AN: Just so we're on the ball here, Cream is like a santa'a lil helper to Amy and Vanilla in the scheme of things until of course we get to the part where she meets Tails :D and Black Doom is NOT going to be a villain here. he's moreorless a bystander. If y'all are interested, I have the complete casting call of this fic on my DeviantART page. The link to my page is on my profile and the Devaition should be in my gallery. Thanks and Peace out :)

-Chapter 2-

The autumn equinox was fast approaching and Amy was hard at work, making the autumn plants and flowers and painting them their correct colors. She was starting to get a little frustrated as Cream began picking the flowers that the sakura hedgehog made an hour earlier.

"Cream, you think you can hold off on the 'harvesting' at least until I finish?" Amy ranted.

"Oh, sorry, sister." Cream apologized softly.

"Tell you what, when mother comes back and sees the stupid garden, then you may pick all the flowers you wish."

Cream threw her a shocked look.

"The garden is stupid?" she cried.

Amy heaved a huge sigh.

"No, it isn't, Cream." she said lowly. "I'm just so sick of being here all the time. Creating the same flowers day in and day out, every single month!"

Cream wished she could cheer her up. She knew how strict Vanilla's rules were and how they were irritating Amy. But Cream was starting to run out of ideas to make the cherry-pink goddess feel better. And some topics were absolutely off limits. Once, the young nymph innocently began talking about suitors which made Amy feel extremely depressed. Vanilla totally blew her chance at establishing a romance with Apollo(Silver).

"Is there some way I can make you happy, sister?" Cream asked.

Amy shook her head.

"It's alright, Cream." she said. "Now I need to get back to work."

The young rabbit nymph decided that she should make herself useful by helping Amy out. Although she didn't think she needed it, the sakura female allowed her to assist anyway. A few hours later, Vanilla returned cheerfully after receiving various offerings from mortals for the harvest.

"Hello, my dears!" she sang in a sweet voice.

"Welcome back, mother!" Cream replied almost identically.

Amy ignored Vanilla at first and continued coloring the last of the blooming flowers.

"The garden looks splendid, ladies." Vanilla chirped looking around and admiring Amy's handiwork. "You've really outdone yourselves."

'Interesting.' Amy thought. 'We seem to outdo ourselves all the freaking time.'

Vanilla proceeded to place her offerings in vases at a nearby shrine and took out her little velvet sack to replenish it with seeds to plant in fertile fields.

"Well dears," the goddess began again. " in three days time, we will be attending the equinox gathering at Mount Olympus."

While Cream began celebrating with excitement, Amy remained unemotional. To her, it was like saying. 'big deal'. Most likely they would go when the bigger events were over when everything was just quiet conversation and when all the males went out to observe the mortal festivities on Earth. Either that, or Vanilla would stick to Amy's side like glue and shoo away any of the males that would approach her. The sakura hedgehog goddess heaved another big sigh, prompting concern from her mother.

"Persephone, dear?" she called out softly. "What's the matter? You don't look well."

'Perhaps because you intend to keep me a prisoner here.' Amy mentally snapped.

But Amy never voiced her opinion to her mother, knowing full well what the consequence would be. Vanilla was NOT someone to fuck around with. Like Hera, she was extremely temperamental. In fact it was sometimes hard to tell the two apart. One minute Vanilla was the sweetest person in the cosmos. But if she was crossed, it was not a pretty picture.

"I'm alright, mother." Amy told the rabbit goddess.

"Well, I've brought you something special from my travels." Vanilla replied.

Amy threw a surprised and somewhat interested look as Vanilla reached into her satchel and got out few oriental flowers, which were Chinese bellflowers.

"These are from the Asian continent." Vanilla explained. "You can plant these wherever you wish."

Amy felt something shatter from within her. Sure Vanilla's gift was very generous and thoughtful, but Amy had wanted to go there and collect the foreign florals herself. Was this really the only way she'll ever see the outside world?

"T-thank you, mother." Amy stammered wearing a false smile.

Vanilla then exchanged her daughter's gratitude with a hug and turned to her nymph.

"Come with me, Cream." she ordered.

As soon as they were gone, the cherry-pink girl dropped the bellflowers to the ground and scampered deep into the garden. She went towards a secluded area that she had discovered and that even neither Vanilla nor Cream knew existed. It was Amy's secret place. When she got there, she dropped to her knees in the soft grass and simply started sobbing in another crying jag. Vanilla just didn't get it. Amy wanted so badly to go out and see new things with her own eyes and not have someone do it for her. Like her mother. As the poor female goddess continued to sob, the autumn colored flowers around her began to turn blue.

Shadow was peacefully snoozing and minding his own business until Black Doom came calling.

"Boy!" he bellowed out. "Come to me, now!"

The midnight coated god gave a look of sheer irritation and walked over to Black Doom's throne room.

"What is it, father?" Shadow asked not trying to hide the annoyance in his voice.

"Mind your attitude, Pluto!" Black Doom hissed in a warning tone. "Anyways, I need you to fulfill an errand for me."

Shadow straightened up to show that he was listening and paying attention.

"As you know," Black Doom continued. "that worm, Zeus is holding one of his little family 'get togethers'. "

And Shadow cared...why?

"I want you to go to Mount Olympus in my place." the lord of the dead concluded.

The ruby-striped hedgehog's expression dropped like a sack of pomegranates.

"I have no interest in going to a ridiculous festivity, father." Shadow retorted, walking away.

"You WILL go to the gathering." Black Doom directed. "You must. Otherwise Zeus will start to believe that I am up to something."

Shadow growled. Why oh why, did he always get stuck doing the lord's dirty work?