A/N: Sure, we all know Vanilla as the kind, loving mother of Cream, but there is a side of her that few - if any - people have explored, hence this fic.

It was a cloudy, cool day at Rouge the Bat's mansion, and Shadow had just left his room and headed downstairs. Upon coming downstairs, Rouge greeted him:

"So, you decided to leave your room, huh Shaddy?"

"Ordinarily, I would be content to stay in there, but I needed to stretch my legs a bit. Besides, I needed a break from my video games."

"Well, it's nice of you to acknowledge that you need a break. Would you like to join me for a drink?"

Shadow nodded. "All right, I'll…"

Just then, Shadow's Hedgehog Sense tingled, and in this case, it told him that someone was coming. Shortly thereafter, someone rang the doorbell, and a synthesized voice chimed in over the mansion's PA system:

"Unrecognized visitor at entrance. Please confirm identity."

"I'll get it." He turned to the door. "Coming!"

Shadow headed to the door, and without even giving thought to the little CCTV system that showed who was at the door, he opened it, and…

"Good afternoon, Shadow!"

"Mom!"

Vanilla the Rabbit came up to Shadow and gave him a big hug, which he gladly returned. Even though she technically wasn't his biological mother, he looked up to her as if she were, and getting a hug from her was one of the best things ever. Soon enough, she let go.

"Please, come on in!"

Shadow stepped aside to let Vanilla in, and he closed the door behind her.

"So, what brings you here, Mom?"

"Well, Amy told me that Rouge has a firing range in this mansion, and I wanted to try out some of the guns you had here."

Shadow gave Vanilla a serious look. "Do you even know how to use a gun?"

Vanilla nodded. "I've only used one once, but I remember the basics."

Shadow nodded back. "OK. Just know that a lot of the firearms that we own aren't your typical bolt-action rifles or semi-auto pistols."

Vanilla smiled. "That's no worry to me. I look forward to trying out different kinds of weapons."

"Very well. Follow me."

Shadow led Vanilla to the firing range, but not without E-123 Omega taking notice:

"HALT, SHADOW. STATE YOUR PURPOSE FOR BRINGING THE UNIDENTIFIED MEATBAG TO THE ARMORY."

"Omega, I'm only bringing Vanilla to the armory because she wants to try out guns in the firing range."

"It's all right, Omega; I promise I mean no harm!" said Vanilla.

"MY ANALOGIC CIRCUITS INDICATE THAT BOTH OF YOUR STATEMENTS ARE TRUTHFUL. ENJOY YOUR SESSION."

Shadow punched in a code on the keypad lock, and the door opened. In the armory that was attached to the firing range, there were numerous weapons that were stored here, from thrown weapons such as throwing knives and shurikens, to heavy weapons such as .50 caliber machine guns and grenade launchers. Shadow pointed out a Waverman PC on a metal office desk.

"This computer contains a directory of all the weapons we own. All the lockers also contain plenty of ammo and magazines. You shouldn't have trouble searching for a weapon, but please don't hesitate to ask if you need help."

Vanilla nodded. "All right."

Vanilla searched through the directory. Since she wasn't looking for anything fancy, she perused the pistols first, and once she found what she was looking for, she opened the corresponding locker and pulled out a Smith & Wesson Model 29, nickel plated with an 8 3/8" barrel, which caught a raised eyebrow from Shadow:

"Mom, are you sure you can handle a .44 Magnum?"

"Shadow, I've handled a .357 with no issue. I assure you that a .44 won't be too tough on me."

"Well…OK…if you insist…"

Vanilla grabbed some speedloaders plus two boxes of 240-grain bullets, also remembering to grab a pair of safety glasses and earmuffs, which got a smile from Shadow:

"You know your gun safety. I'm impressed."

"Thank you, Shadow. I take safety very seriously, after all."

Vanilla brought the gun, ammo and gear out to the range, and she had no trouble operating the console at the shooting station that brought down a target, in this case a basic bullseye target. She put on her safety glasses and earmuffs before loading the .44, while Shadow looked on. She calmly took aim, pulled the trigger, and with a loud "boom", Vanilla got a bullseye on her first try.

(God damn!) thought Shadow.

While Vanilla wasn't always as precise with the next five shots, they all got the bullseye or close to it.

(WHERE did this woman learn to shoot like that?) thought Shadow. (For someone who only fired a gun once, she's good.)

Vanilla went through a few more cylinders' worth of ammo before deciding to press the red button to recall the target. After taking it off of the line and disposing of the used brass, she returned the Model 29 to the locker where she found it, but not without question from Shadow:

"OK, Mom, where did you learn to be so good with a gun? No seriously, I want to know!"

Vanilla smiled. "I'm not sure myself. Perhaps it came naturally. Now, may I please try more guns?"

Shadow smiled. "Feel free to try whatever else you want!"

After putting the Model 29 away, Vanilla went back to the computer and checked the directory again. This time, she looked through the inventory of submachine guns and settled on an Uzi.

"That's no ordinary Uzi," said Shadow. "Not only has that been converted to .45 ACP, but it has a special grip assembly that allows it to accept MAC-10 magazines. Also, mind the full-auto; that one has an aluminum bolt that gives it an increased rate of fire."

"I promise I'll be careful, sweetie."

In addition to the ammo and magazines, Vanilla also took some stripper clips, thin pieces of metal that allowed one to insert multiple bullets for easier and quicker reloading. Sure enough, this allowed her to fill the magazines more quickly, and it wasn't too much trouble for her to figure out that the charging handle was on top.

"Also, if you want to unfold the stock, give it a hard downwards yank," said Shadow.

"Understood."

After loading the Uzi, Vanilla unfolded the stock and took aim. After setting the gun to "Semi", she fired a few shots, again proving herself to be a competent markswoman. She then set it to "Auto", but contrary to how most automatic weapons should be operated, she held down the trigger and sprayed bullets everywhere, proving to be far less precise than before and earning her a gentle tug of the hand from Shadow:

"Excuse me, Mom…"

"Yes?"

"When firing automatic weapons, please fire in short, controlled bursts. The gun will be more accurate that way."

Vanilla chuckled nervously. "Oh, I do apologize. This is my first time firing a fully-automatic weapon."

Shadow stepped back to let Vanilla try again, and this time, she obeyed his command and fired shorter bursts. True to form, she had much better accuracy this way. Granted, the Uzi wasn't as accurate as the Model 29, but she still managed some impressive results, and when she put the gun away, she indicated her approval:

"Shadow, firing a machine gun was fun! Might you have anything larger that I could try?"

Shadow nodded. "We have an extensive selection of assault rifles and larger machine guns, too. Please, feel free to try whatever you want."

Vanilla's next selection was a Heckler & Koch G3A4, but this was no ordinary one, for it was equipped with a Zeiss-Diavari 1.5-6x scope. Shadow pointed out another feature of that rifle:

"That G3 is equipped with a match-grade barrel for improved accuracy. That scope will definitely take advantage of that."

"How fascinating! You certainly know your weapons, don't you?"

Shadow smiled. "Well…I try."

As if her shooting with the Model 29 wasn't enough, true to Shadow's word, Vanilla proved to be an extremely competent markswoman with the G3A4. Even though she – unlike Shadow – wasn't fond of killing people, she got a great joy out of firing guns, especially trying out automatic weapons for the first time. In a way, it reminded her of archery class in high school. She thought about how lucky she was to share this with Shadow. Just as she had proven herself with this gun, so to did she prove herself with an M1 Garand sniper rifle and an Ithaca 37 pump-action shotgun.

Probably her favorite weapon out of all the ones she tried, though, was the MG3 machine gun, a 7.62mm NATO variant of the classic MG42. Though Shadow told her to fire in short, controlled bursts, she couldn't help but hold the trigger down and listen to the deadly buzzsaw-like sound as she sawed the paper target in half. In contrast to the polite, reserved Vanilla that people knew, she let out an evil laugh as she got a perverse amount of enjoyment out of firing it. Granted, she obeyed Shadow's directive to change the barrel every so often to prevent overheating, but that didn't stop her from spending some quality time with the big bad machine gun. However, when she was finished with her session, it was clear that her enjoyment didn't go unnoticed:

"OK, Mom, I can tell you enjoyed that a little too much."

Vanilla giggled and blushed. "Do pardon my excitement. I…I just found this machine gun to be fascinating! Shadow, thank you for permitting me to try these weapons out!"

Shadow smiled. "You're welcome. Before you leave, however, I have to teach you how to clean these."

"I'll gladly clean them!"

Vanilla followed Shadow to the locker rooms, happy to have made another good memory with him.

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.