Chapter 4 – "Rose"

Imagine a world that was once vibrant and colorful; a world filled the love and laughter. A world where plants, animals and families lived together in peace and harmony; where days remained sunny and bright and nights grew quiet and mystical. Now imagine that world being ripped to shreds; torn apart in a blink of an eye with no prior warning. Imagine this world turning dark and dismal; plants, animals and families dying all around you. The sky no longer the crystal blue color that is once was, but now a dark crimson shade, the color of pure blood, illuminating the atmosphere. The water once clear and clean now clouded and riddled with dirt; the air filled with smog and the thick scent of fresh blood and death.

Imagine this world now barren and abandoned; not a soul living or dwelling in this foreign land except for an unknown figure wandering amongst the deadened fields. The figure stared straight ahead, focusing on something in distance while slowly advancing through the field of decapitated bodies and their fresh blood that flooded the walk ways like running water. It seemed that this figure didn't mind the sights that surrounded them; in fact it seemed that they didn't notice it as they approached a single, untouched flower that continued to grow despite the current conditions.

This flower was a rose; a pink rose that was in full bloom and healthy like any flower that was given constant sunlight and care. However, this rose was no ordinary rose. This rose had special, mystical attributes stored inside its petals. Apparently, this figure knew of it properties because as soon as they reached this flower, the shadowy figure kneeled down and lightly touched the tip of it petals as words began to escape their lips, "…lead me to her…".

Just then, tiny sparkles of light hovered over the flower and then the figure's feet, forming a shining blue ring underneath them. The ring swirled and twirled as the light began to illuminate brighter and flare up around the figure; the ring had become a portal. Moments afterwards, a bright light flashed in the sky and before you could even blink the figure and the portal was gone. All that remains was the magic rose which had traces of the sparkling light still hovering over it.

"…lead me to her…," were the words that echoed through the air.

"Ahhh!," Tails quickly sat up on the couch; waking from a peaceful slumber while cold sweat ran down his face. The same hellish nightmare plagued his mind once more and caused him more discomfort than the first time. "W-what the hell was that?," he asked himself as he swung his legs over to the edge of the couch, placing them firmly on the floor while he sat there breathing heavily; trying to catch his breath and regain his vision.

The young fox was so shaken up from the dream that he couldn't hear the sweet, soft voice calling to him from up above. He glanced over in the direction of the voice, but his vision hadn't fully come back yet because all he could see was a blurred silhouette standing near the banister at the top of the stairs. The silhouette started walking down the stairs and advanced its way to him, where the bright light of the moon shining from the window in the living room revealed her identity.

"Tails, are you alright? I heard you scream…," Cosmo kneeled down next to him with her hands placed lightly in his lap as she looked up at him with great concern in her face. The twin-tailed fox had finally got his breathing under control and his vision was slowly coming back to him. He glanced over at the frightened girl and gave her a warm, yet weak, smile as he replied, "Yeah…I'm fine. Just had a nightmare is all."

"It must've been awful if it caused you to scream out like that…what was it about?," the young plant girl was now intrigued with the fox's apparent nightmare; she wanted to know how terrible this vision was that made him respond in such a dramatic way. But it was too painful; Tails couldn't possibly tell Cosmo about the gruesome images he witnessed in his dream; it would be too much for her to handle. So he shrugged it off as he slowly stood to his feet, "It's nothing to worry about. It was just a dream…," he played it off as he helped Cosmo rise on her feet, then started leading her back upstairs to his room where she had been sleeping, "It's getting late. We should get back to sleep."

Although the answer didn't satisfy her curiosity, Cosmo didn't argue. She allowed the gentlemen fox escort her back to bed where he gently tucked her in and lightly planted a soft kiss on her forehead. Tails smiled down at her with such love in his eyes as he delicately stroked her head. The beautiful flower sighed happily as she closed her sleepy blue eyes and whispered just before she drifted off to slumber, "Goodnight, Tails."

"Night, Cosmo," he whispered back as he watched his sleeping beauty fall back to sleep. He then turned to the pink rose that still sat in the window seal catching the light from the full moon as it sparkled and shimmered. "I didn't forget you," he chuckled, lightly brushing his finger against its fragile petal. The sweet fox leaned over and gave the flower a tender kiss as he whispered once more, "Goodnight," before finally leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

Just as the room fell quiet and peaceful; just as things began to settle down; just as the snoozing plant girl fell into the depth of sleep a low, yet charming voice rose up and cut through the thick silence that covered the room in which Cosmo slept in. "He's such a sweetheart…don't you think?," the voice spoke. Cosmo quickly opened her eyes and sat straight up in the bed as her head turned towards the window seal. Instead of a pink rose rooted in a flower pot sitting there, in its place was another plant-like creature just like Cosmo.

Her pale, pink skin shone vibrantly in the moonlight as she sat perched up in the window seal. Her hair long, flowing, rose pink hair rested on her shoulders; covering the top of her dress, which was seashell pink and looked much like a halter top with no straps or strings holding it up. There was an elegant, white daisy nestled on the back of her head that was in full bloom. Her eyes, barely covered by her long bangs, were a cool, deep violet color that almost illuminate in pure darkness. Unlike Cosmo, she didn't have an amulet on her chest but there was a marking closely resembling a flower of some kind; most likely a rose; and she appeared to be a bit bustier than Cosmo, but because of her frail body they aren't as big as one thinks.

Cosmo sat there in shock and silence; like a person who had just lost their voice and couldn't speak no matter how hard he or she tried. There was a long pause as they stared at each other; Cosmo starring in amazement while the young girl sitting on the window seal stared back with a simple grin on her face. Finally she spoke as the pale pink flower hopped down from the window and casually walked over to the stunned Cosmo and sat down next to her, "Well, aren't you gonna say hi to me?"

"R-rose! H-how did you get here?," Cosmo finally spoke, shaking off the shock in her face.

"How else, silly! I used the portal!," Rose giggled. Rose was about the same age as Cosmo, but her immaturity at times makes her seem younger. She glanced over the entire room while she sat there on the bed, admiring its simplistic nature, "It's funny how the little things make a room look so nice!"

Cosmo ignored her remark as she leaped out of bed, turning on the light on the nightstand, and rushed over to the window seal where Tails' flower use to be, "…but…the flower…it's…"

"Gone! Not really. I've been pretending to be that flower the whole time!," replied the giggly flower girl in such a 'matter-of-fact' way. Rose's powers are still a mystery to many, but among the many hidden things she can do, the young flower can hide and take form of any plant she desires and take its former place. What happens to the original is something that only Rose herself knows, although she acts like she doesn't.

Stunned by the answer that Rose gave her, Cosmo slowly turned around and gaped at her, "You 'pretended' to be the flower? H-how long have you been doing this! That rose was only supposed to be used for…"

"For emergencies only. I know, I know...my mother made that flower, remember? She is a member of the council…," Rose hopped up from the bed and began browsing over all of the materials inside the room; letting out little gasps of awe each time she touched them with her delicate fingers. "Exactly! That's why you shouldn't be here!," Cosmo was more concerned about Rose's sudden appearance then anything. Rose, on the other hand, didn't seem to care; she was more interested in all the stuff that Tails kept in his room. "So this is where you boyfriend lives…I thought there'd be more in his home than this…but some people live differently than others," replied Rose as she carefully skimmed through a blueprint that had been rolled up and placed in a corner near the closet.

Cosmo snatched the blueprint from Rose's hands and gently put it back in its place, "This is just his bedroom." Rose seemed bothered by Cosmo's sudden outburst, but she shrugged it off; carelessly hopping back on the bed and continued to tease her companion about her special friend, "Oh I see. So he gave you the bed while he sleeps somewhere in the other room…such a gentlemen!," she swooned teasingly.

"I know, he is…," Cosmo swooned back, standing to her feet after fixing everything that Rose had moved back to its original place, "…but you can't stay here…you have to go back!," she cried out in a sudden panic.

Rose gave the flustered plant girl a sweet, yet crafty grin as she casually replied, "And let my mother know that you abused the portal? I'm sure you don't want me to do that…" Cosmo stopped for a moment and thought about what Rose had said; surely she could return to their home land and inform the council that she had used the emergency portal to see Tails and her other friends. If Rose does that, then Cosmo would be forced to return to face the consequences of her actions; that was something the terrified flower didn't want.

Giving in to the whims of her buoyant companion, Cosmo sighed and unwillingly bowed in defeat, "You're right. I don't want you to do that…what is that you want me to do?"

"I just want to stay here with you! I won't be a bother to you or your boyfriend," Rose smiled cheerfully.

"Ok, fine. But where will you stay while he's up?"

Rose scoffed as she pointed to the window seal, "Duh, I'll be the flower in the window! He won't notice a thing."

At first she didn't see anything wrong with it, but when Cosmo remembered what Tails had done before he left the room earlier she gasped and covered her lips; realizing the repercussions, "N-no…I don't think that's a good i-idea."

"Why not?," pouted the child-like flower, "Is it because he kissed me?"

Cosmo shyly looked, blushing at the mere thought for Tails' lips touching the phony flower petal which could be Rose's lips he might kiss. She tried hiding her embarrassment, but Rose could see right through her, "So it is the kiss that's bothering you! Silly Cosmo…you know that it's you that he truly loves! Don't let a technicality get to ya!," the giggly flower wrapped her arm around Cosmo's shoulders; tying to ease her companion's mind.

She still felt uneasy about letting Rose hide as the flower that Tails loved as much as he did her, but there was no other place for Cosmo to suggest for Rose to hide, so the hesitant plant had no choice but to give in, "A-alright…"

Rose giggled and danced about happily; hugging her friend as she cried in glee, "Oh thank you so much Cosmo!"

"Shhh!," hushed Cosmo; weary that they might wake up Tails and expose their secret. Cosmo rushed over to the nightstand and flicked off the lamp, then turned over to Rose as she motioned her to go back into hiding, "I'll let you know whenever we get ready to leave the house when you can come out of hiding," she whispered, climbing back into the bed. Rose squeaked and giggled happily like a child on Christmas morning; not hearing a word that Cosmo had spoke, "Hey! Could you introduce me to your friends tomorrow? I would love to meet them…I wonder if they'll like me? Well, if I'm friends with you I'm sure they'll bound to love me!"

Cosmo waved her hands frantically, trying to hush Rose's constant, loud squeaking, "Yes, yes, yes! I'll introduce you, just please be quiet and hide!"

"Heehee! Alright, goodnight!," Rose whispered as she lightly traced her fingers along the mark on her chest and after a few sparkles and a quick flash of light the pale pink flower girl transformed back into her original form; a healthy pink rose nestled in its flower pot on the window seal. Soon the silence once again grew thick and covered the air in the room; helping the young plant girl, tucked under the warm blankets, drift back into the depths of slumber.

Within the flower's core, Rose stands and cleverly grinned; watching her 'companion' sleep peacefully. On the outside she may appear to be sweet and charming, on the inside she was steadily plotting and planning her next move. "Not yet. I still need more time…when the time is right…that's when I'll strike! Her life…her world…her everything…," she murmured to herself as she sat back comfortably in her 'room'; slowly closing her glowing violet eyes while coasting off to sleep.

"So, who were you talking to last night," asked the curious twin-tailed fox as he glanced at his female travel companion. It was midday; a full twenty-four hours from Cosmo's unexpected encounter with Rose. The quiet plant slightly looked down at the ground as she replied back, "No one. I guess I was dreaming," then tightly clutched the hand bag Amy had given her. Cosmo had secretly placed Rose, who was still resting inside the little flower, inside before setting off with Tails.

Tails wondered to himself why Cosmo was carrying the hand bag and what she had inside it, but he didn't think anything of it as they reached the garage where the X Tornado sat there waiting to be flown. "Where are we going?," Cosmo asked.

Tails walked over to the jet plane and lightly brushed his hand against it, almost familiarizing himself with his 'old friend'. Finally, after a long pause, the eager fox looked towards the puzzled plant girl and replied with a chipper grin, "We're going to Angel Island to meet up with an old buddy of ours."

"Old buddy?"

"You'll see…hop in!," Tails held Cosmo by her waist as he spun his propeller-like tails and hovered over to the front seat of the plane. He slowly lowered the little plant in her seat and then headed over to the pilot's seat. Cosmo strapped herself in her seat, keeping the hang bag close in her lap while Tails prepared the plane for takeoff.

The jet propellers twirled and spun rapidly while the engine revved and powered up. Although it had been awhile since its been used, the plane still was in excellent shape; especially since Tails had been up all morning checking over everything, just so there weren't any mishaps on the way to Angel Island. "All systems are ready to go!," the easygoing kitsune said to himself before looking back at his passenger, who gave him a thumbs up to let him know that she was ready. With that, Tails grabbed the control stick and launched the X Tornado in to the blue skies, making this the jet's first flight in years.

Cosmo gasped in awe of the beautiful sight she took in. Everything below them looked like a tiny toy town. The sky was clearer and bluer than anything she's ever seen; the clouds even look soft and fluffier than before. Cosmo had forgotten what it felt like to fly in the sky like this; it all seemed so new to her. "Oh my…it all looks so…beautiful!," she exclaimed as she marveled at the crystal clear ocean below them.

Tails smiled warmly and chuckled at he quickly peeked behind him; watching Cosmo's expressions as she gazed out the window, "I know."

Soon a floating island peered though the sea of clouds gathered up ahead; they were now reached Angel Island. "We're here," Tails replied while he prepared the plane to descend. Cosmo grasped her hand bag, "We're here Rose," she whispered as she peeked inside at the flower nestled safely in her lap.

The plane hit a rough patch as it touched the ground, but once Tails gained control the plane make a cool, smooth landing. After releasing the dome-like doors and unbuckling his seat belt, the proud fox pilot hovered over to Cosmo, who also unstrapped her seat belt and was holding her hand bag, and lifted her out of the plane and onto the ground. The landing area was right near the temple in which the master emerald rested; it was also in the direction of where all the commotion between a certain fast, blue hedgehog and a hot-headed, red echidna could be heard.

"SONIC!," called the angered echidna as he chased after the speedy hedgehog, who was seemingly calm and collected through the ordeal; steadily teasing the enraged Knuckles while he ducked and dodged every punch that was thrown, "Get back here so I can kick your ass!," Knuckles growled.

Meanwhile, Amy and Cream sat on the sidelines, watching carelessly at the two knuckleheads acting childishly. "Honestly, you'd think they would've grown up by now," Amy scoffed as she watched her hedgehog hero stick his tongue out at Knuckles, who has now started throwing rocks at him. One hits Sonic in the head, causing him to crash backwards to the ground like an airplane would if it fell from the sky and onto the ground.

Knuckles laughed; Sonic jumped back onto his feet and went chasing after the chuckling echidna. Now the tables were turned and Sonic was now the one seeking blood. While all that went on, Tails and Cosmo managed to slip up on Amy and Cream, who were still watching in shame. "So who started what?," Tails asked, trying to hold back his laughter. Cream glanced up at the snickering fox, "Sonic, as always", she giggled.

"That's not true! Sonic doesn't always start trouble…Knuckles has instigated fights too!," Amy chimed in, defending the honor of her heroic boyfriend despite his apparent behavior. While Tails sat down and conversed with Amy and Cream, Cosmo silently crept away into a thicket of trees nearby. She opened her hand bag, took out the flower that was inside and carefully placed it on the ground, "There…you can come out now," she said to the flower.

Sparkles of shimmering light hovered around the potted flower and with a sudden flash of white light, Rose appeared; standing in the very spot where Cosmo placed the plant. "Thanks again Cosmo!," she cried out happily as she hugged her friend in appreciation. The blushing girl giggled as she hugged her friend back; glad to see her friend so excited to meet her other friends. "You're welcome! Come on, they're waiting!," Cosmo grabbed Rose's hand and led her through the thicket of trees and back to where Tails, Amy and Cream remained sitting and laughing at Sonic and Knuckles, who were still arguing like babies.

"Everyone…I'd like you to meet someone," suddenly all the attention that was held by Sonic and Knuckles was now turned towards Cosmo, standing next to the pale pink plant girl who smiled cheerfully at her new found companions, "Hello everyone! My name is Rose…it's very nice to meet you all!"

End of chapter 4