Rouge flew quickly through the Angel Island airspace, her wet fur being dried by the wind rushing past her. Her body, known for turning many heads (which never got old for her), was also still rather wet, so her outfit of the day (her Extreme Gear tanktop and some red capri pants) stuck to her body rather uncomfortably, at least for the moment. Under normal circumstances, there was no way Rouge would dare look so unkempt – and without her makeup, no less – but this wasn’t normal. The bat could feel it. Something was wrong at the Master Emerald Shrine. Something had happened to Knuckles.
And she simply had to find out what. Appearances be damned.
After 15 minutes of full-speed flight, she reached the shrine, but what she found surprised her in a pretty bad way. First, Knuckles was trapped, encased in a crystallized cocoon radiating with powerful energy. Second, Shadow was there as well, and he was, well, even more unhappy than he usually looked. The scene didn’t look any better when she landed. In fact, it looked worse. Knuckles was completely immobile within his prison, and Shadow’s expression was very, very troubled.
“He was like this when I arrived,” the hedgehog began, his tone of voice somewhat strained. “It looks like whatever happened caught him by surprise.” Rouge stepped quickly but carefully past Shadow to Knuckles. The guardian looked as though he was in serious pain, and the energy brimming from him was almost overwhelming. She couldn’t even touch him without getting pushed back. In spite of herself, she started to assume the worst until Shadow spoke again.
“Relax. The idiot’s alive. Whatever he got himself into he’ll have to get himself out of.” Rouge gave her friend a nasty look for that callous tone. “You don’t sound too hopeful, Shadow.” He glared back. “That’s probably because he’s had a pretty lousy track record. How can he call himself a guardian if the very thing he’s trying to protect rejects him? It’s ridiculous.” Rouge’s ears twitched at that. She really didn’t like what Shadow was implying.
“So, what are you saying?” she asked. “I’m saying,” he replied, “that perhaps the Master Emerald would be better off in G.U.N.’s custody. “ A few months ago, Rouge might have agreed with this statement, but now? Now, for reasons that were beyond her, all she could do was balk at such a thought. “Absolutely not, Shadow!”
“And why not?” Shadow asked, raising his voice. “This gem is the most powerful item in the world. It should be under maximum protection, not looked after by some thick-skulled hermit who believes everything he’s told. We should have confiscated this thing years ago!” Rouge’s thick, powerful legs were twitching now, something Shadow noticed, as it was a telltale sign that she was getting pissy.
“Shadow,” she hissed, baring her fangs, “don’t you say another word.” He just rolled his eyes. “Or what? Why are you getting so damn defensive? You’re on a mission, Agent, remember? You know better than to get distracted by personal feelings, especially when they are misdirected.”
Rouge’s voice took on an even darker tone as she said, “I’m warning you. You’re inching a line you don’t wanna cross. Just say what you came to say and leave.” Shadow took a good hard look at Rouge. It was clear that she and the echidna had grown quite close since his last visit. While he had more pressing matters to discuss than her personal life, he felt that this, to him, was far too important to put on the back-burner. He studied her expression and body language closely. Then, taking careful consideration of the area around him, he spoke. “Fine. That red mutt doesn’t deserve you.”
He barely had time to block before she struck.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was a tense situation. Tails was no stranger to nervousness, but out of all the places he’d rather be at that moment, the home of the Rabbit family was at the bottom of the list, right alongside school, Crystal Egg Zone and a lightning storm. But there he was, right in their backyard, making moderate upgrades to Gemerl whilst repairing Omega, who had mysteriously shut down during Vanilla’s visit to his lab. And watching him at the outdoor table, with a perpetual frown on her face (that was still cute on her) was Cream.
Now, Tails usually enjoyed visiting Cream, especially nowadays with his budding feelings towards her. Today, however, was quite uncomfortable since she was still clearly angry with him for previously yelling at her when all she did was attempt to cheer him up. In any other situation, Tails would have waited for things to cool off, but after he poured his heart out to Vanilla, she absolutely insisted that he visit. So, he had to. He felt that he would have gotten into even deeper trouble had he refused.
While he was contemplating how he got himself into this mess, Tails tried to make small talk. “So, Cream, um, what’s that over there?” he asked, pointing at a lone rock in the northwest corner, surrounded by flowers. Not even attempting to look at it, she said, “My papa’s resting place.” The boy genius quickly felt like the dumbest creature alive for opening his big mouth. Still, he attempted to salvage the situation. “S-Sorry, Cream, I-I-I didn’t…”
“It’s all right, Miles,” said Vanilla as she entered the yard with lemonade and Chao Fruit Juice, “You didn’t know. While that is not my late husband’s actual grave, we put that headstone and garden there to remember him by.” Tails nodded in understanding and sympathy as he finished upgrading Gemerl, who stood up and thanked the fox with a bow before walking over to Cream. As he began to finish the repairs on Omega he tentatively asked, “Um, ma’am, if you don’t mind me asking, what was he like?”
Cream didn’t want to speak any further, and Cheese had its mouth full of juice, so Vanilla somberly obliged. “His name was Jonathan. A brave and noble soldier of G.U.N. Amongst his squad, he was the quickest and most nimble, even for a Mobian, so he earned the nickname ‘Johnny Lightfoot’. He hated it, but it stuck since, aside from that and his insistence on using bojutsu and avoiding firearms whenever he could, nothing else about him really stood out, and he hated that, too. All too often, he would express his frustration and desire to be extraordinary compared to his peers.”
Cream pouted, “He was amazing to me…” Vanilla gave her daughter a sad smile as she sat at the table with her. “I know, sweetie. He was to me, also.”
“Not at first, Mama,” Cream continued with a little more anger, “You said so yourself.” Vanilla’s expression hardened ever so slightly, something Tails picked up on even during his repairs to Omega. “I know, dear. You see, Miles, while his abilities were impressive, he hardly got a chance to show them off within his squad. Whether it was out of prejudice, lack of interest, or some other pointless requirement, he never could say. Regardless, it frustrated him all the same. I was one of those people who wrote him off at first glance, especially with his incessant attempts to court me.”
At this point, Vanilla’s face softened considerably. “In time, however, I began to see what no one else did. I began to see a valiant soldier who dedicated himself to the protection of his country. I began to see a Mobian who was willing to fight for honor, justice and freedom. I began to see a man I could not help but grow closer and closer to.”
Vanilla’s smile returned as she finished, “Eventually, we were wed, and Cream was born.” Tails looked up from his attempt at rewiring the ridiculous mess within E-123’s chassis and saw the woman patting her daughter’s head lovingly, though this did surprisingly little to lift her spirits. His curiosity overcoming his dread, he tentatively asked, “What happened next, ma’am?”
Vanilla opened her dainty mouth to answer, but was bitterly beaten to the punch by Cream. “He was killed…by a monster.” Tails shivered at that. “A-A monster?” Vanilla frowned at her choice of words. “Cream…” Undeterred, the girl continued, “Yes. A mean, evil witch called the Calamity Baroness. She used her magic to hurt my papa...”
This revelation surprised Tails, though all he could do was blink in confusion and think to himself, ‘That’s the kind of lame, cheesy name Sonic would pick…’ Shrugging mentally, he finished rewiring and closed Omega’s chassis and set to work installing some less lethal ordinance – despite knowing full well how much it would annoy the robot – asking, “How did that happen?” Vanilla sighed as she answered, “My husband was fatally wounded during an encounter with the Baroness. That’s all I can say, Miles.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” said Tails sincerely. Assuming the tale was over, he directed his full attention to his work, making a full attempt not to say anything else that would further ruin the mood. Vanilla watched him work as she sipped her lemonade, curious about who bequeathed the kit with such advanced intellect, and why they were currently absent from his life. For the life of her, the woman could never understand why she knew so many young Mobian men and women who lived without parental supervision of any kind. Sure, it was custom to allow children to strike out on their own somewhat earlier than human children, but many of Cream’s friends and acquaintances were different cases altogether. It simply boggled her mind.
Said boggling was interrupted by Cheese, who wanted a refill of Chao Juice. As Vanilla fulfilled its request, Cream walked over to Tails and asked, “So, is Mr. Omega going to be okay?” Nervously, he answered, “Um, sure. Most of his old tech has been either upgraded or streamlined a little. His efficiency should be boosted by 30%.” He then walked over to his Miles Electric device which was hooked up to Omega and monitoring his progress, but before he could enter in anything, Cream stood in the way looking like she would start crying at any moment. “Er, is something wrong, Cream?”
And she simply had to find out what. Appearances be damned.
After 15 minutes of full-speed flight, she reached the shrine, but what she found surprised her in a pretty bad way. First, Knuckles was trapped, encased in a crystallized cocoon radiating with powerful energy. Second, Shadow was there as well, and he was, well, even more unhappy than he usually looked. The scene didn’t look any better when she landed. In fact, it looked worse. Knuckles was completely immobile within his prison, and Shadow’s expression was very, very troubled.
“He was like this when I arrived,” the hedgehog began, his tone of voice somewhat strained. “It looks like whatever happened caught him by surprise.” Rouge stepped quickly but carefully past Shadow to Knuckles. The guardian looked as though he was in serious pain, and the energy brimming from him was almost overwhelming. She couldn’t even touch him without getting pushed back. In spite of herself, she started to assume the worst until Shadow spoke again.
“Relax. The idiot’s alive. Whatever he got himself into he’ll have to get himself out of.” Rouge gave her friend a nasty look for that callous tone. “You don’t sound too hopeful, Shadow.” He glared back. “That’s probably because he’s had a pretty lousy track record. How can he call himself a guardian if the very thing he’s trying to protect rejects him? It’s ridiculous.” Rouge’s ears twitched at that. She really didn’t like what Shadow was implying.
“So, what are you saying?” she asked. “I’m saying,” he replied, “that perhaps the Master Emerald would be better off in G.U.N.’s custody. “ A few months ago, Rouge might have agreed with this statement, but now? Now, for reasons that were beyond her, all she could do was balk at such a thought. “Absolutely not, Shadow!”
“And why not?” Shadow asked, raising his voice. “This gem is the most powerful item in the world. It should be under maximum protection, not looked after by some thick-skulled hermit who believes everything he’s told. We should have confiscated this thing years ago!” Rouge’s thick, powerful legs were twitching now, something Shadow noticed, as it was a telltale sign that she was getting pissy.
“Shadow,” she hissed, baring her fangs, “don’t you say another word.” He just rolled his eyes. “Or what? Why are you getting so damn defensive? You’re on a mission, Agent, remember? You know better than to get distracted by personal feelings, especially when they are misdirected.”
Rouge’s voice took on an even darker tone as she said, “I’m warning you. You’re inching a line you don’t wanna cross. Just say what you came to say and leave.” Shadow took a good hard look at Rouge. It was clear that she and the echidna had grown quite close since his last visit. While he had more pressing matters to discuss than her personal life, he felt that this, to him, was far too important to put on the back-burner. He studied her expression and body language closely. Then, taking careful consideration of the area around him, he spoke. “Fine. That red mutt doesn’t deserve you.”
He barely had time to block before she struck.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was a tense situation. Tails was no stranger to nervousness, but out of all the places he’d rather be at that moment, the home of the Rabbit family was at the bottom of the list, right alongside school, Crystal Egg Zone and a lightning storm. But there he was, right in their backyard, making moderate upgrades to Gemerl whilst repairing Omega, who had mysteriously shut down during Vanilla’s visit to his lab. And watching him at the outdoor table, with a perpetual frown on her face (that was still cute on her) was Cream.
Now, Tails usually enjoyed visiting Cream, especially nowadays with his budding feelings towards her. Today, however, was quite uncomfortable since she was still clearly angry with him for previously yelling at her when all she did was attempt to cheer him up. In any other situation, Tails would have waited for things to cool off, but after he poured his heart out to Vanilla, she absolutely insisted that he visit. So, he had to. He felt that he would have gotten into even deeper trouble had he refused.
While he was contemplating how he got himself into this mess, Tails tried to make small talk. “So, Cream, um, what’s that over there?” he asked, pointing at a lone rock in the northwest corner, surrounded by flowers. Not even attempting to look at it, she said, “My papa’s resting place.” The boy genius quickly felt like the dumbest creature alive for opening his big mouth. Still, he attempted to salvage the situation. “S-Sorry, Cream, I-I-I didn’t…”
“It’s all right, Miles,” said Vanilla as she entered the yard with lemonade and Chao Fruit Juice, “You didn’t know. While that is not my late husband’s actual grave, we put that headstone and garden there to remember him by.” Tails nodded in understanding and sympathy as he finished upgrading Gemerl, who stood up and thanked the fox with a bow before walking over to Cream. As he began to finish the repairs on Omega he tentatively asked, “Um, ma’am, if you don’t mind me asking, what was he like?”
Cream didn’t want to speak any further, and Cheese had its mouth full of juice, so Vanilla somberly obliged. “His name was Jonathan. A brave and noble soldier of G.U.N. Amongst his squad, he was the quickest and most nimble, even for a Mobian, so he earned the nickname ‘Johnny Lightfoot’. He hated it, but it stuck since, aside from that and his insistence on using bojutsu and avoiding firearms whenever he could, nothing else about him really stood out, and he hated that, too. All too often, he would express his frustration and desire to be extraordinary compared to his peers.”
Cream pouted, “He was amazing to me…” Vanilla gave her daughter a sad smile as she sat at the table with her. “I know, sweetie. He was to me, also.”
“Not at first, Mama,” Cream continued with a little more anger, “You said so yourself.” Vanilla’s expression hardened ever so slightly, something Tails picked up on even during his repairs to Omega. “I know, dear. You see, Miles, while his abilities were impressive, he hardly got a chance to show them off within his squad. Whether it was out of prejudice, lack of interest, or some other pointless requirement, he never could say. Regardless, it frustrated him all the same. I was one of those people who wrote him off at first glance, especially with his incessant attempts to court me.”
At this point, Vanilla’s face softened considerably. “In time, however, I began to see what no one else did. I began to see a valiant soldier who dedicated himself to the protection of his country. I began to see a Mobian who was willing to fight for honor, justice and freedom. I began to see a man I could not help but grow closer and closer to.”
Vanilla’s smile returned as she finished, “Eventually, we were wed, and Cream was born.” Tails looked up from his attempt at rewiring the ridiculous mess within E-123’s chassis and saw the woman patting her daughter’s head lovingly, though this did surprisingly little to lift her spirits. His curiosity overcoming his dread, he tentatively asked, “What happened next, ma’am?”
Vanilla opened her dainty mouth to answer, but was bitterly beaten to the punch by Cream. “He was killed…by a monster.” Tails shivered at that. “A-A monster?” Vanilla frowned at her choice of words. “Cream…” Undeterred, the girl continued, “Yes. A mean, evil witch called the Calamity Baroness. She used her magic to hurt my papa...”
This revelation surprised Tails, though all he could do was blink in confusion and think to himself, ‘That’s the kind of lame, cheesy name Sonic would pick…’ Shrugging mentally, he finished rewiring and closed Omega’s chassis and set to work installing some less lethal ordinance – despite knowing full well how much it would annoy the robot – asking, “How did that happen?” Vanilla sighed as she answered, “My husband was fatally wounded during an encounter with the Baroness. That’s all I can say, Miles.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” said Tails sincerely. Assuming the tale was over, he directed his full attention to his work, making a full attempt not to say anything else that would further ruin the mood. Vanilla watched him work as she sipped her lemonade, curious about who bequeathed the kit with such advanced intellect, and why they were currently absent from his life. For the life of her, the woman could never understand why she knew so many young Mobian men and women who lived without parental supervision of any kind. Sure, it was custom to allow children to strike out on their own somewhat earlier than human children, but many of Cream’s friends and acquaintances were different cases altogether. It simply boggled her mind.
Said boggling was interrupted by Cheese, who wanted a refill of Chao Juice. As Vanilla fulfilled its request, Cream walked over to Tails and asked, “So, is Mr. Omega going to be okay?” Nervously, he answered, “Um, sure. Most of his old tech has been either upgraded or streamlined a little. His efficiency should be boosted by 30%.” He then walked over to his Miles Electric device which was hooked up to Omega and monitoring his progress, but before he could enter in anything, Cream stood in the way looking like she would start crying at any moment. “Er, is something wrong, Cream?”
She silently folded her arms and glared cutely. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what she was waiting for. “...I’m sorry for yelling at you, Cream. It was mean of me, and, uh, I shouldn’t have done it.” The rabbit just stomped her foot and asked, “What else?” Tails confusedly blinked again. “What else is there?” he asked. Getting nose-to-nose, she said, “Saying all those bad things about yourself!”
“But-”
“No buts, mister! How dare you call yourself ‘useless’, or ‘pathetic’, or all those other things that are simply not true?!” Cream stomped her foot again as her lecture continued. “How dare you allow Dr. Robotnik to beat you when you have won against him so many times before?!”
“That was mostly Sonic who-”
Cream’s tears began to run as another foot stomp cut him off. “Mr. Sonic cannot fly on his own! Mr. Sonic cannot build things! Mr. Sonic is not humble enough to admit his faults and work to overcome them! You may be almost as fast as him, but you are not Mr. Sonic, so do not try to be!!” Tails was speechless. Seeing Cream this emotional was alien to him. He didn’t know what to do, and the fact that it was his fault made it even worse. One of Sonic’s own lectures came to mind: “If a girl starts crying, you need to do whatever it takes to make them feel better, especially if it’s because of you. Trust me, little bro, it’s not a good feeling.”
So, Tails did the only thing he could think of, and wrapped Cream in a big hug. “You’re right, Cream. I’m sorry.” Still sniffling, she replied, “You should be,” and blew her nose on his hoodie. The fox boy said nothing in protest; Cheese was already fussing on his behalf anyway.
Vanilla watched the exchange with warm amusement. It reminded her of the numerous arguments she had with Jonathan even before their marriage. In spite of herself, Vanilla saw so much of herself in Cream, so she could tell when her affections for Tails began, and they were clearly mutual. She had long since silently approved of her daughter’s crush and looked forward to seeing the two children grow closer as they got older.
Still, talking about her husband was always a sobering moment for Vanilla. Particularly because only she knew of how Jonathan truly died. Recent events only served to drag even more unpleasant memories to the surface, many of which she had kept from Cream. It broke her heart to do so, but the girl would not understand. She was so young, after all, and naïve of the ways of the world. Vanilla deliberately sheltered her as much as she could for her own safety, but those efforts were for naught when Eggman and Sonic showed up. The widow could only hope that the Doctor could somehow be stopped for good.
If not, the future would be bleak for the Earth, and Vanilla wanted nothing more than to shield her little girl from the darkness.
“But-”
“No buts, mister! How dare you call yourself ‘useless’, or ‘pathetic’, or all those other things that are simply not true?!” Cream stomped her foot again as her lecture continued. “How dare you allow Dr. Robotnik to beat you when you have won against him so many times before?!”
“That was mostly Sonic who-”
Cream’s tears began to run as another foot stomp cut him off. “Mr. Sonic cannot fly on his own! Mr. Sonic cannot build things! Mr. Sonic is not humble enough to admit his faults and work to overcome them! You may be almost as fast as him, but you are not Mr. Sonic, so do not try to be!!” Tails was speechless. Seeing Cream this emotional was alien to him. He didn’t know what to do, and the fact that it was his fault made it even worse. One of Sonic’s own lectures came to mind: “If a girl starts crying, you need to do whatever it takes to make them feel better, especially if it’s because of you. Trust me, little bro, it’s not a good feeling.”
So, Tails did the only thing he could think of, and wrapped Cream in a big hug. “You’re right, Cream. I’m sorry.” Still sniffling, she replied, “You should be,” and blew her nose on his hoodie. The fox boy said nothing in protest; Cheese was already fussing on his behalf anyway.
Vanilla watched the exchange with warm amusement. It reminded her of the numerous arguments she had with Jonathan even before their marriage. In spite of herself, Vanilla saw so much of herself in Cream, so she could tell when her affections for Tails began, and they were clearly mutual. She had long since silently approved of her daughter’s crush and looked forward to seeing the two children grow closer as they got older.
Still, talking about her husband was always a sobering moment for Vanilla. Particularly because only she knew of how Jonathan truly died. Recent events only served to drag even more unpleasant memories to the surface, many of which she had kept from Cream. It broke her heart to do so, but the girl would not understand. She was so young, after all, and naïve of the ways of the world. Vanilla deliberately sheltered her as much as she could for her own safety, but those efforts were for naught when Eggman and Sonic showed up. The widow could only hope that the Doctor could somehow be stopped for good.
If not, the future would be bleak for the Earth, and Vanilla wanted nothing more than to shield her little girl from the darkness.
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