This time, I'm just gonna answer a couple of reviewers then start. But geesh, this English project has really thrown me off from writing this! I mean, this IS English, is it not? I should've told my teacher that. Then maybe she'll stop giving us spelling words like blue, again, and ache. GEESH!

To reviewer trenton(1 sonicfreak: Uh...Sorry, still don't know what you guys are talking about. But thanks for trying...

To reviewer toonfreak: Rhododendrons are those hedge bushes you see in gardens. They're short, often about three or four feet in height and are just...well, bushes...

To reviewer ecea: Yeah, it could be longer, but as I said to mister-too-bored-to-sign-in, I'm trying a new writing style, where I don't take ten chapters to get a five-chapter-story across, because when I make the writing more complex, nobody reads nor reviews.

To reviewer angel7070: I know who you are! Mwaha! HPF! You didn't have to read this Sonic thingy...But, I'm glad you did. And uh...about that story I promised you—I've got the plot and everything you specified, just have to write the thing...XD Please be patient...And see you at school? What the? I wish...I wanna go back, I don't like it here. The people are too tall and the teachers aren't personable...

4. Death's Puppet

"Cream? Cream!" Amy cried, starting to panic. She whipped to Cheese. "Why is that thing glowing? It wasn't glowing before! What's going on?!"

"Chao!" was all she could reply.

Amy grabbed Cream's shoulders and began to shake her back and forth. "Cream! Cream! What's wrong? Oh please, wake up, Cream, wake up!" she screamed, her eyes welling up with tears.

Cream continued to sit with her head buried in her chest, the head of the Tails Doll staring back at Amy. Amy let go of her friends and buried her head in her hands and broke down in the grass. Cheese hovered over her head, watching Cream warily.

"Oh, Cream, Cream...I'm so sorry! It's all my fault! I shouldn't have left you alone with that doll! I knew there was something wrong with it and I was right! I'm a horrible person!" Amy wept, sinking lower and lower to her legs. She paused and lifted her head on hearing the rustle of fabric.

Cream had stood up, and lifted her head. Amy and Cheese shot up like lightning. "You're okay! Don't fool me like that, Cream! You had me scared half to..." she trailed off when she saw that the rabbit's eyes were closed. Cream just stood there, still holding the Tails Doll tightly in both hands. Her eyelids seemed heavy, but then they slowly started to rise, Amy and Cheese gawking with mixed emotions. The gawking became gasps when the lidded eyes revealed bright red pupils.

Amy and Cheese backed away slightly. "Chao?" Cheese whimpered, inching closer and closer to Amy.

Cream began to lift her left arm, prying it away from the doll. Then, when it was halfway to full height, it shot up to full height, her palm pointing at one of the large trees in the back of Amy's yard. The jewel atop the Tails Doll's head flashed a bright red and the tree Cream was pointing to did the same. Amy and Cheese only had a chance to glance at the tree before it came crashing down where they were standing.

Amy grabbed Cheese and leapt out of the way just in time. She slid across the slippery grass a short distance, landing face down and clutching the chao to her chest. Recovering from her shock, Amy rolled over and sat up to look at her friend.

"Cream?!" she screamed again. The rabbit responded by raising her hand and wreaking more havoc on Amy's garden by bringing yet another tree to the ground. Again, Amy and Cheese evaded the hit.

Amy now stood at the edge of the garden, having nowhere to run except into the fence. She glanced at the side gate. "I don't know what's going on, Cheese, but we'd better get out of here!"

The chao chirruped her agreement and shot out of Amy's arms, leading the way out of the garden. Reaching the gate, Amy didn't bother fighting with the latch and simply propelled herself up and over the fence with her Piko Piko Hammer. Both she and Cheese halted on the other side of the fence to look back. Cream was right behind them, flapping her huge ears to clear the fence. Amy and Cheese began to waste no time in hightailing it out of there.

Amy's house was beginning to make itself visible from the air, and Rouge slowly lowered her altitude. Though on seeing the backyard, she noticed something different—the fallen trees and an abandoned tea party. There was no Amy or Cream in sight. Rouge swooped down and landed in front of the house.

Rouge stood and brushed herself off, covered in dust and sand from the desert. "I have to take a shower after this! I can't believe I went in there in the first place!" She lifted her head on hearing a scream. Amy tore at her out of nowhere from the right, Cheese following closely behind her and neither watching where they were going. Not being able to move out of the way in time, Rouge screamed as Amy collided with her.

The two fell to the ground, Amy quickly recovering and getting up of the bat. "I'm so sorry, Rouge, but Cream's after us!" she cried between gasps for breath.

"Yeah, well just watch where you're going, pinky!" Rouge retorted, dusting herself off once more.

"My name is Amy!" Amy yelled angrily.

"Whatever. You know you're just so anno—"Rouge stopped in mid-sentence on looking up and seeing Cream come to a halt a metre or so behind Amy. The two watched the young rabbit scowl at them with glowing red eyes, clutching the Tails Doll innocently.

"The Tails Doll, Sonic called it," Rouge muttered.

Amy whipped her head to Rouge. "What? You found Sonic?"

The sudden move spurred the Tails Doll in Cream's arms to manipulate her to retaliate. Cream's arms shot out like lighting, gripping the Tails Doll between her elbows expertly as she swiped for Amy's neck.

Anticipating something as soon as Amy made the sudden move, Rouge grabbed Amy and flew up into the air, Amy dodging Cream's lethal hands by only millimetres. Amy looked down on Cream, panting heavily. "Wow...Thank you Rouge! I owe you!"

"Double." Rouge replied, cringing under the weight of holding Amy up by her armpits. "For running into me as well, I mean."

"Oh yeah—you said you told Sonic about Cream?" Amy stopped talking as Cream flapped her ears and rose to the height in the air so that she was level with Rouge. Again, there was a standstill between the two parties. "Rouge...What...do we do?"

"Quiet!" Rouge shushed her. "And don't make any sudden moves. Just because you want to endanger your life, doesn't mean I want you to endanger mine, girl."

Rouge's eyes and Cream's eyes were locked, the bat watching vigilantly for the slightest sign of an offensive manoeuvre. Amy was getting heavy in her arms, and the tension of waiting for Cream to move wasn't helping. If Cream didn't move, she would have to. It was now or never.