(DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of their characters and props. But I do own my OCs.)

Chapter Five: Reuniting Broken Hearts

"Hello?" Sonic sang as he walked through the backdoor with Carrie following hesitantly. "Chris? Ella? Chuck?"

"Ella and Grandpa are still around?" Carrie asked with happiness.

"Hell yeah, they're still around. Wait till you meet-"

"Mr. Sonic?" Tanaka made Sonic and Carrie jump.

"Oh man! Don't do that Tanaka!" Sonic breathed.

"Mr. Sonic, can I ask why is that girl hiding behind you?"

"Huh?" Sonic turned his head a saw Carrie out of the corner of his eye. She was indeed hiding behind him; she was kneeling and hiding her face within his quills. Well, it looks like she trusts me now. "This is Carrie, Tanaka. She's actually Chris's big sister."

"Carrie Thorndyke? The one that has been missing for five years?" Tanaka watched them with shocked eyes.

"Yep, the one and only!" he smiled as turned around to face a scared Carrie. "It's ok, Carrie. This is Mr. Tanaka, your family's butler. He came around a little after you left. He's safe, don't worry."

Carrie nodded timidly as she stood up to greet Tanaka. She just nodded her head as she hugged herself again. "Hello, Mr. Tanaka. I'm C-carrie." She blushed when she stuttered… she used to get beaten for stuttering.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss. Thorndyke." Tanaka bowed respectively. He looked at Sonic and added, "I'm afraid everyone went out for a late picnic lunch. They won't be back till 5."

"Oh," Sonic looked the other way in slight disappointment. "It's 3 now, so that's just two hours. I guess in the mean time, we could get something to eat. Carrie, are you hungry?"

"Uh, I suppose." She looked down with a faint blush. She wasn't used to hospitality just yet.

"Can I make a suggestion," Tanaka asked.

"Shoot," Sonic turned back to Tanaka.

"I suggest that Miss. Thorndyke clean her wounds before eating. They could get infected if not taken care of."

"You're absolutely right, Tanaka!" Sonic turned back to Carrie. "How about we bandage you up and see if you have any extreme, serious injuries. You would probably like new clothes too."

Carrie timidly nodded as her response.

"Well, how about this…. You go shower and clean up, I'll go and get you clothes. I'm thinking you should wear something lose and comfy so your injuries won't be irritated. Are pajamas cool with you?" Carrie nodded. "Any specific color?" She shook her head. "I'll guess I'll have to surprise you. And when the others get back, you can get more clothes then."

"All of this is not necessary," she put down her head to hide her blush. "I can make do with what I have."

"Now, now, Carrie. You're getting new clothes and you're eating food if you like it or not. Now, go clean up and I'll be back with some goods." Sonic gave her a thumb up as she smiled.

"I'll show you to the bathroom, Miss. Thorndyke." Tanaka bowed.

Sonic zoomed through the store as cheesy music played through the speakers. Everyone whispered and pointed at the blue blur when passing through random aisles.

"Excuse me, miss?" Sonic made a sales girl jump. She quickly turned around and stared blankly at the blue hedgehog. "Could you tell me where your junior girl's clothes are?"

"Uh, over there," she pointed behind him.

Sonic turned around and saw teenager clothing on racks. "Thanks!" He zoomed away and looked at the selection. "Wow, this is going to be harder than I thought…."

"Do you need help, young one?" an old saleswoman asked as she walked up to Sonic.

"Uh, yeah, actually. I have girl friend, I mean… a friend that is a girl… and all of her clothes were… stolen! Yes, stolen. So, I wanted to find some pajamas for her."

"Oh, the poor thing! Here, I'll show you the pajamas that most teenage girls wear." She walked up to the racks and something to Sonic.

"Um… I need pajamas." Sonic blushed as he held out a skimpy nightdress.

"That's a nightdress… most girls buy them."

"Well, I don't think this is her… style. I was hoping for something more… cozy and comfortable."

"Oh," the saleswoman clapped her hands and put away the nightdress. "So there are decent ladies out there! Let me show you something that she'll love!" She walked over to another rack and pulled out flannel pants and a long sleeveless top. "Any specific color?"

"Uh, she didn't say."

"What's her favorite color then?"

"Uh, she didn't say that either."

"What color are her eyes?"

"Huh?" Sonic tilted his head to the side. What does this have to do with anything?

"When you can't decide on a color, go with the color of eyes." She said wisely.

"Her eyes are green."

"Okie dokie. One size fits all." she handed him a green pair of pajamas. "Now, what is her underwear size?"

"WHA?!" Sonic jumped back nervously.

"Well, you said all of her clothes were stolen… I'm sure she would like undergarments. Can't let the ladies hang around, you know."

"Ok, ok, too much info." Sonic held up his hands. "Listen, you're right… she probably could use some new undergarments. But I don't know her size!"

"Well, what does she look like?" The saleslady walked over to the underwear section.

"Uh," Sonic looked around nervously as underwear and bras dangled in front of him.

"Is she small, or is she big?" The lady asked as she went through the underwear selection.

"Well, she's definitely not big… I would say small."

"Is she medium?"

"No, she's small."

"Alrighty then, I'll just give you boyshorts. Unless she likes thongs."

"The most covering is appreciated, ma'am." With that, she picked out gray boyshorts.

"Ok, then. Now, what is her bra size?" The lady walked over near the bras.

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?" Sonic sweat dropped as he put hands on his hips.

"Calm down, deary. Let's go with a sports bra. Then we don't need to worry about cup sizes. Now, how big are her breasts?"

"I don't know! I wasn't looking!" Sonic crossed his arms in annoyance.

"Pah-lease, deary." The lady gave Sonic the 'as if' look. She held up two bras, one was too small and the other was super big. "Pick."

"Fine," Sonic sighed in annoyance as he looked at his choices. "Well, I think that one will suffocate her and the other is like a potato bag. Is there something… medium-small?"

"Here you go," she grabbed a gray sports bra and handed it to him. She also handed him the other garments. "Is that all for today? Do you need socks for her?"

"I'll grab those! Thank you, bye!" Sonic hastily zoomed away while grabbing a pair of socks on the way out. He quickly dashed by the register and dropped money on the cashier.

"Keep the change!"

Carrie yelped when the hot water clashed onto her tender wounds. She jumped back in attempts to avoid the steamy water. But jumping back caused her fall through the shower curtain. She tried to balance herself but her punctured feet stung and made her tumble over.

"AHH!!" she screamed as she fell through the shower curtain and crashed onto the tile floor. "Oof!... dammit!" She sat up and tried to ignore the throbbing pain that was coursing through body.

"Uhhh," a voice called unsure behind the door. It sounded like Sonic. "Is everything ok in there, Carrie?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She grunted annoyingly at her pain.

"Oh… ok. I'm going to leave the clothes next to the door. Let me know when you're ready."

"Thank you, Sonic," she said sincerely.

"No problem!"

Carrie hissed in pain when her shirt brushed against her tender back. When she showered, she discovered she had new scratches and cuts across her spine and shoulder blades. She figured it was from falling down at the waterfall. When she was fully clothed and cleaned for the first time in a long time, she stood in front of the full length mirror. Sonic picked out a green sleeveless shirt (which was surprisingly long) and green flannel pants. She was surprised when Sonic picked up a sports bra and underwear. As she stared at the mirror, she had a horrid flashback.

FLASHBACK

"Look in the mirror, darling…." His voice snarled perversely. He slapped her bare skin hard when Carrie kept her gaze on the ground. "I said LOOK IN THE FUCKING MIRROR!"

With hatred and sorrow mixing into her eyes, she looked up at the mirror. He had her bent over naked while he was 'readying' himself behind her. He waved and smirked evilly. "You're my little whore. You will always be a WHORE!"

With that, he had his way by force.

END FLASHBACK

She quickly turned around and dashed out of the bathroom. She didn't know where she was running but she didn't care. As long she was away from the dreadful mirror, she could care less on where she was at in the mansion.

She paced fast toward the kitchen. While her mind was preoccupied, she didn't watch where she was going. Just when she closed her eyes to clear her head, she tripped over something. "WAHH!" She braced herself to hit hard on the ground, but she found herself caught in a pair of arms.

"Hey, Carrie, you ok? That would've hurt if I wasn't here to save you." Sonic smirked.

Carrie opened her eyes and looked at him blankly. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, don't apologize! I told you before, I like being the hero." Sonic helped her steady herself as she stood up. "Now, let's eat! I got chili dogs!"

After eating their chili dogs, Sonic and Tanaka started aiding Carrie's wounds.

"Mr. Sonic, Miss. Thorndyke, the others should be here shortly." Mr. Tanaka informed as he handed Sonic another bandage for Carrie's hand.

"Thanks, man!" Sonic grinned as he wrapped the bandage around Carrie's punctured hand. "Carrie, does this hurt at all?"

"No, it doesn't." Carrie shook her head as she smiled appreciatively. There was silence for a few minutes as Sonic examined her feet.

"Geez, Carrie! What did they do to your hands and feet? I mean, it's like they hammered big nails into them!"

"Um," she timidly choked out. "They did."

"What?!" Sonic stopped with what he was doing and stared wide-eyed at her. "They actually hammered your hands and feet?"

"Miss. Thorndyke," Tanaka was also examining her injuries from a distance. "May we ask why they did this to you?"

Carrie looked away, unable to think of an honest answer. Why did they do it, anyway? Why did they take her in the first place? Why did they keep her alive after all these years? "Other than to keep me from escaping…. I don't know." She looked down ashamed. Damn, these two are being so nice to me and I can't even give them answers because I don't know them.

"All we know of a cruel heart is that their motives are their wants. But we never know why they want it." Tanaka spoke wisely.

"And I was too weak to fight it…." Carrie barely spoke in a whisper. Damn, she feels really pathetic. For five years, she sworn never to trust strangers… and here she was, being taken care of by two males.

"Hey, you're not weak." Sonic lifted her chin so she could look in his eyes. "You survived something that not many people could live through. And at the end, you escaped. And you did that on your own."

"But I didn't do it on my own… you-"

"I showed up after you escaped. You got out on your own; you went through pain on your own… you fought this alone. We're just rubbing your shoulders after your match." Sonic grinned slyly and turned to Tanaka with a cocky smile. "Oh yeah…. I'm deep."

Carrie snickered for the first time in five years. Her snickering turned into a chuckle, and then her chuckle turned into full-hearted laugh. His comment wasn't even that funny but she couldn't stop laughing. Sonic stared at her blankly but then soon joined in. Tanaka didn't laugh at all, he looked at them weirdly.

"Hey, we're home!"

Carrie stopped laughing when she heard a familiar voice. She froze even more when he entered the kitchen.

"Hey, Sonic, where have you bee-" Chris stopped in his tracks when he saw a 15 year old girl sitting at the table. She looked a lot like him, except for her green eyes. Wait, no one had emerald eyes like that but- "C-carrie?"

"Chris, what are you muttering abo-" Ella gasped when she saw her. She dropped her picnic basket, that she was carrying, and covered her mouth with her hands.

"Hey, who's that?" Amy Rose walked in, feeling rather jealous that Sonic was holding her bare foot. "And why is my Sonic holding her foot?"

"Sonic is holding whose foot?" Chuck was rather confused when he walked in. But he became shocked when he saw his granddaughter at the kitchen table. Wait, how can that be Carrie? She's dead…. Isn't she?

Carrie nervously rubbed her arm when more people, er, animals came in and stared at her. She knew it, they're not accepting her. Her heart plummeted to her stomach as she looked away from their shocked faces. She hasn't even said anything and they already thought that she's filthy. And with the pink girl glaring at her didn't help her feel better. Wow, I just got here and they already hate me. Tears welled up in her eyes as pulled away from Sonic and ran out.

Everyone stared at the empty spot where Carrie sat. "Sonic?" Chris whispered as he unable to move. "Was that?" He could barely finish so he pointed in the direction that the girl left.

"Mr. Chris," Tanaka bowed respectively. "I suggest that you go after your sister."

They're disgusted! They're disgusted with me! Hot tears cascaded down her bruised cheeks as she ran out of the mansion. She ran through the garden and collapsed in front of the memorial. She put her face in her hands and balled her eyes out. As her body racked in sobs, she couldn't control her coughing. Oh, great! Now I'm getting more sick

Chris was standing behind her with tears running down his face. "Are you really Carrie?" he whispered. His hushed question blew in the air and brushed along the swaying trees. He knew she heard him when she stopped sobbing and controlled her coughing; she turned her body around but kept her face down. Her orange locks glistened in the dusk's sun as more small tears drip onto her new bandages. "Please, tell me the truth. Are you really Carrie?" Chris knelt in front of her and looked at her intensely.

Chris watched in curiosity when she started removing her hand's bandage. After discarding the cloth and she slowly held her hand up with her palm open. More tears escaped Chris's eyes, but these tears were tears of joy as he saw the familiar scar. He too held up his hand to show her his scar. She opened her eyes and saw it. She smiled but quickly remembered their appalled faces.

When Chris moved, she assumed he was going to walk away. But her body tensed up when brotherly arms wrapped around her shoulders. She smiled in relief as she returned the hug tightly.

"I missed you so much, Carrie."

"I missed you too, little brother."