The Chaotix, The Fox and The Dingo

Chapter Two; The Ragtag Bunch

Pasadena went along her way with a cheeky skip to her step. As the cars whizzed by her with horns blaring, she could only think about telling the others about the recent exploits of the Triple Threat and the Bandicoots. They'd certainly be listening with inquisitive ears, especially one sweet damsel who would have gone back to them had she not been given the responsibility of caring for the animals in the new world. “Amy!” Pasadena called as she entered her apartment, where quite a few other heroes were staying. Evidence for this came up right away, as Marine boldly leapt from the living area to the small hallway where Pasadena stood! “Aye, Passiflora! You 'kay?” she grinned and beamed. Pasadena responded cautiously, she didn't want to overexcite the nine year old captain. “Ah want to see lil' old Amy, sugah, so if y'all don't mind, ah'll just pop through to her and then be right back!” Taking the soft approach seemed to work, as Marine backed off and gestured towards the stairs. “She's just up there, Passiflora. I'm sure she'll be happy t'see ya!” Pasadena thanked Marine and began to walk to the stairs, before stopping just to say, “Oh, by the way honey, it ain't Passiflora, it's Pasadena”.

Creak, creak, creak. Amy's stairs were old, cheap, and beginning to warp. Pasadena thought that perhaps the council who had fitted them had just been cowboys, so to speak. If Amy had been about eleven when she got the apartment, she'd have lived there for just three years now, and as far as Pasadena knew, wood didn't warp that quickly. Her landing was a lot more chic. It had lovely pastel wall, with a pink and beech banister along the edge of the platform. There was even a hint of bluebell perfume, although she wasn't sure whether that was from the landing or the bathroom. Pasadena had seen this place lots of times during her stay, so she knew it was a common scent, anyway. Finally diverting her attention away from the surroundings, she entered the bedroom where she knew Amy would be.

Before she knew it, Pasadena had been tripped by a dinosaur! Baby T had bounded up to her in giddy delight, before whimpering in shame when he saw what his force had done. “Aw, don't feel bad sugah, y'all didn't mean any...” She was cut short when she looked up at the rest of the bedroom. She was used to seeing Polar, Pura, Penta, Rihu and Junia. She was also used to seeing Amy, Silver and Blaze. However, seeing Tiny and Komodo Moe sitting next to Amy was something she wasn't used to seeing. They both looked rather bemused at the prospect of having to have their coffee out of dainty china teacups. “Mah goodness, Amy! What are they doin' here?!” Amy smiled to Pasadena reassuringly as she motioned for her to sit down. “I see you haven't said hello to Tiny or Moses yet, Pasadena. I would have told you earlier by phone, but your phone was off when I tried to call!” She poured a cup of tea out for Pasadena, who carefully and expertly carried it with her tail.

“These two gentlemen” Amy continued, “are apparently really lost right now. They've promised not to commit any harm onto us or our friends as long as we provide some shelter for them!” Tiny grunted discontently. “You may perceive the agreement as a safeguard against any superfluous maiming, but I can positively reassure you that the moment that Dr. Neo Periwinkle Cortex arrives to lay claim upon our heads, our loyalty will be restored to the equilibrium in a matter of picoseconds.” Komodo Moe stifled some laughter, and everyone turned sharply to gaze in his direction, which was a feat considering Blaze was usually disinterested in such beige mannerisms. “And what, pray tell, do you find so entertaining, my compatriot?” Moe kept smirking to himself as Tiny quizzed him sternly. “Duh, well, I was under the impression that you, Mr. Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness, only agreed to the bloody thing because you have a crush on Coco!” Everyone in the room laughed as Tiny's cheeks turned bright red. He's was burning with both embarrassment and anger. “Oh, just shut up, Moses!”

Meanwhile, things were a lot more peaceful in Cream's home. With only three people to accommodate, she didn't have to worry about being agitated by others being too close. Mighty, Ray and Charmy were also very mild guests, always trying to help out when they could. “Mother, would it be alright if I left the guests here while I went out for tonight's supper?” Cream called up to Vanilla as the latter was folding away laundry. “Absolutely dear. They could help clean the dishes, if they felt so inclined to do so.” The three boys stood up and quietly cheered as Cream thanked her mother and went out the front door. She thought that they had been so very nice during their stay, and she even found she had a lot of things in common with Charmy, the youngest of the three.

Mighty had also thought that, and brought it up as they worked on the dishes. “Hey, Charmy? I've noticed that you get along with Cream really well, especially when you helped her grow those giant daffodils a couple of weeks ago!” Charmy turned away from Mighty and Ray shyly, clutching the drying rag as he did so. “Oh, y-yes! I have to agree with M-Mighty there! I g-g-get the feeling you like her, r-right?” Charmy remained quiet at first, continuing with the drying he needed to do as Mighty and Ray peered on gently. After a couple more minutes of drying and accidentally getting lemon-scented water up his nose, he coughed and relented a few little hints. “Well, I guess it'd be natural I'd be a little coy around a girl. I mean, this is the first one I've been able to speak to on my own for a while!” He paused, before looking down a little glumly. Mighty and Ray approached a little closer, concerned for their friend. “In fact, it's only been since Vector and Espio went missing that I've had the opportunity to do so. I do wish they'd appear again.” He hovered over to the large conservatory window in the living area, gazing out across the beautiful golden fields of wheat, glowing in the orange sky of the beginning sunset. “In fact, I wonder where they are now, what they're doing without me...”