"Leave at once!" a nearby guard shouted.
Amy peeked around the corner where five guards held out their spears and twenty archers pulled back their arrows. Their attention was fixated on three wolves who were back to back. They were hunched in a fighting pose with their legs ready to jump or kick while their fists remained tight.
The pink Hedgehog's emerald-green eyes shifted to one of the three intruders and immediately recognized the female Wolf she and Shadow encountered before arriving at the castle.
Each of the female Wolves drew their weapons. The one Shadow and Amy met held a medium sword. Whatever was its age, the engravings running along its blade indicated an interesting history. The Wolf next to her pulled out twin swords. Red ran along their edges. And as for the third companion, her single sword was long, wide and curved.
Amy's hammer appeared in her hands, and she didn't hesitate to start swinging. The first guard to be hit yelled. It caught the rest of the men off guard and turned their attention from the Wolf trio. At that moment, one intruder with the long, curved sword leapt over the distracted archers. As she flipped over them, she swung her sword.
Each of the bows received clean cuts and the men dropped their useless weapons in shock.
The Wolf with the twin blades twirled and knocked over anyone who was in close range. Her yellow eyes glared daggers at the aftermath. One of the guards groaned. She glanced at him and stepped on him.
Amy charged for the Wolf she had previously met and swung her hammer. That Wolf's blue eyes widened, and she crouched. Amy's mallet knocked over a guard who attempted to jump on the Wolf with a dagger. As Amy took him down, the Wolf with the medium sword stared with a dropped jaw.
She approached the pink Hedgehog and said, "Why'd you do that?"
"Because you're in trouble," Amy replied. She smacked down another guard and twirled her hammer in a couple full circles like a propeller.
"My sisters and I are more than capable to look after ourselves. We were only gathering provisions when these men ambushed us."
"You don't really take help from others all that well. While I'm here, could I at least get a name?I don't think you mentioned that to me or Shadow."
"Hmph, if you insist. It's Lilac. Before that sister of yours Sandy disposed of our father the head wizard, we were considered royalty."
They fought as Amy listened to her speak. Amy remained silent for a few moments until she said, "Like I said, I don't remember anything from before I was eight. Something tells me we used to not like each other. And that is why Sandy did that to you."
They knocked out the last guard. Lilac's yellow eyes shifted to Amy and narrowed at her. She barred her teeth at her and replied, "For someone who remembers nothing, you guess correcty. Before your sister destroyed our lives, we have never gotten along. I'll never forgive her for killing our father."
At that, the Wolf approached Amy, glaring at her, showing her teeth. The Hedgehog's jade-green eyes softened at her, listening to the partial anger mixed with grief in Lilac's voice.
Lilac became silent. She read Amy's face and turned away as though to gaze upon the reckage of their fight. The silence broke when Amy touched her arm and nodded.
She didn't dare smile and answered, "I'm trully sorry for what happened to your father."
"Hey, Ames," Sonic interrupted. The Wolf and the female Hedgehog turned to look at him. He grinned and made a thumbs up, saying, "Those guards were a piece of cake."
Amy couldn't help but smile at her friend in return. The three Wolves who were saved, on the other hand, stepped back. Their yellow eyes stared at the blue Hedgehog filled with what appeared to be dark magic of the worst kind.
"Wh--who is that?" Lilic stuttered.
One of her sisters responded, "Don't get too close to him, Sister! It's some sort of monster!"
Sonic shrugged and said, "Seems like a tough audience out here. Well, now that things are good out here, let's get a move on. We still have Shadow to track and that queen to catch!"
"Right!" Amy answered. She turned to the Wolves and waved. "I have to go. Take care okay? And try to stay clear of anymore guards."
She ran on ahead with Sonic, Tails, and Merlin. The Wolves watched them leave. Lilac's sisters looked at each other.
One of them approached Lilac and said, "Sister, that pink Hedgehog. Isn't she the Queen's twin?"
After a moment of silence, Lilic answered, "By blood yes. However, when one loses their memories, they become another person. She is no longer the little girl who left this world all those years ago. When we were children, it was cruel how we behaved to those around us. Just for kicks, we abused other children. Unfortunately for us, Sandy was one of those children. All we had to do was go running to our father who was the king and head wizard. And he'd solve all our problems.
"But we were in the wrong! Because of our selfishness..." the Wolf teared up and clenched her teeth. She gulped hard and covered her mouth. Her yellow eyes became watery. "...Father was killed by someone we picked on. I can't bring myself to forgive that woman who sits on our father's throne...But...but...this...everything, the oppression, the wicked queen, our broken kingdom...is our fault!"
One of Lilac's sisters with the longest sword with a curved tip touched her shoulder and said, "We know, dear Sister. But I have a feeling that this new Amy Rose and her friends will set things right."
Lilac nodded. "Shall we return home then?"
The three sisters journeyed into the forest where they lived.
In the meantime, Shadow dodged a high speed crystal by the skin of his teeth. It shattered upon impact with the partially destroyed ground. Pieces were sent flying. A shard scratched his arm.
He clutched his wound in an effort to hide any blood. Sandy was to not receive any satisfaction of making her enemy suffer.
The male Hedgehog's ruby-eyes bounced around the room. It seemed that the queen moved again. A loose floor board creaked. He glanced over his shoulder. Even though he moved, it wasn't fast enough and a crystal shaped like a sword blade was positioned next to his neck.
He didn't move and stayed put. Even though he didn't peek behind him, he could hear Sandy's low chuckle.
"You are trully formidable," she commented. At that she lowered her sword. "However, killing you would be a terrible waste. Unlike that blue Hedgehog, you actually lose your power when I use my power cancelling magic."
"Point being?"
"Point being I can do anything to you. Including control your body," she said. She snapped her fingers and a dark energy entered Shadow's body. "Unfortunately, I can't control your mind so you'll still be able to say whatever you want. All well, nothing's perfect. I'll just make do with what I can and make you hunt down your friends."
Just great, Shadow thought as his legs moved on their own.
"Hey, Ames, that ball of light of yours is heading down this way!" Sonic yelled from behind a wall.
Shadow swore. Sandy chuckled. It seemed that a fight between the two high-powered Hedgehogs was inevitable.