Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Wheels of Abandonment ❯ Chapter 1- out of the gloom ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

is my second serious fic, and it is going to be a little more serious than my others. I am going to have to rely on my friend and co-writer, ScootTH (or, TheRealScootTH, which is his username, for those who might want to check out his fics) more than ever. I originally wrote this chapter and it was depressing. No, it was really that dark. I scrapped that, and then wrote this chapter. I hope it’s slightly less depressing than it was. Let the story begin!

The rabbit ran along the streets. It was dark, raining and scary. Cream had never really lost her childish fearfulness. She had always been scared of the city at night, and this was no time to be out on the streets even if you lived in this city. She shivered, and pulled her cloak closer to her body. There was so much trash on the back alleys of the city, that it was impossible to move along them. It would have been a lot better if they weren’t, because the main roads were the most dangerous places to be at night. She remembered what the old man at the entrance had said to her. These streets claim a new life every night. The words had sent a shiver down her spine, and a chill through her heart. She had been so scared that she had to come here. But, what else could she do? She had no-where to go, and this was her only chance. It was also the wish of her mother. It was the last thing she had said to her before she left. She looked back to that day, and felt tears prick her eyes.

“Cream? Honey, wake up. We need to talk.” Vanilla said, shaking her daughter awake.
“Huh? Why so early? It’s one in the morning, mother…” Cream whined.
“There’s no time to spare. I need to leave now. I can’t say why, or where I’m going . All I can say is that I have to go now.” Vanilla whispered urgently. Cream sat up in her bed. Mother was leaving? But why? Why did her loved ones keep leaving?
“Cream, I want you to listen carefully, because this is very important. There will come a time soon when you’re in trouble. When that time comes, you must go to New Station Square and talk to the Mistrals. Are you listening?” Vanilla said, almost shouting. Cream rocked back. Her mother hadn’t shouted at her since she was a little baby.
“B-But…How do you know?” Cream asked, now fully awake and urgent.
“Mothers know these things. Always remember what I just told you. Never forget it. Promise me, Cream!” Vanilla shouted, urgent again.
“I p-promise. But Mother, when will you come back?” Cream asked, scared.
“I don’t know. Maybe tomorrow, maybe never. I wish it didn’t have to be this way…” Vanilla said, her voice cracking as she fought the impulse to cry.
“But, Mother! If you leave, I’ll be all alone!” Cream cried.
“You’ll be fine, honey…I just know it. I know that after I go, there’ll be no-one left…But, you need to be strong.” Vanilla said comfortingly.
“Do…Do you really have to go?” Cream asked.
“Yes.”
“O…Okay. I’ll…I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself. Go on, Mother.” Cream said, resigned. Vanilla walked to the door, then turned to look at her daughter one last time.
“Remember. Find the Mistrals.” With that, she was gone.

Cream stood on the cold streets, crying. She had said she could take care of herself, but she couldn’t. She had let Mother down, and now she had to find these ‘Mistrals’. But, she was all alone on the streets of this scary city. She stopped crying suddenly. If she could find these ‘Mistrals’, then she’d be safe, and she wouldn’t have let Mother down. This was no time to cry, she thought, hastening her search for an clue that could be found in the midnight gloom. She may still be afraid like a child, but in recent years, a seed of strong, independent determination had grown in the rabbit’s heart. She looked around, searching the city streets for any sign of life. Even rats and mice couldn’t survive on these polluted streets. As she looked, she failed to notice the figures behind her.
“Hey, girly. You shouldn’t be playing out on the streets so late. You might get hurt.” said a rough voice behind her.
“Hm. Maybe she’s looking for someone?” said another, grinning as she wheeled around. She saw that the figures were that of a boar, a wolf and a man. The man seemed to be the leader of his little troupe. This was unusual, as normally the more physically developed, intelligent animals would have been the troupe’s leader. But then, Cream thought, neither the boar nor the wolf looked particularly bright.
“So, young lady…why exactly are you in our territory?” the man said, in a long, trawling voice.
“I need to find the ‘Mistrals’. Do you know where I can find them?” she said, hiding the fear in her voice.
“The Mistrals?!?! You’ve got a lot of guts to talk to us about the Mistrals, kid. Those jerks are the only reason that we can’t do whatever we want. If it weren’t for them, we’d control this city!” the boar shouted, enraged.
“Yeah. The police in this dung-heap gave up a long time ago, but then those Mistrals came and ruined it all. Only a complete fool would ask us about them.” the wolf said, moving toward Cream in a menacing way.
“Let’s not be too hasty. Why, exactly, do you need to find the Mistrals?” the man asked, in an almost taunting voice. Cream swallowed. There was no real way to get out of trouble this time.
“What’s it to you? I just need to know where to find them. Why I need to is none of your business.” she declared, trying to sound a lot tougher than she felt.
“Why, that’s easy. There’s a whole load of Mistrals in the graveyard. You’ll be joining them!” the wolf shouted, lunging toward her. This is it. I’ve gone and blown it. I’ve failed Mother, and now I’m going to find out what death is really like, she thought.
“Don’t expect me to go down without a fight!” Cream shouted, putting up her fists. The wolf stopped.
“Hm. One of you against three of us? I like my odds.” the wolf jeered. Cream’s heart sank, as she realised that even if she managed to land a blow and then run, the wolf and boar were probably faster than her anyway. Then, completely to Cream’s surprise, a loud explosion echoed out from the shadows, and the wolf fell.
“I only see two of you. And with that girl plus me and my gun, I think I prefer her odds.” said a gallant voice. A figure, holding a smoking pistol, stepped out from the gloom. It was wearing a long, dark coat that obscured its body, and Cream couldn’t make out the face in the gloom. Seizing her chance, she turned, flapping her ears. She took off, as two more bangs sounded. She flapped her ears harder, trying desperately to gain altitude. Although it had been a while since she had flown, and she was admittedly a good deal heavier, it shouldn’t have been this hard. The higher she went, the harder it got. Finally, she gave out, feeling faint from effort. The ground rushed up to meet her as she spiralled through the air. She landed heavily, and heard a loud, sickening crack before falling unconscious.

“Mr. Sonic, where are you going?” Cream asked, sitting atop the box of supplies.
“I’m sorry, Cream. I’m getting older now. I can’t run as well as I used to. Plus, I really need to get away from Amy.” the blue hero said, packing another sandwich into his suitcase.
“But, you’re still really fast! You can outrun me and Knuckles and even Tails! Oh…sorry…” Cream apologised.
“Don’t worry about it, Cream. I might still be quick, but I know I’m slowing down when Shadow beats me to Mystic Ruins.” Sonic said, smiling in a woeful kind of way.
“But, Shadow’s really fast as well! Mr. Sonic, you can’t go! Who will protect us?” Cream asked, in a last ditch attempt to get him to stay.
“Ha ha…That’s a good one, Cream. We all know that this place doesn’t need protecting. Eggman’s gone. You know that.” Sonic said, wistfully.
“B-B-But…Where are you going?” Cream asked, biting her lip to stop herself from bursting into tears.
“I’m going to find the fastest kid I can. Then, I’m going to teach them how to be even faster, and what it means to be a hero. Even though I’m getting slower, I can still help the world. Well, It’s time for me to go. Be a good girl for your mom, Cream. Oh, and keep your chin up, kid.” Sonic said, walking out of the door. Cream waited for him to go, then sat on the box and cried.

She woke up, and immediately wished she hadn’t. Her head was killing her. She looked round, though she didn’t move. There was a roof, and a large and painful jolt told her that she was moving. She tried to get up, but couldn’t. A shot of pain running through her arm told her that she had done a lot of damage to it during in that fall. She tried again, and finally rose. She looked down at herself, and found that someone had laid a blanket over her. Upon closer inspection, she was actually in a car. She sat up properly, and took a closer look at the inside of the car. The seats seemed to be made from some kind of leather, but it didn’t quite look right. They were high seats too- she couldn’t see the driver’s head. The panels in the car didn’t have any padding whatsoever. They seemed to be made of reinforced metal all the way through. She had no idea why.
“So, you ok, kid?” said a voice from the driver’s seat
“H-how did you know I was up?” Cream asked.
“There are these things, kid, called ‘rear view mirrors’. I can see you in mine.” the voice said sarcastically.
“Touchy, aren’t we? I only asked you a simple question. Anyway, who the hell are you, and where are you taking me?” Cream asked.
“I can’t tell you my name- might be dangerous. I’m taking you outside the city limits. You obviously ain’t street smart, kid. Only a real outsider would even go near those guys.” the voice said, in a rather exasperated tone.
“Those guys? So YOU were the one who helped me. Why didn’t you let me die, just like any other jerk in this city would have?” asked Cream.
“Hmph. Full of questions, aren’t you? I saved you partly because it’s the code of my gang, and partly because you remind me of someone I used to know. Count yourself lucky that I was passing by.” explained the voice, again in a highly annoyed tone.
“Yeah, well, maybe I didn’t wanna be saved. I just need to find some people, then I’m out of this hell-hole.” Cream explained, quickly losing patience with this cynical stranger.
“Well, that proves that you aren’t the girl I was talking about. She was kind and sweet, and wouldn’t dream of using language like that. So, who’re you looking for? I live in this so-called ‘hell-hole’, so I might be able to help. It’s time to get out, by the way.” said the voice. Cream heard a button being pressed, and the door swung open. She stepped out, leaving the blanket in the car. It was still dark at the city entrance. She rubbed her arm, wincing. She had really fallen badly back there. The stranger got out as well, keeping their back to Cream. She could tell it was a male, but she wasn’t sure.
“Hmph. I was looking for some people called the ‘Mistrals’. But, I don’t want your help for anything, jerk!” Cream shouted. She really wanted to get away from this guy.
“Ha ha! You were talking to those guys about the Mistrals? I like your style, kid! You sure know how to pick a fight!” the stranger said, turning around. He seemed to be wearing a mask of some kind.
“Hey! Those jerks picked a fight with me! And you, you’re no better! You’re just some punk off the street!” Cream shouted, purely enraged.
“You sure you’re a girl? It’s not exactly ladylike to insult the guy who saved your big ass…” the stranger mocked. At that point, Cream lost it. She ran forwards towards this arrogant stranger. He might have been head or two taller than her, but that didn’t matter to her. She swung her arm back, stopping for a fraction of a second before sending it rushing towards his face. He stumbled back and fell, that was ho had she had slapped him. His mask came tumbling off, revealing his face. Cream stopped dead, and gasped. Her mouth hung open as she pictured the face as it had been six years before.
“Y-you…you’re…I don’t believe it…Tails?” she stuttered, all words leaving her as she saw the face of the friend she thought lost.
“Nice to see you too, Cream.”

“How is Solution Z going? Is all according to plan?”
“Yeah. By the end of the month, there won’t be a single Mistral left in this entire city. We’ll purge them from the world.”
“Good. This plan is paramount to our long term aims. We must not fail. I’ll check on mission proceedings later this week.”
“I-in person? Isn’t that a little risky? If they get you, the whole gang goes to seed.”
“My expertise is needed. Over and out.”

A slightly short chapter, but it’s a start. This fic may shape up o be a great deal darker than my others, but I’m trying new types of writing at the moment. All input is greatly appreciated, even more so than usual since I’m trying out something new. On a side note, I know I said I’d update some of my other fics, but I write this in the winter holidays, a time where I just want to laze around all day. I’ll get on it as soon as I can. Oh, and please watch out for anything by TheRealScootTH. Oh, and, hi Ash! I know it isn’t the huge, long, sprawling mention you were expecting, but it’s better than nothing, right? Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all you readers by the way! Bye!