Sonic: Vines of Sorrow Ch. 5
Sonic and the team landed on a cold, vast glacier in Holoska, with the Egg Carrier landing somewhere behind them. They got out of the Blue Typhoon and started to look around.
"So," Sonic said, "the Chaos Emerald is supposed to be around here, right?"
"Yeah," Tails said, "The radar says it is located here."
"Brr," Cream shivered, "It's cold here."
"Nonetheless, we have to keep going," Amy said.
Suddenly, a huge chunk of metal came out of the sky and hit the ground, far from where the team was standing.
"What was that?" Sonic said.
"Looks like the Donkel are planning something big," Tails said.
The team started running to the crash site.
Meanwhile, in the Egg Carrier, Bokkun sat in a corner, gloomily. Breezy noticed him and walked over to him.
"That wasn't nice of Dr. Eggman to punish you," Breezy said, "Knuckles has wised up to his tricks. He didn't even get the whole message. You don't deserve to sit in the corner like this."
"You are lucky," Bokkun said, "Dr. Eggman really likes you. He doesn't pay much attention to me."
"You are lucky as well," Breezy said, "You are able to go outside and have fun pulling pranks on Sonic and his team. As for me-"
Scratch and Grounder entered the room where Breezy and Bokkun were.
"Nice to see you two," Scratch said, "but there is no time for chatting."
"Breezy," Grounder said, "get back to work."
"I have already finished," Breezy said.
"Did you mop the floor?" Scratch said.
"Moped and waxed it," Breezy said.
"Polish the furniture?" Grounder said.
"Down to the last detail," Breezy said.
"Beat the rugs?" Scratch said.
"Until every last piece of dirt was out," Breezy said.
"Do the vacuuming?" Grounder said.
"Corner to corner," Breezy said.
"Scrub the walls?" Scratch said.
"From the very top to the very bottom," Breezy said.
"Dry-clean the drapes?" Grounder said.
"Each and every one of them," Breezy said.
"Feed the fish?" Scratch said.
"We don't have any fish," Breezy said.
"Okay, so you're done with your work," Scratch said, "Go ahead and chat."
Scratch and Grounder left.
"Who do they think I am?" she said, "Cinder-robot?"
She sat down right beside Bokkun and heaved a sigh.
"I wish I was like you Bokkun," she said, "out in the open and free from these duties."
Bokkun then got an idea.
Meanwhile, Sonic and the team continued toward their destination, with Shadow and Rouge joining in.
"I'm guessing you are after the same target," Sonic said.
"You are correct," Shadow said.
"Interesting," Rouge said, "Why would they send a giant block of junk down here?"
Suddenly, a rumbling sound was heard. A huge hole was created in front of them. This hole was the mouth of a tunnel. Out of the hole came a giant, robotic badger.
"Another day, another baddie to smash," Sonic said. He looked up at the giant robotic badger, "And your name?"
"I am Blizzard Badger," the robot said, "I specialize in digging through glaciers and icebergs. And you will be buried in an icy graveyard."
A battle commenced. During the battle, Tails pulled out a Power Ring to give to Sonic. Blizzard Badger released vapors from his palms aimed toward Tails and Cream. The vapors were able to freeze everything it touches solid. Tails was able to avoid the vapors, but Cream's ears came into contact with them, froze up, and she started to fall. Tails grabbed her, but then Blizzard Badger swiped at them and the two fell into the hole. Knuckles punched Blizzard Badger, making him fall over, hit the rims of the hole, and caused ice to fall and cover up the hole.
"Way to go knucklehead," Sonic commented.
Knuckles gave Sonic an annoyed look.
"We got to dig them out," Amy said.
"First things first," Shadow said, "We must beat Blizzard Badger."
The group ran back to the Blue Typhoon.
Tails recovered inside the tunnel. He switched on a light that was installed into his communicator. He found the power ring right beside him. He looked ahead down the tunnel, which had a downward slope to it. He looked behind to see the hole was sealed. Cream was trapped waist down in the snow that plugged up the hole. Tails dug her out. Cream recovered and switched on the light on her communicator.
"Are you okay," Tails said.
"I feel so cold," Cream said, "and my ears are frozen."
"Here," Tails said, wrapping his two tails around her and embracing her in a hug, "I'll warm you up."
Cream was a little shocked by his actions, but she let him do his work. It was the first time that they hugged. Cream felt her cheeks getting red. They hugged for just a minute or two, but to Cream, it felt like hours. Then Tails pulled away.
"Thank you, Tails," Cream said.
"You're welcome," Tails said.
Then, Cream realized something.
"Where is Cheese?" Cream said as she turned around to the snow covered entrance.
Cream dug through the snow, but couldn't find her little Chao brother. The snow was too thick to dig through completely.
Tails tried to contact Sonic and the rest of the crew, but to no avail.
"I hope Cheese is alright," Cream said.
"I'm sure he is safe with Sonic," Tails assured her.
"I wonder where this tunnel leads us," Cream said, walking down the tunnel, "maybe it leads to the… thing that the Donkel have sent down."
"Most possible," Tails said, "Be careful, Cream. We don't know what the thing is."
The two walked in silence for a while, the light from their communicators causing the icy walls of the tunnel to sparkle. It looked like there were stars all around them.
"It's beautiful," Cream said.
"Yeah," Tails responded.
The two started to look at each other, their eyes fixed on the eyes opposite to them, not looking away. After realizing what they were doing, the two pulled each other out of their gaze, embarrassed. Then, Cream decided to talk with Tails.
"Um…Didn't you say that you were going to make an upgrade for your communicator?" she asked.
"I tried," Tails said, "I want it to make it so that the electromagnetic waves, the energy used for communication, could pass through solid objects, but that would risk harming living organisms, considering that the waves would have to be as short as x-rays or gamma rays."
"So that's bad," Cream said.
"Yep," Tails said, "the penetrating power of short electromagnetic waves, ultraviolet rays or shorter, can be harmful to an organism when it is exposed to them for too long."
"That sounds like a lot," Cream said.
"I know," Tails said, "I sound kind of geeky saying all that stuff."
"That's okay," Cream said, "without that 'geekiness', you wouldn't have had the brains to make all those cool inventions you make to help us out. I think it makes you neat."
"Neat?" Tails said, "You really think so?"
"Yeah," Cream said, "Remember when we first met? When I joined the team to save my mother? I heard that you were such a smart person. So I asked you 'why does ice cream melt?'"
"And I said that is because of the heat that surrounds it," Tails said, "the heat gives energy to the small molecules in the ice cream that stand still to make a solid to start moving and create a liquid."
"I haven't really figured out what all that is," Cream said.
"It's complicated," Tails said.
"That's okay," Cream said, "I don't mind if I've got a lot to learn."
Tails let out a chuckle. "I'm glad you're okay with it," he said.
Cream looked at Tails and let out a gasp.
"You laughed," she exclaimed, "You finally laughed."
"Yeah," Tails said, realizing what he had just done, "I guess I have."
They reached the end of the tunnel and found themselves in a giant hole in the glacier, hundreds of feet deep with the walls being almost completely vertical. They found a giant cylinder, standing tall, which is the giant metallic object that had crashed into the ice, creating the hole they were in. The doors were open.
Tails and Cream walked inside. The capsule was a huge cargo bay with many platforms. Clear capsules containing gray robots were lined up on the walls of the bay. The design of the robots was shockingly familiar.
"Tails," Cream said, "are those…"
"Gizoids?" Tails said, "Like Emerl?"
Suddenly, an alarm sounded, red lights flashed, and a voice system was heard.
"INTRUDERS DETECTECTED. COMENCING IMMEDIATE ACTIVATION OF ALL GIZOID UNITS. REPEAT. INTRUDERS DETECTED. COMENCING IMMEDIATE ACTIVATION OF ALL GIZOID UNITS."
The doors behind Tails and Cream slammed shut. The capsules containing the Gizoids opened. The Gizoids looked towards Tails and Cream and started their attack. Tails and Cream were able to fight back, but they were vastly outnumbered.
Back at the Blue Typhoon, Sonic and the crew have just made it back and were ready to launch the Sonic Power Cannon. Blizzard Badger chased after them, but then he received a signal from the vessel, telling him that there were intruders inside. He ran back to the vessel.
"Yeah," Knuckles said, "You better run."
"Uh… Knux?" Sonic said, "I don't think he's running away from us. We haven't even prepared the weapons. He didn't even look like he was worrying about us turning him into scrap."
"Chao chao," Cheese said.
"What is it, Cheese," Amy said.
"Chao chao chao," Cheese said.
"Is it about Tails and Cream?" Amy said.
"Chao," Cheese said with a nod.
"You think they are in danger?" Amy said.
"Chao," Cheese said with another nod.
"Don't worry," Sonic said, "We will find them."
Meanwhile, back at the cargo vessel, Tails and Cream were slowly starting to fail in keeping back the oncoming enemies. While they didn't fight as strongly as Emerl, they were a forced to be reckoned with in large numbers.
"We got to find a way to open the doors," Tails said, as he looked at his communicator. He installed a device to look for Electronic equipment.
"The security system is being controlled by a computer located at the very top," he said, preparing for takeoff.
"Tails," Cream said, "my ears are still frozen."
Tails quickly grabbed Cream's hands and flew above the Gizoid army. However, one of the Gizoids jumped up high and grabbed one of Cream's legs, whipped her out of Tails' hands, and brought her to the ground with the other Gizoids surrounding her.
"NO!" Tails yelled.
Suddenly, the Power Ring in Tails' hand started to glow. As Tails dropped down to deliver a tail attack, he ended up doing an attack in which he was spinning like a tornado and moving around, with his tails hitting the Gizoids surrounding an amazed Cream. He stopped spinning and felt dizzy, but he quickly recovered.
"Wow!" Cream said, "How did you get that strong?"
"The power ring," Tails said, "But, I thought only Sonic and Shadow could use them. Still, this isn't the time to figure things out. We got to get to the computer."
He then picked up Cream, carrying her bridal style in his arms. Cream felt her cheeks get red again. Still having the power of the Power Ring, Tails flew straight up, with his tails underneath him, propelling him upward.
They made it to the computer on the highest platform, guarded by a few more Gizoids. After taking out the Gizoids, Tails and Cream tried to hack into the computer. The computer screen was filled with text that Tails was unable to analyze. Yet, it felt so familiar. Tails was able to gain control over the computer, open the doors, and commence a self-destruct sequence. He then took Cream and flew out the door. Shortly after they flew out, the cargo vessel self-destructed. Tails and Cream flew out of the hole.
They then found themselves face to face with Blizzard Badger and the Blue Typhoon was not far behind. Blizzard Badger looked down the hole to find only charred pieces of his vessel and Gizoids.
"No!" he yelled, "You destroyed my valuable creations; my Gizoids! Now, you are going to pay!"
He tried to grab a hold of Tails and Cream, but they were able to avoid it. They flew to the Blue Typhoon and prepared the Sonic Power Cannon. Blizzard Badger got blasted in the chest.
"I can't believe it!" Blizzard Badger exclaimed, "All of my hard work, gone to waste."
He exploded.
The crew went into to the hole and, conveniently, found the yellow Chaos Emerald in the corner. Cream got her ears thawed out and was reunited with Cheese. As the evening approached, she went to Tails' room with Cheese by her side once again.
"Hey Tails," she said as she came in, "thank you for helping me out."
"No problem," Tails said, smiling the natural smile of his which was lost for months, "Of course, you helped as well."
"Really?" Cream said.
"Yeah," Tails answered, "you made me feel better when you were with me."
He then turned to look at his potted rose.
"After what had happened with Cosmo," Tails said, "I have felt so miserable. But, when you were with me, talking with me as we walked through the tunnel, I started to feel a little better. After all, you did help me to laugh again."
"I'm really glad about that," Cream said, "It's been so long since I heard you laugh." Then she started to drift off and mumble, "Yet, I never realized how cute your laugh w-" She clamped her hand over her mouth when she realized that she was saying it out loud.
"What?" Tails said.
"Oh! Never mind," Cream said with a giggle of embarrassment.
Tails chuckled and said, "Still, thanks again."
"And I thank you again," Cream said.
Despite having nothing more to say, they just looked at each other. Cheese looked at them, puzzled as to what came over them.
"Chao cha-o," Cheese said in a sing song manner, waving his arm over Cream's face.
The two snapped out of their mesmerized state.
"Uh…I guess we should call it a night," Cream said.
"Okay," Tails said, "Goodnight."
Cream then waved goodbye and headed back to her room. As she did, she thought back to when she talked to Cosmo on the planet Marmolin. She thought back to when she told Cosmo that their friendship was special. Then, she remembered when she and Amy asked Cosmo about how she felt about Tails. Once the memory came into her head, she felt a terrible feeling inside her, like she had done something wrong.
Meanwhile, back at the ship orbiting the planet, Dark Sapling, Hera, and Andromeda looked over the events recorded by the Gizoids in the vessel.