Epilogue
"Whoa, eight kinds of potatoes!" exclaimed Charmy, tying a napkin around his neck and smacking his lips hungrily.
"And there's roast beef, turkey, biscuits, cranberry sauce…" Silver shook his head. "Honestly, Amy. You just got out of the hospital!"
"Nonsense!" Amy said cheerfully. "It's Christmas! Besides, the girls are helping me in the kitchen anyway." At this, Cream poked her head out of the kitchen followed by Blaze and Rouge.
"Really, Amy. We can handle the rest of dinner. You sit down!" Blaze pulled out a chair for Amy to sit. "The doctor said you need to relax!" But Amy waved her hand impatiently as if shooing flies. As she turned to go back into the kitchen, Amy was swept off her feet so fast; she thought that her knees buckled. But she found herself being held in Sonic's arms.
"Sonic!" she laughed, trying to get herself out of his grip. "No, really! It's not any trouble…"
Sonic ignored her and waltzed around the room as if wondering where to toss his load. His mimed looking under the rug and under the table, and cracked everyone up as they cheered for Sonic. Amy laughed out loud – something Sonic hadn't heard her do in a while. He finally tossed her gently on the couch and proceeded to wrap her up in blankets tightly. She looked at him through laughing eyes.
"Now," he spoke as if addressing a kindergartener. "You stay here wike a good wittle girl, and then you can have some yummy applesauce if you take your nap."
Amy struggled against the tight blankets to no avail. "This isn't funny, guys!" Everyone clearly thought otherwise, they laughed hysterically. "I'm the only one who knows where the desserts are!" she added.
A hush fell over the house – so quiet you could hear a pin drop. They looked at each other nervously.
Tails jumped up. "Sonic, quick! Untie her!"
The house was filled with merriment and laughter throughout dinner. The only thing anyone could seem to talk about was what had happened in the past two weeks. Sonic didn't seem to want to dwell on the subject, but Amy listened to his story the most intently, wanting to know every single detail about what he did and what he thought. When his story was finished and everyone started yakking again, Amy squeezed his hand under the table.
Dessert was accompanied by lovely piano Christmas carols provided by Amy herself. "I said I was going to play on Christmas, didn't I?" she had said, giving Sonic a mischievous smile. They munched Christmas cookies, cakes and pies as they were entranced with Amy's beautiful voice. Her fingers glided over the ebony keys gracefully, as if she had never been injured. All Sonic saw sitting at the piano bench was God's most beautiful angel, lifting her voice towards heaven. She definitely could have passed as one.
As she played, Sonic sighed and leaned his head back on the armchair. He cracked one eye open and noticed Rouge and Knuckles sitting on the couch together. Rouge was trying to shove a Santa hat on his head, and Knuckles was trying very hard to avoid that silly thing.
Rouge had totally gone over the top this holiday. She wore an elf costume, but not just any old costume. No, we're talking green elf mini-skirt and red and white striped tights. She wore a green and red cute top and a green elf hat with bells on the ends. Her shoes were green and curled, and had a bell attached to each end. She kept saying "Knuckles, how can there be an elf with no Santa?"
Silver sat cross-legged at the front of the fireplace next the Blaze. The purple cat leaned her heavy head on his shoulder, and Silver pretended not to notice. Tails was still stuffing his face with Amy's cookies, but when he noticed Sonic was watching him, he gave one "thumbs-up" and went back to his cookies. The Chaotix team was happily joining Tails in their indulging of cookies, talking with their mouths full – crumbs tumbled out. The fire was so peaceful, casting a warm glow on everything it touched.
Sonic sighed and got up out of the chair. He couldn't explain the sudden emptiness he felt at that moment. He knew he needed to do something…but what? The blue hedgehog walked out the door and crunched through the whiteness. A light snow began to fall and chill him a little. He could still smell the fire from the chimney and it calmed him. The past emotional events were starting to catch up with him.
"Sonic!"
Sonic's ears perked happily – he knew that voice. He turned around to see Amy trotting up to him crunching through the snow, wearing her earmuffs, scarf, boots and coat. She blew into her red mittens as she reached him. She was carrying something.
"I've been looking for you! Wait till you see what we got!" she held out a postcard with a happy-looking dark blue hedgehog on the cover, giving the "thumbs-up".
Sonic laughed. "It's Mel!" He quickly turned the postcard over and read:
Dear Sonic, Amy, and friends,
A Merry Christmas to all of you! I hope you are all well and enjoying our Christ's birthday! Amy – I hope you are feeling better. I have a present for all of you, tell your friends. Sonic – thank you for this wonderful gift, my friend. Ruling the kingdom…I feel honored. And I wish I could say more, but these postcards do not offer much space. I am coming to visit as soon as I can, my friends.
With peace, love, and glorious Christmas pies,
Mel
Sonic smiled. The emptiness inside of him melted away with word from his friend. Amy smiled and held up a package. "This is from him, Sonic! We all got a present!"
She handed Sonic a green box tied up with red ribbon addressed to him from Mel. He ripped open the paper and stared at the old-looking book in his hands. Amy cocked her head quizzically. The hedgehog opened the thick cover and stared at the black and white photos within. He saw a hedgehog that looked almost exactly like him, only older looking and different quills. A female hedgehog stood next to him, and they both smiled down upon the little bundle in her arms. It was a baby hedgehog.
"This…this is me."
Amy peeked over his shoulder as he showed her the photograph. "And this is my father…and my mother…" he was almost talking to himself. They flipped through the album at the many cute pictures of Sonic and his parents. It made him feel like he now had a past, and it was sitting in his hands.
Amy turned another page to reveal blank ones. "This is only half-filled," she said. She reached between the pages and handed Sonic a small, folded piece of paper.
You know your past; it's time to fill this with your future. We love you, son.
Drops of water fell onto the note from Sonic's eyes. He couldn't stop himself – he had almost never cried before and couldn't remember the last time he did. But he was.
Amy was crying, too. "Oh Sonic…" she wrapped her arms around him and happily squeezed him. Sonic held the book close to his chest and hugged her back. I have a past…he thought. But where does my future lead…?
Sonic looked down at the pink angel before him. And in that moment, he knew the answer.
And that is where the most pure, passionate kiss took place in the snow on a Christmas night. In one hand, Sonic held his love and future, in the other, his parents and his past.
If you happened to go and visit Sonic today, there would only be two new things in his photo album.
The first thing would be a family Christmas picture of Knuckles wearing a Santa hat, Rouge the elf hugging his arm, the Chaotix crew and Tails still stuffed with cookies, Silver and Blaze, Cream and Cheese, Shadow complaining that he was never mentioned in the story, and in the center of it all, were Sonic and Amy. Sonic was looking up, embarrassed, and a mistletoe Amy was hanging over his head. The picture seemed to come to life and was full of it. This was his home.
As for the second object, glued to the page was a dried up yellow rose to remind Sonic of his mistake, and that whoever deserved that yellow rose was definitely not Amy. If anything, she deserved a red one.
The End.
And there you have it! THE BIG FINISH!! Again, there may be one last book in the series, so watch out! It will have to be a shorter story – I'm moving to a different state this summer. It won't be as dramatic as these past two ones…but good enough. I love you all and don't forget to comment.
Are you emotionally drained yet?
With love,
FallenRose19
Don't forget to comment! Special thanks to my readers and comment-ers! COKKIES FOR ALL!!