Author's Note: So... uhm. Yeah. The quick update I was hoping to make... didn't quite work out. Still shorter than before but it's still been just over... six... months... right? ._. {Epic Phail}

Not really any excuses this time. It might be all the new/old/new-old fandoms I find myself in again... Recently watched Code Geass and my god I want to know why I haven't checked out any animes before this 8D Actually, I may well end up writing some stuff for it, Lelouch was just freaking awesome :3 Blame is shared with both series of Merlin (Colin Morgan = adorable), and Doctor Who... and the new Alice in Wonderland film, even if it isn't quite so new anymore. Still love it~ {heart} Probably more, but I'll shut up now~

Anyways... Manymanymany thankyous for all of the reviews and alerts and favourites. They make my day every time I see them {heart}! Gahh, I swear, I don't deserve them for being such a inattentive writer... {flails} Thankyou so much everyone~! :3 Hopefully you'll enjoy the chapter :D

-XOX-

Review Responses~ !

- Ksonic :; Aww, the poor hedgie's trying to be friendlier :P Ames just figured she'd run for it while everyone thought she was happy xP I can't wait to write the last few chapters though, they should involve a lot more fluffy fluff instead of heartbreak drama :3 Thanks for the review :D!

- zeldamaster456 :; Thank you for the reviews! Hope you enjoy this chapter and it's cookie as well x3!

- Art1caNgEl999 :; Thanks, and I... kind of? Did better with the update wait this time xD Blame various distractions and my teachers for the wait though, I did start this chapter before I ended up busy xD Still, I want to draw it out a little longer, I've realised there's not going to be a huge number of chapters xP

- Xialdon :; Ooh, thank you for voting :D! I meant to mention that, I want to know what kind of stuff people want me to write more of x3

- BrilliantHighlights :; As requested, here is moar story :)! Thank you for the review!

- Rachael-1994 :; I know, poor overwrought little hedgie D: But without drama there can be no justified fluffy cure at the end x3! Hence looking forward to the ending :D Thank you, and here's the continuation :P

- SugarhogRose :; I could tell you, but that would ruin the kinda non-existent surprise xD I'm glad you like it, and I wasn't sure how well that conversation came across - I get the feeling I'm pretty bad at writing humour but I wanted to break up the tension a little, so it ended up staying anyway xD Enjoy the update! :P

- Shirls :; Wow, thank you! I don't know what to say :') The idea mostly came from thinking, what if Amy let all of the rejection get to her? And then it spiralled onwards xD Thank you so much for the positive review, and here's the next chapter :D

- Mana the Cat Magician :; Thank you for the kind review! :D I'm glad you're enjoying the story, and that you like the writing :P The title was a little tricky, but as soon as I knew what the setting would be, it seemed perfect :P I'm not sure if I should be pleased or not that the story makes you want to cry - I guess it was supposed to be quite sad xD Anyway, thank you very much, and the new chapter is here :D

-XOX-

The Never-Breaking Dawn

{Chapter Three :; In Abscence}

-XOX-
Oh, I couldn't tell you
Why she felt that way -
She felt it everyday.
And I couldn't help her -
I just watched her make
The same mistakes again.

..: Nobody's Home - Avril Lavigne :..
-XOX-

The amaranth pink hedgehog's hand trembled as she stared hard at the envelope that contained her last words to her best friend.

Is this a mistake?

No, of that she was certain. And she was certain that this was the right place. Perfect, even.

A soft sigh, tinged with regret, escaped her. Then she tucked the pastel yellow envelope into a hollow at the base of the largest tree in the clearing, and turned away to leave for what she truly hoped wasn't forever.

-XOX-

Dearest Cream,

I know you'll be the one to find this letter - which is why I left it here. You wouldn't let me disappear without searching for me, would you? You're looking in our clearing because it's safer than letting you roam the countryside alone - and besides, we were the two who knew the Ivy Trail Woods the best.

I guess I've been missing for a few days now. Don't worry, I'm alright. I'm sorry I can't stay to say goodbye myself, I really am. But I had to get out while I could - and if I'd stayed, I'd have missed my chance. Besides, would any of you have let me go if you knew I was leaving? Yeah, I know - I regret it too.

I won't tell you where I'm going - it's a place unmarked on most maps, and it's best it stays that way - only that I'm going back home to stay with my grandmother, like I did before Eggman showed up and any of this really started. I've got to find somewhere to clear my head, away from it all, and it's long past time I should've gone back anyway.

I swear on my life, Cream, this isn't goodbye forever. I need some time, that's all. I just don't know how much.

One last request, Cream? Don't tell anyone about this letter, please. I don't want them to worry about me, but... Well, they'd try to find me, and I need them to stay away.

I impatiently await the day we'll meet again, little sister. However soon, it'll be too long.

Love,

Amy Rose x

-XOX-

Scarlet sneakered feet stopped just outside of the door, sliver-grey soles resting on the mat placed to wipe dirt from shoes before entrance.

It was only with slight apprehension that a white-gloved hand raised and knocked on the wood twice. Really, he still had no idea where he was going to take Amy; when he'd filled Tails in yesterday, the fox had suggested somewhere on Green or Westside Island, but Sonic couldn't think where to visit. Or if Amy would even enjoy herself. Maybe he should just let her choose a location... and he doubted Twinkle Park would be on the list.

The hedgehog knocked on the door again, too lost in his thoughts to think much of the lack of response - but when there was no reply for the second time, it broke his concentration.

Sonic rapped on the wood a little harder this time - he couldn't hear water running, but perhaps Amy was in the shower or the kitchen and couldn't hear him?

"Ames? Amy!"

Only silence emanated from the door. Maybe- maybe Amy had nipped out to the corner shop? Though that didn't explain the sickness suddenly coiling around in his stomach; something wasn't right, and he knew it.

But - if she had just gone out - surely she wouldn't mind if he let himself in. Sonic reached out and grasped the door handle with his right hand, and turned it anti-clockwise.

Locked.

The nausea was growing stronger. Amy'd known he was coming to see her today. She wasn't the type to forget something like that. And in the past, he'd heard Cream mention - Amy never locks her apartment when she's expecting visitors.

So what was going on...?

There was something wrong. He could feel it.

-XOX-

Cream's house was situated just beyond the outskirts of the city; it wasn't a long journey from Amy's apartment building, and in his inexplicably uneasy state, it took Sonic even less time to run there than normal. The rabbit he was looking for was sat outside in the emerald grass, braiding flowers into delicate chains; how Vanilla coaxed her garden into growing them year-round - regardless of weather - mystified him.

The hedgehog wandered over and knelt down beside her, the sound of his footsteps as they brushed through the thick lawn announcing his arrival. "Hey, Cream."

"Mr. Sonic!"

"Aww, Cream... I've told you not to call me that, you're making me feel old!"

The wheat-furred rabbit didn't answer, instead leaping to her feet to drape the newly-finished chain of blue-and-ivory wildflowers around one of Sonic's ears like a wonky crown. Sonic let her, a slight grin on his face despite the reason he was there; Cream carried an aura of cuteness around her the way other kids toted along a favourite teddy bear.

"Say, Cream, have you seen Amy today?"

"Hm? No, Mr- Sonic." the peach rabbit corrected herself. "I went to see her just this morning but she must have been out somewhere."

There was that queasiness again, like the sensation of nervous butterflies, only somehow more... sinister. "Is Vanilla inside, Cream?"

"When I left the house, Mother was baking a cake..."

"Thanks, kiddo."

Sonic knocked on the front door before letting himself inside at the declared "Come in!" A moment later he was stood in the kitchen, behind Vanilla as she put the finishing touches to the frosting on a beautifully crafted, layered chocolate cake. The motherly rabbit had always had a certain flair for baking, amongst other things, and she was teaching her daughter well.

"Vanilla? Vanilla, can I please borrow the spare key to Amy's apartment? It's urgent." Sonic, despite not wanting to appear rude, didn't give the older rabbit a chance to greet him in return, his irrational anxiety instead allowing his voice to betray his impatience.

Ever-understanding and amicable, Vanilla didn't mind, instead saying, "Of course, Sonic, just one moment." She rinsed her hands under warm running water from the tap, and as she crossed the room, dried them on the edge of her apron. Opening the small cabinet and removing the key from the hook it hung from by its ring, she turned around and handed it to the blue-furred hedgehog. "Here you are, dear."

"Thank you, Vanilla, you're a lifesaver. I really have to go now, though..."

"Of course," the rabbit said again, brushing the tuft of tawny fur amongst the buff out of her chocolate eyes. "Good luck, Sonic."

The hedgehog nodded and grinned his appreciation, and then was gone, shouting a farewell over his shoulder as he left to Cream, still curled up in the grass and braiding yet another of her endless flower chains, this one of forget-me-nots, daisies and some other red-tinged pink flower he didn't recognise. Reminded, the cobalt hedgehog snagged the wonky flower crown from his head and wrapped it twice around his wrist so that it wouldn't fly off as he ran; whenever Cream gave him one, he usually left it in a bowl of water in Tails' house until the flowers eventually wilted.

Now to just track down Amy Rose.

-XOX-

Stood outside Amy's door once more, Sonic tried the door handle again without much hope, and when it proved useless he almost fumbled with the spare key in his haste to slip it into the keyhole and unlock the door. At the sound of the latch clicking, the hedgehog pushed the door open and stepped over the threshold, calling out as he looked around himself and closed the door behind him. "Amy?"

The room was... bare. Or not bare, exactly, just devoid of the character it was supposed to display. Every photograph and picture missing from its frame, items thrown not-quite-haphazardly about. And the place felt... empty.

A glacial trail slowly trickled down his spine. Instinct trying to tell him what his mind hadn't quite worked out yet.

The entire apartment was deathly silent, not even the groaning of a recently used water pipe or music from a radio turned on and left forgotten to show a sign of life.

Without conscious thought, the hedgehog's sneakered feet carried him across the room, glancing around as he went; searching for something, but what, he didn't know.

It was with a start that he realised he was in Amy's bedroom, having looked inside the other rooms. Cupboards in the kitchen were no longer as neat as they had once been, and the medicine cabinet in the bathroom wasn't latched shut - but it was even more chaotic in her own room. One of the wardrobe doors had been left jammed ajar, boxes partially pulled from under the bed with their contents spilling out onto the floor, drawers hanging half open, the clothes and belongings within having been rummaged through and left carelessly dishevelled...

What...?

A splash of colour, framed in simple glass, drew his attention to the bedside table. Moving quickly, he stepped over towards the photograph, both surprised and curious when it seemed every last one within the apartment had vanished. A gloved hand caught hold of the photo frame and picked it up, raising it to eye level and turning it around in order to look at the image properly.

A picture. A picture of him and Amy, one that he hadn't seen before - and one that he almost didn't recognise, before the memory fell into place. It had been that time when Amy had towed him along on a long trip through a forest to the cliffs above what looked to be a lake large enough to pass as a small sea, all just so that she could take photographs of some kind of meteor shower over the water. It had been too late for Cream to tag along so she'd dragged him into it instead, and - to his surprise - it had been pretty fun... They'd had an hour or so before night fell completely, so the pair of them had hung back talking - and mucking around with the camera - in the woods for a while.

And for some reason, that was when it clicked inside his head, what it was that Amy had gone and done; each individual clue fastening onto one another like links in a chain. Belongings strewn everywhere, as though someone had been looking for particular items. The missing pictures, the locked door. Why Cream hadn't found Amy Rose at home that morning.

And though he was barely aware of choosing to take the photograph in his hand, and refused to glance at it again, the cobalt hedgehog's fingers gripped it tighter as he ran from the apartment in search of Tails, hardly pausing to lock the door behind him as he left.

-XOX-

Weak winter sunlight streamed through the gap in the young rabbit's curtains, illuminating gently dancing dust motes and disturbing her light sleep enough to pull her into wakefulness.

Three days. It had been three days since Amy Rose had gone missing. Three days since both Sonic and Tails had turned up on their doorstep, looking for help.

Three days of searching for her best friend and finding nothing, not one single clue that would indicate the hedgehog's location.

The beige-furred rabbit sighed and opened liquid-chocolate eyes, sitting up and pushing herself out from under the duvet in her thin tangerine nightdress. The white-trimmed gown swept the floor as she padded barefoot across the carpet and slipped into her usual orange dress and pulling at it until it was comfortable. Straightening her collar and the sky blue necktie, the girl tugged on her socks and shoes, and drifted from her room, down the stairs and into the kitchen in which her mother was already busily preparing a breakfast of porridge and toasted crumpets.

Though she usually adored her mother's cooking, somehow the warm, deliciously mouthwatering smells just made her feel slightly nauseated.

Turning around with a pair of nicely browned crumpets on a plate in her hands, Vanilla spotted her daughter hovering just inside of the doorway and sent a reassuring smile towards her. "Oh! Good morning Cream!"

The weak one she received in return - one that was in truth, closer to a grimace - did nothing to ease her concern for her child.

"Good morning, Mother..."

Facing away from her daughter once more, Vanilla's brow creased in a worried frown. Of course Amy's disappearance would hit Cream the hardest; the two were incredibly close, like sisters, even, and Vanilla herself considered the hedgehog to be practically family. Even if the way Sonic had been acting for the last few days put him in at a close second for the title of 'Most Affected'.

The clatter of Cream pulling out a chair from the already-laid breakfast table and sitting down attracted the older rabbit's attention, so she walked over, picking up a bowl of hot porridge as she passed, and placed it down alongside the crumpets in front of her daughter, sending another tentative smile that didn't quite dare to hope for a true one in response towards her. "I made your favourite. I can get the honey if you would like some, or-"

"It's fine. Thank you, Mother." And Cream meant it; she was grateful, no matter how blunt or dead her voice sounded.

Vanilla moved away wordlessly to prepare her own breakfast. Moments passed, the only sounds those of a fork scraping against china and light breathing. The older rabbit almost relaxed.

With a sudden screech, the wooden chair was shoved back and Cream swallowed her mouthful and stood up, a viciously determined look shining in her eyes that was tempered somewhat by the hollowness behind it.

Vanilla had hated seeing that look these past few days.

"I'm going out to look again."

"Cream, I... Please, wait until you've finished your breakfast. You've barely touched it, and you haven't eaten properly since... recently."

The younger rabbit barely spared the plate a glance. It wasn't that she meant to be rude, but her manners had been less perfect, more frayed around the edges with everything else that had happened. She gave an almost-apologetic look towards Vanilla as she walked past her and into the hallway to put on her coat and open the front door to admit a slightly chilly draft.

"Mother, you know I'll be fine."

The older rabbit sighed hopelessly. She could only hope that Cream would see reason soon. "Alright, darling. Be careful, won't you?"

"Of course..."

With her mind empty of thoughts, it felt like no time had passed before the rabbit was wandering through the Ivy Woods. The trail looked much the same as ever, down-trodden weeds lining the scuffed dirt of the path, so many footprints now, that it was near impossible to tell where one ended and another began... Though, there was one set, created with heeled shoes, that looked fresh - and almost deliberately deep. How strange.

Curious, the young rabbit followed them. It seemed unlikely that it would lead into a trap - Eggman had nothing to do with Amy's disappearance, that much was obvious from the look on his face when Sonic had burst into his half-completed base, closely followed by herself, Tails and Cheese - and so Cream couldn't help but wonder who would leave something so like a trail of breadcrumbs for her to follow. Or maybe she was grasping at straws, desperate for some sort of clue. The more likely option, she thought. It was odd how little optimism she felt when normally she was overflowing with it - maybe because this was Amy, and in that regard, they'd been very similar - and now that she was gone, did it mean the rose-tinted glasses were, too?

It only took a minute or two of following the trail along the path before Cream realised just where it was leading her to. She broke into a hasty run, no longer bothering to even watch for the footprints. Sure enough, when she suddenly broke into the circular clearing, it wasn't unexpected - and the final footprint was under her own shoe. It was almost hesitatingly that the rabbit stepped forwards, craning and turning her head around in an effort to find something, anything, suspicious or different, something that hadn't been here when she had last visited.

Nothing. Nothing new at all.

Unless... Maybe it wasn't quite so obvious. It would have been unlike Amy to be so subtle, but still. Her determination wasn't just because she didn't want to admit the possibility of this being utterly pointless. And so she blocked out the irritating idea: that there might not even be anything to find.

Having circled the clearing, sending searching glances in every direction and yet finding nothing, her feet brushing through the mane of untamed grass, she cast her eyes downwards hopelessly. Was there nothing she could do to help search for her sister? It wasn't fair - even if everyone else didn't manage to-

What?

Staring into the ground as she was, her fudge-coloured eyes had fallen upon something that was not only a recent addition, decidedly not-from-Ivy-Woods, but also gave the strange, almost coldly comforting feeling of being what she was seeking, even if she hadn't known it herself. A parchment-yellow envelope that was currently looking slightly worse for wear, to be precise, tucked into a crevice below one of the twisted roots belonging to possible the oldest, most gnarled tree there.

Blindly, Cream hurried over to it, her long ears flying behind her as she stumbled and righted herself. It was a moment before she managed to unhook it from it's hollow beneath the root, but when she did and could turn it over to look at the front, she saw it was addressed to her, written neatly in a familiar hand.

That was all the prompting that the young rabbit needed to tear it open and yank the folded paper from within, using far less care than she would normally have shown. She chewed on her lip as she undid it, the pressure of her teeth increasing as her eyes flitted across the paper, just barely struggling with some of the words that were less familiar to her, but understanding it's meaning with acute clarity nonetheless.

Amy had run away from them.

Distantly, she imagined that somewhere she had already known - they all had. But that hadn't made it believable... or anything that they wanted to believe. Yet, all of this was contemplated at arms' length, separate and somehow muffled as the rest of her mind was required in the attempt to wrap itself around the alien concept.

It wasn't until she became aware of the slow, rain-like sound of tears hitting the page that she knew she was crying; silent trickles that traced trails down her face, that went unnoticed while she was busy, reeling. No sobs shook her shoulders, nor did her breathing turn erratic, despite the girl's emotional state dictating that this should be the case; instead, she just let the miserable guilt lap at the edges of her thoughts, washing over them and soaking through. She'd known Amy was unhappy, she'd known why, and she'd known it for a long time - but what had she offered, but superficial - useless, the letter whispered - comfort? What more had she - hadn't she - done?

Was her sister happier now that she had left?

-XOX-

She trod the familiar path home in a dejected daze, her feet scuffing against the gravel as they dragged her along for the final steps.

One hand reached up and unlatched the door, pushing it open and stepping inside, into the warmth. The change from the cool winter evening air only made her shiver in the hallway.

"Cream?" Vanilla looked out from the kitchen doorway. "Cream! What's wrong, sweetheart?" Her mother's worried voice rang out as the older rabbit hurried over and gathered the girl into her arms protectively, as if that alone could shelter her from her ghosts.

The girl wanted so badly to spill out the secrets drowning her heart, then, tell her mother everything. Show her the letter, confess Amy was with her grandmother, that they could find her and bring her home and make everything alright again... But Amy's words were there, soft and whispering in her mind, but compellingly there all the same.

One last request, Cream?

And so Cream just murmured mutedly into her mother's embrace;

"No sign of her..."

-XOX-

It was simple, Sonic decided, when you knew exactly what it was you wanted to do; it was when you were lost before you even began attempting to actually do it that things started getting difficult.

So thought the increasingly frantic hedgehog as he tried and failed to think of somewhere else - anywhere else - that Amy might have gone. Unfortunately, his mind was running in progressively unhelpful circles and wearing a rut into the carpet of his head. Just great.

If only she hadn't left before... He sharply shook his head twice. She had, and he had to concentrate on that. And what to do about it.

Of course, then there was always that little voice whispering in the back of his mind that he was the one to blame. Now wasn't that a comforting thought? The unwanted idea provided a distraction, though - one that made him feel worse than he already did. Frustration and stress and hurt threatened to boil over, making the hedgehog tense and snarky, though he was the only one around to feel it.

Bitter-tasting irony coated the next words he spoke to himself.

Amy Rose, the one to run away... from me.

-XOX-

Author's Note: Well, wouldja look at that. Probably more Cream sisterlyness (I always figured Amy was practically adopted into Cream's family :3) in here than in most Sonamy fics, but I wanted to show her disappearance affected everyone else too... That, and the lyrics at the top were just too perfect xD Nor could I resist that part about Sonic chasing Amy... It may be a staple of Sonamy, but if it is, it is for a reason 8D

Also, before I forget! There's a poll on my profile, and I'd really appreciate it if people could let me know what kind of writing they'd like to see more of from me, or rather, what story you want me to focus on~ It's mostly because I want to know what you guys want to see, 'cause it's you guys reading :P

I don't think I have anything else to say... I guess no-one'll be suprised if the next chapter takes just as long as this one, but I'll see what I can do xD I hope you enjoyed the chapter and weren't put off by my ramblings xD Maybe revieww~ ? Cookies and refreshments are on the house! :P