Hahaha, well, it's good to know that several of you, at least, have found the story. It's always nice to hear from you. :)

I should be doing other stuff, but I'm writing instead, so, yeah... XD Oh, well!

Here we are...

Chapter Two: Hope Ends

Her eyes were always on the moon. Always. Perhaps it was her most prominent reminder of him. She'd lie awake all night, watching, waiting... And in the day she would close her eyes, kneel to the pile of emerald shards she'd found on her own... And she would pray at the altar.

We could have told her that it was useless. We had that power. We could have told her that the emerald needed to be whole to hear a prayer. We could have told her that, even if she'd had the whole emerald, it wouldn't hear her. Only the Guardian's prayers could be heard. I wanted to appear to her, to tell her, but I stayed invisible along with Chaos. And we just watched her. Those were difficult days. Chaos could watch her easily, but I struggled with my thoughts. It seemed so wrong to deprive her of the truth... Yet... I couldn't ever bring myself to deprive her of hope.

And so I stayed... So we stayed. Awaiting the day that her hope would run out on its own. And every day she continued. She left for short periods throughout the day, mere minutes, but she always returned quickly. Getting food, or water, or whatever she needed. It made me feel awful. To watch her and know that he wasn't coming back. That even if he did... Nothing would ever be like it once was. But we said nothing. As the days turned to weeks, and the weeks turned to months and months... She had almost made me believe that her will could truly stand forever.

But then a night came. A night of a new moon, when the sky was black and blank. It was all inevitable. The truth was there, hidden on the island - but the truth can never truly hide. And she stood and walked away from the altar just as she did normally, carrying with her the purple Chaos emerald that he had given her months ago, right before he left. She walked toward the trees, toward the center of the island, holding the Chaos emerald ahead like a light as always. But when she was gone an hour too long... We both knew. We knew what she had found. We knew what she would do.

Yet Chaos and I remained invisible to her. Perhaps we had the chance to stop her, to explain, but neither of us had the nerve to lie to the white bat who had resided on the island, faithfully, waiting for his return. We had no justification. We couldn't defend him like a parent defends his child - blindly. He didn't grow up in our prescence. He wasn't a child. And we hadn't raised him. We couldn't have raised him. Because nothing could ever change what he was. And no matter how many times before I'd lied for him, to him, no matter how many times before I'd let him believe... I knew, and Chaos knew that the Guardian didn't belong.

So, when Rouge stumbled out of the forest, toward the altar, searching the sky with her eyes for the moon that was her reminder of him, we stayed silent. And when the broken, empty look on her face faded to nothing, we allowed her to take her Chaos emerald and fly away.

Chaos questioned me where she would go. I considered it, then answered, "She'll go to those who were her friends. And they'll accept her again. Because they're good creatures. And they're forgiving."

His glowing green eyes focused on me, and I could feel his silent voice in my head say, "What will become of... them?"

"I pray that they make peace and live life as if the past never happened."

"There is no... way to change what is... past. It always... affects the present and the... future."

"Do you believe it was wrong of me to keep his past away from him?"

"It no longer matters..."

"Can you not tell me?"

"I would gladly speak freely... my friend. If... I knew."

Truly, that was what frightened me. That was what worried me most about their fates. Even the god of destruction couldn't know the consequences.

Knuckles... Where have you gone?

D: What is going on? Aww, poor Rouge... But what was it that she found? What will become of her? Of the island? Of... the world? (dun, dun, dun...)

[Sorry, ate some chocolate... Will return to normal in a few hours... Maybe. Hahaha.]

Reviews are great and appreciated! :D