Sorry this has taken so long to do, I have been away for practically the whole holiday! I hope you enjoy it anyway, and you might want to know I am halfway through the last chapter, which is the next one! i also have another story in progress too!

Disclaimer: I do not own anybody.

Amy awoke from her trouble free sleep in the early hours of the next morning, refreshed and full of energy for the nightmarish trip that was in the day ahead of her. When the pink hedgehog had finished showering and eating, she picked up her large rucksack that was filled to the brim and dragged it into the lounge, where she sat holding it on her sofa waiting for the door bell to ring. Amy's legs shook violently as she waited; the waiting is always the worse. She was scared, no, terrified, and one part of her still did not want to carry through with her plan. It was not too late to phone Shadow and tell him the truth, however another part of her wanted to sacrifice herself, and that part of her seemed to be the most dominate side of her mind.

Suddenly the doorbell rang, and Amy let out a small scream. She was so deep in her thoughts the high pitched noise slightly startled her. After getting over the initial shock, Amy rose from her seat and took a deep breath. This was going to be it, the beginning of the end of her life. The pink hedgehog slung her bag over her back, and hurried to the door to let in her boyfriend. Amy swung open her front door and sure enough, the dark hedgehog stood in front of her, a similar rucksack to Amy's on his back. When he saw his girlfriend, he looked her up and down, a confused expression on his face.

" Why are you dressed like that?" Shadow asked, and Amy giggled.

" We are going somewhere cold," she replied simply. The young female was dressed in a thick white dress, with a red, padded jacket over the top, gloves, scarf, and woolly hat. On her feet instead of her usual crimson boots, were a pair of big, black, walking boots that looked like it would hurt if being stomped on by them.

" You did not tell me that," Shadow whispered frowning, until now he had no idea of where they were headed, and somehow he did not think to ask.

Amy's usual cheery expression fell for a moment, when she realised that Shadow was dressed in nothing but his fur, but then it brightened again when she remembered something.

" Wait there a sec Shad," She cried, and ran into her bedroom where she raided her wardrobe for things her boyfriend might need, then she ran back and dumped them into Shadow's arms. " These are for you!" Amy exclaimed smiling. Shadow picked up Amy's scarf, looked at them distastefully, before dropping them back on the pile.

" I appreciate your help Amy, but I will manage without them," Shadow announced, holding the pile of clothes out to his girlfriend, who crossed her arms and frowned in reply.

" Don't be so silly Shadow," she scolded, " I don't want you to freeze to death!"

The ebony hedgehog sighed, and then grimaced as he pulled on a jumper and wrapped a scarf around his neck. ' At least they are not pink, but red,' he thought as he placed a hat over his ears.

" Ahh, you look adorable!" Amy squealed, and placed a small kiss on his lips, " now lets go!" She then grabbed Shadow by the hand, and began to lead him towards the last emerald.

Tails opened the bedroom door, and carried in a cup of coffee to the lazy hedgehog that was still in his bed. Although not asleep, Sonic seemed to have no plans for the rest of the day apart from sitting in his duvet and playing games on his DS. However, the pre adolescent fox had other ideas. Making sure not to step on his sleeping bag that remained on the floor from the previous night, Tails handed the cup to sonic who flashed him a grateful smile. The fox waited until the azure hedgehog had finished his drink before explaining his idea for the day.

" I think we should go and see Amy," Tails told his friend, who frowned.

" Why?" He replied, and the yellow fox rolled his eyes.

" Because I want my emerald back now that she does not need it, and I think we should make sure she is okay. You know, after everything."

Sonic thought for a second before grinning widely.

" Yeah, lets do that!" he cried, " but let me have a few minutes more in bed first."

Shadow lay his old blanket on top of the thick layer of snow and sat down with Amy besides him. They had been struggling through the snow for two hours now, and already the couple felt like they had slept in a freezer. Shadow was amazed that Amy, although with a map, seemed to know where she was going, as everywhere they had walked looked the same to him, but they were now taking a rest for lunch. As soon as Amy sat down her bottom began to freeze and turn numb, even on the thick blanket, and she decided that they were going to have to eat fast.

" At least it is not snowing!" Cried Amy, trying to be optimistic as Shadow handed her a flask that seemed to still be warm under the frigid conditions. She quickly removed the lid and took a long sip, the hot liquor tasting extremely inviting down her throat. After replacing the lid, Amy delved into her own rucksack, retrieving a cellophane bag full of sandwiches, which she handed to Shadow for first choice. The ebony male selected a ham sandwich before handing the bag back to his girlfriend.

" How long is it now until we reach the emerald Ames?" He asked while taking a bite from his sandwich.

" 'Bout another two hours," she replied, and Shadow nodded. It made sense.

The couple hurried to eat their lunch, and again set off towards their destination, treading carefully in the snow as so not to slip. Amy led the way as she had the map, but Shadow was less than half a metre behind her, holding her hand in an attempt to warm them both up. He was glad that he was wearing Amy's clothes now.

Sonic pressed Amy's doorbell for the fifth time, frustrated, and peered through her tiny window. Again, there was no reply.

" Maybe she is at Shadow's place?" Tails suggested, and his cerulean friend shrugged.

" I will try and ring her landline first," he replied, and began to type in the number he had memorised long ago, and waited impatiently for her to pick up. However, instead of Amy, he was rewarded by her answer machine.

" I am sorry, but I am away on a long journey now," the pink hedgehog's voice spoke softly, " and I do not know when I will again return. Love you all, Amy Rose."

Sonic gasped, and dropped his mobile, allowing to land on the floor with a thud, making Tails jump.

" What is it Sonic?" Tails asked worried, as Sonic's face began to turn pale.

" I think Amy has gone with Shadow to bring back Maria," he whispered, a feeling of failure starting to well up in his chest, " Amy. Bright, cheerful, Amy is going to die. My little Rose, gone."

Tails' face fell hearing Sonic, and his face immediately turned into a frown.

" We need to go after them and stop her!" he exclaimed, but Sonic shook his head.

" How can we, we don't have the faintest idea of where they are," he said slowly, close to tears.

Tails let out a small smile.

" I have a machine that shows the location of any chaos energy being used, and they will have to use some before she dies anyway," the fox explained, " then you can use my fake chaos emerald to chaos control to their location and stop her!"

Sonic suddenly leapt up into the air, and hugged Tails tightly, a huge smile beginning to form on his face.

" Tails, you are a lifesaver, literally!" Sonic cried happily, " We will do that, that will work!"