The Bottom of the Well

We’re exiting the complicated fight choreography arc (which is nothing compared to Part 3…what am I doing to myself?) and entering the crash out arc, readers. Time to figure out wtf has been going on before we dive into the Part 2 finale. Wait…where the hell is Rouge?

Shadow was drenched in gore. The rain ran rivulets of black and red off his pelt, the dark pool below him growing. He struggled to look up at her from his prone position, his red eyes darkened and dull, barely able to focus. Amy’s heart clenched at the sight. She had never seen the black hedgehog so torn up. Shadow!

Willing her racing heart to slow, Amy tightened the grip on the handle of her hammer and wrenched it out of the ground. It swung in an arc, the shaft landing on her shoulder as she twisted to face another horrific sight.

There were four Sonics.

There had been five, but picking one to land on had been easy. It wasn’t moving like he would, so it had to go. Four Sonics left on a rain slicked street. Their eyes were all wrong. The abhorrent yellow coloration of their irises, a sick mockery of Sonic’s verdant green. Which would she smash into nothingness next?

But first, which, if any, was the real one?

The one bleeding out, of course. Sonic!

Amy swallowed, her focus darting between them, assessing the nightmare she’d fallen into. She fed her emotions into the crucible of her heart, tempering her shock with anger to forge righteous conviction. She would be the blinding light in this darkness. It was time for everyone to settle down!

The demonic image of Sage appeared between Amy and the real Sonic. Amy narrowed her eyes. The enemy! “Leave Amy Rose. This is your only warning.” Said the thing that haunted Amy’s dreams. The heartless program terrorizing the world for over three months in the name of the Doctor. This was what she had been plotting? It made no sense!

“What did you do to Sonic!?” Amy shrieked. Disgust and rage churned in her heart. Fuel for the crucible. She wanted to scream. She wanted to puke. The tragedy around her, the absolute horror! It was sickening. Why? Why why why why why!?!

“What did you do to Sonic, Shadow?” Sage responded calmly, fading away to reveal the limp body held in a bridal carry by a blank-faced replica. Abomination! Corrupted facsimile…with his face. What hell was this? What did she do to deserve this?

Amy swallowed a sob, but didn’t take the bait to shift her focus. The clone held him gingerly. Reverence for its progenitor? Her hero’s head lolled, lips twitched, his eyes open: yellow and blank, but with a depth the others lacked. Ignore that, think about it later.

Amy had never seen so much blood. Sonic was nearly painted black (?) with it except for places where he was actively bleeding. There was only one person who could do that to the Blue Blur.

She wasn’t Tails, but Amy wasn’t stupid either. What happened here wasn’t that difficult to deduce. Why though? Chaos, why!? Sonic and Shadow were on a whole level of their own. The only way to take one down was with the other. And based on the evidence, that was exactly what had been going on. Sonic was covered in Shadow’s blood and Shadow was nearly incapacitated.

“They love each other.” Amy’s sobs attempted to choke her in their bid to escape. “H-how could you do this to them?” Her hands squeezed the handle of her hammer until her bones ached. It wasn’t fair! It was cruel and evil! Was that Sage’s plan, to pit them against each other? Destroy them both at once? Disgusting!

“Easily.” Amy flinched as the answer came from behind her, but she kept her eyes glued to Sonic’s body. She would not look away. Would not give an opening. Sage’s attempt at redirecting Amy attention betrayed the program’s intent to escape with Sonic. Tension built in Amy, ready to spring once the clone took flight.

In the meantime, Amy steeled her emotions. Her mind raced. She knew she was in grave danger, but just how much was a total mystery. She was no match for Sonic, not in any serious way, but she had a good feel for how he moved and fought. Amy had stood beside him since the Doctor’s robots were cute, small, and powered by flickies. And Amy would fight beside Sonic until they were both grey and there was no power in heaven or on earth that could take that from her.

If there is darkness, find the light

What needed to happen was for everyone to sit down and take a deep breath together. Then they could start talking about their needs and what motivation led them to do all these terrible things. Amy could moderate. The rain would stop. The sun would come up. It’ll be so obvious that all this was just a big understanding. Then they could start the work to make things better.

Everyone laughed behind her back, called her naive, but Amy was right! Violence solved nothing in the long term. It was an endless circle of pain and retribution. It was a tragedy violence would always be the loudest voice at the table. Peace had to be fought for with a weaker toolset, always at a disadvantage to brute force.

The inertia of drastic decisions didn’t need to carry them all further into the abyss. Change was possible, albeit hard. Nothing of substance came about without work. Amy was nothing if not dedicated and tenacious. This could all be fixed. Everyone was still breathing, and buildings could be rebuilt. Peace could be negotiated.

It was not too late.

If there is no light, be the light

The problem was that no party involved was going to stay put without encouragement. More than likely Shadow was already on the self-loathing and pity party death spiral that was his favorite ride in the whole amusement park. He’d teleport away out of shame at the earliest convenience, but judging by the retching and wet sounds splattering asphalt behind her, Amy had some time before that happened.

Sage was everywhere and anywhere she wanted to be. But she’d be where Sonic was, of that Amy was certain. So, the name of the game was keep away, with Sonic’s limp body as the ball and the fate of the world the stakes.

Luckily, Amy didn’t need to win. She only needed to stall.

Knuckles and Omega were somewhere in the city and headed their way. With Sonic out of action, there was nothing Sage had that could stop them once they assembled. Sage was on the back foot.

Strength didn’t matter for this fight. It was a contest of speed. It was time to see how authentic Sonic’s replicas were.

The rain began to abate.

“Last chance, Amy Rose. Leave, or I will have you removed.” The sky was filled with spherical white orbs that blinked with ominous red lights. That was a second warning, Amy noted. Distraction, intimidation. Was Sage worried about something?

“You are free to try.”

Just then the clone with Sonic twitched as a curtain of drones descended between it and Amy.

Amy launched forward, swinging her hammer. Adrenaline spiked through her, cutting into the billowing tempest of fear, anxiety, and dread. The negativity baked in the heat of her heart, curing into passion, intensity. A fulcrum amplifying her strength.

The copies were fast, but Amy wasn’t aiming for them or the drones. Her Piko Piko hammer hit the pavement with a thunderous crack! A shockwave erupted outwards. She didn’t need to move at the speed of sound when the air could do it for her.

The wall of drones dispersed into shrapnel, the trashed toys scattering like marbles across the street.

Amy let the weight of her hammer carry her up and over it, then she released the handle and used the shockwave to fly after the carrier clone. She made good time, but the duplicate outpaced her. Amy summoned her hammer as she landed. Gripping the handle tightly, she pivoted into a traditional hammer throw twirl.

Released, the hammer spun through the air with deadly force. It struck the clone right below the tail and ripped it off its feet and into a back flip. Amy dismissed her hammer and rushed forward. The clone twisted in mid-air, placing itself between Sonic and pavement. The pair bounced, Sonic rag-dolling through the air, but protected from the hard ground.

Amy reached forward, her hand mere feet from Sonic, when a kick rapidly approached from side. Amy braced herself, blocking the red shoe with a forearm. With her free hand, she grasped the offending ankle with an iron grip. Ducking and twisting, Amy flipped the clone over her shoulder and slammed it into the ground with all of her might.

It’s not Sonic. It’s not real. But she wished it was Sonic for all the grief he caused her!

Her arms shot up and Amy summoned her hammer at the apex.

All her frustration. All her despair. Months of work and worry and terror. Months of watching the world crumble again and desperately trying to hold the pieces together. Amy gathered every bit of pain and anxiety in her hands and channeled it to her hammer.

With all her might, Amy slammed her Piko Piko hammer down on the Ruby Clone of Sonic.

It shattered into an explosion of red cubes. Her hammer continued, striking the street and cratered the pavement. A spray of water shot upwards from a damaged pipe below the street. Amy flinched as she felt the ground give away underneath her as it collapsed into the subway track running under the road.

Amy leapt to solid ground and twirled, looking for her quarry. The simulacrum with Sonic was on its feet, scrambling away from the growing hole in the earth, and about to bolt again. Amy started to pivot into another hammer throw but had to use the hammer shaft to block a punch from yet another copy, its flat yellow eyes staring at nothing. How many were left? She’d smashed two already, so three? Another was lurking then.

She surged forward, trying to push her opponent off its stance, but she found herself stumbling as the clone was tackled by a mass of black. Shadow pinned it to the ground, his claws, dagger-like talons, dug into the clone’s shoulders. It did not bleed. “Smash it!” Shadow barked.

Amy wound up for another smash. She’d have to trust Shadow would move out of the way in time.

A gloved fist flashed out, slamming Shadow in the jaw. The black hedgehog snarled, revealing elongated fangs and his eyes filling with a red color. Amy’s hammer was falling, but the clone curled upwards in an instant and kicked Shadow in the chest with both feet, pushing itself free.

The clone scrambled away from Amy’s attack, but with immense effort, she redirected the momentum and caught Sonic’s clone square in the chest with a side swing. With a loud piko!, It rocketed through the air down an avenue, clearing several blocks before its arc faltered and Amy lost sight of it behind a cluster of abandoned cars. She smirked when she saw the fan of red cubes in the distance.

”Are you okay?” Amy asked Shadow. Her chest heaved. It had been a very long day and a lot more emotionally engaging than Amy had anticipated. However, she was in much better shape than Shadow.

He did not appear to be actively bleeding, but a wide swath across his chest and belly was completely bare of fur. The skin was glossy in a way that made Amy want to look away. Shadow was missing both gloves and nearly the entirely of one arm was also furless. Shadow snarled. “It doesn’t matter. Come on!” He glared at her with desperate, flat eyes that sent a shiver through Amy. Souless. At least the strange redness was gone.

Amy nodded and the pair rushed after the swiftly retreating clone with Sonic.

The street filled with ovoid drones clad in white enameled chassis. “Don’t stop!” Amy yelled, flinging her hammer. It sailed through the air, cutting an arc of destruction through the air. The drones were nothing in its wake. Some were simply smashed, but enough ignited in small explosions to catch many that the hammer missed. Shadow darted through the hole Amy had punched.

Amy resummoned her hammer to her hands and followed. To her shock, Amy caught up with Shadow easily. He was not using his fancy shoes. He must be much more injured than he let on. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I don’t matter!” Shadow spat.

He’s worse than Sonic. Amy’s frustration got the better of her. “How can you say that? Disregarding yourself will just get you hurt.” She snapped.

Shadow hissed. “Nothing can kill me anyway, so don’t waste time worrying about me.”

“You can’t die, but you don’t seem fine.”

Shadow just growled.

Fine, she’ll just ask point blank. “Shadow, why aren’t you using your boots?” Amy asked breathlessly. They wouldn’t be losing ground if he did.

He grimaced. “Can’t.” Amy’s brow pinched in concern. Can’t? When had Shadow ever been unable to use his rocket boots? “No chaos energy. Hardly…moving as is…” His breath was coming heavily.

Amy flung her hammer at another gathering of drones. The bloom of explosions was larger. Amy didn’t waste time thinking about what that meant.

“If you think I’m so slow,” Shadow pulled out in front of her, not breaking stride. “then give me a boost!”

Grinning, Amy twisted her hammer over her shoulder. “Batter up!” Shadow curled and bounced into the air.

Truth be told, Amy didn’t have too many big hits left in her. Her muscles screamed, her heart bled, her soul ached, and her mind was sputtering like an engine low on gas. That being said, so help her Gaia there was absolutely nothing in this life or the next that was going to dim her light. She’d blaze like a lighthouse until all ships had returned to safe harbor or burn down in the process.

Maybe Sonic was rubbing off on her a little too much. Maybe his lack of self-preservation was contagious. Maybe his absence brought that out in everyone, compensating for him.

Amy struck Shadow with the flat of her hammer so hard the air cracked. First as a super nova bursting from out in a circle from the point of contact between quills and reinforced tungsten alloy and then again as the streak of black broke the sound barrier. Sage’s minions didn’t stand a chance.

The head of the hammer fell to the ground, cracking the pavement. Amy leaned heavily against the shaft, taking a moment to catch her breath. She was out of the game now. There was no way she could catch up to Shadow and Sonic’s replica. But she needed to be prepared in case she was wrong.

She didn’t have much time, but there was something she needed if she was going to keep this level of activity up. Amy closed her eyes and focused.

Ever since she learned that the ability to manipulate chaos energy could be learned, Amy had been enchanted with the idea. She’d paid attention to Knuckles and occasionally pestered him for lessons, in the brief moments when the world wasn’t burning, exploding, or otherwise on the cusp of total annihilation.

The lessons were sparse with actionable information. Beyond honing focus, developing serenity, and studying theory, there was little Knuckles was able to teach her. Every individual tapped into chaos energy differently. Sonic’s came from his speed, Knuckles’ from his discipline, Shadow’s from his…stoicism? anger? It took Amy years to find where hers came from, but once she did, it seemed so obvious.

Amy imagined her friends. Her compatriots at the Resistance and the Restoration. All the people of this wonderful world just trying to live their lives. Barry.

Her heart swelled. Love is not finite. It grows to encompass everything you let it.

It wasn’t much, but Amy felt a trickle of something invigorating thurm inside her. The feeling flowed through her, brightening every part of her it touched. A warming sensation. Like a cozy sunbeam on a lazy weekend afternoon. Like a sudden visit from a distant friend magically making her day better. With a smile, Amy hefted her hammer back up to lean against her shoulder.

She felt a familiar tremor through her boots. Sighing, Amy looked down a side street. Eggforcers approached, an annoying number of them.

She wasn’t going to be able to catch up with Shadow and the clone. Amy was built more for strength than speed. She’d just have to trust Shadow to rescue Sonic. But she could scrap a few robots obviously sent to intercept them.

Or, at least, that’s what she thought. A flash of blue brought her attention back to the way she’d sent Shadow. The clone was approaching at speed with Shadow close on its heels. Amy must have sent Shadow so fast he got in front and the replica had to turn to keep fleeing.

As Shadow chaos snapped to make up for his lack of speed he gave off strange flashes of black light (?). Or more like the inverse of a flash of light. Wherever it happened, all the light would disappear for a moment, so the Sonic clone looked like it was leaving a series of flickering lights in its wake. Amy shifted into a ready stance, preparing to intercept.

Taking her attention off the approaching robots proved to be foolish when the ground near her exploded, toppling her. In an instant, she pushed herself back to her feet and dashed forward to get out of line of sight. Mid-block, she raised her hammer to strike, and the clone leapt clear over her. Her boot squeaked over damp asphalt as she stopped her momentum and turned, curving the swing into a hammer throw.

The hammer caught the clone square in the back and pushed it back into the damaged intersection. It shifted its grip on Sonic’s limp body and ate rubble as it landed face first with Sonic above it. Amy gasped. Its grip slipped and Sonic’s body rolled away, arms and legs flopping limply.

A flash of the strange darkness enveloped her and Shadow appeared beside Amy for a frame before rushing forward. Amy dismissed her hammer and made to follow, but a second round of explosions shook the area, shattering glass and filling the street with smoke. Amy coughed and shook the ringing from her ears.

“Amy!” Shadow’s shout caught her attention right as she noticed the dimming light around her. Looking up, Amy beheld tons of concrete and steel descending at speed directly above her. Her body tensed in a gasp, but the claimed air was squeezed out of her lungs when something cold and hard clamped around her chest and everything blurred.

Amy found herself released onto the hard ground staring at the settling pile of rubble she would have been buried under if-! Metal Sonic loomed over her, staring down at her with his red digitized eyes. “Y-you saved me?” Amy stammered, the shock of still being alive still percolating through her. “Thank you?”

Metal Sonic reached down and gripped her forearm tightly. Pulling Amy to her feet, he started to lead her away from where she’d been. Away from Sonic. “Hey! Let go!” She dug her heels and refused to be moved. As his other hand came around to grab her other arm, Amy rolled into the arm that held her until her back was pressed into Metal Sonic. She clutched his forearm tightly with her free hand and heaved forward, lifting the robot up and over her head to slam him down on his back in front of her.

Amy ripped her arm free, but not without the metal claw cutting into her flesh. Metal Sonic fired his thruster to regain his feet. Amy summoned her hammer. Metal Sonic turned on her and she slammed her weapon into him, sending the robotic Sonic flying through the air and through the façade of a flower shop.

Amy rushed forward to continue the fight. He was faster than her so running wasn’t a good option. Entering the flower shop, Amy located the robot lying in pile of collapsed displays. A bouquet of disrupted flowers surrounded him. A rainbow halo of dahlias, roses, pansies, and chrysanthemums.

Raising her hammer over her head, she paused. The robot lay still and the lights of Metal Sonic’s eyes were dark. Amy’s muscles strained to keep the heavy weapon aloft, but striking Metal when he was…(unconscious? offline? disabled?) seemed wrong. Silence rushed in as the pulse of blood in her ears eased. Slowly Amy lowered her hammer.

Blocks of red light flickered rapidly where Metal’s eyes normally were. The blocks disappeared and tiny lines of script scrolled up quickly, far too small and fast for Amy to read. Then Metal’s eyes returned to normal, wide and starting. His attention locked on her and his eyes narrowed. Amy raised her hammer but stopped.

Metal Sonic held his hands up in a surrendering manner and Amy blinked. Wasn’t he just trying to grab her seconds ago? Slowly Metal stood, crushed flowers falling off him. Amy backed away, but kept her hammer at the ready.

With one of its hands, Metal touched his chin with his fingers, his palm open. He then lowered the hand outward towards Amy. She squinted, unsure if she was seeing what she thought she was seeing. Thank you, Metal Sonic had signed.

Before Amy could muddle through what she’d just seen, the thrusters on his back ignited and Metal shot away from Amy, blasting a new hole into the flower shop walls. Amy, suddenly alone, lowered her hammer. “What?” She snorted. The expulsion expanded into a giggle and then to a chuckle. Before she could get a grip, Amy was bent over laughing. What in Chaos’ name was that about?

Biting back the hysterics, Amy left the ruined shop. Amy could hear muted booms in the distance. The battle continued. Amy turned on her communicator and tried to raise Knuckles. Only static answered her, as expected. Well, it was worth a try. Chasing Sage’s puppet had brought them far from the original drop site. Hopefully Knuckles and Omega could still find them.

She headed towards the closest explosions, scrambling over rubble and around burnt out cars.

Amy’s jogging turned into a sprint when she saw the last Sonic clone slide across the ground ahead, one hand pressing into the pavement to increase friction and the other still wrapped around Sonic’s body in a fireman carry. Shadow flew into view, arm extended and wickedly long claw glinting in the hard light Sage’s drones give off. The length and sharpness sent a shiver down Amy’s spine, but she refused to think about it.

The clone sprang up, dodging Shadow’s advance entirely and brought a foot around, slamming it into the black hedgehog, sending him flying out of Amy’s sight. But now Amy had arrived and summoned her hammer. The clone didn’t even look at her. It pitched Sonic high into the air and twisted to block her blow with both hands.

Amy’s hammer smashed the facsimile, sending it flying across the intersection. A torn shaft of rebar impaled it through the chest, and it popped like a balloon, spraying the area with a colorful display of crimson cubic gore.

Amy desperately twirled, trying to see where Sonic had landed. Where was he? Her heart beat rapidly. She’d burst the last clone. They’d won! Where was Sonic? Her eyes scanned the landscape. Where was he?

A glint caught her attention, and she saw a few drops of something red hitting the ground away from her. Oh. Amy choked back a sob and looked up. A tight formation of drones was quickly rising away into the dark, inky night. Drops of blood ran along the shiny white outer shells until they dripped off and rained down at Amy’s feet.

Sonic was gone.

Amy’s grip tightened and she dismissed the weapon, sending it back into the pocket dimension managed by her bracelets. Tears welled in her eyes and Amy blinked to release them. The bitterness of her failure welled up in her chest threatening to boil over and drown her.

But Amy didn’t have time for that now. With a practiced breath, Amy pushed the feelings away to be sorted through later with a pint of ice cream, a box of tissues, and maybe Barry on backrub duty. There was still work to be done. Friends to help. A city to save.

A network of drones remained high in the air, illuminating the streets in a dim glow. How thoughtful of Sage…The puddles and dampness gave every surface a sharp sheen. Amy searched through the rubble. She found Shadow on his hands and knees, coughing.

Shadow clutched at his throat and gagged. “Shadow! Are you alright?” Amy knelt and reached for him. He shoved her away forcefully, and Amy fell back, her elbows abrading against the hard ground. Shadow’s body convulsed, a rolling motion starting from his belly up through his body until a torrent of black, sludgy fluid poured out of his mouth and splattered against the ground.

“Shadow!” Panic infecting her voice, Amy pushed up and crawled forward, her gloves staining black as they touched the oily liquid. Oh Chaos, what is that? Should she be touching it?

“Ss-“ He choked. “Son-“ Another gush of fluid escaped his mouth. Amy saw his eyelids flutter, his red irises glowing faintly in the dimness, and she grabbed Shadow’s shoulders right as his arms give out.

“Shadow!” Amy shrieked. She pulled him away from the pooling…Amy wasn’t going to think about what it was. She lowered him and placed him on his side in case there was more where that came from.

“m’ fine.” Shadow mumbled. “Where’s S-sonic?”

“I’m sorry, Shadow.” Amy sighed. “He’s gone.” Amy tried to lay a comforting hand on his shoulder, but her friend’s face contorted and he swiped at her with a clawed hand.

Pain arched through her hand and Amy yelped. Cradling it, she found a nasty gash across her palm, cutting through her glove. Blood welled, mixing with the stick black goo. He didn’t mean to. He would never! Amy’s heart raced. “You cut me.”

Shadow scrambled up, his eyes wild. Amy flinched away, holding her injured hand close to her chest. “No no no no!” He moaned, gripping his head. Shadow released a desperate whine and descended into a gasping sob at the end. “He was right there. But I-! Why’d I-? I didn’t- But he’s gone! He’s gone he’s gone he’s gone!” Shadow slammed a fist into the ground. The pavement cracked under the force.

“It’s going to be okay, Shadow.” Amy didn’t need to believe what she was saying. Truth wasn’t the point right now. “We’ll find him.”

“And what good will finding him again do?” He snarled. “When he’s like that? When she’s turned him into that?” His anger faded to fear. “Even if we do…will I-? How can I trust myself around him ever again? He’s going to hate me! Just like everyone else. I can’t escape from it. Why do I even try? Sage is right.” His voice shrank. “The world would be a better place without me.” She didn’t have the energy for this.

“Don’t say that! That’s not true!” Amy felt out of her depth. She’d never seen such displays of emotion from Shadow. She knew he was sensitive, but Rouge always delt with whatever that entailed away from prying eyes.

“Why was I even created?” He stared at Amy with pleading eyes, as if she could answer a question like that. “I can’t protect anyone. Can’t help anyone. Everything I touch turns to ash. Why am I cursed like this? If I’m just a weapon, just a tool, why did they make me feel?” His claws returned to gripping his scalp. “I kill everything I love!” The strangled despair in Shadow’s voice curdled Amy’s heart.

Still grimacing from her hand wound but desperate to comfort her friend, Amy attempted to placate Shadow with a gentle shhhhhh.

The reaction was immediate. Despair transformed into rage. Red eyes glazed over. “Don’t you fucking dare shush me!” Shadow snarled, the skin of his lips pulled taunt over wicked fangs. Amy flinched back, catching herself with her damaged hand and she gasped.

He rose and took a step towards her, his quills flared and fangs bared. “You’re just like all the rest! Trying to tell me what to do and how to feel. Trying to control me! Trying to use me for your own fucked up purposes!”

“No! Shadow, that’s not-“ Amy tried to stand, but slipped. She pushed away, scooting along the ground.

“I don’t own a single shred of myself, is that it?” He advanced on her, the metal soles of his boots pounding the ground heavily. “I was made to serve? I was meant to obey?”

Amy held up her hands. If she could just get him to stop for a moment. “I know you’re upset about Sonic and-“

“Don’t tell me how I’m feeling! You don’t know anything about me!”

Something slipped in Amy. “That’s not true!” Her own quills tensed, and she pushed to her feet, finally stopping Shadow’s encroachment. “I’ve been your friend for over ten years!”

He turned away from her and started pacing. Amy was relieved for a hot second, but then he continued. “I fucking hate these feelings. I fucking hate everything about myself. I don’t want to exist! I never fucking asked for this! I wish I could die, but I can’t. It’s a cruel fucking joke! No escape. Not ever! It’s going to be me and her on this burnt-out rock for the rest of time.”

“Shadow, don’t-!“ Oh, Gaia! Oh, Chaos! She needed strength, she needed patience, she needed to be in a much better headspace right now. Why now? Doesn’t matter. He needed help. She was so tired. Doesn’t matter. Have to help! Have to figure out how to make it better! Burning the candle at both ends.

Shadow clenched his fists by his side. He was facing away from her. “Shut the fuck up! Don’t lie to me! You don’t love me. You’re like everyone else. I’m just a tool to you. Just a thing!”

Amy’s face scrunched, confusion growing beneath the panic. “What?”

Shadow did not seem to hear her. “You want my pain? You can’t fucking have it! It’s mine!” He roared, his voice echoing off the tall building surrounding them.

“Shadow…” Amy breathed, reaching out to touch his shoulder. “Who are you talking to?”

Shadow flinched and turned to her. Frowning, he blinked and his eyes cleared. Squinting at her, he asked with bewilderment, “Amy?” As if he hadn’t just been yelling at her.

Suddenly all the light left his eyes and they rolled upwards. His body went limp and Shadow fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Amy screamed. She knelt beside him and rolled him onto his back, frantically searching for a pulse or breath. His fur was tacky with drying blood. He didn’t seem to be breathing, but his heart raced in his chest. Amy released a held breath.

Amy looked around for some explanation. What in the hell? Just her luck. Her hand continued to bleed, and she had ground some dirt into with all the backwards crawling. And then there was the black stuff. She shifted awkwardly to a sitting position.

Her heart thundered in her chest. Amy tried to steady her shaking hands. A few slow stuttering breaths and her thoughts start to sort themselves.

Amy wasn’t afraid of Shadow. She wasn’t. But she was afraid for him. Where was this coming from? How had she missed distress of this magnitude? He’d never said anything like this to her before. Did Sonic know? Rouge must know, right?

What to do? What could she do? A sob crept up her throat and she let it out. Realizing the gates were open, tears rushed out as well. She rubbed her face with the back of her least dirty glove. A good cry was a start. Relieve some of the pressure. Throw a tiny pity-party for a hot minute. Then get to work. Her friend needed her.

I wish this was all just a nightmare I could wake up from. What a long day. Why did she have to deal with all of this? Didn’t she work hard enough? It wasn’t fair how everyone piled their troubles on her. Who was there to help with her own? It was going to be like this forever. Amy can handle it. Give it to Amy. Oh, Amy please and thank you and here’s more to do. What if she just disappeared one day? What would everyone do then? That would show them. They’ll all be sorry when she’s gone.

As the tears fell, Amy focused on her hand. Her little stream of chaos energy flowed into the cut, and she watched as the flesh knitted back together. It was not fully healed, the skin pink and very thin, but it wasn’t bleeding and the pain had subsided considerably. Her small flow of energy had dissipated. The parched bed is moist, still fertile for a time, waiting for the next rain.

Tears abating, Amy looked at Shadow, his face finally serene, but absently wondered where Knuckles and Omega are. Muted explosions punctuated the moist air on occasion. The battle was still raging in parts of the city. She began to reach for her communicator when Shadow’s body suddenly shuddered. Amy blinked. Shadow was suddenly giving off a lot of heat. The ground around him started to steam.

His eyes flashed open and he looked around, dazed. Shadow slowly pushed himself up to his hands and knees. “Shadow.” Amy’s voice felt like sandpaper in her throat. She was so very tired.

Ebony ears canted towards her. Though he wasn’t looking at her, she saw Shadow’s face suddenly still and his countenance softened. “A-amy.” His voice was soft and haggard…and something else? Alarm bells ring in the recesses of her mind. Something is wrong. Of course, something is always wrong. NO, the alarm shouted, something IMPORTANT is very wrong!

Still, her heart racing, Amy crawled forward. Shadow was awake, which she hoped was a good sign. That he calmed down, got back to a stable place. “I’m here.” She said. Alarms screamed in her, but she couldn’t abandon her friend. He doesn’t need to see her fear right now. And she bitched him out for lack of self-consideration? Ugly hypocrite.

His face snapped up and Amy froze in horror. The entirety of Shadow’s eyes had filled with a blood red color and two extra pairs of eyes were blinking open above and below his normal pair. His face and body swelled and began to glisten.

“Run!”

Amy pushed to her feet and started to stumble backwards, but her boot caught on a loose piece of rubble and her butt hit the ground. She couldn’t take her eyes off the grotesque scene unfurling in front of her.

Shadow’s body swelled. His quills elongated and lost their definition. Six eyes became ten as his snout flattened and his head enlarged until his body was subsumed by it. His fur dissolved into smooth, shiny black flesh. Heavy black tentacles with red colorations at the ends fell to the ground with moist slaps.

The creature that Shadow had become lifted itself from the ground, ten long appendages curling and twisting through the air. He was something from a nightmare. From a horror movie. Something dark and malevolent and all ten red eyes bore into her with hunger.

“S-shadow?” What the fuck!?

A strange feeling washed over Amy**.**

Fear.

But not fear of everyone she loves dying or being enslaved by a vicious AI. Not the fear of finally breaking down and being unable to help anymore. Not the fear of losing herself and becoming numb or jaded. Not the fear of making a mistake that costs brave people their lives. Not the fear that everyone was lying to her, ladening her with their burdens, and taking her for granted.

No, none of those.

It was just the plain, old fear of death.

Amy laughed.

She lived in a sea of dread and anxiety. Awash in the millions of ways something could go wrong, her imagination working in overdrive nearly every moment trying to predict and circumvent the future via catastrophizing. It made her an amazing planner. It made her a basket case on the regular. It made her incredibly versed in functioning whilst drenched in stomach curdling terror.

This? This is a vacation for Amy. Afraid for just herself? Laughable. Comical. Child’s play.

So, Shadow turned into a big nightmare squid and was going to try to kill her. So what? So. Flipping. What. Bring it the fuck on.

Amy leapt to her feet and summoned her hammer just as the demon squid lunged at her. She belted it across its stupid squid face and punted it across the stupid torn-up street full of rubble and shattered robot parts. The squirming nightmare landed with a moist thawap! and then disappeared into the ground. Welp, that’s a thing.

“Shadow!” Amy called, her eyes rapidly searching around for…Gaia only knows what. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but if you can, I’m not afraid of you.” She zeroed in on a splotch of darkness moving along the ground as if the ground was water and it merely a submerged predator. “I want you to know all these things you’re feeling are valid. It’s all real, Shadow. It’s okay to feel.”

If he kills her, she won’t have to sit in any more boring status report meetings.

Amy waited until the shadow was right under her and then she leapt away right as a mass of writhing tenacles burst out of the ground and clutched around where she’d just been. The head emerged to look for her, but she was ready for it, smashing her hammer down. Apparently, Shadow could swim around in solid matter all he wanted, but the moment she tried to dunk him, she pushed him down through the street and into the subway tunnels.

Amy ran away from caving in street again. She looked over her shoulder in time to see the black mass shoot up into the air, its tentacles fanning out. Landing, the squid shot towards her. Oh boy, it was – crap, sorry – Shadow was fast! You dumb bitch, not really the time to be worrying about that, is it?

Amy tried to keep her voice steady as she dodged. “And I want you to know that you have friends willing to help you! We can help you! Not use you or control you. You have to know that, right?”

If he kills her, she won’t have to send out any more letters notifying next of kin of regretful passings.

The tentacles were strong. They batted large chunks of concrete away like they were Styrofoam. The swimming through the ground bit disregarded difficult terrain as well, but Amy figured out it was more that Shadow became a shadow rather than was in the ground itself. Light slowed him down. Almost as soon as she realized this, more of Sage’s drones appeared, illuminating the area further. Sage was probably eating this shit up.

“I understand why you feel the way you do. Sonic’s absences have been tough on all of us, but I know it’s been especially hard on you, Shadow.” Amy leapt straight up to avoid a swipe. Hahahahaha! Missed me, asshole! “I can’t imagine how much it must have hurt to fight him like this.” Amy could hardly handle the Ruby clones trying to flee. Facing down a spindash? Amy got off that train of thought.

If he kills her, she’ll never have to worry about Sonic ever again.

Shadow was relentless. His tentacles were everywhere. They grabbed at her arms, her hair, her legs. She dodged and ran and smashed. He never gave her a moment to rest, never gave her a chance to put any distance between them. He was playing with her, Amy knew. He was faster, stronger, in control of the situation. What was he waiting for? Probably for Amy to give up. To wear out. To give in to her fate.

“Maybe you think this is all your fault? But that’s not true! None of us were there for Sonic when he needed us.”

If he kills her, she’ll finally be done and she can rest.

Amy’s throat burns from rapid, desperate breaths. Her muscles clinched and screamed. Her heart fluttered, working so hard to keep her going. Not much longer. Not much left in the tank. Might be time to throw in the towel soon.

I’m sorry, Barry. I can’t go for much longer. I know I said for us to just wait a little longer. Once the world was back together, then we’d take the next step. Wedding bells. Somewhere nice, by the sea. I just couldn’t bring children into the world as it is. But I wanted that with you. I wanted it so badly. I’m sorry you’re waiting for me to come home and I’m not going to make it.

“You’re trying to do everything yourself. Save Sonic all by yourself. Bare the burdens of your past all by yourself. Protect the world all by yourself.” Amy could barely get the words out through haggard gasps.

If he kills her, she knows that it is the line. Once crossed, there was no going back. The Bad Ending. I’m sorry everyone. I really tried.

The tentacles pounded into the ground around her, caging Amy in. The black body and its ten gleaming red eyes loomed above her. “You don’t have to be alone, Shadow.” Amy lowered her hammer, staring defiantly up at the monster. “Burdens are meant to be shared. You have friends. Rouge, Omega…Knuckles,” Don’t mention Tails don’t mention Tails! “…Me.” The last bit came out as a whine. A last desperate plea.

The stand-off continued in silence for a long breath. Fearless, exhausted green eyes stared into hungry, malignant red in the darkness of the tent Shadow had pitched.

A-amy?

The voice was something cold and slimy running down the inside of the back of her skull and Amy wanted to vomit. She resisted the urge and replied, “I’m here, Shadow.”

I can barely hear you. It’s so loud.

Amy swallowed in the silent darkness. “Just listen to the sound of my voi-“

The crackle of gunfire ripped through the stillness and Shadow screamed in her mind. Noise tore through Amy’s head, and she crouched down, pressing her hands over her ears ineffectively. The gunfire was muted but whatever Shadow was doing sure wasn’t. Light rushed back in as the squid retreated away from the barrage of bullets peppering its side.

“SEEK SHELTER, SLOWEST HEDGHOGE.” Omega’s turbines whined as the robot rapidly approached, bursting through rubble like it was nothing. The rotating barrels of Omega’s gatling guns steamed in the cold night air as they filled Shadow full of lead.

Amy stumbled away, lightheaded with exhaustion, abandoning her hammer.

Shadow continued to scream. A silent explosion. An unearthly chorus of soundless pain. Amy grips her head. There is no way to block it out. The torment is in her.

Omega slammed into the squid, his hands changing back to razor sharp claws. “DISCHARGING. AVOID CONDUCTIVE SURFACES.”

Biting back the pain injected directly into her brain, Amy looked down at the wet ground and scrambled onto some relatively dry rubble. The area illuminated as massive, bright arks of electricity crackled around the struggling ball of black flesh and reinforced titanium.

“SHADOW, YOU ARE ORDERED TO immediately cease DOING STUPID SHIT.” Metal claws grasped thrashing flesh and clamped down. Spritz of dark fluid splattered across the battlefield. Omega could only grab so much of the demon squid. Free appendages wrapped around him and squeezed. The sound of screaming metal was added to the deafening cacophony. Omega shifting, grappling Shadow in a massive hug.

“Hold him down!” Knuckles appeared, leaping through the air, landing on the squid’s face. Red eyes glared daggers at the Echidna. “Fuck, I hope this works!” Knuckles fists glowed with bright red energy the same hue as Knuckles’ coat. He thrust his hands down, contacting the struggling monstrosity. The energy seemed to enter Shadow and gave him a crimson aura before fading.

“containment failing.” Omega announced as the squid fought several of its tentacles free in a sudden flurry of squirms.

One grasped Knuckles around the ankle and pulled him off his feet. “Fuck! You stupid asshole!” Tentacle reared back, about to throw Knuckles, but the warrior curled up and grabbed the limb, clinging onto it.

Amy summoned her hammer from where she left it. One more. She could do one more. Bracing herself, Amy slung her hammer over her shoulder and twisted her back and hips. With a mighty swing, she sent a heavy payload straight into Shadow’s stupid, ungrateful face. The squid blanched, stunned.

Knuckles ripped his foot free and descended back down. His fists lit with colorful light once more and he smashed them down. Shadow screamed and thrashed. Knuckles was knocked clear and Amy struggled to run to help him regain his feet. Tentacles lifted an offended Omega and managed to throw the robot to the side.

Free, the monster reared up and…froze. Ten limbs twitched but made no sudden movement. The head and its ten ghastly eyes seemed to deflate.

Uncertain, Amy summoned her hammer as Knuckles raised his fists. Omega righted himself. “returning to suppressing fire.”

“Wait!” Amy screamed, abused larynx producing a cracked and desperate sound, and, surprisingly, the robot acquiesced.

The glistening black form shrank. Soft, bulbus parts dilated into boney limbs. Tentacles shorted and combined and frayed into quills. A mouth split the bleak face and a gasp for air revealed fangs. Shadow released a strangled cry, falling to his hands and knees, a hedgehog once more.

“Shadow?” Amy still held her hammer at the ready but she took a tentative step towards her friend.

Shadow looked up at her, his sclera blood red and Amy flinched.

A blast erupted from Omega and Shadow cried out in pain, his body rolling a few times from the force of the blast. “Fucking hell, Omega!” The hybrid’s voice was haggard and pitched strangely. “Rock salt?”

“loading depleted uranium hollow points. Confirm you control yourself, shadow.”

“Stop! Fuck! Stop, Omega!” Shadow covered his face with one hand and attempted to right himself.

“CONFIRM.” The ex-Robotnik killbot loomed over the black and red form.

“Yes, I confirm. It’s me.” Shadow struggled to his knees, a hand pressed against the ground to steady himself. “I-I’m me. Just me.” Amy watched his sclera brighten back to white. His irises were flat, doll-like but held none of the mindless predatory intent that had filled Amy with dread.

Amy dismissed her hammer. “Shadow.”

He looked at her, his face contorting with shame. “Amy…” He hung his head. “I am so sorry, Amy. I-“ He choked. “I couldn’t- I almost- It w-wasn’t me…“

Beside her, Knuckles cursed colorfully and crossed his arms. “So that was what you were brushing up against, every time you bottomed out? What the fuck, man?”

Amy sank down before Shadow and cupped his chin with her trembling hands. She pulled his face up, but he averted his gaze, too ashamed to look at her. The little shit. “It’s going to be okay.”

He looked at her, his red eyes searched her face with such fear. Amy struggled to hold her face firm, slowly managing to form a small smile. “How can you say that?” A sheen formed on Shadow’s eyes, though he was fighting the tears with a ridiculous ferocity. “After all that- After what I-“

Amy yanked Shadow’s head forward, causing him to gasp. His body followed and Amy wrapped her arms around his torso and gave him a crushing hug, pressing her hands between his back quills into his spine. “Shut up.” She said gently. “We’ll talk about it later.” He struggled, but she refused to release him. She felt dampness on her shoulder. “The rain has started up again it seems.” Shadow’s body shuddered and his arms lay limply at his side.

Exhaustion threatened to overtake Amy now that the adrenaline of the fight was ebbing. They’d lost Sonic. The city was in ruins. Something was very wrong with Shadow. But they were all still alive. Soon the sun would rise and bring with it all the possibilities of a new day.

Shadow stilled in her arms, his breath slowing and heart rate settling. Amy shifted to look at his face and found the hybrid had passed out.

Amy’s head buzzed with a battle royale of thoughts and emotions, none of which she felt prepared to deal with at that particular moment. She closed her eyes and took a slow breath. She hugged Shadow tightly for her own benefit. He was warm and she was starting to shiver in the cold night air. He wouldn’t mind, right?

“Fuck, what now?” She heard Knuckles growl.

Amy looked up. A cluster of the Sage’s drones were descending on them.

Omega raised his guns, the cylinders beginning to rotate.

“You will regret continuing hostilities.” Sage appeared.

“NEVER, ROBOTNIK FILTH.”

Sage’s face seemed to darken slightly, an attempt at expressing annoyance. “I have something of yours.” She waved her hand, and the cluster of drones thinned and high-pitched scream emerged from it.

Omegas arms fell, his guns retracting. “SWITCHING TO PRECISION ROUNDS.”

That voice! “Cream!” Amy screamed, Shadow heavy in her arms.

“Miss Amy! Mister Robot!” The teenager was soaked to the bone and shivering.

Surprisingly, the drones lowered Cream gently, allowing her to dismount without resistance. Amy lowered Shadow and stumbled to Cream, embracing the trembling rabbit. “What happened?”

Rabbit delivered, the drones shot into the air just as Omega opened fire on them. Amy covered Cream’s head as the bit of few rained down. “Omega!” Amy scolded.

“WORTH IT.”

“We were going through the storm and the plane just exploded.” Cream choked back a sob. “I didn’t see where Tails went. It was so rainy and windy, I couldn’t fly.” A keening whine breeched her defenses. “And Tails! I don’t think he could fly either. His tails are still so weak!”

Amy hugged her tightly. “It’s okay. You’re okay, now.” She whispered as Cream began to bawl. “It’s going to be okay.”

“Where is Tails?!” Knuckles clenched his fists, glaring at Sage’s image.

The AI ignored him. She placed a pale hand over her digital heart. “Well fought, heroes. You may have the city back. I have collected the data I sought. Until we meet again, farewell.” Sage disappeared and her drones cut their lights, leaving them exhausted, beaten, and in the all-consuming, smothering dark.

---

The holographic screens shimmered. The wall created by the grid of drones was solid, but the brisk wind rushing past the high-rise roof still squeezed through and rendered the sodden Tails cold as ice. The live feed of Cream being safely delivered to his friends continued, but the others were on loop.

Tails couldn’t rip his eyes away. He held a tail in each of his fists and squeezed tightly, as if this was a nightmare from which he could force himself to wake. His heart still raced, never having settled from when he and Cream started to plummet.

“As you can see,” Sage was talking to him, “your rabbit friend is safe. I hold no animosity towards you or her, nor I have yet developed a level of apathy that would stay my hand in the face of your unfortunate accident.” Accident? Maybe, but Tails doubted it.

His eyes slid to one of the other screens. Shadow pulling Sonic’s arms taunt behind his back so fast the frame rate could barely keep up, metal sole of an air shoe pressed firmly against Sonic’s shoulder blades.

Another screen. Shadow and Sonic collapsing, the former’s teeth firmly sunk into the other’s shoulder, a dark stain spreading beneath them.

And another. A massive black creature that Tails had tried very hard to forget tried to crush Amy and had to be blown near to bits by Omega to stop the rampage.

“It is time we had a chat, Miles. I cannot wait any longer.”

Tails did not turn to face Sage, but he was certain she would hear him. “I’m listening.”

Alternative title for this chapter is ‘Stop, Hammerspacetime’