Daniel, Cream and Tails: Musical Maestros
By: DJ Rodriguez
(Author's Notes: Hey everyone! How are you all doing? I hope all of you are doing well. Myself, living and surviving the best I can with the Lord by my side!
Before I say or do anything else, I want to give praise and honor to the Lord. Thank you Jesus for helping me, my family and my friends through these crazy times. I ask you humbly God for your continued guidance, and also your correction and discipline as well when any of us, including myself, get led astray by the world and its lies/illusions. Thank you again Lord for guiding me to true and real friends, and also for helping me to be useful to you, my family and my friends. Thank you God for everything!
Well, this is it! This is the finale of the story! It's going to be long, it's going to be detailed and it's going to be a fitting end for my friend Author danielman21! Thank you for the support, encouragement and ideas my friend! And also this will be his birthday present, from me to him! So happy birthday to you!
Once this is done, I will be focusing on my own works as much as I can. I have been negligent to them, but going to remedy that! While making stories for others is good, I need to focus on my own! So after this, going to focus on my other works!
So again be prepared for a long, detailed finale and later on, will make a special one-shot for my friend after I take care of other businesses.
Also, I hope to get some reviews from my stories. And also to get my Notifications fixed. Even though I have all of my Alerts active and saying yes to receive notifications, not getting any through my email. So I have to check manually to see if I have gotten anything.
I wish to do this for my Tia Pamela Espurova-Allen, and will keep doing it until some solid news comes in. She is working with police and other official groups to locate and bring home a missing girl that is part of a family she works with & has befriended.
Her name is Lina Khil, a little girl that was taken on December 20th, 2021. The search is still on for her, but so far… no luck.
Her information is this: She was four years old when she was abducted; hair brown, eyes brown, race Afghan, weight 55 lbs. & height 4'0. If any can help to locate and find her, please do so and notify the proper authorities. Hoping and praying still that she is found alive & returned to her family. They have put up a special about her on TV thanks to the San Antonio Police Department. Any information you wish to seek about her you can search for online, and hopefully it will help to find her and bring her back home safely.
We cannot please everyone, nor do we ever wish to do so. I believe in the words of my pastor Rick Godwin from Summit Christian Center at San Antonio and it is this: If you try to please everyone, you lose yourself entirely. So while others may not be pleased at this, it is what it is. Our aim is not to please all, but to write a worthwhile story that follows Truth. No more, no less.
There will be NO kind of characters or reference to slash or femme-slash of any kind. There will also be no trans, gender-free, binary/non-binary, gender-neutral characters or notions in this special series, nor in any of my other stories. See my Profile bio to see where I firmly stand in and at. In this I am VERY serious about! Will NOT follow ever the WOKE (STONED) movement or this New Normal junk that has been seriously poisoning the communities, people, societies and culture!
Also, will be giving certain characters OC names from the website 20000-NAMES, as I have done in my previous stories. Each name is linked to a different nation, and has a different meaning. To see what they mean, go to website to look it up.
I do not own the plot, my new Author friend does. Neither of us own Sonic X, as it is a television animated series that was created in Japan. It was directed by Haijime Kamegaki, produced by Takeshi Sasamura & Tadahito Matsumoto. The original network is was broadcasted from is TV Tokyo in Japan, and in the United States by many other networks such as Disney Channel, Jetix, Fox, 4Kids TV and more. It ran from April 2003 to April 2005.
Also, will be utilizing a level or so from the video game Sonic Forces even though I have never played the game itself.
Here are the songs that Tails and the others will be practicing on:
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - 2nd Movement by Mozart
Water Music - Suite #2 in D Major by George Frideric Handel
The 4 Seasons - Spring - 1st Movement by Antonio Vivaldi
Livin' on a Prayer- Bon Jovi
And here are the instruments that Tails and the others will be playing officially when the time comes:
Amy Rose- Lyre harp
Tails- Flute
Danny- Acoustic guitar
Cheese- Keyboard piano
Cream- Violin
Cosmo- Electric guitar
Now, on with the finale- part one!)
It was about 2:20 p.m. as Mayor Zen Hisashi was in the Rabbit abode and was sitting on the couch, listening to the tale told by Tails, Cream and Vanilla on what occurred yesterday. He was amazed that so much had happened in just the span of twenty-four hours. The anthro wolf considered himself a patient one, which was needed in his line of work. Once the tale was complete, he looked towards the human child who was nestled in Amy's lap. The young one still looked a bit frightened, and he was. Not with Mr. Hisashi, but with the situation as he feared he would not help him or his parents.
Amy comforted Danny in her lap, her trusty Piko Piko mallet by the chair she was sitting in. In case things got ugly, she would have her mallet at the ready. Despite her beautiful looks, Amy was quick on the draw… and quick to deliver the smackdown to anyone that tried to harm her or her friends! While the pink hedgehog doubted that it would go down that particular route, she was prepared just in case.
The mayor of the village turned his gaze to Vanilla and spoke, "I see… so when you found this human- Daniel Clark here, you brought him back here & gave him your protection.".
The mature bunny beauty nodded her head and replied in a soft but firm tone, "Yes your Honor. I could not just leave him out there alone, so I brought him back here. And after listening to his story on what happened, I decided to adopt and protect him.".
Zen Hisashi nodded his head, knowing full well that when it came to little ones, Vanilla would do what she could to the fullest to protect them. While not a fighter, the anthro woman could be effective by other means to see to the full protection and safety of children.
Tails added in, "Sir, Danny is not a threat to anyone. He is not related at all to Robotnik, and he already has taken a liking to all of us here as you can see.".
The formidable anthro wolf looked back to Danny, a small but noticeable smirk on his face as he remarked, "I can see that, especially with how he is clinging to young Miss Rose there.". The words made Danny blush and snuggle into Amy, who cooed and patted his head. This had the others chuckle a little, breaking the tension if only slightly.
Cream stepped forward and asked in her cute tone, "Please Mr. Mayor, can you please help Danny and his parents when they get here? They really need a safe place to stay at.". Cheese pleaded with him as well in his own language
The leader of the village looked to Cream and Cheese, the cute little formal dress the rabbit girl was wearing & her cute tone making his heart melt. Both just had the adorable factor set to high-powered nuclear levels, a really potent secret weapon in his opinion.
Amy spoke up as she continued to gently pet Danny's head, "Yeah! Team Chaotix rescued them from Rouge and Shadow, and are on their way here! They will be here by early morning tomorrow.".
Zen shook his head and stated, "It's amazing that his parents managed to get here considering the situation with the dimensional walls, and more so that they were being held by Rouge and Shadow of all people.".
The mayor knew of the dire situation with the dimensional walls, and also read the reports on citizens who tried to use the Warp Zones. His stomach still twisted a little at remembering the reports of parts coming through the other side of the warping points. While tough and strong, even his stomach was made queasy from seeing the reports in the newspaper. So he was indeed surprised that the humans managed to pass through to this dimension intact.
What really puzzled him was Rouge and Shadow's actions. From what Tails had told him, information that was given to him by Team Chaotix, the two were using the human husband and wife as entertainment pieces of sort. He heard of the duo from the newspapers, and also from the information given to him by Tails and the Rabbit family some time ago. Using this knowledge, he had certain insights & opinions concerning them.
Mr. Hisashi saw that Rouge was woman who really knew how to use her charms in many ways, seducing men and also riling up the females in a way that made them very jealous of her to the point that they would do anything to really mess up her beauty severely. But Tails had told her that while she was a wily one, she had the skills and strength to show that she was much more than just a beautiful face. And also that she was quite clever and cunning, and not just in the ways of pulling off heists.
And there was Shadow, the doppelgänger of Sonic himself & created by Robotnik's grandfather from the other universe. It still puzzled him to this day on how someone like Shadow was made in another world where there were humans, no anthros like him and the other resident of Mobius. And that according to both Tails and Sonic, Shadow was quite formidable and capable. A worthy rival for the blue hedgehog.
It was his personality that had gotten Zen's attention. Shadow was tough as nails, and always went straight to the point. He didn't bother with witty banter like Sonic did, and also he was precise & ruthless. So this made him wonder what he would have to gain from having Danny's parents doing the tasks that they were told to do.
He thought to himself, 'It makes no sense at all. Shadow should be above putting anyone through anything like that because it is petty revenge at best, and he is anything but. So… why did he do this? Did Rouge manages to change him somehow?'.
These kinds of questions and thoughts would have to be made at another time. He brought himself back to the current situation, which was with Danny and his parents. He looked to the young man, who was still a bit fearful of him. He sighed, soon seeing that his choice was clear.
He spoke in a calm tone, "Young hu… I mean, young Daniel. Please, come forward.".
Danny was nervous and it showed on his face, not wanting to leave the safety of Amy. But the pink hedgehog merely smiled and reassured him that nothing bad would happen to him, patting and rubbing his back soothingly. This seemed to calm him down, and seeing the faces of everyone else showing that he had nothing to fear, the young man gathered up his courage and slid off the lap of his crush.
He walked slowly towards the wolf, whose eyes were locked onto him but there was no malice of any kind. There was no negativity of any kind coming from him. Children were often sensitive to the world around them, being able to tell what was good or bad depending. Of course, some could be deceived so it was a kind of intuition that needed to be worked on.
When he got a few feet from Zen, Mr. Hisashi looked into the eyes of the young man. He peered into his, his natural wolf instincts searching the soul to see if he could spot any kind of deceit or deviousness. After a few moments, he saw that there was none to be found. The child was a genuine innocent and had not been touched by the maliciousness like the kind Robotnik possessed.
He then smiled softly and spoke, "I can see that you are indeed a pure soul young one, and I believe your new guardian and friends have made the choice a clear and suitable one. I will help you and your parents settle in within this village and with the citizens.".
This had Danny break into a large smile, and it seemed to spread as the others as this was the good news they were hoping for! The young man let out a cheer, and on pure instinct, ran and leapt onto Zen Hisashi! The anthro wolf was caught off guard by this completely, and was stunned to feel the human hugging him hard out of gratitude. The others were surprised by this, and was now wondering on what the mayor would do.
The little Clark lad looked up to Zen and said happily, "Thank you Mr. Wolf! Thank you so much!".
Mr. Hisashi was indeed surprised by this. Just a moment ago, the young one was scared of him due to his size and looks. And now it seemed to have just melted away, no fear whatsoever and bursting with childish gratitude and joy. The anthro wolf chuckled, coming up with a smile and patting the little boy on the head. He replied, "You are welcome young Daniel. You are very much welcome.".
This had the others breathe a sigh of relief, and also again very pleased of the outcome. After some moments of enjoying the innocent hug, Zen gently pried Danny off of him and settled him back down on the floor. The young man smiled and chuckled at the anthro wolf before scurrying back to Amy, who took him into her arms once more.
Smiling for a moment, Zen looked to Cosmo. The young alien woman was a bit curious on why she was being looked at, then the mayor spoke, "It seems that you will need to be officially registered with the village so that you can become a real citizen of the place.".
She soon had a hopeful look on her face and asked in a tone that mirrored her emotion, "And how can I do that sir?".
Zen smiled and replied in a kind tone, "We'll need to take you to my office so that we do the paperwork. It's not much, and it should be quick. I believe that Tails would help you in that area.".
Tails confirmed it by saying, "Yeah I can! Don't worry Cosmo! It won't take long at all, and soon you'll be an official citizen of this village and of Mobius!". It was indeed true, as all Cosmo had to do was put in her first & last name, her birthdate and a number of other minor things. Tails could handle the certain things like government numbers and backgrounds, with Cosmo opinions and insights of course.
Said alien girl smiled brightly and exclaimed, "Oh thank you very much Mr. Zen Hasashi! Thank you!". The mayor chuckled again, feeling the gratitude coming in making him feel good. To him, this was one of the major perks of being leader of the village. The genuine gratitude and thanksgiving that came from the people made the potent anthro wolf glad to be of service & helped him to do better for his people.
The mayor then turned to Vanilla and inquired, "Is there anything else that you wish to tell me?".
The motherly rabbit thought on something, then nodded her head. In her mind, this would be quite the change for Danny and his parents, once they arrived over there. But she believed that this would be for the best, since it would be some time before the humans could make the journey back to their world.
Vanilla rose up and looked to the mayor, who raised an eyebrow like the legendary WWE Superstar from Earth known as Dwayne The Rock Johnson. She answered in a tone that was soft but full of strength, "I do. Mayor Hisashi… I wish to officially adopt Danny into my family.".
Now THIS was certainly out of left field for everyone, as it showed on the faces of the people in the room! In fact, many would find it comical if they did see it.
Cream spoke out in total stunned surprise, "M-M-Mother! Are you really…? You want to adopt Danny as a son?!".
Vanilla looked to her daughter with a smile and answered, "In a way, yes. While he would keep his last name, I would like to officially be his legal guardian in every sense of the word. And I hope his parents don't mind of this. Heh… maybe this could make me like an aunt or something akin to that to him.".
Amy Rose asked the pointed question, "But… why go so far? I mean, it's cool and all but… well why?".
The mature beauty looked to her and answered, "Because of the time that he and the others will be here. You know how long it will take until the dimensional walls are be even remotely safe to try and send them back home.".
The others saw that she had a point. It would take the dimensional barriers/walls many years to mend up to even be remotely safe to use warping travel again. And that was IF the Chaos Emeralds would not be used to create another powerful Chaos Control that would weaken the barriers even further.
Vanilla further her point when she added in, "And in case young Danny would need someone to be behind him if others started to question him being anywhere.".
Zen's mind soon realized what the motherly rabbit was doing. In case a certain scenario happened if someone in Mobius would require proof that he was being sponsored by someone that was a native citizen to the planet, she would be that proof. While it was unlikely to happen, she wanted to be able to cover it just in case something like that did arise.
Danny looked so happy, the joy his face apparent as there was a wide smile on his lips & joyful tears coming from his eyes. The little guy soon let out a happy yell and rushed to Vanilla, leaping into for a hug which she gladly returned. The anthro woman smiled as she gently rubbed and patted the boy's head as he nuzzled into her legs due to the height difference.
While Vanilla enjoyed this, there was another reason on why she wanted to adopt Danny into the family. While she valued and liked good case scenarios such as this… she was also aware of the darker aspects of life, such as passing on and the like. She was not a naïve lady, not by a long shot. In case the worst case scenario played out, where something terrible would happen to Danny's parents, she would be there to officially take care of him.
She prayed and hoped internally that it would never come to be, but she knew that she had to be prepared in case it DID happen.
Vanilla had learned the lesson the hard way. Shortly after Cream was born, the village was attacked by Robotnik's machines. Her husband Jeffery had come to their defense, fighting as hard as he could to keep the mechanical minions at bay. But he was easily overpowered and then just… vanished with the rest of the horde. Vanilla had tried to find him, but her husband was nowhere to be found. All she did find from her search was the wedding ring that he wore, which was in the footprint from one of the robots on the ground.
She didn't know if he was killed or had been roboticized. And she had to raise Cream on her own. But after that, she had learned the lesson to always be prepared for worst case scenarios. Her mind returned to the present as she continued to allow Danny to hug her, smiling down more at the little human.
Mr. Hisashi chuckled and stated, "Well, we will have to wait to see what his parents have to say on that. But if they do approve, then I'll be sure that the necessary papers are made so that he will be legally adopted to you.". This did bring relief to Vanilla, Cream and Danny. Again, it was all up to the Mathias and Torli but Danny was hopeful that his parents would agree to this.
Tails went to the mayor and said in a tone of gratitude, "Thank you very much for all of this, your Honor. This really means a lot to us.".
Zen looked to the young lad/hero and replied, "Any time Tails. Any time.".
The two-tailed fox genius then whispered to him, "Do you think you can keep Vanilla busy for a couple of hours later on? Me and the others need to get in a bit more practice.".
Mr. Hisashi replied back in a low tone, "I'll see what I can do Tails. I just hope that your mother does not get wise to our actions.". The formidable anthro wolf was grateful that Tails was not really using any kind of strong-arm tactics on him, as the young lad had some serious clout to utilize thanks in part for being the best friend & fighting partner to the legendary hero Sonic. If he could, the young man could get himself into any kind of political office. But Tails was genuinely wanting to stay out of that kind of spotlight, and to help others as best he could with only minimal flexing on his part.
Seeing the time, Zen rose up from his seat and standing to his full height. He stretched himself a little and spoke, "Well, I believe that we have some work to do. Tails, care for you and Cosmo to accompany me back to my office? I believe that she needs to sign some paperwork so that she can become a full citizen of the village and of the planet.".
The two-tailed fox and the alien plant lady nodded their heads, seeing that the sooner they get that particular business cleared up, the better. Zen looked to Vanilla and the others, thanking them for informing him of the situation & that he would do all that he could to help Danny and his parents officially settle into the village. Hopefully with minimal trouble to follow. The group said that it was no problem, Danny even declaring loudly in an innocent tone that he was good wolf for doing this. That got another chuckle out of the tall and imposing mayor, who waved to them before leaving the abode with Tails and Cosmo following him.
When they left, Danny was now bouncing around the room in joy as he was very much happy at this point. He soon ran to Amy as she was rising up from her seat, almost forcing her back into said seat from his rushing tacklehug. He spoke loudly in a glad tone, "Amy! Amy! This is the best news! To me, it's like late surprise birthday present!".
The lovely pink hedgehog giggled and remarked, "Hehehehe… so I see. I'm very happy for you Danny, and also relieved that things worked out for us.".
Cream hugged her mother and exclaimed in delight, "This is amazing! Now I'll have two brothers!". Cheese joined in the hug and celebration, his Chao language speaking in time with Cream's emotions.
Vanilla chuckled softly and replied, "Well, more of a cousin if this is done. And it's all up to Danny's parents. They have the final say in all of this.".
Big replied, "Well, going to have to do what we can so that we can convince them.". Froggy croaked in agreement, the unique amphibian perched on his head.
Danny then asked the question, "So, what do we do now?". Vanilla suggested that they all get dressed back into their regular clothes now that the mayor was no longer around. This they all agreed on, going to the rooms they changed in so they could get back into comfortable attire.
Once everyone was back in comfortable wear, Cream asked her mom if she could take Danny to one of the special spots that was in the forest. The motherly beauty gave it some thought, then allowed them to go but to be extra careful and to use good judgement. Both nodded their heads, Cream taking Danny's hand and both running out the door with Cheese in hot pursuit.
When they were gone, Amy looked to Vanilla and spoke, "I have to say, that was very bold of you ma'am to want to adopt Danny like that. That took me by surprise.". Big and Froggy nodded with her words there, showing that they were in agreement with her.
Ms. Rabbit smiled softly and replied, "Thank you Amy. I also had another reason for wanting to adopt Danny, but I couldn't say it without making him upset.". Seeing the perplexed looks on their faces, her facial expression changed to sadness as she told them on what happened when Cream was just a baby & the fate of her husband Jeffery. The duo were stunned to hear the news, as this was the first time hearing it.
When she finished telling her tale, she than explained to them that she wanted to have a backup plan for the Clark family's sake. That should anything happen to the parents, Danny would be in good care. Vanilla admitted that it was tough & hard to think along those lines, similar to writing a will. It was tough… but she felt it had to be done just in case the worse scenario came to pass.
Amy looked to the mother and spoke in a concerned tone, "I'm sorry Vanilla. I really had no idea that your husband protected you and Cream like he did…".
The pink hedgehog may look like she lived in a fantasy world… but it was far from the truth. In the past, she had come across places where villages were decimated by Robotnik's attacks. And had witnessed some families being broken by said madman, as his robots either abducted others to be roboticized or left beaten badly that it took weeks, months… some even years to heal from the physical and mental trauma.
Vanilla reassured her that she was okay, but the memory of the incident still haunted her to this day. And she can only imagine what Cream went through, as she told her why she did not have a father. The young girl was very heartbroken, crying a lot in her mother's arms that day years ago.
Big then asked, "Maybe he is still alive. If not finding him, chance is he is okay.".
The mature beauty looked sadly to the big anthro cat and remarked, "Perhaps… there is that tiny bit of hope… though I honestly don't know if he is still in this world.".
Whenever Robotnik attacked any cities or villages that forced Sonic and Tails to confront him, she would be checking the news feeds to see if she could find any robotic Mobian that would resemble her husband. But alas, each attack that was visualized, there was no sign of a robot form of Jeffery. So she had given up hope that she would find her husband again.
Vanilla willed herself to put the past back in the back of her mind, looking to the duo and stating, "Okay then, enough with the gloomy past! We got a present to be in, and a future to look forward to.". Amy and Rose nodded their heads, wanting to change the melancholy atmosphere to a more cheerful one. The three decided to talk, exchanging ideas and such on how they could get the Mathias and Torli to get onboard the idea of Vanilla adopting Danny.
~In the forest~
While the adults made plans, Danny was running with Cream through the forest while Cheese was chasing them in order to catch up. The two children were just so free and full of positive energy after everything seemed to swing in their favor. Danny called out, "Hey Cream, where are we going? What is this special spot you told Vanilla?".
She looked back at him with a smile and answered back, "You'll see! Come on!".
The duo continued to go through the forest until they came to a large rock formation with an opening in it. Upon seeing it, the young human's eyes widened as he saw the tall structure. Cream and Cheese, who finally caught up and was resting on Cream's head, giggled at seeing his expression. He spoke in awe, "Wow! Look at this big rock!".
Cream smiled and proudly stated, "Yup! It's really a cave that leads underground, and it all kinds of wonderful stuff inside which I want to show you!".
Danny was grinning, as he felt an adventure was about to begin. He was about to take a step forward when something caught his eye. He turned his head to the left side of the rock-cave formation, and saw something shiny. He spoke softly, "Huh? What is that?".
He walked over what he saw, Cream and Cheese looking perplexed as they saw the human go to the left side of the cave instead of going in. Cream asked in a curious tone, "Huh? Danny, what is wrong? Why are you going over there?".
The young lad answered back, "I see something on the ground that is shiny. Maybe it's a shiny rock like the kind my Mom wears when she and Dad go out.". The anthro bunny girl and the Chao looked intrigued by the concept, soon following the young man in the direction he was going in.
Daniel soon reached the spot where he saw the shiny object, but it turned out to be a piece of metal that amazingly had not rusted completely over. The sun managed to get through the crack through the leafy branches above to shiny just right on that spot. He called out, "Awww! It's just a piece of metal.".
Cream and Cheese peeked over his shoulder, and saw that the piece of metal belonged to one of Robotnik's inventions which was a Swat-Bot! They were about to tell Danny that they should leave, when something caught Cream's eye. It was a black wallet of sort, one that had the words JR on it. Later, she would explain that something compel her to pick up the wallet. She went around Danny, picking up the object and opening it.
Inside was some old Mobian dollars and an ID card that showed a picture of a young anthro rabbit man that had light tan fur, blue eyes, orange fur around the eyes and a smile on his face. And the name of the man… was Jeffery Rabbit! It was her father!
Cream's eyes widened as she saw the picture and whispered in shock, "D-Daddy?". Chao was confused on this, as he had come into Cream's life some time after her father had disappeared.
Danny was also confused as he asked, "Daddy? Cream, what…?". He then looked past her and looked a bit more up into the distance to see another rock formation that had an opening to it! It was only half the size of the other one that Cream had showed him earlier, but it was still big in his view. He felt something pulling at him, something that he could not describe as he walked towards the cave.
The anthro rabbit girl was too absorbed into what she found to pay attention. Thankfully, it took Cheese to notice what Danny was doing & where he was going. He tugged on the ear of Cream soundly, not roughly but enough so that she was pulled back from her intense emotions. She yelped and asked in a hurt tone, "Cheese! Why did you…?".
Cheese called out while pointing in a certain direction, "Chao! Chao! Chao!". The young girl looked up and ahead to see Danny going into the cave, realizing that he was about to go into uncharted territory without her! Slipping the wallet into her dress pocket, she rushed towards him with Cheese flying close behind.
When Danny go into the smaller cave, he looked around to see that it was pitch black. He called out, "Hello! Anyone here?!". His echo came back, which made him a bit nervous. He soon shivered, feeling some cold air wrap around him lightly.
Cream managed to catch up to him, Cheese using a special light that similar to bioluminescence to illuminate the area. The young anthro girl spoke in a pleading tone, "Danny! You need to be more careful! You shouldn't go anywhere without me with you.".
The young Clark lad soon saw the some of the rock formations were covered in ice, asking a question that held a tone of awe, "Cream, have you ever been inside here?".
She looked around the place, finding it peculiar that ice was in the cave. She answered him, "No I haven't. In fact, me and Tails never knew about this cave.". It was true, as during their exploration of the forest, the duo had missed this particular cavern. It was most likely due to the outside rock formation structure being smaller than the others, and also concealed more by the forest.
Danny looked to see more ice up ahead, and again that same compulsion from earlier took over him as he slowly walked towards the ice. Cream and Cheese followed him, wanting to convince the young man to turn around and follow them out. When it came to things she and Tails knew about, she would have no problem in wanting to explore more. But in uncharted territory as they were now, she felt it would be smarter and safer to have an adult with them to explore.
The young human then saw something unusual, pointing straight ahead and asked, "What is that?".
Cheese flew in front of him to illuminate the area more… and a gasp left the Chao as what he saw stunned him! Cream looked in his direction, her eyes widening very much and a strangled grasp leaving her lips. What they saw was an anthro rabbit, frozen on the wall inside a huge block of ice! And around him were scattered remains of Swat Bots, with a broken gun of sort among the wreckage.
Danny was more confused than scared and asked, "Wow! A frozen rabbit! Who is it?".
Cream walked towards the ice block, her eyes focused on the face of the frozen rabbit. When she got close enough to see the face more clearly, she took out the wallet from earlier and examined the photo ID card. It matched exactly on the one frozen up! Cream had tears in her eyes as she whispered, "Its… It's my Daddy… It's him…".
She put a hand on the ice, tears coming forth from her eyes. Chao's yellow ball tip glowing brightly, which caused him to speak rapidly in his language to Cream. And when she managed to translate it, her eyes widened more & her heart started to pound hard into her chest!
Danny asked her in a tone of concern, "Cream, what is it? This is your Daddy? And why do you look surprised like that?".
Cream turned to him and answered in a tone that was full of hope, "Cheese said that… he can feel Daddy's heartbeat! He's… He's alive!".
~At the Rabbit house~
It was 3:00 p.m. when Tails and Cosmo came back to the abode. Vanilla and Amy were relaxing on the sofa while Big was playing a game with Froggy. At seeing them enter, the trio looked up to them with Amy & Vanilla smiling. The motherly rabbit inquired, "So I take it that everything is all in order now with Cosmo?".
Tails smiled widely and exclaimed, "Yup! All the paperwork is done, and all that is left is for the information to be sent to the higher authorities! In a couple of days, Cosmo will be a full citizen of Mobius and of this village!". He looked to his lady, who blushed but was smiling just like he was. Vanilla and the others clapped their hands to show that they were very glad that it was done.
Cosmo looked around and asked, "Where are Daniel, Cheese and Cream?".
Amy answered, "Oh, Cream and Cheese took Daniel to one of their special spots in the forest. I'm pretty sure that they will be alright.".
Before Tails could make his own reply, the door quickly slammed open! The sudden action caught the others off guard, startling them as some of them jumped a bit from the sudden sound. All turned to see that it was Cream, Cheese and Danny and all three were panting a bit hard. It seemed that they had run all the way back from their place, or in Cheese's case flying with him using up a lot of energy to keep up with the kids.
Vanilla rose up from her spot on the couch with Amy doing the same, the duo going over swiftly to the children. Tails and Cosmo followed, Big and Froggy being the last. Vanilla asked in a concerned tone, "Dears, what happened? Why are out of breath?".
Cream looked to her mother, catching her breath and saying nothing but pulling out from her pocket the wallet from earlier. At seeing it, Vanilla gave out an audible gasp as she recognized it right away. The others looked at her quizzically when she gently took the wallet from her daughter, opening it up and finding that indeed it belonged to her beloved husband who went missing those many years ago.
She looked to Cream and Danny and asked in a shaky breath, "Cream, where… where did you find this?".
The young rabbit looked at her with watery eyes like she was going to cry and answered, "I… I took Danny to one of my… special spots. He… He found something that was… on the ground and… I followed him, and… found that near it.".
Danny answered in a more normal kind of tone, "It was near a piece of metal, Cream telling me that it belonged to something called a.. what was it again? Hmmm… ah! It belonged to a Swat Bot, whatever that is. She said that it belonged to that meanie Robotnik.".
Tails and the others were surprised to hear that the kids had found the remains of one of Robotnik's earliest machine henchbots before he started to discontinue them when he underwent a complete physical change.
Amy was curious and asked, "Ma'am, who is that in the picture?".
Vanilla looked to her with sad look on her face and answered, "It's… It's Jeffery Rabbit. This is his wallet.". This stunned Amy, Big and Tails. The two-tailed fox was told the tale on what happened to Jeffery by Vanilla some time ago, shortly after he was adopted by Ms. Rabbit.
Danny put in, "But that's not all! We went into a cave that was near the larger one that Cream and Cheese showed me, and we found more if those metal robot parts and a frozen rabbit that looks like the one in the picture!".
Now this information had everything seem to freeze for Vanilla, who was shaking now as the wallet dropped from her hand. The world seemed to be spinning in her view, making her feel disoriented and everything coming together like a kaleidoscope. She felt unsteady and was about to fall, but Amy and Cosmo were quick to come in together to catch her. The motherly rabbit was breathing a bit hard, Tails taking her hand and calling out to her.
She heard his voice though it seemed far away, "Mom! Mom, listen to me! Breathe in, breathe out! Come on please! Breathe in, breathe out…". Tails kept repeating the mantra until she was able to follow it, breathing in and out rapidly until the process slowed down.
Tails was glad that this was working, as Vanilla was slowly but surely calming down. Danny was confused, and also a bit scared, on what he was seeing here. He asked Tails in concern, "What happened to her? Is she okay?".
The two-tailed fox looked to him and answered, "I honestly don't know. I think the news was a bit much for her. But… Danny, did you and Cream really find a frozen rabbit in a cave?". He knew that it could not be the one that he and Cream & Cheese found earlier. They had explored every part of it, and did not find any frozen rabbit or machine parts around.
The young human nodded his head and answered, "It's true! Me and Cream and Cheese were there! We can take you there if you want!".
The mechanical genius on the side of good was about to say something, but he soon felt the grip of Vanilla's hands tighten. The mature anthro rabbit beauty managed to come to when she heard those words, something inside of her helping her to overcome her earlier dizzy spell and snap back to the waking world.
Ms. Rabbit managed to stand back on her feet, Cosmo on her left & Amy on her right to make sure she did not fall. Vanilla looked to Cream and Cheese, who soon got together with Danny. Facing the two children and Chao, she whispered in a soft but desperate tone, "Please… take us to it.".
~At the cave location~
Soft footsteps echoed through the cave that Danny, Cream and Cheese had been in. They had returned, but this time with company with them. Leading the group was Tails, armed with a flashlight and some tools that he had brought with him from his workshop. Close beside him on his right was Vanilla, on his left was Cream with Cheese on her head.
Following close behind was Danny with Amy by his side, her mallet at the ready. And bringing up the rear was Big and Cosmo.
On their way to their destination, Vanilla was surprised to see that Cream's special spot was a cave. And her surprise increased when her children told her on how they had explored it last week & discovered a small hidden temple deep within that had a Chaos Emerald! The others were surprised to also learn this, and Tails explained that they left the emerald there as to not attract attention from those that would misuse it.
Amy and the others knew that Tails actions were sound, as messing with a Chaos Emerald always seemed to invite trouble. And with the situation concerning the dimensional walls still being dangerously thin, it made more sense to leave the chaotic jewel where it was.
Tails had bought some specialized equipment that was made for remove anything from thick objects such as walls. And he asked Big to come as his strength would come in handy, and also Cosmo's psychic powers if it needed a bit more finesse to it.
But what surprised the two-tailed fox was the smaller cave that was near the larger one he and Cream explored, a bit embarrassed at himself for missing it completely.
Upon entering, Cream showed them the way in the current formation they were in. Amy was at the ready with her mallet just in case something came at them. At seeing the dismantled parts of a Swatbot, she was not to take any chances especially with Danny's safety on the line.
When they got closer to their destination, they felt the air cool down rapidly. Cream soon pointed to the wall saying, "There! Look Tails. There he is.".
The mechanical anthro genius shined his flashlight in the direction where his little sister was pointing to… and a gasp left Vanilla at seeing the frozen rabbit on the wall. She had a dazed look in her eyes, a hopeful look on her face as she slowly walked towards the ice-covered object. She reached out to touch the frozen water that showed the shocked face of the victim inside it.
Her vision got blurry as tears formed in her eyes, caressing the surface and whispering, "Oh Jeff… oh honey… here… you were here all this time…". A soft sob escaped her lips, her body shaking slightly as it was being lightly racked with sobbing. Cream, Danny and Tails went to comfort her quickly, surrounding her and pouring as much as their loving affection into her.
Amy walked further towards them, then saw the wreckage of the Swatbots. She lightly kicked one of the metal parts over, managing to see with the light being shined on in the place the remains of what appeared to be a gun. She then asked out loud, "But… why are they here? What happened here?".
Tails gave her mother one last loving pat on the back before shining the flashlight more in the direction of the wreckage. Tails quickly started to form a theory in his head as he spoke, "My guess is that Jeffery must have broken free from the bots hold, and they chased him here into this cave.".
Big poked at the remains of the gun-like weapon with his fishing pole and asked, "Did they shoot him with that?".
The two-tailed fox looked at the scattered pieces, his mind putting the puzzle together to see that it was a unique Freeze Gun. He replied to Big's inquiry, "I don't think so. Some time ago, I heard that Robotnik had given some new weapons to his Swatbots. Experimental freeze guns that can immobilize the targets, but the gun itself was highly unstable. Seeing that it's in pieces, I believe that Jeffery here was cornered and tried to fight back somehow.".
Cosmo checked the place too, her own mind working as well to piece the puzzle of the mystery together. She saw a rock that was near the gun, one that had scorch marks on it. She went to it, examined it a little and stated, "This rock has some scorch marks on it. My guess is that he threw it at the device, and it somehow caused an explosion. The explosion destroyed the robots, but it froze Vanilla's husband in the ice.".
Tails was amazed at the deduction that Cosmo showed, which to him was very impressive & it showed on his face. She looked to him, giving him a small smile that showed she still had some surprises up her sleeve.
Amy then asked, "If that's the reason, why is he still frozen? I mean, this cave would have warmed up and melted the ice already.".
The two-tailed anthro fox looked to be in thought, then answered her statement, "We are deep enough so that the ice remained cool enough to escape any heat that came in. And, judging from how thick the ice is, it would have taken a long time to penetrate through.".
The group went to Vanilla, who had slowed down her crying but did not cease it. She managed to get herself under control, thought it took much effort and will on her part. The motherly rabbit looked to her adopted son, sniffled a little and asked, "Tails… do you think… we can unthaw him?".
The young fox lad took out a small scanner from the pack he was carrying, scanning the surface as much as possible with it. After a few moments, it beeped and gave him the results. He smiled softly and stated, "The good news is that the scanner shows he is alive, and in good condition. The ice must have flash frozen him, freezing him quickly enough to put him in suspended animation.". This put a huge smile on Vanilla's face, her relief very much felt by all.
Danny had a cute perplexed look on his face, turning to Amy and asking on what that meant. She smiled down at him and answered that it meant that Jeffery was in a kind of deep sleep, which satisfied the child.
Cream then asked, "Is there a bad news Tails?".
He looked to her and answered, "Well, we can't thaw him from here. We need to separate him from the ice carefully and slowly, and to do that we need to take him back home.".
Big asked, "Why not simply break the ice?". Froggy also asked the same question, but in his own native tongue.
Cosmo answered this one as the knowledge was even clear to her, "If we broke him from the ice free, the sudden shock could hurt him.". She wanted to say the sudden shock could KILL Jeffery, but she did not want to upset the children nor Vanilla.
Tails put his scanner back in the pack, then took out what appeared to be a toy gun. But it was not a gun, as it was a laser cutter. The small red ball at the end would shoot out a small, thin but powerful laser that was used to cut through objects. Danny looked at the object curiously and asked, "Tails, what is that? Is that a gun?".
He smiled and answered, "Yes, a laser gun. It's going to cut through the rock on the side, so we can lift and take Jeffery from here. Now stand back please.". He did what he was told, Tails soon adjusting a dial as to set the laser on the precise intensity needed to cut through the rock. Once he had it, he shot at the rocky parts of the ice-encrusted wall!
A thin, red beam of energy shot out from the ball point of the pistol, cutting through the rock like a hot knife through butter! Tails slowly and carefully cut around the ice, flying upward to continue cutting without interruption. Vanilla was looking very hopeful, as was Cream and Cheese. Danny was telling Tails to be careful, Amy smiling to see how concerned her human friend was for Tails, and Cosmo & Big stood at the ready to help.
In a minute, Tails deactivated the laser gun and saw that the section of the wall was cut into a suitable enough shape. He looked to his lady love and stated, "Okay Cosmo, use your powers to gently levitate him out of the wall!".
She nodded, then started to focus her energy and mental might. She glowed a soft green color, and soon the ice-entombed Jeffery was glowing blue too! With some motions that she did with her hands, the ice section slowly but smoothly came out of the wall! The kids and Cheese let out cheers of delight while Vanilla had a mix of concern and hope on her face. Once it was out completely, Tails told Big to get under it.
The large purple anthro cat did so, walking to where he was underneath the object. Cosmo slowly lowered it down, Big lifting his arms to catch the large chunk of ice and rock. Once he had it securely, he called out that he got it. Cosmo soon deactivated her power, breathing out a sigh of relief. It seemed that the object was heavier than she thought, so it was a bit of a toll on her mental/psychic strength.
Danny went to Big and exclaimed, "Wow! You really are strong to keep that large ice rock up!". Big smiled and said that he was indeed strong, as he showed no kind of strain.
Tails smiled and exclaimed, "Okay then everyone, let's get going back home! Mom, can you go on ahead and start a fire in the fireplace? We need to really have it warm in the house!".
She nodded her head, Danny along with Cream and Cheese proclaiming to go with her. The four soon rushed back out of the cave and towards home, where Vanilla was giving them instructions on what to do when they immediately got there. The rest walked with Big as he hauled the object with Jeffery inside in it.
As they walked out, Amy commented, "The neighbors are really going to be surprised when they find Jeffery who has been missing for seven years or so.".
Tails replied to her words, "You got that right. I better see the Mayor again and inform him of the situation.".
Cosmo then asked the question, "How do you think Jeffery is going to be when we thaw him out? And… how do you think he'll react to Danny?".
Now that was a very good question, in which Tails did not have an answer for. He knew for a fact that the husband of Vanilla/father to Cream was going to be quite disoriented from being frozen for so long, and also very much stunned when he finds out how much time had passed by. And also that he now had an adopted son. And seeing Danny… now that was the true toss-up.
After some moments, Tails looked to his lady love and answered, "I believe all we can do is hope for the best. And I do mean hope…".
~At the Rabbit home~
Vanilla, Cream, Cheese and Daniel rushed into the abode, thankfully no one seeing them. Once inside, the four quickly got to work in getting the fireplace set up. It was fortunate for Vanilla that she hired a professional chimney cleaner last month to clean said object, so it was all good & ready to go! The motherly rabbit made sure that the flu was open, while her daughter, Cheese and Danny brought in the firewood that Cream showed was outside in the backyard.
There was a large supply of neatly cut wood in the back, and fortunately away from prying eyes. So the kids & Chao gathered up as much sticks as they could carry, giving it to Vanilla who put them in the fireplace. She made sure to arrange it so that while they would burn, it would not tumble out of the fireplace. Once a number of firewood was in it, along with others arranged in a pile near it, the mature beauty took a match and lit up the fireplace. In a few minutes, the wood was starting to burn and slowly starting to be consumed by the gradually increasing flames.
Once it was done, Vanilla looked to Cream and asked, "Dear, go to Tails' workshop and bring in the heater? We need to make this spot near the fireplace as warm as possible.". Cream nodded her head rapidly, she and Cheese going to Tails' workshop to get the small portable heater that he kept there. There was two of them that he made; one to use downstairs, the other for upstairs.
When they left, Danny went to Vanilla and put a hand on her dress. The motherly rabbit looked down at the human child, seeing the concerned look on his face and in his eyes. He asked softly, "You going to be okay Vanilla?".
She smiled softly and pet his head gently, answering in a kind tone, "I am dear. As soon as my husband thaws out.".
Vanilla than turned her head away and whispered, "It's been so long… I had lost hope but…". She then looked back to Danny, kneeling down and enveloping him in a hug that did mildly surprise him but he returned the gesture.
Ms. Rabbit whispered to him with a tone full of gratitude, "It's all because of you that we managed to find him… thank you so much Danny… thank you…". She was trying to hold in the tears, but it was of little use. Hearing her muffled, choked sobs, Danny poured as much love and tightness in the hug as best he could.
It was true, as it was the young human who had seen the shiny destroyed parts of the Swatbot. Which in turn led to the events of finding the wallet, the smaller cave & ultimately to Jeffery who had been preserved in ice.
They stayed like that for some time until Vanilla slowly rose back up to her full height, breaking the hug and giving Danny another loving pat on the head in which he smiled. She wiped the tears from her eyes, and it was just in time as Cream & Cheese came back into the home with a small black object with white grate on it & cord attached to it.
Vanilla thanked her for bringing it and helping her to position the device at a spot a little to the right side of the fireplace. Cheese plugged it in, giving it power but not activating it yet.
This is when Amy and Tails came in through the door, the duo turning around & giving commands. The rock-ice object was coming through the door first, enveloped in a soft green glow. As it turned out, Cosmo and Big were maneuvering the large object carefully as said piece was a bit too big to come through the door. So they were now carefully putting it through with Cosmo using her powers to create an energy field that would as a sort of cushion. Big was doing the lifting and pushing, following the instructions told to him by Tails & Amy.
It took some maneuvering and patience, but it was all worth it as they slid the object into the home with minimal damage to the door frame! Tails saw that some parts were scratched, but it could be easily remedied in the future.
The two-tailed anthro fox stated, "Excellent work Big! And thank you Cosmo for using your powers like that!". Cosmo said it was a pleasure, but was also relieved that her powers worked like so. Lifting the heavy object was one thing, but it was new territory for her to use her newfound psychic abilities to create energy that needed to be a cushioner and slider at the same time. So she was thankful that she indeed could use her powers like that.
Amy and Tails took over, moving the heavy piece to the fireplace and situating it just right. Not too close to the fire, but not too far away either. When he saw the heat generator near the fireplace, he was confused at first until Vanilla told him on what she did earlier.
He smiled and replied, "Thanks Mom! This will really help with defrosting Jeffery!". He would not call him Dad until everything was said and done, but he would love it to be able to call Jeffery that officially. He positioned the heater close to the icy part of the large object, and turned it on to max power. At max power, it would be like standing in front of two fireplaces.
All of the group soon came together, looking at the now slowly melting object. Cream looked to Tails and asked, "How long until he thaws out big brother?".
Tails did some calculations in his head and soon answered, "If we maintain this heat like this, I would say in about… three, four hours tops.".
Vanilla looked to the clock, and saw that it was already 3:40 p.m. That would mean her husband would be fully out between 6:40 to 7:40 p.m. She thought in her head, 'I've waited for years to find you Jeff… a few more hours is nothing.'.
The two-tailed mechanical genius looked to his mother and said, "Mom, I'm going to go and tell Mayor Zen Hasashi on this. When Jeffery does wake up, the mayor will want to officially confirm this so that he can remove either missing or dead from his records.". Vanilla nodded her head, thanking her son for thinking ahead like so. He smiled at her, then left to go talk with the mayor once again.
Danny looked to the ice object that was slowly starting to melt and asked, "Should we put blankets or anything else warm around him?". This got a giggle from the ladies as they found it cute.
Ten minutes later, Mr. Hasashi came back in with Tails & the anthro wolf was surprised to see the ice block. And more so when he looked at the other side to see Jeffery in it! He muttered to himself in surprise, "Oh good Lord… he is in there! And… he is alive?".
Tails nodded and answered, "According to Cheese and my own scanner, yes he is. And we're melting him slowly to reduce any kind of sudden shock from being frozen like that.".
Zen looked at Jeffery and spoke, "I see. I can imagine the though the shock he'll still get when he finds out how long he was frozen like that. Do you believe I should be here when he does thaw out completely?".
Vanilla spoke softly but firmly, "Yes, I believe it will be good for you to be here when he comes to. You and he were good friends back then, and perhaps your presence can help him calm down.". Zen thought on her words, then nodded in agreement.
He looked to Tails and asked on when he would fully thaw, the two-tailed fox answering his question by giving him the same estimate he gave everyone else earlier. Mr. Hasashi then stated that he would return between those hours, and if he does start to thaw earlier to call his home & inform him of the matter.
When it was all settled, Zen looked to Vanilla with a soft smile and said, "It seems that what you prayed for so long is finally coming true. I am only sorry that it took so long…".
The motherly rabbit smiled back and answered, "Thank you. And I am starting to believe that this was no accident or something of chance. I believe… I believe this was meant to happen on this particular time. That the wait was for a reason, that… everything I had gone through, good and bad was for a good reason.".
The others were very surprised by the answer given by Vanilla, but Zen soon smiled and nodded at seeing the patience and endurance of the anthro woman as it was now justly rewarded perhaps by a higher Power. He nodded at her, then left the home to go back to his own.
~Later at night~
It was now 7:20 p.m., the sun slowly with its orange-golden glow almost gone. The blue sky was replaced with a dark velvet-colored hue, the start soon twinkling into existence as the moon came up to replace its fiery counterpart. Mostly everyone in the village was back in their homes, many tuckered out after working a hard day.
In the Rabbit abode, certain guests were busy doing their own activity. Vanilla was sitting on the couch, her eyes focused on the ice block that was almost completely melted away. She and the others had made sure to mop up the mess from the water, Danny showing his eagerness in that cute way that endeared him to her just like her daughter & son did.
Speaking of the trio, Danny was at the table with Cream, Cheese, Cosmo, Tails and Amy. The human boy was drawing some pictures with Cream & Cheese, the trio using Cream's colored pencils and crayons to make some simple but beautiful drawings. Tails was going over some plans with Amy and Cosmo concerning Vanilla's birthday, as he wanted to be sure that things would still go on as planned.
Earlier on, Cosmo had managed to create a dwelling for Big and Froggy in the forest. Using her plant power, she actually created a simple but sturdy tent of wood for him! It would protect him from the elements, and was large enough to hold his round frame. Cosmo herself was surprised that she could pull off such a technique, but it did come with a cost of some energy. While she had no problems manipulating plants like vines, grass and branches… making wood itself was energy consuming as it required it. So after making the suitable wooden tent for Big, in which one from Earth would say was like a larger version of the wooden tent made by the character Eeyore from the Disney cartoon series Winnie the Pooh, she had Tails help her to get back to the Rabbit home where she rested for about an hour.
Also, the occupants of the room made sure that the fire burned bright by adding some more firewood in to keep the flames going strong.
When 7:30 hit… something happened!
A small groaning noise came from the ice block, all eyes turning to it. It seemed that Jeffery was waking up! Vanilla was the first to act, rising and rushing off the couch with such speed that it mildly surprised the others. The motherly rabbit arrived in time to catch her husband as he slumped down, soaking wet but breathing! He was truly back among the living!
Tails told Cream, Cheese and Danny to get some blankets and towels from the laundry room. The trio nodded and rushed to where said room was, Vanilla keeping extra blankets and towels for guests who stayed at the home. The two tailed anthro fox then told Cosmo and Amy to help with Jeffery while he made a call to the mayor. The two ladies nodded their heads and rushed to aid Vanilla with her husband.
The little ones made it back, Danny holding a couple of large, fluffy white towels while Cheese & Cream were carrying a large, thick green blanket. They handed them to the adult women who started to dry off the male rabbit, gently guiding him to the couch & Vanilla wrapping the blanket on him like a cocoon. She looked to Amy and asked softly, "Amy, can you please watch him while I get some dry clothes for him?". She nodded her head, her and Cosmo sitting on both sides of the soaked rabbit that was barely conscience.
Vanilla rushed up to her room, going to her closet and going to a dresser drawer that was in the very back. The motherly beauty had saved all of Jeffery's clothes, not throwing them away ever since he disappeared from the robotic attack those years ago. To her, they were special and could not bear to throw or give them away.
She never thought they would be used again… but now they were, and on their original owner!
Ms. Rabbit gathered some underwear, jean shorts and a t-shirt that was Jeffery's favorite. Usually, she would have held the article of clothing close and cry at holding it. But now it would be worn, and by the man she had given her heart/life to so many years ago!
Once she had them, she rushed out and back down to the living room with the articles of clothing in hand. Vanilla than told everyone to turn around while she changed her husband, the group nodding in understanding & turning so that they would not see the action. It only took a couple of minutes, but Vanilla told them that it was safe to look.
Near the couch now was a pile of wet clothes, socks and shoes that would have to be looked at to see if they could be salvageable. And on said couch was a fully dressed and dry Jeffery who was still coming in and out of his icy sleep.
Just then, the door opened forth and in came Mayor Zen Hasashi, dressed in casual clothing and asking of the situation. Tails answered, "It seems that he'll be waking up soon.". This pleased the anthro wolf as he gathered with the others around the couch.
With Jeffery, his head was throbbing. His consciousness seemed to be going in and out, but he slowly started to gather himself together. His eyes fluttered open, his vision blurry as a soft groan escaped his lips. Even moving a small bit was a chore for him, his muscles seemingly aching all over. He looked around and saw shapes, but could not make them out yet.
An unfamiliar male voice called out, "Careful everyone! Give him a bit of room. He maybe dizzy and disoriented!". Jeffery slowly but surely started to focus and come back to his own. He felt immense softness all over him like a blanket, and his hearing got a bit better as a female voice that sounded like it belonged to a little girl asked, "Will he be okay Tails?".
The voice from before, now identified as Tails replied to the other voice, "He should be. Just be patient Cream.".
Jeffery's thoughts came to him, 'Cream? That's the name… of my daughter. So is there… another Cream in the village?'.
His vision started to return, the young rabbit blinking rapidly in order to get the vertigo out & focus/sharpness back in. He soon started to see, the images and pictures in front of him becoming sharper and clearer. It was gradual, but he soon managed to recover his eyesight. He saw that he was in a living room of sort, with a roaring fire & a small machine next to said place.
Finding his voice once more, he croaked out, "Ahhhh… where… where… am I?". It even hurt to use his throat, but it was to be expected. Tails had told them that while alive, his muscle would most likely need some exercise for a month or so to get back into shape. This would include his voice muscles, so it would be a bit hard for him to talk for a bit.
A familiar voice called out him softly and gentle like a loving breeze, "Dear, you're home.".
He slowly turned his head to the left to see the smiling face of a beautiful mature woman. He gazed at her, blue eyes meeting warm brown eyes that shined with such care, affection, devotion… and love that it took his breath away. Jeffery looked at her, and the mental images from his mind, deep in his memories came forth. He used them to quickly recognize the person in front of him, but he was also surprised. It was clear in his tone as he whispered, "Vanilla…? Honey, is that you?".
Said motherly rabbit smiled a brilliant smile, eyes now shining with tears of joy as he did recognize her! She was worried at first that he wouldn't, but it seemed that it was no longer the case. She whispered back with such love and joy in her tone, "Yes dear, it's me. It's really me, and you're finally back.". She then brought him into a strong, but gentle and loving hug which had the others smile in delight at seeing the reunion.
Jeffery wanted to move his hand to cup the face of his beloved wife, but sadly he did not have the strength yet. He did manage to smile and speak softly, "Vanilla… it's good to… see you. But… why do… you look… more mature?". Even if he was frozen for several years, he knew better than to even say the 'old' word around any woman.
Vanilla chuckled and answered, "I believe some explanations are needed, dear.".
The small feminine voice from before called out to him, causing Jeffery to turn to the source and found himself staring at the bright eyes of a little girl bunny. He quickly saw how she resembled her mother, his heart already telling him while his mind was catching with it. He looked at her in shock and asked in a tone that matched his emotion, "C-C-Cream? I-Is that you?".
She nodded her head, tears forming in her eyes as she embraced her father. She sobbed softly as she nuzzled in his chest area, but he was stunned silly as his arms were frozen from seeing it right before his eyes. Jeffery whispered, "Cream… how… you look?".
Vanilla felt his emotions starting to grip him, and knowing that she had to help him get it under control before anything negative occurred. She said in a soft, soothing tone, "Dear, what do you remember?".
The young anthro rabbit man reached up with his right arm to hold his head, trying to bring what he last remembered back up. He replied, "I… I remember… I remember being led by a couple of Swatbots… I managed to… break free. I ran through the forest… one of them reached out and… grabbed me... but another accidentally shot him from behind. I managed to get free but… tore a hole from my pants pocket.".
This caused Cream to think, 'That would explain his wallet and the robot parts we found with it.'.
Jeffery continued as the memories continued to flash in his head, "I… I found a cave… I ran into it… to hide in hopes of… giving them the slip. But… they found me. I fought back by throwing… stone at them. One of them pulled out… a new gun… like I've never seen before… I threw it with a rock while it was charging up some… blue energy. And the last thing I remember… was a flash of white light. Then that is it.".
The male voice from earlier spoke, "Then it seems that it's really confirmed. The weapon that you hit was an experimental ice gun, sir.".
The husband of Vanilla looked up and around, soon his eyes falling on five beings. One was an anthro fox with two tails, looking to be a couple of years older than his daughter. One was a green being that he did not know who or what she was. The next was a pink anthro hedgehog who was looking at him curiously. On her head was a small blue being with wings, one that he did not recognize at all. And behind them was a tall anthro wolf in familiar clothing, though said clothing looked a bit tight on him.
Zen had opted to wear the clothes he used to wear back before Jeffery was captured. He would hope that it would jog his memory in remembering him. They still fit, though were a bit snug in some places, showing that he had changed physically.
He looked to the wolf's face first, and soon another memory hit him. A face from the past seemingly appeared in front of his eyes, and compared it to the current one he was seeing now. After a moment, he realized who the face belonged to! He whispered in awe, "Zen? My friend… is that really you?".
Said anthro wolf chuckled softly and answered with a smile, "Yes, it is me old friend. And yes, I have grown older. And I believe this young man can explain it better than I can.". He gestured with his head as he looked towards the lad with two tails.
Jeffery looked at him curiously while Tails smiled nervously and stated, "Hello sir. My name is Miles Prower, but my friends call me Tails.". The last name sparked something in Jeffery, as he had heard that name before. But he quickly put it back on his mental shelf, for now was not the time for it.
Tails continued, "Sir, you… well, you were flash frozen. We managed to find you inside the cave and bring you here to Vanilla's home. You… You have been frozen for several years.".
Those words really pierced through the mind of Jeffery as his eyes widened in surprise, feeling the hugging grip of Cream tighten and the grip on his shoulder from Vanilla also tightening a little. He spoke once more in a tone that was exactly like his feelings at the moment, "S-S-Several years?".
Vanilla answered softly, "Its true dear. Cream now is eight years old now, and this is why we all look older now.".
Jeffery looked down at his daughter, who was now looking back up at him with shining eyes of tears. He reached up to caress her face tenderly, and realized that it was all true. He whispered to her, "Oh little Cream… last time I saw you… you were… just a baby. Now… look how… beautiful you have grown. I've… I've missed so much…". He was crying too, on the verge of a breakdown.
The Rabbit family soon embraced one another, the sheer emotions now pouring through. The others looked at the event before them, not a single eye dry at all. Danny was peeking behind Amy, the others telling him to stay hidden until it was time to reveal him.
After about five minutes of emotional sobbing and hugging, Vanilla cupped her husband's face and whispered, "We'll never miss another moment dear. I promise you that.". She spoke with such intensity and strength that he automatically believed her, the two sharing a sweet kiss on the lips that really melted both adults. For Vanilla, this was something she had been desperately craving for so many years. To finally feel the lips of her beloved once more… her body/soul/spirit/heart/mind had yearned for it for so long. And now, she started to feel complete again.
Jeffery felt the same, the kiss from his wife filling his whole being up & heating him in a way that was more effective than the fire or heater!
After some time, Zen spoke up, "While it is good to see this, and seeing you taking the news so well, I believe we need to press on here.".
Jeffery looked at his friend, a goofy smile on his face after being kissed like so by Vanilla. He shook it off when he heard the seriousness in his friend's voice. He stated, "Hmmm? Oh, yes… I believe there is much I need to be caught up on, right?".
Mr. Hisashi nodded and remarked, "Correct. First me. I am now mayor of the village. And also I am still married to Harumi, and she is currently in another village to help her family with something important. My son and daughter are with her, as they wanted to see their cousins.".
It was true. A couple of days ago, Harumi had informed Zen that her sister Mana had just had a baby! She and her husband Atsushi had been overjoyed at having their third child, but that they needed some help. Her husband worked at a mining facility, and work was really picking up so he could not afford some suitable time off. And the other children, Nobuo & Aika, were young and quite a handful.
So she asked Harumi if could come over and give her a hand, and also to perhaps help in working something out with Atsushi's bosses so that he could stay at home a bit more to help until things got settled. When he was told this, Zen approved and gave his wife his blessings to go and help her sister. Their kids, Reiko & Shou, wanted to come with her in order to help her as well. They were older than their cousins, and thus could be more helpful in trying to curb their energetic activities.
So for the time being, Zen was on his own in the village while his wife and kids were aiding family at another village that was to the east of their location towards the mountain. By vehicle, it was about a two hour drive there.
Jeffery smiled and said, "I see. So the village made you mayor… that is good, as you hold honor, dignity and integrity in high regard. That, and also you can kick some serious robot butt when you need to.". He had known Zen for a good length of time, and him being a leader was something he knew he was meant to be.
Zen smiled and replied, "Thank you old friend. And also… this young lad Tails here is a hero to the entire planet of Mobius.".
The husband of Vanilla looked to him, Tails now being a bit bashful at being put in the spotlight like so. Seeing the skeptical look on Jeffery's face, Tails managed to pull himself together and replied, "Well… my friend Sonic is the real hero sir. I was his sidekick while he and I fought Robotnik.".
Jeffery had a puzzled look on his face as he inquired, "Sonic? Who is Sonic?".
Normally, this would have made everyone look at him like he was a three-headed alien. Sonic was a household name, and also many citizens have heard & seen his exploits against Dr. Robotnik. But they remembered that Jeffery had been frozen for years and Sonic was a child back then when the evil human doctor had started his attacks on the citizens of Mobius.
Tails answered him, "Sonic is a blue hedgehog that can is very fast. He can actually run faster than the speed of sound. He is very brave, and has managed to stop and thwart Robotnik's attacks. He found me a couple of years ago, and I have helped him stop Robotnik as well.".
Zen put in, "It is true. Tails here can actually fly with those magnificent tails of his, twirling them like a helicopter blade. And he is a genius with machines, close to Robotnik's level.".
Jeffery spoke up, "I see. So is that human still around or is he gone?".
Tails looked down and answered, "No, he's not gone. He's around, but anytime he does threaten Mobius, me and Sonic go into action! He has changed his name to Eggman, but we prefer to use his real name.".
This made the young anthro rabbit man choke out a laugh, which was a bit hard on his lungs but he managed to just chuckle through the pain. He chuckled and inquired in a mirthful tone, "E-Eggman? Seriously? He changed his name to that? Why? Was it finally to show how round he was?". This got a round of soft chuckling from the group.
After a few moments, Tails answered with a smile on his face, "I-I don't know about that, sir. But I do know that me and Sonic have defeated him many times. And others have risen up to also take him down as well. In fact, I once defeated Robotnik on my own though it was pretty hard…".
Jeffery looked at the young lad and inquired, "But how did you manage to beat him? No offense son, but…".
Cream interrupted, "it's true, Daddy! Tails saved me and Mom from Robotnik, and after that Mom adopted him!".
This caused Jeffery to be stunned, and it showed on his face. Tails winced at that, hoping to reveal that little but crucial fact at the right time but it seemed that Cream had blown it away.
Vanilla saw her husband looking at her as if for confirmation. She nodded her head and stated, "Yes dear. I adopted Tails a couple of months ago. He is now officially Miles 'Tails' Prower-Rabbit, and I am proud to have him as my son.".
Tails was now nervous as it showed on his face. He was really hoping that he would be accepted by Jeffery, and thus have the right to call him Dad. Said rabbit was stunned by hear that he now had a son, though he had been hoping it would be due to him and Vanilla's own doing. But after doing some serious thinking in his head, he looked to Tails with a stern look that made him gulp… then smiled and stated, "Well then, all I have to say is this. Glad to see you… son.".
He had known Vanilla for almost all his life, and he knew that despite being very lady-like and good spirited… when it came to certain situations, she would use a tone that was filled with resolve and resolution in a way that was stronger than steel! And when she stated that she was proud to have Tails as a son, that really meant something. Plus, hearing on how Tails had saved his wife and Cream from Robotnik on his own spoke volumes of his character.
Jeffery would like to know more about this Sonic character, and the adventures he has had with Tails.
But for now, his focus was now on the smiling two-tailed lad as he soon rushed over and enveloped him in a hug. Cream smiled and hugged her Papa tighter, Vanilla looking so relieved and glad that she too hugged her husband via his neck. Cosmo, Zen and Amy smiled at the scene with some tears in their eyes. Danny peeked out and see the scene too, glad that Tails had been accepted.
Now he was hoping he would be accepted too.
Tails whispered, "Thank you Mr…!".
Jeffery spoke, "No, no. None of that Mister stuff. You are part of this family, so just call me Dad.". This had Tails smile increase in size a little more, as he nodded his head and said okay.
After the little emotional action, Jeffery looked to Cosmo and inquired, "And who might you be, if I may ask?".
Cosmo blushed a little from now being in the spotlight, stepping forth with her hands clasped together that made her look like the excellent Girl-Next-Door sweet look. She answered in a cute voice, "My name is Cosmo, sir. I am a Seedrian… and girlfriend to your son Tails.".
This had Jeffery's eyes widen, then look to Tails as he was standing next to Vanilla now and blushing deeply. Cosmo was also doing the same, as it was a bit difficult for her to say as it was quite personal. The young anthro male rabbit soon grinned at Tails and stated, "Wow! You already have a girlfriend?! I'm impressed! But wait! What is a Seedrian? I don't think I have heard of a species on that here on Mobius.".
Tails sighed and remarked, "That's because Cosmo is not from Mobius, Dad. She's… she's an alien. A plant girl alien to be precise.".
Now this certainly had Jeffery stunned, and it showed on his face. He looked to Cosmo with wide eyes, said girl nodding her head. Zen and Amy nodded their heads too, and then to Vanilla and Cream who also nodded their heads.
The two-tailed anthro fox stated, "We really have a lot to catch you up on Dad. But Cosmo here helped us out when we had to go into space to save not only Mobius, but the universe itself!".
Jeffery's head was a bit spinning from the information he had been shown to so far the entire time he had been thawed out. He was doing his best to keep it together, but it was clear that he would need some days to sort everything out.
He turned his gaze back to Cosmo, who was looking very nervous now, apparently hoping to hear some positive words from him. After some moments, Jeffery soon smiled and stated, "Well if my wife and daughter approve of you, then I believe I can accept this. Just hope you treat my son well.".
This made all smile, Tails and Cosmo more from those words. Cosmo gave a respectful bow to him and replied, "Thank you sir! And I promise to treat him well and good!".
Jeffery was glad that it was settled, though he still ask later on how much has happened since he went under the ice. He looked to Amy and inquired, "And who might you be young lady? And what is that on your head?".
Amy Rose smiled brightly and answered, "My name is Amy Rose, Mr. Rabbit! I'm one of Tails' friends! And this is Cheese, a Chao who is bonded to Cream actually when she was very young. He just wanted to be on my head so he wouldn't get in the way of the family reunion.". Cheese nodded his head, speaking in his own language.
The young anthro rabbit man was pleased by her energy and spirit, and felt that she was indeed a good girl. He also felt that she had some strength, despite her lithe form. Jeffery had a talent for spotting anyone that had hidden strength within them, which came in handy in certain/specific situations. And he was surprised to hear that a Chao had managed to bond with her daughter.
He had heard of them through stories from others as a lad. That Chao were fairy-like creatures that were connected with both the natural and supernatural, who had abilities that varied depending on how they were raised. And according to myth, some say that the Chao had a special link to the famous Chaos Emeralds of legend! But it could not be proven, even from back in his day.
Cheese flew from Amy to Jeffery, flying to be level with his face and waving his hand in greeting. After a moment, he chuckled and spoke, "Nice to meet you Cheese. I am glad that you were able to take care of my daughter while I was… indisposed. Thank you for doing that, and looking after my wife too.".
The little Chao then did a little salute, which made everyone chuckle as Cheese went to be by Cream.
After this, Vanilla cleared her throat. Now it was time for the biggest hurdle to overcome, and she hoped that her husband had an open mind about this. This got Jeffery to look at her, his glad face replaced with a perplexed one as she saw his wife looking nervous. He inquired curiously, "Dear, what is the matter? Is there more I need to know about?".
She nodded her head and answered in a soft tone, "Yes, there is. There is… another guest here that I hope you don't scare or do anything negative to.". This had the alarm bells ringing in Jeffery's head, but he believed it would do to show his wife that he would not do anything to scare their guest or to react negatively.
Vanilla gave him a soft smile, than called out, "Okay Danny, you can come out now.".
Jeffery saw everyone looking to Amy, who was looking down and behind her back, apparently speaking to someone. Jeffery soon saw something emerging from behind the pink hedgehog nervously… and his eyes widened at seeing the form of a human child!
Danny looked nervously at the anthro male rabbit and softly spoke in a tone that mirrored his current emotion, "Ummm… hi there Mr. Rabbit.".
Said being looked to Vanilla, his face showing shock & surprise, and with a dash of wariness. He asked in a tone that was of confusion and wariness, "Umm… dear… is that a human child I see?".
The motherly beauty nodded her head and answered, "Yes sweetheart. But he is not Robotnik's kid, or his creation. He is from where he originally came from, which is another dimension on a planet called Earth.".
Seeing his confusion, Tails was the one that picked up on it, "Yes sir. You see Jeffery, a lot has happened while you were frozen. Not just to Vanilla and Cream, but to the entire planet as well. First, we found out that our dimension and the one Danny comes from are side by side. Parallel to one another, but never in real contact. That changed when Robotnik used the Chaos Emeralds to start an event called Chaos Control, which had the emeralds use their immense power to bring parts of Mobius into contact with the other dimension and the planet.".
Tails soon explained the crucial parts on what happened during his time on Earth with Sonic and Amy, Cream and Vanilla filling in the parts that was needed. Needless to say, Jeffery was dumbfounded on what he was receiving. On that there was a parallel universe, a planet called Earth that was inhabited by humans that were different from Robotnik, learning that said demented doctor originally came said world but still had no idea on how he even got to Mobius in the first place, and how things would have stayed frozen in time had the two dimensions fully merged.
Zen put in his own words, "Due to everything that has happened recently, the warping portals are all unstable due to the thinning of the dimensional walls. Thus it is VERY unsafe for anyone to travel using Warp Zones. Believe me Jeffery, I have seen some of the incidents when some citizens braved using the zones… and each of them were messy.".
Jeffery was surprised to hear this, as he had loved going through the Warp Zones in his youth to reach certain destinations that cut travel time down considerably. On some chances, he risked taking the Special Warp Zones that used to hide Chaos Emeralds. But sadly, he failed every requirement meant to get them, and was spat out at a random destination on the planet.
Amy put in her words, "Danny coming over here was a total accident, and he was VERY lucky to come out in one piece. It was Vanilla who found him, and brought him here so he could recover and be protected. He already is friends with Cream, Tails, me, Cosmo and Vanilla here.".
The mayor put forth, "Myself and Danny are… acquaintances for now, but perhaps in the future I will consider him a friend. And also, I have promised to give him my protection as well.".
Jeffery then looked to the child, his eyes peering at him with something that could not be identified. Danny got nervous and hid behind Amy, who pulled out her Piko Piko mallet. This had surprised the young anthro male rabbit as he had heard of it. In his youth, he heard of a legendary hammer that could appear at will of its owner and was quite versatile. That it could withstand anything, but was also quite heavy.
He had seen someone on TV claimed to have found it, but when he tried to lift it up, couldn't budge it an inch! And now that he was seeing the mallet in Amy's hands, he saw that it looked exactly like the one he saw in his youth!
Amy spoke in words that were low and dangerous, "Mr. Rabbit… I am quite fond of the kid. And should you or anyone else scare him… well… they will have words with me, Vanilla and my mallet.". A white, protective aura soon formed around her, visible and her eyes showing that she was not fooling around.
This made him sweat and gulp nervously, as he had seen something like that before. He and Vanilla were in the dating phase, and on a date, they saw a young anthro puppy being harassed by some much older looking anthro dogs. Both had come to help the pup, but it was Vanilla that scared the vile beings away. She just smiled sweetly and asked them to apologize before leaving. They were about to tell her off… when she gave off an aura that screamed of danger! That one last misstep could be their very last. Even though Jeffery was not in her field of vision, he knew that Vanilla would deliver pain the likes the others could not imagine! So they ran off, heeding their instincts that doing anything to upset the woman was contradictory to their health.
Cream added in, "Daddy, Danny is my friend, and I really want to make sure he is safe! Him and his parents!". Cosmo nodded her head, stating that Daniel was her friend & that she would safeguard his well-being.
Vanilla saw his eyes widen and told her husband, "Yes dear, his parents Mathias and Torli, his father and mother respectively, managed to come through as well. But they were taken to another location due to the chaotic properties of the dimensional walls being so thin. We just learned today that they had been captured by Rouge the Bat and Shadow the Hedgehog.".
Jeffery had a puzzled look on his face, Tails soon realizing that he had no idea who they were. He explained to him, "Dad, Rouge is a thief who is clever and quite formidable in a fight. And Shadow… well, he was created by Robotnik's grandfather Gerald Robotnik on Earth many years ago. He is a black hedgehog that is similar to Sonic, but is very much different. He was called the Ultimate Lifeform, but he lives on his own now. He doesn't take orders from Robotnik.".
The young anthro fox lad believed that it was not necessary to tell Jeffery that Shadow USED to listen to Robotnik in the past, but not anymore.
Amy added in, "Also the fact that they came here despite the danger shows that they care very much for Daniel, and quite quickly adds in the dedication. You see, time over on Earth moves faster than it does here on Mobius. So the fact they came here shortly after him shows that they care for him a lot.".
The husband of Vanilla was really taking this all in as best he could. His mind was just about ready to break down from information overload, but he held on as best he could. But through it all, one thought was clear. He said to himself, 'The parents risked their own well beings and lives to follow their child through. To be honest, I would have done the same thing if something happened to Cream.'.
Zen managed to get him back to reality as he spoke up, "The parents have been found and rescued by friends of Tails that call themselves Team Chaotix, a trio of detectives that consist of Vector the Crocodile, Charmy the Bee and Espio the Chameleon. They are on their way here, and will arrive by early morning. I have already pledged to protect the humans and safeguard them in the village.".
The anthro wolf leader then asked the crucial question, "Now my friend… what will you do?".
Jeffery looked to him, then to Vanilla, Cream, Cosmo, Tails, Amy and finally Danny. The young human looked quite nervous and hopeful at the same time; nervous on him answering in a negative, and hopeful for a positive answer. He felt that his mind was being floated about like a cork bottle on water, so many things just swirling all around him.
He soon centered himself, looking more the human lad. He thought to himself, 'This child… he maybe of Robotnik's kind… but he is certainly not that madman. And his parents… I know I have not met them yet, but to risk so much for their child… they must be good ones.'.
Those thoughts soon helped him to rise up from the mental waves, and he knew what his answer was.
Mr. Rabbit looked to Danny… and gave a soft smile. He spoke clearly and with genuine good feeling behind his words, "Well then little hu… no, Daniel. It seems that you are quite capable of making friends with Vanilla and the others. And… it seems you have made a friend in me too. I will also protect you as best I can with them.".
This made Danny's eyes widen, and also water with relief and gratitude. Going on his instincts strongly, he rushed from beside Amy to Jeffery and leapt towards him! Cream and Tails quickly stepped away as the little boy hit his target at Jeffery's lap, hugging his midsection and saying thank you over & over again in relief and gratitude.
The young anthro male rabbit simply smiled and accepted the hug, looking up to see Cream and Tails giving him a grateful looks and quite proud of his answer. Hearing a soft giggle from above, he looked up just in time to get a warm kiss on the lips from Vanilla. He was surprised, but soon melted into the kiss when he felt the love and positive emotions poured into the affectionate gesture. After a few moments, she slowly released the kiss as to savor it a bit more.
She whispered to him, "I'm so proud of you honey. You really are the man I fell in love with long ago, and the same man I married back then.". He too was feeling on high in a very good way, knowing that he made the right decision.
Zen chuckled and stated, "You really are the friend I made all those years ago, Jeffery. And come the morning, we do have two jobs to do. One is to get Danny and his parents settled in with the village officially, then to officially declare you NOT dead & change Vanilla's status from Ms. To Mrs. Rabbit.".
Now that was something that Vanilla had forgotten. Some time after failed searches for her husband, she was forced to change her name from Mrs. to Ms. But now… she would it get changed back to Mrs. Vanilla Rabbit! And that small, subtle change would mean all the difference to her in a very good way.
Jeffery smiled as this would surely confirm to everyone that he was back among the living, and he was determined to let remain that way for many years to come!
He looked to his wife and spoke, "Heh, it seems that our house is going to be full for a while with Danny and his parents moving in.".
Vanilla smiled and replied, "Yes, but it will be for the best.".
Tails spoke up, "We'll come up with some kind of living arrangements and more in the future. Right now, I say we relax and get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be hectic, so need to be at our best.". Everyone agreed to that, as tomorrow was truly going to be busy. And also it was for Jeffery's sake as the young rabbit man had just woken up from a very long icy slumber, and most likely was tired both physically and mentally on what he was exposed to.
Danny gently dislodged himself from Jeffery, going to Tails' side and speaking to Jeffery, "Thank you for accepting me, Mr. Rabbit!". Said being smiled and chuckled softly on how innocent and genuine that sounded, patting him on the head & saying that it was no problem. Vanilla helped him back to his feet, then looked to the others and stated, "I'm going to take him to our room so he can rest. All of you can do whatever you like until 9:30, then it's time for bed.". The clock currently read 8:00 a.m., which meant they had an hour and thirty minutes of free time.
The mature motherly beauty had to pause a little at hearing her own words. For some time, she had usually called her room… well, hers since she was alone. But now calling hers and Jeffery's room once again brought that small, subtle difference that was truly significant. She was no longer alone, and that filled her being with joy.
It was directed mostly at Tails, Cream, Cheese and Danny. Amy was still staying at the inn, and Zen had his own home. Tails replied, "Yes Mom, and we'll keep it down so that you two can get some peace and quiet.". Both of them thanked him, and made their way up the stairs. Even though Jeffery was thawed out, he would need help to walk and move since his muscles were not at full capacity/strength yet. It was apparent as he winced a little each time he moved.
Once the couple was upstairs and the doors shutting & the lock being heard indicating that it was locked, the others were very much relieved that everything had gone well. Danny turned to Tails and hugged him, then going to Cream and hugging both her & Cheese tight together, then rushing up to Amy and hugging around the waist. He exclaimed softly as to not disturb Vanilla and Jeffery, "Did you see Amy?! Did you see?! He liked me! He said he would protect me! We did it!".
The pink hedgehog beauty giggled softly, hugging the small human and rubbing his head at the same time. She replied, "I heard Danny. I saw it all, and I am glad that you managed to win him over.".
Tails smiled and stated, "Well, if anything we have someone else to keep Mom occupied while we practice for her birthday present.".
Cream remarked, "Yes, but I also hope to spend more time with Dad now that he is back in our lives.". Tails and the others saw that she had a point. Jeffery had missed so much time with her and his wife, and no doubt wanted to do what he could to catch up & also spend time with them. And also himself, as now they were father and son.
Cosmo commented, "I guess that our plans will have to change now with this development, right?".
Zen replied, "Yes, but the change will most likely be moderate. Once he becomes informed on what you all are doing, most likely he will do what he can to keep Vanilla occupied while you all finish the musical present.". Tails concurred that he had a point, so would just have to wing for the time being.
Amy chuckled and stated, "I feel a bit sorry for Vector once he realizes that Jeffery is back in Vanilla's life. Tails, Cream and Cheese you know how much of a crush that he had on Vanilla.".
The children and Chao chuckled as well as the memories started to come back to them. Cosmo, Zen and Danny were confused until Tails explained that Vector had fallen for Vanilla at first sight, and acted very much goofy when she was around. He tried to impress her, but his efforts came a bit short. And now when he saw that Jeffery was back, most likely he would see that any chance with Vanilla would be gone in a blink of an eye.
Danny spoke up, "Vector is good guy right? So I know he find other good lady too for him to be with!". The anthro were all amused at his words, but also believed that he was right. Vector was a decent guy, and had the potential to find a little lady besides Vanilla. It would be a bit difficult, they were sure he could pull it off.
Cosmo soon had a thought come into her head as she inquired, "Do you think we can enlist Team Chaotix to help us concerning Vanilla's gift?".
The others were a bit surprised by the statement, and it was Tails that got to thinking. He thought, 'Hmmm… come to think of it, I don't think that I told Vector and the others about Mom's birthday. And also, their ship would need to land here and refuel. This village doesn't have a fuel depot, but our neighboring one has though it's a half an hour drive from here. Hmmm… how can we make this work?'.
Cheese spoke in his language, with Cream being the interpreter, "Cheese says that we should ask them for help. The more the merrier, right?".
Amy pointed out, "Maybe, but it will be hard for Vector to be here. I mean, he has a crush on Vanilla and seeing her with her husband might make things awkward for him. I don't think we should put that on him, especially for all he has done for us.".
Tails and the others saw that she had a point. After some thinking, the two-tailed fox stated, "Well, we won't know for sure unless we ask him when he comes. But no matter what, we respect his decision if he wants to stay or not.". All of them agreed to this.
Danny then looked to Zen and asked in a polite voice, "Mr. Zenny, want to stay for a bit and play some games with us before you go?". This got the whole group minus the large wolf started to chuckle at the nickname that the human child had given to Mr. Hasashi. Only his wife had ever called him that, and it was more of an affectionate gesture between the two of them. The way Danny spoke was of innocence and wanting to just give his name more of a pep then just simply Zen.
Said wolf smiled and shook his head lightly at the youth before him. He answered, "Well, why not? Not much I can do on at my house since it's just me for now.". This caused the kids to be joyful, but being reminded to keep it down. Cosmo gestured for them to go to the table while she would get the games to choose from.
In the end, the games were played like this: Zen, Cosmo, Amy and Tails played Monopoly while Danny, Cream and Cheese played Sorry. When the time came for the kids to go to bed, it was Cosmo that managed to win against the others & Danny to win against Cream and Cheese.
One was surprised on how Cosmo was able to win a game that relied on both luck and business savvy. Tails made a mental note to see how good his lady love was when it came to finances later on.
Zen and Amy wished them all goodnight before leaving, the others putting up the games before going to take a shower. Cream and Cheese went first, followed by Tails, then Danny, then finally Cosmo. Tails gave Danny a set of pajamas that were able to fit him, and once it was done they all worked to set the living room up for the Guest bed mattress. Cosmo levitated the large mattress from the closet and set it in the middle of the room. Cream and Cheese got the blankets and sheets, making sure to not disturb Vanilla and Jeffery.
Once it was all set up, Tails and Cream plus Cheese wished the others goodnight before going to their respective rooms. Cosmo and her beau shared a little kiss before he left, making the duo blush and Tails having a goofy smile with hearts coming from his being.
Danny and Cosmo got on the mattress and soon went to sleep. It was a bit difficult for the human child, as he was abuzz with positive emotions, knowing that soon his father and mother would be back soon. That all of them would be together.
~Next morning~
It was around 7:15 a.m. when activity sounded in the house. Danny and Cosmo smelled something good, their noses twitching as the smell was tickling at their senses. They managed to wake up, both rubbing the sleep dust from their eyes and looking to where the smell was coming from. Both managed to get the necessary focus back after adjusting to the lights that were on, and saw that Vanilla was in the kitchen.
Danny smiled and quickly got out of bed, going to the motherly beauty who was wearing a short-sleeve shirt and jean shorts. Her attire was not indecent, and was quite appropriate. He whispered to her excitedly, "Vanilla!".
She turned around, and the most wonderful smile was on her face for all to see! Apparently everything had gone right between her and Jeffery last night, and also this morning. And now seeing Danny awake and greeting her like so brought more warmth to her heart. More so that she was a bit afraid that her heart would burst due to overload of joy.
Vanilla giggled and bent down, scooping the running child into her arms and giving him a hug. She nuzzled him gently for a few moments, in which the child giggled happily, then looked to him and said, "Good morning Danny! How are you this morning? Did you sleep well?".
He replied happily, "Yes I did! Though… stayed up a little because I was just so excited in seeing Daddy and Mommy again!". This had the mature mother smile, saying that it was understandable before putting the young lad down.
Cosmo went to them with a smile on her face and inquired, "Good morning Mrs. Rabbit. How are you?".
Vanilla looked to her and replied with a spring in her tone, "Everything is good Cosmo! Everything… it just feels different but in a good kind of way! Something… that I really hope lasts for a long time.".
The alien plant girl had an inkling on what it was that made Vanilla look like she was literally glowing with happiness. It had been a monumental night for her as she had not only been reunited with her husband, but also said man had accepted many things that had come to be since he was flash frozen. She imagined that it would be a bit difficult for him to adjust to the changes in the world, and also to the family. But with time, patience, understanding, determination and courage from everyone, things would settle down and change for the better.
The mature beauty stated, "I'm making waffles for everyone, so I need some help. Cosmo, would you please get the table ready? And Danny, can you please wake up Tails and Cream & Cheese? Jeffery is still lying down, but he is awake. He'll be down soon.".
Danny nodded and went about to wake the others, while Cosmo helped in getting the dishes, silverware and cups out. The human child carefully opened the door to Tails' room first, going to the sleeping fox and gently rocking his body to rouse him from his slumber. Once he managed to wake up, Danny told him that Vanilla was making waffles and to come to breakfast. The two tailed fox thanked him for the wake-up call, slowly rising out of bed. Once he saw his duty was done, Danny went upstairs to wake up Cream and Cheese.
Once he was successful in waking up the duo, he went back downstairs, careful once more to not make too much noise. He went to the table/kitchen and saw that the table was complete & ready for everyone. The young human lad went to Vanilla with a proud smile and stated, "Tails, Cream and Cheese are all awake, Vanilla!".
She smiled down at him and replied, "Good boy. Now go the restroom to clean yourself up please. Breakfast will be ready in about ten minutes.". He nodded his head and rapidly went to the downstairs bathroom to do his business & also to shower.
Cosmo giggled at the way he rushed out, looking to Vanilla and saying, "I will say this for him, he has a lot of energy today.".
Vanilla smiled at her and replied in a light tone, "I don't blame him. Today is a big day for him. For all of us actually. I really hope that the villagers accept him and his parents, just like Jeffery did last night.".
She slowed down a bit in her cooking, looking to Cosmo with a relieved look on her face. This puzzled the alien girl until the anthro female rabbit stated, "I was just so relieved Cosmo. Jeffery… well, I expected him to not accept Danny due to the times Robotnik has attacked the village the past. And also that… he missed out on so much because of him.".
Mrs. Rabbit continued on, "But… to hear and see that he accepted Danny like that… it really brought relief to me. And last night, he really did confirm that he held no grudge against him or his parents. I… I was just so proud of him… that he is truly the man I married so long ago…". Some tears fell from her eyes, wiping them before they could fall.
Cosmo smiled and watched as she let the powerful emotions flow from her. She could feel them thanks to her power, an empathy indicator if you will. It seemed that Vanilla Rabbit was just so pleased that things went well last night, and was hoping for the same kind of miracle to happen today.
The doors to Tails and Cream's room opened, and at the same time a knock on the door was heard. The voice of Amy came forth, saying that it was her along with Zen. Cosmo used her psychic powers to unlock the door and open it, the duo coming in. Amy was dressed in her best, as was Mr. Hisashi.
Tails looked to them, managing to become more fully awake at seeing the duo and said, "Good morning Amy, Mayor Hisashi.". Cream said the same thing as she came down the stairs, Cheese doing the same in his native language.
Zen replied, "Heh, good morning to the both of you. It seems that you two are ready for the day. Hehehehe…". The fox and bunny looked down to see that they were still in their pajamas, smirking at the wolf with Tails replying that it was real funny in a light sarcastic way. This made Vanilla, Cosmo and Amy giggle at the scene.
Soon, everyone was at the table with the young ones clean and dressed up properly. Vanilla was about to serve her family and friends the food… when the door to her & Jeffery's room opened, and coming out slowly was said young anthro rabbit man!
He was wearing some fresh clean clothes, and he looked a little damp as if he just got out from the shower & only dried himself a little. He had some pain on his face as he looked down over the railing down below, even though there was a small smile on his face. He called out in a weak voice, "Hey there… don't start without me.".
Vanilla put the plate that had the waffles down and quickly rushed upstairs, a look of concern on her face as she went to her husband. She held him tenderly and whispered in a concerned tone, "Dear, what…? I was going to take some breakfast up to you. You're still not at full strength yet.".
Jeffery chuckled lightly and answered, "Sorry dear but… well, been still for many years. Just needed to get the muscles working again. Oooh… hurts a little, but I can manage.". What he said was partially true; it hurt a lot for him to move as his muscles were still fully healed. It would take some physical therapy to get his body up to speed, and also some mental help to get him caught up on the years he had missed.
Mrs. Rabbit saw that her husband was going to be insistent on this, so she sighed and gave him a patient smile before helping him down the stairs and to the table. Jeffery was not going to argue, as while he was a bit proud in some areas, he did not mind at all of his wife helping him like so.
Zen stood up from his seat, which was on the right of one of the heads of the table. It was a sign of respect as he wanted for Vanilla and Jeffery to be close like so. Vanilla said she would take seat, while she aided Jeffery in sitting in where she used to sit. She did not mind this at all, thanking Zen for giving up his seat like so. He stated that it was no problem, going to the only empty seat that was at the other head of the table.
Once he was properly situated down, that is when Vanilla turned to pick up the plate of waffles and put two on each plate. Danny eyed the waffles eagerly, the golden circular goodness calling out for him to eat. His mother made good waffles, but they were made into squares. So this was a first for him to have circular waffles.
Jeffery was the last to be served, also eyeing the waffles hungrily. It had been so long since he last ate, and he was famished. He saw that there was enough waffles left over, so if he was hungry still, he could have some more. She heard some giggling, and looked to see that it was coming from Cream who was next to him. She smiled and said, "You and Danny have the same look! I guess you two like waffles very much!".
The anthro rabbit man and the human child looked at each other, and indeed they could see that each the look of hunger on their faces. The two looked at each other for a moment… then Jeffery smiled and chuckled as he replied, "I guess we have a love of Vanilla's cooking, eh young one?".
Danny smiled back and answered, "Yup! Her food is the best! Mom is close second, but Vanilla makes best food!". The others watched the interaction, glad to see that the two were getting off on the right foot so far.
Vanilla than poured orange juice or milk into the glasses, depending on which wanted. Once it was done, she told everyone to dig in. The syrup was passed around, the dark brown liquid flowing onto the waffles to make them taste better.
As all of them ate and drank, conversation came into play. Zen swallowed some of his waffles, looked to Jeffery and asked, "So Jeffery, what are your plans for today?".
The husband of Vanilla eagerly swallowed some of his food, already almost finished with it to show that indeed he was starving! He drank some milk from his glass, looked to his old friend and answered, "Well I plan to call up some of the old gang… if they are still around.".
The mayor of the village stated, "Do not worry. Our old friends, all of them, are still around. I will say that they will be surprised to see you back, and no doubt have a lot of catching up with you to do.". This brought relief to Jeffery, which was evident on his face. He was glad to hear that his friends from back in the day were still around, and was curious to see how they have moved on without him.
Vanilla swallowed some of her waffles and put in softly but firmly, "Jeffery is going to stay in this house for some time until he regains his strength, and I will be with him every step of the way.".
Now this did fit in well with the plans of Tails and the others. Vanilla would be kept busy in tending to Jeffery, and in doing so would give them free time to practice and prepare for her special birthday surprise. Jeffery looked to Cream and asked, "Will you be willing to visit your old man as he recovers?".
She smiled brightly and answered quickly, "Of course Daddy!". A little hiccup in the plans yes, but it was to be expected… and also approved of. Cream wanted to connect with her father, and she would take any opportunity that was presented to her.
More small talk carried forth, and it was at 8:00 a.m. Everyone was about finished with breakfast, Jeffery asking for two extra waffles as indeed he was hungry. He was about to finish the fourth one… when the house started to vibrate!
Zen was on guard almost instantly, rising up from his chair and inquiring roughly, "What is it? Are we under attack?". Vanilla quickly went to her husband, Cream doing the same while the Tails went to Cosmo. Amy got up quick and went to Danny's side, her mallet instantly out and ready to defend!
After a few moments, the vibrations ceased altogether. Fortunately, nothing was knocked over and the house was intact. Tails walked to the window, Cosmo by his side as they looked out the pane glass… then relief washed over him as he saw what was making the vibrations in the first place.
He turned his head to the group and called out, "Its not an attack. It seems that Team Chaotix has arrived. They just landed near my workshop.".
This brought relief to the group, as they had been worried that the village was under some kind of sneak attack. When Danny heard the news though, this meant that his parents were here! He quickly rushed over to the door, but Amy held him back.
He looked at her in confusion and she explained, "Hold on there kiddo. Let's let them come in first. We need to see how to start things off in introducing you and your parents to the others in the village.". Seeing the wisdom in her words, Danny nodded and waited by her side.
A knock was heard, and the voice of Vector came through it, "Hello! Special delivery from Team Chaotix!".
Tails chuckled and replied, "The door is open!".
Said object did open up, and Danny was greeted with the sight of a very large anthro crocodile! While he had seen photos of them back in his own world, it was something else to see the team in real life. Vector waved high to everyone as he walked in, followed by Espio as he coolly walked into the abode, and finally Charmy Bee came in as his usual hyperactive self.
Danny let out a soft gasp as he beheld the Team, especially Vector as to him he looked like a miniature Godzilla.
Said crocodile looked to Tails and Cosmo and said, "Hey kiddo! Long time, no see! And… wow! Cosmo, you really are back! Awesome!". Cosmo smiled and blushed a little from the praise, Tails just smiling at seeing his friends
Tails replied, "Heh, nice to see you too Vector, everyone! I don't mind you coming in like so, but couldn't you have let me known ahead of time?".
Espio looked to him and stated calmly, "We have been. We have been trying to get you on the radio, but you didn't answer. So that is why we came in like so.". This had Tails smile nervously and sweatdrop, realizing that his radio equipment was in his workshop but he had been too preoccupied with eating breakfast.
Charmy Bee spoke out, "Our little entrance woke up some people, and now there are people coming out from their homes to check what's up!".
Zen went over to look out the window, and he saw that the hyper bee was right. Many citizens were coming out from their abodes, going towards the Rabbit house to see what all of the commotion was about. He knew that it would be time to act quickly soon.
Cream went over to them, Cheese on her head, and asked politely, "Where are Danny's parents?".
Vector answered her, "Oh, Mathias and Torli are in the plane still. Thought it would be best to keep them in there so we wouldn't spook the villagers.".
He then turned to Amy, and saw the Danny. Or at least parts of him as the child was hiding behind Amy, peeking out to see the large anthro crocodile. He looked to him, then to Amy and asked, "Say, is that the kid Vanilla rescued?".
Amy nodded her head and answered, "Yup! This is little Danny! Come on Danny, it's okay. Vector and the others are not going to hurt you.". She gently coaxed the little human child to emerge from behind her, looking nervous and small at seeing the new faces.
Charmy was the first to break the ice, going to him and looking him over before saying with some mirth in his tone, "Hahahaha! You're small!".
Danny got a cute annoyed look on his face as he remarked, "Me?! You're small too! Even Cream is bigger than you!". This caused the group to laugh a little as Charmy just stuck out his tongue at the child, Danny doing the same.
Espio went over, looking him over with a critical eye that made the young human a bit nervous. After some moments, he nodded and extended out his hand. Danny slowly took it, shaking it as the chameleon stated, "Name is Espio. Good to meet you little one.". Danny soon smiled and replied that it was good to meet you too.
Vector soon introduced himself, Danny still nervous as he was large & had rows of sharp teeth. He extended his hand out and stated, "Nice to meet you kiddo! Name's Vector! Your parents told me about you but… heh, they never mentioned you were small.".
This had young Danny bearing his cute annoyed expression as he yelled out, "Hey! I am not small! I am big! Hmph!". This caused another round of laughter, Cream and Cheese going to their human friend and reassuring him that he was good for his size.
The anthro crocodile soon saw Vanilla coming… with a strange man by her side, being helped by the lovely woman. His heart started to beat fast as usual when seeing Vanilla, but he felt that something was wrong here. He asked, "Good morning Vanilla. Umm… who is the guy? Is he hurt?".
Vanilla smiled towards Vector and answered, "Oh, this is Jeffery. He is my husband, and he is not hurt just… sore.".
Vector soon gained a surprise look on his face, and if anyone had an X-Ray machine of sort, they would have seen his heart breaking. It seems that any chance he had with the motherly beauty was now completely gone.
Espio felt sorry for his boss for the loss, but it was something that would have to be addressed later. He inquired, "Excuse me Ms. Rabbit. I had assumed that you had lost your husband some years ago. So how…?".
Tails explained to them the events on what happened yesterday, the others inputting their own words. When it was all done, Team Chaotix was indeed surprised that Jeffery had been frozen for several years & that it was Danny who had managed to find him in the first place.
Charmy looked to the kid and stated excitedly, "Whoo hoo! So you found him after the others missed where he was?! You are a hero kid!".
Danny blushed from the praise, as he didn't exactly see himself as a hero. To him, heroes were big and strong. That they had superpowers and such, like in the movies and books he had read. Amy sensed this from him, leaning down to his level and looking him in the eyes.
She spoke, "Danny, I believe I know what you are thinking inside. And Charmy is right. You ARE a hero! If it wasn't for you, Jeffery would still be frozen in the ice. Being a hero doesn't mean you have to have powers or be big.".
Zen added in, "She is right young one. Being a hero means going the extra mile for others, and doing what is right. And you did right in finding my old friend here, so that we could bring him back to the waking world like so.".
Jeffery finished it up by saying, "I owe you much, Danny. And I will do my best to help you and your parents settle here. It is the least I can do for the one who gave me a second chance like this.". This made the young lad smile brightly, making Amy and Vanilla chuckle and patting him gently on the head.
Vector was torn; on one hand, he had lost his chance with Vanilla. On the other, he made said woman happy. And if Vanilla was glad… then it was alright with him. He gently pat the little guy on the back and put in, "Yeah, they're right. You are a hero kiddo. So stand tall and show to all that you are!".
Danny smiled to Vector and remarked, "Yes sir! And will stand tall like you and Mr. Zenny!". The last remark made the others look at the anthro wolf, who just looked away in embarrassment, making the group chuckle/giggle at that.
Some murmurs were being heard from outside, causing the others to look towards the door. Tails sighed and said, "Well, looks like we need to get this underway. Everyone ready?".
All nodded their heads, Amy going to Danny's side with her mallet at the ready. If any kind of ruckus was going to start that involved her friend, she was going to end it! Once they've prepared themselves, Jeffery included even though Vanilla was helping him, they all went outside to face the crowd!
(Author's Notes: And… cut! That is it for this chapter! It was running long, so I decided to split the finale in two parts! I hope that danielman21 doesn't mind.
In any case, I want to give praise and honor to the Lord! Thank you God for helping me with this chapter, and thank you Lord that it was done for my friend's birthday! I continue to look to you Jesus Christ for strength, endurance, patience, courage, wisdom, insight and grit when it comes to writing stories & with my personal life! I still look to you God in doing what I can to please you, and also for my faith/trust/love/obedience to you to be stronger than anything here on Earth! Thank you so much for everything God!
I hope you all enjoyed this, and for the musical aspect that is about to come. It's going to be long, maybe like this one! So be prepared!
And now for the questions! Ahem…
What would you say to May Zen Hisashi concerning the situation with Danny?
What would you say to Vanilla when she says that she wishes to officially adopt Danny?
If you were traveling with Danny, Cream and Cheese outside and saw the remaining Swatbot parts, what would you say and do? And what would your reaction be at finding the cave and finding Jeffery like so?
Would you help in removing the frozen Jeffery from the cave? If so, what would you do?
What way would you warm up Jeffery to thaw him out?
When Jeffery finally thawed out from his prison, what would you do? And what would you tell him explaining certain things like Sonic, Shadow and Rouge?
What would you do when Jeffery finally sees Danny?
In the morning and if it was up to you, what would you serve for breakfast for everyone?
What would you do at introducing Danny to Team Chaotix?
And finally this… how would you prepare yourself to explain to the villagers the arrival of the humans Danny, Mathias and Torli?
Optional Bonus Question: So Cosmo won in Monopoly against Tails, Amy, and Zen. Would you like to introduce her to the world of business? And if so, in what area? Hehehehe…
R&R, no flames, enjoy and leave LONG reviews!)