--BEFORE AND AFTER--

All characters (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, etc.) are (c) SEGA.

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"Sonic! Let's see you deal with my ultimate weapon! If you win, then Amy will be free...but if you lose, then it's your turn to suffer....."

"There's nothing you can do, Sonic! My Metal Sonic is the superior! Your speed cannot beat his! You're mine! Hahahahaha....."

"What's wrong, Sonic? I told you! You can never beat Metal Sonic! Why don't you just give up and surrender? You're no match for me....."

"Damn you, Eggman. I will never surrender to you."

Sonic and Metal Sonic were at the starting line, with Eggman in his Egg Carrier, floating behind them. The Stardust Speedway was the ultimate track. There was spikes, loops, ramps, and all those sorts of things. He would never lose to Metal Sonic. If he lost, then Amy would be killed. He would not let that happen. He couldn't lose.

Sonic was sweating uncontrollably. Metal Sonic was fast, possibly even faster than he was. The race begun right after Eggman's signal. Sonic ran as fast as he could, not stopping. He tried running faster, but he was already at his top speed. Metal Sonic was catching up to him. Sonic's legs were hurting now. There was blood dripping along the raceway. He was pushing himself too hard. There was no way Metal Sonic could beat him. There just had to be the way to get the upper hand.

The two racers were approaching the first set of spikes. Sonic leaped, and so did Metal Sonic. They both landed safely, and were still running forward. It wasn't long before they reached the second set of spikes. Sonic jumped again, and so did Metal Sonic. However, this time, Metal Sonic failed to make it, and he landed on top of the spikes. Ouch. Sonic kept running, gathering speed. Where was Metal Sonic? Was he out of the race? The answer came when Sonic suddenly heard a loud noise coming from behind him. Metal Sonic was dashing at lightning speed. Before long, he was already a mile ahead of Sonic.

Things were looking bad, and they were about to get worse. Sonic was losing stamina. He was losing the capability of running any further. He slowed down. Metal Sonic had disappeared from his sight. Had he lost? Was there any hope left for him? Amy's life was on the line, and if he didn't do something soon, then he'd lose, and so would Amy...

Sonic was unaware of a turn he had to make ahead of him. He tried to stop, but he skidded past the edge and fell downwards. Damn! He closed his eyes, waiting for the end, but it didn't come. He landed on something. What was it? Sonic opened his eyes, and saw that he was on a piece of the raceway. Instead of falling to his doom, he had gotten ahead. He had taken a shortcut, and now he was way ahead of Metal Sonic.

Sonic got to his feet and started running again. He didn't look back, and kept dashing forward. It wasn't long before he heard Metal Sonic approaching from behind him. Sonic was getting closer and closer to the finish line. He pushed himself to maximum speed and kept running. Soon, the finish line was just a few meters away from him. Sonic ran until he could no longer run. He stopped and fell. He had just passed the finish line. Metal Sonic was still a kilometer behind him. He had won.

Everything behind Sonic seemed to disappear. All he saw was in front of him. Amy was tied to a pole. Sonic didn't hesitate, even though walking made his legs hurt. When Sonic reached Amy, he stared at her for a good while. Something about her made Sonic pause. Then he noticed: She was beautiful. Amy looked so innocent and attractive. Her pink quills and green dress--he had never really realized that before. Why had it taken him so long to notice? Probably it was because he never got to really know her. She was completely silent, staring at him with her large and pure eyes. Sonic wanted that moment to last forever, with them staring at each other for all eternity.

Then, Sonic remembered what he had to do. He tried to untie her, but then, before he could, the entire world around him turned black. Everything around Sonic was pitch black. He could see nothing but himself. Then suddenly, Sonic felt himself falling. He was falling into the darkness below. Soon, he couldn't move a muscle, but just let himself fall deeper, and deeper...deeper...deeper...deeper.....

Sonic woke up in bed, sweating and shaking. Damn. What happened? Was it all just a dream? Sonic stopped for a moment and thought about what he had just dreamt about. He thought about Amy in his dream. He couldn't really tell, but he noticed that he did have feelings for her. Sonic admitted...he did like Amy, but it took a really scary dream for him to truly realize that. She isn't so bad, even though she is a bit annoying at times. What would it be like if Amy actually changed? In the dream, Amy was extremely different. Unlike her usual self, she was completely silent. The dream felt so real, even though Sonic knew it was fake, he wished that it was true. After thinking for a few minutes, Sonic laid back and went back to sleep.....