The Story of Amy Rose: The Capture

by Fallen Violet Rose

After three years physically and mentally healing, Amy Rose has found herself returning to the side of her friends after separating herself, although she was never alone. But at the first reunion, the team is attacked, the offender responsible claiming they came for the princess. Chaos ensues and the guys find themselves on a rescue mission to save their better halves.

8. The Red Hues of Rescue

In third person

Italics = thoughts/ emphases

Chapter 7: The Red Hues of Rescue

As the echidna examined the land below him, he straightened, plotting their next move.

"Don't be too hasty, Knuckles."

The echidna scoffed.

"Says the blues rat that rushes into battle at the speed of light."

Sonic popped his neck, stretching his legs as he stood next to the echidna.

"Speed of sound, buddy."

"Touché."

"Sonic! Knuckles! Come quickly! It's Cream," Sally called from the entrance of the ship.

The two looked to each other and then rushed back into the ship to see Tails, Shadow and Sally hunched over something at the center console. As they neared the group, a familiar voice emanated from the communication device before them.

"Tails! Oh, thank chaos, you're alive!"

Sonic sighed happily as the rabbit's sobs were heard over the device. Knuckles walked to stand next to the ebony. They heard one voice, now they needed to hear two others before they could even come close to feeling relieved.

"Cream, where are you right now? Where's Amy and Rouge?"

"Rouge is right next to me! Amy is… well, it's a long story…"

~aAa~

Her mind was spinning, plotting ways to save her friends and then come back to release her parents from their eternal slumber. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought she actually wanted to stay here on this planet and among the people of Aumoris. Maybe she wanted to be their lost princess.

She shook her head, as she continued the trek back to the fortress. There was no way she could stay, but maybe, after she released her family, she could convince them to send her to Mobius using their powers…

"Who am I kidding? Who in their right mind would send their daughter away again after just getting her back? They would never allow it," Amy muttered to herself.

"Amelia? Are you alright?"

Argentine walked beside her. She let a fake smile of reassurance crawl across her muzzle.

"I was just thinking… you know, this place looks too… old to have the kind of technology found on the prince's ship. Why is that?" This was an honest questioned she'd had and used it to cover her insecurities.

"What do you mean?"

Cream and Rouge, overhearing her question, walked to catch up to the siblings.

"What she means is that this place doesn't look like it could have made that ship Riven has, you know, since it's made out of whatever metal and the town is built from stones and whatnot," Cream amended.

"It doesn't look like the townspeople could have created that ship. It's rather… futuristic, if you can imagine," Rouge added.

The prince nodded.

"I think I understand. You are correct in your assumptions. Stones and enchantment for the longest time have run our town. The prince gets his 'futuristic technology,' if you will, from Adrelis and the Core Seven," Riven explained.

"The Core Seven. He mentioned them earlier today. Who are they?" Rouge asked.

As they crossed the bridge and neared the walls of the fortress doors, Argentine slowed to a crawl as he explained.

"The Core Seven make up Prince Riven's council. They followed him to Aumoris as he came to power and as his father's power was relinquished to him at the king's death. They use their… abnormal power to aid the prince in his endeavors, such as creating the ships he needs to travel, upgrading the technology used to control his men and creating metallic monsters that enable the prince to destroy nations. It is hard to explain where their power originated from or how it is used. They call it shadow enchantment since it has yet to be explained by any Aumorian."

Cream laughed a bit. Riven looked at her incredulously.

"Excuse me, mistress, but are you mocking me?"

"No, I just… please excuse me. It's just… one of our friends is a master of this 'shadow enchantment' you're talking about. I know about it as well as Amy and Rouge. He works with it all day and I help him. He's my lover and if any of us can use this technology, it would be me, so don't worry," Cream added.

Rouge nudged her lightly, winking.

"Oh, so he's your lover now. That implies that you two have done some pretty naughty things, Cream. Is that what you're trying to tell us?" Rouge teased.

Cream was red as a tomato, shaking her hands in front of Rouge.

"N-no, we haven't done that! N-not tha-at we won't, in the future, but he says w-we shouldn't do those things yet and… oh…" Cream explained.

"Oh, so you two have at least had the conversation. How old are you two again?"

Cream huffed, pouting and looking away.

"Rouge, stop treating me like I'm some innocent little girl."

Rouge patted her head.

"Sorry, hun, but it's just too easy."

Cream sighed, remembering that she would never get that far with the kitsune, because he no longer lived.

As the doors were before them, Riven spoke quickly in the darkness.

"It is half before the hour when Riven will call for you to meet him for dinner, Amelia. Someone awaits your return to dress you for the occasion as we speak, so you must hurry if you wish to distract the prince long enough to allow your friends to escape."

Amy was hit with an epiphany.

"The private dinner! Ugh, I forgot about that! What do I do? How am I supposed to act?"

Riven quieted her.

"It is alright. Just act as you normally would and keep a distance between you two. He should get the message and respect your space, at least for tonight. He needs your trust to ensure the marriage goes smoothly, so he will not treat you like a slave… yet."

Amy nods, sweating a bit.

"That being said, you will not have time to help your friends escape first. You will have to let them find their own way out."

Amy looked around. Two knights were making their way from the side of the fortress, coming to guard the doors for the night, she guessed. They were still out of hearing range, it seemed.

"Then I will distract Riven for as long as I can. You two should find a way out without drawing attention to yourselves. Hide in the town or the forest nearby for now and once your disappearance blows over with the prince, I will come looking for you, hopefully with a small ship of some sort. We'll escape then." Amy finalized.

As the doors came open, they all stepped inside, seeing the foyer lit by candles about the place, high and out of reach. As the doors shut behind them, Argentine looked around them. With the coast clear, he turned to the rabbit and the bat.

"This may or may not aid you, but there is a passage down beneath the fortress in the dungeons below the staircase here. The passage is small, so I recommend our rabbit mistress, but there is fated to be a small door leading out into the town. It is pitch black down there and has never been used, so I fear it may not be a hopeful path, but I thought that I could at least tell you of its existence before I leave you. I cannot take you there myself, for I must report to my quarters before the prince grows suspicious of me."

Cream reached for the knight's hands, clutching them gratefully.

"Thank you. It's more than enough."

Cream's smile was contagious as the knight returned it solemnly.

"Be safe, young maidens. I must take my leave."

As he stepped away, he kissed the rose's hand, bowing. He muttered her name and a blessing, before marching away up the right set of steps.

Amy led her friends up the opposite set of mirroring steps. As she stopped at the room they had been held at, she opened the door, allowing them to step in.

"Amy, are you okay?" the rabbit asked her.

"Yes. I'll be fine. You two just have to promise me you'll be safe and do whatever it takes to escape, okay?" she muttered.

They agreed with her with determined nods of their heads. She closed their door without hesitance.

At the door of her room now, she stepped inside to see the maid with the purple braid standing next to her vanity. As they made eye contact, the maid bowed.

"Your highness, I am hear to dress you for your meeting with the dark prince."

"Thank you. Let's not waste anymore time.

~aAa~

Rouge paced back and forth in front of Cream's vision. Cream sat on the bed, looking down into the palms of her hands that rested on her lap.

"This is crazy! How does Amy expect us to just leave her to deal with that lusty prince all by herself? It's suicide, really. Ugh, I don't like this plan. What if our disappearance causes the prince to lash out at her? And then, what? She won't stand a chance," Rouge muttered as she stalked about, hands making gestures of frustration as she spoke.

Rouge stopped by the window, allowing the light from the candle near by to warm her, as the room had gone cold.

"We can't leave without her. Something is going to go wrong. I can feel it."

Cream's eyes were glazed over as she listened to the bat, her open palms overlapping one another as she gazed into them. Her memory had reminded her that Tails was dead and now she was in a state of despair. Rouge's outburst had not helped her stay objective. She knew the bat was reminded of Knuckles and was frustrated to the point she was using Amy's plan to blow off some steam. None of this was Amy's fault.

Cream breathed a wet sigh, squeezing one hand with the other. She lifted her head a bit as her feet dangled of the edge of the bed.

"Rouge, Amy is… doing what she can for us. We should… try to escape now. She's probably distracting the prince as we speak," Cream muttered, trying to gather the strength and the motivation to step foot outside the castle.

Rouge looked away, from the rabbit, to the stone ground, eyebrows furrowed.

"Ugh, I know, but how can she even begin to believe that we would just leave her like this? I know mister dark princey needs her alive, but what if he detains her somehow, knowing that our disappearance is a plot of her own? She can't live with our deaths on her hands and it's the same for us. I'm not leaving to Mobius without her.'' The bat's words seemed final as she turned to glare at the city below, glowing dimly with firelight.

Cream looked back at her palms, sighing. Where was her hope when she needed it?

A beeping rang around the room, short and low-pitched.

Cream flinched as the sound reverberated through her right ear, seeming to be closets to her. As she rubbed that side of her ear and face, she looked around, trying to pinpoint the noise.

"What was that?" Rouge asked.

Cream shook her head, feeling something was in her ear now.

"I… I don't know, but it seems really close to me."

She rubbed her ear again before a miraculous sound graced her eardrum.

"Cream! Cream, do you copy?"

The rabbit froze, sitting as still as a boulder holding it's own against the ocean.

Was that her hope calling to her?

"I repeat, Cream, can you hear me? It's Tails," the voice asked urgently.

Cream sat straight, remembering now.

"Tails! Tails, I'm here! Can you hear me?" she asked. When she got no response, she reached into her ear and made contact with the small metal communicator. She tried again.

"Tails? Tails, it's me, Cream! I can hear you loud and clear! Can you hear me?"

The silence persisted for a few heartbeats.

Cream closed her eyes, holding her breath as Rouge stared at her as if she were crazy. Did she just imagine that voice?

A crackling sounded through the small communicator before a voice followed it.

"Cream, I can hear you! Me, Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles and Sally, we can all hear you right now."

A tear formed in her eye as she sobbed a bit. It was too good to be true.

"Oh, Tails! Thank chaos you're alive!"

Rouge noticed the rabbit was clutching her ear and moved to sit next to her on the bed. Tails sighed happily through the communicator before asking his next question. Sonic cheered happily in the background.

"Cream, where are you right now? Where's Amy and Rouge?"

Cream sniffled, looking into Rouge's eyes, smiling a bit.

"Rouge is right next to me! Amy is… well, it's a long story. I don't think I have time to explain, but she's on her way to have dinner with an evil prince."

It was quiet on the other end for a moment, before Tails responded.

"Are you all in the same area?"

Cream nodded, but remembered that he could not see her, so she spoke.

"Yes, we're being held in a fortress on a this crazy planet that looks like something out of the middle ages. The evil prince is the ruler right now and he wants to marry Amy!"

A scratching noise was heard as a few voices were heard in the background.

"Cream, where is Amy right now? As in, is she in the room next to you, or…?" It was Shadow who asked.

As the exchange was happening, Rouge muttered to Cream to ask them where they were.

"I… I don't know. We weren't given directions to the prince's private chambers and this fortress is ginormous, but she's in the building somewhere. Where are you, exactly?"

"We've landed a little ways outside of the city. It seems we've landed on a hill. We can see a fortress in the distance at the end of the city," Tails muttered as he traded places with Shadow.

Cream told Rouge where they were and the bat breathe a sigh of utter relief, thanking chaos.

"I know it seems crazy, but Amy is distracting the prince to give us some time to escape. If we don't get out of here quickly, Rouge and I will end up on one of the planets near by as sacrifices. What should we do, Tails?" Cream asked.

"Stay put and we'll come get you. You're communication device was enabled with a tracker, so I know exactly where you are. We'll come to you and save Amy together."

Cream leapt to her feet, adverse to the plan already.

"But Tails, the prince may be on his way to get us right now! We can't stay here. Can we meet you half way? At least if we're on the move and not where the prince can easily find us, it'll keep us from getting caught."

"I don't know, Cream. It sounds feasible, but I don't want to risk your lives or safety. The threat is too high to allow you to go traversing around a guarded fortress and then some on an alien planet with little to no protection."

As Cream's ears fell, Rouge stood, now hearing the conversation on the other side as her sensitive bat hearing pinpointed the tiny voice from the communicator. She motioned for the rabbit to give her the communicator.

"Tails, we're already at a risk just standing in this room, corresponding with you. Besides, we've proven that we're capable freedom fighters, no matter that we each care deeply for one another."

Tails was silent on the other end, and Rouge could sense that he was blushing at the mention of all of their relationships.

"Alright, but where would you want us to meet you? If we don't plan this correctly, you could end up running away from us instead of toward us."

Rouge didn't miss a beat.

"There's a dungeon underneath the castle that a source told us about and it apparently lets out into the city somewhere. Since you're tracking us through the communicator, one of us can sneak into the dungeon and find the passage and lead you there. You would just have to follow the dot and find a way to help us open the door, which has yet to be used so it may be glued shut. That way, you guys can have entrance into the fortress without being detected and we can regroup under the radar and figure out how to save Amy."

"Sounds like a plan. Which one of you will do it?"

"As much as I fear for her, Cream will have to. I have an injured wing, so not only is my stamina low, but I'll have a lower chance of escaping if I get caught. Plus, Cream is smaller and can stay under detection, not to mention the passage is cramped."

"Why don't you come with her? When we meet, you can escape with Cream and we'll send someone else to get Amy. It would be better if you were safe first, than waiting it out and risking everything."

"One of us should stay in case the prince comes looking to get us. At least if I'm here, I can make an excuse as to why Cream is missing, like she was looking for a bathroom and got lost in the endless halls or something. We carry more suspicion if we're sneaking in the halls together, plus, if the prince finds us both gone, he may send his guards after our trail. It's best if she goes and we make headway from there."

"Okay. Let Cream know I won't be able to speak with her once we leave the ship. The device I'm using to speak with you is too bulky to take with me. Besides, it may be beneficial to maintain radio silence while we're in enemy territory. We're making our way through the city. We'll be looking for the passageway."

"And Cream will come looking for you. I'm going to brief her and give her the communicator now."

Rouge transferred the device and smiled at the rabbit.

"Your boy toy is waiting for you at the end of that passageway below in the dungeon going into the city. Better hurry to him," Rouge teased as she winked.

With sparkling eyes, Cream clasped her hands as Rouge quickly explained the plan for clarity.

~aAa~

It was as if she were walking the plank.

A depressing notion, really, but at least it was an accurate depiction of her journey to the prince's private chambers.

The dress billowing lightly at her hips was soft, but it twisted about her moving legs, irritating the skin as it rubbed the same areas, driving her insane. She already felt uncomfortable in the thin fabric; she didn't need a rash to complete it.

As she had on the alien ship, she adjusted the thin straps of her gown constantly as they continually fell off her shoulders, exposing her neck, shoulders and then some. Although white, the dress was far from innocent, as it dipped into her cleavage, showing the slight curve of her breasts. She believed the dress bordered a nightgown and wasn't fit for a dinner, but she guessed, since the prince had sent it to her in a box personally, that this was what he wanted her in when he decided to make his move.

Her heels clicked and echoed off the walls, as the dimly lit halls remained vacant aside from the pink hedgehog. She wasn't lost, but her snail like pace and searching eyes suggested otherwise.

"Dammit. I can't go through with this. Maybe I can find a way out through another passage or window or something. Then I'll find the oracle and she can help me."

As she whispered to herself, she deviated from her path and turned down another hall. As she looked around for a window of some sort, the sound of heavy marching and chinking metal made her ears twitch. She froze in her spot, staring ahead,

A knight turned the corner at the other end of the hall, when he spotted her, he kept marching and stopped in front of her, looking her down without a word. Amy smiled nervously.

"H-hello. I was looking for the prince's private chambers and it seems I'm lost. Could you point me in the right direction?"

The knight, his helmet giving away no emotion, looked up above her head. With a zombielike motion of his arm, he lifted it, pointing behind her with a muffled groan, beckoning her in that direction.

"Thank you. I'll be on my way then," she thanked him loudly as she spun on her heel and walked quickly to the path she had deviated from in the first place.

As she distanced herself from the knight she sighed heavily, the feeling of dread returning as she was forced to make her way to the prince. She brushed her fingers through her curled quills, remembering how the purple maid had clipped her bangs away from her face and secured it with a diamond studded hair piece, dainty and breakable, but beautiful nonetheless.

Although she had marveled at the piece when she saw it in the reflection of the mirror, now the thought of the hair clip angered her to the point where she wanted to rip it out.

As she reached back to touch it, she deflated, not wanting to take her frustration out on something that had nothing to do with her current situation, be it inanimate or not.

As her arms fell to her sides and she continued her march to her death, she began thinking of ways to distract the prince for the night, since her plan to escape herself would not work. She brushed her hair across her bare shoulders to comfort her, messing with the curls they possessed.

I could have him talk about himself. Or, I could discuss the alleged death of my parents and start crying somehow. Then he'll have to comfort me, which could buy Cream and Rouge more time. Or I could flirt with him a bit.

At that thought, Amy remembered how the prince had touched her when she first encountered him on the ship. He had been nothing short of assertive and the dominance and aggression spilled from him like a tipped wine bottle, intoxicating and dangerous. He hadn't bothered to ask if she wanted to be touched; he went straight for her hips and helped himself. She shuddered.

"I guess, if I need to, I could seduce him some way. He had no problem with my body before, maybe I can use it to my advantage?" she whispered aloud.

As she thought this, as scenario solidified in her mind. The eyes of the prince boring into her own as she touched his chest, giving him that wanting gazed with her moistened lips. Running her fingers through his hair and removing his crown, becoming the definition of intimate. Pushing him to sit in his chair as she straddled him, kissing his neck and fiddling with his shirt, hinting at her irritation with the dreaded fabric, showing that she wanted more from the exchange. Feeling his gloved fingers across her bare back… scratches on her skin… the feel of his teeth as he animalistically marked her as his own…

"NO. I won't let him take me. No matter how desperate I am, I won't stoop to that in order to distract him. I'll have to find another way," she muttered to herself as she rubbed her arms to sooth the shudders.

At her decree, the rose turned left at the end of the hall and found the seemingly endless staircase leading to the prince's private chambers, a place where no one would hear them and disturbances were limited to nearly nothing, as the maid had described at Amy's questioning. Dim candlelight sparsely lit the stairs, making the path seem darker than the rest of the halls.

With a gulp, the rose proceeded forward.

~aAa~

The city reflected across ruby eyes, seeming incased in two mini snow globes of red as the ebony hedgehog viewed the city from a darkened alleyway. Crouched behind a pile of hay and a crate, he watched as the sparely occupied streets slowed in its activity and the townspeople rushed to their homes, wanting their sanctuary.

As the lights of the town seemed to dim, footsteps were heard behind him and he turned his head abruptly, but he relaxed, seeing Knuckles materialize from the darkness. He crouched along the opposite wall, looking to the town street alongside the ebony. He beckoned to the street with his chin, an intense stare accompanying his gaze.

"You think the townspeople will call the guards if they see us? They don't seem very hostile."

Shadow shook his head, turning to acknowledge the echidna's question.

"From what I've have seen, these people look like us, or we look like them, depending on the comparison of evolution on a chronological scale. If they mistook Amy as their princess, then our genetic code may be similar to theirs, or identical all together, and we may simply blend in, given we can acquire the proper clothing without alarming any of the inhabitants here."

Knuckles nodded, looking into the street, watching as a woman in a dress pulled her child across the street, a fruit in the child's hand and a basket in the mother's hand. She looked to be a fox and her son was a rabbit. They were both a navy blue color.

At the start of their mission, the team had made certain that they were not spotted, sifting through the tall grasses quickly until they had passed the small shed that marked the beginning of the town. As they closed in on the fire light of the town, they decided to travel forward one by one, trailing after one another behind the buildings and in between the alleyways. Shadow had taken the lead; eager to reach the impending fortress ahead, but in his haste he made the mistake of hesitating as a woman was walking in the darkness, taking refuge in the alleyway the ebony was crossing.

He had paused and they made eye contact, red to hazel. Her quills were wavy and cream colored. She looked to be an older hedgehog in her forties. As a sweat formed on his head and he thought of how to knock her cold without hitting her too hard, she remained calm and collected as if she'd expected to encounter a strange man in the darkest of alleyways. She had smiled lightly and nodded to him knowingly, turning and gathering the bottom of her dress before walking away into the light of the town. As he watched her, Knuckles had caught up to him and asked him what was wrong, having not seen the woman. Shadow had simply dismissed the encounter and continued on, the echidna not too far behind. Maybe she knew why they were there, given Amy was suppose to be a princess of some sort. Maybe the town knew it was a mistake and they were waiting for the arrival of Amy's friends. Maybe they wanted this.

Tails flew in, standing next to Shadow.

"It seems everyone is calling it a night. It might be easier to travel through the town this way," Tails muttered as he looked at the navigation system on his communicator watch.

"Cream's dot is getting closer, meaning the passage shouldn't be too far off. We should keep moving."

They all nodded to the fox and walked back through the alley and behind the little homes, using the shadows to evade detection. Tails took the front, while Knuckles flanked him and Shadow took the tail end, watching their backs.

As the dot intersected with Tails' position, they stopped. They were met with a dead end and various crates stacked around the space. The echidna popped his knuckles and stepped forward.

"I'll handle this," he muttered, but Tails motioned for him to stop as he shook his head.

"We don't want to make too mush noise crushing boxes. Besides, it may not be necessary."

As the kitsune said this, he inched forward, scooting one of the crates aside with a bit of a struggle. Knuckles proceeded to help him scoot another one away, as Shadow continued to look around them.

Tails kneeled on the ground where the crates had been, pulling out his mini flashlight. As he inspected the ground, Shadow and Knuckles leaned over his shoulder, concerned.

"Tails, what are you looking for? There's nothing there," Knuckles whispered.

Then, the kitsune began to blow the ground with his mouth.

As he did this, Knuckles eyes widened as he and Shadow watched a circular door made of metal was uncovered from the space below them. They helped the kitsune brush off the remainder of the dirt to reveal a door the size of a porthole.

"This is it," Knuckles muttered.

Tails' heart thudded in his chest as the dot that intersected with his own blinked furiously on his device.

Cream is on the other side of this door.

Suddenly, something from below the door thudded lowly, as if someone was trying to push the door open.

"That has to be Cream!"

They all rushed to grab what they could of the door, grabbing the sides and handle, to pry it open.

~aAa~

She thought she'd known what it meant to be pitch black. Not by a long shot.

The dungeon below the stairway seemed tame when she opened the door and saw it with the help of the light from the foyer. As the heavy door came shut behind her, she squeaked in fright when she could no longer see her hands in front of her face.

When her eyes adjusted, she saw the bars of holding cells and cages hanging from the ceiling, making horrible creaking noises as they swayed side to side from the motion of the dungeon door closing. There were other contraptions hanging from the walls, but she could not make them out too well, simply deciding that they were medieval torture devices with a shiver. The walls seemed grimy and a black essence seemed to grow from the walls, making the space smaller and terrifying. As she walked forward just a bit, she nearly trip over a pile of chains that seemed to litter every part of the path before her.

As she rubbed her arms to quiet her shivers, she preceded the path with haste. The path arced downward and the rabbit worked to keep herself from falling forward.

As she neared the end of the first dungeon hall, she took the only right down a set of steps, taking it slow, as the darkness seemed to grab her and take her in.

At the bottom of the steps, she looked before her to find even more cells and cages, chains and boxes scattered and blocking the path more so than they had on the first floor. She inched forward, maneuvering through the clutter, reaching further into the depths of the dungeon below. Halfway through the hall of clutter, a piercing blue light grabbed her attention and she went forward at a light jog to reach the light.

At the end of that hall there was an archway. She stopped, set in a trance at the room before her. Beyond that archway, a room the size of the foyer from above graced her eyes. It was spotless, with a floor made of stones that were probably white like the rest of the fortress, but had a blue hue to them from the light that emitted from the object in the center.

From the archway, Cream looked up from the spotless floor to the centerpiece of the room. Behind tall iron bars was a clear blue tube, reaching from the floor to the ceiling. It was frosted over as if someone had frozen a waterfall. As she squinted to see the odd things trapped inside the frozen encasement, she gasped as she realized something.

There are people in there!

From what she could see, it seemed a white creature and a dark pink creature resided behind the beam of blue. She couldn't make out their facial features, but they were clothed in what seemed to be elegant red, white and silver armor. A white pole of some sort floated between them and the hair of the white creature seemed to billow around them.

I should help them.

But as she stepped into the room, a chillingly frightening wind picked up and blew her back through the dungeon path.

"Ahhh!"

The rabbit landed on her butt somewhere in the middle of the hall behind her, surrounded by chains and crates. As she sat up, rubbing her behind, a gentle wind ruffled her hair from beside her. She turned her head curiously to her right and squinted, making out a small archway carved into the wall. She stood, crouching just a bit to enter the archway. As she stood to her full height, the ceiling just above her head, she looked into a tunnel that seemed endless and darker than dark.

She began to shake, rubbing her arms furiously, wishing she hadn't gone alone.

"Oh, Tails, I don't think I can do this."

But as she said this, she heard the chinking of armor behind her.

A rush of cold traveled up her body as she looked behind her. The sound was growing closer to her. She looked to the path before her. With a gulp of courage, she touched the damp and grimy wall of the tunnel and began following it.

It seemed like hours had passed, but she knew better. As she touched the wall with one palm and clutched her chest with the other, she sighed. Not too long after she had started, the chinking of armor had passed. She was sure to have only been traveling for ten minutes, but the darkness seemed to lengthen the time.

"Ouch!"

She ceased her travels as she roughly hit a wall. As she looked through the darkness, a small light from the tiniest of cracks allowed her to see the dead end before her. She wiped her head about, seeing nothing but the dark walls of the tunnel as her curled hair blocked her eyes.

She felt moisture on her hand as she moved her hair from her face and examined the liquid on her palm through narrowed eyes.

Blood.

Her forehead continued to bleed as she looked for the source of the small light. Then she looked directly up and saw a rectangular window with bars across it at the corner of the ceiling and the adjacent wall. Not too far from it, a dark circle was engraved in the ceiling above her. As she scaled the wall with her eyes, on the other wall, a ramp with wooden planks lead up to the circle, and it was then that it all clicked.

The door!

Cream crawled up the ramp, reaching the top and proceeding to reach as far up above her head as she could, grabbing the handle of the door and pushing. When it didn't budge, she tried pulling, extending herself as much as she could, feeling nothing but air on her back as she was almost parallel with the ground at this point. If she let go now, she would fall straight to the ground below.

When the door didn't make so much as a sound of compliance, she slowly brought herself back to balance on the ramp, sighing in defeat. Her arms ached from the exertion and her heart thudded in her chest.

Her ears twitched as she picked up a strange noise above her. At first, it was the sound of light footsteps. Right when she pinpointed the noise, it seemed to stop. Then, the sound of dirt particles sliding across the metal of the dirt was heard and a deep voice and a familiar, lighter toned voice muttered to another.

She felt lightheaded as she smiled, banging on the door, trying to get the attention of the others behind the door.

"Tails, I'm here!" She was sure they couldn't hear her, but she had to try, her strength weakening as she continued to thud against the metal.

As she stopped to take a breather it was silent for a few heartbeats and she was afraid that she had mistaken the noises. Then the sound of creaking metal was heard as the ones on the other side pulled at the door.

With renewed strength, Cream pushed the door from the other side, trying to help them. The metal made noises, but it did not come open.

She stopped to rest once more, feeling damp and tired. She looked to the door again, hope climbing up to her heart.

There has to be a way to open this! I won't give up. No, not until I'm by Tails side will I even dream about resting.

A soft yellow light glittered through the room.

With wide eyes, Cream looked down, seeing a dampened light leaking through the threads of her dress. As she reached into the pocket she didn't know she had, she pulled out the star shaped charm, examining the object in awe.

"How did you-" she began, but was interrupted as the light grew and flashed about her, before going out.

As she blinked furiously, she dropped the charm to the ground, rubbing her eyes. She heard the sound of something coming unlocked and looked up.

The door was cracked open and a sliver of the starlit sky could be seen from it. The blood within her grew hot with anticipation as she reached to push the door open.

"The door is opening! Pull a little harder."

Time seemed to slow as the sweet voice of her lover reached her ears. As the handle was pulled from her and the door creaked wide open, her amber eyes glistening as she saw the crystal blue of the yellow kitsune. His eyes were first warm, but then they grew cold with panic. This confused the rabbit, but then she felt unstable. That's when she realized that she was falling backwards.

Tails…

"Cream!"

As time speed up, her outstretched hand was caught. As she opened the eyes she hadn't even realized she had closed, she looked into his eyes once more. As she zeroed in on his face filled with concern, she smiled.

"Tails." She voiced aloud.

He smiled down to her as he floated down to allow her to touch level ground. The moment her feet touched the ground and she was brought to her knees, he pulled her into him, crushing her in a long awaited embrace.

"Cream, it's okay. I'm here now."

She was brought back to reality by his words and realized that warm, traitorous tears had begun to stream down her cheeks. As she clutched the fur of his back, feeling his warmth, she opened her eyes to see Shadow and Knuckles jump through the entrance, hitting the tunnel floor with a thud behind him. As they both stood from their crouched positions, they looked to the reunited couple in relief.

"One down, two to go," Knuckles voiced with a stern tone, walking up to the two and patting Cream's head.

"No more tears, Cream. You don't have to worry anymore." The echidna proceeded to walk forward, stopping and looking deep into the tunnel the rabbit had just traveled through.

"It's pretty dark down here. Tails, can you pass me your flashlight?"

As Tails released Cream, smiling at her before reaching into his utility belt, Cream stopped him with her hand.

"No! There was a guard down here when I turned down this tunnel. If you use a light, that might alert him and he may try to fight you, or worse," she warned. Tails nodded, putting the light away and grabbing the rabbit's forearms, standing and bringing her up on her feet with him.

"Where are Sally and Mr. Sonic?" she asked Tails, looking behind him.

"They're waiting in the ship, keeping watch and serving as back up. They're just a call away if we need help," Tails explained.

"You two should head back to the ship. Knuckles and I will split up and look for Rouge and Amy. We'll rendezvous at the ship," Shadow assured as he passed by the two lovers. He nearly passed them, but Cream reached out to stop him.

Glowing blood red eyes met amber eyes glistening with a plea.

"Wait! Let me come with you! Rouge is hurt and she wasn't given proper first aid. If we go together, I can show you were she is and we can get her out faster," Cream bargained.

Knuckles tensed at the sound of Rouge being hurt. Shadow shook his head.

"You've already risked your life enough. Tails will take you back to the ship where you'll be safe."

Creamed looked at Tails, whom seemed desperate to get her to come with him to safety.

"Cream, please, it's not safe here, even with us to protect you. It's better if you aren't in the way."

That's when she'd had it.

"I'm not a child anymore! Why can't any of you understand that! I can fight and I will fight! I want to help my friends and I want to fight beside all of you! Why am I always seen as a burden rather than an ally?"

Her outburst had all of them staring at her, aside from Shadow, who had his back to her, arms crossed. He was the only one that spoke after that.

"You've made it clear with your tears that you've reached your limit, Cream. If you push yourself any further, you might just break."

Her heart ached as he pierced her with his words. Tails pulled her by her waist, begging her with his eyes. She quivered, nearly crying again as she started up the ramp, Tails behind her. She stopped, looking to the hedgehog and the echidna that began their trip down the cramped tunnel.

"W-When you reach the end of the tunnel, go left, away from the blue light! At the end of that hall, go up the stairway and follow that hall until you reach that door. From there, you'll be inside the fortress and you'll come from below a staircase. If you go up that stairway, on the fifth floor, the eighth door on your right is where Rouge is waiting. She left the door cracked so you could find her. Please don't keep her waiting much longer," she shouted, holding her tears as her heart throbbed with betrayal.

Knuckles looked back at her and nodded seriously, before he and the ebony dissipated in the darkness.

With a miserable sigh, she continued up, pulling herself out of the hole, her hair wiping past her as the night wind greeted her. She turned, reaching to help Tails out of the hole, but he'd already climbed out. He shut the door lightly and turned to her.

He frowned, reaching to dab at a tear falling from her eye with his thumb, lifting her head to his level. She looked into his eyes, sullen. He smiled, lifting his other palm and revealing the lightly glowing star pendant.

"I think you dropped this," he whispered.

She reached for it, staring at it with no emotion. As she pocketed the item, she turned, hands rubbing her cold upper arms. She walked through the alleyway as the kitsune sighed and followed her.

~aAa~

"Raa!"

Knuckles fists made contact with armor as he clobbered the guard to smithereens. As the knight lay helplessly on the ground, Shadow appeared from behind the echidna, looking down at the lifeless form in the dark.

"One of us should take his armor and use it as a disguise."

As Knuckles whispered this, a light purple mist floated out of the armor. They both froze, staring at the strange occurrence with the limited light of the door before them. The mist formed a circular globe, then shot up to the ceiling and out of sight. At their feet, the armor was vacant and no longer held a body.

Shadow picked up the pieces of the armor, examining them with half-mast eyes.

"That was weird. Whatever those things are, they aren't normal," Knuckles muttered.

"We should limit our contact with them as Tails suggested. We were lucky we were able to catch this one off guard," Shadow explained, handing the helmet to Knuckles. He refused it.

"You should take the armor. I know where Rouge is located, so I can make my way there quickly. You'll be in here longer, looking for Amy. It'll be easier for you to walk around the fortress pretending to be one of them."

Shadow nodded, putting on the remainder of the armor. As he slid the helmet over his head, adjusting his quills and attaching the fallen sword to the belt, he and Knuckles opened the door, walking into the foyer, lit by warm candlelight floating above them and beyond sight.

As he and Knuckles looked above them, Shadow admired the stained glass before them, making note of the white women and the dark pink man glorifying the white rose before them.

"If Amy really is a princess, then that would explain her past that she doesn't remember before she came to us," Knuckles muttered.

Shadow started forward, beginning to go up the set of steps on the opposite side.

"We won't know until we rescue her and she explains to us what she knows. We must make haste. I'll meet you at the ship."

"Got it."

And with that, they split up, one running, the other marching up the steps to their fate.

~aAa~

She wasn't known for her squirming. She was always calm, relaxed and never seem anxious. Even when she was, she could at least sit still.

"Where are they? Maybe I should go look for Cream. Only Chaos knows what trouble she could be in."

Yet, as the bat stood she sighed, staring at her cracked bedroom door. She went back to sitting on the ledge of her open window, twisting her torso to look desolately out to the night sky, glistening with stars. The nearest planet, one spiraling with red wisps, entranced her. It reminded her of someone.

Knuckles.

Her roomed seemed to glow with light hues of red as her candlelight burned brilliantly in contrast to her own aching heart. She wanted to be rid of this horrible place.

Suddenly, her ear twitched as she picked up fast footsteps echoing off the stone halls, growing in volume.

Assuming it was a threat, she stood, assuming a fighting stance, but then she thought that it maybe the prince, coming to take her away, or worse, ask why Cream had escaped.

Not wanting to look suspicious or hostile, she settled her heartbeat and sat down once more, looking out of the window, praying it wasn't the prince. The footsteps grew closer and closer.

And then they stopped.

For ten heartbeats, it was silent.

And without warning, her door was opened and slammed shut, panting heard as someone had come in.

She held her breath and turned.

~aAa~

Not the brightest of ideas, but he had to improvise.

As Knuckles had come up the stairs, he turned to go into the first hall of the fifth floor and came face first with…

Three armored knights looking dead at him.

And what had he done? Of course, what he does naturally.

He beat them to a bloody pulp.

As he looked them down, he waited for the purple souls to come out of these ones, but nothing happened. As he sighed, he pulled one of the helmets off and stopped as he saw the face of a green feline man, covered in his own blood, unconscious below the helmet.

Confused, Knuckles dropped the helmet, looking around the hall for more guards.

These guards were different from the one he'd encountered in the dungeon. They seemed real.

As he started to run down the hall, counting doors, he heard the marching of more knights. He stopped, pushing his back to the corridor wall, hiding beneath the shadows created by the firelight about him.

He looked around the twisting hall, seeing two knights conversing by a cracked door. The eighth door.

Rouge.

Their backs were to him and he waited for them to continue on so he could make his move. As he did, he overheard their conversation.

"That sacrifice, the white one with the big ears? Yeah, she's quite the looker. Got a nice pair to look at and the perfect birthing hips."

"You thought so too? Thought I was the only one that thought that alien sacrifice girl was tasty."

Knuckles eyes squinted as he inched along the wall, getting closer to the door as the guards were walking away. Rouge, they were talking about her, he realized with a frown.

"Ye, you said it. I'd love to suckle on her, any part of her, and hear what she sounds like in intimacy. Man I'd use her so much. Make a good mother of her too."

Knuckles started to growl lowly.

"Hey! She's in that room we just passed. Maybe we should go… check up on her, if you know what I mean."

"That's the best idea you've had all day, Vernon."

And as they turned to initiate their dirty plan, they came face to face with a wall of angry red before they were knocked cold.

As Knuckles finished pummeling them, he panted heavily and looked to the cracked door. What he saw had him in awe.

From his angle, he could see her, Rouge, sitting regally on the ledge of a window, staring forlornly as the light of the candle before her lit her tired and worn features. Her poorly wrapped and injured wing stood out to him as her lavender dress was parted at the hip, leaving her thighs unprotected in all their glory.

As he admired her, he was brought from his trance by slow marching in the distance. Quickly, he dropped the knight he had been crushing, sliding through the door and slamming it shut.

He leaned on the door, trying to catch his breath, before looking up, his gaze catching her shaking turquoise eyes. She looked relieved and afraid at the same time.

As she stood to embrace him, he beat her to it. He rushed to the other end of the room, grabbing her waist and bringing her to him in a tight embrace.

"Rouge… I'm so sorry I took so long."

As she held herself together, she pulled back, wanting to look at his face. As he held her by her shoulders, his intense gaze was guilt ridden as his brows furrowed together. She touched his cheek, smiling softly.

"Knuckles, I'm fine, really. There's nothing to worry about."

But his face only turned hard as his gaze move to her right side a bit. She realized he was looking at her injured wing.

"It's nothing, Knuckles. It'll heal in a few days," she assured him, but his grip on her shoulders tightened. She knew he was angry.

"We need to go," he muttered, pulling away from her and looking around the room.

The marching grew closer as hurried steps reach her door.

"We can't go through the front. There are knights guarding the perimeter, not to mention it seems you've got some on your trail now. We'll have to find another way. That, or we fight."

Shouting was heard outside the door as a knight began to bang on it.

Knuckles brought Rouge behind him as he faced the door ready to fight. They beat on the door once again.

And then, Knuckles looked behind him, over Rouge's head and out the opened window. He could faintly hear the sound of water lapping.

"Knuckles?" Rouge questioned, concerned as she touched his shoulder. He backed up, pushing her against the wall next to the window as the knights beat on the door a final time.

"Knuckles, what are you-" she was interrupted as Knuckles turned to the window, grabbing her hand. He put one foot on the ledge, looking into her eyes.

"On three we jump."

She looked at him with crazed eyes.

"Are you crazy? We're on the fifth floor! And my wing-" she was silenced as she was pulled to his chest. She could feel his heart beat.

"Three."

And with that Knuckles grabbed behind her legs, carrying her as he jumped the ledge into the darkness of the night.

"Knuckles!" Rouge shouted breathlessly.

While they fell freely, he'd lost his grip on her and all that kept them attached were the few fingers that he had hold of. As time seemed to slow, Knuckles fell to the water below, his back to the ground as Rouge fell above him, clutching his fingers for dear life, her eyes on him as she took a huge breath in an held it. She reached for him.

As time sped up, he successfully grabbed her other arm and pulled her to his chest, shielding her head and injured wing and back, wrapping his legs around the rest of her lower body as he prepared for impact. He held his breath.

With a thudding splash, Knuckles hit the water first, taking Rouge with him through the moving water of the mote. All sound was muted and cool darkness dulled his senses, as Rouge's grip on him seemed to tighten.

Behind them, the door had busted open and knights flooded the room. One reached the window and saw the falling red and white dots, but by the time he motioned for the other knights to come to the window and witness it all, all they could see was the ripples the two left behind in the dark waters below.

The waters took them and when they surfaced, all they left was a small trail of blood drops and a few tracks of wet feet on the stones.

~aAa~

She sighed for what was the hundredth time for the night.

As Amy scaled the stairs, she took each step like a toddler, with one foot on the next step and then bringing the other next to it, aside from one foot on one step and the other on the step above it. This made her trek twice as long and three times as painful somehow.

When she finally reached the top most corridors, she shivered, knowing that at the end of the hall on her left, the doors to the prince's private chambers awaited her.

She picked up her dress and went forward.

As she walked, she looked right and left, searching for a window, another hall, set of steps, or even a large sign that said exit in glowing red letters.

Come on. There has to be a way out of here.

As she reached the end, she tensed, turning left. At the end of that hall were the large wooden doors of the prince's chambers. The lights of the room leaked from the cracks, lighting her pink features in the darkness.

As her heels clicked below her, she noticed a small hall to her right just before the door. With her heart thudding in her chest, she raced to it, turning and seeing a hall way littered with windows. At the end of the hall was another corridor, leading to the back of the castle.

She clasped her hands together, thanking Chaos as she started to walk down the hall.

She stopped suddenly as she heard footsteps and the clinking of metal behind her.

She turned, clutching her clasped hands to her chest, frightened as she came face first with a tall knight, quills pointed out and upward, gazing down at her with one arm on his sword hilt.

"H-Hello," she smiled weakly.

He continued to stare, looking around the hallway slowly, probably trying to figure out why she wasn't in the prince's chambers.

"I was headed to the prince's chambers and got lost again, it seems. I wasn't sure if this room over here was the one, so I took this turn to see what was down here." Her explanation wasn't as shaky as her greeting, but it still varied in its convincing. She was sure this guard wasn't going to fall for it.

He was still silent; so she decided to just seal her fate and end this awkward stare down.

"Thank you for finding me. I'll go ahead and check to see if the prince is in the room I just passed," she muttered, but as she moved to maneuver around him, he spoke.

"That won't be necessary. I've been given orders to take you far, far away from here," he voiced in a deep, silky tone.

She blinked as she stopped, not sure whether to feel shocked at the lovely tone of his voice or to feel angered. Had the prince ordered his men to escort her to another meeting place, or was he already going to be rid of her? Either way, she chose the latter for her emotional response.

"Excuse me?" she snapped, backing away from him and into the wall. He inched toward her, a foot between them. Her eyebrows knit together as she tried to figure out the intentions of this knight.

"His highness is no longer in need of your services, so I've been ordered to locate your whereabouts and then…" the knight tilted his head low, pulling off his helmet slowly. Amy noticed the familiar coloring of his quills and suddenly she froze.

"Secure the means to bring you home."

And there he stood, the ebony, with a half smirk and closed eyes, bowing slightly to her before standing upright, meeting her gaze with warm ruby gems. He held the helmet between his hip and arm as the moonlight graced his being. The light wind from the open windows brushed against his quills as Amy took the moment to pinch her self.

"Shadow? Are you …real?" she asked, just below a whisper, seeming to talk to herself.

"Very much so, Rose."

As her heart picked up and she held back the urge to cry like a child, she rushed him, enclosing herself around his waist as he became as stiff as a board.

"I-I thought you were dead," she mumbled into his fur with a sniffle.

He softened, relaxing into her touch. He took one hand and smoothed her quills down, while the other wrapped around her. Hesitantly, he rested his chin atop her head, breathing her in for just a moment. If only a moment.

"I know, but what do I exist for, as your friend, if you aren't given the opportunity to miss me?"

As her own words were given back to her, she laughed wetly, tightening her hold around his waist for a moment, remembering the very second that she had told him the same thing in the forest on their way to Cream birthday party. It had felt like a lifetime ago.

Shadow's ear twitched as he picked up the varying noises sounding off throughout the fortress halls. He slowly pulled away from the rose, holding her at arms length. He regained his sense of urgency, looking into her eyes firmly.

"We have to go. Tails and Cream are already headed back to the ship and Knuckles is sure to have found Rouge by now and made their way there," he explained as he watched her lightly rub her face to rid her self of her tears.

"Cream and Rouge are safe? But how did you find them so quickly? And how did you survive that battle in space? I was sure the ship was destroyed beyond repair."

As she began her stream of questions, Shadow walked over to one of the open windows, looking out and down, seeing the mote, the field of grass and the forest of trees in the distance.

We'll use the trees as cover.

"I promise I will not let your questions go unanswered, Rose. I, too, have questions of my own. Let's make haste to the ship and we'll compare with the others. I'm sure there is much to discuss. Your hand?" he explained, extending his hand to her as he gripped the windowsill with the other hand, ready to jump.

With a warmed smile and a final sniffle, Amy accepted his hand before she was pulled into his chest. She squeaked a bit at the gesture and gripped Shadow's neck as he brought her into a bridal style hold.

"Hold on to me," he whispered, before taking them into a free fall through the air, launching them into the sky.

Her stomach dropped and she swallowed her gasp as she dared to look down and out.

At first, the grass seemed to rush closer as they fell and Amy felt her panic rise to her throat. And then she allowed her head to rise and it seemed they were gliding forward in the air, the dark terrain lit only by the stars and moons. The nightly wind was refreshing and the dark forest in the distance bristled with motion and life.

The rose laughed, exhilarated.

The ebony looked down, smiling a bit, before gripping her tighter and preparing to land on solid ground.

As they came in contact with the terrain, he flipped over once before his shoes kicked on and he levitated across the vegetation on his air shoes, gliding smoothly as the transition from free fall to solid ground seemed effortless, with little to no bumps in between.

They landed past the mote and made way to the forest beyond.

~aAa~

The lavender grass swayed as the rabbit sifted through the moving terrain. The grassland reached as far as the eye could see and the length of the grass came above her head. So as the kitsune led the way, she saw him for a fleeting moment before the grass moved once more and distorted her view. The cycle continued in silence, as Cream responded to his questions, which were rare, with one-word answers.

Tails looked back at her for a moment. She was zoned out, staring forlornly at his shoes, as her dress dragged and skimmed across the vegetation.

"So, what does the dark prince want with Amy?" he asked, looking forward again.

"Marriage," she muttered.

He sighed lightly, thinking of something else.

"It's just like out of those movies you make me watch, with the villain that wants the princess and the prince saves the day in the end, right? I guess me and the guys need fancy armor and swords now, huh?" he joked, looking back once more.

"Yeah."

Her eyebrows seemed to furrow and her hold on herself tightened as he said that and he realized his mistake.

She wants to prove her worth as a fighter, and here I am asserting gender roles in the worst way. Way to go, Miles.

"Not that a girl can't fight, you know. You girls are excellent fighters! Some of the best actually and… yeah," he tried to amend, quickly, but when he looked to her once again, her head was even lower than before and her gaze was angled to the soil.

He looked away, closing the subject with silence.

It was another twenty minutes of sifting when the rabbit looked up and through a moment when the grass was shifting low that she saw the ship through the slits of grass. With a quickened heartbeat, she hurried to it as her partner had picked up his pace with a muttered "finally."

As they came upon the ship, the door sighed open, falling as a ramp was brought down right in front of them. The lavender grass hid the ship well and the hill had wondrous view of the city.

"You made it!"

Before they could set foot on the ramp, a rush of blue slammed into the two, pushing them back into the grass on their backs. As the two opened their eyes, they realized that none other than the blue blur himself was crushing them in a hug of sorts.

"I'm so glad you guys are safe! Radio silence is no fun, especially when I have to miss all the action. Do you know how boring this adventure has been so far? A pretty eventless rescue mission if you ask me!" Sonic chattered as he released the two and helped them up from the ground. Tails shook his head as Cream smiled slightly.

"I'm sorry we kept you waiting, mister Sonic. We didn't mean to leave you out," she whispered.

He gave her a thumb up.

"No biggie, Cream. I'm just happy to see you, safe and sound."

"Welcome back."

They all looked up the ramp to see Sally at the start of the entrance, holding what looked to be a first aid kit. She smiled in a motherly way.

"You should come inside. You'll catch a cold out there."

They all came up the ramp, allowing it to close behind them as they all set foot in the darkened ship, only lit by the stars and moons from the front window.

Tails grabbed Cream's hand, pulling her to sit in the seat right behind his own seat that was front and center. As he pushed her to sit, he got on his knee on the ship floor, taking her shoes off slowly, massaging her toes gently, before he stood up, brushing her head aside and seeing the small gash dried with fresh blood. He ran his fingers through her hair, holding her cheek, begging her to look at him. Her glittering eyes looked to the side.

"Cream, you were very brave. You're safe now and you no longer have to worry. We'll all be together soon and be on our way back to Mobius shortly," he tried to reach her.

She remained silent, although her eyelids fell halfway and her eyes seemed to brim with fresh tears.

As he stood to his full height, he nodded at Sally, who replaced Tails, kneeling in front of the rabbit. She wrapped a blanket around the rabbit, one of the rabbit's very own from home, and proceeded to pull out all the necessary things to service her injured forehead.

As she did this, she asked if the rabbit had any other injuries. Cream responded with a shake of her head. Sally looked into her eyes with concerned orbs of her own, but sighed, continuing her task. Tails was pacing the open floor behind the sets of seats and Sonic sat in his chair at the center console, watching the kit walk back and forth.

"Where are the others? Did they not come with you?" Sonic asked.

Tails continued to pace.

"I'm not sure. When we met with Cream, they sent us back and went on to find Amy and Rouge. I'm sure they split up to save them time. I was sure they'd be back by now, especially since Cream and I took our time in getting here. At least Shadow should be here. He's as fast as you and he has this sense when it comes to finding Amy," he chattered, rubbing his chin and continuing his pacing.

Sally added a bandage to Cream's forehead, smiling at the worn rabbit and closing her kit.

"Why don't you call them?"

"I told them to maintain radio silence, just in case. I don't know what kind of technology the enemy possesses. We can't afford to give them any beneficial information about us and we can't let them know our location, especially with the others still out there. I'm just worried something may have happened to them. The fortress was teeming with guards and Knuckles isn't exactly tactical. And Shadow, if provoked enough, just might use his chaos powers to destroy any and everyone. We can't have that. We need to stay away from detection as much as possible for this to work," Tails explained in a hurry.

It was silent for a moment.

"I'll go after them, little buddy," Sonic said as he stood to proceed.

Tails motioned for him to stop.

"No. You'll be caught for sure. And what if they haven't been caught yet? You'll just announce our existence to everyone if you go speeding in."

"What if they have been caught and they're in danger? Cream said it herself, her and Rouge were being taken as offerings. What if Shadow, Rouge, Amy and Knuckles are put to something worse?"

Tails shook his head.

"Knuckles and Shadow won't let that happen, I'm sure of it. Even if that were the case, they would at least put up a fight. I'm sure they escaped and are hiding out for the night. They're either resting or can't find the ship. That's the only logical thing I can think of that they would do given the situation. We should wait until daylight to move. If they are in danger, we can go together and find them," Tails finalized.

The tension remained as Sonic sighed, walking over to the first door in the back, opening it.

"Whatever you say, little buddy."

"They'll make it out alive. They're Freedom Fighters, just like us. They were trained for this kind of thing," Sally spoke aloud.

Sonic simply scoffed and proceed to go through the door.

"I'm gonna catch some z's. Wake me if they come back tonight."

The door shut.

"I'm going to sleep too. Wake me if you need anything," Sally sighed as she walked to the door Sonic had gone into, placed the kit near the pile of backpacks and duffle bags on the ground, and disappeared behind the door.

The remaining couple stood still.

Tails was the first to move, his footfalls echoing lightly as he stopped in front of Cream. He kissed the band-aid on her forehead and nudged her.

"You should shower and get some sleep. There's no telling what will happen after this."

With a zombie-like motion, she got up, heading to the door next to the sleeping rooms at a snail-like pace. The blanket dragged across the ground softly as she stopped, looking down at the pile of bags on the ground. The red plus sign of the first aid kit caught her attention.

She stared at the kit, listening to the silence, as it was broken when Tails moved behind her. He sat at his seat and began typing furiously. She looked over her shoulder and saw the screen. On the display was a green dot in the center and two, red, blinking dots, one at he top center and the other lower, but to the right.

"They seem to be moving, but they Shadow isn't moving toward the ship. I wonder what he's thinking," Tails muttered, stressfully.

She turned around, seeing the kit again. Her flame rekindled as she grabbed the kit and rushed for ship exit. As her bare feet slapped across the metal and her blanket billowed behind her, Tails turned at the noise, his eyes widening.

"Cream, stop!"

Her finger grazed the button, putting almost the right amount of pressure to release the door, before her waist was pulled and her wrist was grabbed. She immediately put up a struggle.

"Cream, please!"

The rabbit was twisted around and pinned against the ship wall, her wrists grabbed and pinned above her. She thrashed a bit, her eyes closed. The blanket dropped around her ankles and the first aid kit thumped across the metal.

"Tails, please, let me go! I have to help Rouge and Amy! I'm practically an adult and I can do what I want! Just, please. I can… do this," she began to deflate as she stopped struggling bit by bit.

She'd opened her eyes and seen the hurt in the kitsune's gaze. She bit her tongue.

"Why do you need to prove yourself so badly? We all care for you, Cream! The last thing we want is for something, anything, horrible to happen to you! And what would we do if you were killed, huh? Chaos forbid that happens on my watch, but what if? What would we do without you? And your mother? She's back on Mobius, waiting, praying for your safe return and all you can think about is playing soldier and being a hero!"

They both heaved heavy breaths; one face contorted in frustration, the other wide-eyed and shook, hair a mess.

"And I… Cream, I refuse to live in a universe where you no longer exist. The way I feel about you and the time that we've shared… I won't let it stop here. I want us to grow, Cream, and we can't do that if you're life ends here."

A hot blush crept across both of their muzzles as Tails looked to the side, embarrassed. Cream tried to make eye contact.

"Tails, I'm sorry. I'm just being selfish. I promise, I won't try to leave again," she whispered. She could feel him shaking with adrenaline as he slowly released her wrists, but continued to trap her against the wall, his hands pressed against the wall as he towered above her.

"Tails?" she lifted a hand, placing a loving palm against his cheek.

"Cream, we may have gotten older, but we're still the young ones of the team, the inexperienced ones and we always will be. We have trouble keeping it together and I'm no exception. Even I'm a mess right now, thinking about the well being of our friends. We're just kids, Cream. We're bound to get hurt. We're… weak," he scratched through a cracking voice. At the end of his speech, his eyes fell into her deep chocolate ones, becoming entranced.

"Tails, we may look like kids, but we don't have to be. Our maturity has nothing to do with our age."

He laughed a bit, allowing her to get closer to him. She inched toward his warmth, enveloping him in a comforting embrace.

"We're fighters too and we have to fight, both the enemy and our friends, to prove it," she finalized, pulling back from the hug just a bit.

Time seemed to stop as they both realized how close they were.

She looked down at his lips and instantly became filled with a need. They had kissed before, but they were simple love pecks, nothing long or passionate. This need was new.

Her eyes fell halfway as she looked into his eyes. He stared at her wide-eyed with a blush, feeling heat rise in him as he read the look in her eyes. She stood on her tippy toes, ensuring that she made it to his lips.

"Tails… we're older now and… I want… you," she whispered as her arms tightened around his neck and her face moved toward his, tilting. His eyes fell low, but his eyebrows furrowed upward.

"C-Cream… wait. We s-shouldn't do this… here."

Without warning, she crushed her lips onto his, humming as the sensation of his lips on hers was refreshing and gentle.

He became unresponsive as stone first, but as she shifted into his body, fitting like a puzzle piece, he warmed up to the kiss.

He closed his eyes as she did, deepening the kiss just a bit. In the process, he'd brought her back entirely against the wall, as their bodies were flesh against one another. One arm ended up against the wall, the other in her hair.

They parted, faces still so close.

As their eyes met, she smiled. He kept gasping for air, his face showing nothing but exasperation and hesitance.

"Tails, aren't adults the ones that do this kind of thing?"

Something in him snapped as he gave in.

He smashed his lips against hers once more, moving his lips, sucking and allowing his tongue to graze her lower lip. She moaned into his mouth.

This sent him over the edge.

He pulled away from her lips and moved between her head and shoulder.

"T-Tails what are you- ah!"

Hot lips pressed against her neck as he began suckling. She squirmed, pressing the side off her head against his, not knowing how to deal with the sensation. Heat swirled in her stomach.

"Tails t-that's, mhf!" She tried to conceal another moan by closing her mouth.

He brought her closer, if possible, grabbing her by the waist. He breathed her in, moaning aloud as his kisses went lower and lower on her shoulders.

"T-Tails!"

His eyes flashed open.

He pulled away abruptly, stepping away from her and covering his mouth with his arm. He looked down to her, at what he'd done to her.

She looked beyond flustered, her hair a mess, her cheeks red and her breathing erratic. Her dress was folding and crinkled in odd places and her knees were buckling as she shook.

"I'm sorry… I," he looked away.

"No, it's okay."

He turned away from her.

"You should at least change into some clothing to sleep in. It's in my green bag on the floor over there."

With a shaky sigh, she picked up rose-colored shorts and a white shirt and showered in the bathroom near by.

When she cracked open the door to leave the bathroom, she saw him sitting at he center console in thought. She crept over to his seat, standing behind him as he examined the screen. The dots were still in the same places.

"I hope they know what they're doing."

Slowly, the rabbit took both hands and brought them over his shoulders, going lower until she hand him around the neck, hugging him while he sat.

"Tails, you didn't have to stop earlier."

She couldn't see, but he was blushing.

"Cream, that was a m-mistake. I'm sorry; I won't let it happen again. I lost control."

She released him, coming to stand in front of him, blocking his view. All he could see were the pink swirls on her thin, white night tee and the hen of her shorts. Her hair was damp and fell limply around her shoulders.

"Tails, we'll never be ready for anything if we say our trials at breaking those barriers are 'mistakes.' How could you possibly think that was a mistake? You following your instincts and taking the time just to feel and to love … there's nothing wrong with that. Tails, I… I love you."

He jerked his head upward as he watched the phrase fall off her lips like dew off of a tilting flower petal.

"W-What did you say?" he asked, just below a whisper.

She began to crawl on top of him, her knees on either side of his legs, straddling him. He grew stiff, watching her every move. Her proximity was apparent and her scent was intoxicating. Her hands gripped his shoulders as he looked up at her elevated form.

"I said…" she began as she stole a fleeting kiss from him momentarily, "I love you, Miles Tails Prower."

As their heartbeats fell together as one, they shared a series of passionate kisses, before they pulled apart, trying to catch their breaths as they smiled, looking into each other's eyes.

"I promise, I won't leave you by yourself in this universe, Tails."

He brought her across his lap, settling her body across his chair comfortably. He held her, allowing her head to fall on his shoulder as her eyes drooped with sleep.

"Thank you, Cream."

And finally, slumber fell to all among the ship.

~aAa~

Red. There was so much red.

The bat continued to drag the echidna across the stone streets of the darkened town, looking for refuge. She looked behind her and noticed she had successfully managed to cease the trail of blood that dripped from his body.

When they crash landed into the mote, they both resurfaced and swam to the edge, helping one another out as they hurried to escape. As she had helped Knuckles out, he had cringed, holding his arm. When he pulled his hand away, it was covered in an unusual red that clashed with his own.

Blood.

She had helped him walk until they found a dark alleyway to rest for the moment. She'd ripped the bottom of her dress and wrapped his arm and under further investigation, she figured out that he had opened up the gash on his arm from the last battle, the battle on Mobius that had taken them to this dreaded place.

He was so reckless.

I was then that Knuckles was losing consciousness. As he leaned against the wall, his eyes fluttered as his labored breathing slowed. He started to shrug low into a crouch and Rouge had rushed to keep him standing upright.

"Knuckles, stay with me. You need to give me your communicator so I can reach Tails. They can come and help us."

His bloodshot eyes had flashed open and he stood straight as a board, shrugging her off.

"No. I'm fine. We need to maintain radio silence. It's too dangerous otherwise. We can make it. The ship isn't too far off," he'd said through a rough voice, walking to the entrance of the alleyway using the wall as support.

With a sigh, she had followed after him.

Half way down the first street she had noticed him sway. Even though he had refused her help, she put her arm around his waist, pulling one of his arms over her shoulders, as she became his walking support.

"Rouge, r-really. I'm fine."

She had shaken her head, pulling him along.

"You're going to pass out. We might have to stop and rest until daylight and then meet up with everyone then."

"No. We can make it tonight. I won't stop until you're… safe," he mumbled the last bit before he began to collapse.

"Knuckles!"

She was able to keep him awake, but just barely. Now he walked with her, eyes closed as he leaned into her, legs dragging as his weight slowed her down.

But she didn't stop. Even when her wing began to ache and her breathing, too, became labored. She hadn't the stamina, nor the energy.

At the end of another street now, she was faced with either turning right or left. She looked to her companion on her right. He looked terrible. She shook him a bit.

"Knuckles, which way?"

He mumbled something incoherent and she asked him again. When he didn't respond, she looked around, praying for a sign, anything.

The sound of chinking armor echoed through the streets. Adrenaline surged through her body. It was either fight or flight.

Hurriedly, she looked down the right path. The town was grey, without a single drop of life, as curtains were closed and the path was vacant, with not even a sliver of candlelight showing from any windows as the town went on into the distance.

She looked left.

Right as she was losing hope and the chinking continued, a small light, nearly nonexistent, shined through a window of a house around the bend of the left path.

With nowhere else to run, she scurried to the light.

"Come on, Knuckles. Just a little further."

His response was slurred, but confirmation enough that he was still living.

She reached the door, knocking lightly, looking around her and searching for the fortress guards that were surely looking for her.

As her anxiety shot through the roof and she turned to knock on the door again, she stopped, fright flowing through her as she saw the door was cracked open and half of a face could be seen, one hazel eye looking down at her. Rouge blinked once, before clearing her dry throat.

"I know this is sudden and I may be a stranger, but I was hoping we could take refuge here. Please, I'll do whatever, but someone is after us and my partner is hurt. Please."

The eye looked her down, then to her partner.

"Do you have payment?" a feminine voice sounded.

Rouge shift her weight on her other foot as she tightened her hold on Knuckles waist, pulling his falling arm around her shoulder some more.

"I do not, but I'm willing to do anything you wish. Please, it's only for a few hours."

As she continued to scrutinize the bat and the bleeding echidna, the marching grew louder. Rouge's fur stood on end.

"Reach into your breast and show me what is there. That should be payment enough, given it is what I'm looking for."

With a confused and frantic look, Rouge reached into her cleavage and pulled out the diamond shaped charm. It pulsed white for a moment, before going out. As Rouge looked up from the charm, she came face to face with a woman in her forties with cream quills. Her facial expression was warm for a moment.

"You have come."

As the sound of the guards was close enough for the woman to hear, her ears perked and she grabbed Rouge's arm, pulling her and Knuckles inside, securing the door.

As Rouge adjusted to the change, she watched as the woman blew out the candlelight and secured the curtains. The room was open, having nothing but a rug, a blanket in one corner next to a chest, and a small table in the corner with small stools.

"This way."

The woman shoved the rug in front of them away, revealing a latched door. She lifted it, motioning for them to follow her.

"Please come. This may seem strange and untrusting, but you will be safe from Riven's guard down here."

Riven's guard? But I didn't say that exactly. How does she know? Is this a trap?

As she slowly brought Knuckles down the steps into the basement, she held her tongue, not wanting to jump the gun. When she reached the bottom, she shielded her eyes as the woman lit various candles about the damp space. It was small, but doable.

The room had bales of hay everywhere, hanging lamplights and buckets and other tools store in a corner. Against the left wall, a pile of hay had been fixed into a large nest of sorts, perfect for a makeshift bed for resting. As the woman came back to stand in front of her, Rouge extended her hand, trying to give her the charm, but she shook her head.

"Please, I do not want it. I simply needed it to make sure you were the real thing."

As Rouge retracted her hand, she stared at the woman puzzled.

"What do you mean?"

The woman shook her head again, going behind the two and pushing them toward the hay bed.

"Please, there is no time for introductions. Just know that I am aware of the prophecy and that you are not the only ones who have parts to play in it. Please, trust me for now and rest. You will need your strength."

As Rouge was nearly shoved into the pile, she laid Knuckles on his back slowly, leaning over him and placing her hand on his head. He was burning up. When she looked back, the woman had gone back up the stairs.

With a miserable sigh, she sat upright next to him, brushing his dreads away from his face, as he seemed to sleep, his breathing heavy, but slowly calming. She checked his pulse and was satisfied at its rate. He would live, but he needed medical attention as soon as he was rested enough to walk and remain conscious.

As footsteps approached, Rouge looked up as the woman came in with a few items. She placed them down at Rouge's feet. A silver tray, consisting of a small pitcher of water, two pieces of what looked like bread, a damp piece of an old shirt placed in a bowl of water and bandages, were what rested there. Rouge looked up, conflicted.

"I know it is not much, but please use this to recover. I am not the most well to do, but not many of us are, as lavish as the city looks," the woman whispered.

"Thank you, we really appreciate this, but why are you helping us, if I may ask?"

The woman walked to the other end of the room, opening a small compartment in the wall, pulling out a thin, ragged blanket. As she unfolded it, Rouge marveled at its size. It would surely cover both of them with room to spare.

"My name is Ovaria. I use to live in the fortress some time ago. I was Amelia and Argentine's overseer and educator. I was one of the first to learn of the prophecy, as the Oracle in Existence and I know one another. She told me about you and your relation to the princess and how I'd come to help you in the future. I fled when the king and queen requested I hide until the coming of the prophecy took effect."

As she spoke, she pulled a small object from the folds in the blanket. A purple vile.

"So, if I understand this correctly, you're protecting us so that we can save your kingdom soon?"

Ovaria nodded, walking to stand in front of the bat. She placed the blanket over Knuckles and handed Rouge the vile.

"It is not much, but this vile will help heal your injuries and stabilize you. It will take the night to activate, but by morning, your wing will be of use and his arm will have nothing but a small scar at best. Please, regain your strength and rest. I will keep guard upstairs through the night and wake you when it is time."

As she grabbed the vile, she abruptly looked up.

"Time? Time for what?"

As Ovaria began to ascend the steps, she spoke, back facing Rouge.

"The time to release the king and queen is nigh. Amelia will do so and you will all succeed in drawing Riven and his men out of our lands. It will be a glorious day. So please, rest. As the sun rises, so shall you, prepared to seize it."

As Rouge hesitated, searching for a proper rebuttal, Ovaria continued up the steps, securing the door behind her.

Rouge stood, examining the vile. On the back, there was a small paper attached, but what was written on it wasn't in a language she could understand.

"If this is a disclaimer of some sort, I'm screwed."

As she muttered that, a glowing came through her chest. She pulled out the gem, examining it.

"Again?"

As she said this, the light from it morphed into one singular beam, aiming for the bottle. As it lit the glass, Rouge blinked heavily as words began to float in front of the bottle. She started to read it.

"P-Place two drops in… water. Drink until empty."

As the glow retracted back into the gem and stopped, Rouge looked at the charm, one eyebrow raised.

"Guess you came in handy after all."

She pocketed the gem, turning and dropping the contents of the vile into the small pitcher of water. She sipped at it, taking a second to cough, before proceeding. Although unappealing to the tongue, a tingling sensation disrupted the pangs of pain in her wing.

Not your average water I suppose.

As she stopped halfway, she leaned next to Knuckles once again, lifting his head a bit and tipping the pitcher by his lips, slowly. As the liquid entered his throat, a bit dribbled from his bottom lip. His eyes opened slowly and he moved to sit upright on his own with a groan.

Rouge pushed at his chest, begging him to lie back down.

"Knuckles, you need to rest."

"Where… are we? This doesn't look like Tails' ship."

Rouge got him to stay put, shifting some hay to keep his head positioned to where she could give him more water.

"Don't talk. Drink. This will help you recover."

After her downed the water, he looked to her deeply, his half-mast eyes watching her as she put the pitcher down and broke the odd food in half. She began to feed him.

"R-Rouge…" he began after swallowing a bite.

"Keep eating. We can talk later."

After another bite, he tried again.

"Rouge… your wing…" he started, but was stopped once again by the final piece of bread being forced into his mouth.

"It'll be fine. A generous woman gave us medicine and shelter. We need to rest up so we can make it back to the rest. Close your eyes and sleep. I'll patch up your arm."

Instead, he watched her intensely, watching her every move with glistening eyes, as she cleaned his wound with the damp old shirt and patched it with gauze. He looked her over, noticing her ripped dress. Now the bottom came right past her knees, her exposed hips now bare and unprotected. The quarter sleeves of her dress were damp and ripped and the hole that displayed her cleavage was even bigger and ripped in certain places. She was practically naked considering the way the dress fit her like an extra small glove, revealing everything.

Then she stood from the makeshift bed, moving the silver tray and stretching herself out a bit, exhausted. She unwrapped her wing with a few cringes and viewed the bloody hole. As he watched her clean the wound and wrap it with fresh gauze, he remembered the guards and their sexual speech about Rouge. Even through his pain, his body had a fire lit under it at the thought.

He reached for her wrist as she finished her task. When she looked down to him, her response to his touch was stuck in her throat as she became caught by his intensity.

"Rouge."

She knew what he was saying, although he only said her name. He was happy she was alive, worried about her well-being still and dead-serious about getting her out alive, even if it meant he had to die. She swallowed, caught up in how his eyes looked into her own, breaking her.

"Knuckles, I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me. I'm as capable as the rest of the team, you know this."

He tugged at her wrist.

"Rouge, I need you to promise me something."

He released her wrist as she crawled next to him, covering them both with the blanket. She laid sideways beside him, using her arm to prop her head up and look down to him. She brushed one of his dreads aside, listening to him seriously.

"I'm all ears."

"Promise me… no matter what happens to me, you'll keep yourself alive and get back to Mobius. Please."

She stopped her ministrations on his hair, turning stern.

"Knuckles, you're not dying, if I have anything to do with it."

"Rouge, please, it will put my mind at ease if-" he was cut off.

"If what? You die and I go on happily without you? What kind of sick joke are you trying to tell? Because I'm not amused!"

Her response wasn't quite a yell, but a muted form of a stern declaration.

He closed his eyes.

"Rouge, please-"

"Knuckles stop, you can't convince me otherwise. If you die, I'm either going with you to hell or avenging you first before I off myself."

At the sound of that, his eyes flashed open, anger willing his purple orbs. He reached for her face, pulling it close.

"Don't say that. Please."

She was choked by his closeness as a hot blush crept across her muzzle. He was red in the face and damp, either from the intensity of the moment or his fever, she could not tell, but his heat was contagious.

"K-Knuckles," was all she could manage in a meek whisper.

"You will not die, I swear it. I will be your shield and you will carry on. I will live through you," he ground out through a dry throat. His eyes lids fell slowly as he came closer to her.

She could feel the heat of his breath on her lips as she whimpered a bit. She hadn't been expecting this, his touch. This is what they saved for the bedroom and here they were, intimate as newlyweds, the night before it could all be over.

"I love you, Rouge."

And with a rough tug at the back of her neck, he kissed her full, breathing out with a groan as she kissed back weakly. She was warm and soft on the inside. Her ears went back as she gave in, clutching his hand that trapped her face against his own.

They pulled back for a breather and Rouge was the one out of breath the most.

"Knuckles, we-" she tried between the break, but was interrupted by wet, hungry lips.

He kissed her like it was his last, suckling and tasting. When his tongue probed at her entrance, she gasped, allowing him in. There was no need for their tongues to battle for dominance, for Rouge had submitted long ago, allowing him to take her mouth over.

When he pulled back, a small stream of spit followed and Rouge felt like she was a mess. It was rare that she ever became the submissive one during these exchanges. She usually dominated him as an equal or more, but he was so intense, it made her think that with all the private time they shared, he was simply allowing her to take lead. He could have taken her over, made her feel like this any time he'd wanted.

"Ahh, Knuckles," she moaned as quietly as she could manage. One of his hands gripped her exposed thigh as she halfway straddled him.

As he pulled her onto him more, he proceeded to kiss her neck fervently, going down her arms and back up to her cleavage, sucking fiercely. She quivered, pushing at his head as she whimpered and wiggled. He grabbed her thighs, pulling her into him as he grinded his hips a bit into her middle. He was going insane.

"Wait. Y-You'll leave a mark. Haa."

"That's the goal. I want to leave something with you when I die."

When he said this, she snapped a bit.

As his eyes opened to see her odd reaction, she pushed on his chest, making him lay flat. She repositioned herself on his lap, straddling him harder as she crushed his lips with her own.

He moaned as he grabbed her hips, trying to stop her aggressive attack, but he could not stop her once she began.

When she pulled away, her eyes looked into his, begging.

"Rouge…"

"Please, stop with this heroic bullshit. I want you to live."

He smirked, pulling her back to him, kissing her forehead.

"You know I can't."

She sighed, pushing her face into his neck.

"I know," she muttered unsatisfied.

As their heat dissipated slowly, she tightened her grip around him as he held her back and waist, keeping her in place. She listened to his heartbeat, allowing its lull to tame her wild cravings.

"I won't let you die."

They fell into a tense sleep of sorts.

~aAa~

Red eyes watch her.

She knew he was looking at her, although if it were any other girl walking in front of him, she figured he'd be looking down or to the side, or maybe he'd either be in the lead or closing his eyes altogether.

But she could feel him. His eyes.

They were boring into her exposed back, watching as her dress was lifted slightly by the night wind and her legs kept her going forward. And when her hair came down from being taken by the wind, they would be blocking his view of her body and he'd be looking at her slightly curled quills, or even the hands that she kept clasped behind her back as she continued on.

Their shoes made small sifting noises as they passed through the grass of the forest, the density of the trees hindering their travels. The spaces where moonlight seeped through the leaves helped sustain her sight and the chirps and songs of night creatures kept the rose awake as her lack of sleep began to show.

At their entrance into the forest, they'd begun to make headway at top speed, when Shadow had spotted a few castle guards hanging around by some trees. His gliding had alerted them and in his haste, he'd struck them with a chaos blast, one that lit the forest about them and was surely a mistake.

Now they traversed slowly on foot as not to alert any more guards and to keep their whereabouts hidden. If they had continued on, they may have led the guards right to the ship's location. Shadow was going to alert Tails of their predicament, but thought better of it, given the need for radio silence. So all they could do now was continue on at a normal pace. The forest circled the fortress and the city, so they followed close to the inner edge, circling with the forest until they were to come to the clearing that overlooked the city where the ship was sure to be.

She yawned, covering her mouth as not to alert the ebony.

"Let me carry you."

She shook her head, not daring to look back at him.

"I-It's okay, really! I can walk."

He caught up to her, walking beside her. With his arms crossed, he looked down to her. She looked up with a swallow, not wanting to make eye contact.

"I am aware, but you've been through quite a bit and you are surely tiring. We should at least stop and rest since we will not unite with the others until tomorrow."

"O-okay."

He looked ahead.

"There is a clearing near. We will rest there for tonight."

As he took the lead, Amy watched the curves in his back, as she was lost in thought.

Shadow came for me. Well, the others came for me as well, but they came to get us three as a whole. He came with the directive to bring me back, it seems. It's almost as if we're…

She didn't want to, but she silently finished her sentence with the phrase 'dating.' A small blush made itself known on her muzzle as she watched the wind bristle his quills. White petals fell around them, spiraling out of control across her vision, illuminated by the moons.

I know Rouge had mentioned he'd liked me for some time, but is it really true? And if it is, why hasn't he said anything?

Yet, as she thought this, guilt caused her to cross her arms and rub them. She looked at the passing trees instead of him.

I'm such an idiot. Actions speak louder than words, Amy. He went looking for me after my disappearance, he came with me to Cream's party after having been away for some time, he stayed in my home at my request and even partook in my mundane house chores! He's been telling me all along.

She looked at him once again, sighing and doubting.

Even if he doesn't want to date me, maybe he enjoys my companionship? No, Amy, don't kid yourself. He may seem like he's slowing down for you, but just like Sonic, he needs his freedom and you can't give that to him. You are the antonym to that precious word, you know that.

The tree density began to thin around them. The clearing was close.

I know how I feel about him. He puts me at ease and then scrambles my thoughts at some of the things he does. He protected me way back when and even after three years, he's still reliable. When I'm around him, he talks to me like I'm a person and he respects my decisions, as crazy as they use to seem as my old self. He doesn't remind me of my past craziness and allows me time to heal. He helps me heal.

Her smile was small as she regarded the hedgehog in front of her with a warm gaze.

He gives me confidence and yet, he makes me feel so submissive and delicate all the same. He teaches me, rather than mocks me. His touch is patient and gentle. When he gets close to me, I… I want to melt…

She shook her head as a deeper blush graced her muzzle.

I shouldn't think those kinds of thoughts now. With my luck, none of this is true and I'm overthinking things. In the event I'm right, I… I'm not sure what I'd do. Kiss him maybe? Take his hand and tell him I feel the same and we should become a thing?

She sighed.

I guess I'll cross that bridge with caution when I get here. He could just see me as a sister, which is fine all the same.

She breathed in, looking at his back with determined emerald orbs.

One thing was for sure…

She needed to talk to him.

"So, I think I know how you survived the battle in space."

"Oh? What is your theory?"

She took a deep breath and caught up to him, taking her place beside him. She looked up to him as he regarded her presence.

"You used chaos control to teleport everyone out, didn't you?"

He smirked, patting her head. She stiffened at his touch.

"Precisely. At the last second, I was able to reach my emerald and connect us all in enough time to escape. Granted, we sustain quite the injuries and damage and needed to stop to repair, but as soon as the minimal repairs were complete, we continued our pursuit."

As his hand retracted from her head, she looked at him again.

"How did you locate us? Space is infinite. You couldn't have found us that quickly without help."

"Cream, whether she knows it or not, carries an ear communicator embedded with a tracking device. Tails used it to track her, which he figured would lead us to all of you, given we made haste. When we were in range, we contacted Cream. Rouge was with her, but you were not, and we coordinated an escape plan from there."

As the puzzles started to click in her mind, he asked a question of his own.

"Have you figured out why this alien prince wants you?"

Amy fidgeted with the front of her dress, looking away, stern.

"The man who took us, Prince Riven, wants my hand in marriage. Apparently… I'm the daughter of the former rulers of this country and he wants to be the official ruler. This fortress is my birthplace."

He stopped walking and stared at her. She looked back, smiling sheepishly.

"Rose…"

"I don't know whether I believe it or not, but some of the things that have happened and what I've heard match up with my memories before I came Mobius. I have also met who is supposedly my brother. He's staying undercover as a knight of Riven's guard after having faked his death. He told me everything the prince has told me is false and I'm being tricked into marrying a madman who wants to control this kingdom to destroy it."

As Amy continued, Shadow placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Rose? Rose look at me."

She hadn't even realized she was looking down. She smiled at him with a watery laugh, her eyes rimmed with fresh tears.

"And there's a prophecy with my name all over it, one where I release my parents, whom are trapped in the fortress by Prince Riven and I liberate this country and it's something I have to do, no matter how I feel about it or if I have the will to do it. It's all so crazy. I don't know what to believe right now."

She was in hysterics.

He used one hand to lift her chin and hold it in place. His warm ruby orbs graced her face.

"But I won't do it. Not unless I feel it is the right thing to do. I won't do something because I've been told I have to, Shadow. I am a Freedom Fighter and my duty right now is to Mobius. I have to go back, even if that means my alleged family will be trapped forever," she muttered, as her heart seemed to break, piece by piece, in slow, painful stages.

She blinked as a traitorous tear escaped. The ebony caught it with his thumb.

"Rose, you no longer have to carry that burden. After tonight, it is over."

She smiled again, caressing the hand that graced her cheek, closing her eyes.

"I know. Thank you."

They remained that way for a moment, encased in a companionable silence.

Then, the ebony shifted. She opened her eyes when his warmth left her cheek, only to see him take her hand and pull her along. As they walked, she looked down to their interlocked fingers and blushed furiously.

"S-Shadow, you don't have t-to-" she started.

"Shh, Rose. We should keep quiet in case a guard is within our proximity."

They came to the clearing and stopped in their tracks as they examined the space. Breathtaking was an understatement.

The clearing of lavender grass was speckled with white and cream colored flowers, petals curling in all sorts of directions. At the center, a pond grace the place, water as clear and blue as could be, reflecting the moons above. In the air, glowing silver bugs floated about. Their wings were thin and fast, seeming to shimmer, as their bodies were bubbly like bees, covered in dark swirls.

"This place…" Amy stuttered, before she walked forward. Shadow followed after her.

At the bank of the pond, Amy looked down into it, allowing herself to be mesmerized as one of the glowing bugs landed gracefully along the water. She giggled, leaving her shoes at the banking and slowly taking two steps in, her feet pointed as she checked the temperature. As she was in at her ankles, she twirled, water spiraling around her. She squeaked a bit at water tickled her.

She picked up her dress and spun around to face Shadow, mirth clearly written across her face.

"This water is so rejuvenating! Haha," she laughed gently.

As he watched her, a ghost of a smile falling along his features, he looked around, searching for threats. When he found none, he looked at her again and spotted a glowing emanating from her dress. He made eye contact and motioned to her.

"Rose, your dress pocket."

She looked down, pulling out the glowing heart charm. As she held it between her palms, it began to float, pulsating with light pink.

"The charm. The Oracle… she told me it would help me."

Small splashes of water deviated her focus from the charm to the ebony hedgehog that had followed her into the water. As he positioned himself in front of her, his hands came up to mirror her own as the charm floated between both of their open palms. Their eyes met.

"You've been through quite the adventure, haven't you?"

She chuckled, eyes glittering.

"An adventure that needs to come to an end."

With that, the glow of the charm flashed about them and a wind circled them, ruffling their fur and clothing. Amy looked up into the sky as the charm's light darted upward.

"Shadow!"

He followed her gaze upward, watching.

The twinkling bugs circled them and the water, bringing the liquid up in a light vortex that followed the pink light up. As the water reached its maximum just above the trees, the water thinned out into an arc, falling into a globe around the clearing. As the water reached the ground, it seemed to solidify, creating a protective barrier of sorts. The bugs stopped spiraling as the barrier solidified and floated aimlessly, like dust caught in a light.

"It's like we're trapped in a snow globe," she muttered, looking down at Shadow, whom was, once again, looking at her. His eyes were half open, mouth slightly opened.

"It seems that charm is bent on protecting you."

As she registered what he'd said, she frowned, eyes glazing over. The wind about them slowed, bringing their floating fur and clothes to rest as they should across their bodies. The charm dropped into her hands and she watched it, the pulsing dying slowly.

"It's supposed to help me release my parents. The Oracle, the one who was given the prophecy and told me of it… she created them. Cream and Rouge have one too. Together, we're suppose to save the kingdom and rid it of Riven and his men," she explained, sadly.

He closed the distance between them, arms at his sides as he towered above her, waiting.

"But I won't. I can't. No," she whispered to herself, allowing the charm to drop from her hands as she moved her hands away. As she closed her eyes, waiting for the charm to hit the water, the sound never came.

She opened her eyes, looking down, seeing the charm, vacant of its glow, in the hand of the ebony hedgehog in front of her. He brought it to his face, before grabbing her hand and placing it back in her palm, safe.

"Rose, our ultimate desires are dangerous, that is why we must keep them at bay, but no matter, they still exist. There are times when we must satisfy them or we too will become a danger, to ourselves and others," he explained as he closed her fingers around the charm. She stared at her closed palm before looking up at the ebony…

And regretting it just a bit.

He was close, too close. Their noses touched and she could feel his breath on her lips light, tickling and warm. A heat came to her cheeks as their eyes met.

"It may prove difficult, but you should make honesty a tool to use on yourself as well, Rose. You should ask yourself what you want, no matter the desires that others push onto you."

Her eyes lowered as she held her tears, the liquid nearly escaping as her eyes blurred.

"S-Shadow."

Instead of allowing her to cry, he reached for one of her hands, lifting it up and allowing her palm to rest atop his own. As she blinked and opened her eyes to his actions, he used his other hand to grab her other wrist, placing that hand on his shoulder and placing it on her waist. He stood tall, chest out and shoulders squared as he smirked just the slightest.

"Being a princess, I assume you are familiar with the waltz," he whispered.

She giggled, her mind distracted by him.

She allowed him to lead her in a light twirl as their feet sloshed the water at their ankles.

Her giggles and his sighs were all that graced the ambiance of the snow globe around them.