The image of her late mother entered her mind, seeing a woman who closely resembled her-only her hair was in a braid over the shoulder-reach down and gently touch her forehead; Amy was stunned by the whole scene, unable to move, feeling nothing but overwhelming emotion consume her.
"You…are you crazy!? You could've killed us!" Lily yelled angrily shutting her eyes-swatting away the dust and debris in the air.
"It's all I could do at that moment…" Amy said as if a matter of fact, holding back tears as the pain intensified, lying down on the floor-looking up at the huge crate she created. "The most I could do is force a draw…I don't want to fight you, Lily…"
Lily struggled to her feet, her knees buckling as she used her sword for support. She peered at her downed sister, the image burning in her mind; Amy was everything like their mother, Altruistic, Loyal, and resilient. As Lily thought about these things, she lost her will to continue fighting, dropping her weapons and limping over to her injured older sister with tears.
"You…you always do something reckless!" she cried, falling on top of her sister; Amy smiled, hugging her sister.
"I'm sorry I haven't been a good sister…I made you lose sight of your goal and up fighting me. I'm sorry Lily, forgive me for everything." Amy cried, blinding herself with her flowing tears; Lily felt heartbroken.
"Don't say that, sis!" Lily cried, burying herself in Amy's chest. "It isn't your fault…I was selfish."
Amy pats Lily on the head, "Seems like we both have something we have to work on; why don't we do it together."
Lily nodded in agreement, relaxing in her sister's arms; Amy's looked up at the floor above her and called out to Sonic and the others, "Sorry everyone, but Lily and I will be dropping out of this one…"
Sonic, Suhn, and Cream all have pleased looks, satisfied that the two sisters have patched up their conflict; this allowed them to go all-out and take down Redd Mamba without any worries. Sonic held up his fist and grinned from ear to ear, amplifying the power of his Dark form; the amount of pressure that he released was incredible, so incredible that a black ball-like aura began to form around him, but it was a swirly one that looked as though Sonic had complete control over, because each time Sonic breathed, the aura reacted to it. Sonic's eyes grew ravenous, growing more and more hungry as the prey before it stood still. Redd could only watch as a monster was being born before his eyes, seeing a terrifying arrogant look in Sonic's eyes; He looked like a man that was ready to devour a soul. Redd growled, feeling Sonic's dominance begin to reign.
"You damned hedgehog!" he yelled with scales beginning to spread across his face; he began to hold himself as he knelt, as if he was restraining his body from continuing to grow. Sonic's grin stayed as wide as ever as he awaited Redd's complete transformation; More scales begin to sprout from Redd's body.
The human had transformed into a serpent! His legs shriveled up and fell off, and his remaining skin finally shed. His long tongue began dance as his teeth took their proper form; Now he completely looked like a snake.
"You did this to me!" the snake said in a rough voice, powering up a frightening aura.
"Now we're finally going at full power, as it should be!" Sonic said with enthusiasm at the tall snake.
Sonic disappears, leaving a black afterimage, and then reappears behind Redd-kneeing him in the back, and then shifting his body's weight to the other side to land a kick to Redd's gut. Sonic disappeared again at an incredible speed, reappearing right before Redd-landing a dozen powerful blows to Redd's guts, making him cough up blood. Sonic jumped back, shaking the blood off his gloves.
"you talk big for someone getting their ass kicked…" Sonic taunted.
"Grrrr…Damn you!" Redd screamed, slithering towards Sonic with danger; Sonic smirks, knowing he's baited the boss.
Redd spits out a red ball of light and it hits the part of the floor where Sonic had just stepped; a small explosion went off. Sonic got launched into a wall, smacking the wall hard. Redd returned to his bipedal form, holding out his hand as more red light began to form into a ball; Sonic got up, brushing off the dirt.
"So, you're ready? I was starting to get bored, y'know, going into this form is pretty taxing as-is." Sonic grinned, crossing his arms-waiting for the obvious attack from Redd.
Redd became irritated, "Don't think acting all lax and composed will help you in this battle! I know how to defeat you…"
Sonic got smug, "prove it, snakehead."
Redd rushed at Sonic with a barrage of attacks, but Sonic calculated them all perfectly and dodged them all. Redd then went for melee attacks, but Sonic's reflexes were top tier-no way would Redd defeat Sonic head-on. Redd's body illuminated red as his rage and frustration increased, "Why won't you take a hit!?"
Redd summons another light-ball, throwing it at Sonic and then making a sprint in the other direction; the ball curved to the right at a marvelous speed while he went left matching the speed. Sonic knew what Redd was up to, he's looking to do a pincer attack on me…this idiot! Sonic curls up into a ball and charges his spin dash, performing a homing attack on the ball and then sticking the landing, but he's met by a large tail whip from Redd, pinned against the wall. Redd laughs with evil intent as he gets Sonic right where he wants him. He opens his mouth, forming a massive ball of light that could possibly kill Sonic at close range.
"Not yet Cream!" Sonic said confidently, "This isn't the opening…please wait a little longer!"
Cream nodded, trusting Sonic. Cream's role in this battle was to fire a single carbon bullet that'll send Redd to his knees; the powerful CP2 pistols were once again back in the spotlight. Suhn kept a distance from the battle, analyzing his best chance to strike. Sonic's vicious eyes peered into Redd's soul, "What are you waiting for, do it!"-Sonic said with eyes hungry for Redd's blood.
Redd startled, loosening his tight grip on Sonic-enough for him to escape; that sudden bloodlust that Redd sensed from Sonic was truly terrifying. Sonic's dark aura powered up again, he grinned showing his sharp teeth with those same hungry eyes ready to devour his prey: Redd. Sonic homing attacks Redd a couple times, then leg sweeps him to the floor, followed by a spin dash that sends Redd upwards, and then Sonic finished off the combo by a backflip kick to the head, sending Redd straight to the floor. Redd became dizzy from the number of attacks and teetered on his feet, swaying form left to right; he just wouldn't go down. Cream closed one eye and targeted Redd's left knee cap.
"Pow!" the gun fired, piercing through Redd's knee; he screams in agony, quickly returning to serpent form, holding his tail.
"Bullseye…" Cream said, turning around walking toward Suhn, holding her hand out for a tag. "He's all yours…" she said.
Suhn tags in for the final blow! He charged up his right fist and stared at the downed snake. "You…kidnapped me, harmed innocent people, used my daughter, made them fight each other! I'm going to send you straight to hell!" he yelled, running toward Redd at full speed with his fist glowing yellow.
Redd bowed down, accepting his punishment. He thought about his deceased sons, his deceased wife, and all the many men he lost in that battle. Redd's tears began to show as Suhn approached him closer, feeling nothing but regret and frustration. "I'm sorry…everyone…" he muttered under his breath as he closed his eyes, preparing for the worse.
Suhn-at full power-punches Redd in the face, so powerfully that it knocks a trio of teeth out of Redd's mouth; Redd falls to the floor with blood trickling from where his teeth used to be. He looks up at the angry Suhn who's still staring at him angrily, so angrily that a vein is popping out. "W-why…didn't you kill me…? Surely your punch could've killed me."
Suhn sighed closing his eyes, "It would be weak to kill you here. After all, you have to live for your wife and sons…"
Redd's eyes water, "Y-you bastard! I don't need your pity! Kill me! Kill me now, dammit!" Redd slammed his head on the floor and cried; Suhn looked away, ashamed of the proud Don of the Mamba family.
"Also…I have sins to atone for. I must atone for the murders I committed to your family…your comrades. Therefore, I must allow you to live." Suhn said a bit selfishly; Redd glared at Suhn.
Redd's anger grew after hearing Suhn, "Don't think I'll ever forgive you, you damned rat." He yelled emotionally.
Suhn lowered his head, "I know, and I won't forgive you for what you've done so far."-He stares at his fist-"But, don't you think this needs to change…? It's becoming taxing having to always be at war with you people…"
"The nation of Gordana has been suffering…" Redd said in a low tone.
"And that needs to change, we should put this all in the past and work toward rebuilding Gordana for the better. will you lend me your aid?"
Redd is baffled, "You want me to help you? Hell no!"
"It's time we put this conflict behind us…"-Suhn holds out his hand-"I want to end this foolish war…for the sake of Gordana."
Redd stared at Suhn's hand with heavy anger, thinking about the things that man just said. The same man that took everything away from him, the same man that forced him to leave his own hometown was now asking for his help.
"I'll be damned if I ever forgive you…But, I care about my people more than you ever would, so I'll unhappily agree to this for now. But watch your back Suhn, I'm going to kill you the moment I have my chance."
Suhn nodded, "And I'll be sure to kick your ass again until you get the memo…"
The two shake hands, officially ending the war between the rival families, for now at least. The resolution went well for the rest involved, as both parties helped the other out, aiding those injured on the Mamba side and apologies from both sides. At the Rose household, there was a celebration party to celebrate Suhn's return as well as the end of the war between the Mambas and Roses. Amy stood over the balcony watching her friends dance by the poolside with her cousins.
Amy hears a knock at the door, "Come in!"
Lily entered, her hands behind her back, and an embarrassed expression on her face; Amy smiled, turning her attention to her sister-crossing her arms. Lily kept silent, blushing, as she revealed what she has hiding behind her back, "Here…"
Amy gasped, "Roses…!? For me…!? But isn't this forbidden love?" Amy joked; Lily blushed harder and shook her head.
"Don't joke about that, that's gross!"
Amy set the flowers on her bed, "Thanks. But why the flowers?"
Lily looked elsewhere, "I felt it's the least I should do to apologize for my behavior back at the Mamba's castle. What I said was out of line."
"But it wasn't you, it was Redd manipulating you."
"No! It was my own suppress thoughts that he manipulated into being said, but nonetheless they were still being harbored; that was wrong."
Amy shook her head, "Don't worry about that, you had your reasons. Besides, what I did back then was terrible…leaving you all alone at such a sensitive age where an older female figure was vital in your life."
"Sis…don't think like that. I'm happy you're back, and…" -she put her hands behind her back- "I was wondering if I could join you and your friends…I think I'd make a great addition to your team."
Amy's mouth dropped, unexpected that her sister would ask such a thing. Lily had a strong resolve in her eyes, "Last night I thought about why you left, and I saw just how strong you've become in the time you've been away; even your character has matured. I thought, that maybe the reason all of this happened was so that I could assist you in the future, I may not be a legendary swordsman or anything, but I'm confident in my ability…and I and I want to go wherever you go…"-she blushes again-"Because you're my big sister, and I love you."
Amy's covered her mouth, holding her chest; her sister had pulled at her heart strings. Amy hugged her immediately, almost suffocating her, "I love you too. I'd enjoy your company on our adventures. But in the end, it comes down to what dad says. Have you asked him about this?" letting go of her little sister.
Lily pouted, "He's being stubborn about it. No answer from him."
"Then let's go there now and find out." Amy said, grabbing her sister's arm and heading to her father's room.