Shadeam - Path to Chaos ch3

Tails had been waiting for Cream at the restaurant for about half an hour. Had she decided to leave him already? They had been going out for weeks now. Maybe Vanilla had decided she was too young to be going out on dates, or maybe she had gotten scared of Little Planet…

"Tails! Sorry I'm late!"

If the twin-tailed fox hadn't turned around at this point and had the sense to dodge, Cream would have flown right into him. Instead, she cannoned into a nearby bush, throwing leaves in every direction.

"Cream!" he called, helping the girl out of the bushes. "Are you okay?"

Cream finally managed to stand and began to brush herself off. "Don't worry, I'm fine. Listen, I'm really sorry for being late…"

"Hey, don't worry about it!" he laughed. "I booked our place at the restaurant a little later than I expected you to arrive, so you're actually right on time!

"Oh, by the way," he said, remembering something, "I think there's somebody here for you!"

Cheese the hero chao slowly peeked over Tails' head, a scowl growing in his face as he saw Cream.

"Oh, Cheese! I'm so sorry!" gasped Cream, grabbing the chao from atop the fox's head and cuddling him. "I must have you behind when I..."

Tails smiled and took her hand. "Are we gonna have dinner or what?"

After being shown to their seats, the two of them hardly spoke a word to each other for about 5 minutes. Eventually, Tails couldn't stand the silence anymore.

"I thought we'd be past the awkward stage by now!" he said, smiling in case she got the wrong message.

Cream looked up, apparently noticing him for the first time. "What? Oh, it's not that! I just have a lot on my mind right now, that's all."

Tails frowned at this. "Did something happen to you today, Cream?"

Cream swallowed. "No, but can I ask you a serious question, Tails?"

He leaned forward. "Fire away!"

"Do you think I'm underappreciated?"

Tails was taken aback. He hadn't expected something like that coming from her! "Um," he began, trying to think what she wanted to hear. "I can't really speak for other people, but I can tell you this – you're the kind of person who can make everyone happy just by being there! When you're around, even the most hopeless situation can be cheerful!"

Cream narrowed her eyes. "So, I'm just a mascot to you guys? Is that it?"

"N-no! That's not what I meant at all…"

Sighing as she did so, Cream stood up. "It's okay, you don't have to explain. I've had my suspicions for a while, but I needed to hear it from one of you guys. It was fun while it lasted, I guess…"

"Cream! Wait!" Tails desperately tried to catch up to her as she hurriedly left the building.

"Why should you care?" she replied, stepping outside. "After all, I'm just a masc-AAAAAAAHHHH!"

A mechanical arm suddenly appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Cream into the air the moment she stepped through the door. Before either of them had figured out what was happening, she was placed in some sort of hovering cage, to the sound of a familiar "OH HO HO HO!"

True to anyone's guess, Dr Eggman descended in his hovermobile to face a stunned Cream, screwing up his face a little as he saw her. "Huh? Did I grab the wrong furball?"

"Eggman!" screamed Tails, with Cheese throwing air punches at his side. "Give her back right now or I swear there will be trouble!"

The self-proclaimed genius turned his vehicle around. "Is that a fact, my two-tailed friend? Well, in case you hadn't noticed, I have a hostage and you don't, which puts me in the power seat! Ha-ha!" He quickly dismissed his own laugh with a scowl. "Now, hand over the chaos emerald, or I will hurt your pet rabbit!"

"What are you talking about?" the fox exclaimed. "I don't have an emerald!"

Eggman slammed his fist down on the console in front of him. "Don't play dumb with me! My radar's going crazy, and you're the only viable candidate!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" demanded Cream, still seething from the "pet" remark earlier.

The deranged scientist hovered up to her in mock sympathy. "Aww, poor Cream! Did you get captured again?"

Much to the surprise of Tails and Eggman, the rabbit shut her eyes and pulled out a chaos emerald.

"Chaos Control!"

Eggman, Tails and Cheese stared open-mouthed as Cream vanished in a brilliant purple light.

"D-did that really just happen?" stammered the doctor.

"So what if it did?" said Tails, composing himself. "You are in so much trouble right now!"

"Agh!"