Hi everybody. Hope you're all doing fine!

Happy new Year to all my readers and reviewers. Yes, I know it's a tad late, and I'm sorry about that. I haven't posted anything in a long time, and I said I would put up a Chapter in a week. I apologize to those who waited for this chap to come, but it really has been a difficult time for me. It really has.

For those who are asking, my mother's fine. She got a couple of stitches on her head, and has had a couple of headaches, but she'll be fine, and I would like to thank you all for prayer for her, even though it was quite selfish of me to ask you all to do that. She'll make it through, no worries. But no matter where I go, one trouble after another seems to be following me, and when another one had just caught up with me. I really don't want to pour out my pain on others, but I'd like to take this time to explain why I haven't updated recently.

In this aching moment, my fingers are trembling as I type on this computer, trying to press on the right buttons to express this moment, and for us writers, it is very difficult to find words to describe a feeling, let alone pain. But I'll try my best to tell you what happened.

I had the chapter ready all this time, since December 12th. I decided to update the story on the 14th, a sunday, since I always did my updatings on this particular day. A habit, if you want. I'm always happy when I send in a new chapter for you guys, but I had been prevented, first of all.

In the early morning of Sunday, I woke up to my mother's voice, who nudged me and my sister. My brain was buzzing, and I couldn't easily focus my attention to my mother. What can you expect from someone who'd been working late at night, who normally wakes up at 11 am than 7?

Attention couldn't be easily paid, but I recall my mother sitting in a chair, and with my sense of imagination(and they way I know her), she would've been sitting on the edge of the chair, one hand in another, with a lowered back(we always sleep on matresses on the ground) and eyes diving into distinguishable sadness. It was odd, really. I wasn't aware of that. Who could think straight in the morning anyways? When you're tired and someone tries to talk to you, you wouldn't be able to remember what it was all about by the time you really got out of bed. It's strange that with only one phrase, you're attention could be easily picked.

"Soo-Soo died."

This phrase was a rough and painful wake-up call. I squirmed in my bed, moved around, hoping that I was dreaming. But I sat up, looked at my mom, and realized that it was all real. I leaned my back against the wall while sitting on my matress, with a head so low, my eyes looking at the knees of my black sweat-pants. I listened to my mom, who explained me how it happened.

Rachel "Soo-Soo" Perrotet was a dear friend of me and my sister's. Our family knew hers, and vice versa. We used to play together when we were kids, we were very close, like the sisters she'd never had. She was a single child, loved dearly by her parents and her grand-mother. As we grew older, there came a time when she had to move to another country. We lost contact for some time, but we met each other from time to time, and her bright smile and cherished laughter reminded so much of the good old times. She was a talented singer as well.

There had been a secret about her, though, and I only discovered it a year before her death. She needed her kidney to be replaced. You can't imagine how many people were wanting to donate their own kidney for a child of 16 years, who lived for the sake of everyone. But she wasn't lucky. For some reason, she never had the strength to survive the operation. So they waited for her strength to return, waited, and waited... But instead, her strength seemed to be more fading. She couldn't even perform concerts anymore due to her weakened state. On the other hand, her smile never weakened. She acted as if everything were all right when it wasn't. Though she lacked physical strength, I've never seen a real person so strong-willed. Kindness is a cherished gift, irreplaceable to many people. Her presence was irreplaceable. Even to me.

With her last strength, a couple of weeks before, she assembled all her forced to perform what would be her last concert in radio city in america. A couple of weeks later, on Saturday, the 13th, she crumbled to the floor and instantly died of a heart attack.

I wish my mother hadn't told me this. The more my mom described my friend's inner strength, the more I realized how much I was loosing. She was a precious treasure, someone who offered sympathy, kindness, and asked nothing int return. When mom was done, my palms had found themselves on my arms, hugging me, and I hadn't noticed it. All the violent grief began to spiral within me, turbulent, until they came out as muffled cries and streaming rivers of sorrow from my eyes. I struggled with mixed-up feelings inside of me, such as sadness, guilt, and eventually anger.

We were supposed to sing a song together, Soo-Soo. We wanted to do it so badly, I wanted to do it so badly, but we never got the chance. Damn it, why did you leave, Soo-Soo?! WHY?!

I isolated myself for a while, skipped school, went to the Starbox to drink an chocolate ice shake covered in cream with chocolate sauce, sitting all alone in a chair. Remorsing. I knew then how much I lost. I know it now. Loneliness was in the air. Without her around, the bitter taste of icing reality had knocked me hard. My mind was in a complete struggle. Nothing made sense.

But that didn't keep me from living. Somehow, I knew she was sad, but she was better off like that. She was a sacrifice to us, but at least she didn't have to suffer the kidney problem anymore. I'm sure that in heaven, she's singing a sweet lullaby to put us to sleep, to watch over us.

I'll see you sometime later, Soo-Soo. I love you very much, Soo-Soo. I'll sing for you in this life forevermore, just watch me. Sing by my side, will you?

*sigh* I'm sorry to bring up such horrible news, and burden you with it. But I just wanted to show the reason for my delay, and one of life's inexplicable source of undefined strength. My prayers are with her.

I hope that, despite this tragic news, you'll still find the pleasure in this chap. Please enjoy it.

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Sonic the Hedgehog: The True Power of Music

Chapter Twelve

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Wow. You know, I still can't believe what I just said some time ago.

I can't wait to see what happens next. This is going to be the most exciting and unforgettable adventure ever, I'll bet my life on that.

Exciting, uh-huh. I'm so glad that I didn't literally bet my life on that. Who could forget the adventure of pure boredom around here?!

No offence to any of my animal friends, because I'd only say that if there really wasn't anything to do around here. And to top that up, I wasn't allowed to go out one bit. Get into the fresh air, go sleep under the trees in broad daylight… Knuckles forbade me to step outside until all my friends could figure out what Eggman's schemes were and how to counter it. So far, there hadn't been any progress, so all that was left to do was to investigate further into it, and that was a task for Shadow, Tails and probably Rouge as well. I'll admit that I didn't know exactly what they were doing, but boy oh boy, I know now that whatever duty was given to Knuckles, he would stick to it like chewing-gum on the sole of your feet, and you all know how frustrating that is. That's right; he was left in this big, empty mansion to baby-sit me.

Empty would be probably an exaggerated term for a house filled with furniture, food or rooms, but it was a perfect fit for a place that didn't have much people in it. Sonic had been gone ever since the day I saw him running off, leaving me in a state of confusion concerning what he lastly needed to answer. It's almost as if he did in on purpose to use the up-coming hours to think about it, and when you think about something, exactly then time slows down incredibly. And the same thing goes for Shadow. How can you rest when the most reserved character in this story gives you a compliment? I'd say it's rather difficult to have a quiet time without that even bothering me. I actually don't even want a quiet time anymore; I've already had enough of that.

Spilling out my frustration on people (in this case, to you readers) is not the type of thing I do. The first few days were okay. Not exciting, not very lovable, just plain okay. But without anybody around, except a baby-sitter, what do you make of that? It was fine talking to Knuckles about certain things when, if I was lucky, a few of my friends were around, except Shadow and Sonic. But one by one, people were leaving, until only me and Knuckles were left. And if you knew how Knuckles was, he was more of a thinker than a speaker, a yeller undoubtedly when he was nagged.

Eight days without Shadow or Sonic or just any news about them was a tiring time, especially when they left me with something to think about and that needs to be discussed. However, I do believe that in Shadow's case, he'd only give a straight answer:

"What's said is said, so stop bugging me about it."

There's was nothing to laugh about anymore around here. Rouge was gone too. She left five days ago, saying that she had to take care of some things. Most likely about finding out what Eggman's plots were. The moment she left, that was when boredom took over this place. It was so much fun when she caused fights with Knuckles. She noticed my bored expression, and would always bring out the angry Echidna from his silent, retreated shell, where he would stay in there and ponder about things. There was at least something going on around here.

At times, I would look at my mobile phone. No news of Mom, either. If I recall well, she did say that she needed some sheets to be done for her modeling designs, and that always puts a lot of stress on her. I cared about her, and I didn't want to burden her with my misery.

Now Tails was too busy working on his gadgets and plans, but I respect that despite this difficult time I'm having. He showed remorse and guilt because he couldn't spend some time with me, and that really affected me. The only time I got to see him, to talk to him, was when we were having dinner altogether, but that's also a rare case, seeing how much he works and eats in his own place. Even so, Tails is a great fellow; you'd admire his sympathy, his thoughtfulness and the hard labor he had for the sake of others, especially for me. I constantly have to sigh when I try to understand why some Sonic-fans on the net just don't like him. They didn't look deep enough, I believe, and that's what always matters, doesn't it?

Other than that, I do believe that a certain someone of my friends should work a bit more on sympathy. Big the cat left yesterday, but his departure was quite memorable. In a negative way, unfortunately. He had set out to go camping and fishing out in the nature. He said that so openly, you'd think it was his intention to make my desperation of getting the heck out of here raise high enough to the crazy level. Though, I knew he'd never do that. He is slow-minded, I'll give you that, but he is kind, and kindness is an irreplaceable gift. I couldn't stay upset with my furry friend. Forgive and forget, like the people say.

Speaking of expressions and all, people do say that time passes so quickly by in an adventure, but in my case, God forbid it, every ticking noise seemed to have entered the era of slow-motion. A second could be equal to an eternity. So, to avoid staying in that boring era, I decided here and then to make my own adventure. I'd give you time to guess what kind of adventure it was, but you'd all want to know the rest of the story. Okay, with nothing else to do, I tried to sneak out… Like Catwoman stealing a priceless gem from the jewelry store and cunningly escaping the scene of crime with no trace of evidence, but a trace of satisfaction marked all over her face.

But seeing the fact that I'm not the least bit satisfied, or even Catwoman, it's easy to guess I was never successful.

Now let me count:

I was caught five times by Amy, twice by Tails, three times by Rouge and finally, about thirteen times by Knuckles. No matter how hard I tried, someone always caught me, and I could never see the plain in the open, besides out of the window. And the last time I've stepped outside, let alone feel the soil beneath my feet, it'd been about eight days. What a no-life I'm having.

I do think I forgot to mention something, but I can't remember what, especially not in this moment, when I was caught in attempt to reach outside for my twenty-third time by, no surprise, Knuckles.

"Sneaking out again?" Knuckles growled in a flat tone as he leaned over the edge of the couch, finding me crawling on my knees, "You're not gonna get past me that easily."

I hissed and grounded my teeth. I dared to crawl on my knees from my room upstairs till all the way down here, and I was quiet. If he hadn't noticed me, I would have reached the door by now. The back of the longest couch was facing the dining table, and beyond that the hall that led to the front door. A short way, and I nearly made it. Sighing in defeat, I looked up, meeting his amethyst eyes. "How'd you find me?"

"I have to say you were pretty good this time, I wouldn't have noticed your presence. But whenever you're silent, you would start escaping again." He remarked, casting an absent glance in another direction.

"Aww, come on, Knuckles. Can't you just let me out for one short moment?"

"No!" he retorted, "For the tenth time-"

"Actually, twenty-third."

"Whatever! For the twenty-third time, we gotta wait until-"

"…Until we know what Eggman is going to do next." I completed, standing once again on my feet, "No offence, Knuckles but I'm sick and tired of that! I want to know what's going on too, and I can't if I just stay here all the time."

Since he was leaning on the couch, it aided him to be on the same eye-level with me. The last thing he'd want, believe me, would be the impression of being less intimidating because of his size compared to me. "None taken, Christine, but here is where you'll be safer. Or do you want to go out and end up with Eggman again?"

He was right. He always was. If I went out, Eggman would find me a lot easier. I gave up with a sigh and took a seat right next to Knuckles, leaning my back against the couch. "I'm sorry Knuckles. But all of this is getting on my nerves. While the others are out, I have to stay in here and wait for them to come back. Even Cream, Cheese and Amy are gone."

Now I remember what I forgot. Those three went shopping to get food, clothes, maybe even look at things like games or listen to music. They were gone each day, from morning to evening, for reasons I didn't know, and once they were back, they were just too tired to talk. I want to go shopping too, flagnabit. Oh, my precious IPod, how much I miss the feel of your earphones in my ears and the waves of music flooding my senses…

Then an idea popped in my head, and I looked away from Knuckles' sight, grinning mischievously to myself. Knuckles always had cherished his Master Emerald, and so far, I haven't seen it. He apparently left it to look out for me. If only I could get that echidna to worry about it, then I could use the time to get a little breather when he's distracted.

I turned back at him, giving him the most loving and innocent smile. "Hey Knuckles, do you think it's a good idea to leave the Master Emerald alone?" I enunciated loudly the last word on purpose.

One of his eye-ridges raised, but his eyes closed themselves when he gave a quick scoff. "No need to worry. He's safe wherever he is."

"But… Don't you think he gets a bit… lonely?"

A vein pulsed on his red forehead, his eyes flung open and narrowed into a glare as he raised his fist up. "I see where you're getting at, but I won't fall for that trick, Christine!"

Dang! He's doing his job too well. Shame, I really thought he was going to fall for it, seeing how naïve he usually was.

"They'll all be back soon enough. You'll see. They'll be here before you even know it." He concluded with crossed arms once he had cooled down a bit.

I was still not convinced by what he said. "Are you ABSOLUTELY sure he's not lonely?"

"Christine…" he grumbled loudly, and took a deep breath, "Stop giving me a hard time!!"

"You know how right he is, Christine. Like Knuckles said, no matter how long they're gone, they'll all be back before you know it to save Knuckles from more troubles."

We all gave a nod to that statement, each one of us thinking of how right that person was. Then it hit the both of us. We turned our heads behind to the door and saw Sonic standing there with his long-missed smile, leaning his left hand against a wall.

"What's up?"

With a wide grin, I bounced over the couch and sped to the blue hedgehog. "Sonic! About time you got back! Where did you go?"

"Oh, just the usual run around the world." He said as he rubbed the temple of his nose, "How about you?"

I gave a bored frown and replied: "Well, while you were running around the world, I was stuck here inside the house with nothing left to do but eat, sleep, and stare out of the windows. Maybe I had a chat or two with Tails and the others, but most of them are out of here, and I can't even go out."

"Hah, I kinda understand what you're feelin'." He remarked, "You're up for a spin?"

My frown reversed, I gasped enthusiastically. This was a surprise to me. I was finally offered freedom, and there was no way in the world that I was going to reject it, mostly when Sonic was going to carry me and speed through places faster than lightning. But somebody with a good and worrying conscious had to butt in.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Knuckles roared, "I spent eight whole days making sure that she wasn't going out, and it was a nightmare! What if Eggman finds her?"

"Chill out, Knucklehead." He replied, "Eggman's got no idea where I'm heading to."

"But he'll find you sooner or later."

He grinned. "For sure he will. But so far, he couldn't keep up with the speed. You should know that by now."

"Oh please, Knuckles!" I begged, "I need some fresh air! I'm dying in here!"

I went to him and tried to make him succumb to the eyes sparkling with hope that, if he rejected it, would instantly break like a china vase. And let me tell you, cartoons make this look so easy, but it's not. I did give my best shot, though. Knuckles wasn't that heartless, I hope.

"Please?"

"Ya might want to consider that, Knuckles."

Rouge appeared from the opposite direction, her wings lightly flapping, as if she had just arrived. This was getting better by the minute. If someone could convince him, then it'd be Rouge. With small steps, her heels clicking against the smooth-tiled floor, she approached the upset echidna. "Have ya ever thought that people need fresh air? They can suffocate in here with all that steam you're blowing. Besides, you owe her a favor."

"Me? Since when?"

She stopped right beside him and in front of me, giving a careless wink with one of her hand at him while a gullible smirk played on her face. "Just think, Knuckles. What would happen if Christine hadn't prevented Amy from using her hammer on you when you didn't help out in the kitchen? Imagine all those nasty bruises and also broken bones you would've had from Amy's attack. She saved your life, so it's only fair for you to repay her."

I could see Knuckles cringe at the mention of Amy's famous hammer, and probably grind his teeth harder when thinking about it. He pinched with his one hand's fingers on each side of his temple, dropping down to his cheeks with a sunken head. "With you around, I'm already starting to suffocate myself." I heard him mumble into his hand, but he finally gave in with a sigh. "Oh, all right! But you better come back here once you're done."

Overjoyed, I bounced over to him and pulled him into a tight hug. "Thank you, Knuckles! Thank-you-thank-you-thank-you-thank…"

"Ch-Choking… Not breathing…" was his raspy reply.

I released him and dove into Rouge's arms. "Thanks Rouge! I owe you big time."

"Hey! Why are you thanking her?!" Knuckles cried in disbelief, "I'm the one who's letting you out!"

"No need to thank me." She replied with a charming laughter while sending me an eye-wink. He was expecting an answer more from Rouge than me, but poor Knuckles was being ignored. "I only want you to breathe again."

"HEY! Are you even listening?" he yelled again. But with a scoff, he pivoted around and walked away. "Why do I even bother…"

"Knucklehead sure could use some fresh air too…" Sonic said as he watched the echidna walk out of the room up the stairs.

Rouge twirled around to have the staircase in view. Smirking, she laid a fist on the side of her hip. "Oh, I'm sure he's just going all nuts about of me."

"I AM NOT!"

His yell gave me a sudden start, which surprisingly reached all the way down here in this room. Even a slight rumble on the ground could be felt from Knuckles' echoing outburst. I couldn't hold my laughter back, but I just prayed that he didn't take that personally.

"Let's go, Christine!" Sonic told me, "There's a neat place you'd want to check out!"

"All right! Take me there!" I exclaimed joyfully. No seconds later I found myself within Sonic's grasp, and he began with a slow walking, until we were out of the house. I breathed in deeply the fresh air, the breeze swaying my hair around, and the plain field with grassy ground filling the landscapes of this hilly place was exposed to us. I watched as the blue hedgehog's feet hit the ground with steps that slowly accelerated, until I completely lost count of it and we were diving further into that limitless horizon of a new adventure.

So, please tell me what you think. I'm not sure when to update, but I'll let you guys know for sure! Thanks for reading!!