Chapter 4: Intense Aerial Battle! Cream vs. Tails

"So Cream, how was your first flight?" I asked her as we soared quietly across the sky.

"Really fun Tails. It was pretty easy to control too." She explained.

I was quite relieved to hear that, because I knew if anyone had trouble with the flying system, it would be Cream.

Not to criticize her, put she's never been the most assertive type. Still, I'm relieved it went well. I half expected she and Knuckles to crash into each other the way they tore out off the runway.

"Where was Knuckles going anyway?" I mentioned, changing the subject.

"I don't know exactly. I just stopped by to chat for a little while and he was headed out. Maybe he was going to fight with Rouge or something." Cream smirked a little at her suggestion.

I felt an odd twinge of jealously at the mention of Knuckles, but I couldn't really understand why. I mean, I know Rouge kissed me, but c'mon Tails ole buddy! I'm just 15, what could an 18 year old see in me?

Thankfully, Angel Island was approaching so I took my thoughts off Rouge and focused on landing the plane.

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"I can't believe that place has a chao gift shop." Sonic shook his head almost in scorn at the garden center as we walked toward a nearby elevator.

"Yea, they did have something amazing stuff in there though." I commented.

"Like what?" He sounded outraged as he pushed the elevator call button.

"Everything! Like the chao mugs, chao plushies, chao t-shirts, chao cell phone covers, everything was just hilarious!" I couldn't stop laughing at the thought of everything chao!

Sonic just smiled in disbelief as we got on the elevator. He had one of those 'I'll never understand' looks on his face.

"Plus, I know what I'm buying you for your birthday this year." I nudged him with a cruel smile.

"What?" He looked at me with a little fear.

"Those adorable chao boxers!"

He looked relieved as I swore I saw a little blush on his face as we stepped out of the elevator on the top floor.

"So Amy, you ready to go home?" He asked me as we looked at the massive rail system that began from the top of the building.

"Yea, I'm kinda tired." I told him.

"You're tired? Well, that should be true. We didn't have a nap today." He rubbed his chin and nodded his head approvingly, as if he'd just made an important discovery.

"You know Sonic, we really do sleep too much." I said as we walk over to the edge of the roof.

"But we should sleep more! We're hardworking hedgehogs!" He told me, letting a yawn I thought for sure was fake.

"Not we're not." I dismissed his idea as I jumped on the rail. "You ready?"

"Yea, let's go!"

We both began to grind down the rails, picking up speed as we hit a few small loops. Sonic was always better at this than I was. He crouched and leaned so effortlessly into the corners and turns.

It was cool enough for me to just coast along and watch but I kept close enough behind him.

A few minutes later the rail path began to end as we jumped off and landed smoothly a block or so from my house.

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"So Tails, whatcha been up to today?" Cream asked me as we were walking across the bridge to the island where the emerald alter was.

"Not much really. You know me, I'm not really all that exciting." I laughed a little, never really knowing what to say about myself.

I looked at the stunning white marble altar as we traversed the unnecessarily rickety wooden bridge that lead across the canyon. It was in that moment I noticed there was a major problem.

"Oh my ga.....Cream! Where is the Master Emerald?!?!" I twirled my tails together and flew to the top of the empty altar.

Cream joined me a few seconds later, not looking nearly as freaked out as I felt.

"Cream you just don't understand! Knuckles' obsession is this thing. If it's lost, bad things might happen. Knuckles will kill us! What are we gonna do?!" I was entirely calm, cool, and collected.

"Tails, it's ok! Knuckles took the emerald with him, wherever he was going." She put both of her hands on my shoulders and stopped me from rambling on.

"I guess that makes sense." I reasoned with myself.

Then I felt Cream's hand wrap around mine as she tugged at me to follow her down the steps. I slowly let her lead me along until we were at the bottom of the altar and were standing near the edge of the tiny lagoon that was apart of the altar's construction.

She let go of my hand as she sat down and dangled her feet in the water. Without another thought, I sat down beside her and let my feet rest in the cool water as well.

"Tails," She began again, putting her hand on mine. "I really wanted you to come over here today because there's something I want to tell you......"

I was looking into the pool but I noticed her face turn toward me with a hint of nervousness. I locked eyes with her as I could feel her intently focused on me. She almost seemed to zone out of a second as I now looked at her strangely, wondering what she was doing.

"Cream....Cream?" I waved my hand in front of her face to snap her out of whatever trance she seemed to be in.

"Oh, sorry Tails." She shook her head a little and looked away.

"What is it Cream?" I looked at her with concern, wondering if she was alright. I put my hand on top of hers to let her know I was there.

She looked at me again and I couldn't move as she slowly maneuvered her head towards mine.

She stopped for a second as I inched my head closer to hers before she kissed me softly on the lips and pulled away.

An amount of time passed that felt likely an eternity but I slowly moved closer to her again as she briefly brushed my forehead tufts of fur before I kissed her again. Her lips felt so soft and warm as I touched them only for a brief but unforgettable moment.

We almost simultaneously stood up in the pool as the water made a soft rippling sound. I didn't entirely know what I was doing but I felt my arms wrap around Cream and hold her tightly in an internally electrifying hug.

After a few moments I pulled back, smiling deeply as I looked at Cream's face. I noticed for the first time the beautiful pendant she was wearing.

"Where'd you get that necklace? It's really beautiful." I complemented her.

"Shadow gave it to me." She said simply.

"Shadow?!?!" My eyes flashed open at the mention of his name.

As soon as his name left my mouth, I saw a dark black hedgehog calmly walking out from behind a corner across the bridge on the main island.

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"So Amy, I have a question that's been bothering me all day." I told her as I laid down on the couch.

"What's that Sonikku?"

"How in the world did I get this hammer?" I pulled the thing from behind my back without even thinking.

It was practically an involuntary reaction now.

Amy just shrugged, and walked off down the hall.

"Amy! Come on! Tell me! I gotta know!" I lifted my head off the pillow it was comfortably resting on.

No response.

Although I was tired, it would have driven me crazy all night. I leapt off the couch and down the hall toward Amy's room.

"What is it Sonikku?" She looked at me as innocently as she could.

"Are you gonna tell me?"

"Nope." I saw that sinister smile on her face again as she cut off the lamp by her bed, leaving the entire room shrouded in darkness.

"Then I'm just gonna have to make you tell me." I laughed as I jumped onto the bed and held her arms down.

I mercilessly began ticking her sides and stomach as giggles turned into laughter in just a few seconds.

"C'mon Ms. Rose, what's your secret?" I made a stupid voice as I continued trying to tickle her without laughing myself.

"Alright! Alright I give!" She took a few deep breaths, sounding relieved that her tickle torture was over.

"Do you like having a hammer Sonic?" She looked up at me, I could still tell she was messing around.

"Yea......." I said, making it sound like it was some sinful pleasure to have a giant mallet that can appear out of nowhere from behind your back.

"Well, it's just Amy magic." She told me as she sat up and tackled me to the bed, now holding both of my arms down.

"What's Amy magic?" I asked, as I felt her slowly slide down and wrap her arms around me.

I caught a quick glimpse of her face in the soft silver moonlight. I smiled in the dark as I hugged her tightly.

"It's a very good thing. Just be glad I share." Amy said softly as we both relaxed our hold on each other.

I kissed her lovingly on the lips and nipped at her ears that I could still see in the light piercing through the window. I then slid back beneath the covers and drifted off to sleep.

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Cream didn't even turn around at the mention of Shadow's name! I mean, she wasn't on the ARK with us when that whole disaster happened, but she's been told a lot about him I know. Plus she had at least seen him when we fought Metal Sonic a while back.

But then again, we never really knew for sure if that was actually Shadow.

"So is this really him?!?!" My mind was racing again, still being able to see his slowly fading white and red super figure fall toward the seemingly lifeless planet beneath the ARK.

"Tails, you've really done it this time." Shadow spoke with an arrogant tone as he stopped beside Cream.

"What?" I could feel my eyes sticking straight up and trying to keep a close eye on him in case he made a sudden move.

"You gave us two planes to work with. Thank you so much." He looked at me, talking as if I was a four-year old.

"Who's us?" I asked him again, unconsciously taking a step back.

"Cream." He paused. "And Knuckles." I saw Knuckles climb up from behind the edge of the cliff behind me."

I looked at his and Cream's eyes and noticed they both seemed cloudy and almost lifeless.

"What are you talking about?" I turned my head quickly as my eyes darted around.

I could feel my blood pressure rising and adrenaline racing through my veins.

"You see that little necklace around her neck?"

I didn't respond.

"That pendant holds the spirits of two poor souls. Well, I shouldn't be so harsh. Knuckles is one of them." Shadow chided himself.

"What about Cream?" I asked him, letting some anger out.

"Now see, that's what I enjoyed most about this." Shadow turned and faced the other side of the bridge.

"Not only did I possess Cream's mind, but I took her chao too." His laugh almost sounded like a cackle as he point at a very tall dark chao poised on the other side of the bridge.

I was becoming more outnumbered by the second.

"What have I got to do with this?" I tried taking a step in direction where someone else wasn't, but there was no where to go.

"You remember when Cream was looking into your eyes earlier?" Shadow said as he pulled out a green emerald.

"She was trying to steal your soul, but something prevented her from taking what I wanted."

Shadow's eyes narrowed as his gaze moved from the emerald he was holding, to me.

"What do you w-want m-my soul for?" I asked him, my anger now clearly replaced by fractured words of fear.

"I want to go to the Life Force Realm." Shadow continued to eye me evilly. "Your soul isn't all we're taking from you though."

My eyes shot open as I couldn't imagine what else he could possibly want that I had.

"I want that chaos emerald you've got." Shadow spoke quickly. "And I know you've got it on you because that's the only possible thing I can think of that prevented Cream from taking your spirit!"

"You want it? Come and get it!" I produced the emerald from my pocket and grasped it tightly in my hand.

"Hah!" Cream ran directly at my and tried jumping in the air to kick me with both of her feet.

I quickly flew sideways and missed her attack, but was definitely caught off guard.

I turned around to see where the other three guys were and noticed Shadow was gone. Almost instantly I felt a sharp kick in the side as Shadow appeared out of nowhere and sent me skidding across the dirt.

I jumped to my feet as fast as I could, trying to think of a way out of this. Cream again came at me, this time flying at a steep angle. I twisted my tails together and flew up, trying not to hurt her as I pushed off her back and flew toward the main branch of Angel Island.

"Hah..hah....hah....." I took a few short breaths as I saw Cream flying across the canyon quickly, with Knuckles gliding right behind her.

"Schhrr........" I heard a crackling energy sound as the dark chao formed a sphere of black and purple energy in its hands and hurled it toward me. I flew up and to the right, looking down to see the ball rip through the rock that was behind me.

"Give it up Tails!" Shadow appeared again and kicked me in the face.

"Gahhhh......" I smashed into the unforgiving dirt again. I felt a cut on my face as it stung from the dirt and dust in the air.

I tried to get up quickly again, but Cream appeared in the now thickening dust cloud and spun kicked me back to the rocks.

"Come on Tails! Fight me!" She said, her voice not sounding at all like the girl I was sitting with a few minutes before.

"I won't do it Cream!" I stood up and coughed a little, trying to get my lungs some fresh air and have everything come back into sight.

I saw Cream's shadow move again through the slightly settling dust cloud as she flapped her ears together and circled around behind me.

"Cream!" I tightened my grip on the now glowing yellow emerald in my right hand as I watched her angry, clouded light brown eyes pierce through my aching body.

"Give me that thing!" Cream dove straight at me as I flew up in the air and moved around swiftly to avoid her attempts to grab and hit my arm.

"Schrrhhrrr...." I heard and noticed the dark chao forming another energy ball between its palms as Cream and I angrily circled above.

I kept one eye on Cream and tried to keep the other on everyone else as the chao hurled the energy mass in what it anticipated to be my direction.

I flew down and continued my circling pattern again as Cream didn't notice my change in altitude.

She continued on the same elliptical path she was on as I was now only eight or so feet off the ground.

"Ahhhh...." Her angered brown eyes showed a moment of pain as I thought I saw her face return to normal as she plunged toward the ground.

The air was much clearer now as I saw her ears completely stop flapping as her body plummeted below the edge of the cliff that separated Angel Island and the Master Emerald altar.

I flew faster than I ever thought possible over the edge of the cliff, almost in a straight dive as I raced to reach Cream in time.

In a matter of seconds I was behind her and tried to adjust my momentum upward. I braced my arms for her body as I know I felt my eyes close for half a second as I prayed she would be alright.

I saw her now closed eyes while she laid motionless in my arms as I hovered to a small patch of grass on the island above.

"Cr-Cr-Cream...?" I felt tears in my eyes as I looked at her lying softly on the ground.

My mind had completely blocked out, forgotten, and purposely pushed away everything and everyone else around me.

I took both my hands and held her gently in my arms again. I noticed Shadow, Knuckles, and the dark chao were standing far away at the moment. I had placed the yellow chaos emerald I was holding on the ground beside me as I was entirely focused on her.

"Cream..." I whispered again as I slowly took her hand and felt for a pulse in her wrist. I detected a smooth beat, calming my own heart down a bit.

"A little careless, aren't we Tails?" I heard Shadow's voice but before I could turn to look, I felt a bright light as I reached one hand toward the ground. I felt around frantically but knew the emerald was gone.

I was worried. I lost the one thing that gave me a chance against him, but I didn't care. I still looked at Cream.

Her eyes were so still, and beautiful. Her dark orange dress was powdered with dust and the small blue ribbon she always wore around her neck was untied and dangling to stay attached.

Another short moment passed I saw Knuckles and the dark chao heading in my direction.

I quickly gathered Cream in my arms again and tried to stand her up. I figured my only chance to get both of us out of here now, was to get to the X Tornado and fly away.

As I stood Cream up her body still leaned against me. Then I felt her move and looked at her in shock. I saw her eyes snap open as she instantly kicked me hard, sending me flying across the ground and against a thick wall of rock.

"Help......." I felt disoriented and lost.

Then I felt Cream's soft arm wrap around me as she stared deeply into my eyes........

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Sonic and Amy slept softly as the deep purples and blacks of midnight blended with the rich reds and yellows of the morning horizon.

AUTHOR NOTE: Hope everyone is enjoying the first four chapters. I haven't written chapter 5 yet but I hope to have it up soon. Your thoughts, comments, and suggestions are greatly appreciated. I like trying to write from the different character's POV.

It provides a unique challenge especially to 'think' and 'speak' how characters that their age would express their feelings and emotions into words. Which is something I think I need to work on since Tails and Cream are meant to be 14ish but who knows. Thanks again everybody!