Hiii!! Wow, it almost seemed like forever! Not that it has been! It's only been one week since I last updated! Hey, I kept my promise, so where's my applause?

(cricket, cricket)

All right, here's the story! Enjoy!

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Sonic the Hedgehog: The True Power of Music

Chapter Nine

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After that delicious feast, from which its taste could not easily be ridden of when it gets in one's mouth, Sonic unfortunately disappeared quickly along with Shadow and Knuckles, each one of them going different directions with different goals in their minds. Big was heading out somewhere with Froggy, and when I asked him where he was going, he didn't answer me at all. He stared at me with that completely indifferent expression, and then walked away. I'm sure you noticed, but that cat is sometimes seriously freaky and, I'll admit it, annoying. But then again, he's also got this cute side of his. The big, happy (whenever you get the chance to see it), chubby cat that makes you want to hug him and caress your face against his soft, white and purple fur.

When it came to Rouge, she stayed for a while, until she heard that we had to clean the kitchen. She flapped her wings and flew rapidly off, saying that she rather steal jewels than clean. Well, that's Rouge the bat…

I was in the kitchen standing in front of one of the two sinks, helping Amy, Tails, Cream and Cheese to do the kitchen duty. I was dipping the soapy plates, silver wares and cups, pots and pans, that were passed to me by Cream and Cheese. Once the soap was washed off, I gave them to Tails, who dried them off. He then would pass it to Amy, who put all the dishware back to their rightful places.

"You don't need to help us, Christine." Tails stated, drying a cup with a towel, "You're the guest. We can handle this."

Once his hands were empty, I handed him another soaked plate with a smile. "It's okay, Tails. I don't have anything else to do besides this anyway. I owe it to you guys after all."

"Well, we do need all the help we need to get this done, Tails." Amy said in an irritated tone. I am not the least surprised by the mood she was in right now. She was angry that the other guys escaped the work.

"Sonic, Knuckles and Shadow are nothing but a bunch of lazy jerks! Especially Rouge!" Out of nowhere, she pulled her hammer out and a Rouge the Bat doll. She dropped it on the ground and instantly began hitting it simultaneously. "Stupid, obnoxious, selfish Rouge! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!"

We stared at her in awe as she continued slamming her hammer on the doll, her surroundings caught up in a fiery ambiance. With the frightened and insecure looks the others had, it was sure that they wouldn't want to be in the doll's place. Especially when it now had glasses and mustaches painted on its face by Amy's black marker. Where the heck does she get that stuff?

I gave up on that idea with a laugh. It was really so much fun with them, I haven't laughed like this in a long time. Weird, isn't it? The last time I laughed like that was with Mom and the date she was having. And that, dear friends, felt as if it happened a very long time ago.

I let out a sigh and dipped a plate in the water. As it drowned in the water, I could clearly see how much effort the little rabbit and her cute Chao had put into making it so spotless clean. With all the soapy bubbles floating aside as my wrists dove deeper underwater, my reflection appeared on its surface. That happy face of mine was quickly distorted into a sad frown as I looked at my reflected self. I was thinking about Mom and Jean. How were they doing? How did they react when they saw the big hole on the wall downstairs in the studio? Did they call the police? And with all that commotion going around here, would I ever be able to see them again? Heck, Eggman's after me. There's no way to return home, even if I wanted to. I'd only put them in danger. Doctor Eggman will never stop hunting me down until he has me, and will obviously do anything to get me. How could I forgive myself if my family was harmed because of me?

The reflection in the water was suddenly disrupted by small, but repetitive waves. The cause of them, I noticed, were the tears that flowed out of my eyes, splashing onto the water's surface. Through all the thinking, I didn't even know that I was crying for some time.

"Christine? Why are you crying?"

Through Cream's sudden question, I pulled my hands out of the water and quickly wiped my tears away with my sleeves. "I-I'm okay, I'm not crying."

"But… you are." She stated, "You can say what's wrong. We don't mind at all."

"Yeah, we're here to help, Christine." Amy added, "Even though most of us ran off." She looked back at the painted, beaten doll again. "Yeah, especially you, Rouge!"

I let out a chuckle. "It's so fun with you guys." I said, smiling as I held back this huge urge of crying, "But now I wonder if I'll be able to laugh with my family."

Tails placed a hand on my shoulder. "Of course you will!" he exclaimed, "Maybe you won't see them for a while, but that doesn't mean you won't see them ever again."

"I guess I miss them too much." I answered, "I never liked being separated from my Mom, especially when she had to go to different places for her job. But I always knew that in the end, I'd see her again and run into her arms." I covered my eyes with my right arm and realized that it was going to be difficult to speak when words were stuck in my throat. "This situation, it's different. Eggman will try to get me and I can't return without putting my family in danger." Tears streamed out of my eyes like an endless river. I was hoping to hide them, but I failed miserably. "What will I become? What will Mom become when Eggman's plans come true?"

"That's never going to happen!" Amy burst out, "We'll stop him before he gets that chance!"

"She's right! Like we said before, we're here for you and we're here to protect you. His plans did always fail in the end." Tails added.

I felt a pair of warm arms wrapping around my legs and another pair of smaller arms embracing my left arm. I looked to my right and found squeaking Cheese holding me tightly, and down to see Cream hugging me with so much care.

"Yes, Christine, so please don't cry. Everything's going to work out, you'll see. You're not alone." Cream said softly.

The Chao agreed as he gave out some shrieking cries, non-stop wriggling his arm around mine. I brushed my tears away. They were right. I was going to see my family again, without a doubt. Those shed tears weren't necessary.

I knelt down and took them both in my arms. "Thanks a lot! I'm so glad that I have you guys here." I replied, smiling and as I got a hold of my tears, "Of course everything's going to end well with you. I don't know what took me there a moment ago."

"I think you're just worried about your family." Amy assumed.

"Who wouldn't?" Tails said.

"You'll see her again." The little rabbit concluded, "I was also worried about my Mom, because I was afraid I wouldn't see her again. But I did, and you will too."

"You all are right." I replied and broke up the hug, wiping once more the tears away, "So, why don't we get this kitchen quickly done? Then we'll get to do more stuff after that."

They all cheered happily in response and we resumed our posts. And when Cream handed me a dish, I gave her a bright smile. "Everyone, thanks for comforting me. I'm feeling much better now. Another thing I owe you guys."

"That's what friends are here for!" Amy blurted out and slapped my back, "You don't owe us anything, except kitchen duty!"

From that hit, I coughed and nearly choked, before giving out a big sigh as the pink hedgehog laughed to herself. "Yeah, I kind of knew that you were going to say that."

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Tough life for Christine! What happens next? Find out next week in The True Power of Music! Oh, and please pretty please review!! Critisism allowed(helps me to improve my skills!!)