#shadamy fanfiction | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

momotarotea · 8 months ago

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Sonic Big Bang 2024!

So part of why I've been quiet recently is that I've been working on my contribution for the @sthbigbang event!

Of course, I had to write a Shadamy fic. I also did an illustration for my fic, as did the immensely talented @waywardvessel

@sofibeth-arts

and @morefluid-thanwater!

Working with you three was a pleasure, and I hope you all enjoy the finished piece!

If you'd rather read this on AO3, here's the link!

Without further adieu, I hope you all enjoy ARK Angel :)

Summary: Life is a series of decisions, but what if one had gone differently? What if Amy’s pleas to Shadow on the ARK had fallen on deaf ears, and he hadn’t agreed to save the world? The only thing left to do would be to fight to save the world herself, wouldn’t it?

Discovering Shadow in an abandoned lab hadn’t been on Amy’s to-do list that day, but neither had heading into space, watching Sonic almost die, or anything else from the events of that day. With the Space Colony now plummeting headfirst towards the Earth, it seemed that she would be adding ‘begging Shadow to save the human race’ to her impromptu list of tasks, too.

She’d stopped in the corridor to give herself a pep talk when she’d spotted him - fear having gripped her momentarily at the sight of the pitch-furred hedgehog. After a deep inhale to steel herself, she darted over to him at the window, a fire in her stomach and determination on her face. Every step made her feel like her heart was going to beat out of her chest. He’d been nothing but trouble for her friends up to this point, and whether it had been intentional or not, she couldn’t help but hold it against him. He’d framed Sonic for his wrong-doings, tried to stop them at every turn, and now, he had refused to go with the others when they had rushed to the cannon’s core in an attempt to stop the ARK from destroying their world. She hated to admit it, but deep down, she knew he was the only hope. He was the only one who knew the space colony well enough to do anything meaningful in the time they had left - but getting his help would be no small feat.

“Shadow, we need you!” She yelled, practically tripping over her own feet to come to a halt next to him. She couldn’t back out on her plea now. He would either refuse, or save them all. There were no half measures here.

His eyes - the colour of blood, and just as spine-chilling - swept over the expanse of space before him, turning to her. “It’s all going according to plan,” he murmured, fixing her on the spot with a withering glare. “There is no reason for me to help them. Besides, there’s no way to save anyone.”

He was so matter-of-fact. So cold and clinical about so many lives being taken away for a crime committed years ago, by a handful of people who may not even still be alive… Did he not see what he was doing? What he was allowing to unfold? His life so far hadn’t been easy, by any stretch of the imagination, but to destroy the Earth over it?

“There has to be!” She found herself blurting, her fists balled at her chest, “I know that people fight over the most trivial things,” she began, voice wavering and tentative, “Some people…” She continued, trying to pick her words carefully and think before she spoke, as she so often didn’t. Rage would not get the better of Amy Rose today. “…may be selfish like the professor said… But they’re basically good. If they try their best and never give up on their wishes… They always have a reason to be happy.”

The pink hedgehog paused for a moment, trying to gauge Shadow’s reaction to her words so far. His face was hard to read, stoic and brooding as he was, and with the whirlwind of emotions swirling in her head she was struggling to separate the facade of nonchalance from any underlying emotion or sign of doubt. She swallowed hard, brows furrowing, as she put the last pieces of her plea together. Her nails bit into the palms of her hands, a tentative step forward bringing her closer to him as she pleaded, “That’s why you should help them out! Saving them is a good thing! Shadow, I beg you, please do it for them. Give them a chance!”

The lab fell into near silence, the only sounds the beeping of long-abandoned equipment and echoes of Amy’s voice as it faded away in the enormity of the room.

His eyes hadn’t left hers, not for a moment, but now, they flickered over her, regarding her as if this was the first time he had seen her, and she had just asked the world of him.

Now that she thought about it, that wasn’t far from the truth.

He turned back to the window. She searched his face for an answer - for even an incline of what he may say - but he gave away nothing. Instead, Shadow closed his eyes.The air felt thin, time seeming to fray and threatening to snap. It couldn’t have been longer than a moment, but to Amy, it felt like eternity.

Then, his face twisted in a sneer.

“No.”

Amy gasped as Shadow’s eyes opened. She could feel the hate wash over her.

“You talk about what they want, their hopes and dreams and wishes - but what about mine? Am I supposed to give up, to pander to people who have sought to harm me? To use me?” His expression darkened, shifting to something that sent a chill down her spine. “Why should I?”

He snarled, turning sharply to face her head on. “Why should I save them? These people who, by your own admission, are selfish?”

“That’s not what I-”

“I won’t help them. They can all go to hell!”

Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, welling and threatening to fall. She’d shrunk further away from him with each word, feeling less and less like she was capable of changing his mind, and more like she was being scolded for her naivety. Blood rushed in her ears, the pounding of her heart deafening her as the fire she had felt in her stomach was all but put out by his words raining down around her.

She’d failed. Fallen short.

But somehow… something told her she couldn’t just give in. Laying down and taking whatever she was given wasn’t her style. Maybe once upon a time, but not now.

“But Shadow, I know that under all of the pain you're good! I know you-”

“You know nothing!” He spat, quills bristling as a sharp, derisive followed. “You want to save them? Do it yourself.”

The fire roared. It licked against her insides, boiling her blood and building pressure in her system. It was like her veins were no longer for transporting oxygen - they were a part of a boiler system that was over pressurised, and the safety valve was ripped away. She was ready to blow, and unfortunately for Shadow, he’d blocked the last outlet for her steam.

She realised what she’d done when the palm of her hand started stinging, and his face snapped towards the glass he stood in front of. She’d slapped him. Hard. So hard, in fact, that there was already a red handprint forming on the side of his muzzle. It looked sore, and any other time, she would have apologised profusely - but the rage that still simmered forbade her from showing remorse. Before he could retaliate, she found herself racing out of the lab and down the hallway in the direction her friends had taken, straight for the Cannon Core.

The soles of her boots on the sheet metal of the floor drummed in her head, seeming to sync with her thundering blood. Every second mattered. Gerald had given them twenty-seven minutes. Some of that time had already slipped through her fingers, so Chaos only knew how long she had now.

The walkway she was on came to a junction, causing her to slow and eventually stop. The corridor had split in two, open doorways yawning to the left and right with no clear indication as to which was the way to the cannon core. To the left, purple walls and strobing lights lit glass floors and moving platforms, while the right glowed an ominous red, the hexagonal pathway seeming to go on forever.

“Red means danger,” she murmured to no one in particular, taking a tentative step towards the right-hand door. Rings of light seemed to race up the walls towards the entryway. It was almost as if they were trying to push her away and convince her to go down the other route, but that just served to convince Amy that this had to be the right way. Of course the mad scientist who had set the ARK on a crash course with the Earth would want to keep people away from the metaphorical off switch for his plan.

With a quick scan of the corridor she found a rail that ran along the roof, with a handle hanging from it. If it did what she thought it did, it could be a quicker way to traverse the tunnel before her. Manoeuvring herself to see further down the twists and turns and realising she couldn’t see the end, or even the light that might mark it, she concluded that any boost to speed she could give herself would be a welcome one. With that in mind, she backed up a few steps and ran, leaping for the handle. The jolt of inertia was enough to slide along the rail, and before long, she was travelling at a good pace.

The tunnel twisted, throwing her violently in one direction, and then the other, with lights flashing and dissipating all the while. It was making her feel queasy. In desperation, she shut her eyes tight in hopes of a temporary reprieve, but the lights came to a sudden stop. She cracked an eye open, squinting to get a better look at where the light ended, to see where the rail went once the transition to black was made, but with horror she realised it was the open expanse of a new room, cyan sparks of electricity punctuating the otherwise pitch black. The rail came to an abrupt halt, the handle hitting the stop plate at the end with a thunk, and she was flung forward into the empty air.

Amy shrieked, the possibility that this was her end, not the collision with the Earth, briefly filling her head as she searched for something to grab or land on. Columns hung from the ceiling, too far away for her to use to stop her descent, and all around her was nothing but blackness. A void.

But, as her limbs wheeled, panic rising, she saw the familiar glow of the tunnel she had been launched from. Had she tipped forward? Rolled in the air somehow to look back at where she’d come from? No, she couldn’t have. The columns were still above her - this had to be new. That, and now that she was thinking more critically, this new light was more orange than red. That had to be the way forward.

Below her was a stone outcrop that stopped just before the orange room. That was her target but she was falling fast. Landing wouldn’t be as easy as it sounded. Not without an injury, anyway.

She’d seen Sonic spindash his way out of situations like this before, but he normally had an enemy to aim for. Whoever had been here before had done a good job of clearing out any hostiles - too good a job. If she could just slow her fall somehow, then she could land without fear of breaking a leg - or worse.

Then it hit her. Her hammer. She’d used it before to make a small wind tunnel. If she could just time it properly, she could decelerate just before she made contact with the ground.

She held out her hands, her signature hammer appearing in her grip with a plume of smoke that was quickly whisked away as she gained speed. Once her vision cleared, she took stock again. She needed to act in five… four… three… two-

Panic struck her. She’d over estimated. The ground was approaching faster than she had expected. Eyes wide, veins icy with dread, she hefted the hammer, swinging it as hard and fast as she could in a circular motion.

A gust of air caught her. She slowed. And, with only a few quills windswept and out of place, she landed. With a deep exhale, shoulders dropping in relief, she allowed herself a moment to gather herself before taking on the next section of her journey.

Amy shook herself. She had to get moving again - the ARK was still plummeting. The Earth was still in danger. And, as much as she trusted and admired Sonic, she wasn’t sure he could do it on his own this time.

The path ahead was maybe ten feet long before it dropped into a chasm. Why there was such a large pit inside a space colony, she didn’t know, but it was going to be difficult to get over. A running start wouldn’t go amiss, but even an olympic long jumper would have trouble with a gap so wide.

Absently, she hefted the hammer, flipping it in her hand as she puzzled over her dilemma. If only she could use something like an enemy as a stepping stone, or-

She paused, closely inspecting the hammer in her hand. An idea flickered in her mind like a lightbulb. That might just do it.

She shook out her arms and hands, leaning forward and focusing on the glow of the next room. This jump had only two outcomes - suicide or success - and she had to have the confidence to make sure it was the latter.

Rearing back and filling her lungs with the stagnant air of the chamber, Amy committed to her stunt, surging forward and charging at the crevasse. Her whole body felt like it was pulsing. Between her heartbeat, the cadence of her feet and adrenaline, she didn’t know which to blame.

As the end of the stone walkway approached, her mind’s eye replaced it with the white line of a long jump pit, and a yell tore from her throat. She threw herself into the abyss, leaping with all the strength she could in hopes that it would reduce how long she would have to spin her hammer. It was a new skill after all, so the less she had to rely on it, the better.

She sailed through the air, the grip on her hammer turning her knuckles white; it would sting once she let go, but she was too terrified of dropping it. There was still so far to go, so much nothing to cross over, but she could feel that her fall had begun.

With everything she had, Amy swung the hammer, letting herself twist with it in the air and hoping to land on solid ground.

One,

Two,

Three full rotations, and she could feel herself getting dizzy. Keeping her eyes open had been a mistake for her stomach, which churned and protested, but she wouldn’t know when to stop otherwise.

Four,

Five

Six rotations. The longer she spun, the more she felt like maybe she’d missed the edge, and was just spiralling into the void of nothing below, but something told her that she had to persevere. There seemed to be more and more orange in her blurry view of the world, which surely meant was at least close to the other side.

One…

More…

Turn…

She slowed, stopped, and staggered, the world still spinning even though she wasn’t. She’d made it. Her idea, insane as it was, had worked, and as her vision cleared the orange glow she had aimed for snapped into focus. What had once been an octagonal tunnel, now squared off with panels of glass, pulsed with amber light.

Her heels clicked a staccato against the floor as she wobbled away from her landing spot, head swimming and hands shaky. Amy’s grip on her hammer faltered, the weapon slipping from her fingers and disappearing in a puff of smoke, and all she could do was watch. Much more effort might bring about another appearance of her breakfast, which wasn’t something she was keen to experience.

With each step, the haze of dizziness cleared. It was like she was wading through the last of a thick fog, finally emerging into the light of day. Unfortunate that the daylight in question was only the rest of the room, not the end of her journey, but at least the end was approaching.

The back of the room split off into a T junction. To the right was a dead end, while the left path gave way to a room of shifting, spinning cubes and display panels that showed only the same amber light of the previous rooms swishing back and forth.

Now that her stomach had settled, Amy risked picking up the pace, following the corridor as it curved to the right. Cubes tumbled in the air, bathing her in their warm glow - but she had no time to enjoy it. Chaos only knew how long she had left before the ARK would collide with the Earth -or if she’d be able to stop the collision - but she had to try. Just because Shadow had refused to help, that didn’t mean she had to accept her fate. She could do this. She had to believe she could, because if she couldn’t, then-

The familiar sound of her heels on glass gave way to sloshing and a low buzzing sound. She’d been so preoccupied with her fate, so focused on her goal that she hadn’t realised she was in a new area. Three inches of fluid lapped against the soles of her shoes, the translucent amber liquid looking like it belonged in a reactor, not on the floor. The unnatural, tangerine hue almost gave her pause, but as she splashed through it she found herself having to think fast once more.

Lazers and a metal barrier barred her way. She estimated that she would be able to slide under the barricade if she timed it right, and that the chance of getting the amber liquid on her skin - or worse, in her eyes or mouth - was worth the risk. She sped up, running until she was maybe two feet away from the lazer-wall and dropping into a slide.

Her nose grazed the metal, but she was under, and otherwise unharmed. Much to her relief, the liquid that coated the floor didn’t seem to be acidic, either, but for the time being that was the least of her concerns.

Before her was a six foot wall, edged in the same metal as the barrier was made of, and no other direction to go. She knew she couldn’t jump that high. If she were lucky, and had a decent start, she might be able to get enough of a grip with her fingers to haul herself up. Possibles and maybes didn’t save the world, she knew, but neither did people who didn’t at least try against the odds.

Backtracking as close to the lasers as she dared, she eyed the run-up she’d given herself. It should be enough.

Would be enough.

Had to be enough.

Filling her lungs, she rocked back. A fizzing sound and the smell of burning quills rolled over her. Too far. With a flinch and a quick pat of the affected area, she squared her shoulders, and took another deep breath…

Before running full speed at the wall.

She charged, picking up as much speed as she dared before hurling herself upwards towards the ledge.

Her body slammed into the wall, chest and ribs screaming with the impact, but the tips of her fingers had caught on the ledge, holding her against the frigid surface. She wheezed in a breath, grimacing as she did, and walked the fingers of one hand onto the ledge until her palm sat against it. She repeated the process once she was sure her grip was sound, slowly grappling her way onto the surface until she was able to swing a leg up and roll onto the floor, panting with the exertion.

Amy wanted to stay there. Sprawled on the floor, where the fate of the world wasn’t in her hands, and nothing more was needed of her, but she couldn’t do that. Even if Sonic could do this without her, she was sick of being the extra. The back up. The ‘just in case’. But not any more. That was going to change.

She staggered to her feet, bathed in the crimson glow of the next corridor. It looked so similar to the first, but even though it had only been a few minutes since, that first rail ride felt a lifetime away.

She crossed the threshold at a run, feeling the slope of the floor dip down towards the heart of the ARK. She was ready for this. She was going to make a difference.

The ground levelled out sharply, more of the amber swill from a few rooms ago coming into view in a roiling torrent past a sheer drop - one that she knew now that she could traverse with ease, thanks to her hammer. With a hop, skip, and a jump, she launched herself into the air, and realised just how far she would need to go.

From this angle, she saw that the orange flow rushed towards her, cascading down and away from where she assumed she needed to be. But, it plateaued - and presumably, flowed in the opposite direction on the other side.

Smoke billowed around her as the hammer materialised, but quickly dispersed as she spun in the practised cyclone that had delivered her safely across the chasm before.

The world around her was a blur, flashes of colour and light that only made sense when she broke from the tornado she had created and let herself take it all in. She could see now that she had been right about the flow of water. It did flow the other way, with an equally steep slope that flowed into a pipe. That had to be it. The inlet to the canon core.

Her trajectory landed her just past the section of level ground, a few paces into the decline, and the flow swept her off her feet with a splash. Control would be hard won, she realised, as her form took the path of least resistance, swerving from left to right at an increasingly alarming pace. When her body started to rotate, threatening to have her careen down the space-age log flume head first, she felt her heart skip a beat. Relinquishing the control of her direction was one thing, but her orientation was something that wasn’t up for debate.

Small adjustments to compensate for the swivel seemed to keep her facing the right direction, much to her relief. “Thank Gaia,” she found herself whispering, hoping that her small praise would be enough to convince any higher power that she was grateful for this mercy, and to continue sending it her way.

A crackle filled the air, the sound of an intercom creaking to life. Amy glanced around to find the speaker, even though she knew it would be of no use to her to know where it was. She was left only with the sound of a vaguely familiar voice echoing around the pipe she was stuck in.

“All of you ungrateful humans,” it began, tone foreboding and morose. Was that… the scientist? The one who had made Shadow? “Who took everything from me…” It was! A recording of him couldn’t mean anything good. She found herself searching frantically for an exit; Something in her chest told her she needed to get out of this tunnel. “Will feel my loss, and despair!”

As the last of Gerald's announcement ricocheted around her, her body was thrown around the curve of the pipe and light winked into existence in front of her. It was the end of the water way, she realised, but not quickly enough to avoid being dumped onto the floor unceremoniously.

She groaned, checking where her limbs had contacted the ground for any signs of damage - it was mostly small cuts and scrapes, but she had the feeling there would be bruises in more places tomorrow - and dusted herself down, rising to her feet cautiously.

There it was. The cannon core. And between her and it were Sonic, Knuckles, and-

“What in Chaos’ name is that!?” Amy shrieked. She had seen some sights in her time, but this? It was grotesque. Calling it anything else fell short of the true horror of the lumbering beast that shook the ground with each step. Its skin seemed to pool around its joints and feet, like it had an excess of it that refused to slough off despite its best efforts. Tubes protruded from all over its body at odd angles, leaving wounds that looked jagged and inflamed, ready to rupture at any moment.

The least offensive part of this behemoth was the canister on its back full of fluorescent green liquid that sloshed with every movement, the glow it provided highlighting the folds and wrinkles of the too-loose skin that covered its body.

Between the disgusting lifeform in front of her and the fear writhing like a snake in her stomach, retaining her lunch had become no easy feat. But, she was convinced that adrenaline was the only thing keeping her from vomiting.

“Amy!? What are you doing here!?” Sonic yelled, incredulity and fear clear in the crack of his voice.

“I asked Shadow to help us, and he refused,” she proffered, holding her hands out and summoning her Piko Piko hammer. “So I came to help instead.”

“No, no way,” the blue hedgehog said, shaking his head. “You need to go back and-”

A roar interrupted him, the beast clearly annoyed that it was being ignored.

“We don’t have time to argue!” She spat back, hefting the hammer and looking to Knuckles for back up. If anyone would understand, it would be him.

The echidna looked between his friends, knowing that by supporting Amy, he would put her in harm’s way, but by supporting Sonic, he would give Amy the impression he didn’t believe she was capable of helping them. He gave an irritated sigh, and turned to Sonic. “She’s right, we have to get the Master Emerald into that shrine now or we’re all toast! Amy,” he turned to her, violet eyes burning, “You need to keep that thing busy while Sonic and I get to the shrine - think you can do that?”

She nodded curtly, her expression settling into one of conviction as she focused on the monster that lumbered towards them now, trying to decide if she was insane for agreeing to this, or brave for even trying. For now, she would go with the latter.

As her friends raced for the shrine, a heaviness settled on her chest. Her blood felt cold, like she'd had a bucket of water dumped over her and the raging inferno she had stoked when she began this journey had been drowned. This thing was horrifying. Even its movements seemed unnatural, like its muscles weren't intended for its skeleton, and every stuttering step made the loose skin of its joints undulate sickeningly.

She choked back the bile that rose in her throat, refusing to take her eyes off it on principle alone. It probably already knew she was terrified, already knew that she wanted to turn tail and run until her lungs screamed for her to stop - but she wouldn’t. Not today.

Her hammer felt leaden in her grip. The weight of the world, of her friends lives, of her own future - they all seemed present in its heft. She took a shaky step forward, feeling the fear rise but knowing she couldn't let it overwhelm her. Another step followed the first, the façade of confidence settling over her like a warm, comforting blanket.

This was it. Her chance to prove herself. “Never fear,” she began, swiping the hammer to her side and shifting her weight to run. “Amy Rose is here!”

The biolizard lunged for her, snapping its toothless maw. If she were any slower, it would have crushed her arm.

She ran to the right, hoping for an opening where she could hit it hard enough to at least give it pause. But the beast lumbered after her, pivoting in the shallow puddle of water it wallowed in and sending ripples over the lip with each thunderous step.

Keeping a distance between her and its mouth was Amy's top priority. Visions of what would become of her if she didn't played in her mind, and she had to physically shake her head to banish the thoughts. She needed adrenaline. Optimism. Not fear.

Amy stole a glance over her shoulder. She hadn't covered much ground, but already the monster seemed to be tiring. Its breathing was heavy. Laboured. Ragged.

How was it so tired after barely moving?

That was exactly it, it turned out. The thing barely could move, and so what little it had already managed was a gargantuan task for its body. If she could exhaust it - however briefly - that would be an advantage, one that was sorely needed.

With that in mind, Amy re-doubled her efforts, antagonising the beast by shouting over her shoulder at it. The lumbering started to slow, and it wasn't long before the biolizard came to a halt.

Steam seemed to billow from its mouth with each exhale, and each inhale seemed hard won. There it was. The opening she needed.

Skidding almost to a stop, she pivoted on a heel and ran at its side, torn for a moment on where to hit it. The side was easily accessible, fleshy, and likely to do some internal damage if she could hit it hard enough, but the pipes that wound around its form gave her pause. They had to have a purpose. Transporting something, most likely - something that it needed, or else its creator wouldn't have left them there.

Those pipes all seemed to converge on its back. Whatever they held was either flowing to or from there.

Hoping her guess was correct, Amy leapt. Her mind flashed back to her leap of faith across the chasm. But she had overcome that, just like she would overcome this.

She crested the mass of crimson flesh, her boot slipping on loose skin as she landed. The shaky breaths beneath her shifted the pipes she'd followed. Just as she thought, they all appeared to connect to a device on its back.

That had to be it.

A yellow glow pulsated atop the machine, growing brighter with each inhale, and dimming with each exhale. Surely, that wasn't a coincidence? It had to be a life support - or have at least some impact on the biolizard's continued life.

Having convinced herself, she did what she always did when all that stood between her and victory was a metal box.

She swung her hammer at it.

The familiar crunch of her hammer connecting with metal brought a smile to her lips. The device crackled with electricity, pops and fizzes an audible indicator of broken connections.

Beneath her, the biolizard screamed, its cry akin to a yowling cat, and shook itself violently enough to throw her to the ground.

She skidded across the paved pathway, scraping her shoulder in the process. But as pain pulsed through her, she couldn't help but wonder how it had been so easy to defeat something that had been touted as the ultimate life form.

And then it moved.

Toothless jaws snapped at her, missing by mere inches. She flinched away, scrambling to her feet and bolting away.

This time, the biolizard didn't make a move towards her though. It's feet were planted firmly in the murky orange pool, and no sloshing could be heard.

What she did hear, though, was scarier than any eerie silence. It was like a blockage being cleared from a pipe at high velocity, a resounding poh noise, followed by stone crunching and skittering away.

It took every ounce of courage she had to turn and look behind her.

A ball of what she could only describe as shadows tore towards her, purple energy crackling across its surface like lightning.

she threw herself out of the way, keeping her eyes trained on the monster. Its maw opened again, energy swelling in its throat, and another popping sound exploded from it, firing the orb at her.

There would be no more wearing it out. The shadows seemed capable of following her, this new ball proved, as it swerved towards her at frightening speed. Dodging was the only option.‘Think, Amy! Think, think, think!’ She chastised, eyes darting across the beast in hopes of finding an answer.

To her surprise, she found it - a cord that ran from its mouth to its back. If she was fast, and careful, she could get to its back from there to do some more damage, and avoid the shadows at the same time.

There was no time to second guess herself. Raising her hammer again, she charged, side-stepping the second orb in the nick of time. A yell tore from her throat, half from terror and half from the rising sensation in her chest that goaded her to do better, to be better - to be a hero.

She reached the cable just as a third ball started forming. With precision achieved by pure adrenaline, she made her first step onto the tube, following quickly by her second. It felt surreal. The narrowing of her focus to include only the pound of her veins, her boots on the wire as she barrelled up to its back. Her foot had been on its back for hardly a heartbeat when she slammed her hammer into the side of the still crackling unit.

The casing cracked open, chips of metal spraying from the gash. She hefted the hammer back over her head, slamming it down onto the orange dome.

Glass shattered, spraying her with shards that sliced at her arms and cheeks. She hissed, the tiny cuts stinging individually and as one, the sensation overwhelming.

A familiar rage built. One she’d experienced a thousand times before but never quite this intensely. She swung again, and again, the crumpling sound mixing with the yowling to create a truly ear-splitting cacophony. But in her rage, everything had quieted.

When the world pitched, it took a moment for her to realise why. The biolizard was shaking, trying to throw her off, but as she fell, her hammer caught on one of the pipes, jolting her to a stop.

Another yowl, the tugging clearly causing it at least some discomfort. She could feel the noise in her bones, the vibrations rattling her. But this could be worse. In fact, this could be a fantastic opportunity to end this whole thing, here and now.

Bracing her feet against its side, boots sliding on skin too big for its frame, she pulled.

The cable popped out of the socket, spraying amber ichor as it flailed, and for what she hoped was the last time today, she hit the ground.

She rolled away, knowing that she needed to dissipate the inertia if she wanted to walk away from this encounter rather than limp. Now that her hearing had returned, she could tell just how distressed it really was. The screaming and sloshing as it thrashed in what she assumed was agony was deafening - but it seemed like her ordeal was over. Now she just needed Sonic and Knuckles to get the chaos emerald back out of the shrine and-

Cobalt lightning crackled around the shrine, the master emerald pulsing with power and spinning in place. A flash of blinding light painted the chamber white and Amy threw up her arms to shield her eyes.

Before she risked opening them again, though, a roar shook her to the bone. It was the same sound as the Biolizard had made when she’d damaged it, only lower pitched.

She whirled, hammer in hand ready to deal what she hoped was the killing blow, and was met not with the defeated form she had left, but one that had reared back to let out one last yell. With the beast on its back legs the looseness of its skin was more prominent, the disproportionate nature of its form more obvious. The pressure it was exerting on its stubby legs made them shake, the open wounds all over its body weeping, blood and pus running over the ripples and folds of its body.

Her stomach churned, but before her mind could comprehend the truely sickening parts of its visage, a flash of blue enveloped it, and it was gone.

Turning back to the shrine, she took the steps two at a time, reaching Sonic and Knuckles at the Master Emerald’s plinth. “What was that?”

Sonic opened his mouth to speak, but the answer never came. The ARK pitched to the side, the artificial gravity of the ship momentarily failing, suspending them above the ground. “Since we’ve stopped the Chaos Emeralds… why is the space colony still on a crash course to Earth?” Knuckles managed before gravity kicked back in, throwing him, Sonic, and Amy to the ground.

“The prototype is still alive, and he’s controlling the space colony as its falling to Earth!” Eggman announced through the ARK’s communication system. This new information settled like a brick in Amy’s stomach as the trio staggered to their feet. She’d failed to kill the biolizard, and now, it was going to destroy the Earth anyway. All that she’d been through, all that she’d done… It was all for nothing, after all. “He’s become one with the space colony, and is determined to keep it on its collision course!”

Dumbfounded, she looked to Knuckles. He was the guardian of the Master Emerald - surely, there was something he could do? But the echidna wasted no time in turning to Sonic. The blue blur stared his friend down for a beat, his grass-green eyes flickering to Amy and back, as if considering something but discounting it before it had even had time to gestate. “I need to go super,” the hedgehog announced, taking a step towards the master Emerald. “But I don’t know if I can do this on my own.”

Her body moved before her mind could catch it. The pink hedgehog stepped forward, hammer evaporating into smoke, hands balling to fists. “Let me try, too!” There was no room for argument in her tone, but that didn’t stop her blue beau from trying.

“Ames, no, you can’t-”

“You don’t know that! Just because I haven’t before doesn’t mean I can’t!” His eyes were wide with shock, and something else. Awe, she hoped, but equally it could have been disbelief. When he sighed and held his hand out for her to take, though, she knew it didn’t matter. He was going to let her try, and that meant that at the very least, he believed there was a chance.

She took it, the pair raising their hands above their heads and studying the ceiling of the shrine. Like icicles forming on a window sill, their energy seeped from the stonework, forming the seven gems that had started this mess, and would give them the power to end it.

The emeralds descended, hovering for a moment before spinning faster and faster around them.

She could feel it. The tumultuous power, crashing into her like waves. The eddies lapped at her, like ice water around her ankles, and rose steadily until she thought she might drown. The emeralds were moving so fast now that they were a blur. It was impossible to tell one from another. Another wave of chaos energy crashed into her, almost knocking her to her knees - but she stood strong in its onslaught, feeling the cold sink past her skin, chill her blood and freeze her bones.

White light flashed from between them, hands separating as the power split. Sonic glowed with the golden light of his super form, and Amy too shone, but with a rose-tinted gold of her own. The frigid chill of chaos energy was nothing like her own rage. So alien, so… different. So… other. It was somehow both exhilarating and terrifying.

Sonic seemed to take it all in his stride - but then, he had been super before, hadn’t he? She’d always wondered what it felt like, and now that she had experienced it, she could understand how he used this power to save the world all those times before.

Sonic shot her his signature cocky grin, pointing to the roof. Up and out. She nodded, and the duo crouched in unison, extending their legs as if to jump, but instead shooting clean through the walls of the cannon core.

When Eggman had informed them that the biolizard had ‘become one’ with the ARK, Amy had been sure that he was exaggerating. The truth, however, was much more horrifying than she’d imagined.

Its flesh had wrapped itself around the muzzle of the eclipse cannon, the once loose folds of skin stretching and contorting to accommodate its new metal appendage. It was dragging the space colony with it, under what steam she didn’t know, and was headed straight for the planet she called home.

“Sonic, Amy! Can you hear me?” Eggman’s voice boomed. “He’s very weak without his life support system. Aim for the red swellings to damage him! You’re our last hope!”

Weak without his life support… Her hunch had been right! The device was keeping it alive, and now, with the machine broken, they at least had a chance of winning.

The hedgehogs shared a knowing look - one that held the promise to win, or die trying - and shared a definitive nod.

Sonic blasted off, a trail of light marking his path as he weaved towards the monster. It was slow, cumbersome, but even so, if one of its limbs connected… she dreaded to think what the damage could be.

They had to do this quickly.

As Sonic ploughed into the first of the swellings, bursting through the thin layer of skin, Amy realised that she hadn’t moved. She’d been staring, horrified at what was in front of her.

She shook herself, furrowing her brows. She couldn’t just float here and do nothing.

It didn’t take long to find another of the sores Eggman had mentioned - the thing was riddled with them - but before she pushed off to make her first attack, something caught her eye.

Beneath its mass, a glow was building. Amethyst and ruby and aquamarine. It was mesmerising, and as it roiled and grew, she wondered what is was.

Her question was answered as the orb grew and stretched out towards her, a beam of searing energy missing her by mere inches. It was danger. It was pain. It was certain death.

A fire having been lit under her, she flew in a wide arc towards the pustule she was now aiming for, careful to keep an eye out for the beam of energy now that she knew it was capable of such a feat. The closer she got, though, the more its flailing limbs and snapping jaws made her hesitate. Even with her super form, the hurdle of failure loomed large above her, every time she hadn’t been strong enough, or fast enough playing on repeat in her mind.

She rolled out of the way as one of its arms thrashed at her, the disorientation of unfamiliar momentum causing her to bounce off its scaly hide and careen down its spine to float to a halt only a meter or so before it merged with the ARK.

Silently, she cursed herself. How could she help Sonic to kill this thing if she couldn’t even get close enough to its weak spots to do anything?

It was then that she spotted it - the blistered skin just past the curve of its side. A glance to its head confirmed that the beast was preoccupied with Sonic, and from this angle, it wouldn’t be able to get her with the beam until it was too late - for it, at least.

With speed she hadn’t possessed before the boost of the Chaos Emeralds, she launched herself around and ploughed into the thin, inflamed skin. It burst with enough force to fire her towards its head, her inert body tumbling head over heels at speed. In space, there was no friction to slow her, no end in sight to the vomit-inducing spinning. Not, at least, without some intervention.

From seemingly no where, its huge head swung towards her faster than it had any right to be capable of. She lifted her arms to cross over her face defensively knowing that she hadn’t the time to move, and was launched by the force of its nose connecting with her ribs.

She was like a pinball in a machine - moving at blinding speed with a trajectory that would inevitably result in collision.

And collide she did.

The ARK loomed large as she careened towards it, her form tumbling in the vast emptiness of space. Dizziness crept in on her, but before it could take hold, pain blossomed across her back and shoulder.

She’d slammed into the ARK, and from the crunching and crackling coming from behind her, she’d likely hit a window. That, or she’d done more damage to herself than she thought.

“Ouch,” she whimpered. The sound was half-reflexive, half-genuine, as she cradled the shoulder that had taken the brunt of the hit. “That thing really packs a punch…”

With a groan, she propped herself up on her elbows, watching as Sonic ploughed into the beast that had just thrown her like a ragdoll. She felt so useless. Managing to absorb enough Chaos energy to transform had been a shock, as had defending herself against the prototype of Shadow before it had teleported outside, but even now, after all of those achievements she was starting to feel like she wasn’t enough to fix this.

Her nails bit into her palms even through the padding of her gloves. Giving up was the easy route, the one she’d sworn she’d abandoned back when she’d helped Gamma fight its programming. She had to keep trying, or else what had all of this been for?

She took a long, slow inhale, filling her lungs to the brim and holding the breath for a second to centre herself, then released it in a steady, foggy stream. The world needed saving, and while she trusted that Sonic would do his best, she didn’t want him falling short because she’d thrown in the towel.

Gingerly, she rolled onto her stomach, aware of every slight movement as pinpricks of pain rolled through her. Were it not for the lack of gravity, she wondered if she would even have managed that, let alone bring her knees up to kneel on the observation deck window.Now that she’d been given the chance to stop, the adrenaline that had brought her this far was waning and the exhaustion was starting to creep in. Maintaining a super form was so tiring… how did Sonic do this?

Knowing that she couldn’t let herself be swept to shore, that she had to stay in the sea of energy until the danger had passed, she forced herself to open her eyes. At first, all she saw was her own reflection staring back at her through a spiderweb of cracks in the glass. But, as her eyes adjusted, she saw something else. Someone else.

Shadow. And he was staring back at her, looking like he’d seen a ghost.

He’d underestimated her ability, just like everyone else did, and had expected her to perish long before this point. That had to be it.

One, last act of defiance, then. Before she ended this fight and did what so many thought was impossible for her.

She pushed herself off the window of the lab, threw her arms behind her, and stuck her tongue out at the ultimate lifeform with gusto, before turning and flying back to where Sonic was fighting the biolizard.

It was childish, she knew, but his perception of her was the last thing she was worried about right now.

More of the pustules that covered the lizard had been ruptured, she noted, which felt like it would at least help. If this behemoth was capable of feeling pain, it had to be in agony by now. Wounds wept, blood and pus and chaos energy oozing from each and every one. This thing, relentless as it was, had to be put out of its misery.

She balled her fists, ready to weave her way towards the monster and hit more of its sores. Sonic had managed to destroy so many of them, and she didn’t want to end up as just the distraction again. She’d done so much today, been through so much. Now wasn’t the time to trip over the hurdle.

She flew towards the beast, feeling every injury she’d sustained so far screaming at her to stop, that she’d done enough, and she could call herself a hero now. But heroes didn’t give up just because they had a few bruises and cuts, or because they’d been thrown around like a rag doll. Heroes kept going.

With the lack of resistance from the expanse of space, she gained speed quickly, tearing through the chasm between her and her target, but in her periphery, something caught her attention. A white-gold glow - not Sonic’s gold, nor her own rose-gold, but a new one.

It was Shadow, and he was in his super form.

“What- what are you-”

“This thing is my prototype,” he began, his blood-red eyes focused on the biolizard. “It’s time I prove my superiority.”

He burst forward, leaving her to trail behind as he slammed into one of the sores at speed she struggled to see, let alone emulate, and when he was thrown backwards by the force of its skin splitting, he didn’t pause to look for another. He used the arc of his trajectory to fly around it, looking for another spot to damage.

This was the difference between her and real fighters, she thought to herself. For all she knew, this was Shadow’s first time in a super form too. And he was dealing with it so much better than she was. Granted, he didn’t need to fight so hard to change the direction he moved in with the help of his air shoes, but something about the ease with which he moved, the confidence… she was jealous.

“Can both of you hear me!?” Eggman yelled. There was panic in his voice, and Amy couldn’t in good conscious say she blamed him for it. “Atmosphere entry in about 4 minutes! Hurry!”

There it was. Four minutes. 240 seconds. Barely any time left to save the world.

She summoned her hammer, determined not to fall behind. It felt so light to her now, with chaos energy coursing through her veins, but that just meant she could put more of her strength into the swing.

There was a pustule where its skin met the ARK that Sonic and Shadow seemed to have missed. She pivoted towards it, swinging her hammer above her head ready to deal her first blow. As soon as she was close enough, the hammer smashed into the skin, eliciting a screech of pain from the beast as it thrashed in agony. It swung its clawed hands at Sonic, missing by at least three feet, and did the same to Shadow, failing to catch him with its claws.

Its head whipped around, more sluggish than it had been when it had thrown her into the observation deck window, and the motion tore its skin.

Now that she looked more closely, the movement of its arms had torn the skin at its shoulders, too.

It was falling apart, right in front of their eyes.

Sonic and Shadow looked frantically for another swelling to hit, another weak point to attack, but their lack of movement told her they found nothing. The end was nigh.

Amy floated to the broken device on its back, seeing that it still crackled and fizzed with electricity even now. The wires that remained attached still trailed its body, inert and empty of life-giving energy. She jammed the handle of her hammer under the unit, using the head as a lever, and separated the metal oval from the biolizard with a crunch. She reeled back.

The hammer connected with the unit, sending it careening towards the biolizard’s head, tearing the wires out of itself, or out of the biolizards skin.

The explosions from it started small. The size of a basketball, perhaps, or a little larger, but they seemed to set off a chain reaction.

The three hedgehogs dispersed, re-convening to watch as the monster went up in flames.

It was dead. The Earth was safe.

They’d done what had felt impossible just fifteen minutes ago.

As the three of them regarded each other, Sonic and Amy looking battered, bruised, and exhausted, they couldn’t help but smile. “We did it…” Amy breathed, releasing her hammer for it to disperse into smoke.

“We did,” Sonic beamed. There was something in his smile - relief, maybe, and pride - that she hadn’t expected. She’d thought he was so sure they could do this. He’d given no reason for her to think otherwise. But it seemed as though he hadn’t been as confident as she’d thought.

Shadow huffed, crossing his arms and turning his gaze to Amy. “Was that outcome in doubt?” To him, it seemed as though it wasn’t. Like the moment he was involved in something, it would go exactly as he planned.

“Heh, maybe not,” Sonic said. His smile grew wider, another small laugh escaping him, before he pointed to the ARK with his thumb. “We’d best get back, or the others will wonder what happened!”

He was gone before either of them could speak. Amy turned to Shadow, ready to chastise Sonic in his absence, but found that the surly being was staring intently at her. She couldn’t meet his eyes, instead looking away and scratching at the side of her head.

She’d slapped him, made faces at him, and now, it seemed, she owed him an apology. But first, she had to ask him something.

“What made you decide to help?” She blurted, chancing a glance at him and finding that he was still staring. His eyes flickered away from her then, though - the smallest hint of embarrassment on his face.

“I… I don’t know.” He said, but with the way his eyes searched the speckled sky, she wasn’t so sure that was the whole truth. “Maybe your words just needed time to sink in.”

All she could muster was a tired smile. She wished she could be more energetic, her usual enthusiastic self, about this change of heart. But everything was taking its toll. She was exhausted. She could feel her eyes fluttering, and she ached everywhere. “Well, I’m glad you came to your senses, Shadow,” she managed, placing a hand on his shoulder. “We couldn’t have done it… without… you…”

The world seemed to blur. The stars that had been so sharp, so defined, only moments ago. Now, they looked like street lamps through a rainy window, particles dancing in ways she knew couldn’t be real, but they mesmerised her all the same. It made her realise just how tired she was. How leaden her limbs felt. If she could just… close… her eyes…

They closed for a moment, the white-gold of Shadow’s super form disappearing and reappearing further away. But he didn’t seem to be moving. He was facing the ARK, but the jets of his shoes were off, and his posture hadn’t changed from when she had last seen him.

Ah. She was the one moving. She could see it now. Her own glow was gone, and the stars were getting smaller. She was falling. Falling towards the Earth. And worst of all, she didn’t even had the energy to panic. The bliss of exhaustion had fogged her mind, and falling felt like the rest she needed.

She blinked again. The white-gold of Shadow’s form was closer now. Had she stopped falling? No, something told her that she was still plummeting. Maybe it was the angle he was at? She wasn’t sure.

The only thing she knew for certain was that he looked terrified. Ruby eyes were wide, mouth open in a yell, gloved hand outstretched as if he were begging for her to take it. But she couldn’t. It was too much. She was too tired.

The world went dark.

Everything ached. Her back, her shoulder, her legs. Everything. Even her eyelids seemed to ache, but she needed to open them. The murmuring around her was deafeningly loud and too quiet for her to understand all at once, with a peal of piercing ringing permeating both. Would the light of the world be that bit too much? The thing that overwhelmed her senses? She hoped not. She needed to know if they’d succeeded - if the biolizard was dead. Somewhere in the soupyness of her waking mind, she thought they had - but everything was fuzzy from the point she’d hit the ARK.

Cautiously, she cracked an eyelid open slowly, testing her surroundings in the smallest increment possible. Once one eye was fully open, she chanced the other. Everything was so blurry. The blobs of colour that crowded around her reminded her of her friends. Blue, yellow, red… and white, too. The bat that had helped them was that shade of white, she recalled. Rouge, was it? That sounded right.

Her head lolled towards the blue smear, each blink sharpening her unfocused gaze.

“Did… we win?” She croaked, voice hoarse.

“Ames! You’re awake!” Sonic rushed to kneel beside her, brows drawn in concern and worry in his eyes as they came into view. “How you feelin’?”

This was the most attentive he’d ever been, she thought to herself. It was… nice. The attention from her crush. But something about it didn’t feel as good as she always thought it would. She must have hit her head harder than she thought.

“I’m fine.” She sounded so weak. “I guess I have you to thank for that, though.” She managed a smile as he helped her to her feet, almost falling when her knee gave way and he caught her. The worry seemed to spread on his features, but he was trying to mask it. She could tell, from the way he tried to force his face back into the cocky grin he usually sported.

“Nah, Ames,” he breathed. “We were almost beat, but then Shadow showed up and finished the thing off. I started back to the ship, and then…” the words died in his throat, his green eyes shifting guiltily before he turned to look to his left, away from the observation deck windows and towards the shadows that enveloped the entrance to the room. “You… you passed out. And Shadow saved you. He caught you before you - before you fell.”

It was all coming back to her now. His face as he hurtled towards her, eyes wide and full of fear.

She followed Sonic’s gaze, her own settling on the hedgehog who was mostly obfuscated by the dark. Shadow. He’d saved her life, even after what she’d said, what she’d done - oh, Gaia, she’d slapped him, hadn’t she?

Her legs felt like jelly again. Of all the individuals to piss off, she’d chosen Shadow, and not only that, but it seemed like he’d forgiven her too. You didn’t save someone you disliked, did you? But then, he had saved the humans, or at least helped to, and he claimed to hate them.

“I- I see.” She choked out. She swallowed hard and chewed nervously on her lip. She had to apologise. That had to be the first thing she said to him. But how do you do that? Maybe ‘sorry for slapping you for trying to blow up the Earth’ was enough, she wondered, but shook the thought from her head. As soon as she could stand on her own, she needed to have an answer.

“Yeah, it was weird,” Sonic mused, bringing her out of her thoughts and back to the real world. “By the time I realised, he was already half way to you, and he looked-”

“Worried,” Amy said, and he nodded in agreement.

Amy sighed. Of all the things she’d had to do today, of all the fears she’d faced… Apologising to, and thanking, the one who’d saved her seemed to be the hardest one.

She tested putting her weight on her legs. A part of her was pleased that any damage wasn’t permanent, but a small part of her still dreaded the conversation she was about to have. With a weak smile to Sonic, she limped over to her saviour.

He was sat against a wall, seeming to be fixated on a spot in the middle of the floor with a barely perceptible frown on his brows.

“Hey.”

He startled, and jerked his head up to meet her eyes.

“Hello.” His gaze was… intense. A vermillion blaze that felt like it would burn her where she stood. But this time, the heat was… comforting. Like a blanket on a cold night, or… like her own, well restrained rage that burned below the surface. He was like her, she realised. Someone who held part of themselves at bay for fear it would be too much.

He motioned to the ground next to him. She swallowed hard again, hurrying to settle against the wall and almost forgetting to tuck her dress under her. As she settled, glancing over to her friends who hurried to pretend they hadn’t been staring, her usually steady hands shook.

She didn’t look at him initially. She was too ashamed of herself, and it seemed like he had no desire to break the silence either.

“I’m sorry I-”

“I shouldn’t have-”

They spoke in unison, stopping as soon as they realised they were talking over each other. Silence fell again. After a few moments, he waved her on.

Her throat felt dry. She knew that he didn’t hold her actions against her. He wouldn’t have saved her if he really disliked her. But navigating this conversation would be difficult regardless. She fiddled with the hem of her skirt. “What made you do it?” She began, chancing a look at him. Those eyes were upon her again, those eyes that simmered with an anger that she now understood was not for her. “I mean- what… Why did you come and help me and Sonic? I thought that you… that you wanted the Earth to be destroyed?”

His gaze lingered for a moment, shifting from one eye to the other and then cutting away to look back at the floor. “Humans are awful.” The silence that dragged out made her think that perhaps he wanted her to say something, but she didn’t know what. “I would have had no remorse if they had all met their end today. I wanted it, even, and you know that, but…” his voice petered out, as if he didn’t want to verbalise what he was about to say. He let out an exasperated sigh. “But you… you were ready to die for them. For people you don’t know, for people who don’t know you and don’t care about you.”

He turned back to her, eyes searching her face, as if he would find something written there that would put his mind at ease.

A smile spread across her face, a tiny laugh whispering past her lips. “Thank you, Shadow. That… that means a lot.”

He gave a kurt nod, moving to stand, but she caught his arm and his attention again. As he looked back to her, something pressed against his cheek. Something soft. Something soothing.

It was her lips, pressed delicately against the cheek she had slapped only hours before.

She sank back to sit against the wall, a self-satisfied smile still on her lips, as his own face started to burn.

She’d kissed him. This girl, who he’d snarled at and insulted. Who had stung his face with her palm. Had kissed him.

And, stranger still, it had left him wondering what the sensation would feel like had she caught his lips rather than his cheek, as his face began to burn.

Thanks for reading, and I really hope you enjoyed this fic :)

#amy rose #shadamy #shadow the hedgehog #sonic the hedgehog #shadamy fanfic #shadamy fanfiction #sonic big bang 2024

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shadamyheadcanons · 1 month ago

Text

Cold Hands, Warm Heart

Amy insists on bringing Shadow out to enjoy his first winter on Earth. Although she seems excited to do so at first, Shadow senses that something’s wrong.

Cross-posted on AO3.

This was written as a gift for @thequeenofspace for the 2024 Shadamy Secret Santa event. Huge, huge thanks to the mods who worked so hard to organize it!

Shadow was awoken by the buzz of his phone on the nightstand next to him. His eyelids blinked open lazily, and he peeked at the screen.

The notification at the top read “Amy Rose.” Shadow’s heart fluttered oddly as it always did at the sight of her name, but when he opened the notification, his eyes were met with a perplexing message.

>Morning, Shadow! It’s finally time, just like I said, remember? Don’t look out the window! :D

Shadow just frowned at it for a few moments, mind bleary, but then his brain caught up and replayed a conversation he’d had with Amy about a month prior.

“Oh my God, I hadn’t realized this was your first winter on Earth! Hmm...oo, I know! I have a surprise for you! I’ll text you in the morning sometime. When I do, don’t look outside! There’s something I want you to see!”

If those words had come from anyone else, Shadow would have rejected them outright. He’d always hated surprises.

He stretched and yawned, reluctantly dragging himself out of bed. He went through his morning routine, taking more time than usual to make sure his quills sat perfectly on his head. He kept his gaze trained on the floor as he pulled on his shoes, gloves, and the red scarf Tails had given him recently, resisting the urge to look out the window.

A knock at the door jolted Shadow out of his thoughts, but he still averted his gaze stubbornly as he jogged over to answer it. Amy’s warm, bubbly voice floated in, making his heart jump once more.

“Shadow, I’m here! Can you hear me?”

“Yes,” Shadow replied, unlocking the door.

“Great! Don’t open it quite yet, okay? Close your eyes!”

Shadow shook his head but obeyed without hesitation. “Alright. I’m ready.”

“Okay!”

The door creaked open, and a rush of cold air whistled through Shadow’s fur. A pair of gloved hands took his and guided him gently forward. “Watch your step!”

“With my eyes shut?”

“Oh, you know what I mean!”

Shadow chuckled under his breath. He shuffled his feet forward, found the edge of his doorstep, and stepped carefully over it onto his porch.

Amy’s voice dropped to an excited whisper. “Okay...now you can look!”

Shadow cracked his eyes open, only to squint immediately, temporarily blinded by his bright surroundings. “Why is everything so...”

Then, realization hit him, and he blinked his eyes open wide.

Every surface around him was white. Roofs, streets, cars, and lawns hid under a fluffy blanket three inches deep. Children laughed and frolicked in the substance while parents pushed piles of it off their driveways with shovels, grumbling all the way.

For once, though, the voices didn’t overwhelm Shadow’s senses; the sounds were muted, distant, seemingly deadened by the soft white cloak coating every surface.

Shadow looked around, mystified. A flake of the substance landed on his nose, making him cross his eyes to get a look at it. He tilted his head toward the sky and blinked as more bits of it fell on his face, tickling his cheeks. He held a hand in front of him, palm up, and watched as a few more landed on his glove, lingering for a moment before disappearing.

His mouth hung open for quite some time as he observed his surroundings. A puff of air escaped his lips, appearing equally white before fading out. “Is this...snow?”

Shadow could see Amy’s giant grin out of the corner of his eye. She bobbed her head, drawing his gaze. “Yeah! Isn’t it beautiful?”

Her eyes were sparkling and hopeful, as if her entire day were hinging on his response. As he ran his gaze over the streets and buildings, he couldn’t help but oblige her. “Yes. It really is.”

Amy let out a happy whine and hopped in place, and her smile somehow widened further. “YES! I knew you’d like it!”

It’s not the only thing that’s beautiful, he thought, hoping the fondness on his face wasn’t too noticeable. “Thank you for sharing this with me. It means a lot.”

Amy squealed happily and clenched her hands in loose fists under her chin, her expression turning determined. “And that’s not the only thing I’m sharing with you today. There are tons of things to love about snow!”

If Amy were anyone else, Shadow would immediately snap at them, indignant that someone would demand his time without warning.

Instead, his heart leapt. To hide his excitement, he looked for a distraction and noticed Amy’s outfit for the first time. He raised a brow. “You seem...prepared.”

Amy glanced sheepishly down at her huge parka and snowpants. She appeared to be about twice her normal size, indicating that she was wearing more than a few layers underneath. A dark woolen hat completed the outfit. When she met his gaze once more, though, she shook it off and smiled again. “And you seem unprepared! You’re going to need more gear than that in this weather.”

“Hmph. That won’t be necessary.”

Amy smirked and wagged a finger at him. “You won’t be saying that in a few minutes!”

Shadow adjusted the cuffs of his gloves and shook his head curtly. “As the ultimate life form, I was built to endure extreme temperatures. Unless it’s approaching absolute zero or hotter than boiling water, I’ll be fine.”

The smirk on Amy’s face morphed into a petulant pout. “That’s so not fair!” Her childish reaction drew a rare smile out of Shadow, and she sighed. After a moment, though, she wrinkled her nose and pointed a mitten-clad hand at the scarf around his neck. “How come you’re wearing that, then?”

Because I wanted to look nice for you, but I didn’t want to overdo it.

Shadow averted his gaze by staring down at the red fabric. “...Because Tails has good taste.”

Luckily, she just laughed. “I’ll tell him you said that.”

“You have to try this at least once in your life,” Amy insisted, pulling Shadow along with one hand while she held a red plastic sled in the other. “Vanilla used to bring me and Cream every time it snowed!”

Several families were watching the two of them, smiling at the way Shadow was letting Amy drag him around. He ignored them. “This is the one where you slide down a hill, right?”

“Yup! And the bigger the hill, the better...like this one!”

Amy let go of his hand when they reached the crest, and she gestured to the slope before them. Laughing children raced down the hill on plastic sleds of all shapes and colors in ones and twos, with occasional groups shooting down in long wooden toboggans.

Shadow’s eyes darted over the hill, spotting tracks and bumps that could cause trouble. The biggest obstacle, however, was the multitude of humans and Mobians alike who zipped down below them. “Seems like a lot of people had the same idea,” he muttered, mentally plotting out the safest route he could find.

“Yeah. This is the best sledding hill around. It’s always like this.” She was tapping her foot and scanning the area below them, apparently planning a route herself. She cringed, then gave an embarrassed laugh. “One year, Cream and I almost slammed right into another pair of kids. I swerved away just in time!” She visibly shuddered.

Shadow could see her jaw clench. Something about it made his stomach turn. “Did something else happen?”

Amy’s eyes widened, as if she were surprised that he’d be concerned, but then she shrank down and held the sled up in front of her, hiding half her face behind it. “Err, yeah...I kind of steered us into a big rock.” She narrowed her eyes, then pointed to a conspicuous, jagged, slate gray edge jutting up out of the snow halfway down. Layers of well-worn sled tracks weaved around the dangerous protrusion. “That big rock, actually.”

Shadow’s attention was immediately torn from the slope to Amy herself. “Did you get hurt?”

Amy’s eyes widened further. She paused for just an instant, expression strained...but then she snorted and waved it off. “Oh, don’t worry. I taught Cream to bail out and fly to safety in times like that so she wouldn’t get hurt. She’s fine.”

Shadow choked. “No, I mean you. Did anything happen to you?”

Who taught you to ignore yourself like this?

Amy just stared for a moment, mouth slightly open, but then she shook her head with a sheepish smile. “No worries! I just sprained my wrist, that’s all.”

Shadow’s throat clenched, and his frown deepened. “Which one?”

“Huh?”

He reached down for her hands and rubbed around her bracelets with his thumbs, as if he could figure it out from touch alone. “Left or right?”

Amy let out an amused huff through her nose. “Left, but it’s not like it matters now.” He held her left hand delicately in his own and tried to look closer, but her sleeve was in the way. Amy rolled her eyes. “Shadow. This happened years ago, and it didn’t even break. Vanilla wrapped it for me and told me to lay off the hammer-swinging for a couple of weeks, and then I was fine.”

At that, the stress finally left Shadow’s muscles, and he sighed. “Good.”

Thank God someone cared enough for once!

After that, though, he examined the hill with new apprehension. A couple of kids tumbled off their sleds at the bottom, rolling to a stop afterward with barely-audible grunts of discomfort. Shadow winced and looked back up at Amy. “Do you feel comfortable doing this?”

She tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“Well...you know. I’d understand if you didn’t want to after...that,” he trailed off, gesturing vaguely at her wrist.

Amy glanced down at it, then gave him a flat look. “Shadow the hedgehog, do you think a sprained wrist would take me out of commission forever? I’m tougher than that!”

“Well—no, I just meant—”

Amy’s gaze turned sly. “Y’know, I’m starting to think you’re just too scared to try it.”

Shadow’s competitive spirit flared up in his chest, eclipsing his concern. “I’m the ultimate life form. I’m not afraid of anything, especially not an activity for children.”

“Prove it.”

He crossed his arms and stared her down. Most would back off, but Amy’s grin only grew more smug with time, even when a low growl rumbled in his throat. Her refusal to back down and the way she never showed an ounce of fear toward him made Shadow’s stomach flip.

He shook it off and eyed the hill once more, then sighed and took her free hand in his. “Fine. But we’re not going anywhere near that damn rock.”

And the second all these kids are gone for the day, I’m coming back and slicing it clean off with a Chaos Spear. That thing’s never going to hurt anyone again.

Amy skipped forward to keep pace with him, excited smile spread brightly across her face once more. Shadow’s heart skipped a beat.

Especially not her.

Once they were far enough away from the rock, Shadow halted. Amy made an inquisitive noise, but he stayed silent. After nailing down the safest trajectory, he took two steps to the left, then nodded decisively. “Here.”

Amy chuckled under her breath. “Exactly here?”

“Precisely.”

“Whatever you say,” she replied. Even without looking, Shadow could hear the smile in her voice. A moment later, though, she spoke up again...and the amusement was gone. “Hm...this is pretty steep, isn’t it?”

Anyone who didn’t pay much attention to Amy likely wouldn’t have detected the hint of hesitation she was trying to hide. Out of the corner of his eye, Shadow could see the slight wrinkle of her nose and the tensed jaw very few people would recognize as unease.

Shadow turned fully toward her. “We can pick a different spot if you want.”

Amy kept staring down the slope for a moment, but then she shook her head stubbornly and clenched her free hand into a fist. “Of course not! When have I ever backed down from a challenge?”

Shadow admired her cute, defiant expression for a moment, then shut his eyes and sighed. Not once in all the time I’ve known you. He opened his eyes once more. “Alright. I’m ready when you are.”

Amy shooed him to the side and stooped down to place the sled down exactly where he’d been standing. “Do you want to sit in the front or the back?”

Shadow opened his mouth, fully intending to say he didn’t care, but something told him Amy would feel safer if someone were holding her. “I’ll sit in the back.”

Amy’s tone turned sickeningly sweet. “Aww, you just want to hold me, don’t you?”

Shadow coughed and sputtered. “N-no, of course not! I...I just...”

Well...she isn’t exactly wrong...

Amy snorted and sat down on the sled. “Relax, Shadow, I’m just kidding. Come on!” She patted the space behind her.

He crouched down into the sled, awkwardly splaying his legs out on either side of her, and sat on the cheap plastic. After a moment of hesitation, he scooted up right behind Amy. Her hands rested flat on the snow on either side of them in preparation, and he followed suit.

“Ready?”

He nodded.

“Great! Three...two...one...go!”

They pushed forward until they reached the crest of the hill, then let gravity do the rest. Shadow hurriedly wrapped his arms around her before they could gain momentum, finding it somewhat challenging around the bulky layers she wore.

Amy let out a squeal of excitement as they picked up speed. The wind whistled past Shadow’s face, and he could feel clumps of snow flattening and crunching through the thin plastic underneath them.

Even once they were halfway down the hill, though, the speed wasn’t particularly thrilling for Shadow. Instead, he scanned the slope for potential hazards.

In the process of doing so, he spotted Amy’s hands. Even through her mittens, he could see how tightly--how desperately--she was hanging onto the edges of the sled. When they jolted over a larger bump, her body stiffened in his arms, and her initial cheer faded into a whine that she probably thought he couldn’t hear. Shadow’s heart pounded.

She’s terrified.

Shadow’s eyes darted around, searching for any excuse he could find. Luckily, he spotted a toboggan shooting down the slope nearby. It wasn’t on a collision course with them, but it was just close enough to make the argument. He held Amy closer, making her let out a squeak.

“Chaos...control!”

After a familiar yanking sensation, Shadow reappeared at the top of the hill with Amy cradled in his arms. She jumped and reflexively latched onto him like a spider monkey, looking around frantically. At the base of the hill, their sled was sliding unsteadily to a stop, being blown around by the wind without its passengers to weigh it down.

“...Sorry.”

Amy looked up at him, the panic in her eyes softening into confusion. He nodded at the toboggan that was reaching the bottom. “They were getting too close for comfort.”

She followed his gaze, then went boneless in his arms with a shaky laugh. “Thanks, Shadow!” She snuggled up against his chest.

Shadow just stayed put, frozen and flustered, until he was interrupted by a few wolf whistles and amused comments from the strangers around them.

“Aww, how cute!”

“When’s the wedding?”

“Get a room!”

A choked noise got caught in Shadow’s throat. He nearly flailed, holding himself in check long enough to put Amy down. She snorted cutely, and he crossed his arms and looked away. “Is there anything else you wanted to do today?”

Amy glanced back down the steep hill to where their sled sat. She bit her lip, then looked back up and half-smiled. “Yeah. I’ve got a better idea.”

“I know you’ll love this one,” Amy insisted, lacing up her skates beside him on the bench.

Shadow nodded, though he wasn’t really sure what the point was; the rental skates even looked like his air shoes. He stood up once he was done tying them and took a careful step onto the frozen lake. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, testing the difference between the razor-thin blades and his typical flat shoes. With his natural coordination, he adapted easily.

When he looked over his shoulder, however, he found that Amy was having a tougher time. Her whole body shook as she attempted to stand, from her quivering legs to the trembling arms she was using to push herself up. Even her teeth were chattering. Her eyes were wide and focused as she straightened up inch by inch, and Shadow could hear her rapid breathing. At last, she stood up fully, letting out a heavy, relieved sigh.

Unfortunately, her relief proved to be short-lived; just a moment after she’d reached her full height, she leaned too far back. It wasn’t long before her limbs were flailing in an unsuccessful attempt to regain her balance. Soon, she was falling, terror in her eyes—

Shadow zipped into place, having predicted the slip-up. He pressed a hand to her back, tilting her forward to help her stand back up again. She latched onto his scarf and yanked on it to stabilize herself while she planted both skates firmly onto the ice.

Amy panted, staring straight ahead with wide eyes. Shadow waited for a moment, then spoke. “Are you alright?”

Amy looked up, and her eyes bugged out even more when she found his face just a couple inches away from hers. She cringed even more when she noticed she was clinging onto him for dear life. “S-sorry! I’m fine!” she blurted.

“I don’t mind.”

She untangled her fingers from the scarf and took a step back, and he found he missed the contact immediately.

Amy shook herself off. “Phew! You ready?”

Shadow raised a brow. “Are you?”

“Of course!”

Contrary to her confident declaration, though, Amy’s progress was slow. She pushed forward one skate at a time, practically stepping forward, as if she were afraid to glide further, and her arms stuck out stiffly by her sides. Shadow took the hand on her left side and slid smoothly forward, keeping an eye on her. “We don’t have to do this if you’re not comfortable.”

“Of course I’m comfortable!” she protested. She kept her gaze locked on the ice in front of her, though, apparently too nervous to look up. Shadow couldn’t blame her; if he weren’t confident in his own abilities, the curious, judgmental stares of the couples doing laps around them probably wouldn’t have helped.

Amy stumbled forward, grabbing onto his arm to keep from falling. “S-sorry!”

Shadow’s expression pinched. He knew Amy well enough to predict that inquiring about her wellbeing again wouldn’t be of any help. Instead, he shifted closer. “Straighten up more. If you keep your weight over your feet, you won’t tip over,” he muttered.

Amy looked up at last, visibly perplexed, but she nodded and followed his advice. Once she seemed more stable, he added, “Press your knees forward. Then...” Shadow hesitated and gathered up his courage, then skated closer. He lifted her chin with his thumb and forefinger. “Keep your head up.”

Shadow could hear her breath hitch. Her cheeks were red, and he almost fooled himself into thinking she was blushing, but he tried not to get his hopes up. She’s probably just cold. Even her chin is freezing.

Before he had time to analyze it further, Amy winced. Her gaze was fixed ahead, where they were approaching the edge of the pond.

Shadow shook his head, bewildered. She doesn’t even know how to turn! Why did she bring me ice skating if she can’t skate? He stayed close. “Turn your head and shoulders in the direction you want to go. The rest of your body will follow.”

Amy nodded and stared straight ahead, focusing on the turn with almost comical intensity, eyes narrowed. With Shadow’s guidance, though—and the vice grip on his arm—she made it, gliding stiffly around the corner. A nervous chuckle left her lips, but then it grew into a sincere, joyous laugh that made Shadow’s chest feel lighter. She pumped a fist in the air. “WHOO!”

The triumphant display drew the attention of several couples, and her laugh died down into a quiet giggle. After a little while, her grip on his arm loosened, and she held his hand instead. A genuine smile graced her face, warming Shadow’s heart.

At last, they completed a full loop. Amy gazed longingly at the bench where they’d started. Catching the look, Shadow spoke up. “Need a break?”

“Yes!” Amy blurted, startling them both. She smiled shyly. “If you don’t mind.”

Shadow just nodded. Seeing her trepidation as they approached the bench, he guided her toward it, subtly taking on some of her weight to help bring her to a stop.

She can’t turn. She can’t stop. Has no one even tried to teach her?

Amy dropped onto the bench with a relieved huff, then smiled up at him. “Sorry! I know we haven’t been out there very long. I haven’t done this since last year, so I think I just have to get used to it again.”

Shadow kept quiet, sensing it wouldn’t be wise to argue.

Amy frowned. “I don’t want to keep you from it, though. You always seem like you have fun with your regular shoes, so I thought you might enjoy this, too!”

Shadow tilted one of his skates sideways to examine the blade attached to it. “There’s a little more friction with the metal and the ice, but it’s pretty much the same otherwise. I could probably pull off my usual tricks in these.”

Amy gasped abruptly next to him, her face instantly lighting up. “I’d love to see that! Can you try it?”

Shadow gazed at her for a few seconds, knowing he could never say no to that face. He shrugged and adjusted his gloves. “Guess I could give it a shot.” She squealed, and he stepped back onto the ice to take a more active stance. He glanced around between the other skaters, calculated how much room he would need, and launched forward, ice flakes shooting up in his wake.

Shadow raced around the lake, throwing his weight into each stride and weaving between the other skaters. The carve of metal on ice sliced past his ears, crisp and clean. He made a few laps to get the feel of the friction, adjusting his stance to compensate. Then, he lined himself up in the center of the ice, pushed himself even faster, and leapt up high. He twisted his body sideways as he hurtled through the air, flipping forward end over end. He kept his eye on the ground as he fell, then straightened out in time to land on both blades with a decisive scrape. He fumbled a little with the landing, but he was able to lean into it without much trouble.

Around him, cheers erupted from the skaters who’d paused to watch, but Shadow didn’t have ears for them. He returned to Amy’s side, and she beamed as he approached. She was sitting on her hands, shoulders slightly hunched, but she took her hands out to applaud rapidly for him. “Shadow, that was so cool!”

Shadow groomed his quills back, not hiding a smirk. “Hmph. What can I say? I’m a natural.”

Amy brightened up and pressed her hands together. “Oo, I have an idea! You should be in the next Olympics with us! I bet you’d be great at figure skating.”

Shadow wrinkled his nose at the thought of the frilly outfits and classical music he’d always associated with figure skaters. “That’s not really my style.”

The way she wilted made him feel guilty. “Aww, really? But you’d be so good at it! You’re great at tricks, and you’re a lot of fun to watch!”

Amy’s eyes shined up at him, pleading and hopeful. He only lasted a few seconds before relenting. “Fine. I’ll learn one trick.”

Her resulting smile was worth it. “Really? I’d love that! Which one do you want to learn? There’s the toe loop, the lutz, the salchow...”

Shadow stared blankly. “I don’t know what any of that means. Which one is your favorite?”

Amy pursed her lips. “Well, my favorite is the axel, but it’s the hardest one, so...”

“When has that ever stopped me?”

Amy giggled. “I guess you’ve got a point. You have to start skating forwards, then spin around, and...” She trailed off and twirled her fingers, trying—and failing—to demonstrate. “Well, it’s kind of hard to describe with words, but...”

Amy looked out across the ice. Her eyes flicked down to her skates, and she cringed for just a moment before she could hide it.

There’s no way she can demonstrate that. Shadow rubbed his chin. “Is there a video you could look up?”

Amy perked up again immediately. “Oh, yeah!” She pulled out her phone and started typing away on it. “My favorite figure skater, Elise, can do it perfectly! She’s from Soleanna. I’d love to meet her someday!”

Amy kept talking about the figure skater, but Shadow was more preoccupied with her hands. She’d had to take off a mitten to use the screen, and seeing how stiff and shaky her fingers were made him wince. He lifted a hand and opened his mouth to ask, but she interrupted him.

“Alright! Found it! Check this out!” She handed him the phone.

Shadow took it and watched as a slender, red-haired woman skated confidently through an ice rink. She wrapped her arms around herself in preparation. When the music from Amy’s tiny phone speakers reached a crescendo, she launched herself into the air, twirling twice before landing on one foot and effortlessly leading into the rest of the routine.

“You don’t have to do two spins like she does,” Amy added. “It’s better to start small with just a single.”

Shadow replayed the jump a few times. Forward, on that foot, then land backwards... He nodded and returned her phone. “Got it.”

Her eyes bugged out. “Already?”

He crouched down in a starting position and smirked at her. “I’m a quick learner.” Then, he took off.

Shadow looped around the pond a few more times. Several other skaters turned to look this time, but his focus was locked solely on Amy. Worry tugged at his mind when he noticed how she was sitting: shoulders hunched, hands between her knees, and face half-buried in her parka. He pressed his lips together. I need to get her off of that bench to do something. He looked forward again. But first...

Shadow rounded one more corner, then dashed forward and smirked. No one underestimates me and gets away with it. He took stock of where his feet were, pulled his arms in, and launched himself up, spinning three times. The area seemed to grow still after a collective gasp...until Shadow landed solidly on one foot, teetering for just a moment before he regained his footing. Shouts and applause rang out behind him as he skated casually over to Amy, drifting backwards to a stop. His smug smile grew the longer she stared, mouth open wide.

Eventually, she regained her composure and shook her head, smiling. “Now you’re just showing off, aren’t you?”

“Of course. Don’t you know who I am?”

Amy chuckled. “Yeah, we get it, Mr. Perfect.”

Something in her tone stung. Shadow glanced down at her skates again, wondering if he’d overdone it. “All the same, I think I like my air shoes better. Maybe I can pull off axels in those, too.”

Amy snorted. “You actually haven’t landed any axels yet.”

Shadow’s jaw nearly dropped. “Then what was that?!” he demanded, gesturing back at the ice.

Amy’s laughter rang out. The light, pleasant sound tickled his eardrums. “You landed on the wrong foot!”

Shadow stared at her blankly and skated closer. “So it doesn’t count? Really?”

Amy nodded through her laughter. “For the record, though, I thought you looked really cool. Just like you always do!”

In the wake of those words and Amy’s pretty, charming smile, Shadow fell forward into the snow, tripped up by the transition off of the ice. Amy laughed all the louder, and Shadow just stayed face down for a few seconds, hoping his embarrassment would melt away into the snow. When it didn’t, he scrambled up onto the bench next to Amy, hoping to salvage at least some of his dignity.

Amy’s merriment died down at last, and she cupped his cheek, making his pulse skyrocket. “Are you alright? I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have laughed!”

Shadow sat still, allowing her to brush some stray snow out of his quills and off his face. “It’s no problem.” Once she finished, he spoke up once more. “You know a lot about skating considering you—” Shadow froze, then panicked. “I mean...not that you...”

Amy blew her quills out of her face and smiled wryly. “It’s okay, I know I suck.” Shadow’s blood boiled, but she held up a hand. “Don’t worry, I’ve known for a long time that it wouldn’t work out.” Her shoulders slumped, and her eyes were downcast. “I really did want to be a figure skater when I was young, but, well...” She gestured weakly at the ice. “You know. I asked Sonic if he wanted to be my partner for doubles ice skating last year, and he said yes, but then he saw me actually skate, and—” Amy bit her lip. “Well, he didn’t want me to get hurt. So...he went with Blaze instead.”

Shadow’s heart clenched, then burned. His fingers hurt from how tightly he held onto the bench underneath him, and his voice lowered an octave. “He did what?!”

Amy held up her hands immediately. “No, no, it’s not like that!” She rested a gentle hand on his tense shoulder. “For doubles figure skating, you don’t just skate normally. You do tricks and throw each other around in the air. It’s just about the most dangerous event at the Olympics.” He didn’t calm down, so she kept trying. “Blaze is a really good skater, and they won gold. I’m happy for them, really! I never could’ve done that. I’m just glad Sonic was looking out for me.” When he still wasn’t convinced, she laughed nervously. “I mostly just felt bad for Silver. Blaze didn’t know he liked her yet, and I think he got the wrong impression.”

Shadow’s pulse spiked even higher. Silver? You’re worried about Silver?! Why don’t you ever put yourself first?!

But out of the corner of his eye, Shadow could see worry lines etched into her face, and he knew now wasn’t the time. He closed his eyes, inhaled, and let it out slowly. With that, he met her gaze properly. “I’ll teach you. I’ll teach you all of it.”

The worry lines made way for surprise. “Really?”

Shadow nodded. “If there’s anyone who can teach you, it’s me. Anytime you want.” He stood up and reached out his hand. She looked confused, so he added, “I’m not skating without you.”

Amy stared at his hand for a long time. She started to reach for it, then stopped and looked away, defeated.

Shadow let his own hand fall. “Another time?”

Amy sighed, then gave a tired smile. “Yeah...some other time. I have another idea.”

Amy leapt into the air as she led him away from the frozen lake. “Alright! Feels good to be back in regular boots again, huh?”

Shadow nodded absently, but his attention was drawn toward her hands, which she was rubbing together. When she turned around and noticed he was looking, she whipped them behind her back with a hasty smile. “Have you ever heard of snow angels?”

When Shadow looked closer, he noticed her teeth were chattering again. “Are you alright?”

Amy huffed and crossed her arms, tucking her hands under her armpits with a pout. “Of course I’m alright! Have you heard of them or not?”

“I may have heard the term,” he replied, still unable to focus past her obvious discomfort.

Amy leaned in. “You’ve ‘heard the term?’ Do you know how to make one?”

“Uh...no.”

She wrinkled her nose, then nodded with authority. “Well, then, I’ll have to teach you! First, you hold your hands out to the side, then—!”

“Shoot!” The second she began to fall backwards, Shadow zipped in and caught her. “What are you doing?!”

Amy just froze in his arms for a moment, gazing into his eyes, but she snapped out of it, pressing her hands against his shoulders. “No, I’m supposed to fall back this time! Let go!”

“But—”

“You don’t understand—!”

With one last shove, Amy’s arm strength won out. She toppled the last foot or two to land on her back in the snow, and Shadow stumbled.

By the time he regained his footing, Amy was pushing her arms and legs back and forth through the snow. “S-see?”

She was trying to hide the pain in her face behind a smile. Shadow’s heart stung. He didn’t wait another moment before reaching around her torso to lift her up. Amy made a noise of complaint, but she didn’t stop him.

“What in the world were you thinking?!” he muttered, hurriedly brushing snow off of her head, shoulders, back, and arms.

Amy grumbled and wiggled away from him. She forced another smile onto her face and pointed at the imprint in the snow. “Look! It’s an angel—oh, wait!” She hopped around to crouch above the angel’s head and reached a finger toward the snow. “If you draw an oval here—”

Before Amy could blink, Shadow had dashed to her side and taken her hand to lift her upright again. “What are you doing?!”

Amy looked from her finger to his blazing eyes. “I’m...adding the halo?” Both of them could see the way her hand was shaking between them. She yanked it back. “Shadow, what’s gotten into you?”

“You’re miserable.”

For a moment, she just stared back, as if she felt trapped, but she shook it off with another fragile grin. “What are you talking about? We’re having fun!”

“We aren’t. You hate this.” When she opened her mouth again, he cut her off. “I can tell.”

Amy’s eyes darted around, and her breathing quickened. “B-b-but...I...”

Shadow sighed and took her hand. “There’s one more thing I want to do.” She hesitated, visibly confused, so he held up his Chaos Emerald.

After a moment’s hesitation, she squeezed his hand and nodded.

Shadow warped back to his house with Amy in his arms. She stumbled a bit upon landing, but he held her upright.

“Sh-Shadow?” Her voice was muffled and shaky against his scarf. He could feel how cold her face was against his neck.

“You’re shivering. Stay put.”

“I’m f-fine! I-it’s not a big deal, I just–”

“Stay.”

Aside from a quiet whimper, she didn’t argue further. He kept her body close, ignoring the damp shell of her coat. Shivers wracked her small frame for a while afterward, but Shadow was patient. In time, they subsided.

Once she’d stopped shaking, Shadow pulled back. He tugged on one of her sleeves. “You won’t get warmer unless you take this off. It’s wet.”

Before she could speak, he’d already warped away to turn up his thermostat and retrieve his warmest quilt, the one that was far warmer than he’d ever need for himself. She barely had time to remove her parka and snow-covered knit hat, revealing the red sweater she’d been wearing underneath. He instantly draped the blanket around her shoulders and guided her down onto his couch, gentle but firm. “Sit.”

“Huh?”

Without waiting for a reply, Shadow teleported to his kitchen and started rooting through the cupboards. Where is it, where is it...ah. He withdrew a box of cocoa powder and a pair of mugs. He swiftly poured water into them, mixed in the powder, and tossed them in his microwave.

Shadow could see into the living room where Amy was settling down on the couch, still wrapped in the quilt. Another shudder made her shoulders hunch, and his foot tapped rapidly. When the digits hit zero on the microwave, he whipped it open and immediately withdrew both mugs.

In an instant, he was lowering himself onto the sofa next to Amy. “Be careful. It’s hot.”

Amy’s wide eyes drifted from Shadow’s face down to the mug he was holding for her. Her nose twitched. “Is this...hot chocolate?” He nodded. Her head tilted. “But this is your first winter on Earth. How do you know about hot chocolate?”

Shadow watched as wisps of steam curled up from his mug. Slowly, he opened his mouth. “Space is cold. The ARK was heated, but there were drafts and cold corners, especially near the windows.” His gaze drifted across the room toward the wide bay window that revealed the street outside; even shut, it couldn’t mute the whistling wind outside. He could see Amy shiver just looking at it. She turned away and took a tentative sip of her hot cocoa, then peeked up at him silently.

Shadow sipped his own as well, feeling the hot liquid burn a trail down his throat, banishing what little chill he felt. He stared into his mug as he reminisced. “I was fine, but the scientists had trouble. I saw them shivering, carrying extra jackets around in case they had to go through a cold spot.” His teeth clenched. “I felt helpless.”

A hand rested on his shoulder, reassuring yet clammy. He took it in his own warm grasp but kept staring straight ahead. “One day, a scientist brought in a rare treat from Earth. Using the stove in the breakroom, she heated up water, powder, and marshmallows, and she shared it with all of us in the cheap paper cups we kept around.” He inhaled deeply, and the scent from his mug brought back the warmth of the memory. His eyes fell shut. “It wasn’t much, but everyone was happy. They were warm and relaxed for once. They smiled and laughed with each other.” Shadow’s eyes fluttered open once more. “I picked some up at the store a couple months ago in case someone needed it. I don’t have marshmallows, but...”

A tiny gasp interrupted him. Amy was gazing up at him admiringly, eyes shining. “That’s beautiful!”

Shadow’s heart pounded. He wanted to feel flattered, but something in his chest still ached. He sighed. “Why didn’t you tell me you were cold?”

The adoration melted off of Amy’s face, and she huddled farther under the quilt. “It’s...it’s not that bad, I just...”

“Amy. I know you better than that. What’s going on?”

Amy froze, and not just from the temperature.

Shadow didn’t back down.

At first, all he could see on her face was fear, like that of a cornered animal. He didn’t avert his gaze, but he stroked his thumb over the back of her hand, and the fear softened. He continued until her muscles went slack and the tension had left her face. She sighed and looked down at their hands. “I wanted it to be perfect.”

“What do you mean?”

Amy bit her lip. “Today. All of it. I...I know you haven’t had the easiest time adjusting to Earth.” She squeezed his hand. “Winter is beautiful, and I wanted to be there with you for all of your...‘firsts,’ you know?” She put her mug down on his coffee table. “The first time you saw snow, the first time you went sledding, and skated, and made a snow angel...” Her shoulders rose, and her eyes started to water. “But I can’t do it. I can’t! I want to love winter, I really do! It’s beautiful, and there are so many activities that can’t be done any other time.” She peeked up at him through her eyelashes, then looked away. “And...it’s romantic. That’s why...I wanted...”

Shadow’s heart pounded painfully. “Amy...”

Her chest started heaving, anger seeping into her tone. “But I don’t like winter. I can’t stand it! I’m scared of sledding, I’ll never be a good skater, and I hate, hate, hate the cold! No matter what I wear, I’m always too cold! Everyone else is fine, it’s just me! Why can’t I—”

Unable to take any more, Shadow swiftly put down his own mug and opened the quilt to duck under it with her. He wrapped an arm around her to hold her close, and she cut herself off with a squeak. Shadow found her hand—warmer than before thanks to the hot chocolate, but still too cold for his liking—and rested his chin on top of her head. She made an inquisitive noise, but he stayed where he was, afraid he’d lose his nerve if he made eye contact. Once her muscles relaxed, he took a deep breath. “I’m only going to say this once, so listen up.” When she remained silent, he paused to find the right words, then spoke.

“I can run at the speed of sound without breaking a sweat, and my motorcycle is faster than any sled. I can skate anytime I want to. And I can’t stand surprises.”

At this, Amy pulled back, looking fearful once more. “I—I’m so sorry, I—”

Shadow pressed a finger to her lips and shook his head. He exhaled through his nose. “I can’t stand surprises...unless they’re from one person.” He pulled his hand back, steeled himself, and fixed her with an intense gaze. “I’m not here for sledding or skating. I’m not here for snow or kids’ games. I’m here because I like spending time with you, and if you’re miserable, then there’s no point.” This time, his hand was the one that shook as he lifted it and cupped her cheek. “I never want you to make yourself unhappy for me again. Never.”

Amy stared up at him, eyes wide and unreadable. Nervous as he was, Shadow still didn’t look away, determined to let the message sink in.

The wait felt like hours, but at last, the shock frozen on Amy’s face melted away, leaving eyes watery with emotion. A smile soon bloomed across her face, the brightest one he’d seen all day. She threw her arms around him and eagerly swooped in for a kiss. It was too fast; before he had time to process it or tilt his head, she’d already knocked their noses together. She snorted and giggled at the way his face scrunched up, but she stayed close enough to rub noses with him afterward. Shadow was charmed enough to put up with it for a few seconds, but he quickly grew impatient and tilted his head to close the last bit of distance between them for a proper kiss. Her cheeks were still cool, but the breath she shared with him was warm, and the last of her shivers died down as she relaxed in his arms. Shadow kept up the contact until the pounding of his heart steadied, and then he pulled back. He took a moment to admire her affectionate gaze and the glow of her cheeks, now rosier than ever.

He cleared his throat. “You only had us try activities for me today. Is there anything you do like about winter?”

Amy’s smile was small and secretive. She bit her lip. “Well, I do like to cuddle up indoors with someone I care about and drink hot chocolate while we watch the snowfall.”

Shadow’s lips curled into a smirk, and he chuckled under his breath. He retrieved their mugs from the coffee table and returned Amy’s to her hands. “I think that can be arranged.”

She happily snuggled closer, nuzzling her way into the crook of his neck, and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. The two of them watched snow blanket the neighborhood for the rest of the evening, enjoying the picturesque view and each other’s warmth.

The trick Shadow does the first time on his skates is this one from SA2:

And the concept of Elise being a figure skater is a reference to this beautiful calendar art from the Sonic Channel website for April 2023:

I like to think she gets to have a more relaxing life now that Iblis doesn’t exist and she can safely shed tears without the world ending.

#shadamy #amy rose #shadow the hedgehog #sonic the hedgehog #fanfiction #clingy #shadamy secret santa #shadamy secret santa 2024

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