Chapter 24

Cream folded one ear over her face to guard her eyes from the constant stream of flowing sand. Her boots sank into the loose earth, making every step a struggle. Cheese took shelter inside Cream's dress but even her deepest pockets had been invaded by stray particles of sand. The coarse, rough, and irritating element was the very worst thing about the desert. Worse even than the heat, or the deep dunes or even the sudden shift into bitter cold nights.

The desert always seemed so interesting to Cream when the closest one was hundreds of miles away from her village. Now that she trekked right through the heart of one she found it extremely vexing. Everyday felt almost identical to the one before and the distant peeks of the mountains never appeared to draw any closer.

Seven grueling days and six shivering nights passed since Cream and Cheese left Emerald City. They had set out with refueled optimism, but as before, the onset of hunger strained at their hope. The duo expected they would reach the Ruby Isle before their supplies dwindled. According to the map, it did not appear very far north of the city. Though Cream had to admit she did not really know how to read a map and had never checked its scale.

Regardless, after a week of travel her and Cheese found themselves trudging forward in the same blank expanse of desert they seemed to have trapped themselves in. "Chao…Chao…" Cheese lamented. The sting of the flowing sand had brought Cream to a halt atop a high dune. She had hoped the vantage point would give her a view of something in the distance but all she saw was brown and red desert.

"Chao…Chao…"

"I can't Cheese. At least not yet. The wind is too strong." Their only relief from the bitter day sun was for Cream to take to the skies. However, the effort of flying taxed the rabbit greatly and when the winds were strong it was even worse. To comfort her companion, Cream reached into her bag and gave Cheese a little nibble of a carrot.

Just before leaving Emerald City, the two beleaguered travelers were fortunate enough to receive some charity. An otter in a flowing black robe was coming out of a strange building and when he noticed Cream and Cheese he gave them some money out of his pocket. After receiving their benefactors' blessing, the two of them stopped at a grocery store and purchased everything they thought they would need for their adventure. Now their supply had dwindled into scraps. If they did not find the Ruby Isle soon, they would be out of food and had no prospects of either going forward or backward.

Cream pushed those thoughts aside and gave as good an effort as she could manage for the rest of the day. When the sun started to set, Cream picked a spot between two dunes to make camp for the night. Though plagued by heat all day, the two now prepared to shiver and freeze all night. Cramped between the two dunes, Cream hoped they would at least be spared from the worst of the winds.

Cream huddled up into a ball and Cheese rested safely rolled up in Cream's ears. Though she was exhausted, sleep did not come easily to Cream. Thoughts of her village and especially of her mother started to torment Cream whenever she closed her eyes. She pictured her mother sitting alone in their house, weeping and cursing the daughter who had abandoned her. Those dark thoughts were worse than the plunging temperature.

The little rabbit tossed and turned for hours. Cream could not manage her temperature nor her wayward thoughts. In the end, only sheer need for sleep finally put her out. Perhaps in desire for warmth, Cream dreamt of a fire. She stood right before the inferno and felt the heat of the blaze on her face. It took her a while to notice what was burning.

Cream cried out in dismay and raced into her village. Shadows with red eyes and wheels for legs attacked the other villagers. Cream darted past them and avoided the hungry fire. She could hear people crying out from inside the main hall. The shadows had barred the door but there were still people inside the now burning structure. Cream rushed towards it and tried to remove the bar but the wood was scorching hot.

Her tears turned to smoke as soon as they fell from her eyes. Vanilla appeared at the window. She was crying and desperate for escape. She urged Cream to free her and begged her daughter to show some courage. Cream tried but even when she burnt her hands grasping the bar, it was too heavy for her to move. Powerlessness overwhelmed her, and at last, Cream despaired. She fell backward and watched helplessly as the fire grew.

A shadow fell over her. She turned around but it was not an enemy. Tails strode boldly forward and used some kind of metal gloves to tear the bar apart with ease. Vanilla and the other villagers rushed out of the open door. Wind whipped across Cream's face as if she was suddenly in the midst of a great storm. A blue streak circled around the village again and again. The force of Sonic's speed put out the fires and the hedgehog landed in the village square with a smirk and a thumbs up. Cream smiled as well and cried out in joy. Yet when she turned around she saw that Tails was frowning at her. "What are you doing? You should leave the heroics to the real heroes. You should go home."

Go home. Go home. The words repeated in her subconscious until Cream was mouthing the words herself. Sand spilled into her mouth and Cream jumped awake coughing and sputtering. She was back in the desert. The sun was just starting to rise in the distant east. It was just a dream. Cream sat down and held herself. Though she had slept she felt more exhausted than she had last night.

Despite her movements, somehow Cheese had slept through the entire ordeal. Cream carefully plucked the Chao out of the fold of her ear and held it gently in her hands. The terror of the dream and her own sense of inadequacy faded before the sight of snoozing Chao. Cheese trusts me. I have to trust myself.

Cream let the Chao sleep a little longer but eventually she roused her friend and the two of them started out again. Like the day before, and all the days before that, Cream chartered her progress to the north and started walking. The desert was pleasant in the first few hours of dawn. The Red Desert was never more red than when the early rays capped the sand. The cold of the evening was pushed aside by the warmth of the coming day but it was not hot yet.

The peace did not last long and within two hours, Cream was sweating and felt the crusty discomfort of sand in every crevice. When I get out of here, I want new boots and a new dress. She tried fixating on what she wanted her new outfit to be like and the exercise helped her manage her discomfort till midday.

The duo was given some relief when clouds moved overhead and actually blocked the sun for a bit. Cream and Cheese ate a small lunch of carrots and lettuce but it was a notably lighter spread than the one yesterday.

Crack! What had started as relief quickly escalated into a squall. The clouds swelled and turned black while Cream and Cheese could do nothing as they anticipated the coming storm. Wind rushed so hard that it nearly knocked the little rabbit over. Cheese had to zip itself into one of Cream's pockets to save itself from being blown away. Loose sand swirled into dust devils that zoomed across the arid planes.

The land was completely flat so there was nowhere for Cream to seek shelter. When the rain came it fell hard and fast. Cream's visibility dipped to zero. Between the wind, the sand and the rain she had no sense of direction. Cream tried to hunker down and ride out the storm but stopping proved worse than walking. Many times a gust of wind caught one of her ears and Cream would be lifted up into the sky. Getting back down took a strenuous effort and eventually, Cream had to tuck her ears beneath her arms.

It was the most miserable day of Cream's entire life. She was drenched in rain water, painted with sand, terribly cold and on the verge of collapse. The thunder was so loud she could not even hear herself think.

For hours, Cream endured the dark assault of the storm. Without a clear direction to go or any real motivation to get there, Cream simply willed herself forward until she could not go on any longer. She picked a high rising dune in front of her and made her decision. Cream ascended the dune, each step up the incline costing her dearly. When she reached the summit she was presented with, for just a split second, a still image of terrifying wonder and beauty. Cream smiled to herself and collapsed.

She dreamt of a dry bed and a fresh change of clothes. Cream sighed in contentment as she lay on her bed back at home. She had just had a wonderful dream about adventures and Sonic the Hedgehog. Cream enjoyed the dream but was extremely glad that it had just been that; a dream. Discomfort, hunger and exposure to storms were the elements of a good story, but not something Cream would wish upon herself. She yawned and decided she would go back to bed and have an even better dream. Cream snuggled into her blankets and closed her eyes.

"Chao!" Cheese pulled on Cream's ear and tried to stir her from the bed.

"Not now Cheese, later."

"Chao!" The chao did not relent. Groaning in frustration, Cheese opened her eyes. Her bedroom was gone and Cream was laying face down in the sand. Little hands were pushing against her face and Cream allowed them to lift her up. What she saw made her gasp. There in the midst of the red desert was a sparkling pool encircled by tall palm trees.

Cream rubbed her red, irritated eyes but the picture did not disappear. "Cheese…is that…is that real?" Cream was on the verge of tears.

"Chao!"

Cream struggled to her feet and brushed the sand off her dress. Her legs were shaky but that didn't matter. She took Cheese and hurried down the sand dune. The storm had broken and in its wake was a violet sky. Heat and bitter cold were replaced by a temperament cool that restored Cream's energy.

As she got closer to the pool, Cream saw a gate and a group of shirtless humans. When they spotted her and Cheese they pointed. The distance between herself and the pool was further than Cream had anticipated but mercifully she was saved from having to walk. A human car came speeding towards them and the rabbit was collected by a human in a brown tactical suit.

Cream did not remember much of the car ride. Nor did she recall being brought into the pool. The next thing she knew she was laying on a mat staring up at the leaves of a palm tree. Cream stirred and she noticed a woman wearing all white was kneeling next to her. The woman explained that she was a nurse and that Cream was experiencing the onset of severe dehydration and heat exhaustion. Cream barely heard a word.

She was given water to drink and ice was placed on her forehead. Afterwards she was given a juice box and best of all was led to a place where she could take a shower. When she was finally free of the frustrating sand, Cream was given back her clothes which they had taken and washed for her. It was not as good as brand new, but the next best thing.

It took a few days for Cream to fully come back to herself. She and Cheese were free to stay and restore themselves at the Ruby Isle for as long as they needed to. Cream made sure to thank her saviors as often as she could but they explained they were only doing their job.

On the third day, Cream felt refreshed enough to ask about where to go next. "If you are looking for Red Mountain then I would say you are a little more than halfway through the desert," A very tanned man explained to Cream. "But why would you go back out there? You barely made it this far?"

"I have to," Cream said simply.

Unable to dissuade her, the people of the oasis instead set to ensuring that Cream and Cheese would have the necessary supplies to make it through the desert. Cream was given a new hat that would spare her from the sun, and Cheese was given the umbrella of the drinks they served.

That night, Cream and Cheese sat by the pool and dipped their feet. It was incredibly comfortable there. The pool was nice and cold and the resort had every comfort the two of them could think of. Yet Cream's eyes lingered on the north gate. Beyond that lay another long stretch of desert and then Red Mountain, where her fellow villagers were now imprisoned.

It would have been the easiest thing in the world, maybe the smartest thing to just give up right then. If she could not even cross the desert what chance did she stand against the Eggman's A.I? But her doubts were not as strong as her convictions. Cream knew she had to go on, and she knew she needed to start as soon as possible before the comforts of the resort robbed her of her will. "We are doing the right thing, aren't we Cheese?"

"Chao."

They slept in a hammock that night and Cream was preserved from any dreams. When she awoke the next day she was as rested and restored as she had been since entering the desert. The resort staff urged Cream to reconsider but she politely declined and insisted on going forward. They were shown to the north gates and Cream and Cheese left without looking back.

The first few hours went by in silence. Each of them felt the sting of the comfort they were leaving behind and the pain they were walking towards. Yet as she continued, Cream could not deny that she felt something else, neither fear nor regret. A sense of pride in herself and her own courage coursed throughout her body. Somehow Cream knew that no matter what awaited them ahead, she had already changed a lot over the course of the journey.

As she mused on this self discovery, Cream noticed a figure ahead of her. It was difficult to make it out but it appeared to a person wearing a top hat. Curious, Cream headed towards the person. When she got closer she saw someone wearing an odd yellow suit who covered their face beneath the brim of their hat. "Hello, young traveler," A woman's voice greeted them.

"Hello? What are you doing all the way out here?"

"I could ask you the same question."

Cream smiled. "I'm on my way to Red Mountain."

"A dangerous destination for one so young." The woman did not look up and kept her face hidden.

"I guess so," Cream admitted. "What about you?"

"Me? Well I suppose you could say I'm on a search."

"A search? For what?"

"For someone like you."

"Like me-" Before Cream could even finish her sentence the woman raised her head. It was not a person at all, but a machine. It had glowing red eyes. Cream jumped back in alarm but before she could try to run a figure leapt out of the sand. A green robot with an emerald cloak flashed an icy blue sword. Cream tried to escape the other way but a third machine descended from the sky and blocked her path. This one was painted like a human policeman. He had a siren on his head and a massive rocket launcher in his hand.

Cheese flew out of Cream's pocket to rush the invaders, but Cream quickly caught the chao and held it back. "That was a smart move." A new voice said. The robots parted to allow a fourth to come walking up to Cream. This one was larger than the rest. His body was painted red and gold and he wore a flowing crimson cape. A crown rested on his large, flat head.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?"

"Who are we?" The red one was clearly the leader and he answered Cream's questions with a self indulgent little bow. "We are the Hard Boiled Heavies, and I am the Heavy King. As to what do we want from you? Nothing really, just something that you have." The leader snapped his fingers and an invisible ship appeared over them.

It slowly descended onto the desert, opened and extended a plank for them to walk up. A shadowy figure stood inside the ship. Cream could not see who it was. They had a vaguely humanesque shape, only their head was rounder and topped with a fin.

The Heavy King turned to the newcomer. "She has the scent doesn't she? You can tell that she has been near a Chaos Emerald. Isn't that right, Emerl?"

AN: The next three chapters follow each other closely so I will release them consecutively starting 4/19. Happy Easter!