Chapter 20

Without hesitation, Sonic plunged into the warm water, streamlining down to the bottom. And there it was, simple as that, wedged halfway into the sand, glowing pink. He reached out to it, picked it up, and kicked back up to the surface as quickly as he could, running out of air.

He broke through the ocean, gasping and drawing in a much-needed breath of oxygen. He quickly swam back towards the shore, jogging back towards the pink hedgehog.

"That's seven," she murmured quietly, taking it and studying it. A shout startled them, and they looked back in the direction of the fight, where Sticks was doing a fine job keeping Mephiles busy while Shadow snuck up behind him. Mephiles saw it coming, though, and punched Shadow hard enough to send him flying. He landed a few feet from Sonic and Amy.

"Shadow," Amy called. "You good?"

"Dandy," he grumbled, but his eyes went wide when he saw the emerald she held. "You found it?"

"We got it," Sonic replied grimly. "Which means…"

"You two gotta go," Shadow finished. "Don't worry. I know how to kick some serious ass on my own, you know."

"Shadow? You want to get your ass over here and help a little bit?" Rouge yelled, firing an arrow directly between Mephiles' eyes, which only served to piss him off.

"Duty calls," Shadow nodded. "Amy…"

"I know," she smiled, hugging him quickly. "I'll see you soon, Shadow."

"Absolutely," Shadow confirmed before charging back into the fight.

"Well?" Sonic asked, studying her expression.

She let out the breath she had been holding before jumping on his back, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Run fast."

The world shot by in a blur, and within seconds the two of them had arrived back at her place. Amy jumped down and quickly swung open the door.

Silver looked up at them, letting out a sigh of relief. "Way to cut it close."

"Sorry," Amy promised, kneeling beside Blaze. The cat opened her eyes slightly, as much as she could.

"Amy…" she murmured, her breathing shallow.

"Come on, Blaze. It's time to get this thing out of you," Amy instructed. Blaze, unaware of what she was saying, closed her eyes again.

"Amy, we need to do this now," Silver panicked. "She doesn't have long."

"I know," Amy nodded. "Tails, can you help me set these out?"

The two of them worked quickly, setting the Chaos Emeralds up around Blaze and Amy in a circle. Amy gripped Blaze's hands tightly.

"Amy…" Sonic started, meeting her eyes.

She held his gaze. "Don't leave," she said.

"Never again," he promised.

"Okay, Tails," she exhaled. "I'm ready."

Tails, reading from a page in one of his journals, began to read in an unfamiliar language. Blaze was just conscious enough to feel something happening within her.

Pressure.

It built, more and more, until she was sure her chest would explode. She gasped a breath in, grabbing at her chest, but the pressure just got more intense.

"Blaze?!" Silver yelled, but she could barely hear him above the blood pumping in her ears.

Just when she was sure the amount of pressure would split her apart, a flash of light emanated from the center of her chest, flooding out of her with the force of what felt like a train. She closed her eyes tightly against the pain.

Then, relief. Finally.

She cautiously opened one eye, realizing that she didn't hurt anymore.

And next to her, Amy did.

The golden flash of light that had just escaped from Blaze hit Amy full-force.

The pain was unreal. Amy had never felt anything like it, and she immediately felt a scream tear from her throat, unable to control it. It felt like every part of her body had been lit on fire.

"Amy!" Sonic cried, but there was nothing he could do. Amy felt the pain of Iblis flooding through her veins like molten lava. She could actually feel it becoming one with her soul. Another of her screams echoed through the shack, and she arched her back against the pain, panting.

Sonic grabbed her, holding her tightly as she screamed against the pain. He could feel tears prick at his vision. "Amy… you can do this. You don't get to leave me now." She braced herself against him, eyes squeezed shut, as golden light shone through her skin.

"I… can't…" she forced out, just as another massive wave of pain tore through her.

"Tails, this is killing her!" Sonic yelled. Tails looked frightened, flipping through his journal for any advice. It yielded nothing.

"What the hell did she do?" Blaze cried, even though she knew exactly what had happened. "If Iblis doesn't take, she's dead!"

"It has to take," Tails exclaimed, trying not to cry.

Amy dug her fingernails into Sonic's shoulder, crying in earnest now, and he ignored the pain, letting her hurt him if it made it easier for her. He pushed her back. "Amy, look at me!"

She raised her gaze to his, her normally green eyes turned gold and filled with excruciating pain. She made another noise through her teeth against the pain.

"You come back to me," Sonic commanded, holding her gaze as she squeezed his shoulder so hard he was sure it would break. But he didn't care. "Right now!"

She screamed one final time, and the golden light suddenly faded from her skin, like embers from a fire going out. Then she went completely limp in his arms, her head dropping to his shoulder.

"Amy!" Tails yelled, trying to shake her awake. Blaze turned to Silver, who grabbed her and hugged her tightly, turning her face away from her fallen friend. He had tears in his eyes too, caught between being relieved for Blaze and devastated for Amy.

"Is she breathing?" Sonic exclaimed, gently laying her down in front of him.

"Barely," Tails replied, gently patting her face. "Amy, come on, you can do it."

Amy's eyes shot open, still gold, but they slowly faded back to their normal emerald color. She drew in a breath, shaking.

"Oh, thank God," Sonic exhaled, putting his head in his hands before leaning down and kissing her fiercely on the forehead. "Thank God, thank God, thank God."

"Amy… are you okay?" Silver asked, still holding onto Blaze, who was also trembling.

Amy, terrified, met Sonic's gaze.

They were fighting a losing battle, Sticks knew it.

Her collarbone was broken, Rouge had a nasty tear in one of her wings, and Shadow was tiring quickly, having sustained too many injuries for his body to compensate for.

And Mephiles seemed like he wasn't even trying.

Every time one of them went after him, he just threw them aside like they were toys. Rouge, out of breath and bleeding, crouched low beside Sticks.

"He's kicking our asses," she coughed. "What the hell do we do?

Sticks glared up at Mephiles, who grinned back tauntingly. Shadow appeared beside the two of them, his expression one of obvious concern.

"One more strike," Sticks instructed. "As hard as we can from three sides."

"And if that doesn't work?" Shadow demanded.

Sticks drew in a breath. "Then it was a privilege getting to fight with you guys."