"You are going to die a very slow, and a very painful death, you hear me, 'Shani'?"

Of course that's what every girl wanted to hear from their teammate, right? Yeah...of course...

But Shani--as she was now, a light blue hedgehog with green eyes--only smiled teasingly. "Hee hee...why you mad at me? It's not my fault we're chosen to save the 'veil,' Jade~!"

Jade, as she was known before as Torrin, crossed her neon-green furred arms over her chest, and glared sourly as Shani did cartwheels in front of her. "You idiot--technically it is your fault! After all, you're a Crosser! That's why we're chosen!" When Shani seemed to ignore her and continue her acrobatic movements, Jade then looked to the ground and kicked some of the grass in agitation. "I don't even know why I'm here...I wasn't here last time--"

"Well, there's a first for everything," said Rachael, who was now 'Cocoa,' as she walked past Jade to stand in between her two teammates so both could see her. Turning to look evenly at Jade with her hands on her hips, she added, "So you're here whether you like it or not--and if you cherish everything you love, then you'll do your best to save the 'veil' and be a help to this team."

Jade glared at Cocoa, but said nothing.

Shani, who seemed to have finished her fun for the moment, bounced over to Cocoa's side. "You know...I just thought of something~"

"Hm? What's that?" Cocoa raised her eyebrows slightly at her younger friend.

"What will happen when Sonic and the others see you, Cocoa-chan?" Shani frowned in thought as she spoke. "I mean...last time you were here, you were Maya Eva, right? And now you're Cocoa. So..."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Cocoa muttered. From the look on her face, it appeared she was troubled about that question as well, but didn't want to think too much on it. ...why? Jade couldn't help but wonder.

"Well," Cocoa clapped her hands loudly, bringing her team's attention back to her. "First things first--let's assign positions. We've all played Sonic Heroes, right?"

"Affirmative."

"Mm-hmm~!"

Cocoa smiled. "Great, that makes my job easier." Rolling back and forth on the heels of her feet, she said, "I'm guessing...Shani should be speed. I remember last time we were here, and you and Jade had that race in Station Square and you left me behind." At that, she pointedly glared at Shani, who only nervously laughed in return, before going back to thinking. "And...Jade, since you're an echidna, you automatically are stronger than either of us. You'd probably be power."

Shani frowned. "But...Cocoa-chan, can you fly?"

A twinkle seemed to form in Cocoa's beautiful sapphire eyes. "Why yes. And I'll show you later, when the time comes. You'll see."

Shani smiled widely, until a sudden wind blew by, knocking her flat on the ground, and making Cocoa and Jade nearly do the same. Unfortunately, another strong burst of wind flew from the other direction immediately after, and Jade and Cocoa then found themselves face-down as well.

Spitting out grass, Jade pushed herself to her knees, cursing loudly. "What. The. Heck?!"

A nervous laugh. "My bad, ladies." A gloved hand suddenly appeared in the cover of her view. "Want a hand up?"

"Sonic, we don't have time for being a gentleman! Get your butt over here!"

Sonic...? Jade could hardly believe her ears.

"C'mon, Knux. We can spare at least a few minutes. Chill a little."

Shani hopped to her feet quickly, immediately. Her eyes were wide with glee, and she gave the other, darker blue hedgehog no sign of warning until after she had tackled him in a huge hug. "Ohmigosh Sonic Sonic Sonic Sonic Sonic! It's been forever since I last saw you! I can't believe it! This is totally great!"

Cocoa stood up, dusting herself off and smiling. Jade followed suit--except didn't do the latter. She could only stare in astonishment at the three newcomers.

"Shani? Shani, holy emerald--is that seriously you?"

"Like, duh it is! Who else do you know that's as cool and blue besides you and me?"

But then, as soon as both of the hedgehogs stood up, a blur of yellow tackled the lighter one right back down. "Shaniiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

The girl only laughed, hugging the kitsune that was on top of her tightly. "Tails! Ohmigosh, have you grown taller?"

The 8-year-old laughed, nodding. "I did, actually! I did!"

Jade watched with wide eyes. It seemed...all like it was out of a dream...or something similar of a sort. A wonderful, wonderful dream...

"So, Shani. What brings you back to our side of the coin, my main gal?"

Every move he made--every sound that came from his throat...it was hard to believe that it was actually Sonic the Hedgehog. In the flesh. In front of her. And not just on a television screen.

As Shani explained the situation to Sonic, Tails, and even Knuckles (who looked like he was grudgingly listening), Cocoa nudged Jade with her elbow. "Cat got your tongue?" she asked with a smirk.

Jade glared in return, before crossing her arms over her chest and returning her gaze to the team in front of them. "No...I'm just...shocked."

"That's how it was for me my first time, here." Looking back on it, Cocoa laughed outright. "I'll tell you now, you're taking it a lot better than me. Poor Knuckles...I didn't stop screaming for the longest time--I probably made his ears bleed." And despite the prospect being...well, harmful to said echidna, Cocoa seemed highly amused.

Jade raised an eyebrow. "Well...then why aren't you saying 'hi' to them again?"

Cocoa shrugged. "They don't recognize me. If I were Maya Eva, that would be different. But at the moment...I'm not. I'm someone else."

Now it was Jade's turn to shrug. "You're still you. And as far as I know, your voice is the same. They'll be able to see its you in a jiffy."

Cocoa smiled wistfully. Without a conscious effort, her eyes slowly drifted to the red echidna, who's expression was hard as he listened to Shani. She watched him a moment, quietly. And then... "Hmmmm...maybe."

-

"...what..."

"...the..."

"...heck?"

Flabbergasted, Kristal held up the strange, black lolita dress in her hands. MJ, who sat to her right, had her jaw almost to the floor. Muscles, on the other hand, who sat to her left, scrunched up his nose.

"W-who sent this?"

To answer the seal's question, Kristel pulled the dress aside and looked at the box in which they had found it in. Turning it over and over with her hand, she said in dismay, "...it doesn't say."

When she turned it upside down to look on the back, a note fell out of the box as well. Muscles was quick to put it up and open it to read. His eyes skimmed over it at first, before his face took on a weird look, and said, "...MJ...whoever sent this says it's for you."

MJ's face flushed--then grew pale--then flushed again. Flinging out her hand quickly, she cried, "Gimme that!" And Muscles did exactly so.

This dress is for the one named MJ. I made it specifically and especially for her. It was designed for no other, so it will fit no one else.

Merry Christmas.

Putting a hand to her face, MJ groaned. "This is so bizarre...how did this get passed Eggman?"

"Maybe he sent it himself."

MJ wacked Muscles mercilessly with the small note in her hand. Her face was beat red. "You shut up! There's no way in heck Eggman sent this! That'd be disgusting! Revolting!" Finally giving up her retaliation, she shuddered. "Ewwwwwwww..."

Kristal snickered, holding the lolita dress up for more inspection. "Well...whoever made it did have good tailoring skills, I can tell you that much. It looks like what you'd by in a store."

MJ still looked disgusted. "I'm still not wearing that thing...I don't care who it's from. It's...ew."

Muscles couldn't help but still laugh. "You've got a secret admirer among Eggman's fleet, MJ. What if it's a robot?"

"Ewwwwwwww! That's even more disgusting! Cut that out, Muscles!"

-

"Ewwwwwwwww! That's even more disgusting! Cut that out, Muscles!"

He listened to her voice, feeling a chord somewhere in his body snap in two. She did sound utterly repulsed...he should have known better that she wouldn't just accept a gift from an anonymous person.

"You sure you don't want to try it on, MJ?"

"I'm positive! Don't you think it's just a bit creepy?"

"About what?"

"Duh, Kristal! Someone knows my exact measurements! That's...a little beyond unnerving!"

Maybe he had been a bit too forward. But he thought she would have liked the dress...it's what most women liked, right? And he wanted to be different and not use the typical roses...

"I'm not just gonna wear a dress made by a stalker! Maybe it has a tracking device on it or something!"

"...um, MJ, he wouldn't need a tracking device if he already knows you're in Eggman's prison and can't escape."

"Well, aren't you just full of it, Muscles."

Maybe he should have used the roses...

"Anyone know what time it is?"

"No...we...haven't really known what time it is. Like, ever. Eggman doesn't put windows in his jails, unfortunately."

There was peace and quiet for a moment, before the seal (whose voice he most desired to listen to) spoke up again.

"...I miss it."

"Miss what?"

"The sky. The sun...I mean, isn't it just a little sad? Here we are...in a flying fleet. We're in the sky. But yet...we are denied of seeing it."

"You're right..."

"I-I'm sorry. I should have said nothing. Now I got us all sad--heh heh, sorry guys."

"Nah, don't be. We're your friends, right? You can say anything to us--sad or happy."

"Mm-hmm, what Muscles said."

"Thanks, guys."

He listened emotionlessly. She wanted to see...the sky? Oh yes, that was quite do-able for him. Yes, yes, he could do that...

But for her. Only her.

-

Author's Note: Oh holy cow I know a whole BUNCH of people won't be satisfied with this chapter. I just know it, so I apologize HIGHLY beforehand. It's been hard to find motivation to write this story, mainly because of all the goings-on of my life. But, I'm not giving it up. There's too much to write here. So...I'll continue to update. Hopefully more frequently.

But plz review? Even if you hate me for not including Shawon, Shelby, and Eclipse in this chapter? (hands out cyber treats to all unsatisfied fans)

Gomennasai!