The team couldn't help but cover their ears with their hands to protect their ears and, more importantly, their brains. They all felt like their heads were going to explode. Sonic was trying to get close to Yaren, but he couldn't. He couldn't describe the pain he felt in his ears. The princess, on the other hand, could not perceive what was going on around her because she was completely disconnected. She was just screaming. She knew she was in herself and was constantly calling to herself "Stop!" but it was as if her body did not hear the sound because of the screaming. With a final effort, she tried to open her eyes. Of course, her eyes were glowing with a blue glow. The team had noticed this glow too, but they couldn't react because of the pain. Yaren forced herself to look at Sonic. She was startled by what she saw. Blood started pouring out of Sonic's ears. She knew that if he tried a little harder, the end would be worse. The Princess called out to her whole body and soul once more: "STOP SCREAMING!" And she stopped. The hum of the scream was still around, but had ceased. The team collapsed on their knees together. They couldn't take their hands off their ears and the pain continued. Sonic managed to open his eyes, but his head was so spinning that he couldn't get up. He had no balance. Tails and Amy were nauseous. They were trying not to vomit. Knuckles and Sticks just stood there, waiting for the ringing in their ears to pass. Yaren was on two legs, looking at them in horror. His glowing eyes had faded. Although Sonic's vision was blurry, it was not difficult to understand what was written in the princess's facial . She had both hands folded in the middle of her chest. Trying to gather his strength, Sonic lifted one knee and put his foot on the ground. He swallowed: "Yaren?" His voice was a whisper. He wasn't even sure he heard his own voice. The ringing in his ears still hadn't gone away. Horror was firmly in Yaren's eyes. Then she closed her eyes tightly:

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" She landed on all fours and suddenly spread her wings and took off. She left them as quickly as possible. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" She kept muttering to herself. "Why do you have to screw everything up?!" She was alone again. Why did every chance she come across had to explode in her face? Again, she had destroyed that chance with her own hands. Moreover, this was her first chance in a long time. She turned her head back. She had actually move forward quite a bit, but she was too embarrassed to look. She didn't have the slightest idea what to do now. She grit her teeth. A tear fell from her eye as well: "I'm really sorry."

Sonic took a deep breath and stood up. His balance was still off, but he finally managed to get up. He was staring in the direction Yaren was going. Then he turned to Sticks' shout:

"When are you going to start listening to me?! I warned you!" She was shouting more than necessary.

"Will you stop yelling?! I already feel like my head is going to explode!" said Knuckles. He was shouting too.

"Can everyone shut up a little?! You shout because you can't hear your own voice! Our ears need to rest!" shouted Tails.

"You're shouting as you say that!" cried Amy. Trying to ignore the tinnitus and headache, Sonic shouted:

"EVERYONE SHUT UP THEIR JAWS NOW!" Everyone was startled by Sonic's shout. They caught their ears again. The atmosphere fell silent again. They all focused on their heads, waiting for the ringing to pass. Tails approached Sonic with a worried expression:

"Your ears are bleeding." Said. Sonic raised his eyebrows. He hadn't realized it until Tails said it. He brought his hand to his ear again. When he lowered it, he saw that his white glove was painted red:

"It isn't important." He said calmly.

"Will you stop saying that to every wound?" said Amy, walking slowly. Then she took a tissue from her pocket and handed it to Sonic. Sonic looked at the handkerchief, then at Amy. Amy waved the handkerchief for him to take it. Sonic took the handkerchief and tried to wipe his ears. Then he returned to the sky.

"We have to come back from the dead for you to believe what I say, right?!" said Sticks angrily. Sonic turned to Sticks:

"What are you talking about ? It wasn't her fault." There was anger in his voice.

"Isn't it? She would blow our heads!"

"Because you stressed her out with your ridiculous theory. She was already tense enough. For introducing her to you."

"Sorry Sonic, but her escape also supports my theory." Tails raised an eyebrow and turned to Sticks:

"How did you know she was going to scream?"

"Because when the creature in the legend got into trouble, it would scream a so-called "Death Scream". Which is yet another proof that Yaren is that creature." She folded her arms.

"Yes, when the difficult situation remains. Because you stretched her." Knuckles frowned:

"Why are you defending her so much?"

"Definitely. She is a monster with terrible power that can control anyone." Sonic's eyes sharpened:

"That girl you call a monster saved my life." All of them stopped.

"You really can't tag her just because she looks different. In particular, we don't do that."

"How do we know she's reliable, though?" said Knuckles.

"Wouldn't you put a little bit of trust in someone who saved your life? Besides, didn't you see the expression on her face when her scream stopped? How horrified and regretful she looked. She didn't scream willingly. She even tried to warn me before screaming. She didn't want to hurt us."

"I don't think she's evil either. Didn't you notice how kind and shy she was when she met us?" said Amy. Sonic frowned and placed his hand on his chest.

"She's so sad right now, she must be." As if he could feel it. It was a feeling he couldn't explain. But he felt as if a bond had already been established between him and Yaren. He was surprised at how fast it was. Sure, he was quick to connect with new acquaintances, but it seemed like there was something deeper about this one.

"Appearances can be deceiving." ' Sticks said, turning with crossed arms.

"Yes, can be. The person you call a monster may be the kindest person you will ever know." said Sonic. Sticks dropped her arms at her sides.

"I hate being right." Sonic chuckled. Sticks had defeated herself again.

"No you don't. You like to be right." Said Tails.

"You know what I mean!" squeaked Sticks. Sonic looked again in the direction Yaren had gone:

"We need to find her."

"Find? How will we know where she's going? We don't know her." Said Tails.

"She must have gone looking for a place to calm herself down."

"Yeah, that really narrows the circle." said Knuckles in a mocking tone. Sonic rolled his eyes angrily.

"We know the island as well as the back of our hand. Let's split up and start looking."

"Is it a good idea to try to find her?" ' Sticks asked.

"Yeah, and that way you can apologize to her face for making her scream." Sticks placed her hands on her hips:

"Hey! I'm not the one who specifically made her scream. You were all fighting. I wasn't even in it."

"Yes because you fled in horror shouting that she would control us all. It's not stressful at all."

"I…"

"Should we stop this discussion now?" said Amy.

"I agree, let's start looking." said Sonic. He took off in an instant, using his speed. He ran straight to the canyon road in the direction the princess had gone. The team also dispersed in different directions.

After about 15 minutes Sonic stopped where he was. He was in the middle of the canyon. He took a deep breath. Where could she have gone? Maybe she really needed some time alone, but he didn't think leaving her alone was a good idea. He closed his eyes: "Where are you, Yaren?" he asked in a whisper. His ear twitched for a moment. He opened his eyes. Sobbing sound. Quite thin and light. Sonic rushed to where the sound was. He climbed to the top of the canyon. To the very top. He found Yaren lying on the edge of the canyon, or rather the cliff. He swallowed. Yaren was paying attention to the still rising sun. He could hear her small sobs. After pressing a few buttons on the communication device, he started to move forward. Yaren felt that Sonic was coming, too. The tension rose to the ceiling again. She quickly wiped her eyes with her paw, trying to calm her breathing. She could hear Sonic's footsteps getting closer and closer. With each step she was getting stronger. Why did he come after her? She had hurt him. He shouldn't have wanted to see her face again. As Sonic got a little closer to her, she suddenly got up on all fours and turned around, but she wasn't looking at Sonic's face:

"Please don't come close!" She tried not to raise her voice too much. Sonic was a little startled by the princess' sudden departure, but he still put on his calm aura and raised his hands:

"Hey, Yaren, it's okay." Yaren shook her head vigorously.

"I am an idiot. Why did I think it would be different? It's always the same."

"It's really okay. We are all good. Are you okay? Look, I know you didn't do it on purpose."

"How do you know?" Her voice came out a little high again. Sonic's eyebrows rose. Then he swallowed and spoke calmly:

"Because if you wanted to, I wouldn't have seen a face filled with disappointment like when you stopped screaming. Or you wouldn't have warned me to protect myself." Yaren turned back to him. Her speech trembled:

"It wasn't on purpose. I never wanted to." They stood silent for a while. She spoke again in a quiet tone. She still couldn't look up at Sonic:

"Why did you come ?" Sonic's eyebrows rose.

"You ask why ? Didn't you expect me to leave you alone like this?" Yaren's eyes widened in surprise.

Everyone wants to get rid of me. Not looking at my face. To kick me out when they see me, even though I'm trying not to attract attention." Sonic was stunned. Kick her out? A small chuckle broke out in surprise:

"Why would they want to kick you out?" Then he thought of Sticks' reaction.

"Look, I'm really sorry on behalf of Sticks. Again she went further in her absurd theories. She always…"

"She didn't." Again Sonic's face filled with surprise.

"She didn't go further. Most of the things she said is…" He swallowed. "True." The team's eyes widened in horror. "I told you so!" on the back of Sticks voices were heard. They knew that the team had reached their side. Sonic gulped:

"So you, really…"

"I am the creature called the Dragon Princess." Yaren wanted to sink into the ground again. Sonic blinked. Was it just similarity? Because Yaren did not look as evil as in the story Sticks told.

"How old are you Sonic?" Sonic was taken aback by the princess' question. Where did this come from?

"18." The princess took a breath. Sonic studied Yaren's face, trying to understand what she was thinking.

"Well, how old do you think I am?" ' Yaren asked without breaking her quiet voice. Sonic narrowed his eyes. It was not easy to guess:

"Well, you look like we're equal. Of course, you can be a little older too." He said, stroking his thorns with his hand. A small chuckle came out of Yaren's mouth:

"Yes, I look." She said in a cold voice. Sonic spoke again in his bewildered voice:

"What do you mean ?" Yaren took a deep breath.

"I look your age. I will always look like this." Sonic raised an eyebrow. Yaren looked at Sonic's face once, then turned back to her:

"I am biologically immortal." Sonic's eyes widened in surprise. He didn't say anything, Yaren continued to speak:

"I am not getting old. My body and brain will always be 18 years old. But if you're wondering about my real age, you need to add a hundred." Sonic's mouth fell open. 118 years old?! Was she serious?! Indeed, her appearance had nothing to do with her actual age. Without letting Sonic speak, Yaren continued, thinking it would be better if she explained everything in one go:

"If that's the Dragon Princess thing, that's exactly what it means. I am a shapeshifter. I have dragon form. I can transform whenever I want. Except for my wings. I can't get my wings inside my body." Sonic tried to comprehend what he had heard:

"The nickname Princess is a part of me, even though I dislike it. I am known as the princess of all magical creatures." It suddenly dawned on Sonic:

"That's why you asked me if I was a magical creature by the lake." Yaren nodded.

"I couldn't understand how you were so comfortable talking to me as a magical creature. Of course, now the reason is obvious. As I guessed, it was because you didn't know who I was. If you knew I was your princess, you would have started to fear me right away." Sonic frowned.

"Wait a minute. Why would I be afraid of you just because you are my "princess"?" Yaren turned to Sonic with a confused expression:

"Be-because all magical creatures fear my power. They hesitate to talk to me or even confront me."

"Your power? Like Sticks said? It means you being able to control anyone."

"Yes. I have the power to control all magical creatures. By completely taking away their selves." Sonic flinched slightly. It was indeed a terrifying power. But he was still trying to set some pieces in place, so he didn't hesitate to ask:

"Can you control everyone living in the universe?" Yaren felt curiosity in Sonic's voice. How could he still be interested? He should have run away from her now.

"Only magical creatures. Not mortals."

"Mortals ?"

"Yes, those without magic power. Just like your friends." Sonic turned around and looked at the team.

"Actually, I am quite surprised too. You're the only magical creature among them, but they don't mind. Mortals do not take kindly to magical creatures."

"The only magical creature?" At Tails' voice, they both turned around. Of course, seeing his entire team, made Yaren even more nervous. She shifted where she was.

"Are you saying Sonic is a magical creature?" Yaren raised an eyebrow:

"How ? Don't you know that Sonic is a magical creature?"

"She talks about my power being innate. It sounded weird to me too."

"Does your speed make you magical?" ' asked Amy.

"What do you think makes a normal mobian run faster than the speed of sound?" said Yaren.

"I do not know. I had actually researched this, but never understood the real reason." Said Tails.

"Because you can't understand magic with science."

"Anyway, it doesn't change anything that I'm not considered a magical creature." said Sonic.

"Of course it doesn't, Sonic. I did not mean that." Sonic turned back to Yaren:

"I have never been treated like you said by any of my friends you call mortal. They took pretty kindly."

"I cannot say that this applies to every mortal. But I have to generalize, that's the case."

"You… I guess you don't get along well with mortals. That was the reason for the tension, wasn't it?" Yaren laughed bitterly.

"I never got on well with anyone." Sonic was startled:

"How so ?" Yaren swallowed. She was getting into the subject she hated the most. The thing she's done all her life but never learned the true meaning of.

"I, I'm not the bad guy in the legend, Sonic. Yes, I have the power to control magical creatures, but I have made a big promise to myself that I will never use this ability. I don't want to be called a princess. All I want is to use the powers I have to help those in need." Sonic smiled sincerely at her last sentence. He knew she wasn't a bad person, he was sure.

"But… Ahh Damn…" Her eyes began to fill with tears again: "No matter how many lives I've tried to help, how many lives I've saved, the result never changes. When they see my different appearance, especially my wings, they call me that disgusting "f" word and kick me out. Although I saved them from the disaster that befell them, they declare me the chief culprit of that disaster. However, I want to mingle with the mortals. I want to get to know them better and help them when they need it." She sobbed. The heart of the team was also shattered. They regretted tagging Yaren just because she looked like the creature from Stick's legend.

"Magical creatures too, well… They're so afraid I'm going to control them. The moment they see me in front of them, they start to tremble and stutter. They always use titles such as Your Majesty, Your Highness even though I don't want to. They are trying to escape from me as soon as possible. That's why I can't communicate with them at all." She took a deep breath again.

"Despite being a hero, I haven't been able to communicate with anyone for a hundred years. I always experience the same thing. My tension is always at the top. When it gets bigger, I cannot prevent the defense mechanism from kicking in." Sonic raised an eyebrow:

"A defense mechanism? Was that scream a defense?" Yaren shook her head.

"Death Scream. It's a skill that activates if I get too stressed out physically or emotionally. I have no control over it. I never wanted to scream at that moment."

"I guessed you were stretching too much." said Sonic. Amy also returned to the team:

"Yes! You stressed the girl for nothing!"

"Hey it wasn't my fault!" said Sticks. Knuckles shouted, "Wasn't mine too!"

"No no no!" Yaren intervened. "It's not your fault. The reason I got stressed was because you were fighting because of me. Because…" Yaren giggled bitterly again: "I was going to ruin the scene like I always do."

"Ruin the scene ? Do you realize that you always blame yourself for nothing?" said Sonic.

"I don't know. I just keep doing what I think is right but the result is always the same. I don't really expect any thanks from the people I rescued, but they always blame me for what happened to them. It really hasn't bounced off until now."

"Until now?" Sonic was stunned.

"Why do you think I was so nervous talking to you? Sonic, you're the first person to thank me for saving your life." Both Sonic and the team left their mouths open in surprise. Yaren's eyes filled with tears. But she wasn't supposed to cry in front of them. She wiped her eyes with a fury, but her sobs didn't stop:

"You w-were s-so k-kind. You even wondered about my appearance. You wanted to know something about me. You asked me if I was okay!" She cried out at the end of her sentence. She had never been opened to anyone before. She was very full.

"I mean, w-who asks me if I'm okay? After all, I am nothing but a f-f-fr…" She stuttered every time she tried to say that word.
"I'm nothing but a freak monster, right? I don't even know if I'm a real hero when I save the lives of others every day. Can someone whom everyone hates be called a hero?" Yaren was completely broken. Her sobs became more frequent. She was still holding back her tears. Sonic couldn't bear to see her like this any longer. The creature before him was emotionally shattered. One hundred years of solitude. The treatment she received just because of her looks. Tails also started to cry because he knew very well what Yaren was feeling. He also realized how lucky he was. Who knows what he would have been without Sonic. Moreover, he knew very well that he did not have the patience of Yaren. Sonic slowly approached Yaren. The princess lowered her head. She kept wiping her eyes with her paw. She winced as Sonic placed both hands on her shoulders. She hesitated to raise her head. Sonic was trying to look into her eyes.

"Yaren, don't tell yourself to say those words again." His voice was very soft. The princess lifted her head slightly. Now she was staring right into Sonic's emerald eyes. "You, you really don't realize how kind you are. After all you've been through, you still think about helping others. You are dedicated to others. No matter what happens to you, you say, as long as you save others. You are more hero than any of us." Yaren just looked at Sonic. Her tongue was no longer working. She was frozen.

"Yes, you are different. You are different from all of us. But we are also different. We know what it means to be different. We also know what kind of problems being different sometimes causes. But to be different is to be special. I really admired you. That you still want to help others after all these years, that you don't give up no matter what. Also, you are such a lovely person. Your energy is different. When you smile, you radiate energy to everyone to be positive. You are a true hero. You're not a freak, you're not even a monster at all. And it would be my great pleasure to be your first friend." She tried to smile between her sobs.

"For the sake of Chaos, you saved my life! Why would I want to kick you out?!" laughed Sonic. Yare started to laugh too. Her smile suddenly turned into laughter. A pretty long laugh.

"Great, you broke the Dragon Princess." said Sticks from behind. Sonic, too, flinched at the long laugh. Of course he wanted Yaren to smile, but he wasn't sure if that was a good sign. She tried to calm herself by taking deep breaths. She stopped laughing after a while. She was out of breath. Sonic with both a smile and worried eyes: "Are you okay?" he asked. Yaren took a deep breath again.

"You asked again. My Chaos, you asked again." Sonic laughed. He knew what she was talking about:

"Of course I asked. I'll ask as long as you're my friend and part of this team." Yaren's eyes lit up.

"Friend and part of a team ?" The team got closer to them. Sonic returned to the team:

"I guess we don't need to vote, do we?"

"Of course not. Also, I think it would be good if we equalized the number of girls." said Amy cheerfully.

"I think I've found someone who can really help with my magic research. It will be so fun." said Tails. Yaren looked at the team in surprise. Sonic looked at Knuckles and Sticks. Knuckles crossed his arms and smiled.

"It would be an honor to welcome someone so sincerely devoted to protecting others." Said. Just like Yaren's speech when she learned that he was a guard. Sticks averted her eyes and folded her arms. Everyone was waiting for a voice from her.

"Sticks?" ' Sonic said with a sigh. Sticks sighed nervously and threw her arms at her sides:

"Ahhhhh okay. At least we can assume she's not a bad person. But I'll keep an eye on you." The team chuckled at Sticks' sentence. Then they all looked at Yaren. Yaren froze again with her shocked expression. Sonic stood in front of her again and held out his hand.

"Well, "princess"." He said the word princess very nicely. Yaren didn't mind being called a princess for the first time.

"Would you like to be part of the Sonic Team?" Yaren's eyes would tear up again, but this time it had nothing to do with sadness. For the first time in her life, a group wanted to include her. This was indeed her best chance, and this time she wanted to make the most of it. Of course she wouldn't turn it down. Sonic's calling herself "princess" made her think that maybe he could use it as a nickname for her. After all, Sonic was the only one among them who really needed to call Yaren "princess". A big and sincere smile appeared on Yaren's face. She knew what to say to Sonic. She lifted her paw into a hand and shook Sonic's outstretched hand:

"I would want to more than I want anything in this life, Emerald."