To make up for what seemed like a long wait, have an extra-long chapter! This pushes the story over the 40,000 word mark, which means it's also a novel by the best official definition I could find (I am bored, and I have Google, so I occasionally learn things). So, yay, I wrote a novel! \o/
Also, I've started another story called Blaze's Decision. There's only the first chapter now, but the second is coming along nicely. You should check it out! *Not biased whatsoever*
SEGA owns the characters, now let's get on with it!
The moon started to rise as the mechanical roar of tanks and rhythmic stomping of feet got louder and louder. Bullets whizzed through the air from snipers and infantry. Tails caught a glance of the help when he did a low sweep with his tails to take out a couple more robots. "Whoa. . ." Exhausted as he was, his eyes lit up, and a wide grin spread over his face. "Guys, you gotta see this!" He pointed towards the reinforcements.
"Wow. . ." Amy said as she took in the full view after bashing a few robots out of the way with her hammer. The soldiers had surrounded the robots in lines that awkwardly formed a semicircle, with a second line of soldiers behind the first to take over if the first line went down and look around to try to prevent an ambush from behind. The artillery that was promised was hidden in the trees, but the tanks were far less subtle as they rolled up behind the second line of soldiers.
"You guys know how to party. . ." Sonic gave a thumbs-up as he fell back down from a homing attack. Orders were being shouted, and tank rounds were being shot at the edges of the battle, where they had the smallest chance of harming anything except for Eggman's robots, and the soldiers started to pick off robots that were coming too close to them. This display of force reinvigorated the heroes, and they were soon taking down robots at the same rate they did at the start of the fight. Tails's tails were moving almost as fast as Sonic was, and the golden blurs were taking down robots left and right. Sonic's acrobatics were as deadly as they were breathtaking, when he was not going too fast to see. Amy swung her huge hammer around as if it was a plastic toy, with plenty of visceral "CRUNCH" sounds as the robots were turned to scrap. Rouge was spinning around at Tasmanian-devil speed, her kicks causing the robots to fly farther than Amy's hammer swings, and Shadow's fists and legs were slicing through robots like a hot knife through butter. A few minutes later, the last of the robots were taken out by Shadow and Rouge, with some help from the soldiers.
"Thanks. . . guys. . ." Sonic panted. As much as he did not want to admit it, without Shadow's, Rouge's, and G.U.N.'s help, they would all be captured or killed by now.
"This no time to stand around here, let's go!" Amy ran ahead, but Tails reached out and grabbed her.
"Hang on, Amy! We need to be careful! Eggman's probably set a lot of traps for us inside. We'll all go in together, and keep an eye out for anything weird." Tails and Amy led the rest of them to the entrance, with five pairs of eyes scanning around the mountainside.
"Blast!" Eggman pounded the keyboard in frustration, then sighed. "Well, no matter. Even if they get inside, they'll never get past all of my traps!" His maniacal grin returned, which caused Cream and Cheese to cower and step away from Eggman.
The heroes made their way inside, with Tails and Shadow leading the way to look for traps. Shadow was more familiar with Eggman and his tricks, while Tails was better at seeing the mechanics of the trap, what it actually did, and how to disable it. Though the base was built into a mountain, there was steel covering the place so well that no one could see any stone. The moonlight reflected off the steel for the first twenty feet in, but the base was dark otherwise. After everyone's eyes had adjusted to the low level of light, the lights came on in the base, causing everyone to cover their eyes. "He knows we're here. . ." Shadow growled and scowled, and Sonic and Tails nodded.
"He's taunting us. . ." Sonic frowned and shook his head. Shadow and Tails scouted up ahead, stopping at an intersection.
"Wait!" Tails put up his hand to stop everyone else. He could hear the familiar creak of slightly worn metal moving around. "There's something here. . ."
"What is it?" Rouge piped up as she looked around.
"Which way do we go, Tails?" Amy added as she stepped closer to him.
"I'm not sure. . ." Tails kept looking around for the source of the noise, and Shadow chose this moment to speak up.
"That is only a camera that is meant to look for intruders." Shadow pointed to a small lens, barely visible to the naked eye, but the ultimate life form's senses picked it up rather easily. Tails leaned towards where Shadow pointed at, nodding as he saw the lens. However, the group's focus was broken when they heard a loud scream coming from their left.
"Let's go!" Sonic started to dash ahead, but an outstretched arm from Shadow stopped him.
"WAIT. . ." Shadow was starting to lose his patience. "We don't know if the way ahead is safe. . . and knowing the doctor as well as I do, it probably isn't. . ." Sonic thought for a moment and sighed.
"Fine, go ahead and look, but we have to save Cream!" Sonic's voice had an angry edge to it, both from wanting to save Cream and being upset that Shadow was right. Shadow put his hand over his chin and began to look around, and Tails hovered above him for a better look at the ceiling. After a few seconds of looking, they heard Cream screaming even louder, and coming from in front of them, down the corridor they were looking at. There was a left turn there, too, about a hundred feet away, so they could not see Cream, but that did not matter. Sonic ducked past Shadow and dashed ahead.
"Sonic, wait up!" Tails shouted and started to fly behind him, and the rest of the group followed, trying to catch up to Sonic. This exercise in futility ended up with Sonic ahead of the rest of the gang as they all rounded the corner. Sonic did his best to screech to a halt when he saw the dead-end, but he did not stop in time. A series of loud mechanical whirrs and clicks were heard, and many tiny holes opened up in the walls, ceiling and floor. Everyone's eyes went wide, and Tails shouted, "Get down!" Spikes came up from the floor, and mini-harpoons shot from the walls and ceiling. Sonic used his momentum to slide and stayed low to the ground. Shadow and Rouge were cautious enough to stay back a few feet away from the turn, so they jumped out of the way. Amy had charged ahead, hoping to try to save Sonic, which left her exposed to the trap. Tails had enough time to turn around and fly away, but he had seen Amy turn around. He grimaced and shook his head, knowing that Amy would try to help Sonic, even though Tails knew Sonic could handle whatever Eggman threw at him. He turned around as fast as he could and yanked Amy back to stop her, hearing her scream out, "SONIIIIIIIICCCCCCCC!" Amy's vision was blocked by Tails's gold and white fur, and he was spinning his tails to try and slow them both down. While his tails ended up inches from the spikes, he took a grazing blow from one of the mini-harpoons fired from the wall. Tails winced and let out a low growl at being hit. He managed to hold Amy in place, though her thrashing about trying to get to Sonic only hurt Tails even more. "AMY, STOP!" Tails shouted louder than he intended to, but everyone froze and fell silent. After a moment, he could feel Amy shaking against him. His own breathing was jagged as he whispered, "Sonic's okay. He stopped just in time." Because of how quiet the hallway was, everyone heard him.
Sonic carefully got to his feet, then walked over, and put a hand on Amy's shoulder. "It's okay, Amy. I'm right here." Amy shivered for a moment, then looked up at Sonic with tearful eyes. Her eyes barely registered something different on the floor, but she paid that no mind. She wiped her eyes and nodded once she saw Sonic was okay. She glanced down at the floor and realized what she had seen before: a steady drip of blood. She gasped as she saw a bloodstained spike and Tails dripping blood.
"Tails!" Amy had to take a moment to force herself not to shout as she squeezed Tails. "You. . . you got hurt because you saved me. I'm so sorry!" Tears reappeared in her eyes as she felt Tails gently embrace her.
"Amy. . . it's okay. . . you were only trying to help. . ." Tails pulled back and gave a genuine smile before trying to flick his tails and wincing again. Rouge, who had been watching all this from a distance, stepped forward.
"You're gonna need to get that looked at, Tails. Come on, I'm sure one of the soldiers outside has a first-aid kit." She walked away and looked down at her wrist, pressing some keys and quietly requesting a medic to meet her out front. After a few moments, everyone snapped to attention when they heard, "FINE, THEN! BUT I'LL MAKE SURE THE COMMANDER HEARS ABOUT THIS!" She sighed and turned to everyone. "It's all right. We've got a first-aid kit, but not only did the medics say they were too 'unfamilar'. . ." Air quotes accentuated the word. ". . .with Mobians to provide good medical care, but all the soldiers left! The NERVE of them!" Rouge stomped her foot, but then walked back over to Tails. "You don't have to worry, though, Tails. I'll make sure you feel better." She gave a flirty grin that made Tails doubt her, but Rouge was a G.U.N. certified field medic. After learning all the tricks of the spy trade, she had gotten bored, and wanted to learn more practical skills, so she could be a greater asset to her team. It was not much help at home, living with an immortal being, but it was great in the field. The pair of them strode away, with Tails holding his tail so he would not drip blood everywhere. Shadow let them pass without a word, instead striding over to Sonic and Amy, who were holding each other for comfort.
"Rouge is a very skilled medic. Tails will be just fine. Now, we have to find Eggman." Shadow spoke without emotion, merely staring at the other two hedgehogs. Amy nodded. Her eyes were red and her vision was slightly blurred from crying, but she knew they had to press on. "I'll scout ahead." Shadow said simply, and Sonic nodded. Shadow led the trio back towards the intersection, although Tails and Rouge were too far ahead to see them.
Tails had headed to the entrance with Rouge, still holding his tail. He did not say anything or show any sign that he was in pain, mostly due to all the adrenaline from fighting Eggman again. Rouge was also quiet, but they both moved quick, since they knew the way out was safe. "Ah! Here we are. . ." Rouge flew over to the first-aid kit and started to dig through it. "Wow, they really thought of everything," She said as her eyes passed over the array of tools, bandages, and medicines. "Okay, foxy, let's see it." She turned towards Tails, with bandages in one hand, and a needle and surgical thread in the other. Tails sheepishly took his hand off, with blood covering his tail, and more still dripping to the floor. "Hmm. . . let's clean you up first. . ." She set down her tools, found a water bottle in the kit, and got that out. She gently poured the water over his wound, which made Tails wince again. She surveyed the wound before putting the needle and thread away. "Good news, hun, you won't need any stitches, and the wound's very minor. Bad news is, you can't fly on that thing for a few days to a week." She leaned over to see Tails frown, but he nodded anyways. She turned back around and bent down to pick up the bandages. "So. . . how's the happy couple?" She grinned as she saw Tails blush.
"Fine. . ." Tails muttered.
"You know, Amy came to me for a few pointers on guys. She had some jewels she was willing to part with, so I helped her out a bit." Rouge gently tied the bandage around the wound.
"So that's what that was. . ." Tails blushed deeper and turned away from Rouge. He thought he could not be heard, but Rouge's giggle took that thought away.
"Seems she's putting those skills to good use. So, have you done it yet?" Rouge grinned as she saw Tails nearly jump up.
"N-No!" Tails's hands were shaking.
"Bet you want to, though, huh?" Rouge finished applying the bandage and tied a makeshift tourniquet under it.
"I. . . that. . . not until we're married. . ." Tails's wound was better, but he was still irritated. He knew Rouge liked to tease him, but being injured made it a bit less bearable. "Are you done yet?"
"Yup. Just take it easy on that thing and you'll be better in no time. Now, come on, we've got our lovers to get back to." Rouge winked and closed the kit, but took it with her as the two ran ahead. They found the other trio waiting for them at the intersection, with Shadow's glare still in top form.
"We figured out that the screams on the left were amplified from speakers in the walls, and the right way is littered with mines. No one triggered any, no one's hurt. The only way is dead ahead." Shadow turned back to the intersection and started to move down the hallway. Amy ran over and hugged Tails.
"How are you feeling?" Amy looked at Tails's bloody bandage.
"I'm fine, Amy, let's go." Shadow and Rouge went first, with Tails and Amy behind them, and Sonic bringing up the rear. This path was longer and more curved, and while there was the occasional camera, Shadow had a gun with him to take those out.
Cream panicked as she saw Tails bandaged up, but eventually calmed down as she saw him walking normally. "They're pretty close now, aren't they?" Cream said tauntingly, sticking her tongue out.
"Blast it! Well, I saved the best for last! And you'll have a front-row seat to witness their demise!" Eggman started typing at a furious pace, and the sounds of grinding gears filled the room for a moment, but stopped a few seconds later. Just as the room fell silent, Eggman turned to see blood-red and vivid aquamarine eyes looking at him.
"Eggman. . ." Shadow and Rouge strode ahead with confidence, and Sonic, Amy, and Tails followed. "We know about your plans, and we're going to end them, once and for all!" Shadow rest his arms at his sides, his hands balling into fists.
"But you don't know about THIS plan, Shadow. . ." Eggman grinned and slammed his fist onto a control panel, hitting a comically oversized red button and causing the middle of the floor to open up, with something rising up on a panel to take the place of the old floor. Shadow had to jump back to avoid falling, and Rouge flew upwards, but backed away in case it was a trap.
"It looks like a giant robot. . . for a mad scientist, you really aren't that creative. . ." Rouge said with a hint of annoyance.
"Yes, it LOOKS like a giant robot, but it's indestructible! Bullets, missiles, tank rounds. . . spin-dashes. . ." Eggman grinned and looked between Shadow and Sonic as he spoke. "Nothing can destroy my newest creation!" The robot was ten feet tall and coated in steel, with long fingers, a laser-sight to target, and missile launchers attached on top of its shoulders. It had a broad midsection and small head, bearing a rather striking resemblance to Eggman himself.
"We'll see about that!" Sonic shouted and ran up to the front, quickly launching into a spin-dash and flying at the robot before bouncing right off of it, landing in a dazed heap against the wall. "Oof. . ."
"My turn!" Rouge ran up to the robot and launched into a spinning kick, aiming for its ankle. A loud "CLANG!" signified a hit, but the robot did not move, and Rouge grimaced, going down on one knee and holding her shin. "Aah!" The robot lifted its leg up slowly, and although everyone knew what was about to happen, Shadow was the first one to spring into action. He dashed on his hover skates over to Rouge, turning to the left and leaning out towards her, picking her up a second before the robot's foot came down on her. Shadow's momentum carried through the turn, which also allowed him to outrun the missiles the robot fired at Shadow.
Amy's eyes went wide, and her hands covered her mouth. "Tails. . . how do we destroy that thing? If the three of them can't harm it, my hammer won't do any good. . ." Tails had been studying the robot the entire time, but he was still stumped.
"OH-ho-ho! I TOLD you it can't be destroyed!" Eggman drew attention to himself before hitting another button, sealing up the door the group entered from, which was the only way into the room. "Now, your lives will all end here, and then there will be NOTHING stopping me!" Tails took another long look at the robot. Reinforced steel covering the entire robot, extra protection on the joints, the egg-like shape putting its center of gravity so low that we can't trip it. . . what can we do. . .? Tails blinked and nodded slightly, then turned to Amy.
"I know how to beat it, but we need a distraction. Everyone else fighting it should be enough, but we might need you to go and fight it as well." Tails paused, not wanting to ask the question he knew he had to.
"Don't worry, Tails, I can do it. It's the least I can do. . ." Her eyes glanced back to Tails's bandage. "Now, go. Hurry!" She shooed him onward. Tails ran as fast as he could and did not look back. Sonic took another charge at the robot and failed, but dodged its missiles just as easily as Shadow did. Amy ran towards the robot, just in case she would be needed. Shadow gently set Rouge down, then went back to facing the robot, but did so opposite Sonic, so the robot could only focus on one of them at a time. Eggman was too busy gloating to notice, but Tails was a few feet away from the keyboard. He signaled to Sonic to join him and help take care of Eggman, who was oblivious to Tails's plan until he heard the clicking of the keyboard.
"Why you little-!" Eggman's arms reached towards Tails, but he was knocked off-balance by a speeding Sonic. The robot turned towards Sonic, who dashed away, trying to pull the robot's attention away from Tails. Through all this, Amy made her way to the robot and was pounding away at its feet, cursing it with every hit from her hammer. The robot turned its missile launcher at her and lifted its foot to step on her. She was determined, however, and rolled out of the way of the foot. She let out a shriek once she saw the missiles coming her way, but Sonic was quick enough to scoop her out of the way. Eggman had gotten up, but Tails hit the last few keys and raised his arms in triumph. The robot stopped moving, and the targeting laser turned off. Cheers broke out from everyone except Eggman once they realized what had happened. Tails turned to Cream as he looked over her cage, which had no obvious door to it.
"I'll get you out of there, don't worry." Tails went back to work, his fingers flying across the keyboard. A few seconds later, a square hatch on the top of Cream's cage opened. She and Cheese flew out of the cage and over to Tails, giving him a congratulatory hug.
"Tails! You're hurt. . ." Cream frowned as she saw his injured tail up-close.
"Yeah, but I'll be fine. I just can't fly, and I have to take it easy for a while." Tails shrugged. "How. . . how are you?" Tails asked nervously, knowing about both her kidnapping and her learning Tails and Amy were a couple.
"I-I'm okay. . ." Cream started to shake in his arms. "I-I missed m-mama and y-you and. . ." Cream leaned her head into Tails's shoulder and sobbed. Tails and Cheese started a group hug, and Amy joined in soon after, which caused Cream to look up. "A-Amy?"
"Yes, Cream?" Amy's eyes were closed as she held onto Cream, her voice as calm and soothing as she could manage after such a scary fight.
"W-Why did you come to save me? I t-told you to leave me alone. . ." Cream had turned and was now sobbing into Amy's shoulder.
"Because you're my friend and you were in trouble, Cream." Amy gently patted Cream on the back. "I'm not going to abandon you over something like this. . ." No one spoke for a few seconds.
"I'm sorry, Amy. . ." Cream took deep breaths and stopped crying. "Tails is happy with you. . . and I'm happy for both of you. . ." She gave a weak smile and nod, and Cheese copied Cream. The group hug disbanded, and Amy took Tails's hand and led him down the stairs.
"I'm sorry you got hurt because of me. . ." Amy mumbled.
"I'll be all right, Amy. I can still work on machines and fly the Tornado just fine." Tails gave a very convincing smile. He wanted to calm Amy down, but he also knew it would not affect him very much, even in the lab.
"You should talk to Cream, maybe see if Rouge is okay. . ." Amy said while glancing towards Sonic, and Tails picked up the hint. He decided to do the latter, because Rouge helped him earlier. Amy walked over to Sonic and smiled. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine." Sonic gave a thumbs-up.
"Thank you for saving me, again." Amy let out a giggle.
"No problem, I'm not just gonna abandon you, Ames." Sonic grinned, which caused Amy to smile. The two of them hugged. "Tails is a pretty lucky guy." Sonic chuckled.
"Don't push it, Sonic!" Amy gave a playful, weak shove. "You're right, though, he IS really lucky. But, he deserved it." They both nodded, not wanting to speak of the events on the Blue Typhoon.
"How's your leg, Rouge?" Tails bent over to examine Rouge's shin, which Shadow was gently massaging.
"I've been better, but I'll tough it out." Rouge grinned. Shadow stared at Tails once he realized his arrival.
"How did you figure out how to beat that thing?" Shadow's voice had a protective growl because he was close to Rouge, but he was also curious.
"Well, it looked indestructible, all right. . . on the outside. But no matter what, robots are still just a mass of programming and circuits. I just had to hack into the robot's systems and shut it down." Tails's tone was businesslike, and he did not look up from Rouge's leg. "Sorry, Rouge, I wish I'd thought of it sooner."
"Calm down, kid, you saved all of us. I just need to keep off this leg for a bit and I'll be good as new." Rouge smiled, grateful that she had Shadow to take care of her and that Tails checked up on her.
While everyone's back was turned, Eggman started to crawl towards one of the walls. He reached up to a keypad in the middle of the wall and began to punch in a code. A compartment opened, revealing a vehicle small enough to be quick, but large enough for Eggman to fit inside. This was accompanied by a loud, mechanical voice. "SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED. ONE MINUTE UNTIL SELF-DESTRUCT." Everyone started to panic, and Sonic ran to the door, spin dashing against it. He was able to go right through the door, and looked back to his friends.
"Shadow!" Sonic called and pointed to Shadow. "Take Rouge! I can get everyone else out of here!" Shadow nodded and left in a green flash. Sonic ran over to Amy.
"Take Tails and I to the Tornado, Sonic, we'll fly out of here!" Amy shouted. Sonic nodded, picked her up, and dashed out. Tails had finally turned to see Eggman trying to escape by running as fast as he could towards the escape pod.
"Oh, no, you don't!" Tails pointed to Eggman and ran towards him, trying to stop his escape. Cream gasped as she turned and noticed what Tails had seen, and her eyes went wide.
"You. . . you won't hurt anyone any more, Eggman!" Cream grabbed Cheese and hurled her at the escape pod as hard as she could. A frenzied "Chaoooooooooooooo!" was heard as Cheese collided with the pod, cracking the glass and causing sparks to fly from it.
"Oh, no, Cheese! Are you all right?" Cream ran towards Cheese with tears in her eyes.
"Chao, chao!" Cheese nodded and opened her arms, and Cream ran over and hugged her. Sonic had come back into the room.
"Let's go, Tails! You can get the Tornado started up while I get Cream and Cheese!" Sonic shouted, and Tails nodded.
"There's enough room for all of us in there. We can all get out that way." Tails was carried out quickly and placed into the pilot's seat in front of Amy. He started to get the Tornado ready to fly. Sonic dashed back, leaving Tails and Amy in the Tornado.
"Sonic says he's going to get everyone out and we'll all fly home together." Tails said quickly.
"What about Eggman?" Amy asked, and Tails's eyes went wide as he realized what had actually happened.
"Cream and Cheese broke his escape pod. . ." Tails said, the possibilities starting to dawn on him.
"WHAT?" Amy was shocked that Cream would do something like that, but if she would do that to anyone, Eggman would be the one.
"Yeah. . ." The engine whirred on, and Sonic had come back out with Cream and Cheese, the latter of which held tightly onto Cream and was crying with fear and shock. The three of them went into the Tornado, with Cream calmly trying to comfort Cheese.
"Let's go, Tails!" Sonic shouted, and the cockpit lowered, and the Tornado was off.
"By my count, we've got about twenty seconds left. We should be able to get about two and half miles away from the mountain. We'll be fine." Tails had run the numbers in his head while making sure the Tornado had a steady liftoff. Everyone else nodded tensely, but Cream was still talking to Cheese.
"It's okay, Cheese, soon we'll be back home with mama again. . ." Cream gently rocked Cheese back and forth in her arms like a baby.
"Ch-Ch-Chaooo. . ." Cheese clung to Cream, still sobbing.
"Don't worry, Cheese. . . Eggman was a very bad man. . . he killed so many people. . . you did a good thing back there. . ." Cream whispered, but everyone else heard her, and everyone turned in shock. No one believed it yet, thinking Eggman had another trick up his sleeve. They all heard the deafening explosion and subsequent avalanche as they flew away at speeds rapidly approaching the speed of sound. Everyone except for Tails turned to the window and looked out, trying to see any sort of vehicle coming out of the mountain, but none came.
Rouge was laying back on the bed and wincing in pain while Shadow placed an ice pack over her leg. "It looks like you'll be fine, but you need to relax for a week." Shadow said matter-of-factly.
"So you'll be taking care of me for a week? Good deal." Rouge grinned, her wit unable to be beaten by a bum leg.
"We'll see." Shadow grinned. "As long as I get a week off, too, it might be tolerable." Just then, a familiar red light stole their attention and an alarming beeping sound rang through the apartment. Shadow ran to the phone and answered it. "What is it?" He snarled, but underneath his hasty tone was fear. He wondered if anything had gone wrong fighting Eggman.
"Agents, Eggman's robot base had successfully self-destructed. None of the Freedom Fighters were trapped in the blast. However, our cameras captured the last few seconds of the base before it was destroyed, and we can confirm that Dr. Eggman was killed in the blast."
Both Shadow and Rouge froze for a few seconds. "What. . . what happened?" Rouge spoke up, still unable to believe it. "Surely he tried to escape?"
"He did. However, we noticed his escape pod broke after being hit by a chao."
Rouge shook her head, frowning. "Never thought she had it in her, such a sweet little girl. . ." She murmured quietly, but Shadow took over the conversation.
"Thank you, commander. Also, Rouge was injured in the fight. She estimated she will need a week to recuperate. I need to stay here and take care of her."
"We saw that as well. You're both on medical leave for a week."
"Thank you, commander." Rouge was grateful as she lay back onto the bed.
"Great job out there, agents. Dismissed." The transmission ended, and Shadow lay down beside Rouge.
"It's strange, isn't it? A world without Eggman. . . things will be really quiet around here. . ." Rouge pondered as she looked at Shadow.
"I think we can handle that. Even if they give us less work, we have enough saved up to be fine. Speaking of which, thanks for getting me that time off." Shadow smiled.
"You STILL have to take care of me. . ." Rouge grinned.
"I think I can handle that. . ." Shadow leaned in and kissed Rouge, cradling her in his arms.
The heroes landed outside of Vanilla's house. They all exchanged worried glances when they saw the lights still on. Cream ran ahead and knocked on the door. Vanilla slowly got up and peeked through the blinds, then ran to the door when she saw who it was. She opened the door and Cream jumped up, clinging to her nightgown-clad mother. "Mamaaaaaaaaa!" Cheese looked exhausted, but joined in the hug.
"Cream! My baby! You're all right!" Vanilla turned to the group. "Thank you all so much!" Her eyes swept over the group until she realized something was amiss. "Tails, you're hurt! What happened?"
"I got hit by one of Eggman's traps. I'll be fine, though." Tails smiled nervously.
"Ooooh, that Eggman!" Vanilla was clearly upset. "He harms my baby, and then he goes and hurts a nice young man like you, Tails!"
"Miss Vanilla, I don't think we'll have to worry about him ever again. . ." Amy had her head down, and spoke quietly, but her words made Vanilla stop.
"What do you mean, dear?" Vanilla blinked and looked confused.
"He tried to escape, but. . ." Amy spoke, and Cream shot Amy a look, so Amy avoided saying her name. "We think his escape pod malfunctioned. We never saw him escape, and the whole mountain blew up."
"Oh. . ." Vanilla looked somber for a moment at news of death, then tried her best to look stoic. "Well. . . even though he died, it means that no one else has to get hurt by him and his machines." She nodded. Everyone else knew of Vanilla's kindness and compassion, and knew that even though she tried not to show it, she was happy that Eggman would not be around anymore. "Come in, all of you. Is there anything I can get you?" The group thought for a moment, then shook their heads.
"I don't think so, Miss Vanilla, thank you." Amy spoke up. "I think we're all just going to go home and go to sleep. . ." Everyone else gave general nods of agreement.
"All right. Thank you all so much for rescuing Cream." Vanilla bent down and hugged each of them in turn.
"You're welcome." Each of them responded during their hug.
"We should get to bed, dear." Vanilla turned to Cream, who nodded and yawned, tired from the eventful day. Cheese had already fallen asleep, loosely hanging onto Cream's shoulder. The group waved a good-bye and left. After they were gone, Vanilla walked Cream up to her room. "Are you sure you're all right, dear? It's been a long day. . ." She did not want to say anything about Cream's knowledge of Tails and Amy. If Cream was comfortable talking about it, Vanilla knew she would bring it up.
"I'm okay. . . I. . ." Cream covered up a yawn with her hand. "I just really want to go to bed. . ."
"Okay, dear. Good night." Vanilla hugged Cream.
"Good night, mama." Cream hugged Vanilla, then walked in and closed the door. She gently set Cheese down on the bed next to her and pet her. "Good night, Cheese." She pulled the covers over her and fell asleep instantly.
"You want us to take you home, Sonic?" Tails asked once they were outside.
"Nah. I need a good run to calm down. You both okay?" Sonic glanced between the two.
"Mm-hmm." Amy said, and Tails nodded.
"Okay. . . see ya. . ." Sonic patted Tails on the head and ruffled his fur, then gave Amy a quick hug, which she returned. Both of them waved as Sonic dashed off at full speed.
"I'll take you home, Amy." Tails smiled and took her hand, then got into the Tornado.
"Actually. . . Tails. . . can I stay with you tonight?" Amy asked with pleading eyes. "It's been a really rough day, and I don't want to be alone tonight. . ." She shivered, but she was not sure if it was from the cold of the night or fear of being lonely.
"O-Of course, Amy. . ." Tails felt sympathetic towards her, especially because she told Cream about them earlier in the day.
"Thank you, Tails. . ." Amy sighed, and both of them were quiet as they mulled over the day's events in their heads. The silence grew awkward as they landed in Tails's hangar a few minutes later.
"You all right, Amy?" Tails asked as they walked into the house. The long silence prior to this subconsciously made him speak softly.
"I. . . I don't know, Tails. . ." Amy sighed. "I'm glad Eggman's out of our hair, and Cream seems all right with us dating, but. . . that's a lot to handle for one day. It's a lot of changes, and there hasn't been any time to think about the future. . ." Amy lowered her head as she turned and walked upstairs. Tails frowned and wrapped his arms around her in a caring hug.
"I'm worried, too. . ." He gently nuzzled her cheek. "But, both of those things you said are really good for us. Things will be weird for a while, sure, but everything will be okay. We can slow down and have fun now that we don't have so many things to worry about." Although Tails tried to calm her down, he was just as nervous as she was, if not more. It was the first relationship for both of them, and although it was something to take solace in, it was also a major source of stress, because neither of them wanted to screw it up.
"I guess you're right. . ." Amy still sounded out of it. She turned and walked into Tails's guest room and closed the door, with the quiet creak and door closing echoing throughout the house. She sighed and flopped onto the bed, putting her arm over her eyes, but sleep was not coming. I'm worried about Cream. . . she's always been so peaceful and calm, and I know she was angry at Eggman, but I also know she'll feel guilty about it, even though he was our enemy all our lives. I don't know if she can handle that right now. And then there's Tails, who got hurt because I tried to save Sonic when I didn't even need to! She smacked herself on the forehead. Ughhhhhhh. . . I should at least go check on him. . . She debated the idea for a few minutes, until she finally got up and walked down to his room as quietly as she could.
Tails took a walk down to his room that seemed so much longer than it actually was. Once he finally got to his bed, he laid down, but his eyes were still wide open, and his mind was racing. I saw it. . . Eggman's gone. . . and I'm so glad Cream's okay. . . and everyone seems to be okay with Amy and I. . . but this. . . Tails flicked his injured tail and winced. This will be an annoyance, but I can still get work done. . . and I hope Amy's okay. . . He sighed and turned to Cosmo's plant, which was still doing well. I wish you could see me now, Cosmo. . . I finally found love, and Eggman's out of our hair for good. . . just. . . what happens next? It's been so long since we've actually been and peacetime, I don't know how to deal with it. . . He paused when he heard a knock on the door. "Amy? What's wrong?"
"Oooooh, I can't sleep, Tails!" Amy balled her hands into fists. She looked down, unclenched her fists, and sighed. "I just can't stop thinking about today. . ." She looked up just in time to see Tails sitting up and patting the bed next to him.
"I can't, either, Amy, and I haven't been able to sleep, even though I'm so tired I should be out like a light." He made a weak grin at his joke, which Amy returned out of courtesy. "Come on, sit down, let's talk about it." Amy nodded and sat down beside him, putting her hand on top of his.
"I'm really sorry you got hurt, Tails. . ." Amy mumbled.
"I'll be fine, Amy. I don't have a lot of orders to work on, and I have ladders and such around the house, just in case. I can always fly in the Tornado. And Rouge said it would be a week at most, so if I take it easy, I might be better even faster than that." He really would miss the use of his natural flight, as it made him unique among foxes, and also gave him his own fun way to explore if he did not want to use machines. He felt better knowing it was only for a very short time.
"Okay, but. . . I want to take care of you until you feel better. . . it's the least I can do. . ."
"I won't force you, Amy. But if it'll make you feel better, go for it." Tails's eyes met hers, and both of them smiled.
"Thanks, Tails. . . and, what about Cream? She didn't have to destroy the escape pod, but she did. I know she was really mad at him, but still. . . it's not like her at all." Amy looked down again, her worry shown clearly on her face.
"It's a big shock. . . and it might be hard for her at first, but I know she'll be all right. She's got you, and I don't know anyone who can help someone through rough times better than you." Tails smiled, which made Amy blush. She leaned in and kissed him.
"Tails. . .?" She asked softly.
"What is it?"
"Can I. . . sleep here with you tonight?" Tails recalled Rouge's words from earlier and blushed bright enough to light up the room. "Not. . . not like that. . ." Amy blushed as well. "I-It's okay if you don't want to, I just. . . I feel safe when you're with me. . . and I really need that now. . ."
"O. . . Okay. . ." Tails tried not to appear too excited, but his injury helped calm him down. He pulled down the covers and moved to the edge of the bed, leaving plenty of room for Amy, who got in and tucked them both in.
"Thanks for all your help today, Tails. . . and thank you for saving me. . ." Amy wrapped her arm around Tails and snuggled close to him, and Tails gently held her in place.
"Aww, don't mention it." Tails's blush was visible to Amy, who grinned.
"I love you, Tails."
"I love you, too, Amy." Tails leaned in and kissed Amy, who closed her eyes and sighed happily into the kiss. She gently rest her head against his, and both of them fell asleep in each other's arms.