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"Lots of tearjerkers tonight, that's for sure," the emcee declared as he took the stage once again. The young rabbit named Cream had run off the stage, and I could just barely make out the sound of her crying behind the curtain. Poor girl. Something was definitely on her mind as she sang tonight; you could see it in her eyes.

It seemed like there was something on everyone's mind tonight as they sang. That black hedgehog that had disappeared at the end of his song, he seemed to be hurting as he sang. He'd said something about the song he was scheduled to sing wouldn't do his soul justice. That ex-soldier person even looked cried. And even though I'm from a different dimension, I'm using tonight in the same way nearly everyone else is: to release pain from my heart, and to let people know what's going on in my head.

The program said that bat Rouge was up next. After her, I still had to wait through two more songs before I got my chance. There had been hints that this whole shindig tonight was a contest, but I surely hoped that there weren't any judges, and that nobody was going to up to that rumor.

I guess this was one of those rare nights where nobody had to worry about emeralds being stolen, because just about every hero and heroine from this dimension was here. I'd heard snippets of conversation all around this teahouse that the Babylon Rogues were supposed to be here, but they canceled at the last minute because of travel difficulty, and Jet was having family troubles.

'The emcee is taking a long time to announce the next performer,' I was thinking, but the emcee interrupted my thoughts by introducing the next performer.

"Okay, next up is miss Rouge the Bat, singing Skillet's 'The Older I Get.' Give her a hand, eh?" The emcee put the microphone on its stand and clapped, and I, as well as most of the crowd, joined in. This night was turning out to be more fun than most of us had anticipated.

As we clapped, we watched Rouge take the stage, followed timidly by the same band that had backed the red echidna. I could understand why they were so timid. That very same bat had beat the crap out of their lead singer when it was his turn to sing. I was amazed security had even let her back into the building.

"Hi... um, sorry about the attack earlier, you guys," she started out with. "Knuckles will be okay, and he should be back among us later tonight."

I wondered if she had gone to visit him. I could tell his particular song had been one of those joke songs; a song with the intent of loosening up a crowd and bringing in some unexpected laughter. Perhaps Rouge didn't see that when she saw him perform? She looked genuinely sorry.

"I... I realize now that his song was a joke," she was saying. "He explained everything to me... I visited him in the ambulance. He was refusing to go to the hospital before he talked to me."

So the echidna wasn't in the hospital? He was one tough mutha- yeah. You get the picture.

"So... um... I'm, uh, still in shock and stuff. I'll tell you after the song. This song is dedicated to my mother, who I wish was here tonight. There are so many things that I wish I could say to her, to apologize for all the things I put her through growing up."

A song dedication actually voiced before the song, huh? That was a first for the night. I watched Rouge take a deep breath, then look back at the band. The lead guitarist, a very large croc, swallowed, then nodded to the rest of the band, which consisted of a bee (on drums), a chameleon (on bass), and an armadillo (on backup vocals). They played alright on the hard rocking song, but if this were a dedication, then I figured it'd be slower. I didn't know whether to wait for the music, or to plug my ears like a lot of the crowd was doing, much like they had done the first time this crazy looking band had played.

I decided on the former, and waited for the music to start before making my judgment. I'm glad I waited. There was a string of notes played before the actual first chord of the song, giving the song a more Latin sound than the original had. At least, that's what I thought. I'd never heard the original.

I noticed Rouge had closed her eyes. Perhaps feeling the beat of the music, the throb of power that was passing through her body? Or maybe she was keeping back tears. Everyone seemed to be doing that tonight, save for that Knuckles guy.

She broke into song sooner than I expected. Probably where the song started, actually. I expected a longer intro, something more reminiscent of most dedication songs. Her voice was strong, though a tad unsteady, and she sang with a southern twang, as if she listened to mostly country songs and was starting to take on the southern accent. I myself wasn't a big fan of country music, so both Sonic's and Cream's songs I had to force myself to sit through.

"_ The walls between you and I, always pushing us apart, nothing left but scars fight after fight..." _

It sounded like this song was going to be a tearjerker too. She had one hand on the base of the microphone, like she was going to remove it from its stand, but the other hand was on the stand itself. He eyes remained closed.

Now, I wasn't usually someone who sang for other people. Hell, I normally never even sang for myself. I didn't like the way my voice sounded. But on the odd times that I did sing, I never closed my eyes while doing so. I don't know what it would do for the music, or if it would affect the way the song made me feel, or even if closing my eyes would help my soul to feel more of the song I was singing. I would have to ask someone else just what closing your eyes while you're singing did, beyond hiding the audience from view.

Or maybe that was just it? Maybe closing one's eyes hid the audience from view, so one could focus on the performance of the song, and less on what the audience was thinking of the song. Or maybe she was picturing the audience behind her eyelids anyway, and maybe picturing her mother in the crowd as well.

"_ The space between our common rage started growing shorter, disappearing slowly day after day..." _

Damn these pain-filled songs! Karaoke was about being happy and having fun, not releasing your soul into an audience! I continued to listen to Rouge, thinking about my own relationships with people. Most of my family had died or been killed off by Eggman Nero, and those few that were still alive had deemed me cursed because of my constant battle against him. I felt so alone most days...

"_ I was sitting there waiting in my room for you; you were waiting for me too, and it makes me wonder..." _

Rouge had begun swaying on stage. Her hands were formerly spread apart and resting on both mic and mic stand. Now, one held a mic released from the stand, and the other was halfway wrapped around her body, almost like one holds their stomach when in pain. She swung her hips left and right, in time with the music.

"_ The older I get, will I get over it? It's been way too long for the times we missed; I didn't know then it would hurt like this..." _

Pain lasts so much longer than happiness. This is a fact in life; a fact that we as beings must grow to accept. It's not a fact that can be taught, no matter how hard we try to teach it to another being, or how hard our parents try to teach it to us. Just the fact that it takes longer to stop crying than it does to stop laughing should be proof enough, but usually it's not. We, as beings, are naïve and ignorant of such simply obvious things.

"_ But I think, the older I get, maybe I'll get over it... it's been way too long for the times we missed; I can't believe it still hurts like this." _

Her voice continued to carry, strong and sure, over the crowd. Though her eyes were closed, though her song started out unsteady, she seemed to be drawing strength from the fact that the people here were still here, and still listening. How she could be sure that we were still here listening with her eyes closed is beyond me.

"_ The time between those cutting words built up our defenses; it never made no sense, it just made me hurt..." _

They must have fought often, Rouge and her mother. There must have been such violence in that family. I was starting to wonder just how long she stuck around in her household before just running away. Did she even run away, or was she stubborn enough to live it through until she was old enough to move out? And just how long had it been since she talked to her mother? So many questions were running through my head. I wondered if I had enough space to let loose any tears...

"_ Do you believe that time heals all wounds? It's started getting better, but it's easy not to fight when I'm not with you..." _

At least she wasn't whining into the mic like so many other heartbreakers I've heard. Not heartbreakers tonight, mind you. I mean, there was a lot of untapped talent here. If there hadn't been so much trouble and turmoil in this dimension, I'm sure that just about everyone here could have made a very successful music career. I'd even heard rumors that the blue blaze himself had been in a band with his brother and sister at one time. I didn't even know he had a brother and sister.

"_ I was sitting there waiting in my room for you; you were waiting for me too, and it makes me wonder..." _

That must have been the pre-chorus. It was the same line she sang a minute ago, and I was pretty sure she was going to sing more of the same lines.

I've tried to write my own songs, but they were never really liked. That's another reason why I rarely sing. Nobody seems to like the stuff I sing. My songs don't rhyme, and they hide deeper and more philosophical meanings than the superficial songs nowadays that are about making money and having fun. My favorite bands are often passed by unnoticed by the people I associate with, while I can't seem to get away from their favorite bands and singular artists.

Although, sitting here and listing to these other songs from bands I've never heard of, I figured I'd have to go looking for some of their music.

"_ The older I get, will I get over it? It's been way too long for the times we missed; I didn't know then it would hurt like this. But I think, the older I get, maybe I'll get over it... it's been way too long for the times we missed; I can't believe it still hurts like this." _

I could see the change in the music before I heard it. I'd figured we were at least halfway through the song, and if I squinted, I could just barely make out a tear forcing its way out of her left eye. No doubt she could feel the tear. That's probably why she deemed it necessary to open her eyes.

She brought in her other arm from around her waist, and balled her hand into a fist. She held the mic just below her mouth while looking out into the crowd, and looked almost like she was praying with her fists together. I started to feel sorry for her.

"_ What was I waiting for? I should have taken less and given you more; I should have weathered the storm. I need your say so bad..." _

Her voice was beginning to break. She was singing her heart out, and her heart was beginning to break. This was a side of the bat that I had never seen before. It was a side I'm sure nobody had ever seen before.

Movement behind Rouge while she was singing caught my eye. The curtain seemed to be parting to let someone else through. Rouge was caught up in her singing, so obviously the movement went unnoticed by her.

A hand shot out from the curtain, clutching a microphone of its own. The glove worn upon it was black, as was the fur upon the wrist. Finally the curtain parted, and another female bat took the stage, and half the crowd gasped. I don't know why; this night seemed full of surprises and special guest singers. I was half expecting someone to show up for Rouge.

The female was older than Rouge, and it was blatantly apparent. The years had not been kind to her. Her face was filled with wrinkles, and the bags under her eyes made her look like she hadn't had a good night's sleep in years. Her wings, unlike her daughter's, sagged from the age. She was dressed in a modest gown, one that looked to be made of white silk. It contrasted so much against her black fur that it made my eyes hurt.

"_ What was I waiting for? This should have been the best we'd ever had!" _

The new singer, I guess, changed the words to the song when she began singing, because the words seemed to cause Rouge to stumble, like she thought she sung the wrong words.

In any case, Rouge snapped her head to the side to get a look at the intruder, and I think even a blind man could have seen the amount of shock registered on her face. Her mouth dropped open farther than I could have ever imagined. If one looked close enough, one could have seen her lower lip start to quiver. She obviously wasn't expecting this woman to show up tonight, much less take the stage.

The woman smiled at her daughter, and raised the mic to her mouth to continue the song where the music had dropped off. Granted, she changed the words a bit, but it made more sense now.

"_ The older we get, will we get over it?" _

Rouge finally joined in, singing with her once the initial shock wore off.

"_ It's been way too long for the times we missed, we didn't know then it would hurt like this." _

They were singing together, the way I'm sure they each would have loved to do back in the day. They were singing much like I would have loved to sing with my own mother, had she not been gone already. These thoughts were making my eyes start to water.

"_ But I think, the older we get, I'm sure we'll get over it... It's been way too long for this time we've missed, I can't believe it still hurts like this!" _

Sounded like an abrupt end to the song, though not that abrupt. Rouge couldn't sing anymore. She was too busy giving her mother one of the tightest hugs I've ever seen. Her mother was hugging her back, like a parent who hasn't seen her child in so many years. The microphones were still in the hands of both performers, and though Rouge's mic was muffled, her mother's wasn't. Little snippets of what Rouge was saying between sobs could be heard.

"I missed you so much..." she was saying. "I couldn't keep it all in anymore..."

Her mother continued to rub her back and pet her head in a comforting way. Eventually, Rouge stopped crying, and brought her mic to her mouth.

"L-ladies and gentlemen... my mother, Mrs. Ebon."

Her mother took a bow, and Rouge could be seen smiling. "That... that concludes my performance tonight. But before I go... the news I promised to give you. Knuckles will return later tonight... after I thank him properly for this engagement ring..."

What the-?