Author's Note. This story really does not have much of a point, but I have been feeling depressed and wanted to write something to make me feel better. It is just a short story that is self-contained.
Legal Trash. Everything in this story is owned by SEGA and all other associated companies.
Updated January 2018 to fix more spelling mistakes.
Fifteen Minutes.
The day started like any other, and to be quite frank, it might have gone like any other if it hadn't been for the misfortune that befell Tails and his young companion Cream. The two were gallivanting about on a warm summer day with one another, in hopes of maybe spending some free time. Unfortunately for them, Dr. Eggman was up to no good within the city, and Tails being Tails attempted to put a stop to his exploits, in spite of the sound judgment of Cream. She had wanted to get Sonic, but things didn't turn out that way, and now things were a lot more serious than they could have ever imagined.
The dome-shaped room that confined them, it was white and nearly empty, lacking any direct means of escape. Sterile and void of any comfort, the only things that appeared fixated on the wall was a small digital screen, that sat just below a larger one.
"M- my head."
Tails groggily muttered, sitting himself up from his lying position on the floor. Immediately trying to piece together the events that had transpired. Eggman had lured him into a fight, then administered some sort of gas, that invariably knocked him unconscious. "I… what? … Oh! Cream!" His eyes darted around the room in a groggy panic searching for her. Just what had he done? He hoped she was safe.
Thankfully for him, it was not too long until he spotted a bunny lump lying behind him, her ears flopped over her face. He felt destressed, but at the same time, a feeling of relief that she was in his sight washed over him. He weakly crawled towards her unmoving body and whispered into her giant floppy ear. "Cream… Cream? Y-you have to get up... we have to find a way outta here." He nudged her with his shaky hand, causing a slight movement in her.
"Mmmf, Tails? I…" She said in a daze not even realizing what was going on for an instant, but as time moved forward, she also began to piece it together. "Cheese!" She blurted out, shakily trying to sit up, but failing to do so. Her mind was really hazy, but neither of the two could remember the fine details.
"Cheese, isn't here, so that means that he must have gotten away to get help." Tails said, breathing a sigh of relief with the knowledge that Sonic wouldn't stand for this, and it would be over in quick fashion. Cream finally sat up under her own power and gave a weak smile. "I... I knew we could depend on Cheese." She said with her usual cheeriness and unbridled optimism.
"Welcome, my honored guests!" A voice loudly rang in the small room, hurting both Cream and Tails' ears. They turned to the source of the sound and could see the smiling image of Eggman sneering at them from on the giant screen fixated on the wall. "I do hope you children enjoyed your little nap time." He laughed at his insult, finding it the utmost of clever.
Tails grit his teeth angrily, and Cream sunk back behind him feeling slightly afraid of the difference in the power dynamic of their current scenario. "You won't get away with this Eggman!" Tails said in his stereotypical manner "Sonic is already on his way to deal with you!"
"Oh! ho! ho!" Eggman laughed once more, even harder than when he laughed at his own insult towards them. "I was hoping to hear you say that!" He taunted pushing a button, causing the little screen to flash on, and a digital clock appeared unmoving before them.
15:00.
"It is my hope that you two are comfortable because your little room cannot be opened in any way except for from the outside. That wonderful clock there represents the time that you have until your little blue friend finds where you are, and when he does, you three will all be blown to smithereens!" He cackled maniacally.
Tails sat silent, feeling confident that Sonic would stop this well before fifteen minutes was up. "Glad you think Sonic is that slow, he's gonna save us and then we're all comin' for you!" Tails was defiant in his unwillingness to show weakness in front of Eggman.
"Oh! Ho! Well, we will just see about that, since I made sure to have a multitude of distractions plaguing the city at the same time!" He rubbed his fat stomach with glee, seeing Tails' confidence flounder ever so slightly. "Don't worry my boy, the blast will be quite strong, and you shouldn't be in too much pain!"
Cream said nothing but felt her heart sink with each word from Eggman, and Tails was feeling slightly frightened himself. Eggman waved his hand and pushed another button which started the timer count down within their prison. "I am not a cruel man, I at least allowed you to be able to see your remaining time to make the most of it~!" His giddiness was sickening, but he decided his fun was at an end. "Goodbye, you two, and play nice!"
With that his screen turned off, leaving the two of them to their own devices. "What… what do we do!?" Cream said, somewhat panicked already. Tails stood up slightly off balance and scanned the room with his eyes. "We find out own way out of here." He tried to remain calm, hoping it would make Cream feel at ease, unfortunately for him, he was just as nervous as she was.
She stood up as well under her own weight and began touching the walls quickly and frantically looking for anything. Tails' eyes moved over and wound up stuck on the digital clock.
14:08
"Don't look at it!" He chastised himself, averting his gaze to the floor quickly, his heart was pounding. He knew that there was plenty of time right now, but he didn't need added pressure stressing him out. His eyes raised and went back to Cream who was still fanatically searching for any means out of this horrid room. It was at this point that Tails realized there was no door to be seen. It was as if they were in a solid box with no outs. He reached out his hand and felt the wall, which was cold to the touch. It was made of some thick metal, that he wasn't even sure Sonic could spin through.
Cream let out an exasperated cry, stomping her foot in frustration, a display out of the ordinary for her. She turned to tails, and he could see the dread in her eyes. They both believed in Sonic, but it was clear the pressure was building with every second on the clock. Tails hesitantly turned his head to look towards the clock once more. Unable to keep himself from agonizing over it.
11:15
The thoughts, the frantic searches, it was all pointless, Tails was sure they couldn't get out on their own. "We… we need Sonic… it is the only way we can get out, Eggman even said it only opens from the outside." Cream stood staring at him in dismay, had he given up so easily on their predicament? "I... we have to try, there's a way, always a way." She said reassuringly, though Tails could not even tell if she was trying to reassure him or herself. She turned away from him and continued her search, also going as far as to feel over walls that she had already searched.
Tails slammed his back against the steel wall, and slid down it slowly until he found himself sitting on the floor. He bent his knees and wrapped his arms around them sadly. Thinking of how, if he'd just listened to Cream, neither of them would be in this mess. It hurt not only his pride, but his heart to know it was his fault. Cream, let out a sigh, and slid to the floor, looking down on the solidness of it. She recognized that Tails was right. There was no getting out of this one without the aid of somebody else from outside of their little cage.
Tails' solemn gaze fixated on her face, she was not looking at him, but he could see the fear still in her eyes, as she joined him in a sitting fetal position. She looked so unlike her cheery self, and her posture looked defeated. It was enough to cause Tails to choke up, as he felt his heart descend into the lower recesses of his stomach. It felt as though his heart were frying itself in his own stomach acid. His dry throat made his voice come out broken and hoarse.
"Cream... I…" He struggled to say, getting her attention, every word was a struggle, as he could feel tears welling in his eyes, and his voice was starting to quiver under the sadness. "I am so sorry… for…this." Tears began to stream down his fur from his gentle eyes, yet even then he still tried to hold back the flood he felt pushing out. "I just… I…" His voice cut out again and his quivering became worse. He was visibly shaken from the wealth of emotions he was experiencing all at once.
Cream's gaze was now locked on him, and she was feeling her own brand of sadness, as she sat silently waiting for him to say what he needed to. No matter how much time it took, she didn't care. She just wanted him to feel better at this point. Tails could see her through his watery stinging eyes and pushed through to finish what he was trying to say. "I just want... want…... to… to be Sonic, to do something so that maybe… he could have a day to himself with Amy, or take a nap…. or something…" He wiped his eyes and kept looking in her direction, her body coming more into focus than it had been while he was teary-eyed. "I never wanted you to be hurt."
She stared at him blank-faced for what felt like an eternity for them, and then her expression changed to that of a slight smile, as she wiped her cute little bunny nose and shook her head." It's ok Tails, I understand… just, I don't know why you feel the need to be Mr. Sonic. I've always liked you just the way you are…" Her voice was sincere and warm to his ears, and he couldn't help but feel a small smile forming, as he sniffled his nose, from crying just a minute ago. She got up and moved herself closer, plopping right in front of him with her legs outstretched. The thick air lessened than it had been previously.
Tails let out a sigh, and relaxed his posture, keeping on his gentle smile to match Cream's. "We're worrying too much, Sonic is going to come, he always does." Tails said attempting to lift the mood once more, but still too terrified to look at the clock that sat to the left of him.
Cream nodded to him and felt herself relaxing despite their circumstances. Tails was comforting to be around, even if only for his gentleness. She didn't blame Tails at all, and she was not angry at him for any of this. It was perhaps one of the best things about her that she was so generous and optimistic. She didn't even want to give up, even when Tails seemingly had already conceded.
Tails started to move his head, to look towards the clock, as if it was beckoning him to do so, even if he had no desire to. Cream watched him and opted to let him look, as she had no desire to see their doom written on the wall. Tails eyes met the clock, and it sent chills down his spine, he began to quiver and shake. This wasn't right; this was fabricated, it had to be. He felt anger rising within him, desperate outrage that brought resentment to Eggman like nothing else in his life.
3:47
The look of disbelief on Tails' face said everything that needed to be said. Cream shook her head, feeling panic rise within her again. Where was Sonic? Where was he? This was so unlike Sonic that by now dread was setting in full force. The emotional level was all over the map, and neither could do anything but sit there and deal with whatever came. "I'm... scared Tails" Cream freely admitted. Tails stood up and looked down at her, his right arm rubbing his left elbow in hesitation. "I am too Cream" He freely admitted back to her.
She took to her feet, standing before him, her hands at her sides. She could feel sadness over taking her to a significant degree. Her mom, Cheese, Amy… She would never get to see any of them again, and by now she was reasonably sure It was too late for them. Even if Sonic did show up, he would need time to open their prison and evacuate them. "Why did this have to happen!" She began to burst into tears, prompting Tails to panic. What could he do? He wanted more than anything just to save her at this point, to fly her to safety, to see her smile. It all felt so pointless; he felt so useless here with no way to fix this. She cried, and his eyes could do naught but fixate on that contemptible clock revealing their future.
1:12
He could see it, everything that he had been up to this point and time, every mistake, every wish. It was all fleeting now, going down with the tic of a clock. Cream's tears were now visibly streaming down her face, and the scene nearly started Tails down that path once again. With so little time, where do you go? What do you do? Tails didn't know the answer, but he wasn't about to let grief take them both during their final moments. He stepped forward, and without so much of a word, he placed his hands on her shoulders, which caused her to look up through crying eyes. He stared down into them slight tears leaking in his own, as his hands began to slide down and around her torso, drawing her in gently.
She was shocked and speechless for words, but her body reacted in kind, as the two intertwined in a comforting embrace. Their arms wrapped around each other's warm bodies, bringing them a sense of stability and peace in an otherwise senseless chaotic situation. They felt safe in their hug, for what little time there was for them.
"There's so much I still want to do…" Cream lamented to Tails shivering, in his embrace. He glanced over at the clock once more, keeping her locked safely in his arms.
:30
:29
:28
There was no point in returning to the clock, no point in watching it tic slowly down. He looked at Cream, and she buried her face into his warm chest fluff, deriving what comfort she could with somebody she knew, somebody she was close to. He squeezed her tight, bringing himself his own sense of comfort. The two of them standing in the middle of the room with no exit.
:20
:19
:18
Tails would never look at the clock tic down ever again, instead choosing to focus on Cream, his only comfort at this moment. She looked up at him, and he looked back down. Was this really the last time they would ever get to experience anything in their too short lives?
:11
:10
:9
This was all they had, and they both knew it, maybe they were too young, maybe they would have never done this on any other occasion, but the future was gone, and all that existed now was the present. The moved in quietly, their hot breaths filled with fear, blowing into one another's faces. Without speaking, they held their breath, and their lips met gently for the first time in either of their lives. Inexperienced and crude, caught up in the final moment they could share together.
:5
:4
Tails didn't know what love was, but if he knew anything, this one single act, drowned out the world around him. The clock, his life…. they became secondary to this blissful feeling that had overwritten the last 15 minutes of stressful agony.
:3
:2
:1
Their lips never parted from their sloppy first kiss, and their eyes dare not open. If this was the last thing to be remembered, at the very least it was pleasant.
:0
….
BOOM!
An explosion? Tails opened his eyes, his lips still locked with Creams, dust floated about the room, chunks of metal and debris littered the floor. The dreaded clock blinking :0, Cream pulled her lips from Tails gently and let go of the embrace, confused and dumbfounded as to what exactly was going on. Was this heaven?
Tails' eyes traveled, following the debris, to a giant hole where a wall once stood, only in front of it was a sporting blue hedgehog with a giant grin on his face, after all, who wouldn't smile at something so cute?
"Sonic!?" Tails and Cream said in unison, so overjoyed to be alive after being trapped in that room so close to death. Sonic kept grinning at the two, happy to see they were ok and taking care of one another. This grin prompted Cream to now realize that Sonic had just busted in and seen them in their final moment together. Cream was now feeling incredibly embarrassed; her shy personality began to take control. Her big floppy ears came in front of her face, and she acted as if she was not even there.
Tails was watching Cream's reaction, and he too started catching on to Sonic's smirk. He was now also becoming very embarrassed and began to shuffle his feet slightly. "Well, uhm you see... uhm …we were just… we didn't think you'd make it so..." He stammered over his words.
"Me!? Not make it?" He pretended to be insulted but still chose to keep smiling at them, while walking towards Tails. "I thought you'd have a little more trust in me than that little buddy." His voice was enthusiastic and upbeat as usual, and he wasn't even drawing attention to what he just witnessed.
"But it took you so long, we… I…. the clock just kept going down..." He struggled to put his experiences into words, but Sonic just put his thumb and pointer finger onto his chin in slight thought. "Well er, about that. I actually just went straight to Eggman and put a stop to all of his little games at once, then all I needed to do was come here to get you two, once I figured out where he put ya."
Tails blinked, and Cream peaked out from behind one of her ears. "So that means the clock?"
"Meant nothing." Sonic finished their sentence, shrugging. "I had that explosive inactive from Eggman's control panel over 12 Minutes ago."
Tails and Cream said nothing, feeling silly for their hysterics, but who could blame them. It was poor of them to underestimate Sonic so much, but admittedly they both found a new appreciation for their own lives and each other through their ordeal.
Sonic waved his arm "C'mon guys, let's get out of this dump." Sonic called moving out the hole and leaving the two of them alone with one another.
"Uhm Cream..." Tails began to speak, and she removed her face from behind her ears.
"Yes, Tails?" She asked sheepishly, looking at him.
He scratched his head and looked down at the rubble surrounding them "Let's go home." He finished his sentence without saying anything else.
"Oh… ok... Tails" Her words coming out slowly. She turned and headed towards the hole, not really sure how or what to think. It was all so confusing to her right now, but at the least, she was alive, and couldn't wait to see her mom and Cheese.
Tails watched her go out the hole, and stood there in silence; he didn't know what just happened or why. He had never had such an experience in his life. He felt extremely confused by all the emotions brewing within him right now because of the last 15 minutes. He didn't know what this meant for his life, or his future, but what he was sure of, without a doubt, was that he would always see Cream as an essential person in his life.
The End.
Hope somebody enjoyed this, I actually had fun writing it, definitely made me feel a bit better, and I hope somebody else liked it too.