing and whispering himself.

Unluckily for the both of them, the door to the bridal suite opened. They immediately separated, brushing themselves off as if nothing had happened. All heads turned to see Ms. Vanilla poke her head out, wearing a frown.

"There's quite a bit of commotion out here, what is going on?"

Cream emerged behind her, shaking her head. "Like I told you, Mom, this is a disaster - worst of all, Sonic won't stop running."

"Hmmm." Vanilla looked at all the guests. "Silver, would you be a dear and stop Sonic for me?"

The gray hedgehog blinked. "Me? Oh, right, I can stop Sonic… duh! Why did no one else think of this, c'mon guys."

He activated his psychokinesis powers and began focusing on the blue blur in the distance. He closed one eye in concentration, trying to get a handle on his exact location. "Ugh, does he have to be going so fast….it's no use, I can't… ugh, he's so strong, can't make out where he is… give me a second..."

The party guests watched as a turquoise energy glow followed Sonic's racing form, trying to predict where he'd be, only for Sonic to avoid his grasp. Finally, blue was encased by teal as Silver halted Sonic in place, and guided him over in front of the crowd.

"No, no, no, no, nononono, let me go, let me go…." Sonic begged, obviously freaking out as he was trapped in Silver's control. "This isn't funny!"

"Sonic, you gotta help me out here… can you just run the other way for a sec, no, not that fast…" Silver jerked him around until he was finally stationary.

"What's so difficult about stopping him with your powers?" Shadow asked, crossing his arms.

"Have you ever tried to stop an unstoppable object? Or tried to hold a speed demon in place? No? Then shut up," Silver grumbled, and Shadow just rolled his eyes.

"Sonic? What seems to be the matter, dear? Are you having problems with your legs?" Vanilla asked him.

"Yeah, they're acting up again, and I'm not sure if I can do this… I wanna marry Amy but…" He gestured down to his lower half. "I was fine all day yesterday, finally able to run without hurting myself, and then I wake up and come here, and realize I'm getting married and then the panic kicked in. I really hope this isn't what I think it is..."

"We could give you a sedative," Tails suggested.

"No way, I want to actually be able to stand for the ceremony, for Amy," Sonic said.

"We have to tell her," Cream said.

"No! Don't tell her, please don't tell her." Sonic begged. "I don't want this day ruined for her at all."

"Bit too late for that," Rouge muttered, shooting a murderous glare at Blaze, who merely ignored her.

Cream nodded. "Okay, we won't. But she might have an idea about how to stop you."

"Sonic, you want to marry Amy, right?" Tails asked.

"Yes, I do, but if I can't even stop running for two seconds how can I stand by the altar and wait for her like I want to? I'm such a failure - "

"Stop saying that, hon, you're not a failure, everyone is a little nervous on their wedding day," Rouge encouraged. "I hear Knuckles dug himself a nice little hole to hide in before we got married."

"Can confirm," Tails said with a nod.

The echidna blushed. "Hey, I won't deny it. I was a nervous wreck. Sonic, man, I know it's scary, but we're all here for you. Right gang?"

Everyone chimed in: "Yep! Of course! Yeah! We're here! Love ya! You can do it! If I can fit 14 cans in my mouth, you can do anything."

"Tell yourself this is a good thing," Tails offered. "You want this. You asked Amy to marry you. Remember? How happy you felt when she said yes?"

Panic twisted his face again. "I did - oh, why did I do that? Tails why did you let me do that?"

"You want this. You can do this. Just calm down."

"I can't just calm down, don't you think I would have done that if it was that easy? And stop telling me what I do and don't want, okay? It's freaking me out. "

Vanilla spoke again. "Sonic, I've been with Amy these past few hours. She's really excited to see you. She can't stop talking about you. I've never seen her so happy. Do you want to run away from her?"

"No. I want to run away with her."

A few chuckles.

"You'll have plenty of time for that. But first, you have to calm those limbs down and stand still for her ceremony."

"I want to, but I dunno if I can."

"You know what I think? I think when you see her walk down that aisle, you're going to stand your ground because you won't be able to leave her. Just seeing her is all you need to feel better."

"It's worth a try I guess, but what if I can't? And she watches me run away from her, on our wedding - that would break her heart and I can't do that to her," he looked down, dejected.

"Then Silver will hold you in place until you feel you can."

Silver groaned. "I'm feeling less resistance, Sonic, and I'm not sure how much longer I can hold you. Do you think I can let you go now? Just think about Amy and how much you wanna see her."

Sonic took a deep breath. "Yeah, okay."

Silver removed his hold on Sonic, and the hedgehog squeezed his eyes shut, but somehow stood still. He let out a sigh of relief. "Whew. Okay. I'm good now. Thanks Silver."

"Not a problem once I got ahold of you. I guess every so often I'm good for something," Silver shrugged, and then turned to Blaze. "We…" he muttered under his breath, blushing suddenly.

Vanilla beamed. "Great. Now, Sonic, you get to that altar and wait, I'll bring out Amy. The rest of you - behave. Including you, Vector, I'm watching you."

"Yes ma'am," Sonic saluted her and raced to his spot, standing still as a board.

Shadow spoke up again. "I need a drink."

Tails joined him on the trip to the refreshment table. "You're telling me, I need like five."

"Wait, where's all the alcohol?" Shadow asked, scouring the table with his eyes.

Espio appeared from his camouflage. "I disposed of it."

"What?" Shadow and Tails yelled at him.

The purple chameleon just shrugged and began fading away again. "I had to cut Vector off."

"What about the rest of us?" Tails demanded. "Some of us can actually be responsible, and we need to calm down!"

"An unfortunate casualty. Still, it be best all of us have sober minds for this occasion." He completely disappeared from view.

"Fuck - " Shadow growled.

"You." Tails finished.

"I'm going to get us some," Shadow declared and raced off to god knows where. The party went on without him, but he returned only a few moments later. After gesturing to Knuckles and Rouge that he did in fact see them and what they were up to, Shadow approached Sonic who had taken his designated spot.

"Shadz?" Sonic asked, genuinely surprised. "What do you want? I've stopped now, calmed down. You can go do your own thing now, I'm fine."

Shadow extended his hand, offering Sonic a shot glass full of liquor. "Here."

The blue hedgehog just stared at the glass for a moment. "You know I'm not supposed to drink while on my current meds. And I probably shouldn't drink before the ceremony. And this is just gonna go right through me and do nothing anyway."

Shadow offered Sonic a rare smile. "I know. Same here."

Sonic took the shot glass and downed it with a gasp. Shadow took the empty glass from him, disposed of it, and returned a moment later.

"Sonic, I know we haven't always seen eye to eye, but I want to say something to you. If you'll hear me out."

"I'm listening, guess I got time."

The black hedgehog crossed his arms and stared off into the distance. "Pain changes a person. How everyone processes pain is different though. Some for better, some for worse. You ignored and avoided your pain, ran from it, until it finally caught up to you. I watched as my best friend was murdered in front of me, and I let the anger and pain of that moment shape me into who I was. I became bitter, and angry, and violent. There were some days that all that was on my mind was revenge. And while what I went through was horrible, your life has been much, much worse. And I have no words but to say my deepest sympathies are with you."

"Well, that's depressing, but thanks I guess."

"However, I think you'll be just fine. And you know why? Just look around - everyone here adores you. They might all be a bit rough around the edges, but you know they care. When I went through what I did, I pushed everyone out and away, not wanting to open up or share. But you? You're surrounded by those who care about you and want to help you get through this. Hell, you're about to have a wife, who adores you beyond belief. Amy was the first one to start me on my road of healing, and I know she'll be that for you, too."

"She's an amazing woman," Sonic admitted. "I often feel I don't deserve her."

Shadow clasped his shoulder. "You're gonna get through this. Because you're the strongest person I've ever met, Sonic. And I do believe in you, despite what you might think of me."

"And I also want to say, it's not going to be easy. If you ever need to talk to someone, I'm here. I know there's certain things you don't want to tell Tails and Cream, Knuckles and Rouge can be lacking in sympathy, and while you love Amy it might do you good to share things with someone other than her. I said that I'd help you, and I will. If you ever need me to. You must feel the burden of who you were supposed to be, just know I feel that too. I'm the Ultimate Life Form, and I don't have much to show for it. But it's not too late for you. You can still be the hero."

"Well, thanks Shadz, I didn't expect all this, I dunno what to say."

"There it is anyway. Good luck, Sonic." Shadow clasped his shoulder again, but before he could disappear into the crowd, Sonic grabbed his arm.

"Wait. One more thing. Please don't call me a hero anymore, 'cause, look at me, I'm not. Not anymore."

Shadow's smile returned. "All you've been through, and you're still here? Sonic... You've never been more a hero." He patted Sonic on the shoulder and took his seat.

Sonic didn't have time to process everything his rival had just said. He didn't have time to stop himself from crying, overwhelmed at the deepest compliment and encouragement he'd ever gotten, from the most unlikely source he could think of. He didn't have time to second guess himself, doubt he was doing the right thing, or worry that his legs wouldn't behave themselves. His abilities had always given him all the time in the world to make quick decisions on a whim, but now, his time was up. The music was playing, the ceremony was starting, he was surrounded by friends, and he was right where he needed to be. No regrets.

AMY

I looked beautiful. My dress was gorgeous, my quills immaculate, my makeup impeccable, my shoes shiny, my eyes bright. But most of all, my heart was ecstatic. Today was my wedding day. The day of the culmination of all my dreams and desires. Perhaps I'd long ago gave up on fantasies and wishes of the perfect romance, but, as cliche as it was, the little girl inside me wanted to have all that back, just for today. Just for today I wanted to be a princess and indulge my romantic soul.

Alas, I could tell things weren't going well outside. Based on a few casual comments from Blaze, as well as the hushed whispers between Cream and her mother Vanilla, I picked up the wedding was not going perfectly. It was okay, though - I was used to the imperfections in my relationship with Sonic - the ups and downs of the rollercoaster that was being in love with him. It simply came with the territory. I wasn't going to let all of that get me down - I was going to enjoy the day for what it was. I was going to marry Sonic, and no one could take that away from me.

It had been 24 hours since I'd seen my love, and I was worried about him more than anything. Sonic's time at the hospital had been super humbling, and he'd had to do some things he did not enjoy. He'd been put on heavy medication and talked to a lot of doctors, some of them psychologists. He'd rested in bed, definitely bored out of his mind, but he'd opened up and processed his trauma with me to hold his hand the whole time. He'd been put through therapy, counseling, surgery, and other physical procedures to heal both body and mind. We'd strictly kept him away from any news, so instead we'd watched a bunch of shows that he'd missed during his time away. It had been a hard couple of days, and Sonic wasn't close to being fully mentally and emotionally healed yet. But now, since he'd learned some other ways to cope with his trauma, Sonic had gradually gained his physical abilities back. He could run again, and we were both ready to take this next step, turn the page, and tie our love into an unbreakable knot.

My reflection in the mirror was so gorgeous I had to smile. I was a princess, Sonic's princess. My soul had never felt more at peace.

"Amy? Are you ready?" Miss Vanilla asked.

"Yes," I answered without hesitation.

As I walked outside, the lovely music playing to announce my arrival, the tears had already started. I sniffled them back, wanting to look as pretty as possible for my husband. I slowly made my way down the aisle, stepping over rose petals scattered by Cream just a moment earlier. But my eyes could not leave the handsome blue hedgehog who was my destination and goal. Instead of running from me as he often did, he stood there waiting for me to come to him.

I was close now - close enough to see all the emotions on his face, and he wasn't even trying to hold them back this time. I could see a few tears, enough to make his pretty eyes glisten, while his mouth wore the biggest grin. It was just then I noticed he was wearing a small red bow tie, which was so darn cute. He still had on those same sneakers though, but I couldn't complain. He was himself and that's all I ever wanted him to be.

"Hi." He said when I took my place next to him.

My smile grew more than I thought possible. "Hi."

He leaned in and kissed me straight on the lips. Already! The crowd all oooooed and laughed.

"Sorry, sorry, was I supposed to wait?" Sonic joked. "Cuz I don't want to wait a second longer than we have to. And Amy, I know you're done waiting for me."

I nodded and we both turned to the minister, who threw up his hands. "Just like we planned, huh? Well, go on, say your vows."

Sonic took my hands and stared into my eyes. "Amy, Amy, Amy. My beautiful rose. I love you so much. And I can honestly say, you saved me in so many ways, I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. You were strong when I was weak, you were there for me after I abandoned everyone, and you loved me when I thought I was unlovable. So…" he reached over to grab the wedding band and slipped it on my finger, followed by the engagement ring. "With this ring, I promise to stay by your side, always come home to you, and protect you no matter what else life throws at us, cuz we've made it this far, and nothing can stop us now. I love you, Amy Rose, and I'll be your husband for the rest of our lives."

My heart was beating so fast as I held onto him. I looked my love in his gorgeous eyes.

"Sonic the Hedgehog. My hero…"

I started crying, and he did, too.

"I knew, as soon as I first saw you, that we would be married one day. Everyone said I was crazy; I guess I turned out to be right. But I had no idea that life would take us on such an adventure full of ups and downs - and while in so many ways we've been apart, I like to think that our hearts were never separated, and they've always beat together, trying to find their way back to each other. And I'm so glad that we're here, getting married, just like I've always dreamed. I love you, Sonic."

I reached for the other ring, and took Sonic's hand, sliding it onto his fourth finger. It felt surreal, like I was literally in a dream.

"With this ring, I promise to never stop loving you, supporting you, helping you, and following you to the ends of the earth. I'll be your wife for the rest of our lives."

We just stared at each other for a second, our hands clasped, and the minister spoke up.

"I would say to kiss the bride, but - "

Sonic smashed his lips against mine and I kissed him back, caressing him with every ounce of love in my heart. The crowd cheered behind us, but all I could feel and see and hear and taste was him.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife! May you both live long and prosper."

Sonic broke the kiss, and then leaned in for one more just for good measure. "Alright! I have a beautiful wife. Now, who's ready to party and eat some cake?"

"Wait!" I stopped him before he grabbed me, and waved the bouquet I was holding. "Ladies, you ready? Who's gonna get married next?"

"I'm just glad I don't have to compete against you anymore," Cream joked.

Sonic looked at me. "Okay, dumb question, but were you really that competitive about this?"

I blushed heavily. "C'mon, it's me. I won every time. Well, here we go!"

The bouquet went flying from my hands, and I watched eagerly. Cream was already in the air, her ears flapping like mad as she reached her hands out. However, a flash of purple and flames leaped in front, and snatched at the flowers first. Blaze landed on the ground with a smile, holding my bouquet with triumph, and immediately looked at Silver.

"...We?" Silver asked timidly, his cheeks tinted.

Blaze nodded. "We."

The cat and hedgehog embraced and shared a quick kiss, and everyone cheered and awed.

I was so happy they got to have their moment, too.

As the crowd started to disperse, Sonic gathered me up bridal style. As we rushed to the reception table, I held onto him with glee. I was fucking married to Sonic the Hedgehog, how amazing was this? My mouth was hurting again from all the smiling.

Our friends each came by to greet us and grab some pastries. Sonic and I nibbled on the cake as we chatted with everyone. Rouge and Knuckles promised we'd have a married double date one day, and I quickly agreed. Blaze congratulated us while Silver could only smile awkwardly, probably too busy picturing himself and his girlfriend in our shoes. Vector belted out some drunk bullshit as he shook Sonic's hand a bit too hard, while Espio said some profound and esoteric ninja proverb that went over our heads. Marine and Sticks gave us some useless but well-meaning paranoid advice, while Vanilla gave us some practical if old-fashioned suggestions. Mighty and Ray had some nice things to say as well. Some girl I'd never seen before, who looked like a lemur, also approached us and merely said congrats. I noticed Shadow and Sonic share a nod at one point, and I was happy to see they'd made up.

Everyone had gotten us a gift of some sort, but my favorite was with Cream. As she approached us, holding hands with Tails, Sonic and I couldn't help but hug them.

"Thank you guys so much for putting this all together," I said. "Really, I know it was a lot of work."

"It was a bit rocky at first, but it turned out okay in the end, kinda like you two in general," Tails said with a smile. "I'm so happy for you guys!" He hugged each of us again.

"I got each of you something, well, it's from both of us actually," Cream said, and handed us each a gift.

I opened mine first, and was amazed to see an absolutely gorgeous rose flower crown made of metal, painted red and pink, with green leaves.

"This is so pretty!" I gushed, sliding it over my ears.

"So are you," Sonic winked at me.

"I'm glad you like it, Amy, we both made it for you," Tails said.

Sonic then opened his, only to give a perplexed face. "What is this?"

"It's the asexual pride flag as a sticker," Cream explained. "It's small enough that you can wear it on your shoes, and Tails helped engineer it so it won't come off no matter how fast you go. Just a little fashion accessory for you, too."

"Cream, Tails, guys… this is awesome. I love it," Sonic stuck it on the back of his left sneaker and grinned. "See? Never looked cooler."

"Well, I better give that best man speech so you guys can go," Tails joked.

"Okay, great, but before you do," Sonic interrupted. "Cream, I need to ask you something. Where's Cheese?"

I gasped, and Cream's smile disappeared. I hadn't told him yet, and now I felt bad.

Sonic immediately realized what had happened. "Oh… I'm so sorry… I didn't mean..."

Her sad smile returned. "Don't be. He's in Chao Heaven. Plus I have lots of other little friends now that make me smile everyday."

"That's great," Sonic said. "I just wanted to say, Amy and me have talked about this, and one of the first things we want to do after our honeymoon is adopt a Chao together. Do you think you could help us pick one out?"

Her smile became genuine again. "Of course."

"Thanks," I said, and Tails and Cream left us to indulge in a few more treats. After a bit, Tails stood up and took the mic.

"So, uh, I guess I'm the best man and I gotta give a speech, but don't worry, I'll make it brief," he reassured the crowd. "I just wanna say, the first time I ever met Sonic, I was working on something or other, and I saw him rush by. My first thought was, 'wow, that guy is so cool!'"

Laughter.

"I'm sure all of you can relate - Amy, I know you know that feeling."

I giggled and beamed at Sonic.

"But Sonic was super cool. And as we grew closer than brothers over the years, I'll never forget how he gave me such confidence in myself, to just do my own thing and be strong. He helped me so much when I was younger, and as he came in and out of my life, I could see myself growing more independent and confident in my abilities. Now that we're both older, I've even helped him out a little. Bet he never saw that coming!"

More laughter, including Sonic himself.

"Sonic, you're the best friend I've ever had, so thanks for being my big brother. I'm so so happy you've finally stopped running from your feelings and are going to marry Amy. I love you, man."

"Love you too, little bro!"

Awww.

The fox turned to me. "Amy, you've become my best friend, too, over the years. So my two best friends are getting married and I couldn't be happier. And, Amy, I really mean this from the bottom of my heart - after all we've been through together, I'm happy I can finally, officially call you my sister."

I was crying. Literally crying. I sobbed a bit into my napkin.

"Okay, Tails, that's it - you made my wife cry," Sonic frowned. "Not cool, man. Now shut up and get down before you make me cry, too."

As Tails stepped down, I could feel Sonic turned to me as if he was ready to get out of here, but before he could open his mouth… sigh. Drunk Vector made his presence even more well-known.

"So, how long until we get little Sonics and Amys running around?" The crocodile belted out.

Sonic shrunk a bit from the question, but I quickly hugged him. But, if that weren't awkward enough… Silver. Bless his naive heart, he had to open his mouth, too.

"I imagine after they start having sex. Which will probably be soon - tonight, more than likely, considering it's their wedding and all."

Everyone either gave him a dirty look or facepalmed.

"What?" the gray hedgehog asked, genuinely confused.

"Really, Silver?" Rouge sneered at him. "Really? Do you really not know?"

"Not know what?"

Blaze sighed. "Sweetie, I'll tell you later."

"Let's get out of here," I whispered to my husband, knowing he was growing more uncomfortable by the second.

"Agreed."

He swept me off my feet, and we were gone. I had to laugh as I nuzzled into his chest, holding onto his shoulders as we left the world behind. It was just me and him. He was mine, I was his, we were married.

"So, husband, how long are you going to run around before we finally go on our honeymoon?"

"Well, wife, I was thinkin' 9 hours, 4 minutes, and 9 seconds. Whaddya think?"

I playfully hit him. "Please no."

"Just kidding, we're here."

"Already?" I gasped as he set me on my feet in front of a beautiful mountain top chalet. The view was breathtaking, but all I wanted was to look at him. "That was fast."

He put his arm around my shoulders. "Ames. You're literally married to the fastest thing alive. You're gonna have to stop being surprised at that."

I smirked and turned so we were hugging each other loosely. I studied his eyes. "I think I can get used to you."

I buried him in a hug and kiss. Yes. We were married. We were going to be together forever. Looking back, it was hard to imagine I'd once thought I'd never see Sonic the Hedgehog again.

But I was so glad that I did.

...X...

This chapter is so emotional, I love it so much ~

One more chapter! And from what you can probably guess, it'll be... [redacted] ...wait and see! It'll be posted soon, so look forward to that. ;)

I hope y'all enjoyed the wedding, it was a lot of fun to write all the characters again with their own moments. And of course, Sonic and Amy getting married, that was pretty fun too. Now excuse me while I go have a major fangirl moment ~

(*giggles giggles* EEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEE)