Commission for TheMaskedTime on DeviantArt. I do not own Sonic The Hedgehog or The Mask.

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"Heavens, I have so much still to do today!"

Making her way down a wooded path, Amy Rose struggled to carry the many bags she had with her, enough that she wished for a third hand to ease her struggle. There was the blue and white striped bag from the local department store, full of new jeans and sweaters as she got a head start on winter clothes. There was an orange bag from the hardware store, with a new light fixture and bulbs that was needed for the bathroom.

And in a plain white bag, there sat an old wooden mask, its value worthless to almost everyone she knew - but a few were better informed.

Ever since Eggman had been defeated, Sonic, Tails and Amy had decided the mask needed to be in one's possession at all times. They had each gotten a taste of the incredible power contained within, and they had each come to accept that it was far too dangerous to fall out of their control. This week was Amy's turn with it, and she kept it close to the hip.

But Amy was hardly thinking about that at the moment. She had made a stop at a farmer's market for her good friend Vanilla, and she needed to drop it off at her cottage before continuing on her way. At least it would lighten her load to carry.

Knocking at the front door, she heard a young voice on the other end.

"I'm coming! Just a minute!"

The door slowly opened, and Amy was greeted by a young rabbit in a red skirt and light blue bow - Vanilla's daughter Cream.

"Hello Ms. Amy! Nice to see you today!"

Amy smiled. "Hello Cream. Nice to see you too. Is your mom around?"

"No, Ms. Amy, she's at a friend's house. May I help you?"

"I bought her some fruits and vegetables at the farmer's market, just stopping by to drop it off. Mind if I set it on the counter?"

"Sure thing, Ms. Amy!"

Stepping in and leaving the white bag on a counter, Amy bid Cream a farewell.

"Bye Cream! Tell your mom I said hello."

"Goodbye Ms. Amy! Thank you!"

As the door closed behind her, it would be several hours before Amy realized the grave mistake she made.

Taking the bag over to the refrigerator, Cream was eager to help out her mother by putting the food away. She hoped Amy had brought something delicious for her to enjoy. Maybe a delicious banana or apple, or even some carrots! Even if they were just vegetables, they could certainly make a delicious salad for dinner tonight!

Reaching her hand into the bag, Cream felt something odd inside. It didn't feel like any piece of fruit, it was rather cold and jagged, like some kind of rock.

"Huh? What's this?"

Pulling out the bag's contents, Cream looked at what indeed was not a piece of fruit nor a vegetable. In fact, it wasn't edible at all.

It was…some type of mask. Made of old wood, it appeared to have once been painted green, although it had long since lost its luster. A silver bar with rivets ran down the center to the point where a nose would be, and crudely carved eye and mouth holes gave the wearer a place to see and speak through. Not that Cream cared, what would she or her mom do with this ugly thing?

"No fair! I wanted some carrots!!!"

She threw it to the side, the mask landing face up on the floor. It was rare Cream got angry, but Ms. Amy had promised something cool and left her with this! It stunk!

Putting the empty bag in a closet, Cream prepared to walk back to the living room, where she had been enjoying some cartoons. It was impolite to leave clutter on the floor, so she picked the mask back up. Ms. Amy had obviously left the wrong bag, and her mom would deal with it later.

Sitting back in her chair, Cream put the mask in her lap - it was quite cool to find something so old, maybe it was treasure. As she turned it over, a bright flash of green light suddenly shone out from its grainy surface.

"Hey, it glows! Awesome!!!"

Getting up again, Cream stared at the mask closer. It didn't appear to have any holes for strings, how was anyone supposed to wear it? Maybe she just needed to bring it closer…

THWURK!!!!

Instantly, Cream got her answer - in a rather painful manner.

As the mask made contact with her fur, it suddenly came alive, little worms digging into her face while long tendrils sprouted out from the edges and began to swallow up her floppy ears. Cream barely had time to react before she could feel the tendrils joining at the back of her head, engulfing her in a vise. She tried to dig her gloves into its surface, but it was like pulling an elephant, impossible to budge. Eyes watering, she began to scream.

"MOMMY!!!!! HELP!!!!!!!! IT HURTS!!!!!!!!!!!"

It was the worst pain Cream had ever felt, like a sunburn right up against the sun's surface. Her head throbbed up and down as the mask fit its new frame, and green smoke began to pour out as lightning flashed and thunder boomed around the little girl.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Suddenly, the young rabbit became a shrieking twister, spinning with uncontrollable speed as winds tore up her mother's clean living room. Literally bouncing off the walls, the whirling dervish finally came to a stop by the front door, a new and improved figure emerging.

"Whoa, that was incredible!!!"

The figure looked at herself in the hallway mirror - and wow, did she look amazing.

It was still a rabbit looking back, but it was no longer a little girl standing there. Now with the appearance of a young teenager, her red and yellow buckle shoes were replaced by a pair of sporty sneakers in the same colors. Her skirt was gone and a pair of blue jeans now ran up to her waist, matching this older figure.

An orange tank top covered up her chest, and a red unzipped hoodie sat on her shoulders, sleeves covering up her longer arms. Her head, of course, showed the most drastic change. Lime green in color, it had the feel of cool rubber along with ears that fell almost to her knees. Her brown eyes had turned to a bright yellow - and as she took these changes in, a smile appeared on her face, teeth bright white and unbelievably huge.

"Is…is that me?!?!? Yahoooooo!!!!!!! I can finally be a hero now!!!! But first…

Spinning into another twister, she whizzed around the living room, every piece of clutter returning to its normal place. Continuing on, she shut the door behind her before stopping with gloves firmly on her hips.

"Look out everyone! I've got a world to protect!!! Wahooooo!!!!!!"

As the tornado disappeared from sight, Mask Cream was ready for the best day of her life - even Sonic would soon appreciate her heroics.