Disclaimer: RimaBalaBalance is not Peach-Pit, therefore, she does not own Shugo Chara!

"Miss Kashiwagi, are you ok?"

A hand touched my shoulder and I slapped it away. "Leave me the hell alone!" I screamed, running off the stage, down the hall, to my dressing room.

I don't want to even see the idiots who turned me into a murderer. I slammed my door shut and sat down on my couch and buried my head in my hands. I'm a murderer. I'm a murderer. I'm a murderer. I almost scream when I feel a gentle, feminine hand tough my shoulder. "Ami?" an unfamiliar yet recognizable voice says. I know this voice. But who is it? "Ami," the voice repeats, "it's Utau. Utau Hoshina."

I turn my neck so fast I think it might break. Sure enough, my eyes meet with the violet orbs of Utau Hoshina. Her hair's shorter and let down, but it suits her. Seeing my sister's best friend brings tears to my eyes. Her own eyes are glistening as well. "Why are you here?" I ask in a husky voice, attempting to suppress my tears.

Utau just let her tears slide down her face, not even bothering to wipe them away. "I want to help you," she whispered gently.

Utau wants to help…me? Even though it's my fault her best friend's gone? Even though I just sealed the death of innocent children? This doesn't make sense. It can't be real. It must be a dream. Confused, I bury my pounding head in my hands. This has to be a dream. Nobody would want to help me. Come on, Ami, wake up! My efforts are futile, as I seemed to be slipping farther from reality than grasping it. Oh God.

"Ami? Ami, are you okay?" Utau's voice called to me. It seemed to be swirling into the darkness that had suddenly enveloped me. I wanted to scream, Make it stop! but my voice was lost in the dark. I suddenly began seeing the faces of those I'd betrayed: Mama, Papa, young children who only wanted to hear me sing, other victims of my cruelty, and, last, I saw the face of my sister, Amu. I screamed silently in the darkness as their faces swirled around me, growing closer, suffocating me…

"Ami Hinamori, if you don't wake up right now, I'm using your credit card and going on a shopping spree!"

I shot up, cocooned in my white sheets. When did I get home? Who was this person? I looked to my right and saw Utau sitting on the edge of my bed. Oh shit. It wasn't just a dream. The swirly-ness of evil was real. Or was that part a dream? I'm not sure anymore.

Utau smiled at me, oblivious to the fear pumping adrenaline through my veins. "Hey, Ami. I'm glad you're up. It looked like you were having a nightmare for a second there."

"Whatever. So anyways, how are you planning on helping me?" I asked her, avoiding the nightmare topic.

"Well, what's the best way to stop a company?" she said, looking at me as if the answer were obvious. I stared at her blankly, causing her to sigh and answer her own question. "You have to corrupt them from the inside. Mess everything up. Make sure they can't rebuild themselves."

I rolled my eyes at this. Yeah right, how could one, measly, little singer destroy a huge corporation like Easter? She must be out of her mind.

"With your music. That's how you'll do it." She looked at me seriously. Is she a mind reader? "No, you're just mumbling everything under your breath. Anyways, do you have a Chara? I mean besides that Undead one."

I shook my head before remembering something. An egg. I have an egg. "I have an egg, though," I told her.

"Hm…I guess we'll have to see if this works," she mused. "Why don't you go get it?"

I nodded. I stood up and stretched before walking into my walk-in-closet. I went to the very back and pulled out a small box. I didn't dare to open it yet. She eyed me hopefully. "Well?"

I brushed some dust off the box before sliding off the lid. The box itself was filled with a satiny material, and in the very middle was my egg. It was a pale pink color with a single white rose on the front. Simple, yet beautiful. My egg was born about a month after my sister's death and has remained un-hatched for over nine years.

"It's beautiful," Utau breathed in wonder, peering into the box. I smirked. She's more of a child than I am. She stared for a moment before turning to me and saying, "So, what were you feeling when she was born?"

I didn't have to think before saying, "I wanted to be pure again. I wanted to forget the accident. I wanted things back to how they were."

She nodded slowly. "Well, we just need to trigger those thoughts so your Chara can be born, I guess."

I wanted to dislike this woman. I can tell she has no clue what she's talking about. But behind her happy eyes, I can see the same pain that has held me back for so many years. The pain and suffering I've tried so hard to forget.

The pain and suffering preventing me from being pure.

I will become pure if it's the last thing I do.

Ami's going to have a Chara! A real one, not her Undead one. This story's progressing faster than I thought it would, so I'm sorry if it seems rushed. I had to rewrite this chapter about 5 times until I was semi-happy with it. I still think it's too short and rushed.

I would like to thank bma925 for reminding me to add Utau to the story. I don't think there will be very much of the other Guardians/Ikuto, but Utau and Ami's relationship will be a lot like Tsukasa and Ikuto's in Ikuto's flashbacks. Meaning, Utau's going to be an OOC airhead. *sighs*

Thank you Miki. Loves. Kiseki. 4eva for reviewing once again! I'm going to try to use one of the songs you recommended. I listened to them and they sound awesome. ;)

Thanks to everyone else who's read and favorited this story!

AND AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! I'm going to be on vacation from 6/30 to 7/14, so updates will be slower than usual if I update at all. Remember that reviews are still appreciated and they are what inspires me most.