This is a small concept I decided to pull from the vault, which is why it's a bit short and slim. But I think about this work often, so I cleaned it up a tad and decided it was time to share :) It's super simple and barebones, but that's nice, sometimes.
In terms of a timeline, this could be an alternative approach to how Starline was able to collect DNA from Sonic for Surge, but sometimes we just have to collectively decide not to overthink it LOL
I hope you enjoy!
"He asked for you, specifically, but I think we should think this over." Tails hands me Starline's business card, on which his location is stamped—a defunct Eggman tower in the canyon outside of Sunset City. "It's clearly a trap!"
A well-timed stun glove to the throat. That's all it took to get him. Sonic's body dropping to the ground loops in my head. His scream rings in my thoughts. My fang gnaws into my lip and draws blood.
"I don't care," I say, staring at the card. "I'm going."
"Amy–"
"Just get me in low."
A swing of my hammer knocks the door off its hinges, onto the ground. In the resulting dust storm, a spec of blue catches my eye before it floats back to the floor. I walk to the end of the door and squat down to inspect. My teeth grit as I pick up the tuft of Sonic's fur and rub it between my fingers. A growl erupts in my throat as I separate the fibres. I sprint up the staircase in front of me, throwing my hammer ahead to the open threshold on the landing. Sparks explode as it hits an invisible electric field.
"Hm. Clever." When I reach the top of the stairs, I respawn my hammer in my hands as my eyes scan the area for a fuse box. When I find one on the ceiling, I hammer-vault up the wall, kick off it, and smash the fuse box as I reach the peak of my jump. As I fall back to the floor, I notice the camera on the wall to my left and furrow my eyebrows. I whip my hammer toward the camera with a grunt, and the head smashes the device to pieces. I walk away before my hammer even hits the ground; the only debris I need to see on the floor is Starline.
The control room on the top floor of the tower stands out, when I reach it, with a dozen stolen Egg Pawns guarding the door. Still, the line of asterisks painted across Eggman's insignia is new.
I charge the formation of badniks and swing my hammer hard into the first one. It bounces off the wall of the narrow corridor, and when the ricochet recenters itself in front of me, I croquet the smashed Egg Pawn into the others. The formation flies into the iron door before exploding, taking the door with it, and when I run through the smoke and flames I've created, I gasp.
"Amy…"
Scratches, bruises, and blood cover every inch of Sonic's body, puddled on the floor. His vibrant blue fur is soiled with patches of purple, brown, and red. Sonic pushes against the floor to get up when he sees me, but his arms give out.
"What did you do to him?" I shout, my voice cracking.
Starline, looming over Sonic a meme foot away, finally turns away from his computer monitor and smiles. "Oh, he just helped me with a couple of studies." Starline rips Sonic from the ground by the nape of his neck, squeezing his hand around the base of Sonic's quill. Sonic grunts the entire time, panting heavily. "See? He'll be fine, my dear."
"Arghh!" I turn to the side and smash my hammer into the floor, and the shock wave ripples to Starline's computers. Starline stumbles back onto the machines behind him, planting a hand on a control panel to steady himself. His smile isn't so smug, anymore, and when I speak, it's low and guttural.
"Listen, Starline. Not to sound cliché because that's the only thing you're good for and how dare I take that from you, but your study has some flaws. First of all, you clearly haven't done your research on me. I really shouldn't tell you this, but your intel is faulty – Eggman's been underestimating me for years.
"Second of all, and this is where you really screwed up, you had the audacity to hurt Sonic. A scratch on his ear would've been enough to guarantee yourself a world of hell, but the fact that you've brought him within breaths of his life is something I will personally kill you for. So, take your pick: die now, or let Sonic go and die later."
Starline's eyes, like needles, dart into my own, his bill agape. A sharp, shaken breath slips through his nose before he narrows his glare and offers a smirk.
"Oh, Darling…" Starline's right hand tightens its grip on Sonic's quill, which draws a grunt from him and a weak attempt to grab Starline's arm. Starline steps to his left and slams his free hand on the control panel and opens a trap door behind him, exposing the open sky.
"Please, choose your words better."
Oh, damn him.
"No!" Sonic mutters as he thrashes in Starline's grip, and Sonic's eyes plead in my direction before Starline chucks him out into the sky.
I scream and reach my hand out uselessly toward the hole before my head spins to face Starline. A guttural cry escapes my mouth as I whip my hammer at Starline's face. The sounds of his grunt and the crunch of his collision with his computer are enough for me to despawn my hammer, as I've already dashed past him and halfway across the room. I dive out the trap door and squint to adjust to my growing velocity. The wind and sky nip at my face.
"Sonic!" The air on my face rips the tears from my eyes as I catch his limp body in my vision. I thrust my arms to my sides, bring my legs together, and slice through the air. Barely, I can see Sonic turn his head toward me and widen his eyes at my approaching body. He mutters something and extends his hand to me, but his words are lost to the wind. A sob breaks through my gritted teeth while I scan the canyon we're falling into. Closing the final feet between me and Sonic, I see my only hope for survival approaching too fast.
I tuck my chin to my chest, jutting one arm forward in front of me and the other, perpendicular. Sonic's waist catches my perpendicular arm and I pull him close, using the force of his impact to spin myself around. I spawn my hammer in my open hand, now above me, and swing, and the weight of the hammerhead spins us around like a pendulum caught in a spiral. I grip the handle tight as I see my target, the canyon wall, closing in ten feet.
Sonic and I whip past the canyon's highest cliff right before the hammerhead slams into the side of the precipice. Cracks web in all directions across the rock, and our momentum slams us into the canyon wall, my body cushioning the blow for Sonic's. Still, I grip my hammer's handle and soon we settle into a static position, dangling thirty feet above our deaths. I exhale through a couple sobs before my head darts to Sonic, who stares at me. Depressed ears. Limp quills. Wide eyes. Bleeding muzzle. Mouth open.
I tighten my arm around his waist, sniffle, and deliver a couple bashful laughs through my tears. He's okay. He's here. He's still mine.
When I verify that the ledge below us offers sufficient space, I despawn my hammer and we begin our final fall. I bend my knees as we land to brace for the impact. Sonic does the same, but his knees buckle under the force and he falls forward. My arms stabilize his core as he catches himself with his hands. He rests there for a couple of seconds before balancing on his knees, sitting up to face me.
"Amy…" he whispers, but I take him into my arms before he can finish. One hand on his shoulder, the other on one of his back quills, my arms squeeze him as close to me as possible. I bury my face into his chest and inhale his scent. My tears soak his fur. No one will take him from me—not like that.
"Why… Why did you do that?" Sonic whispers into my ear. His breaths are quick and shallow. His arms limp at his side. I feel his head angle down toward me, so I steel myself and pull my head up to see him. I rest my chin on his chest as our noses brush. We lock eyes and gaze at each other as I steady my breath.
"The honest answer is that I didn't think about it," I say, eyes unmoving. "The thoughtful answer is that I didn't have a choice." My thumbs caress their handholds while a smile trickles on my face. More tears, though gentler than before, flood my eyes. "But with a choice, I'd do it again."
I snuggle back into Sonic's chest and collapse into his weight. Sonic rests his forehead between my ears and wraps his arms around my back. He bends his knees to sit on his heels, pulling me down with him.
"You could've died, Amy."
"And you would have."
"But–"
"You act like you haven't risked your life for me." I glance up at him again. "Was I genuinely supposed to let you fall?"
"Amy, that's different."
"How, exactly?"
"I–" Sonic starts, but when I catch his stare, he stops. Something hides deep in his emeralds. "I don't know. I don't know," he lies, and I let him.
I pull a hand from his back, rest it on his face, and stretch my neck to give him a slow, gentle kiss on his cheek. Immediately, I realize what I did and hide my blush in his chest. Sonic's head returns to rest between my ears.
"I– Sorry," I mumble as he chuckles. "Look, even though you like to handle things on your own, we're a team, Sonic. The one thing that Starline understood today was that I refuse to lose you if there's anything I can do about it. No double standards, here."
"I'll… consider it," he teases, squeezing me tighter.
I smile into Sonic's chest, close my eyes, and inhale his scent again. My thumb caresses the quill I'm holding as I listen to his heartbeat. Slowing down. Even. Calm. I move my hand from his back to the top of his head to caress his quills and notice again how flat they are. My eyes shoot open, and I'm ready to act.
"We should get you to Restoration HQ for some serious first aid and a regroup," I say. "You look awful."
"I feel awful," he chuckles, "but in a minute." Sonic lifts his head off mine to rest it on my shoulder, pulling me that much closer. I melt right into him and giggle.
"Okay."
