In three days time, Christmas Eve rolls around and Cream and Cheese are in their Christmassy best. They wait on the curb to their house. Five more minutes until pickup. She looks to the forest with hopeful expectation. The strings of lights have been turned on in the house's windows as the inflatable hedgehog Santa waves to her in the breeze.

"I wonder where they are. Maybe they changed their minds?" Cream asks Cheese as the little chao shrugs.

Cream stares into the forest. She doesn't hear them silently approach behind her. She jumps up in alarm.

"OH GOODNESS! I was thinking that you wouldn't... hey who are you.?" Cream asks as the two strangers stop in their tracks.

"Who do you think we are?" The blue and black rabbit with the green eyes said as his grey partner hugged Cream.

"Mephiles? Iris?"

"Yes sweet it is us. When are we to depart?" He asks as the grey female polar bear whom is Iris pats Cream's head.

"Soon. Hey how did you both do that?" Cream asks as she points to them with her gloved hand.

"I can change my form at will, as long as the shadow of that object is absorbed. Iris possessed someone."

Cream grew concerned.

"Do not worry it is fine. She can't do what I can so this is what she did."

Iris clutched her fur coat around her tightly. "I do hope the heat will be on. Even inhabiting this mammal's body does not ward off the cold."

Snow flurries begin to fall to the earth as Cream's friends and family come around the block in a shiny silver van. Sonic and Amy wave to Cream as she waves back, clutching the gifts tightly to her small frame. She had decided at the last minute that giving them out now would be the best for everyone's schedule. Sonic was to spend Christmas with his siblings at their mom's place, Amy was to go out last minute shopping with Rouge, Tails was to go to bed after mass so he could get up early the next day, and Shadow well... he always spent Christmas putting poinsettias on Maria's grave.

Cream opens the van door and sees that there is just enough space for her and nobody else. Looking back behind her she sees that they have disappeared once again. Frowning inwardly, she hops into the car and makes her way to Mobius Church. Amy started to sing Twelve Days of Christmas as the others in the van sang along. When the carol was over, the radio was shut off as they parked inside of the packed parking lot. They had Just found a space big enough for the vehicle to be backed into, and that had enough room for the doors to slide open. Cream thought that after the service would be a good time to pass out the presents. Making sure they were in the correct spots where everyone was sitting was a challenge.

"Sonic was sitting here." Mephiles said as he materialized out of the darkness in his rabbit form.

Cream jumped at the sound of his voice and huffed angrily.

"Where did you go?!"

Mephiles smiled and pointed to underneath the vehicle. Iris crawled out from under it as Mephiles whistled.

"There was no room for us above so we rode below." Iris said as she fluffed up her coat and put her paws into her fur muff.

The bells in the tower started to ring which meant that mass was starting. Cream pulled them both along as the church's heavy stone doors were starting to close. Mephiles and Iris both halted simultaneously. They looked at Cream questionably, asking with their eyes if they could still enter. Cream smiled and gave them a smart look.

"I invited you so the answer is still yes."

The two demon's took each other's hands and walked in awkwardly. They were not confronted with pain, but an overwhelming atmosphere filled with light. They felt dizzy and nauseous and had to sit down on a pew to collect themselves.

"Are you okay?!" Cream asked with tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

Once Mephiles and Iris were both as comfortable as they could be, they smiled at the child.

"We are fine. Honest. It could have been worse."

Cream sits with them for the first half of the service and tells them what they should do. They do what they are told and Cream's family and friends look back at them several times. Mephiles tries to avoid eye contact with Shadow, and Iris doesn't lift up her eyes from the bible she holds to see Amy. At the end of the service, something unexpected happens. The full moon shines through the stained glass dove on the ceiling and the hymns stop being sung. Seven pairs of wings materialize and take front and center. The seven Angels of Virtue have arrived. Everybody is in shock.

"Do not be frightened for we bring no harm." The first angel says as the people in the church gather around them.

Mephiles and Iris try to hide behind their pew, remaining inconspicuous.

"We have sensed a strong impurity here. Evil has found its way into this place of sanctity. We have come to purge it, whatever IT may be."