---
The wind brushed Amy's quills as she stood at the edge of the cliffs overlooking Emerald Hill. She inhaled deeply, hoping the morning breeze would shake the heaviness clinging to her chest.
[Why do I feel like something's watching me?] she thought.
Shadow stood a few paces behind her, arms crossed. "You're quiet today."
Amy glanced over her shoulder. His red eyes were distant, unreadable as always. "Just thinking."
"About Sonic?" he asked bluntly.
She winced. "Not everything revolves around him."
Shadow didn't respond, but she knew he'd caught the bitterness in her tone. She didn't mean to sound angry, but lately, her emotions had been harder to contain. Ever since their escape from Eggman's ambush the week prior, something had been off inside her. Restless. Surging.
"Shadow," she said hesitantly. "Do you ever feel… like there's something inside you that isn't entirely yours?"
He turned slowly, examining her face. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know." She hugged her arms. "Lately, I've been having dreams. Weird ones. Of floating in a sea of red light. And there's this voice—no, a feeling—like I'm part of something bigger."
"Chaos energy," he said at once.
Amy blinked. "You think so?"
"I've felt it before. It whispers. It pulls. You don't control it—it chooses you."
Amy looked away, unsure if that made her feel better or worse.
---
They didn't realize how fast the moment was slipping away until the sky screamed.
A violent ripple tore across the horizon, followed by a high-pitched whine. Birds scattered. Trees trembled. Amy dropped to one knee, clutching her head as pain spiked behind her eyes.
"Amy!" Shadow rushed to her side.
She gasped. "It's here. The Pulse—it's calling me!"
Without warning, a red laser blasted through the air, scorching the ground inches from them.
"MOVE!" Shadow grabbed her waist and flash-dashed into the forest as another beam exploded where they'd just stood.
Dozens of Eggman's wasp-like drones descended from the clouds, scanning, pulsing, converging. At the center hovered a new model—sleek, dark, with a circular Chaos Core embedded in its chest.
A voice boomed from its speaker:
"AMY ROSE. THE DOCTOR REQUESTS YOUR PRESENCE."
"Not happening!" Shadow snarled, Chaos Spear igniting in his palm.
The bot dodged effortlessly, retaliating with an energy wave that blasted the trees apart. Shadow shielded Amy, skidding back as bark and leaves rained around them.
"We can't fight them all!" Amy shouted. "We have to run—"
Then the world froze.
To her, everything stopped. The sound, the wind, even the light dimmed. Amy's heartbeat echoed in her ears like a war drum. Her hands burned. Her chest felt like it would burst.
She staggered, falling to her knees, and let out a scream.
It wasn't one of fear—
—it was power.
A shockwave exploded from her body, throwing Shadow and the drones backward. The red-core bot was launched into a cliff face with a metallic crack.
Amy floated a foot off the ground. Her eyes glowed with a vibrant pink hue. Her body radiated soft, golden-red energy—like a harmonic between Super Sonic's glow and Chaos.
Shadow pushed himself up, stunned. "No way..."
The trees around her bent from the pressure. The air thickened. And Amy's voice, when she finally spoke, was not entirely hers.
"I am the pulse between order and chaos."
Eggman's drone, crackling with static, scanned her again.
"Unstable reading. Unknown energy type. Dangerous anomaly."
"Damn right," Shadow muttered.
The drone attempted one last strike—but Amy raised a single hand. Her palm ignited with energy and shot out a clean beam that disintegrated the machine in midair. It didn't explode. It unraveled.
When the dust cleared, she floated down, her glow slowly fading. She collapsed to her knees, panting. Shadow caught her before she hit the ground.
"That was…" she started, gasping. "What was that?"
"You awakened," Shadow said softly. "The Chaos Pulse inside you… it's real."
"I… I didn't mean to. I didn't want to hurt anyone—"
"You didn't," he said. "You stopped them. You saved me."
Amy looked at him, dazed. "Shadow… I'm scared."
He held her gaze for a moment before placing a hand on her shoulder. "Then we find out what this is. Together."
---
Later That Night – Somewhere in the Ruins of Robotropolis
The broken shell of the drone floated back to Eggman's lab, half-melted but still transmitting. On a flickering screen, Amy's glowing image replayed again and again.
Eggman stared at it, mouth slightly open. He didn't blink.
"She's not just a key," he whispered. "She is the Pulse."
The cloaked figure behind him shifted. "Do we proceed?"
Eggman's hand clenched the console. "Yes. Begin Phase Two. We lure her in… by taking what she cares about most."
The figure glanced at a side screen, where Shadow's face flickered.
And smiled.