zeldaskeeper, SwedenSpeedway, 01sonamy01, TheHumbleFellow, Alyssacookie, IHeartSonAmy, Jacklethekitsune, Mana the Cat Magician, CherrletheChicken, Welshausten, Writer's Freedom, Bullet Nick, SherryBlossom: You. guys. are. awesome. Not to mention famous and immortalized now. That is all.
Okay, Tails and Cream time! Now, unlike Sonic and Amy, in Chronicles there were absolutely NO TailsxCream moment or even hints. Cream was even an optional character. Unfortunately, that's true of the couple in general, in all the games. There's really no evidence or backing for it *dodges punches from diehard Taiream fans* but that's not why we love the couple... we love them because they're adorable, right?
But... as I was saying, there's nothing to play off of in the game itself, so that means I had to be creative for this chapter. If you haven't played the game, you're going to be a tad confused as to what I'm doing... but bear with me and I will rant again at the end of the chapter. Okay, I'll get out of the way and let you guys read...
...xox...
Chapter 2: Cyclone
...xox...
Woosh.
Maybe getting out of Nocturne hadn't been as close of a call as getting in, but the exit was nerve wracking enough, even for the very experienced pilot of the Cyclone. Still, now that they were out, it was a good feeling to know that they were headed home now anyway. The Twilight Cage had been anything but friendly for the group of mismatched heroes.
Tails let out a relived sigh and leaned back into his chair, letting his bushy orange appendages curl in front to give him a fluffy border. He was trying not to grow dizzy at the swirling blues of the inter-dimensional void they were zooming through. Right now he had the Cyclone on locked auto-pilot mode, trusting that his and Eggman's programming would bring them all back home safely. When they'd put the craft through a myriad of tests, everything had turned out well, so Tails didn't have any consternation as he rode on back to Mobius.
The worst was truly over now... thanks to (who else?) Sonic. Yeah... it was always the daring hedgehog who was the hero, wasn't it? A fond smile crawled up Tails' muzzle at the thought. There really wasn't anything Sonic couldn't do, was there? As long as his big brother was around, Tails was confident that everything would turn out alright. He had absolute faith in the hedgehog that couldn't be swayed by anything.
But other than Sonic, Tails was getting a little... annoyed by most of the other members of the group. He just didn't understand why they didn't get along. Tails hated making waves. Maybe it was because he wasn't all that sure of himself and his own opinions, but he didn't like to argue and fight if he didn't have to. Why, the fox had even been willing to work with Eggman, since the doctor had claimed to "reformed." Tails had been skeptical at first, but as their adventure went on, he'd proven himself to be what everyone knew about the doctor: a strong ally but a terrible enemy to have. Good thing Eggman had been the former for most of the adventure.
As for the others? While he was glad that no one had ended up seriously hurt, they were starting to wear on his nerves. But then again, Tails didn't have to deal with everyone all that much, besides one of them pestering him if the repairs were finished yet.
And then there was... her.
Tails hadn't wanted her to come. He'd been very much against the idea. Oh, it wasn't that he didn't like her... quite the contrary, actually. It was more like... he didn't want her to get hurt. This adventure had proven to be very dangerous, and Tails had taken a caring attitude toward the little girl, telling her to stay with him in the lab or back in the Cyclone when they'd gone somewhere. The only time he hadn't been uneasy was when Sonic was the one leading the group she was in.
But, thankfully, she had gotten out of this unmarred, which was more than he could say for, well, himself, and he was sure some of the others were injured, too. As if on cue, his right tail started throbbing, and Tails winced and gingerly stroked it with his fingers, trying to sooth some of the pain in the bushy fur. Hopefully she didn't have an injury she was hiding...
"Tails?" Her sugary sweet voice broke Tails out of his reverie and he turned to capture the lovely little bunny in his vision. One of her velvet ears was draped in front of her shoulder, revealing the soft pink hue underneath.
Speak of the angel...
"Hi Cream," Tails said, feeling warmth rise to his face and in his chest at her presence.
With her young, soft features and sweet smile, Cream looked so out of place here on the Cyclone, like she should be out picking flowers and singing instead of in an inter-dimensional craft right after an epic battle. Though all that proved was just how brave the rabbit was. Tails certainly admired that about her. She certainly was much braver than him.
"Hi. Are we going home now that Sonic beat that mean echidna?" she asked, her brown eyes glinting with hope.
"Chao chao?" Cheese echoed.
"Yeah, there's really no reason to stay," Tails said and turned once again back to the dimensional void, if only to hide his blush that came from admiring her.
"Good. I was a little scared earlier when you all left, but I knew you could handle it. You always have," she said, brimming with faith.
"It was Sonic who really won it for us," Tails asserted, his eyes drifting back to the various gauges lining the cluttered dashboard in front of him.
"Oh, I knew he would. He always does. We never have to worry with Sonic around. But you helped," Cream insisted, remembering.
"A little bit."
"Tails," she said gently, moving closer and resting her small hand on top of his. "You're the one who built this ship and got us through that little hole really fast. I thought for a minute that we weren't going to make it, but," she beamed, "you got us through. I knew you could do it." Her delicate fingers curved downwards to intertwine with Tails' bigger, boyish ones, immediately causing the fox to blush at her contact.
"Oh, it's no big deal, Cream. I-I just relied on the Cyclone, and it was mostly Eggman who built it..." he trailed off, not willing to meet her chestnut eyes.
"Oh, Tails, you shouldn't be so down on yourself, I know that you helped build this. If only Doctor Eggman built it, then it wouldn't have made it through all the crashes and those slimy bugs sucking the energy out. It's your skills that ended up saving us. We wouldn't have gotten in here if it wasn't for you."
Tails smiled in memory and finally turned to her. Why was it Cream could always cheer him up? She simply never failed at this. His heart warmed as he traced her soft, peach and orange colored fur surrounding a porcelain white muzzle. Cream really was pretty, with her graceful ears and gentle smile. Combine that with her polite demeanor and you had the one rabbit that could leave Tails absolutely awestruck. He continued to stare as she kept speaking.
"You should be happy! We're headed home now. Oh, I can't wait to get back. I want to tell Momma all about what happened, and then maybe me and Cheese... oh, I mean, Cheese and I," she corrected herself, remembering what Vanilla told her, "can go and pick flowers again. Everything will be back to normal."
At this, something in Tails' memory clicked, and he smiled as his baby blue eyes glimmered.
"Hey Cream... uh, you wanna see something cool?" he asked her, hoping that she wouldn't say no.
Her eyes lit up at the prospect. "Of course! What is it?"
Not answering immediately, Tails did a quick survey of the room, trying to decide if he could leave the Cyclone pilot-less for a moment and let her cruise automatically without anyone bothering it. The cockpit actually extended into the main room of the craft, meaning that was where everyone had gathered while traveling, but it was actually mostly empty at the moment.
Omega was recharging, Amy... was more than likely wherever Sonic was (Dexter... ha), Shadow was brooding in a corner, Rouge was being too quiet and staring out the window at the dimensional void, Big was... somewhere, Knuckles was with the Master Emerald, and Shade was probably with him. The only one likely to mess with the Cyclone's controls was Rouge, but she had no motivation and probably wanted to get home as much as everyone else did. The coast was clear.
He was about to turn to Cream when he heard the rabbit giggling.
"What is it?" Tails asked, though he loved the sound of her light, tinkling laugh.
"Just... hehehe... your tail..." she said, referring to the bushy appendage that had been wagging while the fox was thinking, tickling Cream's arm.
A bright crimson blush spread over his whiskers as Tails immediately pulled the offending tails away from her arm. "S-sorry..." he apologized, looking away.
"No it's fine. It was really soft, actually," Cream assured him, still smiling.
Tails laughed nervously but hopped down from the pilot seat, his red and white sneakers absorbing his weight.
"Where are we going?" Cream asked, her chocolate eyes scanning the seemingly small Cyclone. "Chao chao?"
"Just... come with me," Tails said and reached for her hand, intertwining their fingers and causing Cream to blush at his gentle contact.
Tails gave her hand a gentle squeeze and winked before pulling her towards an almost hidden door. Cream couldn't help but giggle again as she followed after him, her heart beating a little faster than usual as her eyes traced his tails and his ears. Cream wasn't sure what exactly she was feeling whenever she was around Tails, how she couldn't help but smile and her stomach did this weird flipping thing, how sometimes her face felt warm and her knees weak. It was something in his brilliant blue eyes, and the way he bit his lip when he was focusing, the way his tails danced to some silent rhythm, the way he smiled, and his lips just gently turned upwards... she didn't know. But she liked it. She liked Tails.
Hearing footsteps, a certain black hedgehog opened his eyes and regarded Tails with a questioning glance.
Seeing his gaze, Tails spoke. "Don't worry, Shadow," Tails reassured him. "I put her on auto-pilot. We'll be home soon enough."
Shadow just grunted and his eyes drifted back to Rouge, who was still looking out the window. "I'll keep an eye on her."
"Thanks Shadow," Tails said and continued leading Cream up to a door.
The portal was painted a dull gray, the same as the surrounding walls so that it almost appeared invisible. Cream gaped in wonder as it opened right in front of her.
"Tails... I didn't know that there was a door here... what's in here?"
The fox just chuckled and led her inside. It shut behind the couple with a woosh, revealing a set of spiral (space saving) stairs, leading to what looked like a well lit area below them.
"I didn't know this had a basement," Cream continued and squeezed Tails' hand.
"Well... it's not supposed to," Tails admitted, turning to look back at Cream before leading her down the stairs. "I... I wanted to show you this earlier, but you know we really didn't have time and, well..." his eyes drifted over to Cheese. "You'll see."
He made his way down the staircase, Cream on his heels. As they descended lower and lower, the landscape below was gradually revealed to the rabbit.
A gasp escaped her lips and she froze midway down the stairs as Cream suddenly realized what this place was.
Right below them was nothing other than a miniature Chao Garden, complete with a running waterfall cascading down a terraced hill, sprinkled with pink and orange flowers and, of course, all the Chao the team had collected. The little creatures were busy playing together, resting on the hills, and swimming in the water.
"Tails..." she breathed, taking in the sights. "How did you... this is...how did you make this place?" Cream was simply in awe.
"Yeah," he said humbly, blushing but grinning as he scratched the back of his head, though he was glad to have pleased her. "The ceiling and walls have virtual images of landscapes and a sky, and the hills aren't real earth, but the grass and flowers are real. The hardest thing was getting the water in and the limited space we had for plumbing. Right not, it's just a continuous circuit with a purification tank in the middle, so the water doesn't get too stale. Still, it's not a long term solution for the Chao. But I thought, if we were going to bring them with us... they'd need a Garden to stay in, so I got the idea of putting a mini Chao Garden into the Cyclone. Eggman didn't think it was needed, but I told him I'd work on it, and he finally agreed. It was still a lot of work, but it was worth it, because these Chao helped us out so much... do you like it?"
Cream hadn't heard a word of Tails' speal, as her eyes were busy feasting on the beautiful landscape. It was hard to believe that Tails had actually made a miniature Chao Garden down here... but then again, it WAS Tails. There really wasn't anything the fox couldn't build. He was so smart and impressive...
"Tails..." confusion suddenly flashed through her. "Why... didn't you show me this earlier?"
"Oh... I wanted to. In fact, the whole time I was building it, I was thinking about you, and how you'd love to see this," both of them blushed at this confession. Tails scratched his head. "But as I said, I've been busy, and... well, you always kept Cheese with you and didn't change the Chao you had so... I'm just a little surprised that no one else told you. Like... Amy didn't?"
"Amy's been focused on Sonic and... " she paused and blushed, as she'd promised Amy not to tell anyone about Dexter.
"Ah," Tails said, understanding perfectly. As if Amy would get another guy other than his big brother. He smiled a little at the thought. It's only a matter of time... Sonic can't keep his feelings hidden forever.
He shrugged the thought off and turned to Cream, when something suddenly occurred to him as the familiar cyclone of feelings flooded his heart and twirled it around. Could what I'm feeling... be like what they have? But that's... Tails hadn't considered that before...
The fox suddenly became very aware of her hand that was still wrapped around his and how close she was to him. He watched her every breath, searching his heart,, trying to figure this out. C'mon Tails, you've built this artificial Chao Garden not to mention everything else you've put together... this isn't rocket science. She was pretty, polite, and brave. What more could he want in a girl? But is that...do I...
"Tails, I love this place," Cream abruptly said and turned to him, her brown eyes swimming in happy tears. "I... don't know what to say... can we go down there and play now?"
For a second Tails couldn't answer, as the feeling in his heart was too powerful, preventing him from forming a coherent phrase. "Cream... I... uh, sure," he said and continued on down the stairs.
His feet hit the soft grass after hopping off the last step, and Cream followed. All the chao immediately flocked to their visitors, though some stayed to play with the small green frog and large violet cat that were plopped in the corner. Big chuckled and didn't seem to notice all of his new friends leaving.
The fox and rabbit were greeted with a chorus of "Chao! Chao! Chao! Chao!" Cheese himself had flown off, making new friends by the second.
"Hi there," Cream said, smiling as a green and purple chao came up to her and landed on her head. Another chao, this one yellow and orange, flew up and Cream took a hold of the soft creature and clutched it to her chest, smiling.
Meanwhile, Tails was busy himself, cuddling up with a very friendly red, white, and blue chao, who had seemed to find a home in his chest fur. Another purple and blue one was flying in and around his tails.
For a while both Tails and Cream were content to just hang out and relax in the artificial garden, snuggling and nuzzling with the gentle creatures. Tails couldn't help but sneak glances at Cream, still wondering what exactly it was that he was feeling.
Little did he know that Cream was secretly watching him, too, her little heart touched that Tails had considered the Chao in the middle of building the Cyclone. Despite the fact that he spent most of his time working with lifeless machines, the fox really did have a heart of gold.
But is it for me?
Cream blinked in confusion at her unexpected thought. What does that... does it matter?
A small frown came over her face, which Tails noticed immediately.
"Cream, what is it?"
"Oh..." Cream wanted to just shrug the feeling off. "Nothing..."
Tails bit his lip and glanced back at the stairs, his mind telling him that, as the pilot, he really should go back up there and see them all home... but something stopped him. Maybe it was the sensation of Cream getting closer and closer to him, until there was no more than a square foot of space between them. Maybe it was his heart pounding in a quick beat. Or maybe it was how his breath was stolen by when he finally worked up the courage to look back at Cream.
Something had changed, over the trip. Something about how Cream had insisted that she come along, and instead of being a burden, had helped them all out, in a way only she could. Not only by being the designated peacemaker and cheerleader, but by putting Cheese to work and fighting off some of the bad guys herself. Yet, she still kept that sweet demeanor about her. And Tails had felt... worried about her during the ordeal, making sure that she was okay and didn't wander off by herself whenever they'd landed somewhere dangerous... yes, something had changed, in his heart. Cream was, quite simply, the most amazing girl he had ever met.
"Cream?" he started after swallowing the lump in his throat, daring to look into her chestnut eyes.
"Yes Tails?"
"Uh..." out of words, Tails let his eyes drift to the virtual sky, the baby blue sprinkled with cottony, fluffy clouds mirroring his own eyes. "Uh... I just... wanted to say... I..."
Cream's heart was beating so fast, she had to bring a hand up to her chest to try and calm it down. No avail. "What is it, Tails?"
His face was now redder than the chao he was holding. "Cream... I'm just... glad that you got out safely," he said softly, glad that Cream had excellent hearing. "I... don't know what I would do if you were hurt. Throughout the trip I was worried about you, but... I'm glad you could defend yourself... and find your own ways to help... and that I was there to help... Cream, I really care about you, you know that?" he admitted. "You... you're an amazing girl..." he trailed off, not believing he'd just confessed that. Oh, how would Cream react now that she knew...?
"Aw, Tails! Thanks," Cream said and smiled as she wrapped him in a gentle hug.
The fox blushed at her embrace but returned it, using not only his arms, but also shyly wrapped his bushy tails around her body, encasing the rabbit in fluff.
"That's sweet of you. I was worried for a while, about you, too... but I just knew that you'd find someway to get through it... like you always have. I've always thought it was so great that you could build everything we needed and figure anything out but... you've built a Chao Garden... I'd never thought that you could do something like this... It's just so pretty," she said, snuggling against his soft fur. "When we get back home, can you show me what else you're working on?"
Tails was blushing so hard at her compliments. "Uh.. sure Cream, if you want to... I just don't want to bore you..."
"You don't bore me, Tails..." Cream assured him and smiled. "I... care about you, too."
Wow... it was amazing how those simple words could melt the foxes heart, but they did. He smiled and brought his gloved hand up to softly caress her velvety ears, tracing them from the root all the way to the tip. Cream giggled at his touch and nuzzled into him.
"Thanks Tails, for showing me this place. And making it."
"You're welcome, Cream... but I... really should be getting back up there... to make sure we get home" his cerulean eyes drifted back to the staircase and he retracting his tails from the embrace.
"Okay, then, Tails," Cream released him and gave him a winning smile. "Thanks again... I'll see you when we get home."
Home. Yes, Tails had to make sure everyone made it back safely. For if they didn't, this whole trip would be in vain.
As Tails made the trip back up to his pilot's seat, he lingered about halfway up the staircase to take in the delightful scene of a pretty young rabbit playing with Chao, and had to smile.
Cream. Just the very thought of her made his heart leap and a smile appear. Don't worry, Cream... I'll get us all back home.
...xxx...
Sorry if they're OOC, I'm not used to writing either of them. (You'll probably see this message for the rest of this story.)
And they didn't kiss I know... I don't want to become too predictable and end all these chapters in the characters kissing and... their ages... What? Don't kill me, diehard Taiream fans.
SO. This might warrant a little explanation. In the game, scattered throughout the places you could go in, there were Chao Eggs. If you collected them and waited for a while, they would hatch. Each Chao had a different ability (like, making a character attack or defend better) and if you bonded one to a certain character, then he/she would gain that ability. And you could switch the character's chao at any time. The thing I got to wondering was... once the team traveled on the Cyclone in the second half of the game... then how did they take the Chao with them? The obvious answer would be, Tails added a Chao Garden to the craft. So... I just got this idea of him showing Cream the Chao Garden. The reason she didn't know about it previously was because, in this timeline atleast, she kept Cheese as her "bonded chao" and didn't change (even though in the game you could have her change). I hope what I just said makes sense.
I see blank faces...
Okay, if you're still confused, leave question marks in your reviews and i'll try to make more sense in a PM.
Otherwise, hope you enjoyed! This story is now halfway done... *gasp* Yeah, I'm SURE you all are intelligent enough to realize that three cannot be split into half... so... yes, I'm adding a couple, next up is Shadouge... *gets mauled by Knouge fans* Man... I knew I should've stayed with just writing SonAmy... but... they got a little stale for me... so I'm hoping to do something different and then "rediscover" them later... anyway... I'm gone now, I hope you all liked the chapter! ;D
