Chapter 11: The Truth Comes Out

Breeze loved it when Sonic would run with her. He was so fast! It was one of the most fun things she'd ever done and probably ever would do. Now all she had to do was to get Tails to take her flying; both in his fast planes and just with his own amazing ability to fly. She sat in the living room of Vanilla's house with a cup of hot chocolate, listening to Amy humming in the kitchen and the crackling of the fireplace in the den. The atmosphere was peaceful and snugly, like nothing could possibly go wrong, when she heard the sound of the X Tornado landing outside the house and the patter of feet running towards the front door. Cream burst in with Cheese in tow calling for her momma, obviously frightened. Breeze looked up from the couch, startled as Vanilla came down and embraced her daughter asking what was wrong. A second later Tails came bursting into the room, much like Cream but with a wild look on his face, and started to search the house yelling for Sonic the whole time. Chris was the last to come meekly and warily through the door and calmly close it behind him.

Breeze looked at him, stunned and with question in her eyes. He sadly shook his head and walked over to her.

"He found out about the plant…it's really bad," he said quietly to her.

She stood up, setting the hot cup down." Did you tell him?" she asked hurriedly.

Chris looked abashed, "No…I really didn't have time once he found out he jumped in the X Tornado and took off. I had to bring Cream and Cheese back in the Hyper Tornado."

"Oh…I should tell him then. He looks really upset."

"No, don't. This will blow over and be for the best. Just let me handle it for now. I know a little more about this than you do," Chris reassured her and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him skeptically and then Tails came around the corner.

"I can't find him, Chris! I just know he did something with her! I mean, who else would have the nerve!" he yelled, panicked.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, buddy. What did I do and with who?" came Sonic's voice as he entered the room with a casual air as always despite the frantic fox.

"Sonic! What did you do with her! Where is my plant?!" Tails yelled and ran forward until he was standing in front of Sonic, beating at his arms.

"What are you talking about? I didn't do anything with it. I brought Breeze back and I've been here the whole time," Sonic said trying to push the fox away.

"You're lying!"

Breeze couldn't take it. She knew Chris had told her to stay out of it but she couldn't stand by and watch her hero get blamed for something she did and then get called a liar. He didn't even know she had broken the plant, unlike Chris did, and probably was confused about the whole deal. She took a deep breath and stepped out from behind Chris.

"Tails, I did it," she shouted at him with clenched fists and sequenced her eyes shut.

"Breeze! What are you doing?!" Chris exclaimed in the background as Tails abruptly stopped beating on Sonic and slowly turned in her direction.

"Stop blaming Sonic for something he never did and listen to me. It's my fault, I broke your plant. Now leave Sonic alone!" She kept her eyes squeezed shut…and there was absolute silence. She slowly opened them to reveal Sonic staring at her with a shocked look on his face, Chris with his head in his hands in exasperation, and Tails staring at her with tears in his eyes and a look of complete horror distorting his features.

She didn't know what to do. Why was he getting so worked up over a stupid little plant? "I'm Sorry, I was playing hide and seek with Cream and I tried to climb up on the shelf to get to a hiding place and I knocked it off the shelf on accident," she said in a small voice trying to make him say something.

"Maybe it's okay," Sonic offered. "Breeze you could just tell us where you put it and we can replant it."

"I threw it away…in the dumpster."

"YOU THREW COSMO IN A DUMPSTER!" Tails yelled at her, coming out of his stupor and clenching his fists in anger. "We'll never get her back now! They probably already took her to the trash disposal center!"

Breeze looked at Tails with fury, she was really angry now! How dare he yell at her about that stupid plant? She didn't even know what this was about. Confusion and hurt had made her angry and she wasn't going to take all of this mystery anymore.

"Oh, shut up, Tails! Stop freaking out over that plant! Maybe if you had told me it was special or something I would have been more careful! I don't know who Cosmo is or what she has to do with anything and I don't understand why it would make you so upset to loose your plant and I don't really CARE anymore! I'm sick of trying to understand you when you won't tell me anything! Thanks for making me feel like part of the family! I hate you!" She shouted back at his very shocked face and then turned abruptly and ran out of the room, tears streaming down her face.

She ended up in the room Vanilla had set up for her upstairs and sat on the bed fuming inside as the tears kept on falling. She hated being in the dark and being responsible for something that she couldn't figure out why was such a crime. If Tails had only told her…maybe she wouldn't be so upset. Nothing would have happened in the first place. Then she started to think about her own situation. She was doing the same thing to everyone else that Tails was doing to her. She was leaving everyone in the dark about her past. They wouldn't know if they did something to hurt her. They didn't know about her.

The X Tornado took off outside and Breeze lifted her head at the sound. Maybe Tails had left. She wouldn't have to look at his face anymore, his horrible grief ridden face that she had caused him to put on. Her door creaked and Chris came in very cautiously with a concerned look on his face.

"Breeze, are you alright?" he asked her.

She smiled up at him and nodded. "I'm sorry I went crazy like that. I was just so confused and hurt that what I did was so wrong," she sniffed and wiped an eye.

Chris, seeing that it was okay, went over and sat on her bed next to her. "Sonic said I should let Tails tell you himself about Cosmo, but if you want me to I'll tell you now. He could probably tell you so you'd understand a little better than I would, though."

"No, I don't want to know. If he doesn't think I'm important enough to tell something like that too, then I don't even care. Personally I hope I never have to talk to him again," she forced out and tears started coming down her face again.

"Aw, Breeze, you don't mean that," Chris said uncertainly. She didn't answer and he continued, "It's just a subject very close to his heart. Talking about it makes him feel the same way you feel when someone asks you about your family. Cosmo was very special to him and…he had to kill her in order to save the galaxy."

Breeze looked at him, confusion in her eyes and then looked down. She wiped her tears and looked back up, "Well, Chris, I'm not going to be like Tails. I'm going to tell you what happened to me and to my family. I won't have anymore secrets."

Chris settled back and waited for breeze to start. She took a deep breath, and then a thought crossed her features and she looked up at Chris, "Shouldn't I tell everyone? I mean everyone should have the right to hear this and it's really painful to tell it even once. I'd hate to tell it numerous times."

"Sure, how about we call a conference where everyone is invited and listens to your story," Chris suggested in response to her heartfelt request and pleading blue eyes.

"Ok, that sounds good. Thank you," Breeze said quietly, looking at her hands.

"I'll go do it right now," Chris said and jumped up off the bed to go tell the others to meet in Vanilla's living room. As he was walking out the door he heard Breeze call him back.

"Chris, don't bring Tails, ok. I don't think I could handle seeing him and talking about this in front of him right now."

"Ok, I'll see what I can do."

Next comes a pretty long story about Breeze's past so it could get a little boring. I have to put it in there though because it kind of explains some things that have to do with Shadow. Just bear with me through it and the next chapters will be more exciting! R&R!