Penny panted as she ran around the house carefully, trying so hard not to get caught while she looked for Cream and Cheese. When she couldn't find them, she ran up to Chuck's room, opening the door with a bang.

Tails, Amy, Chris, and Chuck turned to her.

"Penny!" Chris gasped, running over and scooping her into a hug. "That's a relief."

"Chris, did Cream and Cheese come back yet?!" The female hedgehog asked.

"Uh, no..." He gulped, releasing her and sheepishly holding the back of his head with his two hands.

"They're not here?!" Penny yelped.

"Don't yell at me, I just came here to look for them myself!" Chris cried. The boy started panicking, clutching his head in his hands.

Chuck frowned. "Weren't they with you two?"

"Well, first she was with me..." Penny muttered, trying to recall where she last saw Cream and Cheese.

"And then I found them trying to decorate the living room..." Chris said. "Mr. Tanaka knows about them and promises to keep this a secret." Chris said.

"How did he find out?!" Penny asked, glancing at Chris with worry.

"That's not the thing we should worry about right now!" Chris groaned in panic, holding his head in his hands. "They're wandering someplace, and Mr. Stewart's gonna be here any minute now! What am I gonna do if he sees them?!"

"This is my fault..." Penny moaned. "I tried to keep them under control, but now they're running loose and..."

"Calm down." Chuck interrupted the two. "Let's all split up and each of us will search a different part in the house until we find them."

"Okay!" Tails and Amy said in sync.

...

While all of that was going on, Mr. Stewart had just arrived with a bundle of roses for Chris's mother in his arms. Mr. Stewart smiled, raising his hand at the butler, who greeted him at the door. "I'm Chris's homeroom teacher, Mr. Stewart."

"Welcome, sir." Mr. Tanaka said with a bow. "We've been expecting you."

Chris popped in between the door and Mr. Tanaka, grining excitedly at Mr. Stewart. "Hi, come in!"

Mr. Stewart grinned at Chris. "How are you, Chris?"

Mr. Tanaka allowed Mr. Stewart to come in, and Ella happily led him to the couch. "Sit down!"

Glancing up at the ceiling light, Mr. Stewart gently touched one of the decorations Cream left hanging.

Chris sweat dropped while Ella chuckled. "Do you like it? Mrs. Thorndyke isn't only a great actress, but an artist, too!"

Mr. Stewart chuckled, his attention leaving the decoration and turning to Ella. "Well, it's great. I can't wait to meet Chris's mother and give her my compliments."

Ella winced. "I'm very sorry, Mr. Stewart. But just before you arrived, she was offered a very important movie part and she had to leave right away to start filming."

Chris jumped. "No way!"

Mr. Stewart sighed in disappointment, holding his bundle of roses. "Oh, well, that's too bad. I was really looking forward to meeting her in person." He glanced at the roses and turned to Ella with a smile. "Hmm. I guess I'll offer these to you then."

"For me?!" Ella exclaimed happily, tenderly holding the bundle of roses in her arms. "Oh, why thank you, Mr. Stewart! What beautiful roses!"

While she walked off to put the roses in water, Mr. Stewart sat down next to the boy to try to comfort him, when a sudden crash was heard outside.

Ella gasped, running to the windowsill.

While they were distracted, Mr. Stewart walked over to a painting and reached into his pocket.

Ella walked over to the windowsill and gasped when she saw Chuck on the ground, groaning, covered in dirt and broken flower pots. Noticing Ella, Chuck quickly got up, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly and chuckling. "Sorry, Ella. I was just leaning out of the windowsill and I fell out and knocked the pots down."

Ella raised her brows at him. "I don't know what you think you're up to, but you'd better be on your best behavior because Chris's teacher is here."

Chuck gasped and quickly climbed through the sill. "I better come in and say hi."

"Oh, sir!" Ella scolded. "Why can't you just use the front door like everybody else?!"

"One way in is as good as any other way in."

While they had their argument, Chris glanced down at one of the curtains and saw a familiar pair of red shoes.

Chris screamed, startling the adults. Ella turned to him while Mr. Stewart quickly placed the painting down.

"Oh, what's the matter, Chris?" Ella asked. "Why did you scream?"

The boy quickly turned in his seat away from the view. "Oh, it's nothing!"

Mr. Stewart turned to the painting, humming. "Well, my, this certainty is an extraordinary painting."

Silence.

"Thanks, Sonic!"

Completely panicked, Chris and everyone else turned to see CREAM walking out of the curtain, hugging Cheese tightly to herself and smiling proudly and happily. "Guess what? Sonic went out and picked a whole bunch of pretty flowers just for me!"

Chris gulped nervously as Ella picked up Cream, and Cream glanced at Ella nervously. "You can have some too if you want."

Ella stuttered, staring at Cream up and down. "No, I can't-" she stuttered. "Is this little animal talking?!"

Chuck chuckled nervously. "Talking animals? What a joke!"

Mr. Tanaka popped up, nodding fiercely. "Yes, that's some joke."

"CREAM!"

Another voice rang loud and clear, causing Chris and the adults to pale more as Penny ran in.

"Another one?!" Ella gasped.

Chris thought quick and quickly grabbed Penny and set her down on the couch. "T-t-that's my talking stuffed animal! I really don't know how she got there!" He laughed nervously. He quickly looked at Ella and grinned. "Thank you for finding my other stuffed toy, Ella. Can I have it back?"

He grabbed Cream from Ella as she started talking. "Toy? Look, I heard that thing talking and no one's gonna convince me otherwise. If this is some kind of joke you're playing, then you'd better quit before I do!"

While Ella was ranting, Chris with Cream in his arms leaned towards her and Penny. "You two, including you, Cheese. PLEASE pretend you're toys!"

Penny quickly nodded, grabbing Cream in her arms and acting like cute display dolls.

"Hey, hey!"

Everyone turned towards the door to see another man come in. He grinned at the people. "Hey, where' s the party?"

"Uncle Sam!" Chris grinned excitedly and quickly began introductions with his teacher. "This is my teacher, Mr. Stewart!"

Mr. Stewart shook Sam's hand. "A pleasure. I understand you're involved in the highway patrol somehow."

Sam chuckled. "Well, I don't like to brag, but I'm the leader of the S team."

"That statement is only half correct..." Chuck sighed, crossing his arms and looking away.

"Really?" Mr. Stewart asked curiously.

Penny watched. This family was more interesting than she thought.

"My uncle drives fast!" Chris pipped up. "No other truck driver's quick enough to catch him! That's why he's called the Speed King! You came up with the name yourself, didn't you?"

"Man, if Sonic heard that, he'd feel jealous." Penny chuckled inside her head.

Sam grinned. "Sure. A little self promotion never hurt anybody!" He burst into laughter and frowned. "Let's cut the chitchat and get this party moving. It's too slow."

Ella frowned in annoyance. "And your mouth is too fast."

Penny almost laughed at that but quickly caught herself.

Sam chuckled as he sat down. "Ha, I can't help that I like speed. I've always been fast! I even beat the doctor to the delivery room. I was the only kid in town who had a five-speed transmission in my baby carriage. I admit it! I like living in the fast lane. Even when I'm in the supermarket, no matter how many items I have, I use the express checkout. I can't even walk my dog, I make him run!" Sam laughed, then turned serious. "There's only one guy who's faster."

Penny's eyes shrunk. "Sonic."

"I never saw anything move that fast." Sam continued, crossing his arms. "But don't you worry, I'll catch up with him someday!"

"Really?" Mr. Stewart asked curiously. "What did he look like?"

"It's weird, but he looked like a blue hedgehog! He even had a spike...huh?"

Sam paused, glancing out the window. Penny watched as Sam's eyes went wide. She too wanted to see who was out the window but just for her and Cream's sake she had to stay still. So all she could actually do was watch and listen.

"HEY, THERE HE IS!" Sam yelped, quickly standing up and pointing at the window. Chris, Mr. Tanaka, and Chuck looked out the window and quickly looked away the same time Ella scanned the window.

"There!" Sam continued. "Did you see?! It was the blue hedgehog I was talking about!"

"Sorry." Mr. Stewart said from the corner. "I was just admiring this painting."

"I didn't see anything." Chuck chuckled, turning to Mr. Tanaka. "Did you?"

"Perhaps your eyes were playing tricks on you, sir." Mr. Tanaka responded.

"But I'm telling you, I saw it!" Sam protested, turning to Chris. "You saw it too, Chris, didn't you?"

Chris nervously shook his head, hugging Cream closer and wrapping his right arm around Penny.

Sam rubbed his eyes with his arm before protesting again. "I SAW it!" He crossed his arms. "My eyes don't lie...that thing waved at me and ran off!"

Ella walked up. "You know, they thought I was crazy too when I heard the animals talk."

Sam raised his brows at her. "Animals talking? Well, I didn't hear it say anything, but I'm sure it could understand what I said. We both saw the same creature!" He grinned, crossing his arms. "That PROVES I'm not crazy!"

Ella pointed over at Chris, who was hugging Penny and Cream and Cheese tight. "The animals I heard were over there!"

Chris quickly spoke up. "You know, I'm sorry Mom can't be here for the party, but she got a phone call and had to leave to make a movie! I was pretty mad. Mr. Stewart was looking forward to meet her! But she went away before he even got here. That was pretty rude, huh?"

"That sounds like my sister." Sam nodded.

Cream suddenly jumped out of Chris's arms, anger in her brown eyes. "You're wrong!" She hissed at him, causing Penny to jump in surprise as the little bunny continued. "Your mom felt very bad she had to go, and she tried to find you to say goodbye! You're lucky you get to talk to your mom all of the time on the phone, I can't do that!"

Cream ran the room, crying, followed closely by Cheese.

"Chris, you blockhead! You big jerk! How could you talk about your mom like that in front of Cream?!" Penny hissed at him, ignoring Ella and Sam's shocked expression. She turned to the direction Cream ran, yelling after her with her right hand outreached. "CREAM! WAIT!"

"Well, I hope you enjoyed that." Mr. Tanaka said, breaking the awkward silence. "I 've been rehearsing my ventriloquism act for weeks now, and if I do say so yourself, I'm not half bad." He coughed awkwardly.

Mr. Stewart nodded again. "Oh, yes, this painting is stunning."

A second later, the door opened, and Amy and Tails ran after Cream and Penny. "CREAM! PENNY!" Tails was yelling. Amy sounded distressed as well. "Come here, Cream!"

"I'm seeing more of them, now!" Ella groaned, looking like she was going to faint. Chuck quickly caught her hands, grinning awkwardly at her. "Hey, Ella, would you care to dance?" He chuckled as he spun her wildly around.

Chris grinned at his uncle. "Well, Uncle Sam, I hope you can come and visit me again."

"Yeah!" Sam smirked at his nephew, putting his hands on his hips. "But you know me, Chris. It'll have to be a quick visit!"

The two laughed at that.

Mr. Stewart glanced at the painting, humming quietly to himself. "I guess I've seen and heard enough." He clutched his spying piece and slipped it quietly back into his pocket, unwilling to do put it under the painting. He turned to Chris and walked over, waving a goodbye. "Chris, I'd better get going, I have homework to grade. Please give your mother my regards and tell her I hope to see her soon."

Chris winced, nodding. "Sorry, Mr. Stewart."

Mr. Stewart waved and walked out.

After Mr. Stewart drove off, Sam grinned at them. "Later, boys. See you in my rear-view mirror."

He drove off, leaving Mr. Tanaka, Chuck, and Chris glancing at each other. They walked into the house, exhausted about the party. The first thing they saw when they walked into the kitchen was Ella glumly sitting down on the couch, looking at her flowers, tapping them sadly. "Oh, dear." she sighed sadly. "I'm working too hard. I'm hearing things..."

Mr. Tanaka leaned towards Chris. "Mr. Chris, would it not be wise to let Ella in on your little secret, too?"

Chuck nodded in agreement. "He's right. Things would be a lot easier if she were in on it, too."

Chris smiled, nodding in agreement at his grandparents. "Sure. Okay." He took a deep breath and walked up to Ella. "Hey, Ella, listen. It's like this..."

...

"...So the only nutty thing in my kitchen is my pecan pie!" Ella said as she finished mixing dinner while Cream set the table. "What a relief. I'm so happy you don't have to hide from me anymore, sweetie."

Cream looked up from her job, smiling at Ella. "Yeah. We could be friends and I can help you out in the kitchen!"

"You're such a dear..." Ella sniffed. "I'm sure your mother misses you terribly." She whimpered, crying at the thought of Cream's mother missing her daughter, and how young Cream was when she was separated from her.

"Please don't worry," Cream said softly, her brown eyes watering as she spoke. "Sonic and my friends will find a way to get us all back home, and you can take care of me until then."

Ella turned from her stirring towards Cream, wiping tears from her eyes. "I will, Cream. I will."

"Thank you, Ella." Cream smiled. Cheese, who landed on the table beside Cream, chaoed happily.

Watching outside, Penny, Chris, and Sonic watched happily at the scene in front of them. Sonic grinned. "Now that Ella knows we're here, we can have the run of this place!"

Chris nodded, and even Penny looked glum, much to his surprise. "Penny?" Sonic asked worriedly, putting a hand on her shoulders.

Penny glanced up at Sonic, shrugged him off, and ran off. She kept running until she went to the attic, staying there for a while until Sonic finally came up, glancing at her with worry. "Hey. What's up?"

Penny glanced at him, her eyes showing regret. Sonic walked up the steps and sat down next to her, pulling in a gentle side hug. "Come on, you can tell me."

"I just...called Chris a jerk and a blockhead when he hurt Cream." Penny sniffed, wiping her nose. "It was uncalled for, I know. But I hurt him...he was really upset about his mom, and even though he made Cream upset all I did was hurt him." She glanced up at Sonic. "Do you think...he's mad at me?"

The hedgehog thought for a moment, trying to think of something to make her feel better. He sighed, turning to her. "I just talked with him," he said. "Chris forgives you."

Penny gasped, glancing up at his emerald eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Sure I'm sure." Sonic smiled back, pulling her into a hug. "He told me that you're one of his best friends, so of course he forgives you."

"Really?"

"Really." Sonic said comfortingly. "And I do, too."

"I do know that's true." Penny giggled.

"Hey. Can I come in?"

Penny and Sonic looked up to see Chris standing at the entrance, looking sheepish. "Hey, uh..."

Before he could say anything, the pink and white hedgehog got up from Sonic's side and quickly tackled him in a hug, her voice muffled by his shirt. "Chris, I'm so sorry!"

He looked stunned for a minute, but slowly wrapped his arms around her. "Hey, it's okay, Penny. I forgive you. And I'm sorry for making Cream cry."

Penny sniffed, smiling up at the human boy. "Apology accepted." She glanced up and pointed at his head. "Oh, what's that on your head?"

"Cream made it for me," Chris chuckled, tenderly touching the flower crown. "She said I could wear it to school and tell all my friends she made it for me."

"And you should." Penny giggled.

"Aw, come on, it would be too embarrassing to even wear such a thing in front of the guys! I mean, I treasure it, but I can't wear it in front of-"

"You'd better, or else Cream would cry again." Penny snickered.

Chris sighed. "Finneee..." He glanced over at Sonic, and quickly turned to her. "Hey, I've gotta help Ella out downstairs. I'll leave you two be."

"Okay..." Penny raised her eyes at him as he gave her one last hug and walked out.

"So, feeling better?"

Penny smiled, closing her eyes. "Yeah. I do." She turned to Sonic and was completely surprised to see a jar of flowers in his hands. She hesitated for a moment, and walked up to him. "Are those..."

"For you?" Sonic smiled. "Yeah. The valley I visited had tiger lilies, and I remembered overhearing you and Cream talking about the types of flowers you love, and I decided to pick some up just for you."

Penny smiled, gently taking the jar from him. "They're beautiful..." She quickly put the jar on the table and happily caught him in a hug, startling Sonic into laughing. "I guess you love them?"

"I do." Penny smiled, hugging him and squeezing her eyes shut. "Thank you."

She wished this moment would last forever.