It was like a week after that. Ms. Sandy dating would be the least of our situations. I woke up expecting a great day, crazy maybe, but great. It was my twelfth birthday and I was so excited. I put on my new sweater dress, simple navy one with black leggings. Aunt Rouge made it for me for my birthday last year. Mom and Dad were prepping breakfast when our gadgets gave an alert.

Flash and I ran straight to Mom waiting for our instructions and ready to run and hide. Dad answered the call.

"Sonic, downtown Station Square, robot." Uncle Tails said. Seriously? Today, of all days…

"I'll see you there." Dad responded.

He kissed Mom.

"I'll be back."

"Be careful Sonic."

"I will. Kids, be good."

We hugged Dad and then he sped off to save the city.

Flash asked, "So yes or no on breakfast?"

"It's a yes." She ruffled his quills.

I guess it was far enough away we didn't have to hide in the basement. We drilled… robot alarms. Uncle Tails was still in the process of creating a panic room. The basement was the best we had. I sighed. I knew Dad wouldn't miss my big day since a robot attack really only lasts a few minutes. But still… I wanted the whole day with my family without robots getting in the way. At that point, I hoped that these attacks wouldn't last much longer. I didn't know what was going on other than these attacks weren't random and that we were constantly trying to work with the fact that they were after us.

"Need any help Mom?" I asked trying to move things along. Robot attack or not, this was my day.

"No, you sit Birthday Girl. Flash, anything you'd like to say to your sister?" Mom asked.

I looked over at him, his bedhead was already his signature look. "The goggles are too tight again."

I sighed. "I'll take a look after breakfast." I responded. I should've been glad he at least would wear them but the least the little brat could do was actually listen to Mom.

Mom brought us our plates. Egg and cheese stuffed crepes. Mmm. My favorite. I felt better knowing at least, he couldn't ruin the taste of the food. No matter what would come out of his mouth, Mom's cooking could break through it. Sure, food wouldn't solve everything but you know, it would be a good start.

"Princeton, wish your sister a happy birthday." Mom said in the calm but upset way she does.

I looked at him again. I smiled knowingly at him. Mom, even though she couldn't catch him, Mom could actually discipline Princeton. He grumbled while mom stared intensely at him. Looking into her eyes, something happens. It's like being hypnotized and neither of us, not even Dad could resist.

"Happy birthday Sis."

Good, he didn't call me Annabelle. He only calls me Annabelle when he's mad at me or wants to be mean to me. I didn't have a problem with my name until he learned to talk. No one has called me Annabelle more than once because I cringe.

I'm not proud but I do fight back. He hates being called Princeton. Not cool enough for him apparently. What would a six-year old know about cool anyway?

Whatever, today was my day. No brother, no new bra, no robots were going to ruin day. Dad would be back soon.

I ate my breakfast thinking about my party. Caleb had to get special permission from his school to come to my party this weekend and I couldn't wait to see him. Talking to him over the wrist gadget was nice but it wasn't the same.

My Aunts, Uncles and cousins that aren't actually related to me were coming. It's funny, for whatever reason, the twins don't call Uncle Tails and my dad Uncle or Aunt Cream and my mom Aunt. They don't think we're that close. Which sure, I get it. They live far away on Angel Island training to be Gaurdians and all that.

I was able to finish eating before Dad made it back.

"Miss me?" Dad sped right up to Mom who was still eating.

"Daddy!" Flash nearly knocked Dad over.

"Whoa, you're getting faster Buddy."

"As fast as you?"

"Weelll, getting close."

"I'll beat you one of these days."

"Aah." Dad bounced him up and down the best he could. "I'm sure you will Buddy."

"Can we go for a run now?"

"A short one, we have to help your Mom set up, okay?"

"Awwww."

"It's a big day for you sister. We're going to have a nice day as a family. Lily will be here and you guys can play as soon as she gets here."

"Yay, Mommy can she use your hammer?"

"Sorry Flash, only I can use my Piko Piko Hammer. But you and Lily are going to have fun anyway."

Lily turned out to be good playmate for Flash. She might be small but she's strong. Her ears have grown so much she's managed to get off the ground. She and Flash have been having fun exploring their abilities. A simple game of catch never looked like this before.

Before we set up the backyard, Mom and Dad gave me a small present. They got me a hair ribbon. A dark navy one that matched my dreass with flowers and leaves embroidered into it that. Hand made.

"Did you make this?"

"No, Sandy's sister did."

"Like it?" Dad asked.

"I love it. It's so beautiful, so complex. It'ssss us. We're all here." The small flowers. They're everyone. Each color matched everyone so perfectly. She's good.

I wore my hair ribbon for my party. I've worn it everywhere and everyday since then. In away, it would be like I'm taking my family everywhere I go. Even when I grow up, they'd be with me. It was one of the best gifts I had ever gotten.

I was excited to see everyone and show them my hair ribbon. Caleb and his family arrived first. As usual, Shadow made me uneasy, Maria was sweet and Caleb… was Caleb. We broke off from our parents as soon as possible. OR rather, they kind of sent us away to talk adult stuff.

This whole trying to live our own lives and being kind of paranoid about robot attacks is never ending and exhausting. I knew they talked about it a lot and they never really discussed the situation with us. Not unless they were giving us new rules meant to try to protect us. All I really knew was that, the next time it happened, I had to run and get help.

"How's chaos emerald training going?" I asked.

"It'ssss different."

"Well it is magic after all. You're not building a tolerance to pain anymore. Can I see it?"

"Of course."

He reached into his glove pocket. Uncle Tails designed these special pockets to place the emeralds in. He tried explaining how it works but he lost me. All I really knew was we could store anything and everything in these little pockets. I have them too but I stick my rings in it. It's like a piggy bank I carry around that I don't have to break into.

Anyway, he slipped his chaos emerald out from the pocket on top of his glove.

"Oh yeah, you got the gray one."

"Would you like to hold it?"

"Can I?" I've never gotten to hold one before. Dad keept one handy but he's never let us hold it.

"Of course."

I held out my hand and he placed the emerald in my hand.

"Wow, hello Gray Chaos Emerald. How are you?"

I like to say I felt something or saw something but it was just as likely that it was my imagination.

"Hmm."

"What? You got something?" I asked him with growing excitement.

"Perhaps. I didn't think the chaos emeralds would respond in any way to small talk."

"Well Roxy and Brick said the Master Emerald seemed to enjoy the tea parties we had with it." I never really expect the emeralds to respond when I talk to them. Or at least, that I could never tell if they did.

I gave him back the emerald.

"This whole time I thought you guys were treating the Master Emerald like a doll.

"Everyone likes hanging out on some kind of level. You'd appreciate it too if all anyone ever wanted from you was to borrow your power."

He looked at me and then at the chaos emerald. He nodded. "I promise to be more… friendly from now on Gray Chaos Emerald." He took a pause to look at me.

I smiled. "Go on." I encouraged.

"And I'm sorry but for now you have to return to my glove, okay?"

There was a kind of glow.

"Amazing." I said. He smiled at the emerald in a way I didn't get to see very often. He actually had a toothy smile and wrinkles on his face. Then he smiled at me.

"Thank you. The Gray Chaos Emerald also seems to appreciate your insightfulness."

"You're very welcome. We'll see you later Gray Chaos Emerald." I said trying to act polite and respectful to the emerald.

As he slipped the emerald back into his pocket, I heard something by my foot. Hmm? I looked down and at first, I thought it was a snake but then, it curled around my leg. I screamed and then I felt some pain in my leg and in my arms. Caleb had grabbed my hands before that thing could pull me away.

"Don't let go." I told him. At least, that's how I remember it.

"Never." Caleb looked me in the eyes. He was so serious, so determined.

"Sonic!"

"Amy!"

I looked over. Dad was caught too and Mom was holding onto him. Then something went by. There was a tug to the side of this tentacle thing. We struggled to hold onto each other. I tried to kick that thing off me.

"Aaah. Caleb I can't. This is too much." The funny thing is, I felt more pain from my arms than my leg. That thing had a good grip without squeezing me.

Maria came to us, "Hold on Kids." She had a kind of long knife thing, a blade. Where did that come from? She slashed this cord tentacle arm thing. Once.

"Sonic!"

"Uncle Tails?" I looked up to see something purple in Uncle Tails' hands.

Twice.

"Just hang on. It's going to be okay." Caleb said.

There was a thud. Dad landed on Mom.

A third slash.

"Mother."

"It's tough." She replied.

"Is it working?!" I asked, trying to hold. I was scared but something told me that I would be okay. My family wouldn't let anything happen to me. Ms. Maria and Caleb were right there.

"Whoa."

"Oof."

"You guys okay?" Uncle Tails came up to us.

I groaned. I felt sore and my head hurt but I was safe. Well, I was safer than I was a second ago.

When I lifted my head, I noticed Caleb. I was on top of him. He had his arms around me.

"Eep."

I struggled to get up but I did it as quickly as possible. That was weird. I wanted this to end. My heart was pounding and my head was warm.

"In the house." Ms. Maria said. "Come on kids."

"Take this Annie." Uncle Tails handed me the purple thing. It was an odd cylinder shape and a blade stuck out but I could kind of see through it. The handle fit right in my hand. Some kind of sword?

"Wait-" I was caught off.

"Let's go. Blade down." He ordered me.

"Uh-" I did what I was told and we were corralled into the basement.

"What is this Uncle Tails?"

"A multiweapon. Happy birthday Annie. Whit's show her how it works."

"A what now?"

We huddled in the basement. Uncle Tails, Ms. Maria and Caleb surrounded Aunt Cream, Ben, Whits, Flash and me.

Multiweapon?

"Wait, you're not transferring me to Caleb's school?!"

"What? No." Uncle Tails said.

"It was my idea. I thought maybe you'd feel more at ease with something to protect yourself with." Caleb responded.

"We took the idea and made you this." Whits pointed to the weapon. "See the dial?"

"Huh, it's not a jewel?"

"It is, it's also a dial. You turn it and a different weapon comes out."

"So, like this?" I turned the dial at the side of the handle close to the blade. The sword disappeared and then it turned into some kind of long stick.

"Ow!"

"Oops." When the stick appeared, it accidently hit Ben.

"Sorry Ben." I only felt bad for a few seconds because ultimately, were being attacked.

"Be careful Annie. It's not a toy." Tails responded.

"Shush now everyone." Aunt Cream said. We waited in silence.

We heard some knocking. We listened for the all clear taps. I gripped my weapon tighter. Somehow, I was ready to fight my way out. The last tap we heard calmed us down. We're good. We sighed in relief.

"You can some out now everyone." I heard Mom say.

We walked out of the basement and walked into the living room.

"Oh, you did go with a staff." I looked up. Ms. Maria was smiling at me and pointed towards my weapon.

"We thought you could teach Annie some moves." Caleb responded.

I looked at the staff. What was a handle had changed so it was slimmer, longer. It changes with the setting. I guess it wasn't so much a handle anymore as it is a grip.

"You can use one of these?" I asked her.

She nodded. "I can, ever since I was a kid, training to be an agent. I should probably start carrying it around more often."

"I'm not sure if the blade on yours would work as well as it should on these new robots." Caleb told his mom.

A blade?

"Mine doesn't have a blade." I noticed.

"Yours is a different kind but we can add a blade if you want." Whits said.

"Think you can make me one strong enough to handle those machines?" Ms. Maria asked.

"Already working on it." Whits responded.

There was one more setting I turned the dial. The staff retracted back into itself and out came a giant hammer.

"Oh wow, it's just like Mom's." I said amazed at the resemblance. It was still plain purple but otherwise, it was still Mom's Piko Piko Hammer.

"Be careful with that thing." Dad kind of yelled, kind of squeaked.

"I will. Hopefully I'll never have to actually use this thing, right?" This wasn't exactly what I wanted on my birthday but their intentions were good.

I looked at Uncle Tails. "Thanks for the gift Uncle Tails."

"Welcome, I'm sorry I had to unwrap it for you."

"You guys came at the right time." Mom commented.

"Those tentacles were tough to slice." Ms. Maria inspected her blade. It was like a tiny sword.

"We have a sample for you." Mr. Shadow handed Uncle Tails a piece of the things thar grabbed me.

"Let's talk shop in the kitchen." Mom said. "Annie, put your gift away."

"I suggest your glove pocket." Uncle Tails said.

"Okay." Oh, but my rings. I turned the dial.

"Let's rest a bit and enjoy the party. How about some cartoons?" Aunt Cream said going into Mother mode. I sighed.

"I'll be back in a minute." I went upstairs to hide my rings in my music box and I stared at my weapon. Neat gift. Not what I was hoping for. This birthday was turning out to be my worst. Two robot attacks in one day. What were the odds? I looked around my leg. I wondered if I would bruise.

I wondered what would happen next. I had this weapon now. I guess I'll learn to use it. No telling when we'll be attacked next. Caleb might not be there next time to grab my hand. I could get kidnapped.

This whole thing was scary before but at that moment, it happened at my party in my backyard. Is nowhere safe anymore? Would we all be homeschooled from now on? Would I get to hang out with Conner… Was it too dangerous for him to be my friend anymore?

This balancing act can't go on forever.

"Annie, Sweetie?"

"Hm…" I turned around to find my mom in my doorway.

"Yeah Mom."

"How are you feeling Sweetie?"

She walked up to me.

"Yeah, I'm okay… I guess."

"I know today has been the exact opposite of what we were hoping for." She placed her hand on my shoulder and leaned down towards me.

"What's going to happen Mom? What are guys talking about?"

She sighed and hugged me. I don't know why but I started to cry.

"We're doing our best honey."

I held onto my mom for dear life. I wasn't in danger anymore, but my world was changing so much in one day. I was safe but not safe at the same time. Robots were coming after us. Someone out there was tormenting us and we had no clue who or why.

"Listen Honey, I know it's scary and we're going to do everything we can to keep you safe."

I looked up at her. "Am I still going to school on Monday?"

"Yes, Honey, you'll send us a quick check-in message at lunch from now on okay?"

I wiped my eyes.

"Uh-hm."

"Maria wants to teach you how to use the staff in the morning, okay?"

"Okay, I don't know how much I can learn in one morning but okay."

"It's a first lesson."

"How many are there going to be?" I didn't like the sound of this. "You're not sending me away are you?"

"No no no no." She rubbed the top of my head. "Never Honey." We were thinking video calls through your new computer." I let my mom go. No way was I going to do this through a desktop.

"You mean a tablet?" I asked hopeful.

"No, your Uncle Tails made his own."

"Of course." I shrugged.

"Act surprised when you open it."

"Am I going to have any presents that I won't use to fight, or learn to fight?"

She shook her head, "I honestly, don't know." I never thought I would want a normal life as much I did in that moment.

"Please try to have fun on your birthday Sweetie."

That's right. It's still my birthday. I planned on cake, presents and fun and that's what's going to happen. I took a deep breath.

"Yeah, it's my day and I'm going to live it."

"That's my girl." I smiled at Mom.

"Thanks Mom."

"Any time. I'm always here when you want to talk."

I really needed that talk, that cry, that reminder. If your family is going to be terrorized by robots, my family is the best one to be a part of. Even their gifts will help you get through this.

It wasn't long before Uncle Knuckles, Aunt Rouge and the Twins arrived. We explained to them what happened.

"We missed it again?!" Brick exclaimed.

"What?" I was shocked. "You want to be attacked by robots?"

"I want to protect us from robots."

"I'm glad we missed it. My dress could've been ruined." Roxy said.

"Annie, Sweetie?" I looked up. Mom was smiling funny.

"What's up?"

"I need to talk to you real quick."

"This isn't more puberty talk is it?" I asked, hoping this wouldn't be painful.

"No, nothing like that. Please Annie, in the kitchen."

"Yes, Mom." She led me back inside the house.

"What do you need Mom?"

She took a deep breath.

"Mom?" I asked getting worried. If this wasn't about puberty, then what would it be. I already knew about this whole training me to use the multiweapon. Which sure, I never wanted to learn to fight but of course, in my family, I couldn't just not learn to defend myself.

Her face scrunched up and looked at me like she had stomachache.

"Sweetie, Sandy and Conner aren't coming."

"What? Why?" He promised he would be at my party.

"There was an accident. They got caught in a blast, some kind of explosion."

"What? Are they okay?" I couldn't believe it.

"They're at the hospital. They're fine It's just that-"

"Can we go see them?"

"We can make the trip tomorrow, but Annie," She grabbed my shoulders, "Conner is in a coma."

The rest of my birthday was a blur. I'd say my heart stopped but I was still alive.

Mom says I cried for a long time before I went back to the party. Everyone was worried about Conner and Ms. Sandy but it was still my birthday. It didn't matter, I could keep all kinds of things from putting a damper on my birthday but not this. My friend was in a hospital and he might not ever wake up…

Mom says when I saw him in the hospital bed, I ran to him and stared at him. I cried and tried to hold his hand. She said I would bring my hand up and down like I was trying to figure out what to do. I kept saying, "I'm sorry," and "Wake up Conner."