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Amy Rose knew it was only a matter of time before the disease hit her. If anything, she was surprised it took so long. Was her love not real before? Maybe it wasn't deep enough? Or perhaps... perhaps... there had been a time when he loved her back?
No.
That was ridiculous. Sonic the Hedgehog didn't do love, not for her at least.
Another coughing fit attacked her. It was only after she felt like breathing again that she checked her hands, cute little pink petals were trapped between her fingers, along with some droplets of blood. It was getting worse.
The feared Hanahaki disease. The disease of the unrequited love.
She had never met someone with it, but she had heard about it. About how flowers start blooming in your lungs and heart, choking you to death, till your loved one returns your feelings... or you get surgery. They also said that once you got the surgery, you wouldn't feel romantic feelings ever again. Some even said you wouldn't feel anything at all. It scared her.
And now she had it.
"Miss Rose, is everything all right?" she heard Cream's adorable voice call outside her bathroom door.
"Yeah, I'm okay! Just drank my tea too fast" Amy said with a nervous laughter, quickly washing the evidence off her shaking hands "I'll be out in a minute!"
"Alright then!" she heard the little bunny walk away, back to the kitchen where she and her mother, Vanilla, waited. They were having a nice brunch, when Amy felt that choking sensation. She had run to the bathroom without a word, barely locking the door behind her when the aggressive coughs began.
She had been having this little fits before, but she didn't knew it has Hanahaki till this very moment. What was she going to do? What was she supposed to do? It wasn't like she could run to Sonic crying, begging for him to love her. She didn't do that... not anymore at least. And love didn't work that way, nor the disease. It had to be real for her to be cured.
The surgery, then? Getting her feelings for the blue blur, literally removed from her heart? Or all her feelings for that matter?
No.
No.
She couldn't do that, love was something Amy valued too much. She loved her friends, her world, her stupid blue hero. Just imagining not being able to feel that again, it terrified her. It was part of who she was, it was what made her brave, what made her strong and stubborn. It was her. And she couldn't live without it.
So... what then? Death was the only option? Either Sonic loved her back or she'd die?
She had heard Knuckles kid about that once, teasing Sonic about how if he kept running away from her affections he'd end up killing her. Like a wilted flower.
How ironic.
Amy managed to hide her condition from Cream and her mother, shrugging it off as a simple cough. For once in her life, she was grateful all her friends were always so busy with their personal missions to stop and check on her. If anything, she would only see them when Eggman was causing trouble and fighting was needed. So her secret was safe, for now.
She didn't know what to do.
Was it selfish of her? To die loving Sonic rather than live as an empty shell?
Amy didn't want to die, that much she knew. But living the rest of her life, without being able to feel anything ever again felt like being dead to her. It didn't feel like a solution, not really.
Besides, she had dreams and goals. Dreams she's always yearned for since se could remember. She wanted to form a family. She wished so much for it, she even could clearly see it in her head. A cute little home, just outside of the city, two bright and cheery kids, a boy and a girl, whom she would shower with all her love, and a loving husband, who when he came back home after one of his adventures he would look at her with such adoration, she'd knew she was loved without the need of words.
She used to picture Sonic as this man, but now... she knew that would never happen.
The lovely image Amy used to fantasy so much about was all blurry now, her children's faces a mystery to her. She couldn't see it anymore, because now she knew it would forever remain a silly dream.
Amy cried herself to sleep that night, coughing petals between sobs.
Days passed, and what began as single blood tainted petals turned into full flowers. Soon, Amy's attacks lasted longer, now she would spit a handful of full blossomed pink flowers, all dripping in blood. And every night, just before going to sleep, Amy would turn on her fireplace and burn all the evidence away. She'd stay up, staring at the fire as the pink flowers slowly turned to ashes, sometimes she cried... other days she was too drained to try.
She knew she had little time left. She could feel it. How slowly the vines where crushing her heart, how full her lungs were.
She still didn't know what to do.
It had been a couple of weeks since Cream last saw Amy, it usually only happened when the pinkette left in search of her beloved hero, but she knew that wasn't the case. Amy had called soon after her last visit, explaining she was a bit sick and wouldn't visit for a while, not wanting Cream or Vanilla to catch whatever she had. So, instead Cream would talk to her on the phone every day, just to make sure she was alright. She didn't know why, but she had this nagging feeling that something was wrong, Amy's voice sounded more rehearsed every day, exhaustion slipping every once in a while. The little bunny was worried, and she had noticed her cough wasn't getting better.
So, with a basket full of cookies and tea that her mother helped her pack, she left with a happy skip to her friend's house.
She knocked on the door once, balancing on her toes while waiting.
"Miss Amy? It's Cream! I brought you your favorite cookies!" She called happily, wondering what was taking Amy so long.
There was no response.
She tried again, banging a bit more loudly at the door. Five minutes passed and there was no sign of the pink hedgehog. Cream peeked at the window, seeing no sight of her friend.
"She must be out" she thought with a sad sigh, turning around to leave.
A quiet cough from above caught her attention. Cream left the basket on the entrance and flew up, peeking into Amy's bedroom window. She scanned the room with a worried glance and immediately saw her.
Amy was laying on the floor on a pool of blood, surrounded by flowers.
Tails rushed through the street, his heart almost beating out of his ribcage, as he made his way to the hospital. Vanilla had call him an hour ago, something had happened to Amy, something bad. She wouldn't say, but he could hear Cream crying in the background.
When he arrived at the hospital he was greeted by the sight of Cream in her mother's arms, both of them looked pale and tired.
"What happened?! Where's Amy?!" he asked with urgency, looking around for any clue. He knew Amy had the tendency to get in trouble, either Metal Sonic kidnapping her or just being caught up in the middle of Eggman's riot. But Tails knew she was strong as well, so something really bad must have happened for her to be hurt enough to be hospitalized.
"She's... being checked by the doctors now" the older rabbit struggled to speak, hugging her daughter closer. "It's been a while, so... I'm sure they'll come out soon"
Tails stared at her, he knew there was something she wasn't telling him. Vanilla was one of the most calm and collected person he knew, always reassuring them with her motherly words, but now... she was avoiding his stare.
"Vanilla... what happened to Amy?" he asked again, fearing the answer. What could've been so bad for them to be acting this way?
"It's the Hanahaki disease, Tails"
Tails was sitting on the waiting area, gripping his head in despair. The yellow fox's brilliant brain was in complete turmoil.
Of course it had to be Hanahaki disease.
It was bound to happen, he knew it. He had done an extensive research on it, even. Always fearing this day would come, with Sonic so adamant of giving Amy any kind of romantic gesture, and her always chasing after him. Tails always knew this day would come.
He knew the symptoms, he knew the medical procedure to extract the flower from her organs, he knew all the possible outcomes. He knew the cure just as clearly as he knew that wasn't a real option. Not for Amy.
Between sobs and tears, Cream had filled him on what had happened. How long had she been hiding this, for her to be found passed out on her own blood? Figures his pink friend would keep it a secret. He just didn't know if it was to keep them from worrying, or to avoid the surgery. Would... would Amy really rather die than to....?
Tails knew the answer.
His grip tightened as he briefly wondered if he should call everyone else... if he should call Sonic. He had the decency to snort at that, as if it was that easy to call his blue friend. Sonic was a free spirit, you'd never found him unless he wanted to be found. There was really no way to contact him, truly Eggman had to be the only one who'd knew how to get the blue blur's attention.
An old grey wolf came out from the doors, calling for Amy's relatives. Tails stood up immediately, rushing to Vanilla's side as the doctor told them the news.
"She's stable, for now. But I'm afraid Miss Rose's disease is in it's final stages, she doesn't have much time left," he said with a careful voice "It's either we proceed with the surgery, or... let her say her goodbyes... I'll give you a moment to talk."
Tails barely noticed Cream's painful grip on his arm as the doctor went through the doors again. Even if he knew that would happened, it still shocked him to hear it. With a deep breath he turned to look at Vanilla, conflict clear in her face. As the only legal adult, Vanilla was responsible of Amy. She was the one to take the final choice.
"We can't let her die" Cream broke the silence, still grasping Tails's arm. "We can't."
"She didn't tell us for a reason" Tails said, earning a surprised gasp from the bunny. "I... don't think Amy wants to... she wouldn't want to... live like that"
"You can't be serious!" Cream shouted hurt, turning to look at him indignantly "Amy is our friend, we can't let her die! She wouldn't let any of us do!"
"She's going to lose all ability to feel, Cream" Tails explained with pained eyes "do you really think she wants that?"
Cream looked away, tightening her lips as silent tears kept streaming down her face. She knew the fox was right. But she wasn't willing to let her friend go. Amy was stronger than people thought... maybe she could defeat the surgery side effects. She was so passionate about everything, surely she wouldn't be stopped that easily.
Vanilla took a moment to collect herself. She'd seen this young group, even her own little daughter, risk their lives countless of times to battle against the evil. She'd seen them go to war, lose friends, save the world, even other planets and always come back home triumphant. She had always feared the day one of them wouldn't come back.
She had never expected for her to be the one to decide.
It had been a while since Sonic last visited Floral Forest Village, he had been busy the last couple of months running all over the world, making sure everyone was okay and destroying a couple of badniks on the way. After Eggman's last stunt, some of his robots were left wondering all over the world, attacking random villages. He was happy to be back, he had heard Tails was here as well he couldn't wait to catch up with his buddy while eating some homemade chillidogs.
He rushed through town, hearing a couple of surprised gasps as he flashed past a small group of villagers.
'Is that Sonic the Hedgehog?',
'He's so cool!'
'I wonder if I can get an autograph?'.
He grinned proudly, the attention and recognition of being a hero never getting old. It truly was one of the things he enjoyed the most, doing good, saving the world, and all the freedom it came with. He ran past a familiar house, recognizing the pink figure outside.
Amy
He came to a sudden halt and turned around, he hadn't seen Amy Rose since the end of the war. In a second he was right next to her smirking. The pink hedgehog barely blinked in recognition, she had been watering her plants when Sonic suddenly appeared.
"Hey, Amy! Long time no see," he greeted with his usual cockiness, winking at her.
"Oh, hello Sonic" she said quietly, before getting back at her task of watering her plants.
Sonic stared at her shocked. No death hugs? No 'Sonikku, I've missed you so much!'? Not even a blush?
"Is she mad I left the Resistance without saying 'goodbye'?" he thought, trying to figure out why his pink friend was acting so cold towards him.
"Sorry I couldn't visit before, Ames. I've been checking how's everyone doing after the whole Eggman Empire fiasco and chasing some wild badniks a few towns over, you know how it is." he apologized scratching his chin nervously. An angry Amy was something to be feared, if the pink hedgehog was really upset with him he figured out better to apologize than to be clobbered to death with her Piko Piko Hammer.
"Yeah, I know" she replied evenly, without even looking at him, putting the water can down and dusting off her hands on her skirt.
This was wrong. Amy was never like this. If she was really mad at him she would've shouted at him by now.
"Okay Ames, what's wrong?" he said, gently taking her hand "I know you hate it when I leave without saying anything, but there's no need to give me the cold treatment..."
"Oh, right. You don't know" she said, finally looking at him tilting her head. Her eyes were empty of any sparkle they usually held. Sonic felt a shiver down his spine, staring at her dead eyes. "I got the Hanahaki disease, my surgery was two weeks ago."
Sonic was completely taken aback. Her words barely making any sense.
Hanahaki... disease?
Of course he knew what that was. But... it was impossible! Amy didn't love him, it was just a silly childhood crush. She couldn't had Hanahaki! Someone surely would've told him if she had. She was one of his oldest friends, they wouldn't have just let her go through something like that without him knowing, right?
Right?
Sonic broke the silence with a nervous chuckle "Come on, Ames, this isn't funny. Don't joke with that kind of stuff" he said, his grip on her hand tightening. He stared at her, looking for any signs that her words where a lie.
"It's not a joke. My love for you was killing me so..." she stated, staring blankly at him without any hint of emotion "they removed it"
Realization hit him like an arrow. He felt a pang of pain in his chest, he let go of her hand as if he had been burned by it, shock clear in his face. Amy stared at him quietly, before the sound of her phone ringing inside her house caught her attention. Sonic opened his mouth as if to speak, but he couldn't form any words. For once in his life, the blue blur remained motionless, he could feel the tears forming at the corner of his eyes while watching in horror as his Amy Rose walked unfazed back inside.