In the kitchen, the sun now shone bright through the window. Tails sat in the middle of a small, rectangle-shaped table.
Vanilla sat on his right, and Cream on his left. It was breakfast time. The two bunnies ate casually at the table, while Tails
kept his eyes on his plate. He pushed his scrambled eggs on top of the toast and stabbed them with his fork, not feeling very
hungry. He was having a hard time believing that Cream was of the murdering sort. She'd never given any indication in the past
that would've led him to think of her as anything but a kind, sweet rabbit. But as he sat at the kitchen table with her, he began to see it.
"Tails," said Vanilla in the sweetest of tones, "you haven't touched your eggs yet? Are you feeling alright?"
Tails? She stopped calling me Miles. Right, cause Cream's here..
"I'm okay, Va...I mean, Ms. Rabbit. I'm just feeling a little queasy, is all."
Cream looked up from her meal. She looked at Vanilla, then at Tails. Then she said,
"Hey, Mama? I don't think we ever told Tails why we moved away from the city!"
"Hm? Ah, yes. You're right, Cream! It's actually kind of a funny story."
Tails didn't want to know. He just wanted to stab at his eggs. But he didn't want to hurt Vanilla in any way. Not in the slightest.
So he said,
"I'd love to hear it, Ms. Rabbit!"
Cream frowned at Tails. He could tell that she didn't like it when he smiled at her mother. Vanilla didn't seem to notice Cream giving
him the dirty look, as she was too busy searching her memories for the story. She tapped her chin, thinking hard about it, then said,
"Aha! I remember now! Me and Cream had to leave our nice cottage near the Night Carnival Zone...because there was a murderer on the loose!"
Tails' interest was suddenly peaked. "A m..murderer, you say?"
"Yes," Vanilla went on, "he was known as the Midnight Slasher."
The hair stood up on his back as he saw a dark grin now on Cream's face.
"He was a really bad guy! He chopped innocent people up after dark and sold their body parts on the black market!"
"Cream!"
"Sorry, Mama! But that's what the news person on T.V. said!"
"Indeed! And the weirdest thing was...that the victims of his crimes...were all men who frequently visited my bakery! So odd.."
Tails' heart sank. He looked at Cream again to see her looking at him, dead on. She had that creepy smile again. Why didn't Vanilla see it?
"Ahh," sighed Vanilla, "they used to love my famous Casino Chocolate Cake. Those poor men."
"Yeah," said Tails with a nervous smile, "those poor men.."
"Well, things were getting to be so dangerous, that even people who didn't visit my bakery were getting hurt. So me and my dear Cream
moved here, close to the Sunset Hill Zone. It's a safe and peaceful place to live. I doubt that evil criminal will find us out here, right Cream?"
"Mmhmm! Right, Mama!"
Tails had lost his appetite. He pushed his plate away and stood up. Then headed down the hall.
"Wait," said Vanilla with worry in her voice, "where are you going? Aren't you hungry, Tails?"
"Yeah, Tails," said Cream, "aren't you hungry for Mama's food?"
"Thanks for the meal, Ms. Rabbit...and Cream. I just...gotta go lie down. Sorry."
And with that, he went back to the room and shut the door.
Once inside, he fell back on the bed and put one of the pillows over his face. He sniffed it deeply, smelling the faint scent of Vanilla on it.
Ohhh...Vanilla...I can't let superstition hold me back from you. I want to feel you again. But...
His thoughts turned back to Cream. That look...that smile...those words...he didn't believe it.
He wanted to tell Vanilla about what Cream had said. But with that face, she could fool anybody. Even Vanilla.
"Maybe," he said to himself, "maybe Cream isn't some crazed murderer and...this is all in my imagination."
But he couldn't let it go. He had to find out the truth and expose her for the monster she probably was. But how?
Then, he got an idea.
Looks like there's only one way to do it.
It was the only way he'd be able to overcome this obstacle...the only way to regain entrance back into Vanilla's warm bosom of love.
He got up, went for the door, and then slowly trudged down the hallway back to the kitchen. Feeling brave, he gave Vanilla a hearty
smile and asked,
"Ms. Rabbit? May I use your phone? I want to call Sonic and see how he's doing."
"I thought Mr. Sonic didn't have a phone number," said Cream with a derisive snort.
"Oh, of course you can, Tails! It's near the front door, on your right."
Tails thanked Vanilla and left the kitchen, heading for the front door. He saw the phone. It looked like an antique kind of phone,
a novelty that was only for decoration. But when he picked it up and held it to his ear, it had a dial tone. He looked towards the kitchen,
thinking what he was doing was both the right and wrong thing to do.
But he had no choice. He wanted Vanilla. And he was willing to do anything. He dialed in a number and listened for an answer.
He waited for five or so minutes until...
"Hello," he said hesitantly. "Is this...the Chaotix Detective Agency?"