His eyes slowly began to open, and he turned his head slightly to the right to see his friends, sitting anxiously for their friend to awaken. There was a television hanging from the wall, and it already had the attention of Knuckles and Tails. The two girls in the picture were sitting next to one another, staring straight at Sonic and waiting every second for him to wake up. When he finally awoke, his arms attempted to lift him so that his back was pressed against his pillow. Mina was the first one to react, and she immediately rose out of her seat and over to Sonic, trying her best to get him to lay back down. "Sonic!" she said. "Please...you need to rest." Sonic looked over at Mina, and he gave her a smile. "Yeah..." he said. "Thanks, Mina." Tails and Knuckles suddenly turned to see him awake, and they got on their feet and walked close to the bed. "Welcome back, hero!" Tails played. "How'd you sleep?" Sonic looked slowly over to his two other friends. "Hey..." he said, very weak. "How long...have I been out?" Knuckles laughed when he heard his friend's question. "About...three hours," he said. "It's a little past nine, right now. The nurses told us we could stay here until you woke up." Amy began to hug Sonic tightly, which obviously threw him in pain. "Ohhhh!" she exclaimed. "I'm so HAPPY you're awake! Thank god!" Sonic struggled to get her off of him. "Okay, okay!" he said, still weak and only about half-full of energy. "I get it...Damn..." Mina closed her eyes and lit with a smile. "I'm...really glad you woke up, Sonic," she admitted. "That battle...You were awesome." Tails nodded his head in agreement. "Absolutely!" he declared. "When you shifted into Neon form, you were unstoppable! I mean, other than that last attack...Metal didn't even stand a chance! That was incredible! And what's more, the entire world saw you do it! You're the world's hero! In fact..." Tails reached into his backpack, and he pulled out tons and tons of envelopes, each with a letter inside. "These letters are from just SOME of the people who saw the final battle!" he exclaimed. "You're famous throughout the world!"
"By the way," Mina began, "Lan and Hub asked me to give you this, Sonic." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a very well-made metal chain that would go well with his clothes. "They told me that if you attach a chip to the necklace," she continued, "It'll gain double the power. But it only works once per battle. Anyways, congratulations, Sonic!" Sonic slowly threw a grin on his face. "Thanks a lot, Mina," he said. She gave Sonic a puzzled look. "What for?" she asked. Sonic looked down in thought. "For just...being there for me," he said. "Thank you...I mean that." Mina's eyes slowly began to well up, and she kneeled down and placed her hands on top of Sonic's right one. "You dummy," she said, trying to fight back her tears. "I...I'm always happy to help you, Sonic. Please...no matter what...don't scare me like that...okay?" Sonic placed his other hand on Mina's left cheek. "Don't worry, Mina," he said. "I promise." Knuckles and Tails immediately caught on to what was happening. "Weeeell," Tails said, "We'd better get going. We'll check you later, Sonic. Get well soon, okay?" Knuckles and Tails slowly walked outside of the room, and Amy followed, but very hesitantly. As the door closed behind them, Mina's eyes began to drop tears. Sonic felt guilty...VERY guilty. He almost died during their fight with Metal, and she thought he was really gone. If not for the power of the Chaos Emerald data, he would still be lying there, lifeless and cold. She took her hand and slowly massaged Sonic's, which was still placed gently on her cheek. "You're still here..." she said. "With me..."
"Mina?" asked Sonic, who wasn't very aware of her true feelings. "Are you...okay? Please don't cry." Mina suddenly broke from him, and she wiped her cheeks and face to get the tears off. "I'm sorry," she said. "I just...let my emotions get the better of me. Anyways, I'm glad you're okay, Sonic." Sonic nodded at his friend. "Yeah," he said. "Me, too." It wasn't until three months later that the hospital allowed Sonic to return home. His broken bones were fixed up, and he was finally back to normal. He decided to take a nice walk through the December-covered city. The atmosphere was cold, almost frigid. A chilling breeze would flow through the air every few minutes or so. Everyone that was outside was practically consumed in sweaters and clothes of the sort. Snow had fallen to the ground from the cold, damp sky, and people of all ages were diving in it and playing in it like there was no tomorrow. Christmas was just around the corner, and Sonic knew for a fact that one of his friends would be throwing a party to celebrate it. During his walk, a familiar face showed up in front of him. "Sonic!" he exclaimed. The teenage boy ran up to him. He was garmented in a grey sweater and black pants, zipped tightly to prevent coldness. "That's your name, right?" he asked. Sonic nodded with a smile. "Yeah, it is," he responded. "What's your name?" The boy gave Sonic a grin. "Ash!" he said. "I'm Mina's sister. Listen, bud, I just wanted to thank you for what you've done. Y'know, saving the world, and all...But to think that my sister was there to help you! That's great!"
"Yeah!" agreed Sonic. "Your sister's an amazing person, Ash. She's strong, beautiful, and smart. You're lucky!" Ash laughed at his words. "Yeah, you're right," he said. "So, anyways, I was actually on my way to your house. You see, Mina and I are having a Christmas party! I was gonna ask you and your other friends if you wanted to come join us!" Sonic gave Ash a small laugh of excitement. "That sounds awesome!" he exclaimed. "Yeah! Sure! I'll be there! I'm gonna go tell everyone, too!" Ash got ready to run back home, and he turned to face Sonic once more. "See you this weekend!" he exclaimed before dashing back home. Sonic did the same thing, running to his house and beginning to send an E-Mail to his friends about the party. As he arrived home, the door shut behind him, and his legs bolted him up the stairs and into his room, flopping himself onto his bed. "This Sunday is Christmas," he said. "So, we're gonna be spending Christmas with Mina and Ash this year!" Sonic grabbed his Star Carrier and began to send an E-Mail to all of his friends. "Christmas party...Mina's house..." the letter began. "Meet me at the center of the cul-de-sac Saturday at six. Bring a present! -Sonic." With his E-Mail finished, he sent it to his friends. Now, all he would have to do is wait.
As time passed, Saturday came by almost too suddenly. It was already six in the evening, and Sonic was there waiting for his friends to arrive. In his hand was a small present. It was wrapped in very nice sapphire paper, and it had a cute little red bow at the top of it. The three other friends all came simultaneously, and they were all dressed in winter wear; nothing special, nothing casual. Each one had a gift in their hands, Tails' gift being the biggest one of them all. Sonic's face lit with a grin when he saw his friends. "Hey, guys!" he said. "Thanks a lot for coming with me tonight." Knuckles scratched behind his ear in dislike. "Yeah, well," he said, "It took a lot of explaining to get out of this one. My dad was sore about the whole idea, but when I told him you guys would be there, he agreed to let me go." Tails laughed at Knuckles' short story. "I had it easy, actually," he said. "Both my mom and dad are out of town, so I can pretty much go wherever I want in town." Amy giggled at Tails. "Well, I had to talk with my mom about it a lot, so..." she said. "Anyways, are we all ready to go?" Tails gave Sonic a happy suspicious look. "What'd you get Mina, Sonic?" he asked. Sonic's cheeks turned a slight crimson. "How do you know it's for Mina!" he exclaimed. Knuckles laughed when he heard his blue-haired friend say this. "C'mon, dude," he said. "It's OBVIOUS that you're into her." Amy giggled. "Yeah," she said. "And it's obvious she has a thing for you!"
"Wow, Amy..." replied a surprised Sonic. "I didn't think you would be the one to say that..." He suddenly shook his head and let out a displeased moan. "B-But I DON'T have a crush on her!" he exclaimed. "We're just friends! Really! I swear!" Tails laughed at his panicking friend. "Well, anyway, let's be on our way," he said. The four friends began their walk to Mina's house, shortly arriving and knocking on the door. They could hear a TV on in the background, and loud music thumping in the backyard. The first one to come to the door was Ash, who was extatic to see the group of friends. "Sonic! Everyone!" he exclaimed. "Please! Come on in!" As the four friends entered the household, they witnessed how many people were there and who was doing what. Football players from the high school were attempting to throw a football in the house, barely missing some pretty pricey valuables. Popular girls from the same school were practically drooling over the football players. Some nerds were there, as well, playing some kind of video game in the back where nobody else dared to go. "Wow..." Sonic said, his eyes glued to his surroundings. "I thought this was just gonna be us!"
"Oh, it will be!" shouted Ash, trying to be heard over the music. "This is just the main party. When everyone else leaves, all of us are gonna open gifts and stuff!" Sonic grinned at his friend. "Say, where's your sister?" he asked. Ash replied with an even louder tone. "UPSTAIRS IN HER ROOM!" he shouted. Sonic quickly moved through the crowd of people and up the stairs, knocking on the door near them and hearing a light, "Come in!" from inside the room. He slowly turned the knob and opened the door, revealing a beautiful room that was neatly organized and clean. Some plush dolls were seen hanging from a ceiling net, and they were placed very carefully inside of it. There was a bathroom inside of the room, and the door leading to it was closed. There was already someone inside. However, the doorknob slowly began to turn, and the person who was inside came out into the room. It was Mina, who was wearing her usual attire of a black tanktop, tan pants, and her usual black hairband. As she turned to face the person who came into her room, she suddenly grew very happy. "Sonic!" she exclaimed. "Hey! It's nice to see you again!"
"Likewise!" replied Sonic, a grin spread across his face. "Merry Christmas!" Mina gave Sonic a slight laugh. "Merry Christmas to you!" she replied happily. "So, umm...here, I got you this." Mina handed Sonic a small box that was wrapped in shiny black wrapping, topped off with a pretty red bow. He took the gift with a smile. "Wow...Thanks, Mina!" he said. "This looks promising!" Mina gave Sonic a giggle. "So, hey, you wanna head downstairs?" she asked. Sonic smiled at her and offered his hand. "Yeah," he said. "Let's go." Mina took his hand and they both went back downstairs, enjoying the party as it was. Time passed, and it was already eleven. Everyone but the chosen friends had returned home, surprisingly leaving behind almost no mess. What was left over was cleaned before the friends sat down to open each others' gifts. A bright, large green tree stood near the TV that was in the living room. Numerous gifts-ones that were only between Mina and Ash-were scattered beneath its lush, healthy branches. The six friends sat next to one another in a circle, passing their gifts to their corresponding receiver. "Tails," asked Mina, "You wanna start us off?" Tails smiled and nodded at his friend, and he began to unwrap the medium-sized box that he had before him. A new software that had just been developed by SciLab was revealed. "Sweet!" exclaimed Tails. "This is the new SC Program Maker! Things're gonna be so much easier from now on!" Mina and Ash both smiled widely at the sight of the enthusiastic Tails, who looked straight up at the two siblings. "Thank you both so much!" he exclaimed. "This is an amazing gift!"
"You're welcome!" Mina and Ash exclaimed at the same time. Knuckles was next, and he opened his gift rather quickly. He was anxious to see what they had given him. It was a hefty stack of chips that involved the things Knuckles liked the best; axes, knuckles, you name it. "Awesome!" he exclaimed. "Thanks a lot, you two!" Amy was next, and she opened her gift to reveal a very pricey new dress. It was sealed inside of a plastic bag to keep it from ruining and wrinkling. It was black and sparkly, and it shined in the light brilliantly. It would most certainly look good on Amy. "This is beautiful!" she exclaimed. "Thank you so much, Mina!" Sonic was next, and his gift was from Mina. When he opened it, he smiled with an open mouth as he pulled a very fashionable silver chain from the box he was given. It was very flashy, and at the end of it was a silver capital "S" engraved, which stood for "Sonic." "This is awesome!" he exclaimed. "Thanks a ton, you two!" Mina's cheeks turned a slight red. "Absolutely!" she replied. Ash was next, and he opened his gift to find a new software created by SciLab, as well. "This is that new Auto-Clean TV, right?" he questioned. "Great! This'll stop our TV from going out during thunderstorms and whatnot...Thanks a lot, you guys!" Mina was next, but she looked down to realize that she didn't have anything from anyone. She suddenly grew sad, and she looked down in depression. But just before she gave up hope, a box suddenly got close to her face. It was the same sapphire box that Sonic had prepared for this moment. "This is for you, Mina," he grinned. Mina took the box slowly with a smile on her face, and she steadily began to open it. When she finally got through the wrapping paper, she lifted the lid of the box it was in. Suddenly, her eyes widened. A few seconds later, tears began to fill her eyes. She put her left hand over her mouth and gasped, for she was so happy to see what Sonic had gotten her. "This is..." she attempted to say. Tears fell from her eyes; she could no longer hold them back, for her happiness had gotten the best of her. "My...My locket!"
"Your...What!" questioned Ash. "What's your locket-" Tails felt the need to interrupt before he could finish. "Robotnik attacked us...and...he stole the locket Mina had and took the data that was inside of it," he replied. His head-along with everyone else's-turned to look at Sonic. "How'd you find this!" exclaimed Knuckles. Sonic smiled and looked at Mina, who was still staring at her locket, tears falling from her eyes. "It was during the fight with Metal," he began to explain. "When I transformed into Neon form, I hit Metal and sent him flying. Remember? And when he went flying, I saw the locket fall from his chest and onto the ground. And when we had that final attack-the one that ended up killing him-I moved over to where the locket was and launched the attack. Remember how I kinda staggered when I tried to beat him? The reason I was losing energy was because I was kneeling down to get the locket, and when I did, I finished the fight. I just...didn't get the chance to give it back to her. When I was in the hospital, it totally slipped my mind, so...I forgot. I'm really sorry about that..." His face went from happy to sad, and he stood up from the group of friends and walked outside with a guilty look on his face. Everyone felt sorry for both Sonic and Mina, but when she finally looked up and realized that Sonic had left, she quickly rose to her feet and ran out after him. He had only gotten to the front porch before she came outside to confront him. "Sonic! Wait!" she exclaimed.
"Mina...?" said Sonic, almost as a whisper. "Hey...Umm...I'm sorry I forgot to give you the locket back at the hospital." Mina ran over to Sonic and flung herself into him, her arms wrapping themselves around him tightly. "M-Mina..." he said, a little shocked. Mina's eyes began to exude tears once more. "Sonic..." she tried to say. "Thank you...so much...I never thought I'd see my locket again..." Sonic's eyes shut slowly. "It must be really important to you, huh?" he asked. Mina looked up at Sonic, and she nodded to give him an answer. "Yes," she said. "It...belonged to my mother. When she died...I got this from one of her friends. Ash has one from Dad, too...They're both...dead..." Sonic froze in shock. (What...?) he thought. (Mina, too? I don't believe it...) Sonic slowly put his arms around her, as to return the hug. "I'm sorry..." he said. "I didn't know your parents were dead...But...If it makes you feel any better...mine are, too." Mina nodded. "I know," she said, tears still in her eyes. "That's why...I feel that you're the only person I can open up to. I trust you, Sonic...with more than my life." The two slowly broke from their hug, and Sonic gently placed his right hand on Mina's cheek, which was a little flustered from her crying. "Yeah..." he said. "Me, too. I trust you, Mina...more than anyone else."
Suddenly, the two looked up above them. It was a very cliche'd moment, but there was a small brand of mistletoe right above them. It secretly hung from the roof of the house, and it was right above them in the position they were in. Mina was the first one to say something. "A mistletoe..." she said, very quietly. Sonic just stared up at it before he found words to say. "Yeah..." he said. The two of them then reverted their eyes back to one another. There was a lingering silence between them. Suddenly, Mina leaned over to Sonic and gave him a kiss, planted right on his lips. After about two seconds, she broke off. She simply stared into his eyes, and a few seconds later, Sonic gently placed both of his hands on her cheeks, and he slowly moved in for a far more passionate kiss. Mina was suddenly surprised, but she didn't even try to break away from him. This is what she wanted. More than anything else in the world. She slowly and gently rose her arms and put her hands across his neck, and her leg slowly lifted to show this was the kiss she wanted. They swerved their heads and massaged one another to make the kiss more passionate and romantic, and it easily did. They kissed for more than a minute, and they finally broke apart. Sonic's hands were still placed on her cheeks, and Mina still had her arms wrapped around his neck. They softly placed their heads against one another and closed their eyes, just holding each other there for a moment. It was as if they didn't want this moment to stop. It was finally decided that the two would be together. Not as friends, but lovers.
The two returned back into the house, and everyone was concerned for Mina. "You feeling okay?" asked Ash. Mina nodded at her brother. "Yeah," she said. "I'm fine, now. Thanks, guys." Knuckles suddenly looked down at his watch, and it read past midnight. "Oh, damn!" he said. "It's already past midnight...Guess I better get going. I'm tired as hell. Thanks for inviting me, you two. Take care, and Merry Christmas!" Knuckles bolted out the door and back home, and Tails and Amy followed. "Thanks again, you guys!" Amy said. "This was an awesome party! Merry Christmas!" Tails bowed in appreciation and followed Amy out the door. Sonic, Mina, and Ash were the only ones left in the room. Sonic smiled at the siblings. "Well, guess I better get goin'-" But before he managed to walk outside, Ash grabbed his shoulder. "Wait, Sonic," he said. Sonic turned to face him, and Ash removed his hand from Sonic's shoulder. "I'd like it if you spent the night here," he said. "Whaddya say?" Sonic looked over at Mina and back to Ash. "Umm...sure," he said. "I don't see why not." The rest of the night, Sonic and Ash talked and discussed about numerous things. Mina was the first one to go to bed, and she did so before the two started talking. In other words, she was out cold. And, at about three in the morning, so were Sonic and Ash. A couple of weeks passed, and Sonic and friends ended up spending New Years Eve at Mina's house, as well. It was the middle of January when things finally began to pick up...both for the best, and for the worst...
