Author's Note: Just a FYI, but this is the second of two Chapters released today, with the second being much longer than the first. Thanks for reading!


"Hold on just a minute, okay? Just hold on please!"

As the rain put out the fire, Mina was doing her best to ease the worries of the throng of villagers and answer as many questions as she could. Not that they were accepting of some of the answers she gave. They asked her all sorts of questions, such as who would want to attack their little village, or what reason would they have to do so, or how she got her hair that smooth, and so on and so forth. And to each of these questions, Mina gave the honest truth. But the truth wasn't what everyone wanted to hear.

"Hold on a minute," said a young whippersnapper. "You seriously can't expect us to believe that some fat a-hole from the federation's taken over the kingdom just like that."

"But it's the truth!", said Mina. "Besides, it wasn't just any fat a-hole! I mean, I know you guys probably don't get out of this village much, but you'd think there'd be some things you'd know about!"

"Hey! Don't you be insulting me!"

Mina closed her eyes, wondering what this yokel was even on. "I'm not insulting you! I'm just trying to tell you guys the truth."

"And how are we supposed to know what the truth even is?" asked another older villager. "You're right. We don't get out much. But neither has the kingdom given us much of a reason to. What has it ever done for us?"

"I don't know, but that's not the point here! Why is so hard for you to just believe me?!"

"All we know that things were fine before you came down here, and now that you have, half our militia's been wounded or worse, and our mayor is dead! What else do we really know for certain?"

"But I tried to save you! WE tried to save you!"

"And who's we?"

Just then, the villager got his answer. Sonic zoomed into the village and skidded to a stop in front of Mina. He looked around the village, hoping that he had somehow managed to make it. And all he could think was, 'if wishes were horses.'

"Sonic!", said Mina. "Thank Gaea! Did you take care of the shrew?"

"Uh, yeah," said Sonic. "Sort of. And the other guys mopped up everything else. They should be here gettin' here pronto. But speaking of here, what the hell happened?!"

"That's what we would like to know," said another villager. This one was an old crone, her long droopy ears reaching the ground as she hobbled forward on her cane, her ragged skirt dragging behind her. "This young girl has been attempting to explain to us just why our village had to undergo such horrors, but with only her word to go on, it doesn't give her much credibility. I would like to believe her, but without someone to vouch for her, it is not something I can in good conscience bring myself to do. And I believe it is the same for most of us here."

"You want someone to vouch for her, you've got him. Everything Mina's been tellin' you has been on the level. If she hadn't gotten here when she did, things would've gotten a lot worse."

"So you say. But can you guarantee this?"

"He shouldn't have to, and you know it." Big's fishing rod was at the ready as he walked back over towards the crowd. Amy and Cream were following straight behind with the former still holding her arm around the latter, her tears finally subsiding after lasting long enough to fill a small glass of water.

"Big," said the crone. "You also attempted to protect our village?"

Big scoffed. "'Attempt'? Lady, we protected this village, and you know it. Yeah, some bad stuff happened, but you know what? Bad stuff happens! And take it from me, more bad stuff would've happened if we hadn't done a thing. You want to be pissed, be pissed, but don't take it out on the same people who saved your heinies.'

"You might have a point. Still, I do have one thing to ask. You mentioned something about a power source, did you not?" she said to Mina.

"Uh, yeah," said Mina, "I did. Come to think of it."

"And where is that power source now?"

Mina fell silent, and as she looked at Big and Amy, their eyes going wide, the both of them knew precisely why.

"Is there a problem?", asked the crone.

"Uh, no, nothing! Nothing at all!"

Sonic was started to get confused, as though he'd rented a ticket for a play but only came in at the second act. "Okay, what's goin' on? Cause I'm honestly confuzzled."

"Later," whispered Mina. She struggled to think about how to keep this from this from going where she thought it was going, but before she could say anything else, Cream made it all moot. Her head lowered like a sadsack, she stepped forward like a defendant on trial, accepting she was guilty and awaiting her punishment.

"You wished to know where the power source is?", said Cream.

"What is it, child?", said the crone. "Do you know something? Something you are not telling?"

"Don't do it, Cream," whispered Amy. "Please."

"She's right, kiddo," whispered Big. "This is no time to be having a guilt trip."

Just then, the sound of motobugs and flying foxes could be heard from the north, and Sonic knew the others were finally closing in. But just when it seemed they were going to let Cream off the hook, she put herself right back on it.

"The power source. The reason, or one of them, why that band of ruffians attacked and desecrated this wonderful, peaceful little village. Why some of our militia had to lose their lives fighting a pointless battle. And why the mayor burned to death. It's…"

"Please, Cream," whispered Amy, "don't do this!"

"What she said, kiddo," whispered Big. "Come on now."

"…it's me."

Now she'd done it.

The other villagers were at once shocked and appalled, like a flock of sheep who had discovered a wolf among their number. Sonic on the other hand still wasn't sure what was going on. "Okay, obviously I got here way mondo late, but I'm still not sure just what's goin' on here, sorry."

The crone might as well had not even heard him. "How can this be, child?"

Amy leaped in front of Cream and guarded her body like a human shield, all while plastering on her face a goofy grin as though she were some cartoon character. "It's not! Honest! Cream's just a bit confused! We all are!" She then whispered to Cream, telling her to, "Say you're confused." As if that would be enough.

"I'm sorry, Amy," said Cream, "but I must do this." She then tried to shove Amy aside, but like a newborn babe who didn't know their own strength, she wound up knocking her to the ground instead. "Oh, Amy, I'm so sorry!"

"No sweat!" Amy quickly rose up from the ground and dusted herself off, though she would have been lying if she said that was something she'd been expecting. Or that she wasn't a tad bruised. "Just warn me next time you do something like that, alright?"

The crone pointed at Cream, her long spindly finger shaking with sheer intensity. "I will ask you again, child. How can this be?"

Cream took a long deep breath as if getting herself ready for a heck of a speech. "Most of you know about chao. They have been with us for as long as any of us can remember. In fact, my mother is one of the foremost chao breeders in the kingdom."

"Yes, I am aware of this. But what does this have to do with you?"

"Most chao only live for a few weeks before dying of old age. But this is not the end for a chao. Instead, a cocoon forms around them and they are reborn as a brand new baby chao, reincarnated and ready to live again."

"Your point?"

Cream looked at Cheese. The poor baby Chao had no idea what was going on, still hugging Cream's feet as though she meant more to him than life itself. He didn't know what he had done. But Cream did.

"However, some chao are… different. According to legend and old manuscripts, some chao are capable of living for much longer periods of time. Perhaps forever. And that is not all. These chao often have special powers and abilities, far beyond that of even a normal Mobian. Normally, they do not possess them, but in times of great stress, they are unleashed onto the world. And if they have formed a strong enough bond with their master…"

"Kiddo," whispered Big, "stop. Now. Please. I'm beggin' ya."

But Cream just couldn't bring herself to. She was to blame in some way. She had to have been. And she had to take responsibility. She had to. Didn't she?

"When they form a strong enough bond, then those powers and their long lifespans are also capable of being shared with another. With their master."

The crone noticed Cheese standing next to Cream, still hugging her like a child hugs its mother. "And you are that Chao's master?"

"Yes."

Just then, Johnny and the others arrived, stopping at the village entrance before he and Hershey dismounted while Tails landed. And what they saw wasn't very encouraging.

"I hate to say it," said Tails, "but I'm not sure we managed to make it."

"You think?" said Johnny.

"Time enough for chitchat later," said Hershey. "Seems to me there's a little hubbub going on." She pointed towards the front of the mayor's mansion which was now nothing but a charred shell of its' former self. Cream, the crowd, and the others stood in front. One look at that crowd was all it took to remind Johnny and the others of an angry mob.

"This is lookin' bad," said Johnny. "Let's move it, people!"

Meanwhile, Cream was starting to wonder if she had been better off burning to death in that mansion after all. The crowd now knew the truth, at least as Cream knew it. And it was starting to get ugly. "So," said the crone. "You are responsible for bringing this horror upon us?"

Cream was about to say yes, but like bolts from the blue, Sonic and Mina barreled straight in front of her, with Amy and Big not far behind.

"Hey now!", said Sonic. "I don't know what's going on here, but she's just a kid! If she did do anything, she didn't know any better!"

Amy briefly took notice of Sonic. Something about him nearly threatened to consume her thoughts entirely like a blessed disease. But no! Cream came first. Boy-crazy came later. "And she didn't do anything!", she said. "It wasn't her fault! Don't start acting like an angry mob from Mobenstien!"

Either the crowd didn't get the reference, or they didn't care. Soon, it wasn't just the old crone who wanted blood. 'You're responsible for this!', they said. 'If it weren't for you and that chao, we wouldn't be in this mess!' 'The mayor would still be alive!' 'Get the hell out!'

"Alright, people!" Johnny stormed in front of the mob, standing like a tall, imposing pillar that loomed over anyone shorter than 6'4. "What the hell is goin' on?"

"Oh, thank Gaea!", said Mina.

"Who's the fuzzy beanpole?", said Amy.

"Someone who's a got a head on their shoulders from the look of it," said Big.

Mina darted to over to Johnny. She didn't know if he could sort this mess out, but she didn't know what else to do. "Quick, you gotta do something. Everything's gone south, and I just don't know what to do!"

Johnny did a quick scan of the village, and what he saw was sobering. They'd managed to save many a villager, but there'd still been a price to pay. "You did what you could. So tell me, what the hell's goin' on?"

"That is what is going on!" The crone shakily pointed her long shriveled finger at Cream as though she were a pariah, her eyes widening as they saw nothing short of a monstrosity. "That girl and her Chao are the power source those men were looking for! If they had not been here, none of this would have happened!"

Johnny found this hard to believe. He took a quick look at Cream. In fact, it was a longer look than he would have liked. That short, bright dress. Those long, floppy ears. That cute, adorable face, as filled with pain and sorrow as it was. All of that reminded him of someone he had tried so hard to forget. In any case, if she was somehow that power source or at least related to it in some way, then he knew that only one thing was certain.

"BULLHOCKEY!"

The crone titled her head, as did the other villagers, not quite sure just Johnny was attempting to accomplish with this outlandish statement. "'Bullhockey'?"

"You heard me. You say she's the power source, that she's what those men were looking for? Fine. I'm not sure if I can believe it, but fine. But let me tell you somethin'. Those men would have been here sooner or later, and do you know why? Because there's an oversized omelet trying to take over the kingdom, that's why! The only reason he's here now is you had something he wanted, except you've also got something else he wants: You! Hell, he wants all of us enslaved or captured or worse! If they didn't come today, they'd be here tomorrow or in a week or maybe even a month, and that's being generous. So what you're doin' now is nothin' short of finding somebody to blame."

The crone wasn't sure what to make of this. None of the other villagers were. They stood there for the longest time with no clue what else to do. Then they turned to one another, scratched their heads, and began to wonder if perhaps they didn't know so much about this whole turn of affairs as they thought they did. 'You think he's telling the truth?' 'He does have a point.' 'I still say we should get rid of her.' 'Can't we all just get along?'

Big, Amy and the others were standing off to the side with rapt attention, wondering if perhaps they had managed to turn the tide. "Wowza," said Amy. "He's something else."

"You got that right," said Big. "I've never seen someone shame a mob so fast. Hell, he might've beat my record.'

"Let's just hope this works," said Tails. "I don't think we're out of the woods yet."

And all Cream could do was look down at her shoes, her eyes half-closed, wondering if she should have just left already and made things easier on everyone. Including her mother. What would she have to say about all this?

The Crone raised one long fingernail into the air, silencing the crowd like witchcraft. "If what you say is true," said the Crone, "then you might have a point. But the fact is that he may still be searching for that power source. How do we know he might not come here again to retrieve it?"

"I might have an answer to that," said Tails. He hopped forward, using his tails to give his jump a bit of distance, and made the effort to instill some degree of intelligence into the conversation. "Most of us here are part of an effort to stand up against Doctor Eggman — uh, that's the 'oversized omelet' Johnny was referring to — and take back the kingdom. We've got a number of scientists and engineers in our ranks, and I know a thing or two myself. If we can identify the nature of the power source, we should be able to whip up something that can mask it. If Eggman coming back here just to get that power source worries you, then that shouldn't be a problem anymore."

The Crone shook her head, apparently believing there was indeed a problem. "Again, even if what you say is true, it would still take time to do all of what you say. Time to identify the nature of the power source and time to create the means to counteract it. And that would be time enough for this 'Eggman' to return. And you might not be here to protect us when he does."

"So, what are you saying?" said Amy. "That you're just gonna kick Cream out of here with nothing but the clothes on her back? Is that it?"

The crone's eyes narrowed, her gray pupils peeking out like deathly slits. And that was enough for Amy to get the message.

"Oh." Amy could scarcely believe it, but there she had it.

"Hell no!" Sonic raced between the mob and Cream, standing next to Johnny and looking ready to bust some heads. "You're gonna kick this girl out for doing nothing at all? She didn't know what was going on! She didn't know her chao was Eggman's next target! Besides, it's the chao Eggman's after anyway, right? Maybe if we split the two up, he'll go after him and leave her and the rest of you alone. Problem solved!"

Cheese shivered and again grabbed Cream's leg, frightened at the mere prospect of the two ever being parted. "Thank you," said Cream, "but even if I wanted to be separated from Cheese, I don't think I could be. Not now."

"Wait, what now?"

"According to the same legends that and stories that speak of those special chao like Cheese, a chao and its' master cannot be parted. They must stay together. If they are split apart for whatever reason…" Cream started to tremble. She almost couldn't bear to say what she knew was the truth. But she had to. "…if they are split apart, then both of them will perish."

This was new. "You serious?! Not cool, NOT cool! This is SO not cool!"

"Maybe not, but it is the truth. Or at least a very real possibility."

"So then," said the crone, "it is impossible to split apart these two. And we also cannot keep them here without this 'Eggman' returning sooner than later. I see no choice but for her to leave."

"Now hold on a minute," said Hershey. "Doesn't the girl's mother get a say in this?"

"Indeed she does." Everyone looked up at the sky above, and what they say begged description. Flying in from on high was a tall rabbit in a long pink dress with the same color of fur and big floppy ears as Cream. A brown chao with pink flamingo wings was flying in right beside her, and as they landed, the crowd was speechless. All except for Cream, who ran straight towards her open arms.

"MOTHER!"

Cream's mother crouched down and her arms opened up, waiting to caress Cream and hold her tight like Mommy's little angel. But Cream did something Mommy didn't count on. Just short of being within her mother's arms, she stopped. And for the life of her, Mommy didn't know why.

"Cream?" she said. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, mother, but I just don't know." She then opened her heart up to her mother, pouring out every last excruciating detail as if it were painful just to talk about it. Tears started to stream down her face as she told her story. And as her mother had heard the whole tale, she did the same. By the end, even if Cream couldn't bring herself to hugging her mother, that didn't stop her mother from hugging her instead

"Oh, Gaea. Cream, I am so sorry. I should have been there. Perhaps if I had been, you wouldn't be in this mess."

"No, Mother," said Cream. "I'm sorry. Perhaps if I had known more about chao, about everything, maybe then…"

"Hush child. It's alright. Everything is going to be alright."

Cream's mother might have thought everything was going to be alright, but the old crone thought otherwise. "Miss Vanilla. It is good to see you again."

"Is it now?" said Vanilla. She let go of Cream and stood firm, staring down the crone with the sheer intensity and menace that only a mother was capable of. "Because from what I can see, you have been treating my daughter as if she is some sort pariah."

"The mayor is dead. And so at this point, the village's survival is what is most important. But with these two in our midst, who knows if that will even be possible."

"Then I suppose we are not welcome."

"You are certainly most welcome, Miss Vanilla. You are still a treasured member of this community, and we have nothing against you. Your daughter on the other hand—"

Vanilla's gaze suddenly bore into the crone's, like a drill digging right down into her very soul. The crone gasped, feeling as though a heavy weight had just been placed on her heart. If such a thing was even possible.

"If my daughter is not welcome here, then neither am I." She retracted her gaze, and the crone felt Vanilla's hold on her soul loosen. She placed a hand on her heart and breathed as if there were no tomorrow, as though she had come this close to paying a visit to the reaper. Hershey looked at Vanilla. It wasn't with any sexual desires as was the norm for her. Instead, she looked at her with a healthy mix of curiosity and a small tinge of dread. As they say, curiosity killed the cat.

"Very well then. If you wish to leave with your daughter, I will not stop you. But know this. I can safely say that I speak for everyone here when I tell you that as long as she is a danger to this village, she is not welcome here. But if you wish to go with her, I cannot stop you."

The crone and Vanilla glared at one another, as though neither of them was willing to budge in a grand contest of wills. And yet, as Vanilla knew full well, when no-one bothered to step off the tracks, all one got was a bloody mess that not a single soul would want. "Cream, pack your bags. We're leaving immediately."

"But where to, mother?" said Cream.

"Anywhere but here."

Cream looked at the mob. Some were hunched over, their eyes burning with rage and contempt, while others were standing tall, their heads turned and lowered as if in shame. As though they wanted nothing more but for Cream and Vanilla to stay, and yet, as things stood, they just didn't know what else to do. And she couldn't blame them.

Amy walked up to Vanilla, her heart pounding and her thoughts racing. " , you can't be serious! You seriously can't tell me you're gonna go just because grannie and her hit squad say so?"

"Thank you, Amy," said Vanilla, "but I can't expect you to understand. These people are frightened, confused. If they felt there was any other way, we wouldn't be in this mess. That said, I cannot condone them for treating my daughter like some a pariah. Even if we could stay, I am not sure I would want to in any case. Not after today."

Amy wrung her hands in consternation. She knew Vanilla had a point. Heck, if she were her in position, she might do the same thing. But to lose one of her best friends? Scratch that. Aside from Big, Cream was her only friend. Could she let them go just like that?

That said, that wasn't the only thing on her mind. Sonic came walking up to Vanilla, and as he did, Amy could only think of one word to describe him: HOT! Those sharp, blue quills; that smooth silky skin; that bravado which she had never actually seen and was just making up as part of her delusional fantasy. This was him. It must've been! This was the boyfriend of her dreams, and as she clasped her hands, she couldn't help but give a sigh of passion, her heart aflutter. And she knew that come the Abyss or high water, she wasn't letting this hog out of her sight.

"Hey there!" Sonic held out his gloved hand for a handshake. "Name's Sonic, Sonic the hedgehog." Amy was this close to taking that sweaty, glorious glove for herself, but Vanilla beat her to it.

"Pleased to meet you, Sonic. From what my daughter tells me, you and the others here tried to save this village and my daughter. Is that correct?"

"It sure is!" said Sonic. "Though I guess the word here's try."

"Nonsense. You did what you could. If you all hadn't been here, things would have been far worse."

"If you say so. Didn't stop you or your daughter from gettin' kicked out though."

"Please, don't blame yourself. Besides, I chose to leave."

"Yeah, but only because your daughter didn't get a choice."

"It's alright, ," said Cream. "Besides, after what I did…"

"Hey, kiddo," said Big, "we went over this. Don't blame yourself."

"I know, I know," said Cream. "Still though…"

Sonic looked at Cream. Poor girl. Probably didn't know what was up and what was down anymore. Still, with any luck, he could help make it a bit better.

"Well, one thing's for sure," he said to Vanilla. "You people are gonna need a new place to live. And I think I've got just the ticket."

Johnny folded his arms, his eyebrows knitting as though he knew just what Sonic was up to. "Sonic, what're you doin'?"

"Relax, Johnny. These people need a place to go, and we got one."

"And normally, I wouldn't have a problem with that. But until Tails and the rest cook up that device of theirs, we might all be sitting ducks."

"He has a point," said Hershey.

"Actually," said Vanilla, "I might have a short-term solution to that. Though for now, you'll just have to take my word for it."

"See?" said Sonic. "A short term solution! Problem solved!"

"WHAT short-term solution?" said Johnny.

"All in due time," said Vanilla. "For now, you will have to trust me. In any case, it should last us long enough for them to build that device the boy spoke about…"

"I'm a not a boy!" Tails began to pout as if he were the spitting image of the eight-year-old that most made him out to be.

Vanilla may as well have not of heard him. "…though after a time, even that may not be necessary."

"Mother?" Cream had thought her mother had told her everything. She could confide in her mother, open up to her, tell every little thing that troubled her and pour out her soul to her, and she thought that her mother had always done the same with her. But had she?

Johnny scratched his gray furry noggin. What she said made sense, and yet it didn't make any sense. A conundrum if there ever was one. "I don't know…"

"Oh, come on!" said Mina. "These two don't have anywhere else to go! Besides, if we're thinking about throwing them out just because of some tracking thing or whatever, then we're not any better than the villagers! And from what Tails and Vanilla are saying, they can take care of that anyway! So come on."

"Alright, alright already! I guess I'm losing this argument. You two wanna come with us, there won't be a problem. We'll fill you in on the way there."

"That's perfectly alright," said Vanilla. "I know all about your, what do you call them, the Freedom Fighters, yes?"

Johhny's gray eyes narrowed, his gaze fixating on Vanilla as she let him know that she knew a bit more than she should've. "And what makes you say that?"

"Let's just say I have my ways. In any case, you can tell me about everything if you wish. After all, I'm guessing it's a long walk, is it not?"

"Not with me around!" Sonic stood straight as a pole, puffed his chest, and beamed, his sheer confidence and gusto radiating all around. "You're looking at the fastest thing alive!" He then pointed to Mina. "Course, the second fastest thing alive's no slouch either, right Mina?"

Mina scratched the back of her head, having no choice but to agree. "Uh, yeah, I guess!"

"You see? With the two of us around, it won't be a problem."

"If you say so," said Vanilla. "Thank you. Both for your generous offer, as well as trying to save my daughter. Even if I had been there, I don't know what I would have done."

"No problem, Miss Vanilla," said Johnny. "Anyway, we've gotta get the two of you back over to Knothole pronto—"

"Care to make it three?" Big raised his large, flabby, gloved hand into the air for all to see.

"And you would be?"

"Oh, hey," said Mina "don't worry, I can vouch for him! That's Big. He was a, uh, big help earlier. If he hadn't been there, I don't know what we would've done."

"Uh-huh. So, any reason for wantin' to come along?"

"Well," said Big, "let's just say I don't care much for the scenery here anymore if you know what I mean." He pointed with his thumb at the villagers, all standing around like a bunch of scared sheep just waiting for the big scary wolves to get the hell out and leave them alone.

"I getcha."

"Plus, I've kinda taken a liking to lil' Cream here. She's one of the only friends I've got. And what she's goin' through now, well I guess I just wanna look after her, you know?"

"I understand," said Johnny. "Well, the more the merrier. In any case, let's get the three of you—"

"Make it four!"

All eyes were on the pink hedgehog in the green dress, waving her hand up in the air like she just didn't care. "I wanna go too!"

"Oh, Gaea." Johnny pinched his furry gray brow, as though he were slowly but surely realizing that he might as well have drawn up a list of people for a field trip. Though he'd be lying if he said this one didn't catch his eye. In fact, she was actually kind of cute. Focus Johnny, focus! "Oh really now?"

"Yeah!" said Amy. "Cream's my friend too, and someone's gotta look after her!"

"Well," said Mina, "she did help out a bit too. She's the one who rung the bell and came up with the plan for routing Eggman's goons you know. And she took care of the last buzzbomber with that crossbow of hers."

"Did she now?" Maybe this kid was worth something after all. "What's your name, kid?"

"Amy! Amy Rose!"

"Well, we could use as much help as we could get. But is lookin' after Cream the only reason you wanna come along?"

Amy glanced at Sonic. There was no doubt about it. THIS was the hedgehog of her dreams! And she wasn't going to rest until she made that dream a reality, even if it took her to the ends of Mobius itself! Not that that would be necessary, but still. And Sonic couldn't help but feel as if the real danger had gotten a whole lot closer than ever.

"Maybe, maybe not," said Amy. "But I'm comin', and that's that!"

"Oy. Fine. You wanna come, I can't stop you."

"YAY!" Amy hopped up and down like a drunk schoolgirl. If this how she was sober, Johnny didn't want to see her when she turned legal.

"Uh, right. Well, if that's everyone, then we need to get the four of you…"

He looked around the village, waiting on the off chance someone else saw fit to chip in.

"…we need to get the FOUR of you back to camp. You comin', Hershey?"

"I suppose it'd be best to talk to the boss in person," said Hershey. "And we need to get those networks set up. Sure, I'll tag along."

"Sounds good," said Johnny. "Right then. Sonic, Mina, you know the drill."

"Right!", said Sonic.

"Sounds good!" said Mina. Everyone then formed two lines. Sonic, Tails, Johnny, Amy, and Big were in one, while Mina, Hershey, Vanilla, and Cream were in the other, with both chao tagging along right beside their masters. But before everyone took off, Cream had one last thing to say.

"Uh, Big, Amy? Thank you both for coming along, but you don't have to do this. I don't want either of you abandoning everything for my sake."

"Hey," said Big, "don't worry about it! Sides, you and Amy were the only things keeping me there anyway. If not for you two, I would've moved on ages ago."

"Oh. And you Amy?"

"Hey," said Amy, "not everything's about you! I've got my own reasons for coming along. That said, long as I'm here, don't worry about it. With us around, nothing's going to happen to you. You can count on it!"

A fine mist began to cover Cream's eyes. She did her best to wipe them away with her free hand, but they just wouldn't stop. And yet, somehow, part of her was glad. "Thank you," she said. "The both of you."

"It's alright, Cream," said Vanilla. "It's alright." She wiped away Cream's tears before gripping her hand once more.

"Thank you, mother," said Cream. "I, I think I'm a bit better now."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," said Vanilla. "Cry as much as you wish. All of us need to cry sometime."

"Right," said Johnny. "Let's do it to it!" And with one last look of confusion and terror from the villagers, and one last burning glare of scorn from the crone, they were off.