Author note: Hope you enjoy reading. Leave me your opinions. :)
Chapter 10
Amy remained motionless as the full moon crept slowly down behind the horizon. Her wide eyes stayed open, tears continuing to fall down her face and drip onto the grass. The emerald green color of her irises faded almost to white and she sobbed hopelessly into her hands. Behind her, she heard the rustle of leaves as the three spies drug their feet back into the small house. Amy lifted her head and stared at the now rising sun. Sweet orange light edged the tips of the few clouds in the sky and the stars disappeared in the lightening blue sky.
I'm alone. she thought. As long as he stays in the mind set he's in, we can't be together...I'm so...hopeless. Amy wiped the dried, salty water from her cheeks and smiled at the sound of her friends chatting in her home. She turned and began walking around the back of her house, twisting her fingers together.
She reached the back door and noticed an outline of black next to the trees of her yard. Timidly, she approached the thing with squinting eyes and ah-ha'd in her mind. It's just his bike. Amy realized. He'll probably come get it when I'm sleeping. Less chance of seeing me, I suppose. But hey! My friends are inside. We are safe. I guess that's all I can ask for. She turned around and shrugged the bike out of her mind. Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog, until we meet again...
"Amy, Amy!" Cream wailed with excitement. "The tea's getting old! Come inside! We're going to start a game of charades!" Cream waved her arm at Amy to hurry up and Amy obeyed. She jogged over to her friend and walked into her home.
"Are you okay, Amy?" Sonic asked as she sat on her big couch next to Vanilla.
"I'm fine." answered Amy. "Just exhausted and ready to play a game with you all!"
"Where's Shadow?" questioned Knuckles. "Betting he went home."
"Yeah." Amy quickly replied. "He said he had to go take care of some things."
"Figured as much." Knuckles added. "He doesn't like being around-"
"Well, let's get this game started?" Sonic interrupted. Amy looked at him with thankful eyes and Sonic nodded at her slightly and winked.
"Hmph." Knuckles grumbled. "Well, I suppose I'll go first." He got up off the carpet and walked in front of the group. He held up three fingers.
"Three words." Vanilla interpreted.
"Red-haired Jamaican!?" Vector bellowed. The Charmy buzzed with laughter, followed by Tails and Sonic. There was a small giggle from Vanilla and Cream and Espio just rolled his eyes. Amy put her hand over her mouth, hiding her smile. Knuckles growled at Vector, but then blushed.
"Okay, that was a little funny." Knuckles admitted. "But you don't see me calling you a talking pickle, do you Vector?"
The entire group busted into roars of laughter, some rolling on the ground. Knuckles even had his hand on his stomach as he bent over giggling.
"Aren't you glad everything's back to normal, Amy?" Cream managed to say. Amy smiled at her.
Yeah. she thought. Normal...
Day came without warning, and before noon all of the animals were asleep in Amy's living room. All of them, that is, with the exception of Amy. She was lying next to Tails on top of one of the many sleeping bags lining the ground, staring at the ceiling. Her hands laid on her stomach and she crossed her feet. Her thoughts roamed around her mind and it made her restless. Vector let out a huge snore that made her jerk, and she rose silently and made her way swiftly to her bathroom. She closed the door and grabbed a washcloth from the towel rack and wet it with luke warm water. She rubbed the cloth over her face and cleaned out the sleepies from her eyes. She then folded the rag neatly and set it on the counter next to the sink.
She watched the reflecton of herself intently in the mirror and gripped the egde of the counter. She noticed the small bags under her eyes and frowned. There was a knock on the door.
"Ames?" Sonic's voice penetrated through the door. "Are you okay?" Startled, Amy replied, "Just peachy. Thanks, Sonic." A moment of silence followed, then Sonic's voice was released again.
"Would you like to talk, Amy?" he asked. Amy didn't reply. From the other side of the door, Sonic leaned his head on the frame and breathed heavily.
"Amy, please talk to me." he managed.
"Sonic, really, I'm okay." Amy finally said. "I'm just sleepy."
"Well, I'm here if you need me, Ames..." he trailed off. Amy heard his footsteps being falling.
"Wait, Sonic." Amy cried quietly. She leaned against the door and slid to the tile, Sonic following her moves as he placed himself on the other side. "I don't understand, Sonic..."
"This is about Shadow, isn't it?" Sonic asked.
"Yes." Amy whispered.
"Well, I don't know the whole story. Not like I want to..." Sonic began. "But we all know how he is. He is just one of those who is better off alone. Unfortunately for you, you aren't one of those."
"But I know he feels just the same as me." Amy said. "He would just rather choose something else."
"It's not that you aren't important to him." mentioned Sonic. "He's just...Shadow. He knows about himself just as much as we do. He doesn't know why he's here, or what he's supposed to do. But Amy, if you guys can't...be together...then you can't sit here and be upset for the rest of your life."
"It's not that easy." Amy snapped. She circled her arms around her knees and tilted her head forward.
"I'm sure it's not." Sonic entreated.
"Sonic, it goes all the way back to the night he left. And he got a second chance, yet he still chose the same thing." An awkward silence left Sonic a little stunned.
"Amy, all I can say is..." Sonic paused. "If you guys are...meant to be...you will be. If you aren't, then you aren't. But until that's decided for you, be happy. Your a great friend to me, Ames, and I don't want to see you unhappy."
"That means a lot to me, Sonic." Amy mumbled. "You have no idea."
Sonic smirked and stood up. "We'll be out here." He left her alone, and she sat in almost a trance.
He's right. Amy pondered. I can't just be unhappy all the time. It will be difficult, I'm sure, but I guess everything will be okay.
Later that day, Amy watched her friends leave one by one, and with Cream and Vanilla being the last to leave, night fell once again. The moon rose with beautiful white light streaming across the valley, and almost seemed like a spotlight on Amy's house.
"Oh, my." Amy whined. "My house is so dirty. Well, I guess I could clean tomorrow. I am kind of tired..." She made her way around the house to close all of the windows and lock the doors. Once she was done, she approached her room and hopped onto her fluffy bed. She let her eyes close and soon she fell into a deep sleep.
A few weeks passed and Amy kept herself quite busy. Although Cream and Vanilla had offered to lend a hand with her dying greenery, Amy managed to do everything herself, refusing any help that anyone offered. Soon, the house was outlined with small red and green rosebushes and the grass in the surrounding area was now its usual vibrant color. Gardening became the major project in her daily time, taking time every afternoon to water the plants and churning the soil often. Every morning Amy would wake at sunrise and take a walk around her neighborhood. Occaisionally she visited Cream, but it wasn't long until she had to go home and continue her day to day regiment.
As the days passed slowly Amy noticed that the black and silver motorcycle never moved from the place Shadow had left it. The sight of it only brought hurt with it so she tried to stay away from it. Besides, she thought. If I mess one thing up on it he'll kill me. That is, if he ever comes back for it.
One cloudy morning, Amy had woken up fairly later than usual, and she didn't move an inch from her position. She sighed comfortably into her soft pillow and curled tighter in the warm blanket. A stroke of lightning lit her tiny room and soon she could hear the tapping of rain on her roof. Suddenly, her eyes shot open and she smiled. As quickly as she could, she sprinted to her phone hanging on the wall of her kitchen and dialed a series of numbers. The other end rang.
Oh, please, answer!
Another two rings replied to her thoughts. Then, in the middle of the fourth ring, Vector's voice was on the other side.
"Hello? Vector speaking!" he greeted happily.
"Vector? What are you doing there?" Amy asked.
"Well, Vanilla went out and I just happened to be in the neighborhood so I offered to keep an eye on Cream for her!" Amy heard his smile through his words.
"Ah, I see." Amy replied. "Well, could I please talk to Cream?"
"Of course, Missy!" said Vector. "Cream! Amy's on the phone for you!" The phone was shuffled from hand to hand and soon the high pitched voice spoke.
"Hi, Amy!" Cream said excitedly. "What are you up to?"
"Hey, Cream." Amy said. "I was wondering if you could ask your mom to do me a favor?"
"Anything!" squeaked Cream.
"Uhm, well I was wondering if you and your mom would take me to Juliani."
"Oh. What for?"
"I was wanting to visit the library there. Maybe check out a book or two."
"We would be more than happy to." Cream agreed. "I can go with you too!"
"Oh, well actually, I was going to stay for a while then Tails said he'd meet up with me so I could help him with one of his new projects."
"Oh, okay. Well, what time would you like to go?"
"As soon as you'd be able to pick me up."
"Well, when my mother gets home I will tell her then we will come get you! I'm sure she wants to do some shopping while we're there." Amy heard Vector yell in the backround and Cream giggled.
"Thank you so much, Cream. I owe you."
"Don't worry about it. You're, like, my best friend! We'd do anything for you."
The two friends said their goodbyes and once Amy hung up the phone she ran back to her room to make her bed. After that was done, she jumped into the shower, brushed her teeth and put on some fresh clothes. She did a last minute quill check and walked into her living room, waiting impatiently for her ride to arrive. About ten minutes later, a honk answered her beckoning mind and she hopped outside over to Cream and Vanilla. She was then on her way to Juliani. The ride was mostly quiet other than the constant chatter of Vector who took over the front seat.
"He insisted on coming." Cream chuckled. "But that's Vector for you." Amy smiled.
They arrived at Juliani around 11 A.M. and Amy got out of the car at her stopped. She thanked her friends many times, then made her way into the library. She peered outside the window and waited for the vehicle to disappear anxiously. Once it was out of site, she left the library and headed for the park where Shadow had dropped her off when they met in the woods before her kidnapping.
The park was empty, partly because of the rainy weather outside, but Amy pressed on. She approached the west entrance to the park and saw the road across from her. She grinned, relieved, and continued up the asphalt.
It must lead me to him. This is where we came from. I'll find him some way.
Amy walked on the winding road for about an hour, taking breaks every so often under the shelter of the trees. As she leaned against one of the bushy trees, she realized that she must be getting close. On the ground in front of her was a ripped piece of fabric, a pink strip of the dress she wore that day she was chasing Sonic. She gasped and almost cried. I can't be that far!
Determined, she lifted herself up and stumbled into the middle of the road. She followed the yellow dashes that separated the sides like she was on a tightrope, all the while observing the woods surrounding her.
"Come on, give me something." Amy mumbled to herself. Above her, the clouds began to part, revealing a light blue sky behind them. She jumped when she heard the tree next to her jumble its leaves but relaxed when a bird exited the spot. A small, brown sparrow flew in a circle above her head then landed in front of her. Amy crouched and spoke to it. "What are you doing out in the rain, little fellow?"
The bird chirped at her and hopped two inches closer to her.
"Go back home, little bird." Amy encouraged. The bird tilted its head and hopped away, stopping at the edge of the road and faced Amy. It chirped again.
Amy started walking forward again but halted in response to the sparrow flying in front of her. It hopped in a circle and stared at her.
"What do you want, birdie?" Amy asked the animal. The little bird flew to a leafy bush that lined the side of the road and sung. Follow you? How silly... she thought. "Would you like me to follow you?"
As if understanding her, the bird nodded. Amy shook her head. "No, you're a bird." The bird answered her remark with a violent chortle. Amy twitched.
"Well, if you say so." Reluctantly, she began to follow the bird into the woods. The rain had slowed by then and Amy was led for another half hour. The sun began to show between the trees which made it easier for her to follow the bird. It sang as it flew, low of course for her to see him, and after a little while, he stopped.
Amy was breathless at this point and she knelt on her knees to rest. She closed her eyes as she composed herself and then stood back up. The sparrow flew up and landed on her head. It sang a pretty yet ironically annoying melody and then went its own way. Confused, Amy looked around but continued walking forward.
"Great." she whispered. "I'm lost because I followed a bird." She let her feet fall noisily on the cold ground. She suddenly grabbed her head dizzily. "Darn it, I didn't eat anything before I left! I'll be paying for it now." She stumbled and found a rock to sit on next to a tree. She leaned her head against the trunk and slunked to the ground, exhausted.
A growl filled the air in the distance, and she saw a shape coming towards her but was too tired to resist.