Chapter 5 – A Boxing Day Knock-Out.
A/N: Again a big thank you to the reviewer of this fic; but what do you think of the competition I set? Fun or just plain annoying? Let me know and I'll work out if I should set some more in the future or not.
Komodo342 – It is NOT nerdy to know about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy – the entire series is a work of comic genius. If you are truly a nerd and proud of it, answer me this; In Red Dwarf, what's the difference between soft and hard light holograms? Failure to answer will result in exile from the global Brotherhood of Nerds under order of I. Rowland, Chief Nerd Supreme of England and Great Britain. You have until the next chapter is posted to answer…
Sleeping that night was a little complex, but thankfully Tails had come up trumps again; handing his keys to Shadow, he swiftly folded down the seats of the Tornado's jeep mode and, just like they had six months ago, two hedgehogs and an echidna bunked down in the back of the car, though this time there was no chance of a certain rose hedgehog capturing untoward photographs on her mobile phone. This let Vanilla share her bed with her daughter, who let Rouge sleep in her room, while Amy slept in the guest room. Big was slumped down on the largest comfy chair in the lounge and lastly the kit himself was wrapped up in a sleeping bag and had managed to fit himself onto the settee, sleeping fitfully as the greatest day of the year finally passed.
Vanilla slowly came back to the realm of consciousness due to a little pressure on her shoulder; as she blinked herself to full wakefulness she smiled as she saw why. Cream was laid alongside her and still cold to the world, and curled up next to her were the slumbering forms of the deadly duo. It's a wonder I was left with any blanket at all; the elder rabbit gingerly moved her body away from her daughter, taking care not to wake her up after the late night she'd had. As she slid out of bed and reached for her clothes the memories of the previous night raced back into her mind and she glanced at her child again, this time imagining her a lot older, with a familiar fox next to her. She was no fool – Tails and Cream shared a lot of common ground and were in vehement denial of their feelings; as any parent will tell you that's a classic sign of affection. Tails must take after his brother – Sonic's useless when it comes to that Rose girl – mind you…; Vanilla had always prided herself on knowing her own home intimately and she'd noticed that the bunch of mistletoe over the bathroom door had been one berry less since last night. It didn't take a genius to figure out just what had occurred. Vanilla shook her head – her daughter with Tails, that was looking way too far into the distant future and right now, she had a more important date to consider.
It was as she ducked her head into the lounge that she saw something had changed; Tails was still sound asleep on the sofa but the chair Big had rested in was empty. The cat was nowhere to be found and – there was a glint of metal on the front door mat, and a brown envelope under that. The owner of the house quickly examined it and realised the metal was the front door key and the envelope under it wasn't addressed to her; the words To Team Rose were scribbled down in large, chunky letters. Vanilla had known Big wouldn't be accompanying them to Twinkle Park, but did he have to leave so suddenly? At least she could have taken him back to the Mystic Ruins in her car; the roads would be dead at this hour. Big was an enigma to her, though she could understand some of his reasoning; he liked living the way he did because he didn't fit in well with anything like normal life, but at the same time he seemed content, even happy, to make friends with people as long as they didn't interfere with him too much. Is interfere even the right word? She shook her head, trying to put another one of her daughter's friend's quirks behind her as she though about breakfast.
"Hey Mum".
"Morning sleepyhead"; Vanilla had to chuckle as her daughter, still dressed in her nightgown, trooped into the kitchen with a heavy yawn, sitting down at the table and picking at the grapes of the fruit bowl, "Cheese and Chocola still asleep?" Cream nodded sleepily,
"Yep, like pretty much everyone else; how can they be sleeping when we're about to go to Twinkle Park, and at Christmas?" The younger rabbit perked up considerably as she saw the clock on the wall.
"Oh my, it's nearly half-past eight", she pushed back from the table with all the urgency of someone hearing a nuclear alert siren, "we're gonna be late; we gotta get ready, it's late and…"
"Hold your horses Bun", Cream calmed down at her mother using her kid nickname; Vanilla had declared she had looked 'as sweet as a sticky cream bun' in her primary school pictures and the name had stuck, "the park won't be open for another two and a half hours, we have plenty of time to get ready. Tell you what; if no-one's up by the time you've finished breakfast you can get Tails up". Cream sighed as she took the offered agreement as a reflection of the previous evening.
"Mum, I'd rather go and get Amy…"
"Is that so; my motherly-love lie-detector says someone's not telling me the truth", the elder rabbit smiled as she put down a full bowl of cereal for herself and a half-full one for her daughter, "listen kiddo, I know you two are good friends and I'm glad about that", she carried on as Cream twiddled one of her ears around her hand; she's a little bit embarrassed about this – a crush maybe; Vanilla was careful to hide her suspicions as she continued, "he's a nice boy and a good person to have as a friend; I'm glad to know him".
"Really mum?" Cream glanced up at this admission, causing Vanilla to nod sagely,
"Yes, I like Tails as a friend, and you should to", Cream eyes never left her mother's face, "so no more of this 'I'd rather get Amy or someone else' malarkey, or you'll get some more of, this!" Her hand that had been inching forwards under the table shot forward and gently pinched her daughter's belly; Cream laughed and tried to slap the hand away as she capitulated,
"Mercy, mercy; okay I'll get him up in a minute", she used both hands to hold her mother's at a distance before locking eyes with the elder rabbit, "Mum, I, er, I do like Tails, but just as a friend, okay?" Vanilla rolled her eyes and smiled,
"Fine by me, now eat before the flakes go soggy". Looks like I was right earlier – reminds me of my first crush; Ricky Sharpear you were a sweetheart; Vanilla let her mind wander backwards to when she had first felt the stirrings of young affection and how they had changed her, made her both more nervous and more self-confident at the same time. This was something she couldn't teach Cream directly, she had to sit on the sidelines and shout encouragement as best she could.
"Finished mum", Cream carried her bowl to the sink and ran some cold water onto it as a rinse, leaving it on the side to drain as she'd been taught, "I'll go and wake him up now".
"Okay, but be gentle about it; no snowballs down the top of his sleeping bag at this time in the morning".
"Aww, no fun", Cream tried her cute look but, after over a decade of exposure, Vanilla was impervious to this type of attack, "no loud noises as well I bet".
"You win, now shoo before the WUM and DUM show up". I know they're not real, but I hate washing and drying up so better play along; Cream slid off her chair and scooted out the door quickly as Vanilla began to fill the sink. She turned around as Cream quickly reappeared,
"Mum, has Big gone?" Nuts, I'd forgotten about that;
"Yes, sorry but he left very early this morning", Vanilla nodded to the top of the fridge, "but he left an envelope for you". Cream sighed but at the same time smiled,
"He said he'd leave yesterday; spoke to me when I'd finished getting ready for bed. Wonder what's inside". Using her natural gift of levitation, Cream fluttered up to the top of the fridge and saw the large envelope; she almost reached out for it before realising it was addressed to her and Amy. She lowered herself to the floor and walked out again, missing the look of relief on Vanilla's face as she realised the cat had more sense and feelings than she'd given him credit for.
Now this is tricky; Cream furrowed her brow as she realised she had a problem here – she needed to wake Tails up slowly so he wouldn't be worried and quietly so he wouldn't wake anyone else. She crept over to where the fox was slumbering still, the foot of his bed peeping over the armrest of the settee as his head rested on a pillow the other side. Cream sized up the problem and examined all the available options before deciding on a course of action; she walked stealthily over to the fox's head and, trembling from both nervousness and her own sense of daring, she gently stroked the ear nearest to her. The organ flicked but Tails slept on, his light breathing almost in tandem with Cream's own as she tried again, this time pulling on it a little harder to try and provoke more of a response.
"G'way"; Cream widened her eyes in shock as the fox rolled away from her without even waking a quarter of the way up, trying to put some distance between his ear and the source of the itch; go away – I'll give him go away, hmm…
It took a little doing but eventually the rabbit managed to unzip the sleeping bag down one side and, with a gleeful smile, suddenly threw it upwards, exposing the fox to the cold air. Tails shivered but still didn't wake up, at least not until Cream started wafting the sleeping bag up and down like a giant fan.
"Brrr", Tails woke and tried to collect his bearings and, most importantly, stop whatever was causing that abominable draught, "Cream, what are you doing?"
"Just getting you up in time".
"Time for what?" Tails hadn't remembered as he took a deep yawn of air; Cream had no hesitation of filling him in.
"Oh I don't know, what about the visit to Twinkle Park that's happening in about two hours?" Tails was instantly awake, alert and ready for anything; he'd looked forwards to this for weeks and wasn't going to let a little thing like tiredness stand in the way. He slipped on his shoes as Cream stood a little off to the side, not sure exactly what to do next.
"Umm", she decided after a few seconds pause, "why don't you get some breakfast; mum's about to start the washing up so if you hurry she'll be able to wash your bowl for you".
"Nice plan, I like it"; that was a nice offer, she's smart; Tails smiled up at Cream as he pushed himself to his feet, hiding his nervousness behind a screen of charisma, much like his elder brother did at times. Both younger Mobians left the lounge for the dining room, neither sure exactly what to feel as they realised the other was close enough to hear even the most secret, hidden tone of voice.
Urrrrrrgggghhhhh; from the second she blinked open her sleep-encrusted eyes and took a snuffling breath through her numb nose, Amy realised it was going to be just one of those days. She felt exhausted and bloated as she swam through her covers, eventually letting her legs flop out of bed and to the ground. I must have over-eaten last night, and the fight straight after it didn't help any – as she pulled on her dress she shuddered as she considered the unpleasant possibility that she had caught a cold and it was just starting to show. She kicked on her shoes and straightened herself with an even more determined manner than usual as she remembered that this was the big day today. There was no way on this great green earth that she'd miss out on the Boxing Day Bash for something as trifling as a cold, no matter that she felt like Death warmed up. There was no mirror in the guest room, which she considered just as well; she didn't want to know just how awful she looked until she was in a position to do something about it. Time to go for a bathroom creep – stealthily creaking the door open, Amy glanced each way down the hallway and, assuring herself it was deserted, quickly darted down the hall, swung a hard right and quickly checked herself to reach the bathroom. The door opened and Amy slipped inside, congratulating herself on a job well done as she turned around… coming face-to-face with Rouge.
The hedgehog stared for a second as the bat clumsily turned to look at who had invaded her haven just as she was putting on her customary make-up, the eye-shadow applier paused midway between blush pot and eyelid. Amy made to back out the door but Rouge was marginally faster and saw the younger girl with more than a touch of concern.
"Oh it's you Ames", is she feeling alright, she looks a little pale, "are you all right?"
"Umm, I'm a little tired and didn't sleep very well", she gave a weak smile as she patted her belly, "think I overdid the ice-cream last night".
"You and me both", Rouge finished applying her make-up and took a final glance in the mirror before easing off one of her gloves; Amy didn't move as the naked hand gently touched her forehead, "hmm, you feel a bit warm; have any contact with a cold over the holidays?"
"I think Si might have had one a few weeks back, but he said it wasn't much, he was better in a few days". Amy tried to focus on the bat's furless hand as it stayed where it was for the minute, the older Mobian weighing things up in her mind before shrugging and removing her digits, slipping them back into her glove and smiling; since she and Knuckles had been together she'd been less self-conscious about exposing her hairless hands, just as Knuckles had occasionally revealed the bare spurs of his own paws.
"Well, shouldn't be anything serious – nothing that'll stop you making Twinkle Park later, ohh I can't wait for that"; Rouge shuddered in anticipation as the hedgehog waved a menacing finger.
"Wild horses wouldn't keep me away from there today". The bat smiled and put her hands on her hips as she agreed,
"Good for you Ames and, oh, just a moment", the slight shift in position had made the light from above shine differently in Rouge's eyes; something had a bright reflection and it had caught her eye, "what's this I see?"
"That, that was a present"; Amy lowered her head on the pretence of letting the bat get a closer look of the new ear piece; deep down she hoped Rouge wouldn't ask who from. The ex-spy gave the small object a critical once over with a very well-practiced eye,
"Nice piece, real jewels too".
"How'd you", Rouge raised a single, quizzical eyebrow as Amy remembered exactly who she was talking with on the subject of jewellery, "forget I asked".
"Looks good, and it suits you; so come on, out with it", Rouge rubbed her hands; if she says who I've got my money on he is in for the ribbing to end all ribbings, "who gave it to you?"
"Oh, er", can't tell her, she'd make Sonic's life a misery, "that came from, my boss; he said I'd done a good job and", she stuttered to a halt as she realised Rouge was trying desperately not to laugh, "what's so funny?"
"You; you're a hopeless liar Ames", the bat pulled herself together as she tried to make this painless, "I worked for the President and he didn't give me jewels as good as that very often; I reckon I know who it was".
"Really?" the pink hedgehog squeaked, still clinging hopelessly to her defence.
"Yep, I reckon it was a famous blue hedgehog with green eyes, a fox for a brother and an ego the size of a planet, am I right?" Of course I am; Rouge could read body language quite well on a normal day and the way Amy suddenly shuffled her feet and looked at the floor made her realise she'd realised she'd hit home.
"Yeah, it was Sonic; he gave it to me last night before I went to bed".
"I wondered where you'd gone" the bat remarked, plotting the best way to make the hero squirm before Amy's voice broke back through to her.
"Listen, I know this is a big ask but don't tell Knuckles – Sonic'll never live it down". Rouge span to face her and grinned hopelessly,
"I know; I fully intend to make sure he doesn't; oh this is going to be sweet". Amy glared back at the bat; it may have been in an innocuous manner and in fun but Rouge was indirectly threatening Sonic and she couldn't let that happen.
"You listen to me, Ms Assistant Guardian; you are going to keep this quiet or", she pointed a venomous finger at Rouge's still damp mascara, "that eye-shadow's going all over your face".
"You couldn't…" Rouge never had a chance to finish; she was too busy trying to hold Amy's hands at bay by gripping her wrists and pushing them away. To her horror and shock, she was slowly failing as Amy's strength forced her backwards to try and keep distance between her face and the mascara-smearing finger tips. She's strong, I can't hold her;
"Alright, alright I promise", the bat waited for the relentless assault to stop before continuing, "I won't tell Knucks, but if he figures it out for himself that's another matter. Now", the bat reached for her make-up case and packed everything away before sealing it up, "I'm off for breakfast; just splash some warm water on your face and try to have something to eat, it'll make you feel better". Amy stood to the side as Rouge exited the bathroom, though she failed to see the smirk that Rouge couldn't quite suppress – at least I never promised I wouldn't take the mick – time for payback on that crooked snowball contest Sonic!
"Ah, the sleeping beauties waketh".
"Not this time in the morning floppy" Knuckles growled as she opened the door to him and the two hedgehogs; though necessary to get any kind of sleep in the night the Tornado was hardly the most ideal crashing place and it had been an uncomfortable night for the echidna. Shadow yawned as he nodded at the young hostess; he was seeking some life-giving coffee to start the day off – only Sonic appeared unfazed by his lodgings.
"Thanks short stuff", he nimbly dodged Cream's cuff; the rabbit knew she was the smallest of her friends and didn't like to be reminded of the fact, "now where's that soup from last night?"
"At least someone's easy to please", the trio listened in as Vanilla's voiced echoed down through the hallway, "six sugars in a white coffee; how do you put up with this girl's sweet tooth Knuckles?"
"I point out how much weight she's put on…"
"WHAT!" Both hedgehogs and Cream sidled away from Knuckles as if he'd suddenly caught a virulent strain of the plague,
"…then I run like hell before she catches me; the chase burns off all the calories". Rouge jerked her burning eyes round the door as Knuckles posed victoriously; it was partially true – as a fruit bat Rouge had a natural tendency to snack on sweet things that were unfortunately rather on the fattening side of the scale. She had kept her figure by a punishing fitness regime that Knuckles had altered with her to take into account her now much more active lifestyle. This kept her slim, though it unfortunately didn't stop the echidna making a few choice comments to her unfortunate fondness for sugar.
"You better treat me to something special when we're out Knucklehead" the bat promised as she led them into the kitchen; the guardian slid his arms around her waist before she could sit down and whispered in her ear.
"You know I will batgirl; when don't I?" The bat smiled fondly and flicked the side of his nose with one finger,
"When you make jokes about my figure".
"You're gorgeous and you know it".
"I have to be; I'm making up for you in the beauty stakes. Ah, don't!" she squeaked as Knuckles blew in her ear suddenly; she tried to wriggle free as the echidna demanded an apology. Sonic cut in as he poured milk on his cereal, secretly celebrating as he confirmed that those two were made for each other; no-one had ever been able make his serious friend lighten up as readily as Rouge could.
"Why should she apologise; you know she's right". Knuckles let his girlfriend go back to her coffee and glanced at Sonic sardonically.
"Oh really, well if I'm no oil painting how come I'm the one with a stunning girl", he smiled at Rouge as she waited for him to finish, "living with me?" Oh, harsh, the blue hedgehog winced as he realised this was the one field were Knuckles had him over a barrel – doesn't have to be that way you know – can't you take a hint – presents, a Christmas kiss, the evidence is compelling – but not concrete, at least, not yet – oh my God I think we're getting somewhere – maybe; Sonic shook his head and sighed in resignation,
"No idea – it can't be charisma, certainly isn't charm and the closest you've come to fashion is looking it up in a dictionary", he looked up to where Knuckles was advancing towards him menacingly; he edged slowly towards the door, "was it something I said?"
Amy pushed the bathroom door open and watched in amazement as a rush of wind breezed past, followed by a roaring echidna demanding a fight as voices in the background tried to settle things down. The pink hedgehog rolled her eyes – that's the boy's awake then.
When everyone eventually calmed down, got washed, fed and ready to go, and after Shadow and Tails finally managed to persuade Knuckles to put down the chair and let Sonic live for another day, there was only thirty minutes left to get ready. Cream and Tails could hardly sit still, Sonic was in a similar state, Shadow was nearly as bad but could hide it better and Knuckles was merely waiting stoically, a champion of holding his emotions in check as they all waited for the other three girls to get ready. Rouge was first to emerge, followed by Amy, but it was when Vanilla presented herself from the master bedroom that all seven other jaws fell to the floor; Shadow in particular was having trouble coming to terms with his partner for the day.
The elder rabbit had carefully arranged her clothes to compliment her natural build and physique perfectly; she was wearing casual jeans and a loose T-shirt. She didn't have much make-up on but what she was wearing complimented her image as a bloom of youth. Vanilla sniggered at their gawping expressions and stuck her tongue out,
"What's up, mass tonsillitis?"
"M,mum?" Cream managed to whisper as Shadow simply continued blinking; mind still not managing to comprehend that Vanilla could look so young when she wanted to.
"Yes, amazing but true, it's me".
"How'd you do it?" Rouge studied the older Mobian for some clue, a tiny hint of how she'd pulled the transformation off, "you don't look a day over eighteen". Vanilla smiled and may just, just have gone a slight shade of red as she examined herself.
"It's not quite that young, but it's just a matter of picking the right clothes and highlighting it with the slap", she chuckled slightly as the bat listened intently, "I don't have a time machine stashed in my bedroom". Tails hummed and gently stroked his whiskered chin, a sly look on his features,
"I might be able to do something about that…"
"No way you", Sonic reprimanded his brother as he saw the sparkle of challenge in the fox's eyes, "just stick to mechanics; last thing we need is you monkeying around in the space-time continuity".
"That's continuum". Amy supplied helpfully,
"Whatever". Vanilla pulled her car keys out of the rear pocket of her jeans and broke up the fledgling argument effortlessly,
"Anyway, shall we get going?" She offered her arm to Shadow; with a look of apprehension on his face the black hedgehog accepted and walked in tandem with the rabbit as she led them outside, Cream pausing to give her chao a hug before they all left. As they all rearranged themselves into pairs and cars, Sonic whispered to Amy.
"You feeling alright?"
"Yeah, why?"
"You look a little peaky". The rose hedgehog smiled and Sonic felt a little warmth of the previous night return,
"Rouge said that; I'm just tired, had a bad night last night, nothing a trip to the park won't cure". Acting on impulse, Sonic squeezed her hand as the pair entered the Tornado from opposite doors.
"Atta girl; that's the attitude".
"Been hanging around with you too long".
"A lot of people say that – must mean I'm irresistible".
"Irritating maybe – irresistible nah".
"Hey you pair", I've wanted to say this for ages, "no canoodling in the back seats". The hedgehogs looked up from their word games to see Tails looking at them in the rear view mirror as he pulled out; both settled down as they heard Cream giggle at Tails managing to turn Sonic's saying against its creator.
Shadow opened the passenger door of the light green car Vanilla owned and stepped outside, relishing the crisp air as he set his eyes on the prize; the entrance to Twinkle Park was within view and a comfortable walk away. Knuckles joined him at the bonnet and nodded in unspoken agreement,
"Looks cool doesn't it?"
"I've been here before haven't I; just can't remember it". Knuckles had to think carefully about this and tilted his head back – it was a few seconds before the echidna could answer his friend,
"No, no in all honesty I don't think you have", he looked at the black hedgehog and chuckled, "don't worry, this'll be a first time for both of us".
"You've been here before haven't you?"
"Yeah, but I was on business if you catch my drift. Never had time to enjoy the place".
"Well you will today Knucks", Rouge appeared on his arm and rubbed his shoulder. Despite himself the echidna smiled; it seemed he just couldn't not smile when the bat was around,
"I could be on a life support machine and I'd enjoy it as long as you were next to me". The bat tousled his hair before gripping his hand and dragging him off the bonnet of the car,
"Come on, let's get going; Tails'll be here soon enough".
"You big kid; all that talk of maturity and this at the first sight of the funfair", Vanilla chortled as Shadow scooted over to make room for her, "we're waiting here until the other four show up, got it?"
"No", the bat drew herself up prissily, "I'm the eldest looking here and I say we're going in now". Knuckles sighed wearily as he gave an imploring glance to the rabbit and her partner,
"You see what I have to put up with?"
"Better that than when you're snoring; honestly it's like trying to sleep in a saw-mill". Shadow shook his head at the pair of them, a little relieved that they were now trading light-hearted comments rather than punches and kicks. A sudden light bulb clicked on in his mind,
"Hey you two, remember, we've got to look cute as couples to get in free; you look like you need the practice".
"And you don't?" Shadow and Vanilla gave a nod and in unison blasted the bat and echidna with the expressions they'd been practising on the drive in. Knuckles reeled as though blinded and Rouge squinted in the beam of pleading held in the combined glances.
"Ah, okay, you'll get in no trouble, just turn it off now". Hedgehog and rabbit reset their expressions to neutral as Knuckles and Rouge hastily discussed how they could try and top that; as Shadow pointed out, Knuckles was more rugged than cute and Rouge was very mature for her age. As they began to formulate a strategy, the Tornado pulled up in a nearby parking space.
"Hey guys, ready to roll?"
"You bet", Tails remotely locked the Tornado before bounding over to the others, Cream matching him step for step, "been looking forwards to this all week and nothing's going to stop me now".
"Or me", Cream agreed, bouncing on the spot as the excitement tore at her; Sonic and Amy arrived to complete the group of eight and they all set off towards the paying in point together. There was a bit of a queue already despite the early hour, but soon they were all ready for an entrance.
"Hello there", the girl at the entrance smiled from her register and spoke as they reached her from the queue, "names please?" Knuckles and Rouge were first in the queue so answered as both nervously tried to assume their 'cute' look.
"Knuckles Echidna and Rouge the Bat please". The human scrolled down the register and gave a small 'ah' as she found the correct names. As she ticked them off, she gave them a quick once over, followed by a tiny nod of her head.
"Okay, you're just about cute enough to qualify; go on in", the bat and echidna ducked past and gratefully exchanged a sigh of relief; that had been painful but, as Knuckles glanced around, he swiftly realised it had been worth it.
Twinkle Park had been made up to look like some sort of ice-palace from a fairy-tale. The snow was thick on the ground and was being pumped out of discreet little tubes to fall in a soft, feathery rain. Plastic icicles were hung from most horizontal surfaces and refracted the light that fell on them into shining rainbows that added a new dimension to the presentation of an icy paradise.
"Beautiful isn't it?" Knuckles simply nodded as Rouge took a map of the place from a holder on the side of the main entrance way and flipped it open. Two places immediately caught her eye; the ghost house had been rechristened Shiver's Revenge for the occasion and the famous Twister rollercoaster was now the Blizzard and, she could see, had even been given a lick of white paint to complete the job. Vanilla and Shadow strode over, followed by and embarrassed-looking Sonic and a giggling Amy. Rouge rolled her eyes,
"I know I'm gonna regret it, but what happened?" Amy answered as Sonic put a paw over his face as though trying to shield his mind from the memory,
"The girl said we made the cutest couple she'd seen all day", the pink hedgehog glowed with pride as Sonic revealed his face again; to the surprise of most concerned he was smiling shyly rather than grimacing at this deduction by the cashier.
"Just the two terrors to come then", Shadow mentioned before looking around after a second's pause, "where are they anyway?"
"Up here", everyone looked up; the flying duo were hovering overhead in order to get a clearer picture of what was going on and where the queues were now, "there's a few people heading over to the rollercoaster and the Big Easy, but everything else looks pretty clear". As the two touched down and were congratulated on their quick thinking, the word 'big' touched off a memory in Vanilla. She unclipped her purse as the others decided what was the best thing to do first.
"Hey, Team Rose", Amy and Cream looked over as Vanilla produced the envelope Big had left them, "looks like you forgot something from this morning". Cream gave a slight d'oh as she realised she'd completely forgotten the gift her larger friend had left her. Together, she and Amy opened the envelope carefully and revealed a Christmas card; a snowman with a sprig of holly in his broomstick arm cheerfully adorning the front of it. Amy held it upright and began to open it, realising the cat had left something inside. As the others clustered around there was a collective gasp of astonishment as the card fell open.
"It's us Ames" Cream said breathlessly as her eyes drank in the sketch pinned to the inside of the card.
It was a charcoal drawing of all three members of Team Rose, including Cheese and even Froggy, delivering their combined victory pose against a backdrop of the front of Cream's house. It was a deceptively simple type of artwork; it was only when you looked at it closely that you could see the thought and time that had gone into it; the way the cat must have shaded each one of Amy's spines individually to take into account the light blazing from the front of the rabbit's house. Only after an intense examination could you pick out the intricacies involved in the expression of joy on Cream's face as Cheese hugged her ear and the manner in which all three central figures overlapped, yet remained separate in the centre of the drawing; all marks of a talented sketcher. But that wasn't all, for underneath the first drawing was a second, identical to the first in every tiny detail, a fact made all the more amazing as everyone present tried to picture the amount of effort Big must have put into this gift and simply failed to comprehend the time scale involved. There was a message underneath these masterpieces and Amy read it out loud in a hushed, awed voice,
"To Amy and Cream, a merry Christmas and a happy New Year – may all your wishes and dreams come true. All my love, Big the Cat", she reverently closed the card and slowly slid it back inside the envelope, taking exquisite care not to crease the parchment inside, "that's, that's just incredible; Vanilla, please look after it".
"Amy, I'm having one of these framed", the rabbit assured her as she replaced the card in the most straight and secure part of her handbag; never had she even considered the possibility that Big could have had an artistic streak, never mind one as refined or as competent as that. It was only then that something struck her,
"He must have, done that…", my stars, that's impossible; no-one could do something like that; Vanilla saw Tails brighten as he saw her point and gasped,
"…from memory", the kit finished for her; he knew he was a skilled person mnemonically but that was a whole new level. Shadow nodded in mute agreement,
"He's right as well, you two couldn't have posed for the picture could you?"
"When was the last time he was at your house Vanilla?" Rouge tried to get a feel for the time scale involved as she inwardly raised her appreciation of the large cat up several notches. Cream managed to answer after a stunned second of thinking,
"It must have been just after the Metal Overlord bit, when he took me home after we went fishing for the day, but that was months ago".
"He must have a memory like a sponge", Sonic stated; he didn't have much of a tolerance for art if truth be told, mostly due to the fact he couldn't draw to save his life, but a piece as skilled as that had embedded itself deep in his memories, "if I were you I'd frame your copy too Ames; that's priceless".
"You said it". Knuckles tore his eyes down at the map of Twinkle Park and immediately saw a solution; he tapped Vanilla's shoulder and spoke to the rest,
"Hey guys; here's a thought", he pointed at the booth just outside the Blizzard, "this place does photo frames, at least temporary ones; if we go over maybe they'll lend us two to keep the sketches safe". Tails weighed it up in his mind and agreed approvingly,
"Good idea Knucks; that'll keep them safe and", he took to the air for a second, "there's no queue, so if we hurry we'll get there first". All eight set off immediately; Big had put his heart into these drawings; to treat them like anything less than that would be betrayal of the most foul kind.
Thanks to the man servicing this counter having a slight appreciation of art, both sketches were swiftly wrapped up in separate sheaths that were guaranteed water and tear-proof. Now that everyone was sure their friend's gift could no longer be accidentally damaged, there was a swift vote as to where to go first. By mutual agreement, it was decided that the Blizzard simply had to be the last ride of the day, so other options were swiftly discussed and a vote taken. As the eldest, Vanilla counted and smiled as she realised her candidate was going to be elected in.
"Right, Shiver's Revenge it is then". Knuckles shifted the map and sighed; at least they had all day to check out the Snowstorm Assault Course. The echidna pointed down a path to the right,
"We go this way and take the second on the right, okay. Follow me". All eight Mobians set off towards their goal, Amy holding onto Sonic slightly as she realised she'd never quite got over her inherent fear of ghosts and ghouls; not since she'd been camping at six and some bright spark had thought it would be a good idea to run into her tent in the middle of the night, dressed in rags and fake blood. It had taken her a quarter of an hour to stop screaming and she hadn't slept again that night.
"Sonic, um", she started, unsure of how he'd react to this, "I'm not, you know, a hundred percent cool with, like, ghosts and creepy things". The blue hedgehog chuckled and spoke back quietly,
"Don't worry Ames; I'll be with you the whole time – I'm an experienced ghost-buster".
"Really?" Sonic smiled and gently held her hand,
"Yeah, really; just ask Tails about the time we were hanging in Robotnik's digging sites. He was younger then and didn't like the dark, so I just stayed with him until he was a bit more confident. Look at him now, bold as brass", he indicated the fox as Tails played a short game of aerial tag with his partner, I wonder if…yeah, there's a good idea; he spoke again as Amy followed his glance, "just as well, I needed the practice".
"Tell me more", what could have got through to him?
"One word; Sandopolis – that was a nightmare in the main pyramid", Sonic shuddered at the memory, "I swear, if there are ghosts in this world that's one of their main hang outs". Amy giggled as she smiled at the strangely open admission from Sonic,
"Well, if you could make it through something like that I'm sure I can tackle a little ghost ride". Sonic sucked in a breath and put his arm around her shoulders, offering a small gesture of support in this decision, grateful that they were at the rear of the group and no-one could see them; too bad for him he didn't notice that just as he removed his arm he'd been seen as a reflection in one of the icicles adorning Twinkle Park. More fodder for the cannon; Sonic you are really in for it this time!
"Please, come on in". In Knuckles' opinion, the tour guide couldn't have been more suited for his job; he was a startlingly small, skinny man with a beak like nose, pale blue eyes and a few straggly stands of hair protecting him from complete baldness. He was dressed in a heavy robe that must have been his uniform and appeared to be a little hunched over, though where that was just part of his act or due to posture problems the echidna couldn't say.
"Wonder if he's like that all the time", Rouge whispered to him as they entered the slightly warmer interior of the ghost house, "if not he's really into his job".
"Tell me about it"; Shadow had obviously overheard the two speaking as he cut in from slightly behind them. The hushed conversation between the Mobians and the half-dozen or so humans who had joined them en route to this ride ceased as the guide paused by the heavily constructed wooden door that must have led into the ghost house and spoke in a high, nasally voice.
"Not many brave souls dare venture into this house of creepiness and confusion, not when they hear the legends", he gave a suitably dramatic pause as there was some uneasy shuffling, "this house was once owned and inhabited by a wealthy family but money and power, as it so often does, corrupted them; they were cold and cruel to all who met them, none more so than their faithful butler, Shivers. This elderly gent worked for them all his life, but as he lay infirm one fine Christmas, the master of the house ordered him to get out. Shivers' poor heart couldn't bear to leave and he passed away within the four walls he'd lived all his life, but with his final breath he placed upon this house a terrible curse". There were definite tremors running through the audience now as the guide, with his creepy disguise and spookily compelling voice, had them on the hook,
"It was late, on the darkest eve of the year, when the locals nearby heard the sounds of screaming and other, less worldly noises coming from this fine building. Many swore it was a herald of the end times, so chilling did it sound, so deadly and dark. When the dawn came, a few of the bravest souls came knocking on the door. What they found inside they could never say again, they were so numb from the terror, but from that day forth no-one has entered this place and come out the same". The tour guide bent forwards, a grim little smile on his thin lips as he stared at them all piercingly,
"Do any of you have the courage to enter?"
Uh oh; Amy had been confident as she'd arrived but that story had drained her courage like water from a leaky bucket. Someone left, she could hear shuffling behind her and was very tempted to join them but no; Sonic was next to her and while he was around she could do anything.
"Let's do this" she whispered to bolster herself; she jumped a little at a voice in her ear,
"You sure Ames?" Sonic looked at her concerned, "I'll sit this one out if you want".
"No way"; she took hold of his arm, "I'm conquering my fear of ghosts here and now". Cream, slightly ahead, looked around at her friend and noted with relief that she wasn't the only one feeling more than a little terrified at this ride,
"Nervy too Ames?"
"Yep, not a massive fan of ghosts".
"Me neither", brainwave – less scary when there's something at the end of it!; the rabbit looked up sharply, "tell you what, let's make a bet; first one to scream buys the other an ice-cream". She hurriedly shook with the hedgehog as they were ushered inside by the vertically-challenged guide; he smiled ominously as they made their way past him,
"Your last chance to turn back". Amy whispered out the corner of her mouth,
"Not a chance" and stepped inside.
The interior was dimly lit and ominous; the sickly yellow and green phosphoresce barely illuminating the glinting ebony of the ride itself. Following the instructions that slithered out of hidden speakers, all the 'new victims' alighted the ride two to a seat, Amy shifted over to let Sonic sit down, shaking slightly and this time it wasn't due to the cold.
"Just chill Ames; relax and let it come to you" were the blue blur's words of wisdom as the safety bar descended to hold them all in place. She managed to give a weak smile before, with a sudden lurch, the rollercoaster moved off from the start point. It began at a slower pace and just as the pink hedgehog was beginning to relax, the speed picked up and from the darkness ahead, something screamed bloodcurdlingly.
Strangely enough, though in the future Amy would be able to recall every other detail of that magical day perfectly, her memory of the ghost ride was more or less a complete blank. All she remembered of it was that at some stage, just after she'd been forced to shut her eyes to ward off a flickering spirit to the side, she and Sonic had both sat bolt upright in their seats, crushed against the safety bar as icy cold water dripped onto the back of their necks from a hidden crevasse above them. Just after that tiny escape, as her heart was still fluttering around in her ribcage like an imprisoned bird, there had come a sudden scream of panic from up ahead. Amy just about managed to hold her nerve as a stylised grim reaper rushed out from its alcove to try and behead her as Sonic leaned over.
"Looks like you won the bet Ames". I can't take anymore; she clamped her eyes shut, trying to block out the world as computerised moans of horror filtered into her ears. Her teeth were gritted and her knuckles were white even through her gloves. Man, she's terrified, better try something;Sonic gently placed his hand above and over hers, lending unspoken support as he cursed himself for his stupidity – he should have sat this one out instead of forcing her to come in with him.
"Hey, come on Amy", he spoke carefully to try and get her to release her crushing grip on the plastic, "you can look, it isn't real". Typically, just as he said that, the ride they were on began to slow down slightly, tiny specks of light becoming clear at the end of the spiral as the ride ended. The ride pulled to a halt and the bar hissed itself upright as Amy finally let go, her eyes large with fright and legs shaking as she wobbled towards the exit. Sonic helped to steady her and repeatedly cursed himself for making her do this, trying desperately to think of some way to correct his mistake. They were the last to emerge as the other six waited for them, Amy taking a little solace in the fact that most of the others looked at the very least rattled.
"Man, that was spine-chilling", Tails started the conversation, trying to breath rhythmically and calm down as Cream nodded,
"Yeah, that horrid cold water down my neck", she shuddered and rubbed the affected place as though trying to purge the memory of the incident from her flesh, "that was scary".
"You said it; it's gone all down the back of my jumpsuit – the wind-chill's gonna play merry hell with me for that" Rouge complained, Knuckles moving to rub the wet patch of her suit with one of his large, warm hands as they all compared the most nerve-jangling bits of the ride. Sonic kept his eye on Amy, mentally breathing a heavy sigh of relief as it seemed the talking was helping her recover to some degree – not like it's important, I still owe it to her to make up, but how? As the blue hedgehog pondered, Cream drew herself up smugly,
"Well, I think after the Snowstorm course, I shall be treating myself to a triple flake 99, courtesy of my big sister". Amy smiled back, equally smugly,
"In your dreams maybe; I know that girly scream when I hear it and it belonged to you missy". Tails and Cream swapped a glance, the fox definitely shaking his head as Cream pursed her lips,
"Nah, it wasn't me at all, Tails'll tell you that – come on, own up". Sonic remembered back and, no, it hadn't been Amy, she hadn't screamed.
"And it wasn't Ames either; had my eye on her the whole time"; there was quite understandable confusion to this but before anyone could start an argument there was a discreet cough from Shadow; the black hedgehog casually pointed to Vanilla and hid a smile as the others caught glimpses of his partner's shamed face.
"Ah, yes; about that, well, one of the dummies caught me cold and, well…"
"Looks like you owe us both an ice-cream then mum", Cream chuckled as she tried to imagine her mother squealing in terror like a little girl; somehow it just got funnier the more she thought about it, "you know my favourite; raspberry swirl with three flakes and sprinkled with chocolate dust". Trying to regain a little dignity Vanilla moved into 'parenting' mode and waved a warning finger.
"You'll take what you're given and be grateful for it Bun". Oops!
"Mum!" Cream suddenly blushed as her childhood nickname was suddenly common knowledge, "you said you wouldn't tell anyone". This is it; goodbye dignity, farewell image and RIP coolness; she could see Tails turn towards her questioningly and raise one eyebrow.
"It was a nickname from school", better to get it over with now rather than later, "someone said I was sweet as a cream bun and, well, it stuck with me for several years".
"It's cool" Tails said dismissively; it wasn't within his nature to kick someone when they were down over an embarrassing thing like this and anyway, compared to some of the things he'd been called in the past, Bun would have been welcome, "I've heard worse believe me".
"I'll vouch for that" Shadow agreed as he shrugged; names had never really mattered to him much, he'd never been one to take much notice of so-called 'cool'.
"Yeah, Bun's not too bad", Knuckles chipped in suddenly as, having dried his girlfriend's suit off as well as was possible in the circumstances, he used the same hand to pat Cream gently on the shoulder, "I still prefer floppy though".
"Funny thing that, so do I", Cream made to hastily change the subject and took off, pointing the way with a free hand as Tails joined her in the sky, "now onwards to the Snowstorm!"