Phantom Girls

It's Over!: Episode 2

Tikal had awoken abruptly from her sleep the next morning to a strange energy disruption. After waking up the other girls, Rouge and Amy volunteered to go out and investigate the source of the energy outside the city. After the two older girls left, Cream went back into Rouge's room and joined Tikal who was gazing out of the window. She appeared upset over the situation until Cheese landed in her lap and cheered happily. The echidna smiled at the creature petting him on his head.

"He's such a nice chao." Tikal commented still petting Cheese. "How were you able to get him?"

"I was walking through the fields one day with my mommy and found his egg in the grass. I took it home and took care of the egg until it hatched. Mommy said that I could keep him so I named him Cheese." Cream explained happily.

Tikal smiled and then noticed the adorable red bow around Cheese's neck.

"Who made this?" she inquired.

"I did. Doesn't it match my pretty dress?" the small rabbit spun around to show off her red dress.

The echidna giggled under her breath as Cheese flew over into Cream's arms. They embraced each other laughing and cuddled with big smiles on their faces. While Cream and Cheese enjoyed a touching moment, Tikal wanted to ask the young girl a question. She wasn't sure if it would be right to ask something so personal but she was only curious about Cream's situation.

"Um, Cream?" the rabbit looked up at the echidna. "I don't mean to be rude but… where is your mommy?"

Suddenly Cream's smile faded away and she pulled Cheese closer to her. Tikal began to apologize for invading the girl's privacy but Cream stopped her.

"It's ok…" she said quietly. "I don't mind if you ask because you are my friend. So it would only be right for you to know."

Tikal breathed a sigh of relief for not making a mistake.

"When… when I was little, the place where I used to live was attacked by a bad man. He had big robots with him and took almost everyone hostage, but mommy and I were able to get away. She told me to hide inside a tree while she went back to help our friends… but a big explosion happened after she left. I tried to go back for mommy but there were too many robots, so I ran away and got lost…"

Tears were slowly coming out of the child's eyes and Cheese hugged her for comfort. Cream sniffled a bit before continuing on.

"I don't know how long I was alone but it seemed like it was forever. Then Amy found me and Cheese sleeping under a tree one morning and she said that she would take care of us. So we went home with her."

"So Amy had a home as well?" Tikal asked.

"Yeah… but then the bad man attacked her home too and we had to leave there. It was a long time before we met Rouge and started living here with her."

Cream continued to cry while hugging Cheese sadly until Tikal pulled the young girl into her arms to comfort her. Cream sobbed a little as Tikal gently patted her on her head shushing the child. Feeling a little better now, the rabbit wiped away her tears and smile a bit at her new friend.

"You know, Amy is like a big sister to me. She does lots of stuff with me and watches after me while Miss Rouge is out." Cream said sitting next to Tikal with Cheese taking to the air.

The orange echidna couldn't help but laugh at Cream's adorable voice and personality. Even though the child was the youngest member of the Phantom Girls, her unique personality and cheerful attitude would be a great asset to the team during their troubled times. Tikal went back to gazing out of the window until she felt someone grab onto her hand. The echidna looked to see that it was Cream and she had a big smile spread across her face.

"Do you want to be my new big sister Miss Tikal?" Cream asked eagerly. "We'll have lots of fun together and I can help get back the blue fire that Tyra took from you."

It was a humble request from the little girl but Tikal knew that she would not be around for very long after the Crystal Fire was retrieved. Still, she felt that it would be wrong not to accept Cream's offer. Tikal held onto the child's hand and smiled accepting the offer.

"Yes Cream." Tikal said. "I would love to be your big sister."

Elsewhere out in the fields on the outskirts of the city, Rouge and Amy had traveled far into the open fields only to discover something quite unpleasant. As Rouge landed on top of a hill, Amy pulled up next to bat on her motorcycle. The girls gasped at what they saw at the bottom of the field ahead of them.

"Do you think this is was Tikal was so worried about?" Amy asked.

"I guess so…" Rouge replied blankly.

A vast dark portal made up of a swirling blue and black color had appeared. It didn't seem to do much except grow at an extremely slow rate and emitted a strange eerie noise. It had to be the work of Tyra… but what exactly was she doing?