Chapter 11

Triumph of the Angels

Cream watched breathlessly as Tails shot into the sky. Her clenched hands were held close to her heart as the yellow streak soared after the pink beam of energy that was climbing above the clouds. Cheese climbed out of her pocket and let out a mournful cry. Cream felt the sound penetrate her heart. Fear had haunted her since the battle first started, but now it had finally captured her. An acute dread seemed to physically pierce her with needles down her back and legs.

She trembled and closed her eyes as she whispered a series of frantic prayers. Once again, Cream found herself in the midst of danger, and again, she was powerless to help those she cared about. Knuckles had brought her across the world, but neither her nor Tails had permitted her to join in the battle. There was simply nothing she could do.

"Miss….Aurora?" Cream managed weakly. The console beside her lit up and a woman's face appeared on the screen. "Can you see Tails?"

"I can track him. His suit is still uplinked to the Egg Carrier's computer."

"Is he alright?"

"He is outputting all of his suit's energy in an attempt to deflect the laser of the Eclipse Cannon. If he maintains this level of output his stores will deplete." The computer spoke with lifeless indifference.

"There has to be something we can do!" Cream pleaded.

"Negative. Tails is beyond our reach. My scanners can monitor him, but nothing else."

A mechanical lock seemed to squeeze itself around Cream's heart. She tried to speak, but found that her throat was dry and constricted. "Tell me…Tell me what's happening."

"His energy levels have fallen below five percent. They will fail soon. If he cannot get out of the way, the Eclipse Canon will destroy him."

Cream felt tempted to close her eyes and run away. She wanted to race back to her room and bury her head into her pillow. But she wouldn't do that. Tails deserved to have someone keep tabs on him, someone to witness his bravery. "Chao…" Cheese let out another cry, but this one was different than the first. The chao floated into the air and pointed past the hole Tails had flown out of. Beyond the upper clouds, Cream could just vaguely make out a swirling mass of color. It looked as if a storm of purple lighting were clashing against a steady stream of yellow light.

"Tails' power suit has lost all its energy," Aurora commented. "But somehow he is maintaining his altitude."

Cream turned back to the screen. "How is that possible?"

"I'm not sure, it is almost impossible to properly measure the energy output of the Chaos Emeralds."

"So he has a chance?" Cream asked desperately, hoping for some assurance.

"His suit has no more energy. It is possible the emeralds themselves are still projecting power, but Tails himself will no longer be protected."

"Chao!" Cheese let out a cry and started zooming back and forth. Cream looked back up at the sky. There was a brief moment of perfect stillness, before a violent flash of light. Cream covered her face as dazzling light steadily faded. The world above the clouds seemed to swirl and mix together like a watercolor painting that was suddenly doused with liquid. This combined mass of color and cloud mixed together into a single point…and then exploded.

"What happened?" Cream shouted.

"Undetermined. Something exploded in space. The Eclipse Canon's energy discharge is no longer appearing on my scanners."

"And Tails?"

"He is falling."

"Where?"

The screen switched to one of the satellite cameras. Cream watched in horror as Tails plummeted through the sky. "Come on!" Cream seized Cheese as she launched herself into the air. She unfurled her ears as she left the Egg Carrier and allowed a gust of wind to blow her higher into the sky. Hot wind gusted against her face, mixed with the ash and smoke from the battle below.

Cream flew as fast as she could, climbing higher into the sky than she had ever done before. The sky itself continued to shift colors, turning from a bright orange color to a soft reddish blue. The clashing energies had caused some kind of unnatural storm. As Cream gained height, the wind became stronger and sudden bolts of purple lighting started to strike all around her. She weaved and darted past the projectiles, but it was difficult for her to keep herself oriented.

"TAILS!" She bellowed as she flew. Cream paused in mid air and started turning in circles. The world around her was becoming more and more disordered as the storm increased in intensity. Cream's heart fluttered in her chest with every second that passed. I can't find him. Just when she was about to panic, Cheese suddenly cried out and pointed. Cream squinted and saw something hurling through the swirling clouds.

Cream rushed forward, using the gusts of the storm to propel herself with even greater speed. Tails was free falling. His body was completely limp as he was tossed and carried by the storm. Cream pushed through the wind and wrapped her arms beneath his armpits. She tried to pull him away, but it was no use. With his armor on, Tails was too heavy for her to lift. Instead, Cream wrapped her legs around him and extended her ears as wide as they could go. The added air resistance made them even more susceptible to the high winds, but it successfully slowed their descent.

They fell through the upper atmosphere and below the storm. As soon as the air became less turbulent, Cream attempted to spin herself around. It took a stupendous effort, but Cream finally managed to straighten them out. Tails weighed her down and his suit nearly slipped out of her fingers. Cream grimaced as he held on with all the strength she had. Cheese floated by her head, gently nudging her in the right direction. Holding Tails required all of Cream's attention so she allowed Cheese to guide them as they continued to descend.

Cream's arms were trembling and her grip was about to fail. She held on as long as she could until she saw the silver coat of the Egg Carrier's sky deck beneath her. Cream let go and cringed as Tails dropped a few feet and landed with a heavy thud. She dropped down beside him. Cream had to stifle the temptation to sob. Much of Tails' armor had been burned away. His right arm was almost completely exposed as was much of his chest. Half of his helmet had melted, giving Cream a view of his face. Tails' eyes were closed and he gave no sign of life.

Cream knelt beside him, not knowing what to do. She lowered her head to try and hear a heartbeat, but even her ears couldn't detect anything. "Make way." Cream turned to see two of Tails' Neo Badniks rushing forward. Aurora's voice issued out of them as they scooped Tails onto one of the shield drones. "We must bring him to the medical bay."

Cream and Cheese followed closely as the drones took Tails back inside the Egg Carrier. Tails was placed on a steel table inside the Medical Bay. Aurora's face flashed on screen. "I'm detecting a heart rate, but it is extremely faint." A line flashed on screen and Cream saw it move up a few inches before a long pause.

"There has to be something we can do!" Cream tried to pry off what remained of Emerl's armor, but the steel was still extremely hot and it burned her hands.

"Check the Chaos Emeralds," Aurora suggested. Small medical badniks floated down from the ceiling. They used precision carving instruments to cut away parts of Tails' armor. Cream let out a gasp. The Chaos Emeralds had lost almost all of their color. Each of the five gems glinted faintly with just the smallest echo of their former glory.

"That is it then." Aurora said impassively. "The emeralds were his only chance."

Cream whipped her head around as the medical droids slowly returned to their housing. "What do you mean? We have to do something!"

"There is nothing we can do. At best we could-" Aurora stopped suddenly. The screen flashed and suddenly a red alert issued throughout the room. Cream jumped up in surprise.

"What's happening?"

"Hostiles detected." Aurora's voice echoed through the ship's speakers. Suddenly, the Egg Carrier itself started to move. Cream was jostled to the other side of the med bay and nearly slammed into a wall.

"Aurora, what's happening?" But the computer did not answer. Cream looked around in desperation, but there was no one to help her. She rushed towards Tails and started to pry back his armor. She ignored the heat and pried open the chest piece. Once there was enough room, she climbed onto the table. Cream pressed on Tails' chest and then leaned down and pressed her lips against his. She breathed into him, but nothing happened.

No…Cream continued with the chest compressions and tried breathing into Tails a second time. Still nothing happened. The screen that displayed Tails' heart rate had gone dark. "NO!" Tears flooded down Cream's face as she tried again and again. Cheese floated beside her and started to sing a mournful lament. Sirens continued to blare, and Cream was vaguely aware of the sounds of resumed battle from outside. It was all over. The battle had resumed, GUN's reinforcements had arrived.

Cream slumped off the table and crawled on her knees to Tails' side. Why had all this happened? First Emerl, and now Tails. All of her champions had been killed, and yet the battle still continued. What was the point? What was the purpose of all their sacrifices if the bad guys always won in the end? This wasn't how things were supposed to go. Cream sobbed and did not even try to resist the wave of self pity that rushed over her. She had spent her whole life believing that good triumphed over evil. This wasn't how things were meant to be. Someone like Tails was not meant to die.

Cream turned to the Chaos Emeralds. All her outrage was suddenly directed at them. "DO SOMETHING!" Her eyes glistened with tears as she moved over towards them. The emeralds had turned gray, only the faintest bit of color distinguished one gem from the other. Cream thought back to when she had first been taken by the Hard Boiled Heavies. It was because of the Chaos Emeralds that all her troubles had begun. It had led Emerl to have to sacrifice himself, and now that promise of power had proved vain. "Do something…" She wept. "Please…"

The red light of the Egg Carrier's alarm suddenly turned off. The ship itself seemed to have stopped moving. Cream did not care about that. The battle outside meant absolutely nothing to her. Cheese's song had changed. The Chao had landed on Tails' chest and was looking down on him. Suddenly, it turned and stared directly back at Cream. The Chao smiled before closing its eyes and hovering into the air. Cream watched in awe as the Chaos Emeralds popped out of their casing and started to spiral around Cheese.

Cheese started a new song. This one was not a song of mourning, but it struck Cream even more than the first. The music entered her soul like a burning fire. She felt strength return to her arms and legs, and she rose to her feet. As the Chao sang, the Chaos Emeralds began to glow. It was faint at first, but moment by moment, the color of the emeralds returned. Yellow, blue, white, green, turquoise, the five emeralds spun around Cheese in rhythm with the music. Suddenly, Cheese began to glow. The white light was so intense that Cream had to cover her face.

As she pulled her hands away, Cream's heart skipped a beat. Cheese had transformed. It was no longer blue with small yellow wings, Cheese had turned a pearly white and flew with huge angelic blue wings. A crystal blue halo floated over its head, and Cheese now played a golden harp. Cream watched in amazement as the music steadily faded. After plucking the last string that signaled the end of the song, Cheese lowered its harp. The Chaos Emeralds floated back onto the table. Their color had returned and they glowed with vibrant energy.

"Cheese…" Cream said as if she had never really known her longtime friend. "You did it…"

Cheese smiled at her and then started to wave. Before Cream could do anything, Cheese faded into dust. Cream fell back in shock. All sound and sensation seemed to stop. Cream felt frozen in that moment. And then, he sat up. Tails picked himself off the table, and the reborn Chaos Emeralds gathered to him. They returned to their place inside his suit, and Tails' armor hummed with energy. Tails flexed his hands, marveling at the sudden return of his power. He looked down at Cream and offered her a small smile. Then he shot up into the sky.