Final Chapter

Redemption

"AAAAAH!" Shadow screams as he lunges at Cream.

She sidesteps out of the way.

"Fool." She states as she looks at him. "Your hunger will be your end."

"Oh, if only you weren't Infected..." Shadow says, clearly pissed.

"Finally." Cream says. "We can end this gruesome mess..."

"You have hunger, too." Shadow says as he keeps attempting to attack her, failing every time. "Why fight your own kind?"

"My kind?" Cream says. "Hardly. You all are eating the people that you swore to protect."

Cream adds with a smile.

"What would Maria say to you now?"

Shadow emits a red aura as he enters his Chaotic state. His anger is peaked.

"Don't you ever..." He starts as he uses his Chaos Blast...

"...EVER BRING UP MARIA AGAIN!"

The blast is released. Cream just walks out of it's radius. The fleet around her is destroyed.

Her and Shadow stand on a portion of the Fleet that is circular in structure. Said structure is falling to the ground from 100,000 feet.

Shadow breathes heavily since the blast took away some of his powers.

"I feel so sorry for her." Cream says. "You promised her that you would protect the Human race. Instead, you have consumed them."

Shadow, still in his Chaos form, keeps on attacking.

His power is increased, so Cream deflects his attacks with her sword, since his agility now matches hers.

"So the dog has bark to it's bite." Cream says in her monotone voice. "Hilarious."

"Oh!" Shadow yells. "I'll obliterate you!"

"You must try first." Cream replies as she begins an attack of her own.

She slashes gracefully, like a dove in flight. Shadow dodges most of them. The last attack connects, though. And it connects good.

Shadow is then breathing heavily. He has lost an arm due to Cream's attacks. He's met his match.

"How...did a little girl like you...get her hands on... a weapon of that caliber?" Shadow asks.

"I looted it from the Gummi ship that the interdimentional travelers were on." She replies.

"Them!" Shadow yells. "They started this whole mess!"

"Yes." Cream replied. "But you all continued it. For you see, I defeated the travelers shortly before I entered the Egg Fleet."

"You...defeated them?" Shadow says.

"Yes." Cream says. "Pretty easy pickings, I must say."

"Whoa..." Shadow says.

"Is this really Cream?" Shadow thinks to himself. "She's been acting weird ever since we attacked the Fleet. Has she gone insane? Or...is she being controlled?"

"Now." She says. "All I have to do to end this cured mess is destroy you."

Shadow gets into a battle stance. He realizes that she's right, but he's not about to let himself get beaten up.

"You can try." He says.

They both look at each other solemnly. One of them was not coming out of this.

Shadow makes the first move. He sends out balls of Chaotic energy, just like in Sonic Battle.

She destroys them with movements of her sword. After this, she attacks Shadow directly.

They both attack each other, Matrix-style.

We switch gears for a minute to Eggman and Rouge, who have escaped to one of the various bases that Eggman has had built all over the world.

Rouge is sitting, watching a television showing news that depicts the governments of other nations talking of plans to rebuild Soleanna after the outbreak.

Eggman on the other hand, is working on the positive energy bomb that Cream suggested. And it's going well.

"There." He talks to himself. "Now, just attach the modulator here and..."

He yells proudly. "...It's done!"

Rouge gets up and looks at the contraption that the Doctor has made.

"Looks like one of those Tanning Salon machines." Rouge says. "Besides. Didn't Cream hunt them all down?"

"Can't you, for once, not be so pessimistic?" Eggman replies. "As long as it works, we're fine. Not only that, she may have missed one or two."

"I guess." She says. "So, where are we throwing this thing?"

"We shall deploy it in the central area of Soleanna. This will destroy the city, but it will destroy the Zombies, If there are any left."

"If you say so, Doctor..." Rouge adds.

Shadow and Cream have both exausted themselves.

"You're pretty good." Shadow says.

"Back at you." Says Cream.

Shadow then takes a calm stance and turns his back to Cream.

"You know..." Shadow starts. "I didn't want this."

"What?" Cream says, assuming a calm stance as well..

"I knew full well about Maria's promise. But, I was so stupid. I let my hunger cloud my mind. I lost my confidence. She must be spinning in her grave right now."

"So you are capable of reason..." Creams says smugly.

"I'm sorry that this all happened, Cream." Shadow says. "Please. Finish me off."

"But..." Cream begins.

"The travelers started all of this, but I continued it by leading the Zombies to food." Shadow says. "Let me join Maria."

Cream lets a tear loose from her eye.

"I hunted the others down." Cream says.

"Huh?" Shadow asks.

"The other Zombies except for Amy have been destroyed." Cream says. "If I destroy you now, the others will not have a chance for redemption."

"We all knew that once we indulged in our hunger, we would be beyond salvation. Yet, we did. It's too late now." Shadow says.

"DO IT! NOW!" Shadow yells.

But she can't. She drops the Gunblade and walks away. The structure that the two Zombies were standing on falls to the ground. The impact trips them.

"What the hell was that!?" Shadow asks.

"Were we standing on this the whole time?" Cream asks.

The Doctor's airship enters the City Limits.

"Oh no!" Cream says.

"What?" Shadow says.

"I suggested to the Doctor that we use a Positive energy bomb to defeat you and Sonic if confrontation was unavoidable."

"You mean...?" Shadow starts.

"Yes." Cream says. "He must've gone through with it."

"But why is he over Soleanna?" Shadow asks.

"He must be planning to wipe you all out in one fell swoop." Cream says.

Now we switch to the Doctor. Him and Rouge are prepared to fire the bomb at any time.

Rouge is hesitant.

"Doctor." Rouge says.

Eggman turns to look at her.

"Yes?" He asks.

"If the Zombies have lost their hunger and are prepared to repent for their sins..." Rouge asks. "Would it be possible to dismantle the bomb without firing it?"

"Such wishful thinking." Eggman says. "These are eating machines. Zombies never starve or lose their hunger. Our hand has been forced. Even if they want to repent, they can't. Their minds have been weakened so that they won't even consider such a possibility. But, if it could happen, then...I would dismantle the bomb."

Rouge is simply silent. She knows that it won't happen. But, there's always that One Percent chance...

"So." Shadow asks. "What do we do?"

"First." Cream says. "We must find any remaining Zombies and explain to them their situation."

"And those that don't repent...?" Shadow asks.

"Will be left behind to be destroyed." Cream says.

"Right." Shadow says. "It's times like this that I wish the Faker was here. I destroyed him, though..."

"Now isn't the time for sentiment." Cream says. "I shall meet you at City Hall in an hour."

"Right." Shadow says.

The two then split up to look for Amy and any remaining Zombies.

Cream finds a Zombie Blaze the Cat, very nervous, yet unwilling to eat.

Meanwhile, Shadow finds Silver's head moaning under some rubble. Like Blaze, Silver is unwilling to bite, but is scared silly.

"Silver! Calm down!" Shadow says.

Silver is spouting random babble.

"Three plus One is four! Save 2 Dollars on bedsheets! Piece of Shit! What's the capital of North Dakota?!"

Shadow picks Silver's head and gives it a slap.

"Shadow?!" Silver says, apparently back to normal.

"Yeah. It's me." Shadow replies. "What the hell was that nonsense you were just spouting?"

"Sorry about that." Silver says. "I was trying to make myself laugh since I was lonely. I'm also claustrophobic, so I was trying to repress a memory."

"Yeah, sure." Shadow says. He then proceeds, with Silver in hand, to Cream's designated location.

The four Zombies meet at the City Hall.

Cream is the first to speak.

"They were the only ones?" Cream says.

"Looks like it." Shadow says. "Rose must've fled the city."

Blaze finally speaks. "Silver?!"

Shadow holds Silver's head near Blaze. She takes it. The two two Zombie Furries look at each other.

"Blaze?" Silver asks. "They got you too?!"

"It looks like we were both Infected." Blaze says.

"Hey, was there a pink hedgehog with you, by any chance?" Shadow asks.

"Yeah." Blaze says. "She was laughing for a full hour, ranting on and on about a blue hedgehog..."

"She's gone insane." Shadow says.

"Just like I did prior to fighting Shadow." Cream says. "She may have gone to another city in order to find food. We have to find her!"

We switch to the Doctor again. As he prepares to launch the bomb, Rouge enters the cockpit.

"Doctor." She says. "We have problems."

"What is it?" He asks.

"One of them got into the airship and is headed to the Cockpit!" She says.

Eggman finds a speaker, puts it on full blast, and talks into it.

"Attention, all Eggman Robots!" Eggman talks. "One of the remaining Zombies has infiltrated the Airship! Find and destroy it."

The robots scramble to find Amy. An explosion is instantly heard.

Another speaker comes on. This time, it's Amy's voice that's heard. However, there was some faulty wiring. Therefore, people outside of the ship can hear her too.

"Hello there, Doctor." She begins. "How are you? I'm doing good. But i'm very hungry. I was going to just infect you, but when I realized that you killed my Sonic, I made a new promise. TO EAT YOU ALIVE!"

She laughs maniacally. As cream hears this, she realizes what she must do.

"We have to help her." Cream says.

"You heard her." Silver says. "She doesn't want help, she wants to eat!"

"That's right." Blaze says. "She's beyond salvation now."

"Right." Shadow says. "Still, if she can be saved, then we will take adavntage of that."

"How do we get there?" Silver asks.

"Leave that to me." Shadow says. "All of you, touch the Chaos Emerald i'm holding."

"Um, hello...I have no hands." Silver says.

"Use your head. Literally." Shadow says.

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

The four warp to the Airship's cockpit.

We switch to Rouge, who is in the Airship's Lounge, searching for Amy.

The four Zombies teleport in front of her.

She gasps.

"Shadow!" She says.

"Relax, Rouge. We aren't harmful any..." He starts. That's when she notices that she's been cured somehow.

"What the hell happened to you?!" Cream says, surprised.

"The Doctor cured me." Rouge says.

"He found a cure?" Cream asks. "He never told me of it."

"Now's not the time." Shadow says. "We heard everything. Any's infiltrated the ship, correct?"

"That's right." Rouge says. "Let's meet up with the Doctor.

After explaining the situation to Eggman, who was shocked, they devise a plan to trap Amy.

"Shadow." Eggman says. "Does your Chaos power have detection capabilities?"

"Duh." Shadow says. "You should know."

"Then you must use your radar powers to lock on to Amy's power." Eggman says.

He truns to Blaze.

"You, my feline friend, must use your pyrokinetic abilities to seal every exit on the Airship." Eggman explains. "This will prevent any attempts to flee."

"But, she used her hammer to puncture the Airship in order to enter." Rouge explains. "She could use the same manuver to get away."

"No." Eggman says. "She is focused on finding me. She would not consider it."

He turns to Rouge and Silver.

"You two must stay with me." Eggman says.

"But I want to help them!" Silver says.

"Silver." Shadow says. "You cannot move, and we need your telekinetic powers to keep this hunk of junk airbourne."

"Okay." Silver says, pouting.

"Oh! Doctor!" Silver asks.

"Yes?" He replies.

"What's the capital of North Dakota?" Silver says.

Eggman sighs heavily.

Shadow and Blaze acheive their respective missions and wait for Amy in the Lounge. She takes the bait, and shows up.

"Hey guys." She says. "You all hungry?"

"No." Shadow says. "We are...cured...in a sense."

"What?" Amy says. "Oh no. Don't tell me that you all have reformed. Oh well, mor for me."

Shadow stands in front of the door she was trying to enter.

"No." He says. "No more eating. Not now. Not ever."

She draws her hammer.

"Move, hedgehog." She orders him. "The only one who could order me around was Sonic. And he's been killed by that bloated buffon in there."

"No. He wasn't." Shadow says. "It was me."

Amy laughs a little.

"Very funny." She says. "Now move."

"I'm serious." He says.

"Stop joking around, Shadow." She yells.

"Have I ever been one for humor?" He asks.

She realizes. He's telling the truth.

"So, you..." She starts.

"Yes." He replies.

She immediately smashes him with her hammer, sending him flying into the nearby wall.

Her eyes turn blood red.

"Well then." She says. "I'll kill you. Again."

Her and Shadow are about to enter combat. Cream then enters from the Cockpit Room.

"Amy..." She starts.

"Cream!" She smiles. "Help me destroy this murderer." Amy pleads.

"Please stop." She says. "Stop this nonsense."

"Nonsense?!" Amy screams. "HE KILLED MY SONIC!" She says.

"They were both consumed by the Hunger." Cream replies. "Neither of them were in their right mind at the time."

Amy sobs.

"I thought for sure that you would understand." Amy says through sobs. She then picks up her hammer.

"Fine." She says. "I'll destroy Shadow. And then, i'll destroy you, too.

Cream sheds tears as she draws the Gunblade.

Shadow realizes that this is Cream's battle, and steps aside, ushering Blaze and himself into the Cockpit Room.

Amy immediatley rushes at Cream, pure blind rage driving her on.

Cream blocks her attacks, fighting defensively. She doesn't want to hurt Amy if she doesn't need to.

"WHY ARE YOU HOLDING BACK?!" Amy asks. "FIGHT ME!"

"No." Cream says. "You are my friend. I refuse to harm you."

"Why are you sticking up for Shadow, my Sonic's murderer?!"Amy says.

"Like I said. They were consumed by the Hunger at the time." Cream explains. "It was completely by accident."

"I can't accept that." Amy says. "I WON'T ACCEPT THAT EXCUSE!"

Cream realizes. Amy knows already that Shadow never meant to harm Sonic. But, she wasn't joking when she says that she can't live without him. She was being literal.

Cream takes an aggressive stance.

"Finally getting serious, huh?" Amy says.

Cream realizes that this is the price she must pay for her sins. Retribution.

Amy and Cream look at each other meaningfully for a moment. They both know what must happen in order to truly end this mess.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Amy rushes at Cream with full force.

Cream is silent, she rushes with her full force as well.

Cream quickly slashes Amy in half. As Amy's systems shut down for the final time. she mutters the words "Thank You" to Cream. Her eyes shut as she passes on with a smile of serenity on her face. Her body then gives in to the pressre and her body's two halves fall lifelessly to the floor.

Cream cries. Shadow, Rouge, Blaze, Silver, and even the doctor enter the room to comfort her.

We then fast forward four months. Soleanna's been rebuilt and is more beautiful than the original. The remaining Zombies have been cured, and everyone has completely forgotten the Outbreak.

Doctor Eggman has become the town's most renowned Scientist along with Silver the hedgehog, who, with robotic implants, has become the Doctor's assistant.

Blaze the cat is seen teaching 5th graders at the town's schoolhouse. A picture of Silver is seen sitting on her desk, next to a necklace with a flame pendant attached.

Rouge the Bat has resumed her treasure hunting jobs. Shadow has decided to stay with her.

Cream is seen at the graveyard built to house the furries who were infected and destroyed.

Cream is seen putting flowers on Amy and Sonic's graves. She also places miniature wedding bells in between the two graves.

She then leaves the site, relieved that everything has ended, and that Humanity can look towards a bright future.

THE END