Felidae Giganticus
by Androclez
PART ONE:
One bright, sunny day on planet Mobius...
Cream The Rabbit and her Chao companion Cheese were playing a spirited game of make-believe at their peaceful forest home. Cream was flying all through the house pretending she was on some sort of adventure. She provided her own narrative and sound effects.
"Whoosh, whoossshhh! Isn't it exciting Cheese? We're soaring through the Hilltop Zone," said Cream.
CLANK!
Cream bumped into a ceiling fixture as she was dipping and diving all around the room.
"No flying in the house dear," scolded Vanilla, her mother.
"Lookit Cheese! A badnik! Shwoosh!" said Cream, as she hurled Cheese at the imaginary robot enemy.
Crr-rack!
In reality Cream had just thrown Cheese into a vase of flowers, cracking it apart.
"Cream! What is the meaning of all this roughhousing?!" asked Vanilla.
"Sorry mommy, I'm just trying to be an adventurer like Sonic," said Cream.
"Well I don't know if that Sonic character is such a good role model for you. Or Tails for that matter. He's much too young to be piloting those dangerous machines he rides in," said Vanilla.
"But mommy, Sonic is the hero of Mobius! And I want to be just like him," said Cream.
"Well there's got to be a limit to it," said Vanilla.
"Why, just look at how those flowers that nice Mr. Vector brought for us have been ruined."
"I'll go get you some more flowers just like them," said Cream.
"Don't worry about it Cream, those flowers only grow deep in the Jardinia Zone," said Vanilla.
"It's far too dangerous for a girl your age to venture into alone."
"I can take care of myself," said Cream.
"I've even helped Sonic before."
"Yes but the more I think about it, the more I don't like it," said Vanilla.
"Besides, you're too little to be responsible all by yourself. That's different from helping Sonic and other grownups."
"I can be responsible," said Cream.
"Don't you trust me mommy?"
"Just do as I say for now," said Vanilla.
With that, Cream went outside to play.
Meanwhile, on a far-off island...
Two professional treasure hunters / thugs for hire, are preparing their cargo for trade. The notorious Nic and Nack The Weasels have been hunting rare animal species at the request of a wealthy buyer. Each of the subdued specimens are bound with a high tech sedation collar which temporarily neutralizes their physical and mental capabilities, effectively taming them. Then they are thrown into cages, or rather, elaborate containment spheres which look almost like space pods.
The two poachers are now chipping away at ice as they await the arrival of their unscrupulous sponsor.
"I thought this was a hunting gig! Nobody said anything about ice-mining," complained Nic.
"This frozen guy is the most important specimen to the boss," Nack explained.
"So keep picking away!"
After the weasely duo had successfully unearthed the ancient creature from its icy tomb, they left it to thaw. Before long, a rather large aircraft landed next to them and a couple of robot guards stepped out to receive them.
"It's about time," said Nack.
"Here, help us get these critters inside the ship," he instructed the robotic drones.
They transferred the caged animals inside, including the frozen one which had also been haphazardly tossed into a cage for easier transportation.
As Nic and Nack finished moving the cargo, a small man came out of the captain's chambers to greet them. It was Robotnik's sniveling little underling: Snively!
But Snively wasn't his usual quavering self today. He actually looked overjoyed.
"Ah, splendid! Splendid!" sang Snively, as he gaily flitted about the room, observing the wondrous specimens they had procured.
Eventually Snively came to the thawing specimen. He glanced at it through the narrow openings interspersed across the high-tech cage.
"This is the special one we talked about then?" he asked.
"Straight from the permafrost," said Nic.
"Oh dear! Why isn't he wearing a restraining collar?" asked Snively.
"I reckon it's 'cause the thing is bound to be dead anyways," Nack chuckled.
"You fools! This creature is very liable to have survived such an ordeal," snapped Snively.
"This is no ordinary animal, I thought I made that clear!"
"Calm down fella, whadya 'spect us to do everything?" asked Nic.
"We ain't even got paid yet."
"Apply the restraining device to this creature at once!" ordered Snively.
"Then you'll get your money," he spat.
"If that thing is as wild as you make it sound, I dunno if I wanna go in there," said Nic.
"You're right, I guess you're too chicken to handle this," said Nack.
"Better leave this job to a real pro. I'll go in there and collar it myself."
"I'll show you who's pro!" Nic snapped, as she snatched the collar and entered the cage.
"Works every time," Nack muttered under his breath.
But before Nic could get the collar onto the creature, it suddenly woke up and grabbed hold of her leg!
"What the divil?!" she exclaimed.
"Blast!" Snively shouted, as he ran to close the cage door.
Nic grabbed onto Snively's arm for assistance, while he was near the cage.
"Don't lock me in here! Get me out!" she demanded.
"Let go of me you foolish woman!" yelled Snively.
"I can slip through this opening in the cage if you get this dang animal off me!" shouted Nic.
"Guards! Subdue the creature!" Snively ordered.
The robots began applying powerful electric shocks to the beast, but this only agitated it more. The animal kept pulling even harder on Nic's legs, but she held onto Snively as he tried to pull her out of the cage.
"I need some help here!" Snively called to Nack.
"Help me pull! Get me away from here! Do something!"
Nack grabbed onto Snively, forming a sort of chain with himself, Snively, his sister, and the beast. Nack continued to tug on Snively, but the monster's strength proved far superior. As Nic was pulled further into the cage, Snively was pulled along with her until his face was rammed up against the bars. He looked directly into the creature's vicious eyes. Frightened by their glare, Snively realized that the electrodes wouldn't be enough to defeat it. He would have to use deadly force.
"Shoot her!" Snively frantically exclaimed.
"Shoot heeeeerrr!!!!!!"
"Don't you mean shoot him?" Nack inquired.
"I thought this specimen thingy was a male."
"I'm not talking about shooting the priceless specimen!" snapped Snively.
"I'm talking about this stupid, bloody weasel female who's about to get both of us killed!"
"I'm his sister, you creep!" Nic protested.
"Who cares, I know where my paycheck is coming from," said Nack.
POW!
POW!
Nack executed his former partner in crime, enabling Snively to wriggle free from her grasp. While the monster was busy consuming Nic's corpse, the robot attendants were able to finish securing the collar around its neck, using extension poles to reach inside the cage.
The beast grew alarmed as it felt the collar draining its vitality away.
"Hm?! Urrrrggggghhhhhh!!!" the creature howled.
It began thrashing about the cage wildly; violently rocking the ship back and forth.
"Hey! I thought this was supposed to calm it down!" said Nack.
As the crew was tossed about the ship, Nack's elbow accidentally hit the emergency escape lever, ejecting most of the cargo from the ship.
"Close the hatch you fool!" Snively shouted.
Nack pushed the lever back into place, shutting the hatch. But not before the strange, violent creature had been lost.
"Now look what you've done!" complained Snively.
"You've lost the prime specimen!"
"Hey! This never would've happened if your weird collar hadn't made the thing go berserk!" Nack argued.
"I can't be blamed for your faulty equipment."
"The equipment worked fine! If only you'd used it properly," said Snively.
"The collar would have neutralized the monster's powers, before it ever woke up!"
"You still owe me," said Nack.
"You can't expect me to reward you for this botched job!" said Snively.
"Especially after such a major loss as the main specimen."
"What about my loss?!" countered Nack.
"I should be recompensed for injuries suffered."
"Ah yes, your lost sister..." said Snively.
"Heck naw!" scoffed Nack.
"I'm talkin' bout my arm, man! That dang lever of yours hit me right on the funny bone! But now that you mention it, I oughtta get somethin' fer her too!"
"You had just better retrieve that cargo of mine!" demanded Snively.
"Okay, but it'll cost you extra," warned Nack.
Meanwhile, at Cream's house...
After cleaning the mess Cream had made, Vanilla prepared their evening meal and was now putting the finishing touches on it.
"Cre~eam, dinner's ready!" she called.
"Come on inside before it gets cold."
But Cream didn't answer.
"Where is that willful child of mine?" Vanilla wondered.
Finally Vanilla grew tired of waiting, so she stepped outside to retrieve the girl herself. But Cream was nowhere to be found!
"Oh no! She might've run off to that wildflower field I warned her about!" thought Vanilla.
Immediately, Vanilla left for Tails' place, seeking aid for her wayward daughter despite her earlier criticism of the boy genius.
Upon entering Tails' fort-house, she found Sonic slouched in a corner with an empty snack bag laying on the floor beside him. He was sucking powdered cheese from off his fingers while holding a beer in his other hand.
"Sonic, I'm glad I found you!" Vanilla exclaimed.
"Cream has run off somewhere and I think she's in trouble! I need your help."
Sonic stretched, yawned, and burped.
"Listen honey, I ain't your errand boy, and I ain't no babysitter," Sonic drawled.
"If you lookin' for somebody to go chasing after your badtail wild child, you better ask Mr. Public Servant himself: Tails."
"Well!" Vanilla huffed.
"And just where is Miles, if I may ask?"
"Th' hell am I s'posed to know?" scoffed Sonic.
"I thought you were best friends," said Vanilla.
"You do seem to be cohabiting with him."
"I'm just crashing here temporarily," said Sonic.
"You know I ain't got no house. But I still ain't stuttin' that little poindexter flyboy."
"Oh, whatever shall I do?" Vanilla fretted.
Vector walked up to the front door and Sonic spotted him outside through the window.
"There go Vector," said Sonic, pointing outside.
"Maybe you can get him to do your bidding. You seem to have him pretty whipped anyway."
"Hey Sonic, I'm back!" announced Vector.
"I got the Cheetos, man."
"Give 'em here," demanded Sonic, with a greedy grin.
"Oh, and see what this girl wants," he added, motioning towards Vanilla.
"Ah, Miss Vanilla! I didn't see you over there," said Vector.
"To what do we owe the pleasure?"
"Cream has run off again and I'm worried about her," said Vanilla.
"I think she's off in the wildflower field over on the outskirts of the Jardinia Zone."
"Hmm, I see," said Vector, scratching his chin thoughtfully.
"That's a pretty wild zone out there, and it's not far from Robotropolis either. She could be in danger!"
"Won't you please help me?" Vanilla requested.
"Of course! Anything for you Vanilla," said Vector, pounding his chest.
"Oh, thank you!" said Vanilla.
"We'll get there faster with Tails' plane," said Vector.
"I think he was up in the attic tinkering with some of his gadgets."
The two of them went up to Tails' attic.
Tails was busy polishing his prized, classic biplane.
"Hmm, what should I call this latest update?" Tails pondered.
"The Tornado 5.0? The Tornado Excelsior?"
"Tails! Cream needs help!" Vector abruptly burst out.
"Can we hitch a ride to the Jardinia Zone?" he asked.
"Good a time as any for a test run," Tails thought to himself.
"Sure. I'll get ready for departure," he agreed.
Tails immediately sprung into action, clearing the runway, firing up the engine, and preparing for takeoff. Vector and Vanilla sat in the back seat, and the three of them set off in search of Cream.
As they entered the Jardinia Zone, Tails lowered his altitude so as to get a better view of where Cream might be. He had to do some pretty fancy piloting to navigate through the vast, hanging limbs of the local flora. He successfully eliminated several badniks that were patrolling through the area. They finally reached the wildflower field.
"There's Cream! Right in that patch of purple flowers!" Vanilla exclaimed, pointing ahead.
Tails swooped down for a landing and the trio exited the Tornado.
"Cream! You had us so worried!" cried Vanilla, as she ran to hug her daughter.
"What are you doing in a place like this?"
"I was just trying to get some more of the flowers that Mr. Vector got from here," explained Cream.
"Oh no, this is all my fault!" gasped Vector.
He fell to Vanilla's feet apologetically.
"Dear, sweet Vanilla, will you ever forgive me?!" Vector groveled.
"Never mind that," Vanilla sighed disinterestedly.
"Cream, didn't I tell you not to come here? There were bad robots and dangerous wildlife all through here."
"I wanted to show you that I can be more grownup, all by myself," said Cream.
"I need more inde-... independence," she added.
"Aren't you like, six?" Tails remarked.
"You're young too, but you still get to do grownup things," argued Cream.
"Yeah, but I'm smart!" Tails exclaimed.
"You still think TV is real!"
"Humph! I'm a lot smarter than you think," huffed Cream.
"I'm gonna to grow up to be a vet-er-i-nar-i-an. I'll look after all the little animals, and the plants too!"
"A noble goal," Tails admitted, with a slightly patronizing smile.
"But you're not grown up yet Cream," Vanilla interjected.
"I'm not a baby anymore!" insisted Cream.
"You've got to start trusting me more, mom."
"I do?" asked Vanilla, rhetorically.
Just then, a loud crash thundered off in the distance.
WHOOMPH!
"What in the world was that?" asked Vector.
"Something fell from the sky," said Tails.
"Maybe it wasn't of 'this world'..." he added with a curious smile.
"I wanna see!" Cream shouted, as she ran towards the source of the sound.
"Cream! Come back here!" yelled Vanilla, as she went after her.
The others followed.
Meanwhile, at the crash site...
The spaceship-like cage which had just crashed to the ground landed next to a tree in which Rouge the Bat happened to be perched. The force of the crash knocked her from her comfy limb and she plummeted into the dirt.
"Ah!" Rouge screeched, as she hit the ground.
When Rouge collected herself, she spotted the cage and began to approach it. As she drew nearer, she felt something squishy under her foot and looked down to find that she had stepped on a small frog.
~squish~
-croak!-
"Yuck!" Rouge exclaimed.
Upon further examination she realized that the frog was still alive. But she also noticed something more extraordinary. A small gemstone had come out of the frogs mouth after she stepped on it!
This gave Rouge an idea.
"Meh. What the heck, why not?" she said to herself.
Rouge raised her foot up and stamped it down on the frog again. And again, an emerald came out. She continued the process until several more emeralds came out.
~squish-squish-squish-squish~
"Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew!" Rouge squealed in between each squish.
Finally there were no more gemstones after eight had come out. Rouge quickly scooped them up from the ground before the frog could gobble them up again. But it jumped onto her shoulder and began staring at her.
"Gross! What do you want?!" Rouge cringed.
She shook her arm vigorously, trying to get rid of the frog. But he hung on and even started slapping her face with his tongue!
Slmack!
Slmack!
"Ew! Yuck! Get off, get off, get off!" she shrieked.
That's when Tails and company sauntered onto the scene. She quickly hid her arms behind her back, concealing the frog. She had the gemstones tightly clutched in her other hand behind her back.
"Rouge? What are you doing here?" asked Vector.
"As a matter of fact, I was resting in that tree when this thing crashed next to me and knocked me down!" Rouge griped.
"Well, we'll handle things from here," said Vector.
"Be my guest! It's all yours," said Rouge, as she quickly flew away.
"Hmm, she seems to be up to something," remarked Vector.
"Isn't she always?" Vanilla muttered under her breath.
"Let's have a closer look at whatever is in here," said Tails, as he eagerly approached the cage.
Tails soon figured out how to unlock the device. The cage opened to reveal a large, very obese, purple, catlike creature with black stripes. The creature appeared quite docile. Suddenly, it let out a loud, bizarre sounding moan.
Muuuhguwhoooo~....
"Ah!" Tails jumped back in fear.
"D'uh, ......Fwoggy???" the creature slurred.
"What the heck is this thing?!" Vector wondered aloud.
"Beats me," said Tails.
"But from the looks of this structure he crash-landed in, it seems like a cage of some sort. I'd say Robotnik was probably transporting this thing in his ship and it dropped down here unintentionally."
"Either that or he dropped it down here on purpose, so it could get us," said Vector.
"Scary thought, but it's possible," said Tails.
Suddenly the creature started making a distorted gurgling noise. Its body spontaneously expanded to a larger and more muscular shape! But immediately afterward, it started to grasp ahold of the collar around its neck, as if it were in pain. Then it began to gasp frantically until it reverted back to its original, rotund shape.
"What in blazes was that?!" gasped Tails.
"That meanie Mister Robotnik must have hurt him and put this collar around his neck!" decided Cream.
"We've got to help him!"
"How about we help ourselves by getting the heck outta here!" suggested Tails.
"I heard that!" Vector chimed in agreement.
"Mommy, we've got to do something!" pleaded Cream.
"I suppose we can't just abandon a poor creature that's been victimized by Dr. Robotnik," said Vanilla.
"Well he's already free from the cage," said Tails.
"Can't we just let him graze in the field or something?"
"But the collar!" exclaimed Cream.
"I think it's hurting him!"
Cream ran up to the cat and started tugging on the collar around its neck.
"It won't come off!" said Cream.
"There's no buckle or anything."
"Maybe we can fly him back to Tails' workshop and find something to get that collar off with," Vanilla suggested.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait a sec!" Tails objected.
"How am I supposed to fit this fat f***er into my biplane with all of y'all already crowding out the back?!"
"I can fit in the back with the big guy," said Cream.
"What about the rest?" asked Tails.
"I guess I can sit in your lap, and Vector can just walk home," Vanilla offered.
"In my lap..." Tails repeated.
"I don't know if I like this arrangement," said Vector.
"I have to walk and Tails gets to stay?"
"Of course silly, he's the pilot," said Vanilla.
"I still don't know if I want that scary, weird looking creature in my plane!" said Tails.
"He may look a little... 'different.' But he's still a fellow Mobian," said Vanilla.
"And besides, this seems to mean a lot to Cream."
Seeing the reluctance in Tails' demeanor, Vanilla bent over to address the youngster face-to-face.
"I know you're the real hero of this planet Tails, so do it for Mobius," said Vanilla.
"Do it for me," she added, as she ruffled his hair affectionately.
"Oh, all right," Tails relented.
They all piled into the biplane in the agreed-upon seating arrangement. Cheese hopped into the back with Cream, even though he was prettymuch forgotten at this point, with Cream being so excited about her new 'friend.'
The old Tornado was never so loaded down as it was today. The vessel took off in flight back to Tails' pad, riding a little lower than usual.
And they really did leave Vector behind.
Meanwhile...
As soon as Rouge had gotten a safe distance away from the others, she addressed the issue of the persistent frog that wouldn't let go of her.
"Unbelievable! He must want the jewels back," thought Rouge.
She deftly tucked the little gems away into her... hiding places, and then quickly switched them out with fakes, feeding the duds to the frog. Satisfied, the animal left her alone and hopped away. Rouge took the emeralds back out to examine them, placing them each in a storage jar one by one.
"Ah, most of them are very nice cuts," she remarked.
"But I don't need this little misshapen one," she said, looking at a tiny, cracked sliver of a gem.
She tossed the small one on the ground, and to her utter shock and devastation, there was an explosion!
BOOM!
As the smoke cleared she stood dazed, confused, and covered in ash. The injured bat staggered around for a bit, and then passed out.
END PART ONE