Two weeks...

...pass and Amy is out of hospital and back home, with Scourge snuggling and nuzzling into his chest. Scourge notices.

"Do you like that?" Amy asks

"Yes, I do. Have you missed me in hospital?" Scourge responds, asking

"Of course, more than anything else. I love you, Scourge."

"I love you too, Amy."

Scourge then kisses Amy's head, taking hold of her hand and stroking simultaneously. Then, the strangers from the hospital barge in, uninvited.

"Scourge, you're coming with us!" The boss shouts

"Not on my watch! Why are you two in my house?!" Amy shouts back

"Why we're here isn't your concern, getting out of the way is, however. Now move!"

"Boss, she's the one with the hammer." The accomplice warns, getting scared

Amy then gets her hammer out.

"Your friend is right, scoundrel. Get out or get clobbered!"

"You really think that'll scare me? Well, you're---"

The two crooks are then lifted into the air and turned to the one behind the power; it's Sapphire, she puts them down to face her.

"What are you two doing in my best friend's house?" Sapphire asks, unimpressed soon adding, "I know who you're after, and you're not taking any of my friends. Now, get out and never come back. Dare come back, and my magic and Chaos powers will come to haunt you."

The two crooks then scurry out and far away from the village square. Amy and Scourge are left speechless, surprised by Sapphire's actions. Then...

"How did you do that?" Scourge asks

"I knew what was happening from miles away. So, I teleported here to help you guys. No-one messes with me, my friends or boyfriend. Not for a second."

"Thank you, Sapphire. You saved our lives." Amy says her thanks

"It's part of being both this world's hero and a spiritual Saviour. So, you're welcome."

Sapphire then teleports away as Amy and Scourge get back to snuggling on the couch. Sapphire is in the woods as she hears faint, toddler-like sobbing. She follows the sound and finds a bee, in the bushes and unable to fly. Sapphire quickly recognises the bee; it's Charmy and he's been turned into a toddler. The young bee notices Sapphire, getting shy and scared.

"Who are you?" Charmy asks, nervously

"If you don't know me already, I'm Sapphire." Sapphire answers, softly

"Sapphire? I remember that name, you're Sapphire?"

"Yes, I'm Sapphire. Are you lost?"

"No, I was exploring and got hit by this laser-y thingy. Now, I'm small."

"Oh my, do you want to live with me and Shadow?"

"Is Shadow red and black, with white chest fur?"

"Yeah, that's him. Don't worry, he's really nice and wouldn't hurt anyone."

"Are you his girlfriend?"

"Yeah, that's true. Come on, let's head to my house."

Charmy then lifts his arms to be picked up as Sapphire takes him into her arms.

"Ready? I'm gonna teleport there." Sapphire softly says

Charmy nods, hugging tightly as Sapphire teleports to her house and goes inside to see Shadow sat on the couch, reading.

"Hey, babe I'm back." Sapphire informs

Shadow looks up and notices Charmy in Sapphire's arms. He gets closer and realises that Charmy's a toddler.

"What happened to Charmy?" Shadow asks

"He was out exploring, and some sort of laser hit him and now he's a toddler." Sapphire explains

"Oh, erm... have we had a child before?"

"Don't you remember Emerald? We found her and raised her from when she was four."

"I remember now, would caring for Charmy be the same as Emerald?"

"Well, you've seen Charmy when he's his regular, energetic and childish self. Only now, he's younger."

"So, he'd be the same as before?"

"Yes, but this time flying he won't be able to do."

As for Charmy, he's reaching out to Shadow, wanting to be held by him.

"Looks like Charmy's a fan of you."

Sapphire then carefully hands Charmy over to Shadow as the young bee buries his face in Shadow's chest fur.

"This is so soft and cuddly. I like it!" Charmy says, slightly muffled

"You like the fur little man?" Shadow asks, slightly smiling

"Yeah, it's amazing! You're Shadow, right?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"You're Sapphire's boyfriend!" Charmy cutely teases

"You told him, right?"

"Well, Charmy asked. What can I say?" Sapphire responds

"I don't mind, I knew it was going to come out anyway."

Charmy then climbs up and leans on Shadow's quills, for Sapphire to chuckle. Shadow then looks up, chuckling as Charmy is trying to stay balanced on his quills. After a while, Charmy climbs down into Shadow's chest fur and starts falling asleep.

"We need somewhere for the little bee to sleep."

"Why not with us? We'll need a crib though."

"I'll go out and buy one, you stay here with Charmy in case he wakes up."

Shadow nods as Sapphire goes to the furniture store, to bump into Amy.

"Oh, hey Sapphire. What are you doing here?" Amy greets, asking

"I'm looking for a crib. Do you know where they are?" Sapphire responds, asking

"I'll show you. Why do you need a crib?"

"Come to my place, all will be revealed."

"Okay."

Amy and Sapphire go to where the cribs are; Sapphire picks up a build-up crib and pays for it. Soon, the two ladies head to Sapphire's house and enter, to see Shadow asleep on the couch with Charmy sleeping in his chest fur.

"What's happened to Charmy?"

"He was hit by some sort of laser and turned into a toddler."

"So, you need somewhere for him to sleep until he's back to normal, right?"

"Yep, that's right."

Sapphire and Amy then go upstairs and build the crib in the spare bedroom.

"Shadow and I were planning to have Charmy sleep in our room with us."

"I know what you both are like in that bedroom; you can't keep your hands off each other."

"Yeah, that's true. This is a good call."

After a while, the two ladies finish building the crib and high-five at their achievement. As for Sonic, he's at Rouge's house trying to get her excited, to no avail.

"I know what you're tryna do babe, it's not working though." Rouge informs, reading her book

"I know..." Sonic responds, in defeat

"Don't you remember? I love taking control, being the sassy, confident woman I am. Or, if you wanna take control, you've gotta try harder. I won't help you but try experimenting and finding out what makes me pay attention."

Sonic then kneels on the floor, stroking Rouge's leg up to her thigh, making her blush and bite her lip. Knowing that he's getting somewhere, Sonic then licks and kisses Rouge's thigh as she suppresses a moan of pleasure.

"You like that, huh?" Sonic teases

"Mhmm, y-yeah..." Rouge responds, putting her book on the side table

Rouge then watches on as Sonic moves up, licking and kissing her abdomen; this makes her moan and pin Sonic to the couch.

"You really think I'd let you inside me that easy? Well, this woman orders you to take her to the bedroom; she wants control and wants it now, Blue." Rouge orders

Without further discussion, Sonic follows the instruction and takes Rouge to the bedroom. He lays on the bed, waiting for Rouge's next move.

"Get on your arms and knees, Blue. You're due a punishment."

Sonic follows the instruction, for Rouge to give his anus oral sex. Sonic then puts his head into the pillow as he lets out a muffled moan. After this, now undressed, Rouge orders Sonic to switch places. Now laying on the bed, Rouge lets Sonic inside, fingering him simultaneously. After a few hours...

"Oh, Rouge, right there! I'm gonna come!"

"Me too, baby. I love you so fuckin' much Blue!"

"I love you just as much, Batgirl!"

Soon after, both moan loud as they climax, some juices landing on the bedsheets. After, both land on the bed, Rouge twisting Sonic's minimal chest fur in her fingers.

"That was so good, baby..."

"I agree, I love you Rouge."

"I love you too, Sonic."

Sonic and Rouge share a tired kiss before going to sleep, unaware about the developments at Sapphire's house. As for the said hybrid, she's with Shadow, chasing Charmy around the downstairs areas; unintentionally breaking things in their efforts to catch the little toddler.

"We probably shouldn't have given Charmy that nap." Sapphire informs

"You think?" Shadow asks, both sarcastically and rhetorically before adding, "Is Amy still here?"

"Ames went home hours ago, we're handling Charmy by ourselves for tonight."

Having stopped running around, Sapphire and Shadow are out of breath as Charmy notices, going to them.

"Are you okay?" Charmy asks, slightly worried

"We're just out of breath, that's all, sweet bee." Sapphire answers

Charmy then yawns and stretches, signifying that he's tired.

"Alright, time for bed now." Shadow informs, softly

"But I wanna play more!"

Charmy is quickly trying to stay awake, with intermittent failure. Sapphire then carefully picks the little bee up and takes him to bed, with Shadow following. After reaching the spare bedroom, Sapphire puts Charmy to bed, making a small night-light appear and putting it beside the crib. Sapphire watches, reminiscing the days of when she and Shadow were raising Emerald.

"Are you alright?" Shadow asks, putting his arm around Sapphire

"Yeah, I just miss Emerald, that's all. We should go to bed, it's late." Sapphire responds

Sapphire then gets out of Shadow's arm and goes to bed. Shadow quickly remembers that his arch-rivalry with Sonic is still a thing, remembering their fight before he tried destroying the universe. He quickly starts questioning whether his romance with Sonic is real, or if it's just a show.

Shadow then joins Sapphire in bed, for her to turn to him.

"Are you okay, babe?" Sapphire asks

"Just wondering whether this thing I have with Sonic is real, that's all." Shadow answers

"I'll admit, I was concerned about how quickly it came about; knowing that your arch-rivalry would still be burning. Up to now, I still don't think that this romance you have with Sonic is real; I reckon is just there to cover up your rivalry and something tells me that Sonic's thinking the same thing."

"What do you think I should do?"

Sapphire quickly gets nervous, then…

"Not to sound selfish, but I think you should both call it quits. Plus, Sonic's more focused on Rouge; that is a clue. Sorry to say this, it's not something I wanted to say."

"It's alright, I saw this coming. You gave me an honest response, that's all that matters."

Sapphire turns away.

"To be honest, I like that you both get on; that's an achievement. But this sugar-coating feels awful, I hate it and want it to stop. Also, that's what your romance with Sonic feels like; a huge lie to sugar-coat the truth. Goodnight, Shadow the Hedgehog."

Having heard his full name spoken and the truth out, Shadow now knows that he's messing up the balances for not only himself, but also for his romance with Sapphire and arch-rivalry with Sonic. Knowing what needs to be done, he goes to sleep.