Running Out of Time

Amy was dying.

Her mind knew it, her body knew it and everyone on Mobius knew it as well. Well, anyone inside the Tommy Turtle Memorial Hospital at least plus her friends outside it. Friends who came and went at will, but sporadically at that. It was a waiting game now. Hopefully there'd be some final warning, some final announcement that she was about to pass through death's door but until then, all she could do was wait and sit for that door to open.

"Ah, Miss Rose. How are you feeling today?"

Or the room to her ward at least.

The hedgehog looked up from her bed, struggling to rest her back against the pillows behind her. A quack had just walked in. Doctor Quack in actual fact. Same beak, same eye patch, same cane…

"Fine doc."

"Now now Amy, there's no need for lies."

And the same attitude.

"Well, let's see…" the hedgehog mused. "My lungs feel like they're on fire, by bones feel like they've got fire-ants in them and I can't even hold my piko piko hammer any more. Oh, and I really need some new books loaned to me because believe it or not, I've read them all."

"So basically you're feeling the same then," the duck said, making a note on his clipboard. "Excellent."

Amy stared at him.

"All things considered…" the doctor added in an undertone.

Amy sighed, then gasped for breath, then laid back on her pillow and turned her head to the window. She was used to Quack by now. She'd had over a decade to get used to the mobian. As she'd got used to everyone in Knothole, to Mobotropolis, to Knothole again, to New Mobotropolis, to…well, quite a few places by the time Robotnik was defeated once and for all. Now she had to get used to the fact that she wouldn't be around long enough to enjoy any of the benefits.

"Well, I'll be going then," Quack said. "I'll try and get some more books delivered to you. Maybe another-…"

"Not romance," Amy murmured. "I'm sick of that."

"Really? There was this book released about a dog mobian and a bat mobian that sparkles and-…"

"Sally's read that," came a voice. "Wasn't her thing."

What in the…?

Amy slowly turned her head. It was harder than usual. Which was odd. Because right now, she actually had motivation. Her ears were thumping, her head was pounding and perhaps because of this, she didn't hear whatever words passed between Doctor Quack and the visitor. But either way, she managed to turn back towards the door. To see the doctor had left, and who her visitor was.

Sonic…

It was hard to believe. True, she'd seen dragons, robians, heck, even aliens, but seeing the hedgehog standing there, it was…unexpected.

"Hello Amy."

"Um…hi."

Not only was this unexpected, this was awkward as well. Even as Sonic pulled up a seat and sat on it, leaning against its spine, it was…

"So, how you feeling?"

"Fine…fine…"

It was a lie. Up until now, the whole imminent death thing might have still fallen into the realm of "fine" or "alright." But with Sonic here…King Sonic now, thank you very much, Amy's status had moved out of "fine" and entered "OMG, OMG!" Or "OA." She could take Aurora's name in vain all she wanted now.

"Good to hear…"

It was clear that Sonic was feeling as awkward as Amy was. It was cold comfort.

"Sally and the kids okay?" Amy asked eventually.

"Yeah, they're fine. Sally can handle the dual ruling/motherhood for a bit. Got some time off to come visit."

"I'm thrilled."

It wasn't sarcasm. But it wasn't the truth either. All in all, Amy didn't mind not ending up with her idol/friend/love interest. She'd held onto hope for years. Watched as Sonic seemed to end up with everyone from Fiona to Mina at some point in time before ending up with Sally. There was never any one, soul crushing moment for her, simply the acceptance that her…feelings would be unrequited. Feelings that right now, after months of reflection, she didn't know were love or not. Sonic had never given her the chance to really find out.

"You know…" Sonic began slowly. "Didn't expect to see you on a death bed this early."

Yet she couldn't hate him for it.

"I mean…we've lost people. Some even younger. But…"

"Fangirl to Freedom Fighter," Amy mused.

Sonic stared at her.

"Tails used that term. How is he anyway?"

"Trying to avoid Ash ever since he and Mina got together." Sonic let out a small smile. "Poor kid. He can't hide away with his machines anymore."

"Could take the Tornado. Last I checked, mongeese didn't fly."

"Mongooses."

Amy rolled her eyes. She didn't care about grammar. And besides, all this talking was making her throat sore.

It was strange, really. After all that had happened, no-one had really brought out the Death Egg in the room. Why she was here. Why she had brought it on herself. Why the whole dying thing was her own fault. The whole issue of making a wish to be older through the Ring of Acorns, getting said wish granted so that she could travel to Station Square. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. New look, new weapon, her foot in the Freedom Fighter door. Heck, she was even physically closer in age to her idol. But apparently making wishes on rings had side effects. Side effects that in her case included accelerated ageing, to the point where while she was chronologically in her twenties, she was physically in her eighties or nineties by now. It was all up in the air. She'd sped through her life all to burn it all up in the course of a decade. Super speed or a different kind.

Amy looked at Sonic. If she hadn't met him…would she have done the same? Suppose everything was in the same in Knothole, that everything would have played out with or without his presence…would she have made the wish? She didn't know. And she wouldn't ask. But the silence was deafening, and she needed to break it.

"Tell me something," the pink hedgehog began. "Do you ever feel the need to…slow down?"

"What?" Sonic asked.

"You know…slow down. As in, life," Amy mused. "I mean…well, let's face it, guys and girls like us…we always lived to take down Robotnik and every other tyrant on Mobius, right? What's it like, the whole, ruling a kingdom thing? No badguys to fight?"

"It sucks."

Amy blinked. She'd expected the answer. But not so suddenly or bluntly.

"Oh sure, I've got Sally, Sonia and Manik," the now king continued. "But…well, what's there to say? I'm trapped. I'm stuck. I spent most of my life speeding through it, going from one crisis to another. It's as if I took down Robotnik too quickly."

Amy nodded. She knew the feeling. She'd run through her own years to get a position and had now lost decades in the process.

"Still…we had fun, eh?" Sonic asked. He smiled. "Friendship lasts forever, right?"

Amy opened her mouth…then closed it. She'd wanted to ask whether love did. Whether there was any part of that friendship that actually went beyond. But she remained silent. Part of her was afraid of what the answer might be. The other part didn't want to hurt her friend. Not now. Not when he'd come to see her.

"Sure," Amy said, taking Sonic's hand. "Friendship lasts forever."

A/N

It's hard to say exactly where the idea for this oneshot originated from. However, I'd say the primary catalyst was the realization that Amy has never made an appearence in the Mobius: X Years Later series and to my knowledge, has never been referenced either. Granted, numerous other characters have gone without an appearence/mention, but considering her past status as a Freedom Fighter, it did strike me as a bit strange. Anyway, that, combined with my twisted mind putting a spin on the Ring of Acorns thing, I came up with this. Go figure.