Author's Note: Here it is! The last chapter! I know it has been awhile since I last updated, but once again I was afflicted with writer's block. The fact that I've been procrastinating didn't speed up the process either. But now that I'm out of school, I've had a ton of time on my hands so there was no excuse for not working on this chapter. I want to thank all the people that have reviewed for my story or will review in the future. You guys rock! Especially Kirby-Chan263, who has been one of my loudest supporters. Now, on with the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog. I would come up with something witty, but currently my mind is drawing a blank.

Steps to Acceptance

Final Step: Accepting and Letting Go

Amy was astounded by the amount of crap she had accumulated over the years. She couldn't even recall acquiring most of this stuff, let alone their original purposes, and yet here it was, making a mess on her floor. It's funny what people are willing to hold on to because of the significant meanings the objects held, even if they no longer remembered what those meanings were.

Cleaning out her house had been Rouge's idea. The bat had said it was what every girl did after a break up. They cleaned out all the evidence that the relationship ever existed until they were ready to deal with the memories.

And, as far as Amy was concerned, that was exactly what she was going through. A break up. Even though she and Sonic had never actually dated, she figured her unique circumstances required a similar method of closure. After all, on some level in Amy's mind she had been going out with the hedgehog. She had even claimed to be his girlfriend (although she only said so when Sonic was out of earshot, and only to people who didn't know the dynamics of their relationship).

Although, if Amy had known what a big job cleaning out all the things that reminded her of Sonic (her house was going to be very empty after this), she would've taken up Rouge's offer to help. But she had figured that it was too much to ask. Amy could hardly believe the bat had forgiven her for her outburst in the mall. She hadn't wanted take advantage of the kindness that the pink girl still didn't quite feel like she deserved.

Rouge had been the one Amy had visited after she left Sonic and Shadow's place. She had desperately needed someone to talk to and Rouge was the only friend who would understand. (Amy really needed some more female companions.) She had probably stood on the jewel thief's doorstep for at least ten minutes before she finally worked up the courage to ring the bell.

The second the door opened the apologies started spilling out of Amy's mouth. "I'm so sorry, Rouge. I had no right to speak to you that way. I was just so angry and I was taking it out on you. And I wouldn't blame you if you decided to slam the door in my face. I-I just need to talk to someone, but if you want me to leave, just say the word. I'll understand."

And the bat stood there, listening and taking note of the tears leaking out of the corners of the girl's eyes. Rouge then sighed softly and opened the door a little wider. "Come on in, Amy."

Rouge led her to the couch and sat down. "Now tell me what this is all about."

And Amy did. She told Rouge about catching Sonic and Shadow in the forest and the fight she had earlier with the latter of the two. Amy even mentioned that she had snuck into their house (although she left out everything that had happened after she looked into the guest room. Not only was the memory painful and embarrassing, but what the hedgehogs decided to do in the privacy of their own bedroom was their business.)

"Sonic loves Shadow. He said so himself. But I love him so much. He's been my ultimate goal for as long as I can remember. What am I supposed to do with myself now?" Amy asked, trying and failing to keep her tears at bay.

Rouge just stirred her coffee and listened, and when Amy was finished pouring her heart out, she offered her words of wisdom. "Amy, I need you to listen carefully to me because this will probably be the best advice you will ever hear. You need to let go of him."

The girl opened her mouth to protest, but Rouge put up her hand. "Look, I know you love him, but Sonic doesn't feel the same way. And I don't think that will ever change, even if he and Shadow don't work out."

"You can't spend your life chasing a man who won't ever chase you back. It's not fair to him and it's definitely not fair to you. It's time to move on, and if you truly love him Amy, you should be willing to set not only Sonic, but yourself free."

And no matter how much Amy wished she wasn't, she knew Rouge was right. Looking back, it was almost amusing how completely she had misread the signs. Every small kind thing Sonic did for her was blown out of proportion and analyzed to death until it became an act of undying love and devotion. But when she stripped all the layers of "hidden meaning" away, she came to the truth people had been trying to convince her of for years.

He was nice to her because he considered her a friend. He tolerated her advances because he didn't want to hurt her feelings (and maybe was just a tiny bit afraid of her). He saved her because he was a hero and she always seemed to need saving. Because he truly did love her, just not in the way she wanted him to.

And perhaps the most tragically ironic thing of all was that Amy's clinginess had only pushed Sonic even more out of her reach. And somewhere deep down, she had known that, but she had managed to delude herself into thinking that he would come around. That he was too shy and too immature to understand his feelings and that in time, if she pushed him hard enough, he would see that they were destined to be together. And now all Amy could do was wonder how much of her life she had wasted lying to herself.

Maybe that was why she had been so angry with Shadow in the first place. Because he had been the one to force her to face harsh, cold reality. Armed with only his words (and a firm grip on her arms) he had managed to dispel her illusions and tear down the fantasy world she had put so much effort into making for herself.

But now that she was out of her bubble, Amy understood that even if she and Sonic had gotten together, they probably wouldn't have worked out anyway. They were too different, and they wanted completely different things. It was like that dream Amy had had during her grieving period. All she ever wanted was for Sonic to stop running and to allow her to catch him, and if he wouldn't do that, she at least wanted to be able to run by his side. But no matter how hard she tried, the cerulean hero had always been too fast for her. Amy had never been able to keep up. Sonic had merely found someone who could.

And, while she may never understand why, that someone made him happy. Happier than Amy could ever remember seeing him. And despite everything, she wanted Sonic to be happy. Even if it meant watching him be with someone else. After all, wasn't that what true love was all about? Wanting the one you cared about to be happy, even if that happiness happened to make you miserable?

She just hoped that Sonic could forgive her for how she had acted. Amy really would like to be his friend, if she couldn't be his love. A real friend, not just some whiny fan girl he had to tolerate because she wouldn't stop following him around. That is, if she hadn't already ruined the beautiful thing they had had before this all started.

She was even willing to learn to put up with Shadow. Amy highly doubted that she and the ebony hedgehog would ever completely get along. She had never really liked him, even before she had known about what was happening between him and Sonic. He was always so cold, so emotionless, and had never been anything but rude to her. And Amy was certain that if Shadow hadn't before, he positively hated her now (she had hit him in the groin after all). But she also knew that for Sonic, they could force themselves to live with one another.

So now here Amy was, packing away boxes of memories. There were the tickets stubs from Twinkle Park and the shriveled stem of a flower Sonic had once given her for her birthday. One entire box was dedicated to holding diaries with pages filled with the childish dreams of a little girl and dozens of variations of Mrs. Amy Hedgehog and Mrs. Amy Rose-Hedgehog.

She even had a vial that contained clippings of Sonic's fur (taken while he was sleeping without his knowledge) intertwined with her fur because a fortuneteller had once told her that joining the fur together while saying a special incantation would create a powerful love charm. She had worn the vial around her neck for a month before finally figuring out that the woman was either a con artist or totally and completely off her rocker.

Amy had done so many stupid things like that to get Sonic's attention. At this point, it didn't feel like she would ever get over him. But she wasn't going to waste any more of her time pining over what could have been. She was moving on, one step at a time. And she refused to view this as an end. It was merely another beginning; or rather a plot twist in her story that would bring her down a different path than she always thought she would travel.

One day, she would find someone that loved her as much as she loved them. Someone who could give Amy the happy ending she knew she deserved. And until then, she was content to wait and bask in the freedom of being truly unattached for the first time since she was twelve years old.

Slowly, Amy picked up the final box. On top of the pile of the box's contents was the picture that had once been on her nightstand. The first thing she looked at when she woke up and the last thing she saw before she fell asleep.

With a sad smile, Amy allowed a teardrop to fall from her eye, the last tear she would ever shed over the blue hedgehog she never had. It landed onto the photo's glossy glass surface, right onto her picture self's happy smiling face. Amy didn't even bother wiping it off. She just placed the box in the back of her closet with all the others and shut the door. The teardrop glistened in the darkness like a dying star.

This is it. The End. I had a lot of fun writing this, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. The prequel probably won't be up for a long time because I have some other things I want to work on. Plus I need to brainstorm a lot more before I can come up with something worth posting. Judging by the lack of response to my title change suggestion, I'm guessing most of you like the one I have so I'll stick with it. I'm actually really bad with titles so if anyone has a title suggestion for the prequel, I'm all ears. Now you see that little purple button? Push it. It's magic.