The sun hung low in the sky over the planet of Mobius. The wind that swept across the dry landscape of the Arid Sands zone caused sand, dust and dirt to hang thickly in the air. It was chilling and could send shivers to the very innermost parts of your soul. In the midst of the large desert, as far as the naked eye could see was carnage. Corpses littered the ground and the scent of blood hung thick and heavy in the air. Amidst the corpses there small team of Mobians who searched for anyone still alive. Within the group there was a single cerulean hedgehog who limped through the bodies and past the team with a makeshift crutch.

Every step was laboured, but he still pushed on. His heart ached like it never had before. His eyes watered at the sight around him and he pulled his brown bandanna around his neck over his nose to block out the scent that left him feeling nauseous. Within his mind he whispered a silent prayer to Light Gaia, the deity who watched over the planet with love to guide the souls of those who died here into an everlasting peace.

As he walked, he was looking for a childhood friend of his. He hadn't seen her back at camp when Robotnik drew back for the day, so he volunteered to come with the team to gather the bodies and take them back to camp for a proper burial. He had hoped to find her among the wounded, but as minutes passed he began to fear for the worst. Then all at once he felt his heart sink. Before him laid the mangled corpse of the friend he used to know. He began to tremble as an immense sadness washed over him.

He had insisted she and another person dear to him stayed away from the battlefield while he was sent on a secret mission, as he was worried about their safety. But this friend, the princess insisted that she help. She told him that this was it. The final battle had to take place on the only free ground that wasn't under that evil tyrants control. She told him that she would protect her people until her dying breath. She was one of his closest friends, and now just like a candle, her life had been snuffed out, leaving only precious memories.

He slowly and carefully began to sit down to cry at the loss of his friend, but as he did, his crutch snapped in half and he fell to the earth with a dull thud. He let out a small whimper as he lay in the sand in pain. He slowly sat up and grimaced. He began to wipe sand off his bleeding legs. During his mission that day he got too close to a bomb in order to save a young child who'd gotten mixed up in the fight. The explosion left shrapnel buried deep into his legs and in his lower back. it was a miracle he was still able to walk, with how much pain he was in, but he put his pain aside in order to be there for everyone.

He took a deep breath to steady himself, then he carefully pulled the chipmunks head onto his lap. He sat remembering a long time ago back when they were kids. she told him that she loved it when her hair was braided, because it made her feel pretty. He had asked Rosie that day to teach him how to braid hair, and she taught him. Of course, this was back when he still had a crush on her. A small smile played across his face as he subconsciously began to braid her hair. He couldn't carry her back to camp, so he waved over a member of the team he had travelled with. "I promise Sal, if I make it out of this alive, I'll give you and everyone else a proper burial." He swore.

He looked around at all the bodies, some crows were hopping around the ground, tearing small bits of flesh off of what was once his friends and allies. He felt enraged, as he forced himself to a standing position. "Go away!" He yelled as he limped towards the birds, hoping to scare them off. The crows took off to they sky, and disappeared, but he was sure they'd come back. He looked down at the ground as a wave of helplessness washed over him. The team member he called over placed a hand on his shoulder but he shrugged them off. He still pushed on as he continued limping through the bodies. The sight was beginning to make him sick, and he felt nauseated. He began to sway, and fell to his knees.

The instant pain, the sight before him and the smells all caught up to him quickly. His body repelled the little bit of breakfast he had eaten. A shudder travelled up and down his spine as the vile tasting vomit spewed from his mouth. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and just sat there, feeling paralysed. The same team member had followed him and once again placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked at him and smiled weakly. He coughed and bit his lip trying to hold back the tears that wanted to stream down his face. He had to be the strong one. He was the hero.

It was his duty to be brave, selfless and pure. Someone others could look up to. He never asked for this. He just wanted to be a normal guy, but all that was taken from him as he was flung into a battle that he never wanted to be a part of. He only joined the fight because his parents had been killed by the robots that Robotnik built. He wanted justice for what had been done, Robotnik had to rightfully pay for his crimes, locked away where he couldn't hurt anyone ever again. The blue hedgehog though, at this very moment felt so many negative emotions, building up, like they could explode if he wasn't careful. At this point, he almost wished that Robotnik would just die.

He felt a another hand on his other shoulder, snapping him out of the downward spiral he was falling into. He looked up and saw two beautiful jade eyes, sparkling and full of life looking down at him. The girl before him brushed a few loose strands of her sakura coloured quills out of her face. Her hand was outstretched, wanting to help him and he gladly took it.

"Ames, I ..." He began to say.

She placed her fingers on his lips gently. "Shhhhhh. Let's just get back to camp, okay, Sonic?" She looked at the team member who was worried for him. "Don't worry, I've got him. Thank you though." Amy said. The other Mobian nodded as he returned to his team, but stopped to pick up Sally and carry her back to where they were loading their friends onto an old rusty truck.

Sonic looked at Amy and nodded weakly in defeat. Amy helped brace him as they walked on the long trek back. The two didn't say anything during that time, but their exhaustion and pain was etched into their faces. The entire trip would take an hour at the pace they were going, and as they were almost there, the wind began to pick up, and the scent of an oncoming desert storm was in the air. The two hedgehogs hurried as quickly as they could, until they finally reached safety. Amy opened the door of their base, centred in the ruins of what was just named three days ago, New New Mobotropolis.

People were scrambling about, trying to keep busy. Some were tending to the wounded. Some were sharpening weapons. Some were making food from the last remnants that was salvaged. And some were mourning their lost ones from that days battle. Even the children who would normally be so full of life and running around playing were sitting quietly. The boys would talk to each other in whispers and most of the girls sat holding onto a precious doll or toy in silence. He smiled at a young rabbit named Cream who was helping her mother change the bandages on a badly wounded Vector. Sonic stepped away from Amy and limped over to the young girl. She looked up at him with large chocolate brown eyes. Sonic tousled her hair and asked, "You helping your mommy out?" The girl simply nodded. "Good job." Sonic said "Keep it up!"

Sonic looked over at Amy who was at the moment, comforting Antoine. Sonic walked up to the two. "What's wrong, Ant?" Sonic asked.

"Bunnie ... she ... she's dead!" Antoine choked on the words, as tears rolled freely down his cheeks. He looked at Sonic with bright blue eyes. "She ... she ... just di-died in the h-hospital. I go-got a text from ... and she's dead!"

Sonic felt his heart sink. Antoine and Bunnie were newly-weds, and they were some of his closest friends. He placed his hand on Antione's shoulder, who in turn threw his arms around Sonic and wept loudly. Sonic was shocked by the sudden tight hug, even though he wasn't a super touchy-feely kind of guy, he let his friend cry it out on his shoulder. Sonic felt Amy hug Antoine as well, and the three friends stood there in embrace.

Minutes passed and slowly Antoine pulled away. He wiped his tears away and took a deep breath. "I-I'm gonna go." He said quietly. Sonic and Amy both nodded as Antoine walked away towards the hospital to see his dead wife one last time.

"Amy." Sonic began. Amy looked at him expectantly. "Are we doing the right thing?"

"Sonic! Why would you even say that! Of course we are!"

"I know it's just, we've lost so many people. Just last week most of the Chaotix, Rouge and Rotor lost their lives for our cause. Our friends and family are all dying around us. Today it was Bunnie and Sally. I can't stand to lose anyone else. I ... I can't stand to lose you or Tails, too!"

Amy smiled weakly at Sonic. "I'm not going anywhere Sonic. I'll always be right," she poked his heart, "here."

Sonic frowned at Amy. "That's not what I meant Amy!"

Amy sighed and shook her head at him. "I'm not going anywhere Sonic. I'll be here until the end. I promise. But you have to promise too!" She held up her pinky to Sonic.

"Seriously Amy? A pinky promise?"

"Sonic!"

"Okay. Okay. Fine." He grabbed her pinky with his own and sighed. The two hedgehogs resting their foreheads on the other in silence, temporarily ignoring the calamity going on around them. Amy sighed, and pulled away from Sonic as she smiled at him.

"I'm gonna go help the cook make dinner. You should go see Dr. Quack." She said as she waved goodbye.

Sonic sighed, he had something else he needed to do first. He carefully trekked through the camp and found Shadow, Knuckles, Tails, Nicole and Tikal all in their makeshift conference room. Nicole had pulled up schematic's for one of Robotniks robot factories. She had been talking to the group in a hushed tone. Sonic knocked on a nearby pillar, alerting them of his presence. "Hey." He said quietly.

The group murmured their greetings, and all fell silent between the group. Sonic walked towards a chair and sat down with a groan from the pain he was in. He looked down at the ground and everyone waited for him to gather his wits and say something to break the silence.

He coughed and then began. "We need to talk. We've been suffering these past few years and we've all suffered terrible losses today." He began. "I know it's hard, but we've got to stay strong and not give up the fight. With that being said, Sally is dead. She was a dear friend and the most brilliant strategist we could hope for. I do think, that even with her gone we should vote for a new leader to help rally the troops and plan our next move."

Nicole gasped in shock and almost fell over at the news that her best friend had passed away. Tails, who was standing next to her, caught her before she fell to the ground. Her lip trembled and she began to cry softly. As Tails helped Nicole to her feet he spoke up, "Sonic, I think you should be our new leader, at least for now. It only makes sense since you've always been the leader whenever Sally was away." He looked around the room for support. Tikal and Knuckles nodded in agreement. Shadow stayed absolutely still.

"Uhh guys, I'm not really a good leader. That was Sally's thing, not mine. I did it when I had to, sure, but this is different!" Sonic said nervously. Truth be told he thought at this point Shadow or Nicole would be a better tactician and leader than him.

Shadow looked at Sonic, "I don't think you should be the leader, but what everyone needs right now is a hero, so I say majority rules here. Just prove to me you have what it takes to be a good leader, and I'll follow you to the end."

"Then it's agreed." Knuckles said. "So Sonic, what's the plan? How are we gonna end this war?"

Sonic looked at his friends and bit his lip. "I ... I don't know. I guess we should separate into three teams tomorrow, one team should be on the front lines more or less as a decoy, luring Robotnik off track, while some of our power hitter's scout and find his factories, then blow them up so he can't produce robots as fast. That should give us the edge we need to win this war. But I'm not sure, because ..."

Knuckles interjected and said, "Sounds like a good enough plan to me."

Nicole nodded through her tears and she added, "I would like to point out that in order to help fool Robotnik, Sonic should be on the front lines this time. If Robotnik sees Sonic there, he might not think we have two different sneak attacks planned."

"Okay." Sonic said slowly. "Knuckles and Shadow, you lead the team to blow up the spare factories, Tikal you stay here to help the injured, Nicole, can I trust you to lead the another search team?"

Nicole nodded. "Of course Sonic." She said.

Tails looked at Sonic expectantly. Sonic shook his head. "Sorry buddy. It's too dangerous for you."

Tails pouted unhappily, but Sonic placed his hand on his younger brothers shoulder. "I need you to stay here, to help keep up moral support from the citizens, and help whoever is left to fortify our defenses."

Tails sighed, "I really wanted to help you."

"I know, bud." Sonic hugged his younger brother and Tails hugged him back. Their embrace lasted for a short while before Sonic grinned mischievously as he tousled his younger brothers fur, causing Tails to groan, annoyed.

There was a moment of silence, then Nicole spoke. "It's late," Nicole said, "We should all get our dinner and go to bed. I'll take first watch."

Knuckles stretched and yawned, "Okay." He left the room. Slowly everyone else trickled out, to get some much needed food and rest for the next day.

Soon Sonic was the only one in the room. He rested his head on the table in silence. Usually he was so full of energy but as of late he was drained both mentally and physically. He shut his eyes for a few minutes and drifted off into a light dreamless sleep. He woke up when he felt someone shaking him. It was Amy with a tray of food. Amy sat next to Sonic as he quickly at the measly meal in silence. Amy then helped Sonic stand up and walked him down to the medic bay. They stood in the doorway and Sonic looked Amy in the eyes. "You'd better not get yourself killed tomorrow." He said.

"Same goes for you." Amy replied teasingly.

"I mean it Ames. I don't know what I'd do without you." He placed his hand gently on her cheek, caressing it and finally inhaled her sweet scent, before their lips made contact. the kiss was sweet and slow. Amy moaned happily, and Sonic held her close to him. After a good minute, they both pulled away, and Sonic hugged Amy tightly. He had a weird feeling in his chest, like this might be the last time he'd ever see her alive. He didn't want to let go, but he did.

He limped into the room and lied on the table so Doctor Quack could remove the shrapnel in his legs and back, give him some pain killers and stitch him up to where he'd be somewhat able to fight the next morning. He drifted in and out of sleep as he was worked on. It was almost four in the morning when Doctor Quack was finished.

Sonic woke up suddenly in his room. He sat up and stared at the floor lost in thought. "Tomorrow is gonna be hell." He muttered under his breath. Then his eyelids closed once more, trying to catch just a little more sleep before what would be the final battle against Robotnik.