#higher risk of dying by lightning strike is totally worth it

[shedreamsofstars]

Cataclysm of the Heart - Epilogue

She’d waited so long to hear those words fall from his perfect lips. She’d never even stopped to consider that they might not be sincere.

They were going to die. He’d been sure of it. It had only been meant as a comfort. Something to keep a smile on her face as their end loomed.

Neither of them had counted on being rescued.

Start from the beginning 

… xxx …

Sonic rushed around the small clearing, his vision as clear as crystal as he rushed around in what others might have considered to be dizzying circles. Every now and then he glanced out towards the underbrush of overgrown trees, looking out for any signs of movement beyond.

"Why aren't they here yet?" he whined, coming to stop with a childish pout as he turned towards Amy. "It's almost noon."

The pink hedgehog sat perched delicately on a rock in the middle of the clearing. An amused smile played about her lips but otherwise she looked completely unbothered by her boyfriend's ridiculous antics. "It's still early Sonic."

"It's not that early," he countered, breaking into a run again. He sped up until he was a nothing but a blue blur, relishing the feel of the wind on his skin, the ground pounding beneath his feet.

"You know Sonic, most people like to be on time for things," Amy said, rolling her eyes endearingly. She startled as he came to an abrupt stop just inches away from her, almost toppling off the rock if not for a pair of strong arms circling her waist.

Sonic leaned in, closing the remaining distance between them as he brushed his nose against hers. "I'm not most people."

"I guess you're not," Amy replied, trailing a hand along his jaw.

Sonic's brows dipped into a frown. "You guess? That doesn't sound very reassuring Ames."

Amy bit her bottom lip but before she could say anything more, the sound of shuffling drew Sonic's attention behind him. He turned to see the leaves shifting precariously at the edge of the clearing. The pink hedgehog stood up to join him, her warm fingers entangling with his as they both waited to see who would emerge first.

"Tails," Sonic shouted happily, his face breaking into a grin at his younger brother's arrival.

"Hey Sonic and Amy," the fox said with a small wave. Beside him, Amy smiled happily as she returned the gesture, giving Sonic's hand a gentle squeeze as she did so.

"Have you found them?" someone called out in the distance.

"Yeah, I found them. They're over here!" Tails called over his shoulder as he headed towards the two hedgehogs. As his brother came to a stop in front of him, Sonic couldn't help but marvel at what a difference a year could make.

Sonic had always been older and taller than Tails, but sometime during the past year he'd lost the second advantage. Tails now stood a whole head taller than him and the blue hedgehog couldn't help but feel a rush of sadness that his little brother wasn't so little anymore.

Behind the boy, the leaves shifted again and Sonic's grin only widened as Knuckles, Rouge and Cream appeared.

"It's been a while, huh," Tails said softly, drawing Sonic's attention away from the others by holding out his hand and producing two single roses. "A whole year actually. Three hundred and sixty-five days and still …" The boy's eyes glistened as he clenched his fist around the stem of the flowers tightly. "I … I miss you every god damned day."

"Tails," Cream called out gently, hesitating to join him. Tails shook his head and took a deep breath. He leaned down and placed the two roses on the ground by Amy's feet, clenching his jaw as he stood and took a step back.

Sonic took a shuddery breath as his little brother covered his face with his hands, tears escaping through his fingers. He needed to be stronger than this. He had to be, he reminded himself as Cream abandoned the others in favour of pulling Tails into a tight embrace and placing a comforting kiss against his shoulder.

"When did that happen?" Sonic said curiously, doing everything he could to keep his spirits up and ignore the lump in his throat. He hissed in pain as Amy shoved her elbow into his side, rubbing the tender skin with a wounded expression.

"That was always going to happen," she whispered, a proud glow lighting up her eyes as Tails held onto the younger rabbit tightly. "You were just moving too fast to see it." Sonic spared his girl a single glance before looking away with a non-committal shrug. Knowing Amy, she was about half a second away from tears and if she started crying, then he would be a goner too.

Whilst Cream held Tails, Knuckles took the opportunity to step forwards. He crouched down on the ground, his face blank and stoic as he placed his own roses down beside the ones from Tails. "Everyone's always thinking of you both. All the time. I just …" The echidna shook his head, working his jaw as he tried to find the words he needed. "I just wish it didn't have to be like this."

He bowed his head deeply, hiding his face from view as he stood and stepped away. Amy made a noise of protest and Sonic stepped closer to her to remind her he was there if she needed him. He wanted to do more, wanted to hold her and tell her everything was fine. But if the past year had taught him anything, it was that the girl he loved needed time to feel her emotions in the moment.

They would have an eternity to comfort each other later.

"Alright kiddos," Rouge said as she walked towards the centre of the clearing. "I don't think sappy words are much use to anyone, so I'll keep this short." She glanced at the flowers in her hands, seeming to consider something before proceeding to rip off the petals.

Knuckles watched on in alarm but made no move to stop the bat as she collected all the petals in her palms and flung the empty stems into the trees surrounding them.

"I hate that I even have to say this, but I hope that you're both happy wherever you are." As she spoke, Rouge upturned her hands and the petals showered to the ground at Sonic and Amy's feet, studding the dirt like bright gems.

"Cream," the bat said, swiping at her eyes hastily. The rabbit turned at her name, reaching for Tails' hand as she led him back to the centre of the clearing beside Rouge. Knuckles joined them, the four of them linking hands in solidarity.

"We don't really know what became of Eggman, but we do know that thanks to the both of you, we'll be ready if he ever shows his face again. We all miss you terribly … Mr Sonic, Miss Amy, we hope you two like it out here."

Their friends had outdone themselves. The clearing they'd found for them was wild and free like Sonic and natural and effortlessly beautiful like Amy. It was perfect in every way that mattered.

"We do," Sonic replied, knowing that his friends couldn't hear him but needing to say it regardless. He smiled at Amy, using his thumb to swipe away the stray tears that had found their way onto her cheeks with a frown.

"I'm pretty sure we promised no crying," he whispered lightly, earning a playful shove from the girl beside him as their friends began to say their goodbyes and take their leave. Tails was at the rear of the group, and as he reached the edge of the clearing he paused and took a deep breath.

He turned back towards the single large rock that stood sentry in the middle of the clearing, the look of anguish and hurt in his clear blue eyes a mirror to the pain in Sonic's chest. He stared helplessly at his brother, and for a moment Sonic was convinced that Tails could see him standing there, that there was a flicker of recognition in his gaze.

But then the fox blinked, and the moment passed. Tails turned away and headed after the others, leaving Sonic with an all-encompassing sinking feeling in his heart, a reminder of why he'd stopped visiting.

With a heavy sigh, Sonic turned around to face the stone Amy had been perched on earlier. He fell to his knees, reaching out to run his fingers against the engraving of their names etched into the rock.

It hurt too much to see his brother live his life without him. It hurt too much to have to leave every time. It hurt too much to watch his brother slowly build a life without him. To watch him forget him, little by little.

"It's crazy, isn't it …" Amy said, dropping to the ground beside him. "The world turns, and life goes on whether or not we're around to live it or not."

Sonic nodded solemnly. Mobius had grieved for its fallen heroes, but it too would move on. To a day when the two hedgehogs who lost their lives for the world were nothing but a distant memory. But their friends, they would never let the world fall to ruin and that thought alone gave Sonic the peace he needed.

Both he and Amy were silent for a time, letting the other feel their pain alone. They would share it later and lessen the burden, but for now it was theirs alone to carry.

"Alright, that's enough sulking," Sonic said after a while, standing and nudging the pink hedgehog beside him. "We got to see our friends, so today is a good day." Amy nodded in agreement, but no matter how she tried to hide it, Sonic could still see the tell-tale sheen of tears in her eyes.

"I'm so happy they all came. I missed them so much."

"Me too. Although, I do kind of wish at least one of them had been considerate enough to bring chilli dogs."

"Sonic!" Amy cried, slightly scandalised by his blasé attitude.

"You know I'm kidding, and you love me for it," Sonic said with a cocky smirk before a sudden thought wiped it clean away. "Wait. You do love me … right?" he asked, sounding unsure.

A grin spread across the pink hedgehog's face.

"Why don't you catch me and find out?" she said, taking a teasing step backwards, an unfaltering smile on her face. She shrieked as Sonic threw himself at her, wrapping her up in his arms so quickly that she didn't have a hope of outrunning him.

"That's funny … I don't … see … you running … anywhere," he said between pressing kisses to any part of her he could reach. He paused as he reached her lips. "So … do you love me or not?"

"I've always loved you silly hedgehog, why would now be any different? But … do you love me?" she asked quietly, sounding almost as if she was afraid of the answer.

Sonic and Amy had been with one another this entire past year. Together they'd figured out the ins and outs of their new lives, the freedoms and restrictions. They were ghosts with heavy hearts and broken love in their souls, and it had taken some time, but they'd put each other back together piece by piece.

Yet over the course of the year, Amy had never once tried to define what they were to each other. They just were, and Sonic was a little surprised to only realise that fact now. Had she not mentioned it to keep from scaring him away when they were almost all they had left? The thought left a bad taste in his mouth.

"I think you already know the answer to that question," Sonic said pressing a quick kiss against her nose. "But in case there was still any doubt, then yes … you do still owe me that chilli dog date you promised me a year ago."

He chuckled at Amy's glare, dodging her half-hearted attack effortlessly by pulling her closer to him.

"Sonic? Please be serious for a second."

Sonic rested his hand against Amy's jaw, guiding her to look at him full on. Her face was unguarded and vulnerable, and the lost look in her eyes brought him back to the moment. "Alright fine. Ask me again."

Amy looked reluctant but asked again anyway. "Sonic, do you love me?"

He leaned forwards to brush back the hair from her face and meet her gaze head on. "Of course I do Amy. I don't think I could ever explain how much even if we had all the time in the world … which we kinda do actually. I love you Amy Rose. I will always love you."

Amy's eyes lit up at his words and the full force of her smile, the sheer joy it beheld, did him in. It was the type that shone like a beam of sunlight, caressing your soul until it knew no other equal. There was no resisting her, not anymore. He'd known it for quite some time now, but he still chuckled to himself wondering how he could ever have believed otherwise.

He might have been born touched by the gift of speed, but Amy was one force of nature he could never outrun, only grow into. Sonic let his lips fall into hers, his hands tangling in her quills as he let his kiss linger, long and sweet.

Alone, the two of them were powerful and constant, pushing and pulling at each other in their bid to come out on top.

But together?

Together they were cataclysmic.

... xxx ...

fin.

thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who read and supported this story! all of your kind words meant so much to me and i'm so grateful to have such wonderful people reading my work! i truly hope you enjoyed this finale. i rewrote the entire thing three times and i'm still not sure on it lol (don't you just love writers block?) i hope no one was too disappointed but like ... i had to go there. having them escape death a second time felt like too much of a cop out.

thank you once again and i hope you're all safe and happy. until next time guys!