DISCLAIMER: Characters, places, and objects are trademarks of Sega, Sonic Team, and/or Sonic Project
Author's Note:
Attention, all shoppers! Now, we get to the fun part: The mall! This is where the girls take Maria shopping for some new clothes so that she can fit in with the crowd. This is also where Eggman hatches (pardon the pun) his latest scheme. You'll see when you get there. And since Cream narrates her experience with Emerl, her narration will be in italic. Plus, any anime emotional "enhancements" will be in bold. So, let's shop 'til we drop!
Chapter 2 - Mall Madness
Tails' plant sprout, Cosmo 2, sits in the sunshine on a windowsill of the mansion. The Chaotix stand outside the mansion in front of the open front doors, facing Tails and Chuck who are in the doorway.
"Are you sure you can't stay with us here in the mansion?" Tails asks them.
"We have plenty of room here," Chuck points out.
"Thanks anyway," Vector declines. "We'd rather set up shop in town. Business, ya know." He winks, "Besides, you guys can get along just fine without us." He motions to Espio and Charmy and tells them, "C'mon, boys, let's get movin'!"
The Chaotix turn and walk away from the mansion.
"Oh, boy! Big city, here we come!" Charmy exclaims.
"I'm not partial to bright lights myself," complains Espio.
Tails and Chuck chuckle as they watch the Chaotix leave. Inside the main hall, Topaz and Rouge stand near the entrance to the living room.
"Now that you're back, Rouge," Topaz tells Rouge as she takes a military badge out of her pocket, "I've a feeling you might be needing this."
She shows the badge to Rouge.
"My government badge," Rouge says in awe.
She takes the badge from Topaz's hand and admires it.
"The president knew we would need you again someday," she tells Rouge.
Rouge salutes, proclaiming, "You can count on me, agent Rouge reporting for duty."
Topaz beams, "I knew you would say that."
Nearby, Chris holds his head in worry on the stairrail. Soon, Sonic slides down the other rail with his feet, wearing the soap shoes Chris had made for him during the Meterex adventure.
"Ha ha ha!" Sonic laughs as he slides down the rail, "Yeah! Ha ha!"
He jumps off the rail and lands on a step.
Sonic admires his soap shoes, "Nice of you to keep these shoes you made for me, Chris."
Chris just sighs, "Glad you like them, Sonic."
He doesn't look at Sonic, but he heard every word. Sonic looks at Chris, curiously.
"Hey, what's wrong, buddy?" Sonic asks Chris.
Chris looks at Sonic and explains, "I'm really worried about Maria. I mean, when she saw her grandfather like that," he brings his head down and concludes, "she didn't take it too well."
"She'll be fine," Sonic assures Chris.
Chris gasps upon hearing this and looks at Sonic who smiles at him.
"Maria just needs some time," Sonic explains. "And with the girls taking her shopping, she'll be smiling before you know it."
Chris smiles, "Yeah, you're right, Sonic."
Sonic gives a thumbs up and winks, "Of course! Why wouldn't I be?"
Meanwhile, at the Station Square mall, in one of the department stores, Maria excitedly stands in front of three mirrors wearing a light blue shirt with a ruffle for a sleeve which hangs over her right shoulder, form-fitting pants as blue as Sonic, light blue short socks, and her white shoes which she ordinarily wore with her blue dress. Maria is admiring her new clothes as Amy, Cream, Cheese, Vanilla, and Helen happily look on.
"So, what do you think, Maria?" asks Helen.
Maria faces the others and tells them, "Wow! These clothes are so stunning! I love them! Thank you!"
Vanilla beams, "It was our pleasure, dear."
"Anything for our new friend!" Amy agrees.
"We're glad you like them," Cream adds.
Cheese agrees, "Chao chao!"
Maria laughs, pleased with her friends reaction. Later, they look at more clothes. Amy looks at Maria.
"So, Maria," Amy asks as Maria looks at her, "you said there were two capsules. Did one of them have Shadow?"
"Why, yes, it did," Maria replies.
"Then, who was in the other one?" Amy wonders.
Maria explains, "It was an experiment my grandfather was working on, a gold robot."
Cream and Cheese gasp in shock upon hearing this and look at Maria with tears in their eyes.
"You mean, Emerl?" Cream asks, worriedly.
Amy and Maria, along with Vanilla and Helen, look at Cream and Cheese in concern.
"Why, yes, but how do you know its name?" Maria asks Cream.
Cream and Cheese just stayed still, sadness building up inside them. Then, they rush out of the store, bawling. The others worriedly look on.
"Oh, Cream!" says Vanilla.
"It's all my fault!" Amy blames herself, "I shouldn't have said anything!"
"It's not your fault, Amy," Helen assures Amy. "You didn't know this would happen."
Maria runs after Cream and Cheese, saying, "I'll go talk to her."
Helen, Amy, and Vanilla look at Maria upon hearing this.
"Are you sure, Maria?" Helen asks Maria.
Maria stops and looks back at the others.
"Trust me," she assures them, "it's better this way."
She turns and heads out of the store to find Cream and Cheese as the others look on in concern. Maria looks around the mall as she passes by a few stores. She then finds Cream and Cheese sitting on a bench nearby, sniffing. Maria goes to them.
Maria stands beside Cream and asks, "Is this seat taken?"
Cream shakes her head and Maria sits beside her.
"I'm sorry," Maria comforts Cream. "I didn't know it would make you sad."
"It's not your fault," Cream tells Maria.
"Oh?"
"You weren't there when he was gone," Cream explains.
"Gone?" Maria asks in surprise. "Well, could you tell me what happened?" She worriedly adds, "Unless, of course, if it bothers you..."
Cream calms down and looks at Maria, telling her, "I don't mind. You see, Emerl was once a friend of mine."
A brief flashback of Cream and Cheese finding Emerl in a bush outside the Thorndyke mansion six years ago. Cream narrates.
Six years ago on this world, I found him in the bushes outside of Chris' house.
Then, there's another memory of Cream, Cheese, and Emerl, this time, riding in the back of Mr. Stewart's car, laughing.
And we've been friends ever since.
Then, came a memory of Emerl giving Cream a bouquet of pink flowers.
Then, one day, something happened to him.
Suddenly, there comes the memory of Emerl absorbing the red Chaos Emerald and his eyes turning red and he starts destroying the battle arena.
After winning a Chaos Emerald in a fighting tournament, he started attacking everything...
Then, Emerl knocks away Sonic and Rouge with a Sonic spin attack. Then, Emerl knocks Knuckles away with a screw kick.
...and everyone...
Suddenly, Emerl screw kicks toward Vanilla who becomes scared upon seeing this.
...including my mom.
Sonic quickly pulls Vanilla out of the way right before Emerl's kick impacts. Later on, Cream pushes Emerl into the ocean with her feet. Upon falling into the ocean, his eyes become normal as oil leaks from them.
I had no other choice but to stop him even if it means losing him forever.
Suddenly, a huge splash comes to the surface where Emerl fell in, which makes Cream and Cheese gasp in surprise upon seeing this as Cream flies while holding Cheese in her arms. Then, Cream starts to whimper until she and Cheese finally bawl. A rainbow appears in the sunset sky.
"Goodbye, Emerl," Cream sadly replies.
With that, the flashback is over as Cream sits between Maria and Cheese. Cream sadly hangs her head down.
"It was the hardest thing I ever did, but it had to be done," Cream tells Maria.
Maria puts her arm around Cream to comfort her.
"I know how it feels to lose a friend," Maria explains. "I wanted to go with Shadow the day the ARK was attacked, but deep in my heart, I knew sending him to this planet was the right thing to do." She smiles as Cream looks at her in curiosity, "You did the right thing, too. And Emerl will always be in your heart just as Shadow is in mine."
Cream smiles, "Thank you, Maria."
She and Maria hug as Cheese happily flies to the top of Maria's head and lays on it as if to give it a hug. Then, Maria and Cream come out of their embrace and look at each other as Cheese looks on, still on top of Maria's head.
"Ready to go back, now?" Maria gently asks.
Cream nods. Holding hands, Maria leads Cream back to the department store they came out of while Cheese rides on Maria's head. Suddenly, they stop as soon as they enter and gasp in horror. People are walking around the store, acting like zombies. You can tell by looking at their trance-induced eyes. Cheese hovers over Cream's head.
"What's going on?" Cream asks.
"I don't know," Maria replies. "It's like ev'rybody's hypnotized."
Maria notices Helen from the back.
Maria runs to Helen and calls to her, "Helen!" She stands beside Helen and asks her, "What happened?"
"It's a new perfume ev'rybody's wearing," Helen explains in a trance-like voice. Then, she looks at Maria with her eyes in a trance, adding, "Why don't you try it?"
She holds up a lavender perfume bottle. Maria gasps in shock upon seeing Helen as a zombie.
"Oh, no! Not you, too!"
Cream and Cheese worriedly run to Amy.
"Amy, something's wrong with ev'ryone," Cream tells Amy.
"Chao chao!" Cheese agrees.
"Don't be silly," Amy tells Cream in a trance-like voice. "Ev'ryone's just fine." Then, she looks at Cream with her eyes in a trance, adding, "You'll will be, too, once you try this new perfume."
She holds up a perfume bottle the same color as Helen's and Cream and Cheese gasp in shock as they slowly back away from Amy.
"Amy, you're scaring me," Cream says in fear.
Vanilla stands behind Cream and Cheese.
"There's nothing to be scared of," Vanilla tells Cream in a trance-like voice.
Cream and Cheese look at Vanilla whose eyes are in a trance.
Vanilla holds up a perfume bottle the same color as Helen's and Amy's, urging, "Just try this new perfume and it will be all better."
Cream and Cheese back away from Vanilla in horror.
"Mother, no! How could you do this?" Cream cries.
Meanwhile, the zombie-like people surround Maria while holding up lavender perfume bottles (or cologne bottles for the men) and chanting "Try it." over and over.
Maria looks around in horror and she concludes, "This new perfume has put a spell on ev'rybody in here!"
Some of the people start spraying the perfume (or cologne) at Maria, but she holds her nose and pushes her way through the crowd.
"Cream! Cheese!" Maria calls to Cream and Cheese. "Hold your noses! Don't breathe the scent!"
Amy and Vanilla come closer toward Cream and Cheese and spray the perfume at them, but they hold their noses as they turn away and rush toward Maria.
Cream calls to Maria, "Maria, help!"
Maria grabs Cream's hand.
Maria tells Cream, "Hang on tight and keep holding your nose!"
Both girls run through the crowd as they hold their noses and each other's hand. Cheese follows them, holding his nose. The zombie-like crowd chase after them, but are very, very slow, so, Maria, Cream, and Cheese escape with ease. Soon, they enter a stall in the women's dressing room and close the stall door. The three stop holding their noses as Cream and Cheese sigh in relief with their backs against the wall and Maria looks through the crack in the door in curiosity.
"That was close," Cream says.
"Chao chao chao," Cheese agrees.
"There has to be some reason why this perfume is making ev'ryone act this way," Maria wonders.
Suddenly, she gasps.
"Hey, Cream," she tells Cream, "look at this."
Cream and Cheese curiously go under Maria and look through the door crack. The three see a round middle-aged man behind the perfume counter wearing a department store uniform. He has a brown mustache on his face. He also wears gray goggles on the top of his bald head and purple glasses over his eyes. He has a mischievious grin as his places lavender bottles of perfume and cologne on the counter.
"Is that Dr. Eggman, the one you told me about?" Maria asks Cream.
"Yes, that's him," Cream tells Maria. "He must have followed us to this world after all."
Maria, Cream, and Cheese come away from the crack and face each other.
"So, that perfume is his doing," Maria concludes.
"He must be trying to build his Eggman Empire here again," Cream adds.
"Chao," Cheese replies.
"We have to stop this somehow," Maria tells Cream and Cheese.
Cream asks, "But what can we do?"
"Chao chao chao," Cheese agrees.
Maria thinks for a minute. She looks around as she thinks. She gasps as she notices sprinklers on the ceiling over the zombie-like crowd. And in the middle of those sprinklers is a water valve. Maria smiles as she gets an idea.
"Hey, Cream," she asks as she looks at Cream, "could you get me to that valve up there?"
Cream and Cheese look at the valve. Then, they smile as they instantly realize what Maria's idea is.
Cream replies as she and Cheese look at Maria, "I can try."
Cheese excitedly rings out, "Chao chao!"
Maria nods in approval.
"Then, let's do it!" she exclaims.
Meanwhile, at the counter, Eggman, disguised as a department store salesman, admires the zombie-like crowd.
"Ah, yes," Eggman beams, "Ev'rything is going according to plan. ...for once. As soon as enough people are entranced my new Eau du Egg, I'll have them begin the construction of my Eggman Empire!" He curiously notices something and wonders, "Eh?"
Cream flies Maria to the valve as Cheese follows.
Eggman screams in horror upon seeing this, "Aah!" He frantically waves his arms, proclaiming, "They'll spoil all my hard work!"
He grabs an intercom microphone from underneath the counter.
Eggman demands through the mic, "Attention, all shoppers!" He points at Maria and Cream, comanding, "Stop them!"
The zombie-like crowd marches toward Maria, Cream, and Cheese. Maria reaches her hands up to the valve and tries to turn it, but it's hard to turn. Maria keeps trying as Cheese helps Maria turn it. Meanwhile, the zombie-like crowd spray the perfume (and cologne) at the three, but the scent is to low to sniff. Soon, Maria and Cheese succeed in turning the valve. And as they turn the valve, the sprinklers start to rain water on the crowd below. Everyone shakes off the trance as if to wake up from sleepwalking. Maria, Cream, and Cheese happily look on from above.
"It's working!" Cream exclaims. "Ev'rybody's returning to normal!"
"Chao chao!" Cheese replies.
Maria explains, "The water will wash off the perfume and make it too wet to smell anything."
Helen shakes off the trance.
She groans as she holds her head, "Oh, what happened?"
Amy and Vanilla shake off the trance, too.
"Did we miss something?" Amy asks.
"I'm not sure," Vanilla responds.
Eggman looks around in horror, crying, "No! This can't be! I almost had them!" He pouts, "And I would've gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for those meddling kids!"
A red vein sticks out of his forehead.
He then curiously watches Maria, Cream, and Cheese as they come down. Cream brings Maria safely on the floor feet first and lets go as she lands safely. Cheese hovers beside them. Helen, Amy, and Vanilla happily go to Maria, Cream, and Cheese who notice them. Cream hugs Vanilla, Amy hugs Cheese, and Maria hugs Helen. Eggman concentrates on Maria's face.
"Maria?" Eggman wonders. "My own cousin, alive?"
He mischieviously grins.
"Heh. This just got a little more interesting. Which means," he declares, "it's time for plan B!"
He presses a button under the countertop. Suddenly, the room starts to shake which makes everyone scream in horror as they rush out of the store. Helen, Maria, Amy, Cream, Cheese, and Vanilla stop hugging and look around the room in worry.
"Now, what's happening?" Amy asks in fear.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Helen proclaims.
The counter reforms itself into a giant red robot with Eggman at the control panel for the upper torso. Helen, Maria, Amy, Cream, Cheese, and Vanilla gasp in horror upon seeing this. Eggman then pulls off his department store uniform, revealing his usual outfit.
Eggman proclaims, "Now, let the destruction begin!"
Meanwhile, at the Thorndyke mansion, Topaz stands in the main hall, speaking on her military radio communicator.
She seriously replies, "Yes, chief, we're on it!"
She puts the communicator away and turns to Chris, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, Ella, Tanaka, and Chuck who had been curiously looking on.
"That was the president," Topaz tells them. "It seems the local mall has been attacked by... Eggman."
Everyone else gasps in shock upon hearing Eggman's name.
"So, he did follow us here!" Tails concludes.
Rouge angrily adds, "...without any of us noticing."
Knuckles angrily complains, "I knew this would happen!"
Chris worriedly points out, "Hey, the girls are at the mall!"
Sonic shakes his fist in determination, declaring, "We have to stop him before he puts them in danger!"
A/N:
Yep, the perfume was the "something simple" Eggman was talking about in the last chapter. And just as simple, Maria, Cream, and Cheese foiled that plan. I liked Eggman's reaction to his plan failing like that. I even added a "Scooby-Doo" quote in there. Luckily for him, he never leaves home without a backup plan. Will Sonic and the others get there in time? Stay tuned for the next chapter. In the meantime, read and review.