Chapter 3

Tragedy

(A/N: Here we go again. Thank you so much for reviews, everyone! This chapter may contain some subjects unsuitable for some people; nothing too bad, but I guess it's time to put the 'character death' into practice...uh, oh.)

Tails slowly hovered to the ground outside his workshop and dusted himself off. Pulling out the key, he opened the door and stepped inside. Instantly, his eyes flicked to the plant. He smiled and walked over to it, picking up a metal watering can. Suddenly, his ear twitched as he heard the rumble of thunder in the distance. He looked out the window as the first few drops of rain hit it. The light, soothing, rhythmic beating of rain began on his roof. He looked back at the plant and raised the watering can.

KERAK-BOOM!

Tails' eyes widened in horror as he saw an ominous shadow flash on the floor, illuminated by what had to be the hugest lightning bolt in the history of thunderstorms. The watering can dropped from his hands and clanged to the floor, splashing water all over Tails' shoes, soaking them thoroughly. He stared out the window, scanning the birch tree standing outside for the caster of the shadow.

The tree was empty; bare of leaves and evil shadows.

Tails shook his head to clear it, trying to calm his pounding heart. "Must have been my imagination." He told himself, reaching down with a trembling hand to pick up the now dented watering can, still staring out the window. He walked into the kitchen, filled it to the brim and walked back to the plant, his wet shoes making comical squelching noises the entire trip.

Nebulous finished drying his head off and tossed the towel into the laundry room, then walked back to his chair. "Rowan, put me through to Dad. I have a feeling he's not gonna like this."

"Yes sir." Rowan said. Instantly, a picture of Colonel Sanders' head appeared, with what appeared to be a huge Mickey Mouse glove punching it repeatedly.

"Rowan, what the hell is that?" Nebulous said calmly.

"A Colonel Sanders head getting punched by a Mickey Mouse glove."

"Precisely. PUT DAD ON VIDPHONE, ROWAN!"

"Yes sir."

Instantly Dark Oak reappeared on the screen. "Did you find Cosmo?"

"Yeah...but..."

"What?" Dark Oak shouted. "What do you mean?"

Nebulous flinched. "Okay, I have some good news, some bad news, and some more good news. The good news is I found Cosmo. The bad news...er...she...she's already...botanized."

There was about 10 seconds of silence, then...

"What?"

"Dad, calm down." Nebulous said quickly. "The good news is..."

Dark Oak gave a chuckle. "I spend three whole years stuck in this godforsaken dimension, only to find that my only ticket out of here has gone to Shangri-la...and you...expect me...to CALM DOWN!" He roared.

Nebulous slowly creaked an eye open. It didn't help that the air conditioner had just come on by itself at full blast, blowing him back into his chair. "Dad...she's coming back soon."

Dark Oak slowly stopped hyperventilating. "What?"

Nebulous slowly peeled himself off the chair. "That plant was pulsing with chaos energy. Events like this rarely happen, but as I like to say, be prepared.

"Usually, when a Seedrian dies, it turns into a tree. However, with the activation of certain techniques, like Chaos Regeneration, a seed is formed. With the proper care, the seed will grow into a flower, and in about four years tops, the plant will regenerate into a Seedrian." He said. "So it's not over."

Dark Oak sighed. "Okay, good. It's time to put part two of my revenge into play, and we will start by killing one of the inhabitants of this planet."

Nebulous shook his head. "And you want me to intentionally blow my cover, and perhaps the entire mission...because why?"

"So they will follow you."

Nebulous stopped for a second, and then a sadistic grin spread across his face. "Oh, no. No. You can't be planning...that idea is AWESOME!"

"Yes. However, you are not to kill the blue one. He is mine." Said Oak. "Oak out."

The screen went blank and Nebulous sat back in his chair. "Don't worry, Dad. I picked my target already. Pity; it was not her time yet." He slowly reached down and picked up his scythe, then looked up at Rowan. "Rowan, listen closely, because it's imperative that this goes flawlessly."

Instantly, gameplay of Doom 3 appeared on the screen, depicting the main character putting a mancubus through a shotgun meat grinder.

"Rowan, pay attention!" Rowan appeared. "Good. Now I want you to be ready to beam me up the instant I'm under the ship, got it?"

"Yes, sir."

Nebulous drew back a bit. "Really? You understand it?

"Yes, sir."

Nebulous grinned. "Good, Rowan. Remember, the instant I'm under the ship."

"Yes, sir."

Nebulous nodded and stood up.

Cream dashed into the house, making sure to wipe her feet, of course. Even though the sudden rainstorm soaked her to the bone, that was no reason to get the floor dirty. Vanilla smiled. "Why don't you and Cheese go upstairs and dry off. I know the perfect remedy for something like this."

"Y-yes, M-m-mother." Cream chattered, accompanied by Creams chorus of "Chao, Chao!"

A few minutes later...

Vanilla tucked Cream and Cheese tightly into bed. "Comfy?" She asked.

"Yes, Mother. Putting my pajamas in the dryer was a great idea. Thank you."

"Chao Chao!"

Vanilla gave her daughter and her friend each a kiss. "Always helped me get to bed during a rainstorm." She walked to the door, hitting the light switch on the way out, "Good night, Cream."

"Goodnight, Mother."

Vanilla closed the door behind her and smiled. "What a wonderful child."

"I agree." A deep voice spoke from a shadowy corner. "All the more reason for me to regret what I must do."

Vanilla gave a yelp and leapt backwards. She stared into the shadows to see a dark silhouette. It turned its head to look at her, and his single visible eye, cold and blue, seemed to gleam as brightly as the scythe in his hand.

Vanilla screamed.

Cream sat up abruptly at the sound of a scream out in the hall. She leapt out of bed, closely followed by Cheese. She dashed into the hall and skidded to a halt as her jaw dropped in horror. A huge green figure towered over something that was sprawled on the floor. He slowly turned toward her. At first, Cream thought that the stranger didn't have eyes, but as he completed his turn, she saw that the being had a leaf-like object growing from his head that covered one his eyes. But his other eye was visible: a deep shade of electric blue. The exact same shade as Cosmo. Cream thought. But while her late friend's eyes were warm and filled with kindness and love, this one's eyes were cold, mean and frightening. He's a Seedrian! Cream realized in disbelief. But, they're supposed to be all dead! Her eyes panned down the intruder's body and noticed something in his hands: it was a huge, ornate battle scythe, like the grim reaper's. Cream stared at the blade and retched; it was coated in crimson blood. Cheese gave a squeal of horror at the same time that Cream's hands shot to her mouth: she recognized the being on the floor.

"M-m-mommy?" She gasped. Vanilla didn't answer...and she wasn't breathing. "MOMMY!" The being slowly walked toward the terrified bunny. She stared in terror as the being towered over her. He slowly reached out and placed his hand kindly on her head. She gave a scream and dashed backwards, pressing against the wall. "Who are you!"

The Seedrian stared off into the window next to him. Cream saw something that confirmed her suspicions about the interloper's species: two black, wood-like horns grew from his head, and the fern-like black hair that he had grown in mullet. "I have many names." He said in a deep, almost soothing voice. "Harvester. Weapons Master. Reaper. But in reality, I have only one true identity: Nebulous the Thorndrigan."

Cream's state of shock faded, to be replaced by rage. "What have you done to Mother!" She shouted as hot tears sprang to her eyes.

Nebulous turned and walked to the motionless heap on the ground. "Death is a fickle thing, isn't it? It steals all without compassion or remorse: young, old, male, female, Seedrian..." He paused and a horrible grin spread across his face. "Rabbit. It is unfortunate that your mother's time had to come at this point in her life." He reached down and softly stroked Vanilla's fur. "So beautiful..."

"STOP IT!" Screamed Cream as tears poured down her face. "WHY WOULD YOU DO SUCH A THING?"

Nebulous stood erect and turned back to the terrified rabbit on the ground. "Fear not, young one. Your time is not at hand yet. All will become clear soon. Right now, I have some business to attend to." He pointed his scythe to the door. "Well? There has been a murder. Go tell your friends." His grin widened and he looked truly mad now. "I will be waiting." Suddenly, a storm of sakura petals exploded around him. It spiraled in a twister, and when it faded, Nebulous was gone. Cream gave one last terrified look at her mother's body, and ran out the door.

Sonic slowly came to his senses as he heard a wild beating at his door. "Okay, okay, I'm coming." He drawled sleepily as he walked to the door. Opening it, he saw a shocking sight: Cream was gasping for breath out in the rain, like she had been running for the entire trip. "Cream? Cream, what's wrong?"

Cream stood rigid out in the pouring squall for a second, and then dashed forward, wrapped her arms around Sonic and began to sob loudly.

Sonic poured Cream a steaming mug of hot chocolate and gave it to the shivering bunny, who slowly picked it up and clumsily took a sip. Sonic was quiet until she put the cup down. "Can you tell me exactly what happened?"

Cream mouthed silently for a few seconds, then spoke in a quavering voice. "Well...I heard a scream...out in the hall. I went out to see what had...had happened. I saw...saw..." Her voice broke off for a few seconds, and then she shouted; "SHE WAS DEAD! MOMMY WAS ON THE FLOOR, AND SHE WAS DEAD!"

Sonic's heart stopped. Vanilla's dead? N-no! It can't be! He thought. He collected himself, realising it would just make the situation worse. He took a deep breath. "Do you know who did it?"

Cream took another tentative sip of her chocolate. "Yes...he was standing over her body. He said his name was Nebulous, and he...he was a Seedrian, Mr. Sonic!"

Sonic opened his mouth, then stopped, realizing that telling Cream that her Mother's murderer didn't exist was not a bright idea. "What did he look like?" He asked.

"He was tall...he was well-built. He had long black hair down to his shoulders." Cream said. "He was green, like Cosmo, and he had this green leaf over his left eye, but his right eye..." she gave a frightened shiver. "It was blue...and it was really, really angry and cold. He wore a purple necklace, and he had black wooden horns, and he was holding a really big scythe and it was all covered in blood, and, and..." Her voice cut off and she dissolved into frantic tears, as the cup slipped from her hands. Sonic frantically set the cup upright and took Cream in his arms. She immediately clung to him, sobbing into his shoulder.

"Shh..." He said softly. "It's okay, Cream. It's okay. We'll find this guy. Do you know where he went?"

"Yeph..." Cream said, her voice muffled by the hedgehog's shoulders. "He said he had some business to attend to..."

Sonic was so shocked that he nearly dropped the rabbit. "No...no..." He murmered. "Oh, crap."

Cream was so shocked by Sonic's language, she stopped crying. "Mr. Sonic!" She said incredulously.

"Sorry." Sonic said quickly. "But I think I know what this guy is after."

"What's that, Mr. Sonic? The Chaos Emeralds?" Cream asked.

"Maybe...but there's another target he might be after...think about what species he is." Sonic said.

Cream's eyes dilated in horror. "Cosmo's plant...TAILS! We gotta save him!" She said, and together, the two friends dashed out the door into the rain, hoping beyond hope that they were not too late...

(A/N: Yeesh. That was a little dark, even for me! Nebulous is such a monster! Sorry if it scared you, and don't begin hating this fic, because it won't be nearly as dark from now on. Review please. I LOVE REVIEWS!