OhaYo! I'm back guYs~ SorrY for the hiatus I went on, I finallY know what I'm doing with this storY now so that's great. AnYwaYs, I'm keeping this short and sweet. This chapter is mostlY just back storY. EnjoY the chapter though and I'll see You guYs at the end.

"…Wait, WHAT?!" Cream shouted. The world seemed to go silent besides the rustling of small birds flying from the trees. Cream's amber eyes scanned Myrica's bright blue ones. "That's impossible! I haven't even…" She looked away, bashfully.

Myrica began pulling Cream along again. "We really don't have time for this-"

"Well make time!" Cream pulled her wrist away from Myrica's strong grip.

"I'm not going anywhere with you until you tell me who you really are and what's going on!" Her hands clenched into fists, ready to defend herself if necessary from this girl who had to be at least a year older than her.

Myrica huffed. None of this was supposed to be happening! She was supposed to revive Cosmo and that was that. Afterward she was supposed to fade from existence. So why hadn't she disappeared yet?

"I understand this is very confusing for you. I, myself, was not expecting things to come to this, but I need for you to understand." She swallowed hard. "I will explain everything to you, but not here where someone could hear us." It was late afternoon and many Mobians were heading home for the day, already, some prying eyes were looking in Myrica and Cream's direction. No one had really taken notice of the 2-tailed girl so Myrica had thought nothing of it, but for someone to acknowledge her specifically was a huge set-off. It proved that everyone else could, indeed, see and hear her, so there was no way Myrica was going to explain things to Cream here.

Cream relaxed. Only a little, but Myrica could tell she won. "…Fine." Cream pointed at her. "But you'd better tell me the truth!" Myrica giggled and nodded before resuming her rushed walk back towards Sonic's house.

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It was an intense moment. Anything could happen and no matter what, Sonic would not be prepared. Failure was not an option but success was not likely either. The blue hedgehog scanned the battleground. So many moves he could make, all of which would lead him to disaster. However, it wasn't his time yet. If he were to move now, he would fail.

He stared at his opponent. They were preparing their attack. They had seen through his tactic and Sonic was done for. He inhaled deeply, bracing himself for the attack and…
SLAM!

The door burst open and Cream, Cheese, and Myrica came inside. Sonia jumped and hit the dining room table, sending the chessboard flying and clattering to the floor. Chess pieces rolled around, some staying in the open while others hid under the fridge and cabinetry. Sonic and Sonia stared at the fallen board game with bewildered eyes before glaring at the newly arrived trio.

"Hey! I was just about to win that round!" Sonia took notice of whom it was. "Whoa! Why are you guys here? Together?!"

Myrica laughed nervously. "Well, as you can see, there was a bit of a mishap. I was going to go see if something had happened with Tails and Cosmo, but I ran into her instead." She nodded at Cream and Cheese who were trying to gather up the fallen pieces of the chess game.
"Why'd you bring her here?" Sonic asked.

"I figured that if I explained what was going on with you guys to vouch for it, she'd actually believe me." Myrica responded. There were already some serious mess-ups going on in the timeline. If Cream didn't believe her, it would only cause more problems.

Said rabbit girl gave up on gathering the chess pieces and now stood by the talking Mobians with her arms crossed. She was giving Myrica an expecting look that spoke words for everyone. It was time to start talking.
It was becoming a tradition for people to have important discussions in living rooms, for everyone sat together in Sonic and Sonia's living room. The siblings sat together on the couch with a very nervous Cream. Cheese floated above her with his arms crossed at Myrica who was pacing in front of all of them. She stopped and turned to face the groups of eyes waiting on her. She took a deep breath and began her story.

Myrica's POV (Flashback)

"Papa! Papa! Tell me another story about the pretty flower lady and her friends!" I said as I ran into Papa's arms. He chuckled and pulled me up onto his lap, a rare, genuine smile graced his face.

"Geez, Myrica, at this rate I'm going to run out of tales to tell you!" Papa laughed again. "Today I have a special story, though."
I giggled excitedly then, "Ooh! What's it about? Are you finally going to tell me about the Marmalades?" Papa poked my cheek.

"The Marmolians, not marmalade, silly! I've hinted at this story for a while now, but I finally think you're ready for it."

I nodded in response. "I am! Oh boy, I am! I want to hear if Cosmo and Tails finally got together!"

I had closed my eyes then, entering a daydream of some sorts, so I was unable to see father's face fall. Our days usually consisted of this, I'd come home from school while Mama was away and Papa would tell me the adventures of Tails and his friends. No one called Papa 'Tails' then, I learned later that this was because Papa asked everyone to so he could tell me his stories with ease. I had learned about everything. From Chris and getting stuck in his world, to the gathering of Chaos emeralds, to the finale when Tails had to kill the love of his life. All the while, I never learned that the stories were true and that my Papa had witnessed them with his own eyes. I just viewed it all as another miraculous fairytale.

The story of the Marmolians had always stuck with me, especially the ending. It had been my "Yes!" moment as a child. It was also the story that taught me that love comes even when you least expect it. I had promised myself that day that if I were to find that someone meant only for me, I'd never let them go. I definitely don't think I'd be able to let them die by my hand. All of this happened when I was only 7.

I went to the library many years later to look up the Marmolians for a school project that I was doing. I was directed to the galactic newspapers and reference books and it wasn't long until a certain newspaper caught my eye. I picked it from the stand and read the header. 'Planet Marmolin Saved by Sonic the Hedgehog and Friends' My eyes grew wide as I saw the picture below the header. Though younger, most of the faces were recognizable. Uncle Sonic was there, like the header claimed, as was Aunt Amy and Uncle Knuckles. A human boy with messy brown hair was standing next to him, but it was the 3 next to the boy that made my breath catch. A very young Papa was standing between Mama and a girl I didn't recognize but was still very familiar, from her short green hair to the folded hands in front of her white petal skirt. I covered my mouth with my hand, trying to hide the whimpers and sobs that were trying to escape. This girl was Cosmo, my childhood idol. The sudden realizations just kept hitting me until I was just a small ball on the library carpet. The stories were true. Cosmo was real. Papa is Tails. Papa and Cosmo were in love. Papa had to kill her.
I was the result of a false love, I knew it. Everything started making so much sense. Why Papa always seemed unhappy and distant, why Mama was so protective over me, why Aunt Amy looked at me with a strange sadness in her eyes. I looked at my hands and sighed. I wouldn't know anything unless I asked my parents about it, so I checked out the newspaper and went home.

Mama wasn't home yet and I couldn't find Papa. He was usually always home so this was strange for me. I searched the whole house, still no sign of him. There were dirty dishes in the sink from his lunch, but that was it. After a while, I found my gaze resting on the door to the basement where Papa's workshop had been. He was really strict on no one ever going down there, so neither Mama nor I had ever seen what was down there. I quickly looked around to make sure no one was around before tentatively stepping towards the door and opening it. While walking down the stairs, I had a feeling that all my answers were down there. It just seemed the most likely. Why make it a secret to everybody, including your daughter and wife, if it wasn't important?

The stairs ended on an open doorway and I hugged the corner as to not be seen. When I was certain no one was around, I poked my head out around the corner. What I saw caught me off guard. The room wasn't made of wood like the stairwell, it was made of steel. It looked like a giant steel greenhouse lab. Along the walls and in glass tubes were dozens of plants and flowers. Some had machines hooked up to them while others looked to be growing in various sorts of dirt. Near a plaque was a giant, dying rose. It was browning near the edges and petals hung off it limply. It appeared to be the only flower that hadn't received extensive care, or couldn't.

Curiosity took hold of me and I twisted around the corner into the lab. My footsteps clicked and echoed against the steel flooring as I walked over to one of the lab benches in the middle of the room. There were 4 benches in total, each covered with papers and technology I didn't understand. I rummaged through some of the papers with confusing symbols and diagrams until I came across a worn, leather bound journal. I flipped it open to the most recent entry, and seeing that it didn't have that many strange words, I read.

Dear Journal,
TTMx4 is finally complete and hopefully functional enough to take me back to her time. I shouldn't be basing my safety on a hunch, but I can't test it anymore than I have and to be totally honest… I'm going insane. It's been so long and I still haven't gotten over Cosmo, I'm such a fool. Sonic and Amy and them kept telling me that maybe settling down will be best for me, and after a while I agreed with them, thus accepting Cream when she confessed to me so long ago. It was supposed to be my reconciliation with myself, but all I've done is hurt people. Cream and I are constantly fighting now and I can't look at Myrica without being ashamed. My own daughter!
I'm going to go through the machine soon, I've settled that, but it's time travel. I'm scared. Especially since the machine I've created now can only travel to other places one time. I won't be coming back. I think tomorrow I'll do something for my family as a way of saying goodbye. Then, I'll grab the serum for Cosmo and go back to before Sonic's party when I made that stupid decision of pretending to be happy. I've already installed the time machine with the year and place I'm going to. There is no chickening out.
Cream, Myrica, if you somehow find this, which I hope you won't, know that even through all of this, I love you and I hope you the best. If what I do in the timeline deletes this one, I am so sorry. I will be constantly thinking about you.
~Tails

I sobbed. I sobbed harder than I ever had before. Papa was leaving us? He was ashamed of us? I looked back at the entry's date, it was written yesterday.

I tucked the notebook into my shoulder bag after I stopped crying and looked around. Next to me, I noticed what had to be the serum. A translucent liquid with a soft greenish tint in a closed tube. I tucked it into my bag as well. Having a newfound determination, I leaped back upstairs into my room, grabbing a large coat Papa had given me when I was still little. I was still growing into it so it hid the majority of my body, perfect.

Before running back into the lab, I grabbed a few things of food and water; I also stole all of the money from my piggy bank savings. Back in the lab, I marched to the back of the lab where a large ellipse contraption was. It was already on as small blue specs floated in the middle of the opening. This had to be the time machine, whatever Papa had called it. This would take him into the past where he would attempt to revive Cosmo, leaving Mama and I to possibly die alone. Or at least, I would die. Mama existed in the other timeline; I was the odd one out. So, if Papa and Cosmo got back together, my existence would more than likely fade, that's what I got from science fiction movies anyway.

One way ticket hm? If someone went through this thing, they wouldn't be coming back, ever. I grew frightened. Never, ever coming back. Never getting to see Mama's face when she smiled. Never hearing more stories from Papa. If I did this in Papa's place, I wouldn't be able to fall in love or experience the things waiting for me in this timeline. I was only 16; there was so much in life that I'd be missing out on.

But, knowing now that everyone has been so sad in this timeline, I could be selfless. It seemed to me that if Cosmo and Tails got together, everyone would be a lot happier. Going back seemed like the best course of action.
I panicked when I heard the front door open and Papa call my name. Oh god, could I do this? Would I be able to? I shook my head, of course I could. I had to. I heard footsteps behind me, Papa was coming downstairs! I didn't have any time left. So, taking a deep breath, tears streaming down my cheeks, I jumped into the blue. I jumped into an adventure that was all my own.

When I finally found myself on the streets of past Mobius, I realized something.

This place would be my grave.

3rd Person POV

Myrica looked back up at the people in the living room, the origins of her story finished. Sonia and Sonic refused to look at anyone in the room and just shuffled their feet awkwardly. Cheese was huddled in Cream's lap who just stared at Myrica with bewildered sadness on her face. The room was awkward and silent. Myrica reached into her shoulder bag and pulled out her father's notebook and held it out to Cream.

"No, please, I don't want to read it. I believe you." she shook her head and shrunk back into the couch, processing what she had just heard. Myrica tucked the book away.

"I'm sorry…"

Cream held her hand up and looked away, "Don't." Myrica only nodded.
The room remained silent for many minutes while everyone thought about what Myrica had said. Sonic and Sonia had heard the basics, but they hadn't heard the story so in depth. It was really depressing to say the least.

Sonia spoke up, "So, wait, if you did everything the book said for you to do, why haven't you… poofed?" She mentally face palmed at the insincerity of her words.

"Yeah, Cosmo is alive and she's with Tails now, so why…?" Sonic perked up at Cream's words of Cosmo being alive, but quickly sobered, knowing that this was a serious topic. God, did he want to go for a refreshing run at the moment.

"Am I alive?" Rubbing her hands along her arms, Myrica replied with her guesses. "Well, it could be that the timeline is just being nice to me and I won't disappear like I thought, or…" She choked on her words, not wanting to think about the alternative.

Cream picked up for her, "Or Tails is trying to push her out of his life because of his guilt and trauma?" Myrica only nodded.
Sonia looked up at Myrica, "And you're positive you want to go through with this, even if it may mean you… yeah?" Another nod.

With a smile on his face, Sonic jumped in, "Looks like we have some matchmaking to do then!"

To be honest, this chapter was reallY difficult for me to write. I have like 3 different versions of the flashback on mY laptop and just ugh, I went with the simplest one because now I don't have to worrY about stupid Chaos Emeralds and Master Emeralds like I was doing to mYself before. Plus, this sets into something that'll happen muuuuuch later 3:)

I hope You all enjoYed chapter 6 and I'll see You all for chapter 7. From here on out, things start picking up! Send me Your predictions, I love seeing them!

Please R&R!