Chapter 8

"STOP!!"

Amy whirled around, knife still in hand. Interruptions would not be tolerated with her, especially at this moment. There, standing in the doorway was none other than Sonic. Amy hadn't heard the door being broken down, she was too absorbed in what she was about to do. The blue hedgehog stood with his arms and legs spread out in the doorless doorway as if he were blocking an escape. He panted, not from being tired though. He was never tired. From fear maybe?

Sonic's eyes grew bloodshot. "Wha-what do you think you're doing?!"

She wanted no attention. Amy had had it with him. "Leave me alone!" Again, she pointed the blade to her chest and stabbed.

She only had a chance to make the tiniest scratch before her wrist was snatched. Sonic had run over lighting-speed and was holding on to her hand for her own life.

Amy clenched her teeth. "Sonic! Stop it!"

He roughly grabbed her other wrist as he clenched his own teeth. "Drop the knife!" he shouted.

"NO!!" They wrestled.

The pressure on her pink wrists was increased, daring her to drop the weapon. She jerked her hands in the air, attempting to break free, but to no avail. They wrestled about the kitchen, bumping into the table and knocking some things over. Amy kept trying to lose him without her hands by kicking over chairs for him to stumble on. But he was too quick for her and started backing her up against a wall – he was so strong. Sonic's eyes were burning with a passion she had never seen before, along with a set, determined jaw. Was this the Sonic she used to know?

"No, NO! Let me go!!"

"Drop the knife!!"

"Just let me die!!"

"DROP IT!!!"

SLASH!!

He released her and crashed on his knees. Blood seeped through his shirt, and dripped through the spaces in between his fingers which clutched the wounded left wrist. Sonic was shivering, his head bent over and his eyes shielded by tight eyelids.

Drops of crimson dripped off the blade. All Amy could do was stare at the one she never wanted to hurt, even though he hurt her. She dropped the knife. It clanged to the floor and echoed like the last sound on earth.

Motionless she stood, as did he, only kneeling. No sound passed between them except for Sonic's jagged breaths. "You can't do this," Sonic said through clenched teeth. "You need to know what happened. I can't lose you again."

She blinked.

"Five years ago," he began, "Eggman caught up to me. I thought I could beat him like always, but he was somehow stronger this time."

Telling what had happened and what he did five years before was what Amy least expected of the blue hero. She was ready to bash him on the head if she needed to. A part of her told her to listen.

He continued. "Of course, I could have run like always or even kick his fat behind, but his statement stopped me. He said that he would hurt the ones I loved if I refused to quit the team, for nothing else could pry me away.

"I knew he couldn't hurt you all, but if he knew who I loved most…" he shook his head, as if it pained him to dwell on. "He knew it was you."

Amy was frozen in place. She couldn't believe what her ears were hearing.

"He was going to kill you…he showed me the machine…" He choked as if the memory was unbearable, but collected himself. "It was horrible. He seemed to love and enjoy pain at the time. He couldn't wait to see you and I suffer. You, because of the pain of being tortured, and me, because I couldn't stand to see you that way. I would have rather died instead of you. So I told him I would take your place."

All was silent.

Deadly silent.

"Well, there is a lot more to that story, but it would take me hours to explain it all." His eyelids parted.

Amy still had questions. "What do you mean 'take my place'?"

He looked up at her. "If something had happened to you, Amy, I could never forgive myself. I couldn't let him get his hands on you. If he did, I don't know what I'd do." Pausing, he finished, a little quietly, "So he agreed to torture me in your place. If I left the team, he wouldn't harm you…" he smiled slightly, or she was just imagining it. "I promised I would never leave you, Amy Rose. So here I am."

Suddenly a yelp escaped his lips. The cut was so deep; he had to wrap it up before he lost too much blood. Sonic slipped off his crimson-stained sweatshirt and ripped off his Tee underneath. He wrapped the wound in the torn, white shirt.

That's when Amy let out a shrill gasp: scars and gashes of every shape and length clawed their way around the hedgehog's back and up his arms like a coiled rattlesnake. Some sunk deep into his cobalt fur and flesh, while others decorated the surface in a gruesome design of black. It was almost as if Death himself clawed his razor-sharp fingernails into the hedgehog's very soul, leaving him with a deathly black tattoo of ultimate sacrifice.

"And the letter," he continued, looking up into her glistening eyes, "would have torn me apart if I had told you how I really feel about you.." A single tear rested on his bottom eyelid. "I did a terrible thing to you, and I'm sorry for hurting you like I did. It's just easier to lose things you're not so close to."

Rose's hands shook. She had gotten everything all wrong. Completely wrong. And to think that all this time she thought she hated Sonic, but in reality, she knew that she still held feelings for him; his cocky smile, his heroic and passionate nature, his love for speed and adventure, he usually goofed off, and she loved the way he would sacrifice anything and everything just to keep his friends – and even complete strangers – safe. She loved his spirited nature and used to fantasize that he would pick her up into his strong arms and just run with her over mountains and across the entire world, just the two of them. It's funny how someone can break your heart and you still love them with all the little pieces.

Something melted inside of her. Was it the ice surrounding her little leaf? Possibly. She would never know for sure. But something was melting and pressing against her eyeballs. She started to hold them back, but when she looked into Sonic's eyes, those deep, kind, loving eyes, all will to die flooded over her face – five years worth of it, in fact.

Amy's tears cascaded down her face and onto her neck. Relief, release, freedom, rushing over and cleansing her blackened heart. Without knowing it, her knees buckled and she fell to the cold floor, onto her stomach. She sobbed into her arms for pure joy, but also for sorrow. She felt so bad. Sonic had given his life for her, and she showed her appreciation by hating him with sharp irritation. How could he ever forgive her?

A hand touched Amy's head, which made her shiver. It slipped down her neck and rubbed all along her back as if to soothe her. Amy wanted to stop crying, but couldn't. The tears were free falling without her permission. She needed to get it all out.

After a few minutes of quiet sobbing, Amy lifted her head to see Sonic kneeling just inches away. So close, she could feel his warm breath on her tear-streaked face. His hand slowly reached towards her sweet face, his fingertips coming in contact with it, and gently brushing away the tears under her glimmering jade orbs. Amy felt herself about to erupt in tears again. She wanted to tell Sonic how sorry she was, but was afraid that she wouldn't be able to speak through her choking tears. The little rose lifted her shaky hand towards his face, but couldn't reach. Sonic grasped her outstretched palm and put it against his cheek for her. The tears spilled out at his gentle touch. Amy reached up with her right hand and brought it up around his neck, adjoining the left. She pulled herself up towards him, his arms slipping around her waist and back to keep her from falling back to the floor. They silently knelt together.

The pink hedgehog buried her face in the cobalt, tan, and now a little black, fur of his bare chest and cried her eyes out, turning his fur an even darker shade of blue with the tears soaking into it.

"I'm sorry. Oh, Sonic, I'm so sorry…" she blurted shakily, gasping between words.

She felt the arms around her grip tighter and felt his head resting against hers. He kissed the top of her pink head over and over. Amy shook a little excitedly at the fact that Sonic was without a shirt, and she was embracing him. She was surprised at how warm his body was, she was free to bask in his warmth. She would never have to feel cold again.

Slipping his hand under her chin, Sonic lifted it so her eyes were adjacent to his. Her eyes were shining and wet, his also wet, but she could see the unfailing love behind them. The eyelids were closed at half-mast. He smiled and touched his forehead to hers, his expression softening.

"I love you, Amy Rose."

Amy's bottom lip trembled. His face was just so close and forgiving. He loved her. After always thinking he felt otherwise, he actually loved her. Amy let a single and final tear fall before answering with a quivering smile, "I love you, too…" but she was cut off by his lips.

Some people may think that a kiss has to be so open, wet, and/or done – as well as other things – in a bed in order to be passionate. But never was there a kiss so passionate and pure than this. Never was Amy so excited, yet so calm. Never was Sonic so jumpy, yet so loving and in love. Never had either of the hedgehogs felt anything in the world like this before. Shivers ran up and down their spines as their lips moved simultaneously to the quivers they received. Their mouths opened a little, not like they were eating each other, but enough for lips to enter the other's mouth. He ran his hands down her back, though not greedily, like Amy had sometimes experienced with others. He pulled her closer still, and she him.

΅΅΅

When their mouths reluctantly departed, Amy thought she could hear the Hallelujah chorus. They didn't part entirely, though. Their noses touched, and their lips were so close to touching. When he spoke to her, his lips actually brushed against her lips.

"I forgive you," he whispered, his eyes still closed.

He kissed her lovingly one more time, and then pulled her into a warm hedgehog hug. Her head peeked out from over his shoulder, his long blue quills brushing her face. She was aware of his lips upon her neck, over and over again. She was also aware of his wrapped up wrist, the blood was still seeping through it. Without a word, she pulled away from his embrace and picked up his wounded hand. She touched it lightly, and then kissed the hand part softly, as if that would make it better. Amy seemed to be acting like a dog; when one harmed the other, it licked their cuts clean. She thought words might spoil the moment. Amy unwrapped the makeshift bandage to reveal a grueling, sickening sight. Blood of red as well as black oozed out of the 6-inch gash she had created. Crusty, cracked blackness bordered it, the dark red liquid now dripping down his arm when the wrap had been removed. He winced as she tried to yank the shirt off, and had to rip it a little, it was sticking.

The pink hedgehog pulled out a white handkerchief from her coat pocket and dabbed at Sonic's new scar. Her eyes so fixed on what she was doing, like she was painting a masterpiece. She reached for the cupboard next to her and grabbed a bottle of something and a bunch of white linen bandages.

The liquid was poured onto the open gash. Sonic could hear it sizzle, and didn't feel the pain for a second. Then, it came. His yelp echoed throughout the empty house. Tears burned in his eyes. He felt like someone had just dumped a bucket of boiling water onto his wrist. By the way he acted, you would think that his whole arm had been chopped off with a rusty axe. The wound seemed to close a bit and turned a deep shade of red. Amy gently took his arm and wrapped the wrist in clean linen. His arm still seemed to buzz, but the worst was over.

The blue hedgehog held it up to his face and studied it. The bleeding had completely ceased. Amy smiled slightly at him. "Wait 'til everyone hears about this."

Sonic raised an eyebrow with a sly grin. "They're never going to believe it," and then leaned into her velvety lips.

The End.

΅΅΅

And there you have it!! YAAAAY!! does her little victory dance Doesn't it just give you that fuzzy-warm-happy-ish feeling? (I keep thinking that this story sounds like a veeeery short novel, don'tcha think?) I love you all for posting, please and thank you. Remember my video for youtube isn't done yet cuz I need the stupid CD that I can't get right now… but check at least every other week. My name is bluevixen828. Please ignore the two other crappy slideshows I made a bazillion years ago… (They are SUCH an embarrassment…) Look for a vid called Leaf in an Icy World music video. I am SO dedicating it to you guys!!♥

Kays, time for the dedication page:

Thanks my cousin (sunnysquirrel) for giving me the idea for the reason why Sonic left. I owe her big time.

Thanks to all the Sonic characters that were mentioned in Leaf in an Icy World. We love you guys!

Sonic – Hey, no problem. I was just glad I got to kiss Amy. ;)

Amy - giggles Sorry I cut you by the way… ;

Sonic – Amy, in that music video FallenRose is making, IT IS SO DEPRESSING!!! YOU EMOHEAD!!

Amy –Dude, that was your own fault…and I'm not emo…

Sonic – There IS a happy ending, right?!

Amy – Of course.

Sonic –WHEW!! falls back in his chair

Rouge – Knuckles even refused to kiss me in that one scene, he was SO embarrassed!! squeals

Knuckles - turns red

Silver – HEY!! What about me? I was barely mentioned.

Blaze – Me neither!

Cream – Yeah!

Cheese – Chao, chao!! (How dare ye!)

Tails – YAAAY! MUFFINS!

Eggman – HEY! I didn't even get to do my dance-number! disco balls come on and he starts doing the disco and a CREEPY macarina dance onstage

Everyone (even the viewers) – OO how embarrassing…--;;;;;;;

Me – Okay, now. You all get back into the closet. This was way too long and random and everyone is getting annoyed including me.

Sonic (suddenly feeling better) - pops up NOOOOOO! Not the CLOSET!!

Me - shoves everyone back in

Silver – AH! Egghead, you're fat lard of a butt is CRUSHING ME!!

Blaze –My back!

Tails – My head!

Amy – My hair!!

Knuckles falls on top of Rouge by mistake. He turns red

Rouge – HEY YOU PERV! QUIT TOUCHING ME THERE!!! kicks him

I slam the closet door shut

Me – And don't come out till there; another story!!!

WHEW! Sorry about that. Hope you enjoyed my random moment there, too. Say do I smell…A SEQUEL!!!!! Tell me what you think. The thing is, I have NO IDEAS, so you can help me out. SonAmy again or KnuxRouge?

Again, I love you all, don't forget to comment and make my day, and thank you so much for putting up with me! HEARTS FOR ALL!!!♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥