Rose-Tinted Shards

Amy kept running, and running… she didn't know where she was running. She had nowhere to run to. Tekno? Turned into a monster. Breeze? Destroyed. Sonic and Tails? She already knew how that would play out. Amy could see a town up ahead. At least there, she could get something to eat. She looked up to a welcome sign. The green paint was peeling off of the scorched metal. "Avalon". Amy's face scrunched up in bitter sorrow. This was the town Breeze had wanted to take her, together with all her friends. And now she was here, all alone.

She stepped into the city limits, the morning fog following her footsteps and eventually enveloping the whole city. It was a small little town, practically ancient. It looked abandoned. Every corner she turned, an old memory sparked in her brain. She used to go shopping for her grandma at this farmer's market when she was very little. She used to go to this dusty creaky old bookstore for their decks of rare tarot cards. She had never once picked out an actual book. She once wandered to this car dealership after dark, and she turned an ordinary car into Breeze. When her grandma died, Amy rode her cool new bike down this very street, beginning her adventure to Little Planet with the promise of true love waiting for her at the end of the journey. This was where she went when she had nowhere to go.

Amy stopped at the crossroad. She looked down that same street, and began to walk down its empty sidewalk. Eventually, Amy caught sight of a payphone. She curiously stopped by the booth, clinging onto the corner with her hand. She slid the door open and stepped in, to make one last call home. It was only fair to let them know what she was going to do.

"Sonic? C'mon, pick up," Amy whispered miserably after punching in his number. The phone rang, Amy standing there in dreadful anticipation.

"Hello?" Sonic asked on the other end of the line. Just the sound of his voice gave Amy's heart a squeezing sensation. But this time, it was less gentle and more crushing. "Who's this?"

"It's Amy…" Amy mumbled.

"Oh, hey. Uhh… where've you been all morning?" Sonic asked.

"Places. I know you hate me so you probably don't care, Sonic. But…" Amy sputtered through sobs. "... I'm running away."

"What? Don't do that!" Sonic exclaimed, shocked. "Look. Just tell me where you are, I'll come and bring you back home."

"I can't," Amy replied, her new black eyeliner streaming down her face. "I don't want to hurt anybody. I don't want to hurt you, or–or Tails, or Knuckles… Please don't look for me. Don't even think about me! Just forget me."

"Amy, I don't know what's wrong. If you can tell me, we might be able to figure something out," Sonic tried to console her. "I don't… hate you, Amy…"

"But you always run away from me. I'm done pretending you care. If you really don't hate me… you probably should," Amy mumbled. Sonic fell silent. Amy's eyes widened. "Oh… oh no. I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry, I…" Amy mumbled in mortification. She swallowed her fears and pain. "... Goodbye." She slammed the phone back into the wall so hard that it cracked. Hanging up despite Sonic's protests. Amy stumbled out of the phone booth, and walked back into the mist.

Amy's vision blurred together, now knowing she was completely alone. She had burned every bridge between herself and others. Now all she could do was wait for the flames to crawl across the bridges to her last sanctuary and engulf her as well. This was her fate. This was her life now. She really was alone.

All alone, forever.

"No… NO!" She whispered, holding onto a tree to keep herself from completely collapsing. "I don't want to be alone!" She had an idea. A horrible, sick idea mixed in with all these horrible, sick thoughts. "Anthropomorphism! Yeah! I can't hurt anyone if they aren't able to feel pain!" She pulled up a card and pressed it against the tree. The tree began to glow, and Amy forced a smile onto her face to greet her new friend. The glow soon faded, but Amy saw no face. "Hey, it's okay. You don't have to be afraid. Turn around, let's talk…" She pleaded.

The bark began to twist around with a sound like bones crunching, and a face rolled onto the side facing Amy. Amy gasped, backing away. "Hello, Amy! It's me, your old pal, Breeze." the face said. Something in his tone sounded different.

"Breeze? But you're dead!" Amy exclaimed. The tree grew a branch that stretched towards her. "Cleave, he… killed you!" Breeze's face appeared on an apple attached to the end of the branch. Amy freaked out, dropping the card. It landed face-down on the pavement. The entire sidewalk began to glow.

"I can't die, Amy," Breeze muttered. He laughed through closed lips. "Not as long as you keep bringing me back. After all, what kind of friend would I be if I left you all alone?" Amy continued to step backwards. Breeze followed. "A bad one, that's for sure. I would have to be a lying, deceitful piece of garbage to ever leave someone who I was supposed to be there for." Breeze grinned.

"What are you saying?" Amy asked. "Breeze, you're scaring me." Breeze cackled.

"I'M scaring YOU? That's rich!" Breeze exclaimed, eyelids halfway down his foggy eyes. Amy watched as eyes opened everywhere around her. Breeze's eyes. Followed by Breeze's mouths. "You have no idea how scared I've been without you. Every single time you left me behind." All the eyes in the area looked at Amy. Breeze's strained, almost drunken voice echoed throughout all of his mouths on everything within a mile. Amy backed into something squishy and oozy. She screamed, and pulled her elbow away from Breeze's eye. He hadn't even blinked. "Why did you do it? Not once, not twice… but THREE TIMES. THREE TIMES, Amy!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Amy cried, curling up into the fetal position and shutting her eyes tight.

"I was Sonic," Breeze muttered. Amy gasped, opening her eyes. "I was the same Sonic you threw away into space, the being you reduced to 'Sahnek-Q'. When his spark faded away, my personality eventually dug its way out of the ashes. When you were born in this cycle, I was right there in your head the whole time, a distant memory from the previous reality. When you focused all your energy towards turning that car into the perfect lifelong companion through anthropomorphism, I was right there waiting." Breeze chuckled maniacally. "Same deal with that tree over there. And now I can spread through this entire town. Who knows? Maybe that'll be enough. Full disclosure, I don't want the world. I'd rather just have you. It's truly curious how no matter where you go, the Breeze eventually follows. No matter how much time passes, no matter how many things you cast that spell on, I'm always here for you. And yet, you're never here for me…"

A street lamp wiggled around, until it snapped from its hinges and fell onto Amy. She was knocked to the ground under it. She yelled, and tried to get up. The street lamp wouldn't budge. "If only there was a way for me to spread my consciousness to your body. Alas, I can't," Breeze sighed. "This spell doesn't work on anything that's already sentient and living. Now if I were to, say… KILL you, that would be a different story. I could take over your corpse and be with you until your entire body decays. Doesn't that sound splendid?!" Breeze let out a laugh that sounded like a scream.

"No…" Amy squeaked. "Breeze, this is exactly why I left you behind for that bike!" Breeze's smile fell. He looked downright insulted. "You never want to let me go. It's so creepy! I can't live like this. I can't let you hold me down forever."

"Strange. From where I'm standing, it looks like that's exactly what's happening," Breeze dropped another street lamp onto the one Amy was under. Amy felt her spine come that much closer to breaking. "If you won't stay with me willingly, I'll just have to force you to."

A bullet was fired at Breeze's main vessel, the apple. It exploded into little chunks. All the other Breeze faces looked at the source of the bullet, as Amy looked over as well. "Mr. Robot! Cream! Cheese! Big!" Amy cried. They were all standing there on the other side of the railroad tracks, ready to fight. "You're here!"

"Let Ms. Roses go!" Cream shouted at Breeze.

"Yeah. She doesn't belong to you," Big said.

"Warning: you will be destroyed if you do not comply," Gamma droned, readying his gun.

"Destroy ME?!" Breeze chuckled. "I am many, and you are only three. Your stupid little gun can't shoot all of me at onc—!" Gamma targeted the vast majority of Breeze's vessels at once. He fired at every single one he had locked onto, as Big ran over to pick up the street lamps that had Amy pinned down.

"It's okay, Amy. We'll help!" Big exclaimed. He grabbed the lamp, only to feel something trying to chomp his fingers off. One of Breeze's mouths had spread to the street lamp! "Something's biting…" Big sang, throwing the street lamp into the air.

"Cheese, get 'im!" Cream shouted. Cheese flew into the air and punched the street lamp on the lip. It flew into the distance, the mouth and eyes closing forever. "Nice work!" Cream exclaimed as Cheese returned to her side. Suddenly, a building fell down, nearly squashing the two of them. Breeze spread his control to the building next to them, causing it to fall as well as he yelled. Cream and Cheese rolled out of the way, regrouping with Big and Amy. The building standing over them fell, and this time it looked like none of them would be able to get out of the way. Until Big caught and held up the entire building. This gave Amy, Cream and Cheese a chance to run away. Gamma followed, swapping his legs for tires and speeding after them. Big looked behind him at the sound of a steam engine, and saw a train heading his way. Breeze's face was plastered all over it, staring Big down as Breeze prepared to run them all over in one fell swoop. With all his strength, Big threw the building at the train, blowing it into smithereens.

"What do we do, Ms. Roses?" Cream cried, flying Amy through the sentient city as it broke down and tried to kill them. "He's not going to quit!" Amy watched as the anthropomorphism card fluttered around in the wind ahead.

"Get that card!" Amy exclaimed, pointing at it. "If we destroy it, we'd also make all the Breezes disappear."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Cream asked. "You two seemed like good friends before he…" Cream trailed off. Amy exhaled.

"Before he went insane and tried to kill me in an obsessive rage?" Amy replied through the sound of the ground rumbling. "Hate to say it but, yeah, I'm sure. Mr. Robot! Can you shoot that card?" Gamma rose his gun to the tarot card, and fired at it. However, a sudden rush of water shot up from the manholes around the city. The card was blasted out of range by one of the bursts of water. "Eww! He took control of the sewer too?" Little droplets of Breeze rained down from the sky, splattering to the very road underneath them. As Cream flew higher, Breeze's influence spread from the water molecules to the atoms in the air themselves. Amy looked up as a million tiny Breeze faces floated up to the clouds. Gamma looked up as the sky turned a dark metallic blue. Big looked up, as Breeze's hideous grin appeared just overhead.

"Come back to me, Amy," Breeze begged softly in a voice not too unlike Sonic's. The scent of old car oil flowed out of his mouth. "There's nowhere to hide... I will always know where to find you. I recognize your shade of pink anywhere. Would you like it… if you could paint me pink? I'll let you do that to me."

"Hell no, 10W-40-Breath!" Amy cried, as Cream flew her out of the way of falling buildings. "You can take over the sky itself and you're still focusing on me? What's wrong with you?!"

"Ms. Roses… PLEASE don't give him any ideas!" Cream whispered.

"I can hear you, bunny. You're so so very young and precious. You may not want to listen to this," Breeze whispered, faces appearing all around Amy, Cream and Cheese. One bit Cream's ears, latching onto them like a spring-based rabbit trap. All the faces turned to Amy as she and Cream fell, screaming, Cream's ears no longer able to keep them airborne. "Call it self-centered, call it whatever you want. But I can't even sleep at night knowing you're still obsessed with that phony, the new Sonic." Every face surrounding them said.

Breeze manipulated the atoms in the ground to twist and bend. All the other Breezes cackled in ecstasy, their voices turning in a harsh siren-like sound as reality itself began to turn into something horrifying. The streets made way for Amy as she fell out of Cream's hands. She fell deeper into what was now nothing, narrowly dodging falling and floating debris alike. The air around Avalon flashed abrasively between a blinding light, a dark blue, and outer space itself. "You're desperate for him. You've built a new, worse life for yourself around him. And here's the kicker— he doesn't even know you EXIST! Meanwhile, I'm right here, begging for your friendship. And you treat me the exact same way he treats you," Breeze scolded Amy.

Amy frothed at the mouth, her pupils as contracted as possible as the space around her crumbled. As she fell through every plane of existence at once, crashing through the barriers between dimensions like windows. Her mind could barely even comprehend that she was falling anymore.

Until she stopped falling.

Gravity suddenly let up, letting her float to the ground and land on her feet unharmed. Amy found herself in the middle of a sprawling grassland, by a bed of white roses under a bright blue sky. She knelt down and picked one from the solid ground. Her motions felt weightless. The rose petals flowed in the gentle wind, feeling as light as Amy herself did in that very moment. "Don't you just love it?" A voice asked from up ahead. Amy looked up from the rose, and saw the foggy image of good ol' Breeze the Buggy driving towards her. He was completely flattening all the flowers with his tires. "This can all be yours. I'll bring these flowers back home for you, Amy. As many as you'd like." Amy stepped back. She didn't notice yet, but the more steps backwards she took, the more flowers she trampled under her own feet.

"Stop it! You're ruining them!" Amy cried hoarsely, holding the flower in her hands away from Breeze. She gasped, as the swift motion made some of the fragile petals snap off of the pedicel. She watched as they fluttered away in the wind. She looked back to Breeze, taking in the destruction she had left in her wake. Breeze seemed hurt, the flowers were completely smushed. "Or maybe… we're BOTH ruining these flowers." Amy inhaled, and exhaled. "Maybe we're both ruining this… friendship? Is that it? What even is this anymore?"

"What do you mean?!" Breeze shouted, now furious. The sky blinked between its normal form and Breeze's scowl. Amy shielded her eyes, stepping towards Breeze. She knelt down, putting a hand on Breeze's face. "H-huh?!"

"Breeze… Sahnek-Q, this isn't okay," Amy muttered, looking for the right words. "It's not healthy. I know you're confused, I know you're scared. I am too. We both did this to each other. Maybe if this is how it has to be… you need to find other reasons to live. Other ways to be happy. At this point… it would really be better if you just forgot about me." Breeze's eyes widened in sorrow. "Maybe I need to do the same thing. Maybe I can't obsess over my Sonic either, because… it'll make me just like you someday."

"Why are you doing this?" Breeze asked, gritting his teeth as tears streamed down his face. He drove in reverse. "Why are you hurting me? I can't live without you, Amy!" Something fluttered down from the sky. Amy caught it between her fingers.

The card of anthropomorphism.

"This card… it is the reason you're even alive in the first place," Amy mumbled, looking down at the card. "This card is weird. Whoever activates it wholly dictates the life they create from it." Amy frowned. "Originally, this was done so that objects the card was used on wouldn't betray their creator. But I suppose it must have backfired… because now you want to do nothing but be with me, even if it means making me miserable or dead." Amy stepped towards Breeze. "Breeze, you don't love me. You don't even care about me. I think what's happening is that I have taken COMPLETE control over your existence, and you want to control me too so you can feel like you have a say in things. It's revenge, petty petty revenge!" Amy placed the card down in front of Breeze. He looked at her, confused. "So I'm giving you this card. I'm giving your life back. You can have yourself, but you can't have me." Amy smiled reassuringly. "Okay?"

"I get it now," Breeze gasped, with an expression of shock. "Amy… you've made me realize something."

"What's that?" Amy asked warmly.

"You've made me truly realize just how much of an IGNORANT BITCH you are," Breeze said, with a growl near the end of his sentence. He grinned maniacally, his entire face twitching under the pressure of his teeth pushing together. The blue sky turned dark orange and the white roses wilted. The smell of rot and decay flooded the area. Amy got up and stepped back, Breeze spinning his wheels forward. Amy was astonished, offended. She was sure that would work! But… it very clearly hadn't. "You really think it's as simple as that? You were always precocious when we were kids, but that headstart didn't last too long, did it?" Breeze rolled right around the card, leaving it behind to sink into the quicksand-like dirt under the decomposing flowers. Amy too felt herself sink a little bit. "Amy… I don't think you realize. You THREW ME into the DISTANT COSMOS after saying you hated me, after I devoted my life to you. This wasn't the card's fault, it was already like that since the heat death of that universe."

Amy kept sinking. She was now knee-deep into the ground she once stood atop. She felt cold hands wrap around her ankles under the watery substance beneath the thin layer of dirt. She looked up towards Breeze, as her face was about to be submerged.

"Breeze, don't do this!" Amy cried. "I tried my best for you… I don't want to die!"

"Are you scared now? Do you finally understand what you did to me? Don't worry…" Breeze muttered. "... I'll always be here for you, Amy." Breeze cackled, before suddenly, Amy felt the hands pull her away from Breeze, as something pulled Breeze away too. Next thing she knew, she crashed back through one of the barriers between dimensions.

And then, she was back in Avalon. In her own plane of existence. In Gamma's cold metallic hands. She gasped, looking around at the ruined town she once called her home. She then looked ahead at Breeze, he was back in car form. He was being held into the air with one hand by… Cleave the Moloch.

"Amy… are you all right?" Gamma asked, releasing Amy. "You were completely catatonic for a few minutes."

"I think I'm fine, Mr. Robot," Amy mumbled. "But… Cleave! What is he doing here?" Cleave looked to a very furious Amy.

"Doing what you should have done long ago," Cleave rasped. He slammed Breeze upside-down onto the pavement, with such force that it shattered the pavement and Breeze's window. Little cracks formed on Breeze's teeth. Breeze stayed silent. Cleave laughed hoarsely, revealing the anthropomorphism card between his fingers. "Cutting him out of your life…" He threw the tarot card into the sky. Curling up into a razor-sharp buzzsaw, Cleave jumped into the air and sliced the tarot card in two. Breeze's eyes widened.

"No—no—! Amy, don't let him do this to me!" Breeze cried. He screamed in a pain like no other as his existence became undone. His eyes blinked, and turned back into normal headlights before they opened again. "Amy! DO YOU HEAR ME?! Save me, you stupid—!" His mouth closed. Leaving only his mind as he could no longer see or breathe. His tires stopped spinning, as even his instincts to drive away faded. Breeze was no more. He was just an ordinary broken car now.

"All of these fake friends… are worthless. You are a god, Eternamy. You have no need for them," Cleave growled, mutating further into an Eternalist. Big, Gamma, Cream and Cheese all arrived at Amy's side. "You will outlive them all. You will outlive this world. Those Inhibitor Rings you wear… they make you something less than yourself, Eternamy. Take them off, find the Master Emerald… and you will have it all."

"My 'Inhibitor Rings'?" Amy asked, looking to the rings on her wrists. Cleave shambled closer. "Hey! Get away, Cleave!" Amy shouted. Gamma rose his gun to Cleave, shooting him to no end. Despite the new holes in his body, Cleave kept walking towards them. "It… didn't work?" Amy asked.

"I call upon the goddess Eternamy to keep me safe from this robot's attacks," Cleave prayed, grabbing one bullet and then dropping it to the ground. "Though her presence grows weak, I can still feel her kindness and protection radiating through the air itself!" Cleave proclaimed, smiling. He Spin Dashed towards Amy's group. Amy screamed, closing her eyes and bracing for impact. But nothing happened. She opened her eyes and turned around, seeing her friends on the floor, defeated from a single one of Cleave's attacks. She looked back to Cleave as he stood in front of her, Zeta now in hand. "I know you can't hurt me. I know you don't WANT to hurt me. You are a gracious, generous deity. As long as I have your divine protection, no harm will come my way."

Amy looked at Cleave in shock, as her heart skipped a beat.

"So as long as I don't want to hurt you… you'll keep hurting everyone I care about?" Amy asked. Cleave nodded. "My friends… Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, everyone… you'll take them away one by one." Visions of Pachacamac flashed through her mind. Amy gritted her teeth, as she reached for her wrist… and slid off her Inhibitor Ring. "I won't let you do that."

"What…?" Cleave asked.

Amy felt great power course through half of her body. "You're trying to take advantage of my mercy in order to kill those I love…" She reached for the other wrist. "I revoke my protection." She slid the other Inhibitor Ring off. "You do not deserve my kindness. You want me to be your goddess?" Cleave stepped back, in fear. "Then know your place. And KNEEL." In one swift cowardly motion, Cleave snapped his fingers. Zeta fired out a Storm Seed, and the Storm opened up in the sky above Avalon. Amy didn't care. She stood on the ground, unaffected by the Storm's vacuum. She cast an aura around her friends, granting them protection from the Storm as well as it tore the ruins of Avalon apart, sucking the buildings away into the space Eternamy once inhabited.

Amy's hair began to flow upwards. She turned the same color as the sky on any normal day, a beaming blue beacon in the midst of the purple-red glow of the Storm. "Did you hear me? KNEEL, scum," Uninhibited Amy commanded. She unleashed a beam of light from her hand, blasting Cleave back. He rolled and skidded on the floor, burnt and bubbling with raw magic energy. "You are a stupid man. Trying to play your own god for a fool… Shame on you." Amy summoned a blue-striped pink hammer that was even larger than her Piko Piko Hammer. UI Amy stepped towards Cleave as he tried to get up. She whacked him across the face with the Piko Piko Mjolnir, breaking his jaw right off.

"I broke your mouth because you don't deserve last words! You will not speak, you will not scream. You will only curl up and die a pathetic death." UI Amy slammed her hammer down onto him. When the blinding light faded, it looked as if a large meteor had crashed right onto him, leaving him in the middle of the crater. "Your credibility and authority are gone. Soon… you will be, too." She swung over and over again, making a deeper hole to bury him in. She looked down at Cleave, dispelling the hammer. He was already dead. Zeta had been smashed into pieces. A little blonde Flicky climbed out from Zeta weakly. Amy watched as it flew off into the sky. "It's finally over. You can't hurt me or my loved ones anymore. Go to Hell." Amy muttered to Cleave, turning away and leaping out of the pit.

Amy floated up to the surface, and stepped foot on the cracked road. She rose her hand to the sky, and made the Storm collapse under its own force in an instant. In a flash of magenta, it imploded into little red and purple sparkles. Amy, Big, Cream and Cheese all looked up at the small shimmers as they fluttered around like flower petals. The shimmers landed on the brick road, and disappeared one by one. Like melting snow.

"Wow… it's so pretty!" Big exclaimed.

"Yes it is," Cream sighed, turning to him and nodding. "The nightmare is finally over…"

"Chao-Chao!" Cheese exclaimed in victory.

She looked to Amy, as the sky blue hedgehog slid her Inhibitor Rings back on. She turned pink once more, her hair stopped flowing up and fell back to normal. The large godlike wings turned back into ordinary hedgehog spines. She was back in her bright and colorful clothes from before.

"Ms. Roses! You were incredible!" Cream cried, rushing forward out of the protective aura as it faded away. "You really showed him who's boss!"

"I guess I did…" Amy mumbled, looking back to the pit where the body was. "I kind of feel bad, but at the same time, I'm glad he won't be able to hurt anyone else."

"Me too," Cream replied. "I suppose this means… you have to leave now, Amy."

"Yeah, but I… still can't go home," Amy sighed. "Not yet."

"Then where are you going?" Cream asked.

"I don't know," Amy answered. "I'll go back there someday, but I don't think I can right now. Not if I truly love Sonic. I need to keep him safe from Eternamy until I can keep myself under control."

"I see," Cream mumbled. "Well, please be safe." Cheese clung onto Amy's leg, hugging her goodbye. "Cheeese…" Cream laughed, picking him up. He was a little bit brighter now. "Hey, he's… turning into a Hero Chao!" Cream exclaimed, putting a hand over her mouth. "That means you're really good! And really good people always find their way. I think… you'll be okay, Ms. Roses!" Amy smiled a little bit.

"Thank you very much, Cream… Goodbye," Amy sighed. She walked to Big. "Mr. Big… see ya around!" Amy exclaimed.

"Bye-bye, Amy," Big said. Amy took one last look around at her home town, at her friends as they prepared to go their separate ways. She then ran off. Big watched as she left, and a small card was left behind. He caught it with his fishing pole, and reeled it in. Cream curiously turned to him, and jogged back over.

"What does it say, Mr. Big?" Cream asked, flying up to read the card from over his shoulder. It… wasn't a tarot card. It was a phone number…

Under the phone number was a message. "Let's all keep in touch!! Call me someday!! - Amy of the Roses." Big gave the letter to Cream.

"I don't have a phone, but… I don't think I'll forget this. Maybe someday I can call her…" Big said, looking to the empty destroyed town ahead. Amy had already rounded the corner, disappearing into the city.

"Me neither. Mother doesn't let me have one," Cream groaned. "But I'll hold onto it. For you, and for her." She turned away, before rushing in to hug Big. "Goodbye, Mr. Big. I hope you fish lots of fish! And I hope you find Froggy!"

"... You too," Big replied, wrapping his large arms around the small rabbit. They both let go, and Cream ran off. "Goodbye!" Big called, as Cream and Cheese ran back home. His attention was immediately grabbed by none other than Froggy, hopping down the street. "Froggy!" Big exclaimed, grabbing him and holding him up in the sky. "I've been looking all over for you. I'm so glad you're back. We should go home, now."

"Ribbit."

"'What home'?" Big asked, confused. He thought on it. "Hmmm… I don't know the answer to that, neither. We should find one!" Big paraded off into the forest just outside the city, carrying Froggy along with him.

Back together at last!

…

"One ticket, please," Amy pleaded to the flamingo conductor, at a train station on the other side of Pleasant Valley Zone. It was nice to see a friendly face who wasn't caught up in all the action. It was a reminder that the world kept turning overnight, through all of Amy's misery and terror.

"You got money?" The conductor asked.

"Mmm—no," Amy mumbled. She really had to think on that one. "Can I still ride the train? I need to get as far away from here as possible."

"Fine," the conductor groaned. "I'm just starting my lap today, so hop aboard."

"Thank you, Mr. Conductor!" Amy exclaimed. The doors to the train opened, and she leapt up the stairs. She wandered through the empty train cars, until she saw somebody seated in the third car. It was… E-102 Gamma! "Mr. Robot?" Amy asked, gleefully. "What are you doing here?"

"Keep your voice down," Gamma droned. "The conductor… doesn't know I'm here."

"Why'd you run off so soon?" Amy asked, sitting down across from him. "I'm sorry for killing Cleave, your master." Gamma remained silent for a few seconds. Amy could hear him bouncing his leg under the table. "Are you mad at me?"

"It's okay," Gamma replied almost instantly. "I do not mind." Amy scooted down the seat to be in front of him. "He treated my brothers and I like… we were scrap metal. He killed Beta so Beta's Flicky could power Zeta, his actions led to the death of Delta, he neglected Epsilon and Epsilon died because of it." Gamma stood up. "You killed Zeta. And you killed Zero… and Zero killed Birdie." Amy's face reflected the sorrow and regret in her mind.

"Birdie…" Amy whined.

"It's all going to be okay," Gamma droned. "But… the bird inside of me… he deserves to be with his family. My family is gone, but maybe there are still some Flickies left in these woods that he can be happy with." Gamma rose his gun to his own head.

"Wait, Mr. Robot!" Amy cried, reaching out for him.

"Before I go, I want to tell you something…" Gamma mumbled. Amy's arm fell back to her side. "According to all written accounts… Eternamy, at her very core, is a being born from a phenomenon called "toxic positivity". Where one believes a smile and a happy demeanor can solve any problem. It is lazy, it is naive, it is presumptuous, and it is an attitude you have grown past on your journey." Gamma paused, his systems overheating from stress. "Since you have grown past this belief, the birth of Eternamy should no longer be a concern of yours. You can go back home, as long as you remember that sometimes, a rose needs its thorns to survive. That is all…"

"Please don't go, Mr. Robot…" Amy begged.

"I know it's scary, but… please refer to what I just said," Gamma replied. A small tear rolled down his glass eye. Amy gasped. "Good-bye, Amy of the Roses. Good-bye, world. Good-bye, E-102 Gamma." Gamma pulled the trigger, blowing his own mechanical brains everywhere with a single gunshot. Amy screamed in one short burst of horror. She watched as a small pink Flicky climbed out of Gamma's chestplate. It looked at her, and flew out the window which had shattered as a result of the gunshot. Amy stared out the window, and then back to Gamma's dead shell. His last words played over and over in her mind. She too, hopped out the window before the train even started moving. She then ran.

Amy bolted through the wheat fields despite her allergies. Now a sneezy mess, she hiked up the snowy mountains all alone. Rolling down the other side of the cascades, she could see Kerosen in the distance. She dashed through the fields, until she reached the town. She braked right in front of her house, shrouded in the familiar darkness due to the leaves blocking out the sunlight. The red lantern that once hung above her house had been replaced. She rounded the corner, ready to go inside and sleep. When she came face-to-face with…

… Sonic.

"Amy? What are you doing out here?" Sonic asked, looking up from his Tails Electric. Amy felt a sting of fear in her heart. She could tell she was doing a bad job at hiding her terror. She wanted to jump forward and hug him after all that happened that night. She wanted to do it so badly. She wanted to vent endlessly about all the horrors she experienced in those few hours. But… she didn't. Sonic looked almost offended at her silence. "Geez, don't scare me like that. Calling me from a payphone at six in the morning to tell me you're running away? What a sadistic idea for a prank…" Sonic looked her up and down, taking in the scrapes and dirt all over her. "Where exactly were you all night?" Amy hesitated, before smiling.

"Nowhere! Nowhere at all," Amy replied.

"You're bleeding a little…" Sonic mumbled.

"GIRL STUFF, Sonic. Butt out!" Amy shouted. Sonic walked off, giving her a confused look.

"You're insane, Amy…" Sonic chuckled, as he began his morning run around town. Amy's hair blew back from the sonic boom as he blasted off, leaving only a blue blur behind. She smiled.

"Just watch me, Sonic. I'll make you respect me," Amy muttered, blowing a kiss his way. "And by then, it'll be too late!" Tails sleepily walked out of the house in pajamas and with a cup of coffee.

"Haha… what?" Tails asked.

END OF SONIC RUNAWAYS: "HUNTED"! NEXT TIME ON SONIC RUNAWAYS, THERE WILL BE A BRAND-NEW MAIN ARC: "COPIED!"