Author's Note: At last, the beginning of the final part for the Cream and Cheese Arc of Sonic DX Adventures has arrived. Sorry for the long wait for reaching it, but we're finally here, and this being the second story to be updated for 2023!
Let's get rockin' and rollin'!
I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog. All rights belong to Sega. I only own the OCs.
Episode 26: The Chaotic Mistake.
He was dreaming again. Sonic was certain of it. He wasn't sure how or why it was possible. All that the teenage hero knew was that the peaceful village he'd seen in the last dream was now full of panicking people, humans and Mobians alike. He tried to help them, but he wasn't seen or heard.
"What's going on here!?" Sonic exclaimed, bewildered as his heart upon seeing such a sight. The air was strangely suffocating but there was no fire. Instead, there was a cold, chilling feeling of something dark, negative, brutal, dangerous and...evil.
Like something or someone was attempting to cause destruction among these people.
'Somethin's wrong. What are these people running away from?' The blue hedgehog thought in concern, narrowing his eyes as he then noticed something up ahead and the cold feeling got even worse. Narrowing his eyes, he quickly hurried to see what was happening...
Only to gasp in shock and disbelief, skidding to a stop when he saw something that made his blood run cold. Because there in front of a mansion was a towering dark silhouette 100 feet tall giant, having destroyed roof of it and clutching a very tiny white and blue figure with just two fingers, bellowing in evil laughter.
Yet it was the eyes and mustache and the suit that made Sonic almost instantly recognize him and gasped in horror.
"It's that Jonathan guy!" He exclaimed, before looking around frantically in fear despite that it was a dream, yet like Cream and Cheese, the little girl he'd seen before was pure and innocent. "But there's Camelia!?"
"NO!" A young girl's voice screamed, and when Sonic looked to see in front of him, his emerald eyes widened to see the aforementioned child standing directly in front of the man who somehow grew into an enormous size, far bigger than Robotnik's E-18 robot he fought weeks ago.
The little child was clutching onto a sack with something glowing through the light-brown material, in a rainbow colour that looked familiar and in the giant's right hand, the small figure was glowing as well.
"Oh no...!" Sonic whispered in horror. That little figure...It was the same Chao that guided him and had been in his previous dreams!
"Please, Mr. Jonathan! Let my friend Clover go! Why are you doing this!? It is not fair!" Camelia screamed pleadingly, eyes full of tears as she began to cry.
"BWAHAHAHAHA! BECAUSE, LITTLE GIRL, YOU KNOW NOTHING OF THESE INTELLIGENT CREATURES. THEY ARE THE KEY SOURCES OF ULTIMATE POWER: THE POWER TO RULE THE ENTIRE WORLD. AND ALSO TO DESTROY IT AND END ALL PATHETIC LIFE IT HAS BEEN GIVEN." The giant Jonathan snarled with a wicked grin, before turning his gaze at the struggling Clover the White Chao, who squealed and tried to wriggle himself free. "IT IS THANKS TO YOU AND YOUR BOND, I HAVE FOUND THAT POWER AND EVEN IF SHOULD IT DEFEAT ME, I WILL BE REBORN AND NO CHOSEN ONE SHALL HARNESS THE GREAT POWER, BECAUSE THERE IS NO SUCH THING. NOW, GIVE ME THOSE MIRACLE GEM STONES...AND I WILL SPARE YOUR LIFE."
Camelia shivered, holding the gems in the sack close, while Clover could only gaze at her, and Sonic felt his heart sink. Was this...the real connection? Why was he seeing all of this? And what did Jonathan mean by...reborn?
"Let him go!" Sonic finally shouted, hoping to at least rescue Clover and get the little Chao and Camelia away from the evil man.
Just then, Clover, with eyes full of tears, closed them before the little white and blue chao glowed brightly in light as the miracle gems glowed even brighter, much to everyone's shock and by Jonathan's sudden scream, the bright light shone which forced Sonic, the little rabbit girl and even the giant to shield their eyes, and the blue hedgehog could hear the child's screams calling out for Clover...
A Day later in Reality...
"Sonic? Hey, Sonic? Anybody home?"
"Hm? Say what?" Sonic, unable to stop thinking about the mysterious nightmare he had last night, was brought out of his thoughts when Tails called out to him. At this moment, the blue hedgehog reclining on the window sill with a serious expression over the last several weeks.
He had been so lost in his mind that the hero of Mobius ended up not paying attention to what Tails, Chris, Amy, Chuck and surprisingly enough, the Chaotix were discussing in the elder Thorndyke's attic bedroom. They were all having a meeting on the links, clues and evidence they all found and put together including that of the location of the Chao Garden in Tanaka's homeland a week earlier.
"Aren't you listening? This is very important if you want to find the Iron Empire's secret base." Chuck scolded firmly.
"Sorry, kinda zoned out a little." The fourteen year old shrugged, sheepishly.
"Was it the nightmare again?" Chris asked, concerned.
"Sort of. I just can't stop thinking about it...or why I keep having them. I want to find Cream's Mom and the other people Julius kidnapped, but each time I've ended up with a dead end." Sonic sighed, rubbing his temple. "I'm startin' to get why he calls Eggman second-rated, 'cause even he wasn't this hard to find."
"Well, given from what we found in the recent weeks, Julius didn't start up the Iron Empire until ten years ago. Around the same time as he and Dr. Robotnik disowned each other due to jealously that you mentioned." Vector began, folding his arms in deep thought. "Problem is, GUN has been searchin' for them each time they get close in locating their previous hideouts so they always end up moving to hide somewhere else, but they don't stay for very long."
"And they do come up with ways to try and conquer the world but have to abandon those plans, right?" Tails questioned, curiously.
"Yes, that's correct. From what I have gathered when I secretly followed them the other day in the hidden parts of the city in the sewer-lines, it wasn't until a while ago Julius has found research on Eastside Island related to the Chao and their powerful connection with the Chaos Emeralds." Espio confirmed.
"Eastside Island!?" Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Chris all exclaimed in horror.
"We were just near there when Ju-loser attacked us! I didn't know there were ancient runes and stuff like that on the island." The hero of Mobius shrugged, unable to believe that they had all missed it.
"Do you think that's where Eggman found the Chaos Emerald?" Amy asked, worriedly with her hands clasped together.
"If he did, then that means he found out about the legend there too." The youngest Thorndyke murmured gravely.
"Which means he understands better now, giving him one more reason to search for the Chaos Emeralds." Chuck agreed seriously.
"But if that was the case, why didn't he go after Cream and Cheese?" Charmy asked, cluelessly.
"Julius thinks that Cheese could lead him to a Chao Colony with the Emeralds. On top of that, Cream and Cheese are both related into this and so is Mrs. Vanilla. We gotta do everything we can to keep them safe and rescue her mom and the villagers." Sonic remarked firmly, recalling what Magnolia and White Wing had told him.
Tails nodded in agreement despite still not understanding what his best friend/big brother had discovered either. "And since Eggman only has one Chaos Emerald while the Empire has Cream's mother, the villagers and Angel Island hostage, not even he has any idea what's really going on either."
"Let's go over the blueprints to see how close we are and if we can figure out how to get the Chaos Emerald from Dr. Eggman back, and find the last one before he or the Empire do." Chuck concluded, leaning over the table with Tails, Vector and Espio examining it, Sonic who approached to see for himself, Amy, Chris and Charmy attempting to do the same.
All the while Sonic's mind wandered into locating Vanilla, the Floral Forest Villagers and Angel Island, the dreams that gotten even worse, and wondered if it was the same dream that Cream had weeks ago. He then mentally gasped in horror as he realized that it was. She had the same dream of Camellia as well as the man Jonathan who transformed into a giant.
'If we're both having the same dream, could the prophecy be true? Are Cream, Cheese and I...the only ones to save the world?' These thoughts scared Sonic, but he vowed to not let fear overcome him. His friends needed him and now he was one step closer in discovering the truth. He narrowed his eyebrows with pure determination. 'Just hand in there for a little bit longer, Vanilla. I'll find you. I promise!'
Unbeknownst to them, from the door above the staircase, Cream and Cheese had both unintentionally heard the whole conversation as they were about to call out their friends that Ella made some snacks. But upon hearing what Sonic and the others have said. The little five year old rabbit girl felt like the teenage hero was getting closer in locating her mother, yet what else he said scared her.
'Mr. Sonic...Had the same nightmares I had? Why didn't anybody tell me?' Becoming distraught over the thought that her friend also had the similar dreams, and that she herself along with Cheese may be the true reason for things going wrong since her mother's kidnapping, Cream began to fall into deep despair, guilt and hopelessness.
Maybe it really was her fault, and there was nothing more that could be done as long as Cream herself and Cheese remain. Then again, Dr. Robotnik had one Chaos Emerald and since he only wanted them and not herself or her Chao...The little girl sadly and silently closed the door and descended from the stairs in depression.
"Chao? Chao chao?" Cheese chirped in concern, but he didn't get a response as Cream continued to walk away. The little Chao's heart ached with his gaze lowering, sensing that the whole situation only got worse. He wished to see Mrs. Vanilla again, and to help Sonic, to understand why he had a connection with the Chaos Emeralds.
And...Why did the name of Hero Chao and Clover sound so familiar?
Hoping to at least cheer his friend up, Cheese hurried to catch up to the young girl.
Meanwhile, up in the Egg Fort, Robotnik was busy attempting to locate his twisted brother's secret base himself as well as coming up with an evil new plan that will put things into perfect motion. So much so that the mad doctor was looking at the footage spying on his enemies, chuckling.
"It looks like Dr. Robotnik is in a very good mood." Decoe remarked in surprise, as it was very unusual to see his and Bocoe's creator to be like this.
"Yes, he seems extremely confident, doesn't it?" The shorter robot murmured in agreement, just as confused.
As the two robotic minions had their conversation behind their back, Robotnik was cackling away as he rubbed his hands, believing that victory was at long last his, with a wide smile. "I have a pretty good feeling today could be a very lucky day. In fact, those Chaos emeralds are as good as mine and Julius will finally see who's second-rated if I play my cards right!"
"Your cards?" The two dumbots asked, plexed. The two shared a glance before they carried the tray filled with the robot cards for their creator to pick.
"Oh, there is no need for those this time." Robotnik declined, pushing the tray away which only increased his minions' confusion. He grinned wickedly. "I've already chosen my weapon."
"A new weapon?" Decoe blinked, baffled. It was very strange as the evil scientist would normally use the slot machine to pick his robots. Did he create something without needing to select it this time? What could it be, the two robots wondered.
Just then, the doors nearby began to slide open to reveal the chosen weapon to be deployed. Decoe and Bocoe both waited anxiously as the suspense was really getting to them. They shook in wonder and worry to see what kind of dangerous weapon would be shown...Only for it to be the complete opposite of what they were expecting: It was rather small, about Bokkun's height, shaped like a bell in yellow colouring, and as it waddled over just by one step...it clumsily fell face first onto the ground.
Both Decoe and Bocoe were absolutely dumbfounded while Robotnik groaned in irritation, not having predicted this to happen even though it was also part of the plan.
"You have GOT to be kidding, doctor!" Decoe exclaimed in disbelief.
"That is the strangest-looking robot I have ever seen!" Bocoe added. It looked, in his opinion, the most ridiculous creation ever invented and that was saying a lot.
"Yes, he does look like a klutz to easily lose." Robotnik admitted, before explaining his latest plan by holding up a finger smartly. "But Lucky here is exactly the charm we need to capture that final Chaos Emerald!"
"Huh!?" The two robots exclaimed, blinking with sweat drops. Where did this idea come from? And how was it going to even work?
As though scanning their A.I through their programming, the evil scientist continued. "You see, our plucky little pal here possesses that one elusive quality that will make that emerald practically drop into our waiting hands, and force the rest to be drawn. Once that's done, we will have the ultimate advantage to not only in finally getting rid of Sonic once and for all, but also to crush Julius and his Ironing House-Keepers!"
"With...Luck?" Decoe guessed, meekly with a shrug.
"Precisely!" Robotnik grinned, turning to the monitor as Lucky began his mission. Finally things were beginning to look up for him. Soon he will have the remaining six Chaos Emeralds and the full power to rule Mobius. 'Very soon, dear murderous brother of mine. You will be afraid of me, because I will destroy you! Not even your slow intelligence will outmatch mine!'
But what both the heroes and Robotnik don't even know is that Julius is already one step ahead of them both, as the full plans was being putt into place. The evil Iron Empire Leader was calmly strolling through the hallways of his underwater base with his hands clasped behind his back.
'Those children and fools think they can keep the Chao Garden's location a secret. But they will soon learn that their lives will soon forfeit. Especially Sonic the Hedgehog and Ivo Eggman's.' Julius thought to himself, a twisted evil grin engrossed on his face, approaching large automatic doors where two of his soldiers stood chatting right before they saw him and stood smartly, ending their conversation.
"Is the amphilizer ready?" Julius questioned sternly.
"Ready for your orders, sir!" The two soldiers responded.
"Heh heh heh heh heh...Good." The cruel man chuckled, stepping inside where a large chamber stood before him.
It was so huge that it was almost the size of an entire continent with a glass hatch seen through the ceiling, the ocean's waters and sea life above. Inside attached with chains is Angel Island which had been held captive for several weeks since Knuckles the Echidna was thrown off, drawn here to fully perfect the artifical Chaos Control. The Master Emerald was sealed inside an orb with it's power being drained, many scientists typing away to continue to analyze and monitor it's energy. Many soldiers and robotic armors stood ready to be deployed.
In a separate prison capsule nearby was Cream's mother Vanilla, who looked exhausted, guilt-ridden, gravely concerned for her daughter's safety and welfare, and wearing prisoner garments since her time being held hostage.
"I trust that things are going quite well?" Julius approached his men.
"We're almost finished in controlling and stabilizing the Master Emerald, sir. However, it would require the use of the Chao as well as the Chaos Emeralds to fully repelish it's power." One of the scientists calmly explained.
"Monitor the child and her Chao. They must be drawn sooner or later." Julius ordered sharply.
The Iron Empire Scientists did as they were told, not willing to unleash their leader's fury as he was known to be a man with monstrous admission. While his men were continuing their work for the final stages of his plan, the Iron Leader turned his attention to the distraught Vanilla who began to fear for her child's safety.
"Oh, come now, madam." Julius evilly sneered with fake reassurance. "Think of it as a reunion with your daughter very soon. Do you not want to see her again?"
"Why do you want to hurt my baby and Chao so much? Let alone other innocent people?" Vanilla questioned fearfully. "They're just children!"
"Children who have special gifts they were born with. You yourself should know this, Vanilla. You and your daughter are the descendents of the girl who along with the Chao Reborn to have driven away the darkness with the power of the Chaos Emeralds." The evil man approached the capsule and leaned up dangerously close to the horrified mother who leaned back, her eyes shrinking back as her heart hammered. "You have made the ultimate mistake to allow the little girl to roam free and seek hopeless aid from that hedgehog boy, Sonic. He too shall be mine...!"
Without waiting for a response, Julius stood back up and turned, chuckling away. "Everything is going according to plan. Nobody, not even Sonic the Hedgehog or Dr. Ivo Eggman shall stop me! Bwahahahahaha! AH HA HA HA HA HA!"
Vanilla felt terror mount onto terror as she realized that unless Sonic and his friends did something soon to keep Cream and Cheese safe and stop the Iron Empire, all hope would be lost.
'Cream...Sweetie...Please don't ask them to find me. I'm so sorry...that I cannot be with you anymore. I hope that...I hope that...Sonic and his friends will take good care of you...I love you, my baby girl...and little Cheese...One day...I will see each other again.' Vanilla thought to herself, devastated as she covered her face with her hands, weeping with the full belief she will never see her daughter again.
But her demise would be worth Cream and Cheese's survival and to live with Sonic's group for the rest of their lives.
Meanwhile, Knuckles was strolling through the Forest Hill Zone near Station Square, still having no luck in locating the Iron Empire's Base or even the final Chaos Emerald. Even with the red Emerald he had in hand that Sonic entrusted him with to keep safe, the echidna guardian still felt very uneasy.
"Cream's a really sweet and well behaved kid, I suppose. And for her to be very close with her Chao friend Cheese...It's almost like they're a cuter and less reckless versions of Sonic and Tails combined." Knuckles thought to himself, thinking back on his previous meetings with the five year old girl and her best friend. "But if Robotnik's brother is holding her mother hostage for power...What is the connection? What did that voice say?"
"The severs are the seven Chaos..."
Soon the fifteen year old came to a stop on a hill, looking out over the horizon. "The only way to locate the base and stop Julius is to find all seven of the Chaos Emeralds. Sonic and the others already have four, Robotnik and I both have one...the last one is still out there somewhere. But..." He furrowed his brows in irritation and deep concern. "Where could it be?"
As the red echidna pounded onto the situation as well as the increasing guilt for failing to protect the Master Emerald as it's guardian, just then he heard an unusual noise along with a thud. Blinking in confusion wondering what it was, Knuckles moved along and pushed his way through the tall grass into a clearing where he saw...Lucky the Robot who ended up falling flat on it's face again and was unable to get up. It left him dumbfounded as for a robot called Lucky...he really is such a klutz.
"Hey. You must be one of Robotnik's robots." Knuckles approached it and helped the robot to stand, as Lucky nodded in confirmination. "What are you doing here?"
For some reason, this robot, unlike the previous ones, didn't seem to be much of a threat. More like a clumsy version of Decoe and Bocoe. Lucky didn't say anything, but instead he pointed upward into the sky which the teenage guardian looked and gasped in shock to see the Egg Fort in flight high above him.
"Maybe the Chaos Emerald lead me here." Knuckles thought to himself, gazing at the red gem in his gloved hand, narrowing his brows. "Sonic did warn me that Eggman had found it without any of them realizing it, and Julius was far too close for comfort...What could this all mean?"
There was something missing about all of this. He just knew it. As much as Robotnik was the enemy, he too was against his own brother. Perhaps it stood to reason for the Guardian of the Master Emerald to somehow convince the evil scientist as well as Sonic to join forces to take down the Iron Empire in a truce despite that they don't see eye to eye.
But in order to get Angel Island back, he had to take necessary actions.
While Sonic and the others were discussing the preparations to locate the Iron Empire's base, Cream had retreated to the living room with a gloomy expression, absently staring at the picture book not really paying attention to that, or the TV or even Cheese who sat next to her, having failed to come up with an idea on how to cheer her up.
The more she about her nightmares and now Sonic just revealed his own dreams were connected to what was happening, the more Cream continued to blame herself for her mother's kidnapping. Problem is, she loved Cheese a whole lot that wishing for him to never be found was too cruel and selfish.
She then thought back to what Sonic had said during their camping trip after saving the Chao Colony.
"...To make things more awkward, I think this whole place was where Camelia, her whole family, and even that Jonathan guy used to live. If the legend is really true, then...Cheese could be connected to all of this. I'm not sure. But what I don't get his the whole rebirth thing. You can't be born twice, right?"
"Whatever Jonathan did was pretty awful. That's why I'm gonna make sure Julius doesn't do the same thing and get your Mom back. I'm not gonna let history repeat itself."
'Chao can be reborn again when they think about those they cared for the most. But could Mr. Sonic be right? Why do Dr. Robotnik and Mr. Julius have to be so mean? Even to each other?' Cream's eyes began to fill up with tears, missing her mother terribly and no matter how many times her new friends have come back alright, she was afraid that her very presence was the cause of them getting into further danger.
"Children, I brought you a..." Ella then came through the door holding a tray full of snacks out, only to trail off when she saw, much to her concern, Cream and Cheese looking quite upset and zombie-like. Her motherly instincts kicking in, the house maid approached while setting the tray down sat next to the distraught five year old. "Oh, Cream sweetheart, what ever is the matter?"
"I feel so awful, Miss Ella. Mr. Sonic and everybody try very hard to find my Mom, but they keep getting hurt or in trouble with the mean people." Cream confessed, struggling not to cry as her misplaced guilt increased. "What if I never see her again? What if they all go away forever too and it's...it's all my fault?"
Seeing what the problem was and her heart broke to hear such a sweet and very well behaved five year old blame herself for the big mess two grown evil men had caused, Ella gently placed Cream onto her lap and held her in a warm embrace, where the young Mobian rabbit girl was unable to hold it back and sobbed.
"Don't cry, sweetie. It is not your fault, you're too young and far too good to do anything bad. I'm sure your mother will be alright. Dr. Robotnik and Julius are grown men who are the most misbehaved people in the world, far worse than naughty children. And Sonic, Amy, Tails and the rest of us will not go away." The kindly maid gently rocked the little girl back and forth to comfort her.
All the while Sonic and his friends decided to take a break with the blue hedgehog deciding to go out and locate the Chaos Emerald now that they had a fair idea how to get to the base...to an area that was the most difficult place of all, much to his chargin. But when the hero of Mobius passed by the living room to head out, he paused when he heard the unbearable sounds of Cream crying.
"Cream?" Sonic whispered, grave concern quickly overcoming his senses as he made to open the door to see what was wrong. But when he did creak it, his eyes widened when he saw that Ella had already beaten him to it.
"I just don't want anybody else to disappear or get hurt because of me...!" Cream sniffled. "Maybe it's better if Mr. Julius got me and not Mama...!"
'WHAT!?' The blue hedgehog felt his heart freeze over that claim. Cream was...blaming herself for Julius' actions? And now became so distraught and full of despair that she was wishing to have surrendered herself for her mother's sake instead of the other way around?
"Now, why do you think of that? Your mother wanted you to be safe and that is what many mothers should do. Even if children are growin' up like Mr. Sonic, parents always worry for their children no matter how old they get." Ella gently scolded, absolutely horrified to hear this as well.
"I...I still miss her..." The five year old rabbit girl snuggled into the kindly woman's arms, tears shedding even more.
"I know, sweetie. I'm sure you will see her again. In fact, I have a feeling Sonic and the others are even closer in rescuing your mother." Even though Ella was doing her best to comfort the crying child, her heart ached as she silently shed her own tears as well.
On the other side of the door, now Sonic's own guilt increased as he closed it softly to avoid in being noticed by Cream and Ella. The blue hedgehog squeezed his eyes shut while leaning against the wall before punching it in frustration, badly chasitising himself for his failure in finding Vanilla sooner and stopping the Iron Empire from gaining control.
'Cream...I'm so really sorry. I wish I could've done more to save your mom. But I can't give up now. Not when we're finally this close...I WON'T give up!' Sonic stood there for a moment, before he opened his eyes with strong renewed determination.
Knowing what to do, the fourteen year old quickly dashed out of the door to continue his task and this time he was going to get more answers from wandering Iron Empire soldiers if it was the last thing he did.
Meanwhile, at the President's Office, the headman himself was having another meeting with Rouge and Topaz who were giving out their latest reports on what they just learned. Yet true to their silent oath, they didn't reveal anything about the discovery of the Chao Colony, or the connection Sonic, Cream and Cheese share with the legend.
"So, what you're saying Rouge, is that Julius Robotnik murdered his and Dr. Robotnik's father out of jealously and now seeks the Chaos Emeralds and Chao Colonies for total power?" The President questioned firmly.
"Right. Still not sure why he thinks little Cream and her Chao would lead him to any Colony since they wouldn't have a clue either, even if they do have the Emeralds with them." The albino bat explained, shrugging.
"It makes it more difficult since, according to the reports, the ancient Angel Island has also fallen into the hands of the Iron Empire, along with the Master Emerald. Knuckles the Echidna is the last guardian and he seeks to get it back from our enemy's hands." Topaz added in concern.
"And by holding the child's mother along with her villagers hostage, it makes it more of a dire situation. There must be a way to rescue them by locating their hidden base. For ten years, Julius Robotnik has been GUN's top priority and this could be our chance to finally catch him off-guard." The President thought deeply.
However, one of the assistants held a deeper concern, pointing out. "Sir, there might not be much more time to form seperate operations at this huge scale. Many of the workers have been kidnapped as well and for all we know, we may have no choice but to oblierate the base now while we still can."
"But that will cause fatal casualties!" Topaz protested in horror. "And not just to the villagers or the workers, but if what the legend says is true about the Master Emerald, if it is destroyed, the Chaos Emeralds will become even more unstable than they are now! Even a global destruction!"
"She's right." Rouge agreed, with a smug expression despite that she felt quite uneasy. Without the Master Emerald in the world, the Chaos Emeralds could run amok and on top of that, a full operation to eliminate the Iron Empire with so many innocent people inside would be devastating.
Especially for Cream who would be forced to spend the rest of her life as an orphan.
"Then we just retrieve the Master Emerald and then eliminate the Empire. For the sake of the planet, we can't afford any more fatualities." The Aid argued firmly.
Okay, that was asking just too much.
"And to risk in killing those people trapped inside needing to rescued? That just leaves a cold chill if you ask me." The bat agent now frowned, her arms folded to her chest. "Sonic has spent weeks to rescue the cute kid's mother since he promised he would, and from what I've seen, he's not the type to end people's lives."
"I...don't like it, either. But to avoid any more attacks, we will have no choice but to take drastic measures. Sonic and Cream will both have to understand and accept that it is far too late to save the people." The man lowered his gaze with heavy guilt. He really was against this idea, but at this point on, there didn't seem to be much choice left for that matter.
"It would also be a wise decision to separate Cream and Cheese, sent the Chao back to where it belongs to any Chao Colony once it's over and until then, we will have to lock it up in Area 99. For the girl, she is to be put into a foster's care." The assistant continued, narrowing her brows. "Happiness or not, she must stay far away from Sonic and his friends from now on and never to make contact ever again."
Before the President could grudgely agree to that plan, Rouge sharply said as she turned to leave. "Nope! She's a lot safer with those kids and separating her and her Chao would cause even more problems." This shocked everyone else in the room, watching her walk out of the door.
A moment of hesitant pause.
"I hate to say it, sir, but Rouge is right. We can't take any of those risks." Her partner reluctantly agreed.
"I...see. We'll look into it further before things get any worse. Either way, we must keep the Chaos Emeralds away from both of the Robotniks to avoid a worldwide spread disaster." The President nodded in agreement, rubbing his temples, agitated.
Little did they know was that a spy robot that belonged to the Iron Empire listened in onto the conversation...which would give the watching Julius a perfect opportunity to capture Cream and Cheese.
As Rouge walked through the hallways of the White House, even though she was wondering how she could use this to her advantage in gaining all of the Chaos Emeralds and keep them for herself, her heart was saying otherwise, arguing that the safety and happiness of Cream and Cheese was much more important. They were such sweethearts and while the white bat wasn't a child lover, she saw just how happy the little girl and Chao were in the company of Sonic and the rest of the group.
Plus the very idea of sacrificing all of those people including Vanilla just to get rid of the Iron Empire, that left a very bad taste in her mouth...And Sonic would be devastated.
Back at the Thorndyke Mansion, it was agreed that most of the group would split up into teams to locate the last Chaos Emerald as well as the Iron Empire's base, while Chris went to school. Charmy however was left behind to help Ella and Tanaka to keep an eye on Cream and Cheese until the others got back. Since the X Tornado needed a bit of a maintance, Tails reluctantly left it behind and used Sonic's plane instead for the day and Chuck went with, believing that their four Chaos Emeralds would be safe.
"Oh...This is boring. They don't pay me for this sort of job." Charmy complained loudly, buzzing around the house since he was left in charge to be the lookout by Vector and Espio. Why couldn't they let him help with the search party?
It wasn't until he noticed two figures, one being roughly the same size as him, walk out into the backyard, stopping in the middle with the smallest one being held in the arms of the first figure. Blinking in surprise, the young Bee almost instantly recognized them being Cream and Cheese. Curiosity getting the better of him, the five year old detective boy hovered over to greet them, as Cream sadly gazed up at the sky, in her thoughts.
"Hey, Cream." The young Bee greeted, landing next to her and getting the girl's attention. "Why do you look all gloomy?"
"I'm just thinking about my Mother, Mr. Sonic and everybody else." Cream somberly said, absently as though her depression has made her become all zombie-like again. "I really hope nothing awful happens to them."
Not quite understanding what the problem was even though he figured that the five year old girl was really worried, Charmy just smiled optimistically. "I'm sure they're okay. Sonic's the big hero and Vector's my bossy boss but he's a nice guy too."
"I guess so..." A thought then came to Cream's mind as she turned to the Mobian Bee, asking carefully. "Charmy...Do you...miss your Mommy and Daddy?"
"Huh? Who me?" That was a question the youngest Detective wasn't expecting, pointing at himself dumbfounded. Then, realizing what his friend was talking about, Charmy shifted a bit uncomfortably as he rubbed the back of his head, muttering. "Um...I got no idea 'cause I don't remember. Vector and Espio are the only ones who know about this. I sorta left my hometown where it was too boring and who knows what happened to my Mom and Dad. I wanted to be a detective, then one day they saw me stop a bully from picking on another kid and well..."
He then giggled happily. "Bam! They hired me and became my boss and buddies since then! I love solving cases!"
"You do?" Cream blinked, not having expected such a confusing, sad yet excited answer all in one. Cheese chirped feeling in the similar emotions as the two close friends wondered if Charmy's parents were a bit mean or that he ran away or something terrible happened that lead him to running away and then taken in by the green crocodile and purple chameleon.
Even though the five year old boy's past was cloudy, he seemed to be content and happy to be with the older Mobians who are raising him to be a good detective despite his age. That made the little rabbit girl lower her head in thought.
If Sonic and the others failed to save Vanilla...Would that mean she would be staying with either Jules and Bernadette or Amy for the rest of her life? Despite that she would be sad to never see her mother again if that were the case...At least all of her and Cheese's friends would keep them company and safe.
"Hello."
All three youngsters were startled with Charmy yelping in fright as he spun around while Cream and Cheese looked frightened, only for them to relax a little in surprise when they saw that it was just Knuckles who was standing in front of them with Lucky by his side.
"Oh! Hello, Mr. Knuckles." Cream greeted politely after calming down, smiling softly at the older teenage Mobian. "It's good to see you again."
"Likewise, Cream. Same to you, Cheese." Knuckles responded, finding himself smiling a little at the brightness the young girl and her Chao radiated. The more time he spent around these two in a few odd visits, the more he understood why Sonic, Tails and Amy were quite fond of them. It was difficult not to like Cream and Cheese.
'I can see why Sonic wants to find the girl's mother so much. She's raised this kid quite well.' The red echidna thought to himself, and smirked when Cheese, coming to trust the teenage guardian, hovered up to him and chirped away happily. So much so that the fifteen year old gently patted the little Chao on the head. "It's been a while, huh?"
"Chao chao! Chao!" Cheese chirped happily, only for Knuckles to notice that the cute little creature began to glow in a strange white aura and for a split second much to his surprise, a ghostly form of a white and blue chao floated in the place of Cream's friend.
"Huh?" Knuckles blinked, baffled before his vision returned to normal. This earned him confused expressions from Cheese who tilted his head slightly, and Cream who looked concerned.
"Is there something wrong, Mr. Knuckles?" The five year old girl asked.
"Uh..." Still not sure what he saw or how it even happened, Knuckles shook his head as he rubbed it before shrugging apologetically. "No, I'm fine. Sorry. I must've zoned out a little. It's been a rough several weeks."
"You zoned out too?" Charmy blinked, dumbfounded which earned him a puzzled expression from the older Mobian who finally noticed him and flinched.
"Oh, hey there, Charmy. Didn't notice you, sorry." Knuckles replied, before he caught on what the Mobian Bee had said and raised an eyebrow. "And what do you mean, I zoned out too? What, did Vector do the same?"
"Nah, he only snoozes quite a lot when there's no case to be solved." The five year old bee replied. "But Sonic was thinking about some nightmare he had, thinking it's to do with what that weirdo Julius is looking for, the Chaos Emeralds, the Chao, that sort of thing."
"Nightmares, huh? Never known Sonic to connect the dots any of it. But then again, as much as I hate to admit it, he is the chosen one because of his high-levels of Chaos Energy." The Master Emerald Guardian folded his arms firmly, before perking up. "That reminds me, where is he?"
"Mr. Sonic, Mr. Tails and Miss Amy went with Mr. Vector and Mr. Espio to find the last Chaos Emerald and the Iron Empire's base to rescue my Mom and villagers." Cream answered sadly, lowering her gaze again. "I just hope they'll be okay. Mr. Julius has been so awful."
"Hmmm...You got the awful part right."
"Speaking of awful, isn't that Eggman's robot right there?" Charmy gestured at Lucky who bleeped, while Cream and Cheese blinked in surprise.
The red echidna nodded, gently patting the robot on the head. "Yeah, I think so. I found him just roaming around the forest. Seems pretty harmless, though."
"If you ask me, it's gotta be the weirdest robot I've ever seen." The young Bee dryly remarked, making the robot sweat drop despite that he had no weapons apparently.
"But why would Dr. Robotnik build a robot that doesn't look like it'll hurt anyone?" Cream asked, thoughtfully.
"Chao?" Cheese cautiously hovered closer, slowly floating around Lucky as though to examine it whether it was dangerous or not.
"Well, we all know that Robotnik and Julius hate each other, maybe even more so than the doctor hates Sonic." Knuckles placed his hands onto his hips. "I'm thinking that maybe...we should come up with another idea how to solve all of this."
"Like what?" The two children chorused.
What the teenage echidna said made them and Cheese recoil in shock. "If Robotnik is against Julius like Sonic and the rest of us, the only way to stop the Iron Empire and rescue the people as well as Angel Island and the Master Emerald, is to form a truce."
"HUH!?" The two children gasped while the little Chao's eyes widened. Yet Charmy's went as wide as two dinner plates.
"But, Mr. Knuckles...Dr. Robotnik won't listen. He's a very bad man." Cream gently protested. "He lies all the time and he could lie to you."
"Are you nuts!? Forming a truce with a bad guy is a crazy idea!" Charmy, being louder, added in agreement. Despite not being the smartest, even he knew how bad Robotnik was: As Cream just said, the scientist was a liar, playing nasty and dirty tricks, enjoys tormenting Sonic to surrender or die, and wants nothing more than to rule Mobius, with or without the Chaos Emeralds.
"Look, I know that neither of you like it, but if we want to sort this whole thing out, and since Eggman and Julius are sworn enemies, this is the only way to defeat the Iron Empire for good." Knuckles shrugged with one shoulder.
Even though Cream felt that the teenage echidna had a point, she still felt that this would be a terrible mistake. She lowered her gaze as her guilt accelerated to the max. 'We can't let this happen. But...maybe we should talk to Mr. Sonic about this and see what he thinks. I don't know what to do.'
Charmy on the other hand, not one to keep his own thoughts to himself, gave the fifteen year old a dull expression. "And Espio and I thought Vector was delusional."
"What's that suppose to mean, buzz-boy!?" Knuckles grunted angrily, quickly offended by the remark as he leaned up to the young bee's face.
"That wasn't very nice to say, Charmy!" Cream scolded, shocked and angry at the young detective's choice of words. "You should apologize!"
"Er...Sorry." Charmy flinched, shocked and a bit frightened by Cream's remark. He wasn't all that worried about Knuckles since he was used to Vector's short temper. But a girl's...that's a different story.
While the three Mobians got into a small argument which Cheese could only glance back and forth worriedly, worried for Cream's happiness and safety, concerned for Knuckles' decisions and angry over Charmy's choice of words, the little Chao then heard sounds of a vehicle coming around the corner. Curious while letting out a small chirp, he flew over as high as he could and landed on the tree branch that Sonic would sometimes take naps in.
Landing there to see what was going on, Cheese let out a squeak of alarm where he saw a poorly disguised van painted black to resemble those expensive rides for the government, but it was the shockingly familiar symbol on the side that got to him: The design of, to his horror, of the Iron Empire with three soldiers of the evil organization came out. They were dressed in high-security guard outfits complete with sunglasses and all.
"Alright, we're at the Thorndyke Manor, sir." One of the soldiers whispered through the communicator head-set.
"Heheheheheh...Good. Now, focus on convincing those inside that you are with the government and once you have the brat and Chao, search around and hold the rest of the people hostage. Bring me all of the Chaos Emeralds if they are lying around." Julius chuckled evilly.
"Yes, sir." The head soldier responded sharply, turning to his two comrades. "You heard him. Let's move in."
"Sir!" The two other disguised men stood in attention, before they all marched towards the front door.
Unaware that Cheese has heard the whole thing and was completely horrified to hear that the Iron Empire now knew where he and Cream were. Whimpering in fear, he quickly flew over to try and get the others attention.
"Maybe you should wait until Mr. Sonic and our friends come back and we can talk all about it, Mr. Knuckles." Cream timidly suggested with a sweat drop.
"It'll take too long, because I need to talk with Robotnik about this." Knuckles protested.
"Wouldn't it make more sense to talk to them first and then talk to Eggman?" Charmy pointed out, shrugging.
All the while, even Lucky wasn't unable to comprehend the situation, right before Cheese came flying frantically which got not only the robot's attention, but also Knuckles, Cream and Charmy's, which caused all three of them to turn quickly as the little Chao panted at first before waving his tiny arms frantically, squeaking away in his language to Cream who, at first not sure what her best friend was saying, she let out a horrified gasp while Knuckles and Charmy both looked dumbfounded.
"Hey, hey, slow down there, little guy! What's up with you?" Knuckles cried out, baffled.
"Maybe he trying to get to stop arguing?" Charmy shrugged, cluelessly.
"It's not that...We're in big danger." Cream translated, terrified. This got the boys' attentions as she continued, shaking in fear. "Cheese saw a big van with...with the Iron Empire's painting on it...and three men who are dressed just like the President's guards. They're...they're here!"
A moment of horrified pause.
"WHAT!?/HUH!?" Knuckles and Charmy both exclaimed simultaneously, their hearts dropping into their stomachs.
If the Iron Empire were now disguising themselves as the officials, this meant only one thing: Cream and Cheese and the Chaos Emeralds were no longer safe here at the Thorndyke Mansion...In fact, nobody was. Julius has finally found where they were somehow and this meant he was ready for a full scale attack.
Inside the manor, Ella was busy vaccuming the first floor when all of the sudden the front doors were rudely opened without anybody knocking, making the house maid to stop what she was doing in alarm and saw, unbeknownst to her, the disguised Iron Empire soldiers marching in.
"This is official government business. We are to take custody of Cream the Rabbit to the Foster's Home under the President's Orders, as of immediately." The first disguised soldier ordered sharply.
Ella, however, felt something was quite off by this. Not only did she notice the hints of a terrible lie in the man's voice, but unlike the guards in the White House she'd seen on TV and weeks earlier when Jeremy came seeking Sonic, these three men's attires were a bit sloppy and loose. Still, despite her bad gut feelings and fearing for Cream and Cheese's safeties, she held her stance strong.
"Who you think you are, barging into this house?" She demanded back, one hand onto her hip. "You, Mr. Bigshot too important to knock? Well, too bad, you got the wrong house!"
"You'd better not be hiding them, ma'am...!" The first soldier hissed, his patience running thin as this wasn't going the way it was planned.
"Don't tell me what not to do, Big Shot! Now get out! I got my cleaning." The house man stubbornly refused to move, waving them away in an 'shoo' manner.
That only caused the soldier to growl, before he ordered his men sharply as it was time for plan B. "That does it! Alright, we're searching the whole place!"
"TANAKAAAA!" Ella shouted furiously, now going for the last resort herself.
Just then, the doors behind her opened up to reveal the butler who stared sternly in a calm manner, just as Knuckles and, much to his chargin, Charmy came charging in to warn Ella with Lucky, Cream and Cheese hiding around the corner, only to stop short when they saw what was happening and confirmed the little Chao's words.
'Looks like that guy needs help. I'll show those Iron Punks!' Knuckles thought to himself, growling deeply in his throat and his fists clutched.
"Don't get in our way, buddy!" The first soldier warned.
Tanaka stepped in front of Ella facing the three men, in a battle stance. "Stand back, Ella. This time it is my turn to clean out the house!"
"Hey!" Knuckles then called out, much the humans' surprise as he quickly joined the butler's side, glaring at the now horrified Iron Empire men who recoiled to see him. "Mind if I join you?"
"Not at all, Master Knuckles." The kind man smirked, admittedly impressed by the teenage echidna's determination and offer. "Any help would suffice against any intruders."
"I'll have you both under arrest for resisting!" The first soldier threatened, though the tone of fear was clear in his voice since it was shaken.
"You're no Government whatever!" Charmy shouted, flying over before he, surprisingly enough, flew around and poked and stung the men with his stinger as the Iron Empire soldiers screamed in panic and pain, ripping apart their disguises to reveal their true clothes underneath, the uniforms of Julius' organization which made Ella and Tanaka shocked. "You're a bunch of phonies!"
"Goodness! It's the Iron Empire!" Ella exclaimed, one hand covering her mouth.
"And they're about to be taken to trash!" Knuckles declared, before he and the now furious Tanaka charged with yells.
WHACK! BASH!
The two martial artists, the red echidna being more properly trained but the butler being surprisingly good none the less, punched and kicked the now undisguised men out, sending them flying halfway across the street where they landed hard before they ran away in fear, not wanting to mess with the strongest Mobian in the world or the serious and protective house servant.
"And don't come back!" Charmy angrily shouted, while Knuckles dusted his hands off and Tanaka readjusted his tie.
"They think they're so smart...!" Knuckles grunted. Oh, how he hated the Iron Empire and wished he could get his hands on every single one of them. Especially Julius himself.
"It would seem that like Dr. Robotnik, Julius relys on using his machines and not his men who use such dangerous weapons to fight with skill and honor." Tanaka remarked darkly.
"But if the Iron Empire are posing as the President's Big Shots, they know where we are now." Ella pointed out in deep concern, placing a hand to her face. "That means poor little Cream and Cheese aren't safe anymore."
Realizing that she was right, Knuckles lowered his gaze gravely. "Then we have no choice but to take drastic measures." He then gazed up at the humans and bee. "I need you all to give Sonic a message."
"Huh!? Forget it! There's no way in a million years Sonic's gonna agree with your idea!" Charmy protested, placing his hands on his hips.
"Well, what else do you suggest, kid? We wait for Julius to come destroying this place to get to Cream and Cheese!?" The red echidna argued. "Keeping them here is not an option!"
"Neither is asking for Eggman's help and call for a stupid truce!" The five year old bee boy snapped back.
While the two Mobian boys argued and the two humans, who were shocked to hear Knuckles' plans to call for a truce with Robotnik, Cream and Cheese could only gaze worriedly. But the little give year old girl could only feel her chest ache even further, tears forming in her eyes as the very idea of the Iron Empire destroying Chris' home and kill everyone to find her and the Chao frightened her. This made her remember the nightmares she had, the same ones that Sonic had as well.
The giant figure destroying the town to look for them and the Chaos Emeralds, kidnapping them and hurting many people...All because of her.
'This is all my fault...I...I don't want anybody else to get hurt. I have to leave...We can't stay here anymore and the Chaos Emeralds aren't safe either.' Cream squeezed her eyes shut, and, a desperate idea in order to protect the new people she loved, she decided that finding her mother was no longer an option for Sonic.
Silently as she should, Cream grabbed hold of Cheese and even Lucky who, startled and confused over the argument, sweat dropped as the five year old girl ran out of the door to the garage as she knew what to do.
She was going to run away with the Chaos Emeralds and Cheese.
"What!?" Julius snarled furiously once he got the report of the failed attempt to kidnap Cream and Cheese. "The echidna and a foolish butler kicked you all out and a bee child unraveled your disguise!?"
"It looks like that idea had failed and it was all the Government's suggestion that gave it to him." One of the soldiers shrugged dryly in a whisper behind the Iron Empire Leader.
"I told you this wouldn't work." A second soldier said smugly.
"Well, at least we can just ambush the place, smash it, grab the kid and her pet and the rest of the Chaos Emeralds and bob's your uncle." The third soldier pointed out meekly.
"Fine, then we will go for plan B! I want that mansion destroyed in a few hours and make sure no one in Station Square gets in the way! We will plan a diversion to attack the city and corner one who attempt to escape!" The evil leader growled, bunching the desk which broke in half and frightened his men who recoiled back, shivering in fear, crushing the communication as he did. He glared up at the three soldiers and roared. "GET TO WORK NOW!"
"Y-Yes sir, Master Julius, Sir!" The three soldiers sped right out of the office in high-speed that would make Sonic quite jealous.
Once again on his own, Julius stormed up to his window before he calmed down to allow a wicked dark grin form. "In a matter of a few hours, everything will be all set and nobody, not even Sonic the Hedgehog, will be able to stop me!"
If things went accordingly, the little girl, her chao, and all of the Chaos Emeralds will soon belong to him.
It wasn't long before about at least a quite a number of huge airships were deployed from the hatch of the underwater base, taking off from the ocean and towards the mainland. This was the beginning of the final countdown for Julius Iron Robotnik to begin the final phase of his goal.
It had been hard to write a goodbye letter without ruining her writing with her tears, and even harder to take the Chaos Emeralds out of the Chuck's containment, and even the Emerald from the X Tornado. Cream knew that Knuckles might still go after Eggman, but with all of the Emeralds now out of the Manor, she hoped that it would give Sonic more time to drive off the enemies who would hopefully find that they wouldn't find them again.
As of now, the little five year old girl and her twice as worried and protesting Chao were running and flying as fast as they could down the streets of Station Square, the four Chaos Emeralds all hidden in the cute pink back-pack Amy had gotten her a while ago.
"Chao Chao, Chao! Chao, Chao, Chao!" Cheese protested as he attempted to keep up with his best friend, trying to tell Cream that this was a terrible idea.
"I know this is wrong to take the Chaos Emeralds, Cheese, but we can't stay with our friends anymore! They're get hurt and Mr. Chris' house will be gone, just like ours." Cream argued, sniffling away as she ran, feeling absolute guilt for stealing, but her heart longed for the safety of everybody else.
She came to the difficult conclusion that the longer she stayed, the more the people she cared about got hurt because of Julius' cruel desires.
Cream and Cheese kept on running through the streets, passing by confused and curious pedestrians, but they didn't see what the problem was and assumed that she was trying to keep up with her mother and father, unaware that it wasn't the case. Lucky tried to keep up with the two, but was too slow and landed flat on his face again. If worse comes to worse, maybe Robotnik will find this out and kidnap them both to claim the four Emeralds.
As she ran, Cream could only think about the good times she had with not just her mother, but all of her friends including Cheese: Making the Flower Crowns, getting to know the people who had vowed to take care of her, supporting and loving her as though she and Cheese were their own kin, the fun times they had, all of the adventures, the discoveries, meeting new people...All of Sonic's promises he tried so hard to keep.
'I'm so sorry, Mr. Sonic...I never should have asked you to find my Mom...Amy, Mr. Tails, Mr. Chris, Miss Ella...Everybody...I'm gonna miss you.' The distraught, guilt-ridden and depressed little girl thought, more tears falling freely, silently crying as she believed she and Cheese would never see them again.
But as they passed by, the two nearly bumped into Chris who, deeply concerned himself, jumped back startled when two smaller figures ran passed him. "Hey, whoa! What's the rush?"
Yet he didn't get an answer. Instead the twelve year old boy blinked when he turned to see and his eyes widened in shock to find...Cream and Cheese running, without Amy or anybody else with them.
"Cream...and Cheese? Where are they going? Why are they alone?" The younger Thorndyke asked, before he then came a sudden conclusion as for two days now, the usually happy little girl became more and more depressed each day. Softly gasping in shock, his heart racing, he muttered shakily. "Oh...Oh no! Don't tell me they're...!"
Realizing that Cream could no longer wait and, fearing for everybody else's safeties, she was running away, Chris immediately decided to follow to try and stop her and Cheese in order to keep them safe from the Iron Empire wandering around. He called out to them while chasing after the inseparable duo.
All unaware of the upcoming disaster nearing them and for the entire world.
"Cream and Cheese are what!?" Sonic, who along with Tails and Amy, Vector and Espio had come back home for a short break, exclaimed in horror once he, his self-proclaimed girlfriend, Ella, Tanaka, and Chuck all met up in the elder Thorndyke's room.
Problem is, they had taken notice of the sweet little girl's disappearance along with her precious Chao. To make things worse, they still failed in locating the final Chaos Emerald.
"We can't find them anywhere and it's been hours since those men had attempted to kidnap them." Chuck informed firmly, guilt-ridden for not paying anymore attention.
"You were supposed to keep an eye on them, Charmy, and now they're gone!" Vector chastised the young bee who, guilt-ridden himself, lowered his gaze with a sniffle.
"I really messed up, didn't I? I thought they'd gone to take a nap or something...I'm really sorry...WAAAAAAAHHHH!" The five year old detective wailed loudly, waterworks flying out of his eyes.
"Vector! You can't blame him on this! He's a little kid too, you know!?" Amy scolded angrily, making the green crocodile flinch in fright, before realizing she was right and felt awful now himself.
"Erm, sorry..." The head detective murmured, before he turned to his young charge. "Hey, hey, don't cry. I didn't mean to yell at ya'."
"If anything, we all failed to keep an eye on her, so the rest of us are part of the blame." Espio added sincerely, closing his eyes in remorse.
"This is all my fault..." Sonic murmured, pacing back and forth while trying to keep calm despite being on the urge of a panic attack. "If I hadn't taken so long to find Cream's Mom, none of this would've happened and she wouldn't have disappeared!"
"You said that Knuckles came by earlier, correct?" Espio questioned Ella, who nodded, just as guilt-ridden.
"Yes, but I don't think he would take her. He may have social issues, but the boy is no kidnapper and little Cream wouldn't follow him either." The kindly house-maid placed a hand to her cheek, fearing for the little girl's safety, before a realization formed into her mind and her heart sank. "She must be feeling so terrible in having Sonic search for her mother that she ran away."
Horror mounted onto horror in everyone, but none more so than Sonic who, freezing in his steps, felt his heart quicken with his pupils shrinking as a terrible thought came into his mind.
"I just don't want anybody else to disappear or get hurt because of me...!" Cream sniffled. "Maybe it's better if Mr. Julius got me and not Mama...!"
'Oh...Oh no! No, please don't...!'
"It gets worse..." Chuck murmured in deep concern, causing everyone to gaze at him as he was now holding the containment that held the Chaos Emeralds...which was empty. "The Emeralds we have collected are all gone as well."
"You don't think...Cream took them, do you?" Amy asked, horrified.
"You don't think she's planning to giving them to the Empire guys, do ya'?" Charmy asked, worriedly.
"If that's the case, she could be attempting to trade them for her Mama's return...!" Vector trailed off in dismay.
"Only to allow the Empire or Dr. Robotnik to collect them." Espio concluded gravely.
If things weren't bad enough, Tails came up the stairs in dismay as he reported more bad news. "The Chaos Emerald in the X Tornado is gone too! We can only fly it in normal mode now."
Without a second thought, Sonic immediately sped out of the attic and the manor in a frantic search to find Cream and Cheese and the Chaos Emeralds as well.
Not taking notice of Cream and Cheese' sudden departure or even what was going on, and having left before they did, with the reluctant Ella, Tanaka, and super annoyed Charmy promising to give out his message to Sonic and the others, Knuckles made his way back to the Forest Hill Zone, passing by citizens as he neared the exit of Station Square.
'If Sonic won't listen to my message, I guess it's up to me to convince Eggman to form a truce against Julius. Especially with the Iron Empire now knowing where they, Cream and Cheese are.' Knuckles thought to himself, narrowing his eyes.
As he was attempting to figure out what his next course of action would be, and it was to speak with Robotnik himself, the red echidna then noticed something up ahead and blinked when he noticed Robotnik's Fortress coming up ahead.
"Well, it's now or never." He murmured to himself, before turning to his current companion. "Hey, robot!"
To his slight annoyance yet genuine concern, Lucky was nowhere to be found.
"Uh, oh well. Easy come, easy go." The fifteen year old murmured shrugging, while thinking to himself. 'For a robot, the doctor certainly made this one pretty slow and clumsy. Maybe it was built to show his remorse.'
Just then, a blue blur came speeding past them in a huge hurry which nearly knocked the echidna into the air in alarm and while Knuckles managed to keep his balance, he blinked dumbfounded.
"Sonic!?" The teenage Guardian exclaimed, flabbergasted. What were the odds of Sonic actually being here, unless Robotnik had done something again...and if so...a twinge of uneasiness surged into his gut.
Was this robot laid out for a trap? Were Cream and Charmy right?
Hearing his voice in his frantic search for the missing child, chao and emeralds, Sonic skid to a stop before speeding back to his older friend and stopped right in front of him pleadingly, unusually panting. "Knux! Please tell me you saw Cream and Cheese!"
"Uh...I saw them back at the manor," Knuckles replied awkwardly, before blinking in realization. "Wait, you didn't get the message?"
"Oh, I got the message alright, and I'm gonna be frank on this with three simple words: Really, bad, idea." The blue hedgehog held up three fingers to make his words very clear.
"Great...guess I'll have to convince Robotnik myself." Trust Sonic to be the stubborn one to refuse as well.
"Eggman's gonna have to wait, 'cause that's not important right now. We've got a huge problem, mondo huge! Cream and Cheese are gone!" Sonic frantically pointed out.
"What!?" Knuckles shouted, shocked and horrified. Cream and Cheese...were missing? Or were they...kidnapped? How was it possible?
Sonic shook his head, trying very hard to remain calm yet the fear for the safety of his surrogate little sister and Chao was making it difficult for the usually cocky and happy-go-lucky teenager. "They must've ran away after you left, 'cause they were missing by the time me and the others got back and on top of everything else, they took the Chaos Emeralds, probably to try and make a deal with Egghead's Jul-loser brother...!"
A quick horrified moment of silence, before Knuckles, now even more horrified, screamed loudly. "What were they thinking!? If Julius gets them, he'll have more of advantage against us!"
"I know! Worst part is, earlier I overheard Cream blame herself for her Mom being kidnapped!" Sonic shouted, grasping his friend's shoulders desperately. "Knux, you gotta help find them, please! If anything happens to her and Cheese, I'll never forgive myself!"
While Knuckles was furious over the carelessness of Sonic and the others failing in keeping an eye on Cream and Cheese, the sheer helplessness in the younger teen's face made him stop. Never in his life had the echidna saw the hedgehog so desperate and...tiny traces of tears were forming in Sonic's eyes. He looked ready to cry.
To make things worse, just before Knuckles could make his decision as he felt terrible for thinking that joining forces with Robotnik would be a good idea when time was wasted and now Sonic the Hedgehog needed help in locating the child and the Emeralds before the evil scientist and his murderous brother's organization would get them, they all heard a loud rumble which made the two teenage Mobians look up and gasped in horror to find not only the Egg Fort flying overhead, but a large fleet of air-ships with the Iron Empire's symbol on them...all heading straight towards the city.
"Julius! Eggman!" Sonic shouted, his eyes narrowing furiously as now his horror increased. "They're heading straight for Station Square!"
"We have to get to the city before it's too late!" Knuckles grunted, ultimately making his decision to abandon his own plans to help his younger rival to save Cream and Cheese and the people, and get the Emeralds back before it was too late.
"Right! Hold on!" The blue hedgehog quickly grabbed hold of the Master Emerald Guardian's wrist, and after telling the older Mobian to hang on, they sped off quickly to follow after the two evil Robotnik brothers and try to keep them out of Station Square.
Will Sonic and his friends be able to prevent a terrible disaster before it was too late? Or will either Dr. Robotnik or Julius gain the upper hand?
To be Continued!
A/N: Okay, so I think this may be a three-parter of the current arc finale, but whatever way works, I'll try and make it up for it as this chapter became far too long to add in the important parts I wanted to add in. Hopefully the second part of the upcoming final conclusion will make it up for it.
See you later!
