Wow! I'm amazed at the responses this had gotten so for! Simply AWESOME!! And now, my beloved readers, the next chapter, enjoy!

Part Two: The Waltz's End

It was to be an evening years in the making. She had decided that tonight, under guise of celebration, Amy Rose would bring her hero and idol, Sonic the Hedgehog home on her arm. Step one had been to arrange the party. Granted, Rouge never really needed a reason to throw a full-on bash, so that aspect had been simple.

Part two were the guests and the invites. Sonic, Tails and Cream would be easy enough; they always enjoyed a group get-together. Same with Silver, being a visitor from another timeline who was trying to make new friends. And if Silver would be there, chances are Blaze would tag along too. Knuckles would probably take some convincing, but she decided to leave that to her jewel-swiping co-conspirator.

And then there was Shadow. He was going to be the hard one to track down; even Rouge didn't always know where her partner was. Still, Amy Rose wrote one out, in the off chance she saw the ebony hedgehog before the party. Some of her close friends would call him a lost cause, too hardened by his past and his attitude to ever warm up to them, especially in a loud social mass. Yet Amy still wanted to try. To her, Shadow was the personification of a wounded soul. Shielded and brittle on the outside. Inside though, he was alone, even scared of lowering those walls. Sonic may always hold the young flower's heart, but as the eve of the party drew closer, she found this dark knight occupying more and more of her curiosity.

Then came the day. The club had been prepared, all but one guest confirmed. That morning, Amy had awoken full of energy and anticipation. Since all that stored emotion made sitting still near impossible, she decided to go for a run. Quickly making her way outside the city limits, she made her way to her favorite solitary spot, a lone hillside with an equally solemn tree standing guard over it in full bloom. However, Amy was surprised to find that her secret paradise was quite occupied today.

An ebony figure lay quietly against the trunk, arms coiled behind his crimson-striped spines and ruby eyes closed in slumber.

A smile quickly lit up Amy's face as she approached. It was turning out to be quite a day already. Even with the sky threatening a depressing downpour, she was still ecstatic about the evening to come, now that the last guest had been found. Shadow did not stir from his nap, even as Amy came within arm's reach. Quietly, she pulled the letter out of her pocket, but hesitated against just leaving it at his side lest a breeze snatch it away. Then the mischievous thought darted across her mind, causing her jade eyes to brighten. Carefully, she planted a light kiss on the invite and placed it right on Shadow's muzzle. The midnight hedgehog gave only a small grunt of acknowledgement. And as Amy snuck away as quietly as she arrived, she couldn't help but giggle.

See you tonight, Shadow…

Then came the final piece of the evening: the outfit. Granted, this wasn't quite a formal ball, but Amy still decided that her normal red dress and boots just wouldn't do. Instead, she chose a black sleeveless top that stopped well above her stomach and dark blue designer jeans that fit well on her hips. Paired with black heels and small golden bracelets, Amy knew her blue beau would be impressed.

Soon after the outfit was ready, a knock echoed through her door.

"Coming!" she said. It was Cream, donning a ivory t-shirt and khaki flood-pants.

"Hey, Amy! Wow, you look great!" her quiet voice was alive with energy.

"Thanks Cream, so do you. I bet Tails will absolutely drop when he sees you."

The young rabbit giggled, gaining a similar reaction from Amy. They made their way to K.H.A.O.S together, swapping sweet gossip and other small talkings. As usual, there was a crowd of loyal partiers gathered, but the surprise was who was holding them all back.

"Dammit all, does it look like I'm gonna let you jokers in…Oh, hey Amy, Cream. Whatsup?" Knuckles the Echidna greeted.

"Hey Knuckles. What are you doing out here? I thought the party was inside" Amy replied.

The echidna smirked "Rouge asked me to take care of these losers. Her regular bouncers never showed tonight. Seems to be a trend apparently."

"Wow." Cream said, staring in awe at the magnitude of people this lone guardian was holding back "And you're holding them all back by yourself?"

Knuckles responded by flexing his broad shoulders and thickened biceps "Are you kidding? This is nothing compared to the workout I go through everyday!"

"Yea, but it's not everyday your body gets the same workout as your mouth." Rouge added as she stepped outside to fetch her guests.

"Yea that's tr…wait, WHAT?" the crimson echidna yelled, glowing a slightly brighter red.

"Exactly. Now come on in girls and let the knucklehead do his job. Besides, your guys are already here."

"Thank you Miss Rouge" Cream smiled as she entered the building.

"Have fun, Knux!" Amy added. The two younger ladies left Rouge to chat with her doorman. As they entered the club, the loud beats of thrumming music and the roars of an appreciative crowd washed over them. Both were quite surprised to see so many others at what was supposed to be a more private celebration, but Amy had a feeling this would've happened. Rouge's parties seldom remained secret for long.

Still, it didn't matter how many people were there to stand in her way. Amy Rose could always find her cobalt crush. And sure enough, the two found their male counterparts kicked back on the upper floor with a familiar metallic comrade. Both hedgehogs were enjoying their fruity intoxications while the fox sipped away at a more caffeinated concoction.

Silver's mental prowess quickly alerted them to the ladies approach "Uh-oh guys. Incoming."

Tails' ears perked up "Awesome!" He left his seat in a flash of orange to intercept Cream.

Sonic's reaction was the exact opposite. He quickly chugged down his drink to prepare for Amy's greeting. And the rose did not disappoint, wrapping him in a bone-breaking hug "Oh, Sonic! I'm so glad to see you here!"

Sliver snickered, and got up to leave "Looks like you two need some time alone."

"Where are you going?" Sonic asked, trying to pry himself free.

The telekinetic master nodded towards the stage where a new set of musicians, a darker blue triple-tailed kitsune and clean ebony raven, were setting up "A few friends of mine asked me to help them out, and besides, I think it might be fun."

Sonic glanced over the same way, and saw a familiar indigo feline's gaze locked on Silver. Once she noticed the other hedgehog's attention, Blaze quickly vanished among the crowd Old friends, huh? "Well, I'm glad you'll be able to enjoy it at least."

"What do you mean Sonic?" Amy asked "Aren't you having fun?"

"Not exactly…I'm… kinda waiting for someone…"

"Like who? Tails and Silver are busy, Knuckles and Rouge are outside"

"My girlfriend" Sonic interrupted.

Amy's brow narrowed in confusion "But I'm right here, silly."

Suddenly, a brunette squirrel appeared at the blue blur's side, hands full of various drinks "Actually, she's right here. And who are you?"

The young Rose's heart seemed to stop right there and her grip around Sonic quickly fell away "I'm Amy. Amy Rose."

"Oh, so you're the one always clinging to my speed demon like a parasite. Sonic told me were a little bitch and all, but I didn't know you were this big of a pain."

All rational thought had left Rose's mind by this point. With joints locked and head spinning, she cast a confused gaze towards Sonic with eyes threatening a flood. The cobalt hedgehog refused to meet his fan's gaze but still managed a nod.

If the room had been still, the sound of Amy's heart breaking would've echoed louder than any instrument could resonate. In an instant, she felt her stomach twist itself into a mess and her mind grew black. Tears saturated her vision as she left the two lovers in a hurry, nearly in a sprint towards the door.

"Damm Sal. Did you really have to go that far?" Sonic asked.

Sally Acorn flipped away a few stray locks out of her gaze "I got rid of her didn't I? What were you doing that whole time?"

"Hoping it didn't have to come to that."

"Yea, well we don't always get what we want hedgehog." Sally retorted, walking back the way she came.

"Where are you going now?" Sonic asked.

"To get more drinks" came the reply, almost ignoring the fact that a fresh armful had just been delivered.

Oh shit…this won't end well.

Meanwhile, the two youngest partygoers had moved off for their own refreshments. Tails had become pretty well energized, and Cream loved watching her fox bounce around so exuberantly. All that came to a screeching halt when an ever-familiar cherry blur passed their table. The rabbit knew almost instantly that something had gone wrong. Tails hadn't even stopped his sentence until he saw he no longer had the young lady's attention.

"What is it Cream? Huh, what do you see?" the kitsune asked, practically crawling over on the table trying to see.

"I'm not sure" she said, somewhat concerned "I'll be right back, ok Tails? I'm just going to step out for some fresh air."

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Ok. I'll get us some fresh drinks!" With that, their table was empty.

It took Cream a good few minutes to find Amy back outside. The once perky teen hedgehog was heading back the way she had come, one slow agonizing step at a time. The tears had long been exhausted, but the sobs were still racking her form and her once vibrant eyes were deadened and bloodshot.

"Amy!" she called out "Amy, what happened?!"

Even as the two walked side by side, Amy didn't even acknowledge her friends presence for the longest time, until finally the question emerged in a creaking voice "Why"

"Amy?"

"Why me, Cream? Why is it always me? Knuckles has Rouge, you have Tails… and I … I don't have anyone…"

"But, Mr. Sonic"

"SONIC IS A LYING BASTARD!!" she yelled at the top of her hedgehog lungs, actually frightening her best friend back a few steps "He... he said he'd never leave me… and now… and now…" the sobs had taken over again.

Cream had never seen her like this. It was like a complete mirror image of what Amy was supposed to be. "Maybe we should get you home, Amy. That party wasn't a good idea."

She simply nodded, fighting to calm the heaving motions of sadness Is that all I am to them … a bitch… an annoyance?

The rest of the way back to Amy's house was quiet again. Cream had tired repeatedly to get her friend to respond or even smile. No such luck. Once they had reached her front door, Amy simply squeaked out "Thank you."

"Sure thing Amy. Do you want …" the sound of a door closing and locking answered her. Even the rabbit knew something was still very wrong, and she was going to need help. So, she set back towards K.H.A.O.S, hoping someone would answer the plea.

Once she was inside, Amy Rose made sure both doors, front and back, were locked. She lit only the dimmest candles in her room as she sat on her couch in silence, letting only her dying weeps echo through the house. Inside her though, it was anything but quiet.

A parasite…a useless leech…that's all there is to me isn't there?

But that can't be true! What about all those time we've saved them?! From Eggman? From each other even?!

And look where we are now. For all the love and energy we shared, here we are… alone again…

"SHUT UP! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" she screamed. It was a feeling Amy wasn't used to, being alone like this. Even after a few mere minutes, she had reached a point of no return. Quietly, she tuned her stereo to one of her favorite soft music stations, taking the sweet time to change out of her evening attire, fold it neatly, and don her favorite silk nightgown, which happened to be a shining blue, and grab two other items from her bedroom

A bottle of twenty year old red wine that she had been saving for the day Sonic would finally propose, and a straight razor blade.

It felt so liberating after a few long moments, the way the wine worked its way through her system and the feeling of it escaping back outside through the clean slashes in each of her arms. No longer would she be just another clingy fan-girl to a false idol. No more would she see so many friends beaten and broken in battle. Finally there would be peace.

It didn't take long for her mind to be too light and dizzy to scream again. Slowly, her jade eyes grew dark as her legs buckled and she collapsed to the floor, the blood and wine mixing so vibrantly with the carpet.

A knock at her door. Wonder who it is…or does it even matter? Then the sounds of the wooden barrier crashing down as someone very determined came inside. Maybe it's a burglar. Couldn't even wait one more day… And then there was darkness, enveloping and calming all her world. Save for a familiar voice elevated in shock.

"What the hell?!"

One question answered, two more asked. What will become of Amy? Will Shadow save her? WILL I EVER STOP USING CLIFFHANGERS?!

Stay tuned