a/n: In all of its actuality. Well, if we can start allowing the curtain to shift.

"Well, that's nice. The military isn't guarding this shitty service road."

"We can take this all the way up to 5 East and hit the collectors there."

"I'm just about done with this route. I'm taking 14 East and then we can turn off at Mitchell."

"You don't think they'll have a traffic stop there?"

"All the way up there? Hell no. They always choke roads like 14 East halfway."

"That makes sense. Okay, we'll take that over, then."

Rouge nodded and put a bit more pressure on the accelerator. The fuel consumption of the Humvee was awful, but it was enough to get them one way to the airport.

A canvas of stars signaled nightfall.

Sonic slept in the back seat, his head against Amy's shoulder. She held him gently in her arms as she looked out the window. Lights, white lines, and passing cars. For the first time in the longest time, the five heroes had joined civilization.

Rouge looked at the road ahead and sighed.

"Dear God in Heaven...have mercy on these fucked up souls of ours. Maybe just a little peace...just a little for us, even as much as we've wandered into the dark."

"Never took you for the religious type," Tails said from beside her.

"I'm not. Maybe a little spiritual," she replied. "But I know there must be someone or something up there listening. Some kind of...providence."

"I think it's more likely than not."

"I hope for as much. Just look at us all, kid."

"The price of survival. That's all it is."

"Price of survival?"

"It's something nobody talks about when they mention the survival of the fittest. We don't just survive...something goes into all that. We change. Lose things and gain others," he said. "And for things like this? We pay a price. Maybe some steeper than others. Irreparable damages."

"It sounds grim enough."

"We all just ascended into adulthood today, somehow. It's never clean," he said as he leaned back in his seat.

"It sounds like you know enough about it," Rouge remarked.

"I'm just parsing what's going on around us."

She nodded, her focus still on the road. It was another few minutes of silence after that. The windows rolled down slightly and crisp, cool air came into the Humvee.

The journey felt slower. Amy found herself wondering where the future would lead. Were there more growing pains? More sacrifices?

She could understand what Tails meant. That sudden ascension into adulthood, with no time to really adjust. Disappearing innocence. Changes in priorities. Understanding bonds.

But even then, the future didn't seem cruel. She welcomed it.

She felt as if it were possible to continue that same dance from her half-eaten childhood. She would never meet that woman again, but it felt like she was near. Or was she just a shade? Maybe a shadow. Better yet, a gradient of herself.

She remembered those ruby red lips.

Maybe a reflection of desires.

Or perhaps she was thinking too deeply on things with no meaning.

She sighed and snapped the train of thought apart.

"Everything okay, hon?"

"It's the same as always," she said to Rouge. The bat nodded knowingly.

"Phantom pains?" Tails asked.

"No, nothing like that," Amy said. "Do you have them?"

"I don't. I wasn't close enough to feel that kind of burning," he said.

"Sonic probably does."

"It might be what he wants. To him, the phantoms are just another form of life."

Amy blinked. "Does he mean to understand them, too?"

"He already does. You can't unlearn the knowledge."

"Sheesh."

"Hm?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing. He's just always accelerating out of my reach, that's all."

"It's his essence," Rouge said with understanding.

"Did you feel that when you were with him?" Amy asked.

"No...I understood that from long ago. From when we were on ARK. What I felt from him recently was a kindness. And maybe a serenity that I had to reject."

"Mm." Amy knew she didn't understand the last part yet. To reject serenity.

Perhaps once she understood what adulthood tasted like. For now, it was a flavour that she couldn't comprehend.

"I guess this is where we part ways for now. You guys gonna be okay with Omega?"

"We'll tow him back to the shop. No big deal."

"I'll text Shadow. He can pop in and pick him up whenever."

"Yeah."

Rouge smiled and mussed up the fox's head as always. He smiled back.

"You look handsome. I keep forgetting you're still a kid, as much as I say it out loud."

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself, you know?"

"Heh." She looked at Sonic, who was leaning against the side of the Humvee. A few light steps brought her to him.

"You gonna be okay, Mister Hero?"

"I'll be fine," he said with one eye open. "Just a bit of healing to do."

"When you let me swallow 'that' up..."

"I meant for it to happen."

"Where'd it go?"

"There's no conservation of matter for those types of things," Sonic said casually.

"Well, shit. Getting philosophical on me, eh?" she said with a grin.

"Why not? It's a new era."

She hit him in the arm gently. "As long as you're you. And, um...I appreciated it. What you did...you were perfect. I don't mean to-"

"Yeah. I know. It was an experience for us both."

"I felt like a girl again, you know? I liked that feeling. That little...bit of innocence, for once."

"Was it like that?"

"Yeah."

"Beyond my understanding...like I thought, then." He nodded. "As long as it gave you light. It's fine."

"I know. You're selfless like that. And stubborn."

"I know."

She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. A tender smile.

He nodded again and gave her a smile back, even as small as it was.

"I'll wait for you in Milan," she called out to him. Amy stood at length, her eyes bright. The headlights of the Humvee illuminated her form. "I think...I need to feel out adulthood a bit more. And then I want to touch you again."

He deliberately let a beat fall. "Alright. I'll meet you in Milan."

She smiled and nodded. A warmth sprung in her heart.

"Tails, thanks. We'll talk a bit later."

"Yeah, that's cool. Safe travels, Amy."

Sonic settled himself into the front seat. Tails waved the girls off before walking around to the driver's side.

The headlights peeled away from Rouge and Amy's path as they carried their duffle bags and purses into the terminal. The artificial light from above was a soothing reminder of existence.

"Red eye west?" Rouge asked.

Amy nodded.

Her face went bright with an excited, toothy grin. "Was hoping you'd say that. Let's get this show started, yeah?"