Chapter 22: The Sorrow of Sonic's Heart

The next day, they were sent back to Earth safely, the citizen were cheering on them, throwing confetti in their faces and the media had gone wild. Even some press members questioned their involvement with the war and how it would affect relations between humans and alien races. As if this was not bad enough, Sonic had a great time with the reporters before returning to his home in San Francisco.

When the sun had set, Sonic and the others separated and went to their homes, Sonic went to his house, closed the door behind him, and sighed sadly. He went upstairs to the bathroom, switched the light on, and turned on the shower. He felt the temperate warmth run down his hand if it was hot enough. He then took off all his gloves and shoes, threw them into the laundry basket, and jumped in the shower. The water ran down to his body, soothing him like a warm caress. He closed his eyes and let himself enjoy the feeling. Sonic knew he would have to get dressed again soon. Sonic opened his eyes in sadness and leaned his head against the cool wall. He missed Shadow already. He wanted to see his lover's face as much as his own, but even more than that, he needed him by his side right now. It wasn't so bad being away from ARK, he had always liked being free to fly around whenever he wanted, he just wished Shadow could be there too. But Shadow was dead. After showering, Sonic out of the shower and brushed his teeth for a second time, he put on his pajamas. He laid down and got comfortable under the covers. Sonic didn't know if he could sleep for tonight. He stared at the ceiling until he finally drifted off into a deep slumber, filled with dreams of Shadow. The night passed without any disturbances.

The next morning, the sun was rising to the sky, and the birds were chirping, enjoying their beautiful new morning. Sonic groaned as he opened his eyes groggily, he rolled over and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. The clock next to him said it was 7 a.m. Sonic got out of his bed, walked to his window, and opened the curtain. He gazed out, the scenery was lovely and peaceful. Sonic frowned. It was a shame that Shadow couldn't be here with him. Sonic knew he wasn't going to be able to go through this day alone, not anymore.

'Shadow isn't there anymore. Why am I still thinking about him?' Sonic thought. 'Because he will never come back.'

He walked to his nightstand and opened the drawer, he took out Shadow's Inhibitor Ring that he kept for a whole time. A gold glow emanated from the ring and it shimmered in the sunlight. Sonic sighed softly as he stroked the ring with his finger.

"I wish you were here, Shadow," he whispered. Sonic frowned slightly. His mind began to wander to thoughts about their first meeting when he met Shadow, their time fighting each other, falling in love with each other, fighting against the FInal Hazard. And Shadow sacrificed himself for him. Sonic closed his eyes and frowned. "I hope you can see me today," whispered Sonic.

He put the ring back in the drawer and closed it. He went downstairs to the kitchen to make some cereal. He walked to the living room, sat on a couch, and turned on a TV to watch MTV. He was watching Ridiculousness while eating his cereal. After he finished his breakfast, he went to the kitchen to rinse the bowl out and put it in the dishwasher. He then went back to the living room and MTV for the next show. He watched Jersey Shore, which started playing after ten minutes. Sonic held the pillow to his torso and continued watching the program while he waited for it to end. As his ring rang, he picked up his iPhone 15 Pro Max, and this ID caller was Amy Rose. Sonic put the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hi, Sonic!" chirped Amy.

"Eh, hey, Amy," he replied awkwardly. There was a pause. "What's up?" he asked.

"Nothing much. I just wanted to see how you are doing," said Amy.

"Oh, I'm doing fine, Amy. Just watching TV," said Sonic.

"Oh, okay. Well, I was wondering if you want to hang out with me today," said Amy.

'Do I really have to do this? What if I say no? If I don't hang out with her, she will get depressed,' he thought to himself.

"Uh, yeah, sure! I'm kinda bored watching TV. So where to?" he asked.

"To the amusement park!" exclaimed Amy happily. Sonic raised his eyebrow. He knew she loved roller coasters and rides, but he never expected her to ask him to join her on one. Sonic didn't mind though, he enjoyed hanging out with her. Besides, what fun does it be watching movies on TV every day?

"Yeah, sounds good," said Sonic.

"Great! I'll see you at 11 AM," said Amy.

"Okay. Bye, Amy," he hung up as he laid his head back and groaned in frustration. "Oh, why do I have to hang out with her?" He sighed and got up from the couch. Sonic looked out the window at the view of the city below him. "Maybe it would be better to hang out with someone else instead..." he muttered.

Sonic thought, "If Shadow were here, he would hang out with me.".

He headed upstairs to freshen up, he took a shower, brushed his teeth, combed his quills, and put on a pair of white gloves and a pair of red and white sneakers. He locked the door and ran to the destination to the amusement park. As he arrived at the amusement park, he saw Amy in a beautiful red dress featuring a white sheer bodice panel with a red polka dot design, front ribbon lace-up accents, and ruffled white lace trim. Thick shoulder straps with ruffled trim along with the removable bow on the back. A white trim on the hem of the skirt. She even wore a red rose headband, and she wore red boots with bowknot dangling with pearls.

Amy saw Sonic and waved at him, "Hi, Sonic!" she called.

'Why is she wearing like that?' he asked in thought.

"Hey, Amy," he waved at her.

Amy smiled and ran towards him. They met up near the entrance of the park. "So, ready for our first date?" she asked.

Sonic grinned and chuckled lightly. "Yeah, I guess. Let's go." They walked together in silence till they reached the entrance of the park. They stopped at the gate and Amy ordered two tickets for Sonic and herself. They entered the park. Sonic looked around and he noticed all sorts of rides. Some had attractions for kids, while others had games and food stands. Sonic asked Amy if she wanted to ride the Ferris Wheel. Amy nodded and took his hand as they walked to the Ferris Wheel. Sonic and Amy climbed the stairs and began riding the Ferris Wheel to see the beautiful view of the city of San Francisco, surrounded by skyscrapers, buildings, roads, and bridges, and the ocean far far away from them. Sonic looked at Amy and admired how happy she seemed. Sonic smiled at her happiness, it made him feel happy too. After they went down on the Ferris wheel, Amy said they wanted to ride some more. Sonic hesitated but agreed.

They rode a few rides, both enjoying each other's company, but mostly they enjoyed looking at the sights around the park. Eventually, they decided to sit down for a rest on the bench and look at everything. Amy sat beside him and grabbed his arm. Sonic looked down at her, and he saw that she was holding his hand. Amy smiled at him and she was about to kiss him, but she heard Sonic's stomach growling. Sonic blushed in embarrassment and looked at the ground.

"We should eat something before we go back to the park," she giggled.

"Y-yeah," Sonic laughed nervously.

They went to the food court nearby, Sonic ordered a chili dog and a Pepsi, and Amy ordered a patty melt with Pepsi. The cooker prepared their orders and gave them food as Amy paid him. They headed to the table and ate their food. After they finished their lunch, Sonic looked around and saw a game booth selling games and stuff.

"Let's play some games," suggested Amy.

Sonic nodded and they headed towards the arcades. It was crowded with people playing games of all kinds. Races were being held, shooting was being done, darts were being thrown, and laser guns were being fired. His attention was drawn to the games he liked best. As he explored the booths, he selected four games: one shooter, a racing game, a shooting game, and an air hockey game.

"Which games do you want to play?" asked Amy.

"I'll do the racing car," said Sonic.

Amy nodded, "Okay!"

Sonic put the token inside the slot and began racing the game. Sonic won all his races and won one more game. Amy cheered him on. When he finished racing all of his racing games, Sonic glanced at the screen in front of him. He gasped as he saw who won most of his racing games. Sonic was in first place! Sonic was so shocked that he forgot to take his token and win another race. Amy came over to console him.

"Wow! You're very good! I didn't know that you could beat me in everything! That's amazing!" said Amy.

He shrugged in a proud manner, "Well, duh, I'm the best at racing," he said with a smile on his face.

Amy giggled and placed her hand on top of his, "Well, I must admit, you're the best at racing. Maybe you should become champion of racing instead of just being a hero," she giggled again.

"Nah, I'd rather be a hero than just be a hero, ya know?" said Sonic.

"Sure thing. But still, you're awesome, Sonic," Amy smiled.

"Thanks," Sonic replied. He glanced at his watch and noticed that it was already 6 p.m. it was getting late.

"Hey, Amy. Do you wanna go home now?" asked Sonic. Amy looked at the time on her iPhone and it was pretty late.

"You're right, it's getting late. Let's walk home together," said Amy.

Both of them stood up and began walking together. They walked to the street that they lived on, which was only a couple blocks away. As they arrived at Amy's house, they walked to the doorstep. They turned around and faced each other. Amy stood on her toes and kissed Sonic on the cheek.

"That was so nice. Have a great night!" she said, smiling.

"You too. See you tomorrow," he replied.

"See ya, Sonic," she replied as she closed the door. Sonic turned around and headed for his own house. He started running behind with a blue streak through the traffic light. As he arrived home, he unlocked the door to enter his home, shut the door, and locked it. He then leaned his head back to the door and sighed heavily.

"Ugh, that was awkward. Why did I agree to it? Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it now. At least I killed boredom," he grumbled and walked upstairs to the bathroom to take a shower and brush his teeth. He went to his bedroom and flopped down on his bed exhausted. He sighed as he turned off the lights and curled himself into a ball. He shed tears and hugged his pillow tight. He wanted Shadow so badly. His eyes stung with tears and he felt hot tears streaming down his face. He buried his face deeper into the pillow and sobbed. He wished he could go to sleep, but he couldn't because he kept remembering the kiss. He missed Shadow so much. He wanted to see him so bad. He just wanted to spend time with him. Sonic continued crying himself to sleep.

'Shadow... I wish you were here...' Sonic thought sadly.