Archive of Our Own ^beta

"Secret Santa, huh?"

"Yep," Tails replied, looking up from the sandwich he was making. "Amy and Cream put it together. You weren't here when they came by to ask if you wanted to participate, but I knew you'd be good with it."

"Of course," Sonic replied, leaning against the counter and shooting his best friend a cocky smirk. Tails chuckled. The hedgehog had just gotten back from a trip to Spagonia to attend a Christmas tree lighting at the University. He had also gone to see the beautiful Christmas decorations, but that was a lesser purpose. Thankfully, it seemed as if he'd gotten home just in time.

"Your invitation's in the workroom," his friend said, finally finishing up his ham and cheese sandwich and snatching up the remaining ingredients to put back in the fridge. "I already opened mine."

"Oh, really?" Sonic asked. "And who's the lucky person to get a gift from you?"

"You figure out who you're giving a gift to first before you worry about me."

Sonic huffed, crossing his arms just as Tails backed away from the fridge, shooting his friend a grin as he shut the door.

"All right," Sonic said, putting his hands up defensively. "You got me, buddy. I'm going."

The hedgehog then spun on his heel, striding out of the kitchen and down the hall. He saw the mischievous look the fox gave him as he left. Sonic couldn't help but smile.

He finally grabbed the edge of the open doorway to Tails' workroom, swinging his body into the room lazily. The kit's workroom was always a mess. Tools, electronic components, blueprints, and other sorts of schematics were scattered everywhere, even spilling onto the floor at times. As genius as the young fox was, he was an absolute mess when it came to organizing his things.

Today, it seemed as if the kit was making yet another modification to his Miles Electric. Tails seemed to mess with that thing at least once a week. He called it his finest invention and it was plain to see why. It could do almost anything from being a GPS to searching the internet to translating alien speech. It was like a smart device on steroids.

Sonic tore his attention from the Miles Electric, scanning the room for the invitation Tails said would be there. He was excited to see who he was paired with. Amy and Cream always threw the best parties and Sonic was certain this one would be no different. The last Christmas party they'd thrown had been a great time, everyone getting together to have fun and open presents together. This year was definitely going to be even better.

Finally, Sonic spotted an envelope among a pile of documents that had been shoved to the side of one table. He quickly approached the table, snatching up the envelope. Besides the usual mailing address stuff, the envelope bore in large letters the words "DO NOT OPEN UNLESS YOU'RE SONIC". The hedgehog chuckled, digging his thumb under the flap to open it. He was rather quick about it too, curiosity overtaking him, and he practically tore the envelope to pieces to get inside. Finally, though, he yanked the letter out of the envelope. He unfolded it carefully. The invitation was very obviously written in Vanilla's handwriting.

"You're invited to a Secret Santa Christmas party hosted by Amy Rose and Cream. The party will be held on December 25th at Cream's house. We will be celebrating with supper, Christmas movies, and, of course, our Secret Santa gift exchange. Please bring a gift for your Secret Santa partner, listed below."

Sonic's gaze then stopped at the name at the bottom of the invitation, eyes widening a bit.

"Cream the Rabbit."

His gaze narrowed, lips pursing.

"Sonic!"

The hedgehog perked up, his best friend entering the room with a smile.

"You find the invitation?"

"Yep," Sonic declared, flashing the paper in his hand to the fox. "I got Cream."

"Oh, cool," Tails replied. "Have fun with that."

"Shouldn't be that hard," Sonic replied with a playful shrug as Tails crossed the room to sit with his Miles Electric. "How about you? Who'd you get?"

"You're not supposed to ask people who their Secret Santa partner is," Tails pointed out. "What if I'd gotten you? I wouldn't be able to tell you."

"But you didn't get me," Sonic said, striding to Tails' worktable and leaning against it to look Tails in the eye. "I can tell."

"Still not good Secret Santa etiquette."

"Etiquette? Me? Perish the thought."

Tails chuckled, swiveling his chair to face Sonic.

"I got Vector," the fox finally admitted. Sonic was taken by surprise. The Chaotix hadn't been present at last year's party, but it seemed like Amy and Cream were trying to get everyone involved this year.

"Ouch," he grimaced.

"Vector's not a bad guy," Tails asserted. "I just have no idea what to get him."

"Money for his rent, maybe?" Sonic joked. Tails laughed along.

"I want to get him something he'll be able to use," Tails said once his laughter died down. "I just don't know what he needs."

"You'll figure something out," Sonic reassured him. "You are a genius, after all."

"I'm a genius, not a psychic."

Sonic shrugged, shooting Tails a smirk.

"And what are you getting for Cream?" the fox asked.

"Easy there. Gimme some time to think," the hedgehog retorted. "I only just found out about the matchup."

"Right," Tails replied sarcastically.

"It'll be easy," Sonic declared, pushing himself off the desk. "You'll see."

Cream was having a dilemma.

She stared at the name of her Secret Santa partner anxiously, striding into the Central City mall. She bit her lip.

"Shadow the Hedgehog."

It certainly wasn't the name she was expecting to find. Now she was stuck trying to find something that would appeal to Shadow, but she was having trouble thinking, especially with her rather small budget.

If she were being brutally honest with herself, she was hoping to draw Amy's name. She knew everything Amy liked and it would have been easy to shop for her. Big or Blaze would have been rather simple as well. Even someone like Sonic or Tails would have been easier to shop for than Shadow, she thought.

She couldn't dwell on what could have been, though. She was going to get Shadow the best gift she possibly could, even if she had to spend all day looking for it.

She glanced up at the various storefronts lining her path. In this part of the mall, it was mostly apparel stores and a small jewelry store positioned near the central intersection. It was in that jewelry store, though, that she spotted an all-too-familiar face. Two familiar faces, in fact. Her stomach did a backflip.

"Miss Rouge? Mister Shadow?"

Cream stopped in her tracks just outside the jewelry store. On the one hand, talking to Shadow might give her a good opportunity to secretly gauge what he might like as a gift, but another part of her was scared of giving away the secret.

"Oh! Cream!"

The rabbit jumped, her face growing pale. Rouge had noticed her first, meeting her gaze with a smile and waving for her to come over. Shadow, however, glared at Rouge. Something was going on with him. Hesitantly, Cream approached them.

"H-Hello Miss Rouge. Mister Shadow," she greeted nervously, stepping into the jewelry store.

"It's a good thing you came by," Rouge began. "Help us settle something. Gemstones always make great gifts, right?"

"Hm?" Cream responded, stiffening up slightly. "Why do you ask?"

"She's buying for Tails," Shadow butted in irritatedly.

"Everyone loves jewels," Rouge asserted.

"I don't know about Mister Tails though," Cream finally answered. "I don't know what he would do with a gemstone."

Rouge huffed, stepping back from the jewelry case and placing her hands on her hips.

"Well, what would you get him then?" she asked, directing her question pointedly at Shadow. The black hedgehog crossed his arms, glaring harshly at her.

"That's not my job. That's yours."

"You're no help," Rouge spat, narrowing her gaze at him. Cream stared nervously at Shadow. When she and Amy had initially gone to see if he'd wanted to be involved in the Secret Santa, he'd refused. He'd only ended up joining because Rouge had forced him and Omega into it anyway.

Speaking of…

"Where is Mister Omega?" Cream asked.

"Out on his own," Rouge replied. "He got pretty excited when he found out his partner was Espio and immediately went weapon shopping. Typical."

Cream nodded. That made a lot of sense. The one thing she knew about Omega was that he was obsessed with weaponry and violence. Espio being a ninja, of course, meant he was into the weapons associated with being a ninja, which probably had Omega ecstatic.

She was just hoping Omega remained calm at the party.

"So," Rouge continued, suddenly brightening up with a mischievous grin. "Who are you shopping for? Promise I won't tell."

Cream gasped, shoulders stiffening up.

"I shouldn't say, Miss Rouge!" the rabbit squeaked. "That wouldn't be good Secret Santa etiquette!"

"Oh, come on," Rouge teased. "It's not like it's that big a deal."

Cream inhaled sharply, quickly racking her brain for an excuse not to tell.

"I-I have to go!" she finally stuttered, stumbling back. "So sorry! I'll see you at the party!"

Before Rouge could say another word, Cream turned and bounded out of the store, ducking back into the crowd outside.

That was close.

Rouge stared after Cream, watching her disappear into the mass of shoppers outside the store. She chuckled lightly.

"She's buying for me. I can tell."

Shadow huffed irritatedly. Rouge, however, immediately picked up on this, forgetting about Cream for the time being and turning back to him.

"So," she began. "Got any ideas for your Secret Santa buddy yet?"

"I told you I wanted no part in this," the black hedgehog snapped.

"So you're gonna disappoint everyone then?" Rouge retorted. "Cream and Amy spent a long time planning this party. The least you can do is be a good sport about it."

"You're the one that roped me into this farce," Shadow argued. "I would have been just fine spending Christmas alone."

"You can't hole up in your little emo hidey-hole on Christmas," Rouge huffed. "Christmas is about spending time with the people in your life that mean the most to you."

"Don't pretend you're not in this for the present."

Rouge pursed her lips, her expression souring.

"Think what you want about me," the bat fired back, "but your way of celebrating Christmas just sounds lonely and miserable."

"As opposed to spending Christmas with people that annoy me?"

"You enjoy their company and you can't convince me otherwise. Put a little effort into your relationships for once instead of pretending you're too high and mighty for it."

Shadow felt his blood start to boil.

"Is this a moral high ground thing now?" the hedgehog growled. "I'm supposed to do it because it's the right thing to do? Since when have you cared about crap like that?"

Rouge stiffened up for a moment in anger, then sighed, releasing her pent-up tension.

"Honestly, I don't care what you do."

She crossed her arms, staring Shadow directly in the eye. Shadow was taken aback by the seriousness in her blue-green eyes.

"You want to keep arguing? Fine," she continued. "You want to go home and leave your friends hanging? Fine. Just know that they care about you."

She paused for a moment, closing her eyes and taking a breath.

"And, deep down, I know you care for them too."

Shadow's expression twisted.

"I'm going to find a gift for Tails," the bat finished, turning away from Shadow. "Whatever you're doing, you're doing it alone."

With that, Rouge walked away, striding out of the store and leaving Shadow behind. The hedgehog felt the weight of Rouge's words on his shoulders, his brow furrowing in conflicted contemplation.

He sighed heavily, closing his eyes.

He wasn't seriously going to do this, was he?

"Hey, buddy!"

Tails jumped, whirling back to see Sonic enter the workroom again. The fox dropped the tools in his hands upon noticing that Sonic was holding two cups of hot chocolate, one in each hand, both topped with whipped cream and marshmallows. Steam billowed tantalizingly off the both of them, causing the kit's mouth to water.

"Brought ya something," the hedgehog declared with a grin, holding out one of the mugs to Tails.

"Thanks!" he replied, taking the mug with both hands. He brought the cup to his nose, sniffing the contents. The warm scent of cocoa was mixed with a slight hints of hazelnut and cinnamon.

"It's a little concoction I picked up in Holoska," Sonic explained, pulling up a chair next to Tails and taking a sip from his cup. "Of course, they make theirs on the stove. I just used the powder."

"Fair enough," Tails chuckled. "You've never been the best in the kitchen anyway."

"Yet I have a recipe collection big enough to make Amy jealous every time she comes over."

"That's more a product of your world travels," Tails pointed out. Sonic made a playful dismissive gesture with his hands, bringing his cup back to his lips. Tails finally took a sip of his own hot chocolate. It was warm and flavorful, relaxing him immediately.

"So," the hedgehog finally asked, leaning forward and staring at Tails' workbench. "What are you working on today?"

Tails jumped, gaze darting back to the pile of parts in front of him.

"Well, I was thinking," the fox began. "Vector likes music, right?"

"Yeah."

"So I decided to create a multipurpose mixer board for him," Tails explained, gesturing to the work-in-progress device. "It'll not only allow him to mix from external sources, but it'll come with an internal DAW for MIDI composition on the fly!"

"Okay, slow down there buddy," Sonic interrupted. "You're losing me here."

"Oh, sorry," Tails apologized sheepishly. "To put it simply, it'll allow Vector to mix music from external instruments and microphones as well as create digital music inside the device."

"Sounds cool!"

"Thanks," Tails replied, blushing. "I put a lot of research into this. I really hope he likes it."

"I know he will," Sonic declared with a grin. Tails smiled as well, elated that things had come together so smoothly for him.

"What about you?" Tails asked. "How's your gift brainstorming coming along?"

Sonic chuckled proudly, leaning back in his chair.

"Let's just say I snagged the perfect gift."

"Really?" Tails questioned, raising a brow.

"Yep. I got her one of those Baby Chao plushies."

"Doesn't she have a bunch of those?" Tails asked skeptically.

"Yeah, that's how I know she likes 'em," Sonic answered. "She's practically a collector."

"And how do you know you got her one she doesn't already have?"

"Because I got her one of the rare ones," the hedgehog replied. "Found it on an online listing website and had to race across the country to Monopole to grab it, but Baby Sapphire Chao is here and ready to be gifted."

"That's great," Tails chuckled. "Didn't take you long to figure things out, did it?"

"Nope!" Sonic laughed. "I'm the fastest thing alive! Of course I think up gift ideas fast too!"

"I'm sure she'll love it," Tails stated, turning back to his invention. He snatched up the soldering gun, returning to work.

He sure hoped Vector was going to like this.

"Okay, how about this."

The crocodile stood from his chair, slamming his hands on the desk. He cleared his throat, then proudly declared a single word.

"Oil."

Espio quirked a brow, giving Vector a baffled look.

"Oil?"

"Robots drink oil, right?" Vector continued. "It'll be the perfect gift!"

"You've seen too many cartoons," Espio groaned. "Robots don't drink oil."

"I saw an Eggman robot drink oil once," Vector retorted. "I'm not crazy."

"That's like gifting someone a soda out of a vending machine," Charmy piped up. Vector sighed heavily, slumping back in his seat.

"You're right," the crocodile finally ceded. "What do you get a robot for Christmas though?"

"You're thinking too hard about getting a gift for a robot and not hard enough about getting a gift for Omega," Espio asserted.

"Well, I think you're thinking too hard, Espio," Charmy argued. "You're so worried about what you're gonna give Blaze when you could just do what I'm doing!"

"You have the same problem as Vector," Espio retorted. "You can't just give Amy lipstick and call it a day."

"Girls like makeup, right?!"

"Amy doesn't wear lipstick."

"Says you," Charmy quipped. Espio sighed, massaging his forehead with his fingers.

"I want to give Blaze a gift she'll actually like," he said. "I want to put effort into this, but I barely know her. I don't think I've ever even had a conversation with her."

"But it's so easy!" Charmy whined.

"I don't need any suggestions from you," Espio snapped.

"Hold on!" Vector exclaimed, shooting up from his chair again. "A screwdriver!"

Espio huffed, shooting Vector an exasperated glare.

"Robots break down sometimes, right? And you gotta fix 'em with a screwdriver!"

"That's the dumbest idea ever," Charmy retorted.

"Says the bee giving lipstick to a girl that doesn't wear lipstick!"

"All girls wear lipstick! It's what girls do!"

"Oh, shut up!"

Espio buried his head in his hands, trying to block out the noise of Vector and Charmy bickering.

Just then, an idea came to his head.

If he wanted to know more about Blaze, all he had to do was ask the people that knew her best…

Amy huffed, curling a little tighter under her blanket as she stared at the screen of her tablet computer. She'd attempted to make a mood board to figure out what to get her Secret Santa recipient, but the board had remained blank. Only the title of the mood board, "Gift Ideas for Silver", remained on the screen, practically mocking her by being surrounded with white emptiness.

She groaned, reaching for the mug of hot chocolate on the table beside the couch. She hadn't expected thinking of gift ideas for someone she hung out with so often to be so difficult, but somehow that someone being Silver made things ten times more difficult. He would come back from the future practically every weekend to do things with Amy, Cream, and the others, but he never talked much about himself or where he came from. Amy had no idea what his life in the future was like or what he'd even appreciate in a gift. What if she gave him something but he already had a better version of that thing from the future?

Nobody else was having this dilemma, she was certain of that.

She huffed, spitefully tabbing to a search engine.

"What do people from the future like?"

It was more of a gesture of frustration than anything, considering she couldn't think of anything else to use the search engine for. Of course, like she thought, the search was entirely useless, only pulling up speculative articles on some idealistic future people thought would exist fifty years ago. Flying cars, strangely-shaped computers, utopic retro-futuristic societies…

There was no way that was what Silver's future was like…but she couldn't even know that for sure.

She finally tossed her tablet aside, preparing to get up. She still had a lot to do to get ready for the party, so she figured she should get started.

Knock knock knock

Amy's ears stood up as she snapped to attention. That knock had come from the front door across the room from her.

"Come in!" she called quickly, throwing off her blanket and vaulting to her feet. She had expected the door to open to Cream but, instead, she was shocked to see Silver trod hesitantly inside, shutting the door gently behind him.

"Hey, Amy," the white hedgehog greeted with a shy wave. Having been caught off guard, Amy stuttered a bit before answering.

"H-Hey, Silver! What are you doing here?"

"I, uh," he began, pausing to rub the back of his neck with one hand as he collected his thoughts. "I wanted to ask you about something."

Amy straightened up. She wanted so desperately to ask the same thing, but she didn't want to accidentally reveal her Secret Santa surprise.

"What's up?" she asked, wringing her hands awkwardly.

"It's about the Secret Santa."

Of course it was. Amy pursed her lips.

"See, I'm supposed to get a gift for Sonic," Silver continued. Amy's eyes widened just then.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Silver replied. "I have no idea what to get him, though. I was hoping you could give me some ideas."

"Sure!" Amy answered cheerfully, momentarily forgetting her own struggles. "Come sit down with me."

She plopped back down on the couch, motioning for Silver to join her. As he approached, she noticed her tablet was still sitting face-up on the couch, the search window still clearly visible. With a sharp gasp, she snatched the tablet, quickly slamming it face-down on the table. Silver balked for a bit at that before resuming his approach, sitting down beside Amy.

"Okay," Amy started, releasing her tension with a sigh. "What kind of ideas do you have so far?"

"I've got nothing," Silver admitted, slumping back in his seat. "I don't know what kind of things Sonic likes…besides chili dogs, of course."

Amy nodded slowly. She and Silver really did have a very similar problem.

"Sonic really is hard to figure out," Amy pondered aloud. "He goes all over the place and does so many different things he doesn't tell a lot of people about."

"What would you get him?" Silver asked. Amy paused, contemplating the question for a moment.

"Usually, I just make him cookies or give him flowers," Amy answered hesitantly, "but I never really thought about what kinds of things he might really like."

Silver pursed his lips, letting out a contemplative hum.

Knock knock knock

Amy jumped, letting out a yelp. This also caught Silver by surprise and he locked up accordingly. Amy hadn't even expected the first visitor, much less a second.

"C-Come in!" she shouted. This time, it had to be Cream, right? It was the only person she could think of that would–

"Excuse me."

Amy's eyes widened. Of all the people she expected, Espio was the last one she'd have guessed. The chameleon gave a polite bow as he stopped just inside the doorway.

"Espio? What are you doing here?" Silver asked in Amy's place, just as shocked to see him as she was.

"I came to ask Amy a question about my Secret Santa partner…"

"Join the club," Amy groaned quietly.

"My partner happens to be Blaze," Espio began. "Since you know her better than I do, I was hoping you could help me figure out what she might like."

"You have Blaze?" Silver asked, a light blush visible on his face.

"Blaze shouldn't be that hard to get something for," Amy replied. "I know she really likes tea, for example."

"Tea?"

"Yeah," Amy continued. "Whenever we have Blaze over, we always have tea and cookies together. Blaze is a mess in the kitchen, but she can put together a mean cup of tea."

Espio's eyes widened. Finally, he nodded firmly.

"Thank you so much," Espio replied, bowing once again. "It seems I was overthinking things a bit. Thank you for your guidance."

Amy perked up a bit. It was with that, though, that Espio left, closing the door behind him and leaving Amy and Silver alone again.

"Man, I wish Sonic was that easy," Silver muttered. Amy suddenly remembered Silver's dilemma.

"Hey, don't worry too much," Amy said. "Maybe you should talk to Tails. He knows Sonic better than anybody. He should be able to help you out."

Silver nodded, letting out a slight groan of disappointment as he got up off the couch.

"Thanks, Amy," he said.

"Sorry I couldn't be more helpful," she apologized.

"Nah, it's okay," Silver replied. "You did your best."

Amy let out a contemplative hum as Silver turned to leave. She really did feel bad for not being able to give Silver the answers he wanted. She also felt guilty, though, for being eager for him to leave. He gave her a last nervous grin as he exited.

Once the door was closed and all was quiet, Amy grabbed her tablet again, pulling back up the empty mood board. Espio had made Amy realize she was overthinking things as well. Amy knew the things Silver enjoyed doing with her and Cream. That was more than enough to think of a gift for Silver, and she had the perfect idea what to look into first.

Silver approached Tails' Emerald City workshop, trying to tell himself to be more confident. Tails would definitely have the answers Silver was looking for. There was no way he wouldn't. Like Amy said, Tails knew Sonic better than anyone.

With a deep breath, Silver gave three sharp knocks on Tails' front door. He then stepped back, waiting for the fox to answer. It took a minute but, eventually, the front door swung open.

"Hey, Silver! What's up?"

The fox looked tired, his fur matted in places, but he had a sort of energy about him Silver couldn't explain. He'd probably been working on an invention of his, Silver guessed.

"Hey," Silver greeted. "Is Sonic here?"

"He just left," Tails answered. "He ran over to Station Square to see some Christmas show they're having at Twinkle Park."

Silver nodded understandingly. Station Square wasn't that far from Central City and Emerald Town, but it was still a fair distance for just a short trip. Sonic's speed, however, trivialized such a distance. That always managed to impress Silver.

"Sorry about that," Tails finally finished.

"Actually, it's better he's not here," Silver admitted. "I wanted to ask you about gift ideas for him."

Tails' ears perked up.

"Oh, you're getting a gift for Sonic!" Tails exclaimed. "Yeah, come on in! We can talk while I work."

The fox wasted no time, turning and racing back to his workroom. Silver hurried inside after him, closing the front door before jogging down the hall to meet Tails. The kit was already hunched over his latest project with a pair of tweezers and a soldering gun.

"What are you working on?" Silver asked, approaching Tails curiously.

"My gift for Vector," the kit explained excitedly. "It's a veritable music-production behemoth! It's a mixing board with a built-in digital audio workstation and a keyboard!

Silver stared confusedly at the device. It was an enormous machine with too many dials and switches for Silver to fathom. At the top of the device was a large screen and, attached to the bottom, Silver could spot the beginnings of a piano Tails was assembling.

"I just thought of adding the keyboard an hour ago," Tails proclaimed with a gleam in his eyes. Silver nodded slowly. He didn't totally understand, but he went along with it anyway.

"Oh, but you were here to ask about Sonic, right?"

"Yeah," Silver replied, sitting down in a chair near the workbench. "Sonic is kind of hard to figure out."

"He never stays in the same place too long, so he's a bit hard to pin down," Tails started. "The most he has are in the rooms he has at my labs here and in the Mystic Ruins."

"Oh, right," Silver realized. "He does stay with you when he's not running around the world, huh?"

"That's right," Tails replied. "He's real good at making a mess, though. You wouldn't think he'd have as much stuff as he does."

"Wait, he does?"

"Yep," Tails answered. "He brings back so much stuff when he travels it's ridiculous. I think he likes the novelty of having all this stuff from all around the world. Most of it's just random trinkets. Sometimes it'll be some tourist-y souvenir. Other times, he'll come back with a stone he found in an oasis in the desert of Shamar or something."

Silver's brow furrowed. Sonic being a souvenir fanatic actually made a lot of sense. Silver wasn't exactly sure how to use this information, though. It wasn't like he could go anywhere Sonic hadn't been.

…Or could he?

He bolted upright, knocking his chair over as he stood. Tails yelped in surprise.

"Thank you, Tails!" Silver shouted, racing out of the workroom and down the hall. He'd just thought of an advantage he had that no one else did, and heck if he wasn't going to use it.

"Okay, hold on. I got another idea."

"If it's anything like the last five, don't bother."

Vector huffed, shooting a disgruntled glare at Charmy.

"At least lemme say it before you call it stupid."

"Okay, fine," the bee droned, hovering closer to lean against Vector's desk.

"All right, this is the perfect idea," Vector began, grinning once more. "Headlights."

Charmy grimaced.

"What?"

"He doesn't have headlights," Vector explained. "How's he gonna see in the dark without headlights?"

"Night vision, moron," Charmy retorted. "You think he doesn't have night vision?"

"Dang," the crocodile spat. Just then, the door to the office opened. Both Vector and Charmy looked up to see Espio stride into the office, shopping bag in hand.

"That looks too big to be lipstick," Charmy started.

"It's not lipstick," Espio groaned. "I actually went and asked someone what Blaze might like."

"You did?"

"That's a hint, by the way," Espio finished, crossing to the door to the living room and disappearing from sight. Vector let out a contemplative hum.

"Who needs to ask when I've already got the perfect gift?" Charmy muttered under his breath.

"Looks like it's time for this croc to do some investigating."

Charmy grunted confusedly as Vector stood, making for the front door.

"If I'm not back by seven," Vector declared, throwing open the door, "make the pizza rolls in the freezer."

Charmy continued staring as Vector closed the door.

"We were gonna make the pizza rolls anyway."

Cream sighed, her head resting on the desk in her room. She'd had no luck finding a gift for Shadow yesterday. She went to every store in the mall, but everything she thought Shadow might like was way out of her price range. She knew he liked motorcycles and guns, but those weren't exactly her area of expertise and, from what she'd seen, they were pretty pricey interests.

So she was back to having no ideas. She didn't even know where she could go next. She felt like she'd already been to so many places and there wasn't much left she could try.

"Chao…"

Cheese hovered solemnly next to Cream, hugging her with his tiny arms.

"Thank you, Cheese," Cream said, stroking his face with her hand. "I just wish I knew what to get Shadow."

"Cream? Honey?"

Cream perked up, her mother approaching the open door.

"Are you all right, sweetie?" she asked, a concerned look on her face.

"I'm okay, mama," Cream answered. "I just don't know what kind of gift to get for Shadow. I don't have enough money for the things I think he'd like and I don't know where else to go."

Vanilla walked into the room, bending down near her daughter and hugging her tightly. Cream knew she could see the tears start to form in the young rabbit's eyes as she spoke.

"There, there," Vanilla cooed. "It'll be okay."

"I don't know what to do," Cream whimpered, tears slipping down her cheeks. Cheese babbled sadly beside her.

"Well," Vanilla said, pulling away from Cream to look her in the eye with a smile, "if you can't buy a gift for Shadow, you could always make one."

Cream perked up, her eyes widening.

"You're right, mama!" she exclaimed, her mood immediately brightening. Vanilla chuckled.

"I know you'll come up with something spectacular," the older rabbit said, standing back up.

"Thank you so much, mama!" Cream declared, vaulting out of her seat and racing across the room to grab her coat. "I need to get some beads and a big ball of twine!"

"I can take you to the craft store if you give me a minute to get ready," Vanilla offered.

"That would be wonderful! Thank you, mama!"

Sonic ducked into Tails' workroom, where the kit was still hard at work on his gift for Vector. He'd told Sonic this morning that, on top of the keyboard he'd added on last night, he was also going to add on a built-in studio-quality microphone. With the party being so soon, Sonic wasn't sure if Tails was even going to finish the device on time.

"Hey, buddy," Sonic greeted, though Tails was too engrossed in his work to give Sonic much more than a halfhearted wave, not even looking back at his best friend.

"How's the machine coming along?" Sonic asked, approaching the worktable.

"I'm adding a light."

"A light?"

"Can't be usable in the dark without a light," Tails stated, fiddling with the beginnings of a small lamp he hadn't yet attached to the device.

"I'm sure Vector already has a lamp," Sonic droned.

"It's about the convenience factor, Sonic."

"Buddy, I'm worried about you," Sonic said, leaning against the worktable to try to stare Tails in the face. "Are you even gonna get this thing done before the party?"

"Of course I am," Tails answered. Sonic's eyes narrowed. Before he could argue further, though, they were both startled by the front door to the house opening and slamming shut.

"What the–"

That was when Knuckles appeared, having stormed down the hall to the workroom. He had a harrowed look on his face, somewhere between angry and frantic.

"Knux?" Sonic began, standing up. "What's up?"

"This Secret Santa thing is insane," Knuckles spat. "You'd think it wouldn't be hard to find a gift for a fishing fanatic, right? I know exactly what he likes! It's the one thing he likes besides that stupid frog!"

"Big, right?" Sonic asked.

"But I walk into the fishing supply store," Knuckles continued, completely ignoring Sonic, "and there's so much stuff it's crazy! Apparently there's different baits for different kinds of fish?! And how am I supposed to know the difference between a circle hook, an octopus hook, and an octopus circle hook?!"

"You could just ask one of the employees," Sonic pointed out.

"Then they ask me what kind of fishing he likes to do! I don't know! That guy fishes everywhere!"

"Sounds like you're in a bit of a fishy situation," Sonic joked, starting to laugh.

"It's not funny!" Knuckles roared. "I'm losing my mind here!"

"Well, I don't know how to help you," Sonic responded with a shrug. "Not like I know anything about fishing either."

"Tails, help me out here!" Knuckles demanded. The fox didn't seem to register what was happening, though. Sonic pursed his lips.

"You know anything about fishing, bud?" Sonic asked, trying to prod Tails back into the real world. He knew the answer would be no, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

"A crime radio."

"What?"

"Vector's a detective!" Tails declared. "I could install a crime radio to keep him updated on what's going on in the city to make his job easier!"

"Buddy, you've gotta stop!" Sonic argued. "This machine is already crazy enough!"

"The heck is it?" Knuckles asked, crossing the room to stare at it.

"A mixing board slash music-making computer slash keyboard slash microphone slash lamp slash crime radio, apparently," Sonic answered with a huff.

"It just sounds ridiculous when you put it like that," Tails objected.

"Because it is ridiculous!" Sonic retorted. "You're working yourself to the bone here, buddy! You don't need all this stuff!"

Tails' brow furrowed, staring down at the hodgepodge of machinery sitting in front of him.

"Just keep it simple, man," Sonic continued, placing a hand on Tails' shoulder. "Vector'll love it whether it has a lamp or not. You don't have to jump off the deep end here."

Tails sighed, closing his eyes.

"Maybe you're right," Tails admitted.

"The first idea was perfect," Sonic said, squeezing Tails' shoulder in an attempt to cheer him up. "Stick with that and you can make it as perfect as you want."

"Yeah," the fox replied, straightening up again. "Thanks, Sonic."

"You're welcome, buddy. Just take it easy."

"I really didn't have time to tune a whole piano anyway," Tails said with a chuckle. Sonic laughed along.

"Uh, hello?" Knuckles grunted. "That's great and all, but what about me?"

Sonic blankly glanced back at Knuckles.

"I don't know," the hedgehog answered. "Look it up online or something."

Knuckles growled loudly, storming out of the room with a disgruntled "Thanks for nothing." Sonic shrugged. He'd fixed one problem, at least. Can't fix 'em all.

Shadow huffed, staring at the mall map display with a scowl on his face. He couldn't believe he was actually doing this, but here he was. Once Rouge put those nagging thoughts into his head, though, he just couldn't let them go.

Of course, Rouge had been ecstatic when she figured out Shadow was actually going through with the whole Secret Santa thing. Shadow hadn't told her. She just figured it out on her own when she discovered Shadow was on his way to the mall. That put a sly grin on her face that Shadow couldn't get out of his head. It was patronizing for sure, but part of it felt like she wanted to tell him he was doing the right thing.

He shook that out of his head, staring back at the mall map. He wished he'd thought about this yesterday when Rouge was dragging him around the mall against his will, but now he was stumped.

His partner was Knuckles. What the heck was he supposed to get Knuckles?

His brow furrowed. Knuckles was a hermit living on a floating chunk of rock in the sky. All he ever did was watch a giant magic gemstone and…eat fruit or something? Shadow didn't know and he didn't care. Unfortunately, though, that was getting him no closer to actually thinking of something to get Knuckles.

Part of him was thinking about phoning it in and getting him a snowglobe or something. It'd be the easiest route out of this mess for sure.

"Hey! Shadow!"

Shadow winced. He knew that grating voice anywhere. He slowly turned around to see Vector pushing through the crowd behind him, waving to Shadow. Shadow sighed, crossing his arms as Vector finally reached him, panting in exhaustion.

"What do you want?" Shadow asked gruffly.

"See, it's about Omega," Vector began.

"Omega?"

"I don't know what to get him for the Secret Santa," Vector explained. "All my ideas ended up being pretty crappy, so Espio said I should go looking for someone so I can ask what kind of stuff he likes."

Shadow quirked a brow. Vector getting a gift for Omega? It certainly wasn't the kind of matchup Shadow was expecting.

"You really don't know what Omega likes?"

Vector paused a moment, gaze drifting away from Shadow.

"Espio said I wasn't thinking enough about what kinda person Omega was," Vector muttered. "I mean, he's a robot, but…"

Vector trailed off, letting out a contemplative hum. Shadow gave him a moment to think it out. Then, suddenly, his eyes lit up.

"Oh, yeah!" he exclaimed. "He likes weapons and stuff, right?!"

Shadow nodded slowly.

"Yeah! That gives me an idea!" the crocodile proclaimed. "Thanks, Shadow!"

Before Shadow could state he didn't actually do anything, Vector ran off, shoving his way back through the crowd. Shadow watched him leave, the exchange lingering in his mind. It had been a simple moment of stupidity on Vector's part, but it left Shadow with a realization of his own.

Shadow bit his lip. What would really make Knuckles happy wouldn't be found in a store. Not with the kind of person Knuckles was. Shadow just had to think about things a bit harder.

It was going to be difficult, but it was the best gesture he could put forth.

Christmas had finally come. The wind carried stray snowflakes on the breeze, creating a magical scene, even outside of the extravagantly decorated Central City. Snow crunched underneath Sonic and Tails' shoes as they made their way down the road to Cream's house. Sonic had his gift for Cream wrapped in a small box and tucked under his shoulder. Tails, however, had to use both his hands to carry his gift for Vector. Luckily, the fox had managed to get it done in time. He readily admitted paring things down was a good idea after all.

Finally, Cream's house came into view. The house was decorated with lush green garlands, bright red ribbons, and soft white lights. Sonic could already spot people inside through the windows. It seemed they were far from the first people to arrive.

"Looks like the party's waiting on us," Sonic quipped, jogging ahead to the front door. Tails followed close behind, arriving at Sonic's side just as the hedgehog knocked firmly on the door. After a moment, the door opened to a cheerful Cream, who wore a cute red party dress with red ribbons around her ears.

"Mister Sonic! Mister Tails! Come in!"

Sonic nodded, giving Cream a warm smile. As he stepped inside, he noticed the other guests that had already arrived. Knuckles was taking his pick from a plate of cookies on the table in the living room. Blaze, Amy, and Silver were chatting near him, Big also with them listening quietly and nodding every so often. Rouge then jumped into the conversation, a glass of eggnog in hand and a smirk on her face. On the other side of the room, Shadow leaned against the wall, looking grumpy as ever. Omega stood beside him, staring blankly at Sonic and Tails as they entered. The Chaotix were in the dining room admiring a gingerbread house that had likely been put together by Vanilla, Amy, and Cream.

Then, Sonic noticed something that caused his brow to furrow in shock. He quickly sloughed his coat off his shoulders, letting it drop to the floor as he hurried into the dining room.

"Sonic?"

The hedgehog dodged past the Chaotix and stopped in front of the cabinet on the far side of the room. His heart sank into his stomach. Sitting inside the glass fronted cabinet amidst the china were a set of Baby Chao dolls…and one of them was Baby Sapphire Chao.

"Mister Sonic? Is something wrong?"

Sonic jumped, whirling around to see Cream standing just behind him, a concerned look on her face.

"No! Nothing's wrong!" he quickly lied. "I just wanted to see the dolls! That's all!"

"Oh!" the rabbit replied cheerfully. "They're some of my Baby Chao dolls! I collect them. These are some of the really rare ones: the Jewel Collection. Mama managed to find them for me last Christmas, though!"

Sonic grit his teeth, shoulders stiffening up. He suddenly remembered Cream receiving these exact toys at the last Christmas party. How did he not remember?

"Oh, the Secret Santa gifts can be dropped off near the tree!" Cream said, "I have to help Mama in the kitchen! Have fun!"

With that, Cream bounded into the kitchen, leaving Sonic pale-faced and mentally panicking. The first thing he did was rush back into the living room to find Tails, chucking his wrapped gift on the dining room table as he went. He spotted Tails immediately as he reentered the room. The fox had immediately gone for the cookies with Knuckles, laughing as the echidna stuck three sugar cookies into his mouth at once. Sonic reached over the back of the couch, tapping Tails on the back of his shoulder. The kit yelped, whirling around in surprise.

"Sonic?"

"Hey, can we talk in the other room for a sec?"

Tails gave Sonic a confused look, as did Knuckles.

"What's got you so worked up?"

"Hold on," Tails said, getting up. "I'll be right back."

Sonic nodded firmly, racing ahead of Tails to the hallway. Tails, however, took his time catching up, walking at a leisurely pace that drove Sonic crazy.

"Okay, what's up?" Tails finally asked, approaching Sonic in the hall.

"You know how Baby Sapphire Chao was supposed to be rare?" the hedgehog began. The fox's shoulders slumped, a deadpan look on his face.

"She already has one, doesn't she?"

"Bingo," Sonic replied with a grimace.

"This is why I told you to check beforehand."

"Okay, yeah. I messed up," Sonic asserted, "I gotta fix this."

"And how are you going to do that?"

"I'll just run back out and get her something else," Sonic declared. "You'll cover for me, right?"

"Cover for you how?" Tails replied, quirking a brow.

"Just tell them I went out to get eggnog or something."

"There's already eggnog here at the party."

Sonic scoffed, pursing his lips.

"Well, tell them something." Sonic groaned, "I don't have time to come up with an excuse."

"Amy's gonna kill you if she finds out you messed this up."

"And that's why she's not gonna find out," Sonic stated, already rushing back down the hall, "I'm counting on you, buddy!"

"Hey! Hold up!"

Sonic wasn't turning back. He continued, speed-walking back through the living room to the front door.

"Mister Sonic?"

The hedgehog winced, stopping with his hand on the door handle. He glanced back over his shoulder to find Cream staring at him worriedly, Cheese hovering just behind her. Sonic felt himself start to sweat.

"Where are you going?" she asked, looking disheartened. A pang of guilt shot through Sonic's chest. He had to think up something, and fast.

"I left something really important back at Tails' place," he said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "I'm just gonna run and get it. It shouldn't take more than five minutes."

"All right," Cream said, looking satisfied by Sonic's explanation, "We're going to be starting up a movie in a little while, so I hope you'll be back in time!"

"You bet I will!"

With that, Sonic gave Cream as confident a thumbs-up as he could manage before flinging the door open and rushing outside, practically slamming the door behind him. He didn't hesitate a moment afterward, racing off at full speed toward Central City. He had one last shot to make this count.

He had to find Cream the perfect gift…even if it killed him.

Amy's head perked up, having caught a glimpse in her peripheral vision of Sonic rushing out the door. Her eyes narrowed.

"Where's Big Blue going, do you think?" Rouge asked. It seemed like she'd noticed as well.

"Didn't he just get here?" Blaze chimed in with a concerned look. That was when Cream strode across the room to meet up with them, Cheese fluttering behind her.

"Cream, what's up with Sonic?" Amy questioned.

"He said he had to get something important," Cream replied, wringing her hands anxiously, "He'll be back soon."

"He forgot his Secret Santa gift, didn't he?" Amy huffed. "He's such a mess."

"I saw his gift with him when he came in, though," Cream pointed out.

"So it's something else then?" Rouge asked.

"I don't know what it is," Cream stated. Cheese corroborated Cream's testimony with a firm nod and a series of babbling noises.

"Well, he'd better be back in time for the movie," Amy declared. "He can't just miss out."

"What movie are we watching, by the way?" Rouge inquired, her smirk returning.

"We're gonna put it up to a vote," Amy answered. "We have a bunch of movies and we're gonna let the group decide what we watch."

"Yeah!" Cream cheered, "We have 'Rudolph' and' 'The Grinch" and 'The Year Without a Santa Claus'!"

"You can't forget about 'Charlie Brown Christmas' and 'It's a Wonderful Life'," Amy added.

"What about 'Home Alone'!" Charmy exclaimed, darting to join them.

"You mean 'Psycho Child Attempts to Murder Grown Adults: The Movie'?" Rouge joked.

"Mama says that movie's really violent," Cream said, shoulders tensing.

"Wait, what does the child do?" Silver asked, genuinely confused.

"Vector lets me watch it every Christmas," Charmy whined, "It's fine."

"Seriously, what does the child do?"

"By the way," Rouge piped up again. "I hope you know Omega brought 'Die Hard'. Just wanted to prepare you for that."

"That's definitely not appropriate for kids!" Amy exclaimed.

"I told him not to, but Shadow encouraged it," Rouge sighed. "Sometimes, I don't know what I'm gonna do with those two."

Amy huffed, crossing her arms. By this part, Charmy had hovered back over to the other Chaotix, who had migrated their way to the cookie buffet on the living room table. Vector had already taken five of them. Amy grimaced.

"They're gonna eat all the cookies before anyone else gets any," she groaned. Just then, a few of the cookies started to glow a bright cyan, lifting off the plate on their own. Vector yelped, nearly choking on what was already in his mouth as the cookies floated toward Amy and the rest of the group. The pink hedgehog turned back to see Silver focusing his psychokinetic energy, his hands cloaked in the same cyan as the cookies. Finally, one of the cookies hovered in front of Amy, beckoning her to take it. The other cookies reached Cream, Cheese, Blaze, Rouge, and Big before the final one came to Silver. The white hedgehog bit into the cookie in midair. Amy chuckled, taking the cookie Silver had given to her and biting into it as well.

"Nice party trick, Silver," Rouge chuckled, delicately fingering her cookie. "Can you use those powers to get me another glass of eggnog too?"

The glow around Silver finally faded as Silver grabbed his cookie with his hand.

"Why don't you get your own eggnog, Rouge?" Amy jabbed. Rouge nodded, grinning as she started to head toward the kitchen.

"Thank you so much, Mister Silver!" Cream cheered.

"You're welcome!" Silver replied, smiling warmly. Amy's gaze then shifted back to the front door. She just couldn't help but worry.

Where in the world was Sonic going?

Sonic burst through the doors of the biggest toy store in Central City. It had taken him two minutes just to get here and it would take him two minutes to get back to Cream's house, meaning he only had a minute to find something at the store in order to get back to Cream's house within his estimate.

Why'd he say five minutes? Why couldn't he have said ten or fifteen?

Shaking that thought out of his head, he dashed through the store at high speed. Finally, after blazing through 6 different aisles, he came upon the Baby Chao section. He skidded to a halt, inspecting the dolls carefully. Baby Run Chao…Baby Fly Chao…Baby Red, Blue, and Green Chao…

"Agh, these are all the common ones!" Sonic growled, panicking again. "Where's the good stuff?!"

"You're a collector, hm?"

Sonic jumped, turning to find a male gecko standing just down the aisle from him, a wry grin on his face. Sonic felt his spines bristle.

"And you are?"

"A collector," the gecko answered, approaching calmly. "Well, a collector of sorts, I should say. You see, I collect Baby Chao dolls, not to keep, but to photograph and then sell to the more hardcore collectors. Saves me a lot of money, let me tell you."

Sonic's ears perked up at that.

"Wait, are you offering to sell me a rare Baby Chao doll?" the hedgehog asked, eyes wide.

"If you can pay the price," the gecko replied. Sonic hated the shady aura emanating off this guy, but he really didn't have a choice.

"Okay, name your price," Sonic declared.

"Well, what kind of Baby Chao are you looking for?" the gecko inquired. "I have a few dolls from the Jewel Collection up for grabs."

"Already got those," Sonic stated. "Gimme something better."

"Ah, so you're serious then."

The laugh that came with that statement made Sonic's shoulders stiffen up.

"I have something for you then," the collector proclaimed. "How would you like to be the proud owner of Baby Angel Chao?"

Sonic gasped, his eyes shooting wide open. He remembered catching glimpses of Baby Angel Chao in his online searches. It was supposed to be one of the rarest dolls on the market and it was so cute that it would be the perfect gift for Cream.

"That's the one!" Sonic exclaimed. "How much?!"

"One thousand dollars."

Sonic felt a little part of him die inside. He'd seen that price before on most every listing for Baby Angel Chao, but he was hoping this guy would at least give him a slight discount. Sonic supposed, though, that he shouldn't have expected this much from such a shady guy.

"Or…"

Sonic froze. The gecko had stepped a little closer, grin spreading a little wider across his face.

"You could trade me for it," the gecko finished. "Baby Devil Chao for Baby Angel Chao sound fair?"

The hedgehog pursed his lips. Baby Devil Chao seemed to be just as rare and elusive as Baby Angel Chao. Sonic didn't really have many options, though. He sighed, crossing his arms.

"If I can get you Baby Devil Chao in the next hour, you'll give me Baby Angel Chao?"

"That's the deal," the gecko declared. "Will you take it?"

With that, the gecko reached his hand out for a handshake. Sonic hesitated, biting his lip. Finally though, he reached out and grabbed the gecko's hand, shaking it firmly.

"It's a deal."

"Let's get the Christmas movie going! Let's go!"

Tails bit his lip, trying to tune out Charmy's shouting. His gaze was fixed on Amy, who had a disgruntled look on her face. It wasn't due to Charmy, though. Sonic still wasn't back. He'd been gone a full fifteen minutes. Tails knew why he'd been gone that long, but it still looked suspicious when Sonic said he'd only need five minutes to run back to Tails' place.

"Wonder what's taking Sonic so long," Knuckles grunted, slumping back into the couch beside Tails. The fox's shoulders tensed.

"Home Alone! Home Alone!"

"We're not watching that, Charmy!" Amy snapped. Just then, Tails' wrist communicator started to beep, eliciting a yelp from the startled kit.

"Is that Sonic?" Knuckles asked.

"Hold on! I'm going to take this!" Tails proclaimed, vaulting off the couch and hurrying down the hall to the bathroom. Once he'd locked himself inside, he pressed the button on the side of the communicator to take Sonic's call.

"Hey, buddy!" Sonic's voice rang out. "I've got my sights set on the perfect gift. I found a listing in Monopole and I'm heading out there now."

Tails did notice that there seemed to be a significant amount of wind present in the background of the call and Sonic's voice was skipping beats as he ran.

"Well, make sure to get back here soon," Tails stated. "Amy's starting to get really ticked that you're not back yet."

"Roger that, buddy! Over and out!"

The call then hung up. Tails sighed, leaning back against the bathroom wall.

Why did this have to be Tails' problem too?

Blaze, Cream, and Silver all flinched as Amy let out a snarl, storming into the kitchen. Amy had been on edge ever since Sonic left, but there was no reason for her to be this angry, right?

"Poor Amy," Cream sighed, Cheese babbling beside her.

"Is she really this angry?" Blaze asked. "Sonic hasn't been gone that long."

"It's a long time for Sonic," Cream stated. She had a point, Blaze had to admit.

"But why is it this much of a problem?"

"Because she's worried Sonic might not come back."

Blaze jumped, whirling around to see Knuckles approaching them. The look on his face was a serious one. He wasn't joking about this.

"But why wouldn't he come back?" she asked.

"Sonic pulls stunts like this sometimes," Knuckles sighed, "He'll say he's gonna show up for something, then bail at the last second for one reason or another."

"Amy put a lot of effort into this party," Cream chimed in.

"I guess she's worried about that going to waste," Silver mused. Blaze let out a contemplative hum. When it was put that way, it made a lot of sense why Amy was mad.

"It's not Sonic's fault he does stuff like this," Knuckles continued, "Sometimes he really does have a good reason."

"I can imagine," Blaze muttered. If it was Eggman, she supposed he wouldn't stop even for Christmas. That made sense as well.

"Let's just get the Christmas movie going already!" Charmy whined.

"We still have to vote for the movie!" Cream declared, "Although Amy was supposed to run the vote…"

"What did you say we had?" Silver asked.

"Home Alone!"

"Would you can it already?!" Knuckles roared.

"We have 'Rudolph', 'The Grinch', 'Charlie Brown Christmas', 'It's a Wonderful Life', and 'The Year Without a Santa Claus'," Cream answered.

"I can handle this."

Cream and Silver both turned to Blaze, who hopped up onto a nearby stool.

"All right! Everyone quiet!"

The chatter died down, everyone starting to focus their attention onto Blaze. The princess stood with authority over the entire party, a fiery look in her eye.

"We're going to choose a movie to watch! We have five options! Take your pick!"

Monopole was a lot less busy on Christmas, Sonic noted as he raced through the streets of the enormous city. Of course there was still traffic, but it was far lighter than other times of year. People were at home spending time with their families.

Sonic, however, was on a mission.

He whipped around the corner, remembering the address he'd seen for the listing when he looked it up back at Tails' place. He was now twenty minutes behind schedule, but he wasn't going back to that party until he'd gotten this gift.

Of course, that was going to be a harder task than it sounded. Sure, he'd found a listing for Baby Devil Chao online, but it was just as expensive as Baby Angel Chao would have been and he didn't have the money to pay for it. He was hoping, however, to haggle his way to a deal.

He had to. He was out of options otherwise.

"Hey! Stop! Thieves!"

Sonic perked up, hearing the cry in the distance. It wasn't that far from where he was. Surely he could take a few minutes to stop a crime in progress, right?

He picked up the pace, dashing to where he'd heard the shout. As he approached, he saw a male collie standing outside an apartment complex. He spoke on a cell phone, probably calling the police for help. As Sonic skidded to a stop in front of him, he yelped, nearly dropping the phone.

"Y-You're Sonic the Hedgehog!" he stuttered.

"Which way did the thieves go?" Sonic asked curtly.

"They went that way!"

The collie pointed down the street frantically. Sonic gave a quick nod before immediately racing off in that direction, speeding down the streets of Monopole. It was only about a minute before he caught sight of the thieves, his eyes widening.

"Well, well…"

It seemed like they hadn't even noticed him yet, speeding just ahead of him on their Extreme Gear boards. Those three were unmistakable: Jet, Wave, and Storm of the Babylon Rogues. Sonic chuckled mischievously, picking up the pace to overtake them.

"What?!" Jet yelped upon noticing the hedgehog that had just passed them. Sonic then turned on his heel, running backward so he could face the thieves.

"The Babylon Rogues," Sonic began with an impish grin. "Where do you get off stealing from people on Christmas?"

"Shut your mouth, hedgehog!" Jet spat. "Get out of our way!"

Sonic was about to quip again, but he suddenly noticed the item Jet held under his arm. His eyes went wide, his brow furrowing.

"Baby Devil Chao?"

Jet bristled up, shifting the black plush under his arm uncomfortably.

"Yeah, what of it?!" he shouted. "You know how much this thing sells for?! It's gonna make us rich!"

Sonic pursed his lips, gaze narrowing.

"Stealing on Christmas is bad enough, but stealing toys? What are you, the Grinch?"

"Jet, let's ditch this loser already!" Wave called to her leader. Jet let out an annoyed huff and, at once, all three of the Rogues drifted sharply down another street. Sonic stumbled, not expecting the maneuver, and had to scramble to keep up. He caught up quickly though, tailing the Rogues. He then jumped, knocking Storm off his board. Storm cried out, tumbling to the street, and Sonic took the albatross' place, quickly balancing on the board and shooting Wave a mischievous grin. She grit her teeth, clenching her fists and moving away from Sonic.

"Jet!"

At Wave's shout, the hawk sent a sharp glare over his shoulder at Sonic.

"You wanna race, huh?!" Jet roared. "Catch me if you can, loser!"

With that, Jet kicked it into high gear, blasting away from Sonic and Wave. Sonic chuckled, doing the same.

"You're not getting away, Jet!"

"I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus. Christmas is coming, but I'm not happy. I don't feel the way I'm supposed to feel."

Shadow blankly stared across the room at the television set. Everyone besides himself and Omega were either crammed onto the couch or sitting on whatever chair, stool, or pillow they could manage to pull up to the vicinity of the television. Cream and Charmy sat at the front on pillows, intently watching as Charlie Brown vented his melancholic feelings to his best friend, Linus.

"Charlie Brown, you're the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem."

Shadow then noticed someone was missing from the crowd around the television.

"Hey there, grumpy."

There she was. Shadow turned to see Rouge approach his side with two glasses of eggnog.

"I brought you some nog," she said, handing one of the glasses over to him. He took it with a sigh, sipping some as he turned his wandering attention back to the television.

"Rats. Nobody sent me a Christmas card today."

"I'm glad you decided to come."

Shadow raised his head back up, glancing at Rouge. The bat gave him a warm smirk. Shadow scoffed, taking another sip of eggnog.

"You got that Secret Santa gift too, right?"

"Yes," the hedgehog answered curtly as he brought the glass away from his lips.

"I'd ask what it is, but there are too many prying ears," Rouge chuckled. "Are you having fun at the party, at least?"

Shadow huffed lightly, swirling the contents of his glass restlessly.

"I'll take that as a yes," Rouge teased, leaning back against the wall beside Shadow.

"I never eat December snowflakes. I always wait until January."

Shadow's expression softened, looking back over the group situated around the television.

"WE WILL WATCH DIE HARD NEXT," Omega declared, holding up the DVD case. Rouge rolled her eyes.

"Good luck getting that one past the censors," she deadpanned.

"IT WILL BE EASY. I WILL JUST INSERT IT MYSELF."

Shadow chuckled lightly.

Maybe this wasn't such a bad party after all…

Tails anxiously snuck into the kitchen. He wanted to call Sonic just to see what was going on, but he had to get away from the rest of the group first. He felt bad missing some of the movie, but things were going to be really bad if Sonic didn't arrive soon.

"Tails?"

The fox jumped, letting out a yelp of surprise. He turned to see Amy standing in the doorway behind him, an irritated look on her face.

"Where's Sonic?"

The fox went pale, backing away from Amy.

"I don't know," he answered honestly.

"You know where he went, though," Amy asserted. "I saw you talking to him in the hall before he left. Where'd he go?"

"He went back to my place to get something he forgot," the fox replied, keeping up with the lie Sonic had fabricated. "What happened after that, I have no idea."

Amy's gaze narrowed, venom in her steely green gaze. Tails felt a chill run down his spine.

"Call him."

"I was just about to go do that. I can–"

"Here. Right now. Call him."

A lump formed in Tails' throat, sweat running down his brow. Finally, though, he resigned, raising his wrist to access his communicator watch.

"This is what you get for leaving me like this, Sonic."

He input Sonic's frequency, waiting for the hedgehog to answer. He and Amy stood in silence for a solid minute, the only sound between them being the static from the communicator watch. Sonic never picked up, though.

"He's…not answering," Tails stated hesitantly. Amy huffed loudly.

"You're going to get in contact with him and tell me where he is or so help me…I will make sure Sonic pays for this."

Tails gulped loudly as Amy stormed out of the room. He hurried to the kitchen door once she was gone, scrambling onto the back porch. He tried Sonic's frequency again, desperately hoping the hedgehog would pick up.

"Come on, Sonic…where are you?"

"Gah!"

Jet flew into the air, having been knocked off of his Extreme Gear when Sonic rammed Storm's Gear into the side of it. The hawk tumbled to the street, Baby Devil Chao dropping unceremoniously to the pavement beside him. Sonic slowed to a stop, hovering just beside Jet.

"Looks like I win this round, Jet," the hedgehog quipped with a smirk, hopping off the Gear and snatching the doll off the ground. Jet snarled, pushing himself back to his feet.

"You got lucky, hedgehog!" the hawk snapped furiously, "You won't win so easily next time!"

With that, Jet scrambled back onto his Gear, bolting off into the distance at the first opportunity. Sonic watched him go before turning his attention to the Baby Devil Chao in his hand. He pursed his lips, staring intently at the toy.

As easy as it would have been, Sonic wasn't that kind of person.

He darted down the street, heading back the way he came. He'd chased Jet halfway across the city, but it didn't take Sonic more than a minute to get back to the apartment complex. He returned to find the collie talking with two police officers. When Sonic approached, though, he gasped, immediately noticing the doll in the hedgehog's hands.

"Baby Devil Chao!" he shouted, taking the doll as Sonic held it out to him, "Thank you so much! You don't know how much this means to me!"

"You're welcome," Sonic responded with a smile.

"I hope Baby Sapphire Chao made a good gift for your friend."

Sonic stiffened up, eyes widening. He very suddenly recognized this collie.

"You're the guy I bought Baby Sapphire Chao from!"

"That's right," the collie said. Sonic's expression then fell.

"Well, uh," he began, shifting uncomfortably. "I actually found out she…uh…already owns Baby Sapphire Chao."

"I see," the collie mused, "That makes sense. The company that makes the Baby Chao toys actually did a limited re-release of the Jewel Collection last Christmas."

"That means I'm kind of up a creek," Sonic said with an anxious chuckle, "I have to somehow manage to get my hands on another rare Baby Chao doll in time for the gift exchange."

The collie hummed contemplatively.

"Hey," he finally said. Sonic's ears perked up.

"How would you like to have the Baby Devil Chao you just rescued?"

Sonic's eyes shot wide open at that.

"What?! Are you serious?!"

"Of course," the collie replied with a warm smile, "Christmas is about giving and I want you to be able to give something nice to your friend. I can always get another one."

A grin spread across Sonic's face.

"Thank you so much!" he proclaimed, "You're a lifesaver! Seriously!"

"You're welcome," he said with a chuckle. Sonic suddenly gasped.

"I have to get back to the party before Amy kills me!" the hedgehog exclaimed, running off down the street. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" the collie called back.

Finally, Cream's house came into view. It had been a mad dash to get everything in order. Thankfully, that gecko was still hanging out at the toy store and was more than ready to exchange Baby Devil Chao for Baby Angel Chao. After that, it was just a matter of getting to Tails' place, wrapping the present, and gunning it back to the party.

He threw open the front door, slamming it behind him. This caught the attention of everyone crowded around the television watching the Christmas movie. Sonic didn't have time to be embarrassed, though. He darted to the tree in the back of the room, chucking his gift with the rest of the Secret Santa presents.

"I knew it!" Amy snapped, "You did forget your gift!"

Sonic immediately regretted catching Amy's fiery gaze. He gave her a sheepish grin, hoping she wasn't about to launch herself over the back of the couch to attack him.

"Sorry."

That was all he could say.

"Hey, at least he's back!" Silver spoke up, trying to calm Amy down.

"You missed Charlie Brown," Vector said. Sure enough, when Sonic caught a glimpse of the television, the credits were already rolling.

"What took you so long?" Knuckles asked, giving him a curious look.

"I just had to take a quick detour to stop a robbery, that's all," he answered, "Helping people out on Christmas, you know?"

Amy sighed heavily, her shoulders relaxing. Tails then entered from the kitchen, having heard the commotion in the living room. He immediately shot Sonic a glare even more intimidating than Amy's, which caused the hedgehog's quills to stand on end. Amy might not have wanted to kill him anymore, but Tails seemed more than ready to do it for her.

"Now seems like the perfect time for the gift exchange!" Cream cheered. "Right, Amy?"

"Hold on a sec," Sonic said, "Lemme talk to Tails first."

Sonic nestled down, sitting cross-legged on the floor next to Knuckles. Tails joined his side, sitting down next to him with his tails curled around him. Thankfully, it had only taken a short talk for Tails to calm down and forgive Sonic and it seemed like Amy had cooled down as well. That was the best Sonic could have asked for.

Now everyone had sat down around the Christmas tree for the Secret Santa exchange. In fact, Sonic and Tails were the last to arrive. Even Shadow and Omega had joined the circle, Rouge between the two of them.

Once Sonic and Tails were seated, Amy stood up, clapping her hands together to get everyone's attention.

"All right, everyone!" she started with a cheerful expression. "It's finally time for the gift exchange! Cream will be drawing names from a hat and, if your name is called, go grab the gift for your partner from the pile and bring it to them!"

Cream giggled, gripping a knit hat in her hands. Cheese curiously peered into the hat from over her shoulder.

"All right!" Charmy exclaimed, shaking with excitement. He was sandwiched between Espio and Vector, both of whom looked ready to grab the bee should he try to cause chaos.

"Cream, if you'll do the honors."

The rabbit nodded at Amy's declaration, reaching her hand inside the hat and digging around inside. The light rustling of paper could be heard before Cream finally pulled her hand out, a tiny slip of paper gripped between her fingers. She delicately unfolded it, reading the name inside.

"Miss Rouge!"

The bat chuckled, getting up and sauntering over to the pile of Secret Santa gifts. Shadow seemed to be watching her intently as she picked up one, then made her way back over to the group. She stepped over Shadow, then crossed the middle, holding the gift out to Tails. The fox looked startled for a moment, giving Rouge a confused look.

"Well?" she crooned, smirking. "You gonna take it or what?"

Tails slowly reached out, taking the gift from Rouge and turning it over in his hands, almost like he was trying to see through the wrapping paper before he opened it. As he did, Rouge crossed back to Shadow and Omega, taking her seat again.

Finally, the fox tore into the wrapping paper, peeling it off the box and setting it to the side. He finally opened the small box. His eyes immediately went wide and he quickly pulled out some piece of technology Sonic didn't recognize. It was a small handheld device with a screen, some buttons, and a radio antenna.

"Is this what I think it is?" Tails asked in shock.

"A military-grade GPS, you mean?" Rouge replied smugly. "That it is."

"It's a GPS?" Sonic muttered, craning to get a better look at the device.

"This thing can pick up a signal from anywhere in the world and is updated with the most precise satellite-gathered information of any GPS in the world!" Tails explained excitedly. "Rouge! How'd you get this?!"

"I pulled some strings," the bat answered.

"And you obtained it legally, right?" Knuckles butted in, obviously suspicious of Rouge.

"Does it matter?" she replied. Tails' expression fell, blank gaze focused on Rouge as he slowly lowered the GPS back into the box it had come in.

"Next gift! Next gift!"

Cream nodded at Charmy's enthusiasm, pulling another name from the hat.

"Miss Amy!"

Amy jumped, probably not expecting her name to be called so soon. She vaulted up from her place beside Cream and hurried to the gift pile. The gift she pulled out was round; an odd shape for a gift, Sonic noted to himself. This one was brought to Silver, who met Amy's gaze with surprise.

"Here you go, Silver! Merry Christmas!"

"Thank you!" Silver said, grabbing the gift and immediately beginning to unwrap it. Inside were a couple of round pans, which Silver stared at with a curious look.

"Cake pans?" he asked.

"I know you have fun baking with me and Cream when you come over to hang out with us," Amy explained nervously. "So I thought you might like some of these to bake with back home in the future."

Silver's expression immediately lit up.

"Thank you so much, Amy!" he declared excitedly. "I'm gonna have to get a working oven for these!"

"Huh?"

"Oh! Nothing!" Silver exclaimed, his face turning bright red. Amy giggled, her nervousness melting away.

The next name Cream pulled from the hat was Charmy's. It was quickly found that Charmy had gotten Amy lipstick, a gift the pink hedgehog met with a blank expression, staring at Charmy like he'd done something wrong. The bee didn't seem to notice, however, as he hovered back to take his seat again.

"Next is…" Cream declared, pulling another name, "Mister Knuckles!"

"Watch this," the echidna stated, getting up. He didn't seem proud or even all that pleased, though, as he trudged to the gift pile, pulled out a gift, and made his way over to Big. The cat straightened up, taking the gift from Knuckles and slowly peeling off the wrapping paper. Sonic quirked a brow.

"What's Knuckles up to?" Tails whispered to Sonic.

"Who knows," the hedgehog replied, not taking his eyes off Big. Finally, Big managed to get the wrapping paper off the box. Sonic could barely spot a picture of a fishing reel printed on the side of the box.

"Oh! A new baitcasting reel!" Big began happily. "Thank you! I really needed one of these!"

Sonic couldn't help but be amazed. Knuckles, though, just nodded curtly and made his way back to his seat. Once he'd sat back down, Sonic elbowed him, catching his attention.

"Did you suddenly become a fishing guru overnight or is there something you're not telling me?" he asked. "How'd you get him exactly what he wanted?"

"I asked him."

Sonic inhaled sharply, completely taken aback.

"You what?"

"Figured if I asked him, he wouldn't remember it afterward," Knuckles went on, "and I was right."

Sonic opened his mouth to retort, but found he didn't even know what to say. With that, he just kept his mouth shut.

"Mister Tails!"

The fox jumped at his name being called. Sonic shot his buddy a grin and a thumbs up, trying to bolster his confidence. Nervously, Tails got up, retrieving the enormous wrapped present from the pile. Several gazes went wide at the size of it. The widest of these, however, was Vector's as Tails approached him, placing the gift on the floor in front of him. With no hesitation afterward, the crocodile tore into the wrapping paper, gawking at the machine inside.

"Whoa! Is this a mixing board?!" he exclaimed with stars in his eyes.

"It's more than just that," Tails explained, confidence bolstered by Vector's happiness. "It also includes a built-in DAW with MIDI production features! I really hope you like it!"

"Like it?!" Vector responded. "This is the coolest thing I've ever gotten! Thanks!"

The kit chuckled happily, flattered by Vector's praise. Sonic grinned, happy for his little buddy. Looks like everything worked out just right after all.

"Mister Silver!"

The announcement came as soon as Tails sat back down beside Sonic. Silver gasped, quickly getting up and approaching the present pile. The last person Sonic expected Silver to approach afterward, though, was…well, Sonic himself. Sonic's emerald eyes met Silver's with a shocked gaze.

"I hope you like it," Silver stated. Sonic took the gift from Silver. It was a small box, but it had a bit of weight to it. He quickly tore into the wrapping paper, exposing the undecorated box. When he opened the lid of the box, he found a smooth, black stone sitting inside. He plucked the small stone out of the box, turning it over in his hands.

"A rock?" Tails asked curiously.

"It's an onyx stone from Onyx Island in the future," Silver explained. "Stones like these can be found on the shores of the island, which are covered in black sand from various volcanic eruptions on the island. It's these stones that give Onyx Island its name."

"Dude," Charmy spoke up. "It's a rock."

Sonic suddenly bristled at that.

"It's a cool rock!" the blue hedgehog retorted, startling Silver with his defensiveness.

"Y-You really think it's cool?"

"Of course it's cool!" Sonic replied excitedly. "Makes me wish I could see that black sand you were talking about! That sounds awesome!"

Silver chuckled sheepishly. Sonic then stared back down at the stone, tracing the faint white bands in the black stone as Silver retreated back to his seat. Sonic's mind was running wild with images of what those black sand beaches might look like. The last time he'd been to Onyx Island, he was never able to visit the shoreline. He'd have to ask Silver to take him there sometime. For now, though, he was going to keep this rock with his other treasured souvenirs.

"Mister Omega?"

"CONFIRMED."

The robot stood from his place, his joints whirring as he did so. The gift he pulled out of the pile was rather long and somewhat flat. Sonic's curiosity got the best of him and he watched as the gift was delivered to Espio, the chameleon looking somewhat intimidated.

"PRESENT DELIVERED."

Espio hesitantly took the gift, slowly peeling away the wrapping paper. Nearly the whole time, his gaze kept darting between the gift and Omega, who towered above Espio blankly. Finally, though, Espio was met with a long wooden case. When the chameleon opened it, he gasped. From the angle he was sitting, Sonic couldn't see what it was, but Charmy and Vector sure seemed impressed. No one, however, could be more starstruck in that moment than Espio.

"It's…beautiful…" he muttered, lifting the item out of the box. Finally, Sonic was able to see what the item was: a full-fledged, very real katana.

"IT IS THE PERFECT NINJA WEAPON," Omega stated. "YOU ARE WELCOME."

"Yes, thank you," Espio replied, staring awestruck at the sword. He seemed totally enraptured by the blade.

"Count on a weapons expert to pick a good weapon," Sonic muttered to Tails.

"If his methods are anything like Rouge's though, that might be cause for concern," Tails pointed out. Sonic pursed his lips.

"Maybe we don't mention that to Espio," the hedgehog responded. "Wouldn't want to ruin the moment."

Tails nodded in agreement.

The next few exchanges went by rather quickly. Blaze was called next and her gift to Rouge was a gemstone, very obviously Rouge's favorite thing in the world. Blaze had offered to have the stone cut into whatever piece of jewelry Rouge wished, but the bat insisted the gem be left as is, staring happily into its glittering facets. It made sense to Sonic that Blaze could obtain a gemstone. She was a princess, after all.

The next name to be called was Big's. It took him a while to find his present in the pile and make his way over to his partner, Charmy. Charmy tore into the present ravenously and, inside, he found a small plush frog toy. At first, he seemed rather put out, staring confusedly at the toy. As he continued to stare at it, though, his expression started to soften and even shift to happiness. Finally, he hugged the plush frog tightly, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

"I love it."

Those were his shaky words of thanks. Big smiled warmly, opening his arms for a hug. The bee readily accepted, rushing into Big's arms. Sonic couldn't help but find the scene adorable.

"Aw, he's got his very own Froggy now," Sonic whispered to Tails, barely masking a chuckle.

The next one after that was Espio, who politely presented his gift to Blaze. She opened it up to find a tea set for making green tea. That had confused Sonic, who had always thought her to be more of a black tea kind of girl. Apparently, it confused Blaze as well, who had to work out an awkward sentiment of gratitude before setting the tea set to the side. Espio looked a bit disappointed by the less than stellar reception.

The next one up, however, was Vector, who immediately perked up, rushing to the gift pile before presenting a small present to Omega.

"Here!" the crocodile proclaimed. "I really thought a lot about the perfect gift to get ya! Go ahead!"

The robot stared blankly at Vector, robotically taking the tiny package in his hand. He tore the wrapping paper open methodically before being presented with a small pocket knife, the switchblade being hidden within a plastic case.

"Surprise!" Vector exclaimed. "I know you like weapons, so I got you this! How do ya like it?"

Omega said nothing, delicately opening the tiny switchblade with his massive robot claws. Once he had it open, he stared at it wordlessly, his emotions completely unreadable. It didn't look, however, like he was too excited about the tiny blade.

"I'm gonna take that as a sign that you love it," Vector said, grinning nervously.

"You do that, honey," Rouge interjected. Vector gave a weak thumbs-up, then backed away from Omega, returning to his seat.

"The next person is…" Cream began, digging for a name in the hat once again. When she took out the next slip of paper, she gasped.

"Me!" she declared, vaulting to her feet and handing the hat off to Cheese. There weren't that many people left that hadn't received gifts, though. Who had Cream been paired with?

That question was answered pretty much immediately when Cream, bearing a small box, skipped over to where Shadow was. Sonic's eyes snapped wide open.

"No way," he muttered. "Never woulda called that one."

"Me either," Tails replied.

"Merry Christmas, Mister Shadow!" Cream cheered, holding the gift out to Shadow. The black hedgehog looked taken aback for a moment and, even as he took the gift from Cream's hands, he was unsure of what to say in reply. Finally, after a moment of silence, Shadow tore into the gift, opening the box inside the wrapping paper and pulling out a small, homemade trinket. Sonic had to squint to make out what it was. Its shape was vaguely flower-like and it was made out of twine and black and red beads. Shadow stared at it in confusion for a moment.

"It's a keychain," Cream explained. "I made it for you to put on your motorcycle keys."

"You made this?"

That was all Shadow could mutter, holding up the keychain so it dangled in front of his face. His expression was unreadable. Sonic could only wonder what he was thinking.

"I'm sorry if you don't like it," Cream then said, her smile fading. "I really tried my best."

Shadow's gaze then darted to the rabbit's sad face. It was then that Sonic noticed something flash across Shadow's face that caught Sonic off guard. He could have sworn that was guilt he just saw on Shadow's face.

"I…really like it."

Both Cream and Sonic perked up, the latter noting that Shadow's appreciative gesture was very plainly genuine. That was rare to see coming from Shadow.

"You do?" Cream asked, her face lighting back up.

"I do," Shadow said with a nod. "Thank you."

Sonic gasped quietly. He wasn't sure what he'd just witnessed, but, in a way, he was extremely proud of Shadow for opening up like this.

Little did he know, though, that the show wasn't over. As soon as Cream, after giving Shadow a big smile and a cheerful "You're very welcome", rushed back over to Cheese and took back the hat, she immediately drew…

"Oh! Mister Shadow! You're next!"

Shadow grunted in surprise. He clearly wasn't ready to have to open up emotionally twice in a row. Rouge shoved his shoulder playfully, which caused him to huff and stand from the floor, dropping the homemade keychain into Rouge's hands. Instead of heading toward the gift pile though, he immediately approached Knuckles. The echidna inhaled sharply as Shadow stopped just in front of him, standing over him intimidatingly.

"Knuckles."

"What?" the echidna snapped, obviously on edge from the strangeness of the situation. Shadow, however, looked like he was trying to find the right words to say, taking a deep breath and crossing his arms. It took him a moment to do anything afterward but, finally, he exhaled, reaching behind his back before producing a Chaos Emerald.

"What?!"

That exclamation came from both Sonic and Knuckles simultaneously.

"Take it," Shadow huffed, thrusting the Emerald in Knuckles' direction as he looked away from the echidna. Knuckles hesitating, probably wondering whether or not this was some kind of joke. After figuring it probably wasn't, he gently took the Chaos Emerald from Shadow's hand.

Sonic was actually impressed now. Shadow wasn't one to give up a Chaos Emerald without a fight, especially when he didn't need to. He'd just given Knuckles this one out of the kindness of his heart, though.

"That's insane," Tails whispered. "Shadow giving up a Chaos Emerald?"

"Yeah, I know," Sonic answered. Sonic had to figure that this was Shadow realizing that such a gesture was the perfect gift for Knuckles. It was more than just a Chaos Emerald. It was a symbol of both trust and respect that Sonic couldn't help but find impactful. Knuckles obviously did as well, his expression softening as he gazed at the Emerald.

"Well, Sonic?"

Amy's sudden call caught Sonic off guard, causing the hedgehog to stiffen up. In an instant, all eyes were on him.

"You're the only one left," Amy continued, grinning.

"That's right!" Cream declared. "Your name's the only one left in the hat!"

As if to emphasize the point, Cream pulled the last scrap of paper out of the hat, unfolding it to show Sonic's name written inside. Sonic relaxed, getting up from his seat.

"I gotcha," he said, heading over to what was once the gift pile. Now, though, there was only one gift left. Sonic snatched it up, bringing it over to Cream.

"Merry Christmas, Cream," he said, presenting it to her with a flourish. "Take this as thanks for an amazing party."

Cream curiously took the gift from Sonic, Cheese hovering close so he could get a look as well. Cream then started to gently unwrap the present. As she got into the box Sonic had placed the gift into, her eyes lit up.

"Oh!"

She immediately took Baby Angel Chao doll out of the box, staring at it in awe. A grin spread across Sonic's face.

"Sonic, this is amazing!" Cream cheered, rushing over to pull Sonic into a tight hug. "She's so pretty! Thank you so much!"

Sonic chuckled, ruffling the fur on Cream's head playfully.

"You're welcome, kiddo. Merry Christmas."

"Hold on."

Sonic turned to Shadow, who was staring at Baby Angel Chao with a look of shock on his face.

"Isn't that one of the rare thousand-dollar Baby Chao dolls?" he asked, his confusion evident. A mischievous smirk appeared on Sonic's face.

"You know Baby Chao then, Shadow?"

The black hedgehog's muzzle immediately turned bright red.

"I read about it online," he asserted. "Shut up about it."

"If that thing's a thousand dollars, how the heck did you get your hands on it?" Knuckles spoke up.

"Let's just say," Sonic answered. "I have connections."

Knuckles' brow furrowed. Sonic, however, couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey! Hold on!" Charmy piped up, still clutching the frog toy Big had given him. "I thought I saw another gift on the dining room table!"

"What?" Amy muttered, standing up. "For real?"

"Who for?" Sonic asked. From his position, he could just barely crane his neck to see into the dining room.

He froze. There, sitting on the table, was the wrapped gift that still contained Baby Sapphire Chao. His blood ran cold.

"I'll get it," Amy offered, starting for the dining room.

"H-Hold on!" Sonic stuttered, breaking away from Cream to chase after Amy. "Don't open that one!"

Tails sighed, burying his head in his hands. The others stared in the direction of the dining room as Sonic and Amy started fighting over the final gift, shoving each other aside and battling to try to wrench the gift out of the other's hands and keep it away from the other.

"It was almost perfect, at least," Tails declared.

"I think it was totally perfect!" Cream stated, hugging the Baby Angel Chao plush lovingly. "This really has been the best Christmas ever!"

Tails lifted his head and stared over at Sonic and Amy. For some reason, he couldn't keep from laughing.

"You know what?" Tails replied. "Despite everything, I think I'd say so too."

"Of course," Rouge added. "Because we all came here to celebrate Christmas together, right?"

Shadow scoffed turning away.

"Yeah!" Charmy cheered. "We gotta do this again next year too!"

"Actually," Tails interjected. "Maybe we take a break from the Secret Santa next year."

He then noticed Amy take out her Piko Piko Hammer. Sonic panicked and scrambled into the kitchen with the reject gift as Amy stormed after him at top speed.

"I think I'm fine with a normal Christmas party next year."