Whazzup people ^^ I have wanted to write this forever. I've been thinking about it for maybe two years and a while ago I was like, I'll never pull this off. But I gotta try, right?

Anyway, this story's a bit funky. It'll be sort of a combination of the games, comics, and cartoons, plus a bit of my own headcanon. Also, scrapped character cameos :D

So, have fun ^^ and if you see anything wrong or weird or something, tell me, okie?

Amy stared down at her hands, fiddling with the cuffs that scraped her wrists. She knew she would never get them off, even with strength like hers. In fact, that was the purpose of the cuffs: to restrict her abilities and make her weaker.

Her face brightened and fell just as quickly as she remembered the gold bracelets that once were in place of the cold, gray metal. It was little things like this she found she missed the most, after all this time.

It had been almost a year since she'd ended up here, and even longer since he had disappeared.

Some assumed he had died. Most others came to believe he had abandoned them in the final hours, when they needed him most. But Amy knew that Sonic, her Sonic, would never do such a thing. And she knew he was out there, somewhere, and that when she escaped from this place she would find him.

When she escaped…

There was nothing Amy hadn't tried. Back when she was still in contact with the other prisoners, she had attempted to start an uprising among them. But their broken bodies and spirits had led to only a few even considering it before tossing the idea aside. Her first instinct, after she had been put in her own isolated cell, was to smash her way out. But she found that not only did the cuffs cut the power she could put behind her muscles, they also rendered her unable to produce her hammer.

At times, her boredom, rage, and helplessness would boil over, and she would swing her arms down with all the force she could muster, again and again, hoping to simply break the cuffs. She couldn't tell if her efforts were worth it, though, for too soon after she would be reduced to tears and fatigue, or else one of the guard bots would come to silence her.

Of course, she had been making such crude efforts long before she had been isolated, for it was exactly what had brought her to it in the first place. The doctor could be foolish at times, but by no means was he stupid. He knew that this girl posed a potential threat to him from the moment of her capture, and had been keeping close watch on her since day one.

At this thought, dread washed over Amy as the horrible truth hit her again. It was over. The Freedom Fighters had disbanded too long ago, and her hero was gone to what could be anywhere on the planet. They had lost.

No! She shook the thought away. They had not lost yet. As long as she, and the sliver of hope she still carried, stayed alive, there was always a chance.

But what if what she had been waiting for since the day of her imprisonment were to become real?

Caught up in these thoughts, she barely heard a voice whispering her name.

"Amy! Wake up, will you?" Honey! Amy turned to look out the small, barred opening in her cell to see the familiar gold-furred cat smiling tiredly at her. The two had briefly known each other years ago, but had never gotten along. Now, the hedgehog considered the cat to be one of her closest friends. Honey had been one of the few to join Amy in considering the design of an escape plan, and that kind of hope has a way of bringing people together.

Amy smiled back at Honey, but her expression immediately fell into one of concern. "What are you doing here? What if a bot sees you?" Honey had snuck around before in order to see Amy in her cell, but each time she ran a risk. "We'll both be in deep trouble if you're caught!"

"What, you're not happy to see me?" said the cat, pouting. Amy didn't understand how one could still have a healthy sense of humor after all they had gone through, but she supposed it was just the way some coped. She was grateful for Honey's visits, though. It raised her spirits and reminded her that she still had allies in the world.

"I'd rather you be safe," the hedgehog said, with a bit of anger. More softly, solemnly, she asked, "What's it like outside?"

Honey shrugged. "Just like it always is," she answered, sarcasm touching the words. Amy could see it in her mind. Mobius had become a dark place since the Freedom Fighters had disbanded. She could see the once-blue sky painted a murky brown, the light dim as if the sun had lost its will to shine, and only did so because it had no other choice than to keep going. Much like the rest of the world.

The two were quiet for a few moments. Then Amy said, "You should go now. Don't worry about me—I'll be fine," she assured, although they both knew this meant nothing. The cat looked at her a last time, concern in her eyes, before she silently slinked away.

Amy watched her go, sighing when she had disappeared. Today, merely existing had drained Amy of the energy needed to attempt to break out of her cuffs, or to even think on it. Nothing more to do but wait, for what she wasn't sure, but she had an idea.

She waited, staring into nothing, not noticing as it became eerily quiet even for this place. Usually, a whir like that of a running machine could be heard, coming from guard bots. But Amy was lost in space, unable to detect this change.

She was startled by a knock on the wall of her cell. This was it. The bots would take her away to be roboticized, or worse…

But no. This wasn't the familiar pang of metal on metal. It was a softer, more natural sound, and Amy slowly made her way to the opening to peer outside.

A cream-colored rabbit was standing just outside, one ear flopped over her face. Amy's face broke into a wide smile as she recognized Cream, much taller than when they had last seen each other, who smiled with equal joy. The rabbit then motioned for Amy to step back. Amy did, and the next moment the wall was down.

The hedgehog blinked in amazement. Cream had kicked her way through the steel wall of the cell! How much her friend had grown in both size and strength in the years that had passed.

"Cream, what's going on?" Amy nearly cried with surprise.

"No time to explain now!" said the rabbit, taking her friend's wrist in her hand. "Let's go!"

They ran through the corridors of Eggman's prison, past disarmed and destroyed guard bots, and kept going until Cream was kicking through Egg Pawns with Amy doing her best to fight them with the strength she could use. Soon they were in the air, clearing the boundaries of the prison.

Cream returned Amy to the ground, knowing she would be able to run faster than Cream could fly while holding her, as two Chao joined the rabbit at either shoulder. The two did not look back, and they did not stop running.