Okay, putting up Perfect Darkkness first was a bad idea. I will be putting that on hold to work on this. Main characters of this part are Vanilla, G.U.N. Commander, Rouge, and most likely Shadow. Please enjoy.

Prolouge

My Critical Promise

Stories end, but parts left unexplained must be branched out, and told not unlike the same epic from which it originated. Charaters from the tale are revisioned, their own stories told, revealing truths not present in the tale before. This is one of those cases. Attacked by a beast, mind poisoned by fury, and a dark puppetmaster controlling the strings. This is the tale of a woman driven by anger to become what she loathes most, a mindless drone of the military...

This...is Vanilla's story...

"Why...Why?" her words echoed themselves in her mind. Each time the one word question was uttered, her mind would break a little bit more. For days she remained sitting on that chair by her daughter's bedside. She takes her daughter's hand and promises everything will be okay when she wakes up. When she does wake up is uncertain. Vanilla hopes it is soon.

The rabbit wiped the tears from her eyes and discarded the tissue into the basket beside her. It was not the first however. The decrotive basket was filled to the brim with signs of her despair, every little scrap of paper a terrifying reminder of that tragic event. Vanilla does not wish to look back on it, the pain is unbarable.

But she must anyway.

It was late into the night, a full moon illuminating the sky with heatless light, much like the millions of stars surrounding it. This elegant woman and her daughter left their abode just to take in the sight, breathe in the fresh air entraped in an October chill that leaves their breath hanging in the air. That very chill was what Vanilla feared most. A simple cold caught by her daughter would be the worst of her troubles. Oh yes, it would be enough. Vanilla was a woman completely dedicated to the needs of her child, and having her sick in bed would not be good for either of them. That kind of dedication is admirable. Well, I think so at least.

They decided to take the long path home, so they could take in a bit more of the beauty that caught their attention the moment they stepped out into the open. Vanilla walked slowly so her daughter could toddle along, occasionally stopping to sniff near-by flowers. Vanilla could only smile every time she saw it.

"It's so pretty out here, Mama." her little girl chirped in her normal, always-sweet tone. She walked carefully with her pet in her arms. The blue boddied creature snuggled it's owner's hands like a blanket as it drew in the sights with her.

Vanilla smiled, "That's why we came here Cream. It's why we always come here." she replied in her calm, gentle tone of voice, grabbing her daughter's hand and increasing speed a bit, "But we must hurry before it gets too late. Little girls need their sleep."

The younger bunny pouted, "But it's so pretty out here! Me and Cheese wanna find more flowers!"

It was that one thought that started a terrifying chain reaction...

Cream released her mother's hand and sped off into the deeper part of the woods, laughing her little head off in joy the entire way. Vanilla gasped, "Cream wait!" she called out, attempting to give chase. It was a futile effort though. The weight of her dress and the lack of balance from her shoes slowed her down sigifigantly. It wasn't long before she had lost Cream to the forest completely...

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Panting and heavy gasps for oxygen cut through the air. The eldest rabbit tried desperately to draw air into her lungs, as this wild goose chase, or wild rabbit chase, had left her exhausted, "Oh my gosh...this is terrible...I can't keep up with her..."

Wiping the sweat from her brow, she looked ahead, scanning the path she would need to take to resume her chase. Luck was against her, as all there was between her and the next part of the forest, was a lake. A large lake, "A lake? Huh, I never knew this was here." she mumbled to herself, edging closer too it, "I could use some water..." Vanilla crept ever so carefully to the water's edge, practically dreaming about the cool liquid sending wet satisfaction down her throat.

But then, something caught her interest. A wolf could be seen at the edge, it's tail wagging slowly. She moved closer, "Hey, what are you doing out here?".

The wolf turned a one-eighty, it's white hair flying back. The scarlet gleam of it's eyes took Vanilla by suprise, a haunting glow about them. The wolf turned away, "If I wanted your opinion, I would've asked." she murmmured, trying not to look soft.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just always suspected a place like this to be dangerous at night."

"I can take care of myself." there was a long silence before the wolf turned back to see if she was still there. When she saw that she was, she muttered, "You can sit down of you want. I don't bite." though it was pretty much a lie. Vanilla took up the offer, and got to her knees, quickly folding them to the side, as not to get her dress dirty.

"Again, I'm sorry for inturrupting, but seeing a child out here by themselves just worries me. I guess I'm a little too motherly."

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Their conversation was short, cut off by Vanilla's sudden memory of why she was at the lake in the first place, "Well, not that it hasn't been fun, but I should really get going." the wolf tried her best at subtlety, with the reason for her leave being that she needed another soul to strike down, lest this rabbit become her dinner. The woman picked herself up, the wolf threw her hands behind her head, "Maybe I'll see you around? What's your name? I'm Dusk."

"Vanilla. And I would love for us to meet again." The two quickly exchanged a handshake before Dusk turned away from the sea to run back home, but was stopped by Vanillia's voice again, "Oh, I completely forgot why I came out here in the first place.", she turned to Dusk, "I hate to trouble you, but have you seen a little girl out here? Short, looks like me, orange dress, usually has a chao with her?"

Dusk didn't even know what a chao was, let alone what girl would own one, "Sorry, doesn't ring a bell. Why?"

"She's my daughter. She must've wandered off, I haven't seen her for a while, and I'm very worried." Vanilla put a hand to her chin and looked at the ground in worry.

"Well, I'll be sure to keep a look out. Good luck finding her." Dusk then waved goodbye as she sped off at top speed, leaving Vanilla in the dust.

The rabbit put a paw to her chin, "Oh my, I spent all that time talking to her...Cream could be anywhere by now. I've got to find her!" with that, she ran off again.

Unbeknownst to her, she would find Cream...but she would wish she hadn't...

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"Cream? Cream! Are you out here?!"

Vanilla's call seemed to echo endlessly within the walls of the forest. It was near impossible to even tell where she was anymore, "Oh...I can't do this all night..." she thought about the situation for a moment, "Maybe I should let the authorities handle--huh?"

A familar body caught her attention. It sat on it's knees, shivering violently, "...Dusk?" she moved closer. It was indeed that same wolf, "Dusk? You're still here? I thought you said--" Vanilla froze...

Another body rested below Dusk's. This too was famillar...all too familiar. There Cream lay, bleeding and unconcious. Sparing no hesitation, Vanilla threw herself to her daughter's side, grabbing her shoulders and desperately trying to shake her back to conciousness, "Cream! Cream! Wake up! What happened?!" Dusk still remained in her stone-like, unmoving pose. Vanilla scanned her daughter's body, trying to scope out where she might've been hurt. She gasped as she found the two, bleeding holes in her neck, "What the...?", Vanilla turned to Dusk. Both went wide-eyed when she noticed Dusk's bleeding fangs. Dusk threw her paws to her mouth in an instant.

"Y-you...?" Vanilla stammered with teary eyes.

Apologizing barely above a whisper, the wolf ran off, leaving the scarred woman alone...

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The next few days had rattled Vanilla to her core. Each day passed sent the woman a rung farther down on the ladder of insanity. Everytime she passed by her daughter's bedroom, seeing her unconciouss body lay unmoving and silent in her bed, things only began to felt worse. What was worst of all? The poor woman felt there was nothing she could do. Her daughter's attacker had fled, may have been in jail already. How on earth could she find her and get justice...

The next thought that came to mind sickened her...

That night, she sat at her desk, scanning over discarded newspapers and old photos taken a long time ago. All of them were centered on one subject, one that Vanilla would never forget for as long as she lived.

Cream's father.

Whenever his name came to mind, one would picture the very symbol of bravery and heroism. His efforts at G.U.N. were well-remembered, even years after his death. He was a top soldier, finishing even the most dangerous jobs with expert skill and cunning. He almost never made mistakes. Almost. But it was one mistake that took him.

A single bullet from a target practice misfire was all it took. Incompetent soldiers under his training had been too stupid to actually look at where they were firing. He wasn't wearing protection at the time, and it wasn't long before he was dead.

Vanilla was shattered, not knowing how she would explain his fate to their newborn daughter when she was older. Cream still hadn't asked about it, but it still haunted Vanilla, regardless if she was reminded of it or not.

From that day, Vanilla promised herself she would never have anything to do with G.U.N. or it's soldiers. But the rabbit never would have guessed that it would be her last resort. With a tear falling down her face, she silently whispered, "I'm sorry..." and put the picture back in the desk. After giving her still unmoving daughter a kiss on the forehead, she set off for G.U.N. HQ.

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Weeks passed...

BANG!

"My word Officer Vanilla, you're a natural!"

Cheers and applause filled the room, praising the rabbit's perfect accuracy with her handgun. She blew off the smoke and stuffed it back into the pocket on her hip. Along with that gun, came a change of clothes as well. Her application to G.U.N. had ripped her from her old-world dress, and had put her in a standard G.U.N. uniform, complete with gloves, boots, and chest armor. Her ears now remained tied back behind her head, so the would not get in the way during her missons.

A gruff voice arose from the edge of the room, "Excellent work Officer Vanilla, your accuracy is second-to-none."

"Thank you sir." Vanilla said with a salute to her commander.

"At ease soldier, I come with good news!" the man smiled, "Attention!" each soldier, including Vanilla, stood to attention, "We have recieved local reports of our latest capture! The serial murderer 'Dusk Alucard' has been arrested, and is currently in solitary confinement!"

All the soldiers gave a mighty cheer, one of their worst cases yet finally over. Vanilla simply froze. While she appeared shocked, inside, she couldn't be happier. An evil grin spred across her face, "Finally! I can have my time with that girl. I won't let her get away from harming my little girl. I'll make sure she pays..." She then walked up to the commander, "Sir! In light of this capture, I request permission to speak with the captive."

The Commander shook his head sadly, "My appologies Officer Vanilla, but she is being confined until further notice. You may get a chance to speak with her later, but until we can keep her contained, for our soldiers' safety, she is being kept away from any contact whatsoever."

Vanilla felt a sense of defeat at these words. She had been denied her chance...for now at least. Looking back up, she said, "I understand sir." with one final salute, she exited...

Back at home, she threw off her uniform and threw herself onto her bed, a paw on her forehead, "What am I doing...?"

The rabbit stared up at the cieling, feeling as empty as it was, "Is this really a good idea...I promised myself I would never become a part of the military after what happened to him..." she sniffled a bit and turned over, facing another picture on the desk next to her bed.

It was a picture from a long time ago. Vanilla stood with her husband by her side and a newborn Cream in her arms. Each of them looked happy, it had been a joyus day at the park. Vanilla's eyes were locked onto the image of her husband. Thousands of images and memories flooded her mind, bringing back the pain of his depature from this world. She remembered hearing the news from a single soldier at her doorstept, she remembered breaking down crying, she remembered too much...

Vanilla buried her face into her paws and sobbed...

It took her a few minutes to regain her composure. After wiping the tears off her cheeks, she looked at the picture again. This time she focused on her daughter...

Seeing the innocent face of Cream in the picture made her realize something. If she wanted answers, she would have to do this. She would become what she regretted most...

A puppet of the military, that pompus old man acting as her puppet master...

Vanilla grabbed her gun once more, "I'm doing this for you Cream. I can't go on not knowing what has happened to you. I'm getting some answers, even if I have to break the very laws I swore to uphold..."

She looked at the picture once more, gazing upon the green rabbit beside her, "I'm sorry Mint...I never thought it would come to this...please forgive me..."

Her thoughts complete, Vanilla headed for the prison...

end prolouge.