Cream opens the door.

Cream took a deep breath, her small fingers trembling slightly as she gripped the doorknob. Her heart pounded so hard in her chest that she swore Vector could hear it. Something in the air felt wrong, the kind of wrong that made her fur prickle along her arms and ears. But she needed to know. The blood, the discarded chocolates, no sign of Tails... she had to know. Cream's heart was a drumbeat in her chest, loud and fast, as she pushed the bathroom door open and stepped inside. Her eyes were wide with concern, and her hands slightly trembled as she held onto the box of chocolates and rose, remnants of a happier expectation now overshadowed by dread.

The steamy heat from the shower rolled out in a thick wave, wrapping around her like a damp blanket. Her bright, innocent eyes locked onto the figure standing before her—Vector, was in the middle of drying himself off, the towel hanging loosely from his clawed fingers and wrapped around his waist, his scales still glistening with moisture from the shower. He looked up, startled by her sudden entry. "Cream, hey, I'm in here... What are you...?" His voice trailed off as he noticed the intensity of her big bright eyes, stopping mid-sentence, his gaze following hers as she stepped inside. She scanned he room, her little bunny nose twitching up and down as she picked up various scents. The warm smell of water and soap, the damp musk of his scales, and beneath it—fainter, but still there—was the unmistakable, the smell of Tails, his familiar scent mingled with a chilling, metallic tang of blood.

Her little fingers clutched the chocolates and rose tighter, her mind struggling to put the pieces together. Her chest tightened, and she slowly looked back up at Vector, her voice small but demanding. "Vector… where’s Tails?"

The words hung in the thick air between them, pressing down with a suffocating weight. Vector’s expression didn’t shift at first. He merely followed her gaze, his eyes flicking down to the evidence she had unintentionally uncovered—the bloody towel, the trace of pink in the drain, the little things that she shouldn’t have seen. A long silence stretched between them. Then, slowly, Vector let out a low sigh, tilting his head slightly. He wasn’t angry. He wasn’t even surprised. If anything, his expression was almost… regretful.

He took a step forward, and before Cream could react, his clawed hand reached past her. The heavy door creaked as he shut it with a deliberate click. The sound of the latch sliding into place echoed in her ears like a gunshot. She turned sharply, her heart hammering in her chest as she realized she was sealed inside with him.

Fear gripped her, her small body tensing as she looked back up at the towering crocodile. The playful, teasing Vector she had always known—the one who used to ruffle her ears and joke about her growing up too fast—was gone. In his place stood something else. Something unreadable. He gritted his teeth slightly, his fingers flexing, his large muscles shifting under his damp, scaly skin as a whirlwind of thoughts raced behind his eyes. He wasn’t just staring at her. He was calculating.

Then, after a long pause, his deep voice broke the silence. "…Does your mother know you’re home?"

The question made her blood run cold. The box of chocolates and rose trembled in her hands, feeling heavier than ever. Her breath felt shallow.