SSP Ep. 6 Balloony-Charlie (1/2)

Sunday morning in Station Square as the city was just as busy as it always was. At Rouge’s room at her apartment, Rouge was sound asleep in bed.
Her digital alarm clock on her dresser beeps loudly. Rouge, pretending not to hear it, tries to go back to sleep, but the beeping kept going and going, annoying her until she sits up in bed and bangs the digital clock.
She groans as she gets out of bed.

Meanwhile, Rouge washes her face in the bathroom wearing a hot-pink bathrobe with the top of her head wrapped in a towel.

Rouge: (Dries her face with a towel and hangs it back up.) Another day, another… Sunday. Pfft. (Opens the medicine cabinet and takes out some ointment.) Why even BOTHER having Sundays happen when everything’s so… droopy. (Closes the cabinet.)

Back in her bedroom, she was getting dressed for the day in her usual everyday attire. She then sits at her dresser with a mirror and puts on her makeup.

Rouge: I wonder what the girls are up to today. Probably doing the usual. Amy trying to get Sonic to like her… (She puts some lipstick on and then dons some eyeliner.) And Cream acting like a little kid she is. (She finishes and gets up to leave her room.)

She almost trips on something. She looked down and saw that it was a coloring book of the circus with a funny-looking elephant on the cover.

Rouge: Ugh. (Picks up the coloring book.) I thought I told Cream not to leave her things lying around in my apartment. (She flips through the pages seeing all different pictures of which you can see at a circus.) … Hm. Kids are still into these things nowadays? (When she reaches a specific page however… she starts getting chills.)

On the page she was looking at was a clown dancing around in a hula-hoop. Rouge quickly closes the book, and is her usual self again.

Rouge: … I can’t believe kids still LIKE these. (She rolls it up and tosses it in the small trash bin near her dresser.) Whatever. (She leaves her room, closing the door.)

In her living room, Rouge sits on her couch and takes out a magazine. She reads from it a little bit until there was someone knocking at her door.

Rouge: It’s open. (The door opens with Cream, Cheese, and Amy happily greeting Rouge.)

Cream: Hi, Ms. Rouge!

Cheese: Chao chao chao!

Amy: Are you ready to go?

Rouge: (Turns a page in her magazine and doesn’t seem to care.) Go where?

Amy: Don’t you remember, Rouge? The Blue Top Circus has come to Station Square today! Everyone’s going over there to see all the fun happening!

Rouge: Yeah. The only fun I’m looking forward to is a quiet morning to myself, thank you very much. (Covers her face with the magazine trying to read it in peace.)

Cream: (Pulls her magazine down.) Don’t be so grumpy, Ms. Rouge! The circus can make you really happy! It has lots of wonderful things to make LOTS of people excited! There are elephants, flying men on the trapeze, lots of cotton candy for just about everyone, and best of all there’s lots of adorable funny clowns!

The word “clowns” made Rouge feel a bit uneasy… But she tries to keep her cool in check as she covers her face with the magazine again.

Rouge: Uh… L-look, I’m just not interested, alright? You can probably go to that… circus act thing without me.

Amy: Rouge, I already bought tickets for ALL of us to go! I can’t leave you out of the fun!

Rouge: Amy, I’m NOT gonna waste my time at a stupid circus filled with ridiculous people wearing makeup and laughing like a bunch of lunatics.

Amy: … Fine. Have it your way. We’ll just go without you. It’s not like you have anything better to do than just make fun of Knuckles.

Rouge: … (Lowers her magazine.) Say what?

Amy: Oh we both know exactly why you always walk by his house just to tease and make fun of him. It’s basically saying that you might sort of… “like” him. (Winks at Cream.)

Rouge: EXCUSE ME?!?! (Tosses her magazine to the ground.) First off, there’s NOTHING going on between us. SECONDLY, I only do that when I’m in a bad mood! It always cheers me up. And THIRDLY… I DON’T. “LIKE” HIM.

Amy: Oh you don’t? What would he think if I told him how it makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside when you’re around him? (Cream and Cheese giggle as they knew what Amy was scheming.)

Rouge: (Up to Amy’s face.) You wouldn’t DARE.

Amy: Try me, Bat-Girl.

Rouge: YOU-!! I-! … AAAUGH!

Meanwhile, the girls were on their way to the park where the circus tent was set up. It was a colorful blue and white sight as people were waiting in line to get in. Amy Rose seemed pleased, Cream and Cheese were so excited; Rouge was cranky and didn’t want anything to do with this.

The girls get in line with everyone else.

Rouge: …

Amy: Come on, Rouge. Don’t be such a sour-head.  It’s just a little circus performance. It’s nothing horrible or TERRIFYING if that’s what you’re thinking.

Rouge: (Unsure…) … Terrifying… Right.

Cream: Ms. Amy! The line’s moving up! Come on! (She grabs Amy’s arm and pulls her forward.)

Amy: (Still happy.) Ok, Cream! Calm down! We’re going!

Rouge follows her friends while still unsure…
They hand their tickets to the ticket collector and walk inside. There were some paths leading to other areas and one of them led to the audience seats.

Cream: This is so exciting! I can’t wait to see all the wonderful circus acts!

Amy: (Giggles) Me too!

Cream: (She walks up to a poster showing three clowns.) Hey, girls! Look at these funny clowns! (She and Cheese laugh.)

Amy: (She and Rouge walk in.) My, oh my. They sure made them very loveable, didn’t they, Rouge? … Rouge? (Rouge was trying not to look at the posters.) I something wrong?

Rouge: HUH?? Oh-! N-nothing! Nothing at all! I’m just a little… hungry! Yeah, that’s it! I’m gonna… go get some snacks. See you inside, girls. (Walks away.)

Cream: What’s wrong with Rouge?

Amy: I’m just as stumped as you are, kiddo.

Rouge buys some peanuts in a bag from a vendor.

Rouge: Why am I even IN this dirty tent? I don’t belong here, I don’t DESERVE to be here. … (She sees Amy and Cream looking at the circus posters.) But they look like they’re having a swell time…

Amy, Cream and Cheese leave to get their seats inside. Rouge didn’t feel up to it, but she followed them anyway. Most of the people filled up the entire audience seats. Luckily, Amy and Cream managed to find a seat.

Amy: Wow, it’s been almost forever! I haven’t seen a circus act in years!

Cream: And this is my first time seeing one! This is so exciting!

Cheese: Chao chao!

Rouge: (Making her way through the audience.) S’xuse me, move it. Come on, fatso, MOVE! UGH… (She sits near Amy and Cream.) Sorry I’m late. (She eats a peanut.)

Amy: Rouge, I thought you didn’t like peanuts.

Rouge: Well… I only eat them when I’m stressed out. (She eats another one.)

Cream: Aw, don’t be sad, Rouge! The circus is gonna start soon! It’ll make you feel better! (The lights dim.)

Rouge: As if I have anything ELSE to live for. (She eats more peanuts.)

A spotlight lights up on the ringleader in the center of the arena.

Ringleader: Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls of all ages! Blue Top Circus is proud to have every single one of you come and attend our wonderful adventure filled with amazement, stupendous feats, and wonderful actors that come all this way to just see the smiles on your faces! As for us, we’re all like one big happy family who has been entertaining your kind for about eleven years now!

While he continues talking, Rouge is getting annoyed by his speech.

Rouge: The way he’s talking it sounds like HE’LL be doing all the work.

Amy: Ssh!

Ringleader: …Prepare yourselves for our amazing and attracting act as the Blue Top Circus troupe proudly presents… Blue Top Extravaganza!

Two trapeze men walk in and climb up some ladders to the top of the tent. They grab onto the trapeze handles and swing from left to right in glamourous and amazing flips! The audience cheers and screams in joy. Some animal tamers both male and female come in and train some tigers into doing tricks and giving them treats for doing well. Amy, Cream, and Cheese were delighted. Rouge just ate her peanuts without changing her mood.

Amy: Isn’t this amazing, Cream?

Cream: It’s wonderful, Amy!

Ringleader: That’s not all we have, folks! If you know what we’re truly famous for, then you’ll know who we’re bringing out next! They are the ones who keep our circus boat afloat! The tip of the icebergs! The cherry on top of the sweet banana and custard pie! It’s our favorite trio of happiness… The Clownsketeers! Wetty-Betty, Hypno-Larry, and their head honcho, Balloony-Charlie! Say hello to the crowd, clowns!

Everyone cheers as three colorful clowns walk into the area. They looked exactly like the ones from the poster Cream saw earlier. They wore colorful wigs, their faces were entirely covered in white makeup, they had floppy shoes, wacky sense of clothing, flowers pinned to their shirts, and red noses on each of their faces.

Balloony-Charlie: (Laughs goofy-like) Hey, boys and girls!

Hypno-Larry: Hi, everybody!

Wetty-Betty: Are you all ready to have some FUN?

The audience cheers. Rouge felt like she was trembling in her seat at the sight of those clowns…

Balloony-Charlie: Hey, Betty!

Wetty-Betty: Yeah, Charlie?

Balloony-Charlie: What’s the difference between a chicken and house?

Wetty-Betty: I don’t know, Charlie! What IS the difference between a chicken and a house?

Hypno-Larry: I can answer that! I’ve seen a HOUSE-fly, but never a chicken! (The audience laughs.) And speaking of chicken, I wanna show a trick to all of our friends who came here to see us!

Wetty-Betty: Are you going to make balloon animals?

Hypno-Larry: Nope!

Wetty-Betty: Are you going to juggle eggs?

Hypno-Larry: Not that either!

Balloony-Charlie: What ARE you gonna do, then?

Hypno-Larry: I’m going to hypnotize a chicken! (He brings in a chicken.)

Charlie and Betty: Ohhhhh! He’s going to hypnotize a CHICKEN!

Larry puts the chicken down and holds out a stopwatch as it moves back and forth while the chicken follows it.

Hypno-Larry: Ok, little chicken! When we start playing our music we want you to dance along with us, alright?

The chicken starred at the watch moving back and forth slowly until Larry put it away and he and the other clowns took out instruments. Charlie took out a trumpet, Betty took out a drum, and Larry took out a trombone.

They begin to play corny circus music. As soon as the chicken heard the music, he started walking in tune of their beat and squawked in rhythm as well! The chicken kept going “Bawk, baw-baw-bawk, bawk, BAWK!!” as the crowd was laughing their heads off. Amy, Cream and Cheese were laughing too.

Cream: I told you this would be fun, Ms. Rouge! Isn’t that chicken really funny?

Rouge however was still trembling at the sight of those clowns… Afterwards, the clowns stopped playing their music and the chicken stopped too. Everyone was cheering happily for the clowns.

Amy: Woo! That was amazing! Wasn’t it, Rouge?

Rouge: … … …

Amy: (Annoyed) Come on, Rouge! Just at LEAST admit you had a little fun!

Rouge: Huh? Oh, yeah. I had… a lot of fun.

She wasn’t sure if anyone else was taking notice, but she did see that Balloony-Charlie was starring in Rouge’s direction while wearing a happy grin that was creeping Rouge out.

Rouge: (She seemed afraid of Charlie’s expression…) A LOT… … of fun…

Later on, the show was over and people began leaving the circus tent. Amy and the rest leave the tent as well.

Amy: Who knew that going to a circus filled with wonder could be so much FUN?

Cream: Did you have a nice time, Rouge?

Rouge: … Uh… Y-yeah, I guess…

Amy: What did you like best about it?

Rouge: Best? Uh… Well… I thought the chicken was funny.

Amy: … Ok, something’s up with you, Rouge. You’re acting a little… strange today.

Rouge: (Trying to sound like her normal self.) Strange? M-me? I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Amy: Come on, Rouge. Just tell us what’s eating you.

Rouge: The only thing that’s eating me is these PEANUTS. (She rolls the empty peanut bag into a ball and tosses it aside.) It’s making me feel BLOATED…

Amy: Well, you said you only eat them when you’re stressed out, right?

Cream: You can tell us what’s wrong, can’t you?

Rouge: … L-look, I… I just can’t. Alright?

Cream: Does it have anything to do with those clowns?

Rouge: NO!! It doesn’t have ANYTHING to do with them! (Cream felt afraid of Rouge’s voice raised.) S…Sorry… Don’t know what came over me…

Amy: There’s nothing scary about clowns, Rouge! They just wear makeup while laughing and joking about all kinds of things! Hey look! (Points back to the tent.) Those Clownsketeer guys are right over there!

The same three clowns were talking to some group of children. They seem to be performing some tricks around the kids such as balloon animals and playing with their squirt flowers.

Amy: Why don’t you go talk to them, Rouge?

Rouge: Uh… N-no thank you… I… I don’t feel like meeting them.

Cream: Don’t be scared, Rouge! If you want, I can go with you to see them!

Rouge: C-Cream seriously, I really don’t feel like I want to- (But Cream grabbed Rouge’s arm and tugged her towards the other group.) Hey-! Let go of me! Cut it out, Cream! Let GO!

Cream pulled Rouge past the crowd and up to the three clowns.

Cream: Hi there!

Balloony-Charlie: (Laughs.) Hello there, little girl! Did you enjoy our show?

Cream: We sure did! Your friend really did a great job having the chicken dance with you! Oh yes, I’d like you to meet my friend, Rouge!

Balloony-Charlie: It’s nice to meet you! I’m Balloony-Charlie! The happiest-slappiest clown you’ll ever meet!

Rouge: …

Balloony-Charlie: Do you wanna see me juggle? I’m the world’s best juggler!

Cream: We would LOVE to! Wouldn’t we, Rouge?

Rouge: Uh…

Balloony-Charlie: Great! (Takes out three plush balls and begins to juggle them with ease.) I got my juggling balls and I won’t ever let them drop!

Cream: Wow! Isn’t Charlie so amazing, Rouge?

Rouge however was petrified… As she was staring at the loving clown juggling, she had a glimpse of a past memory she hoped she forgot. Rouge was only eight years old at a birthday party watching in fear of a clown juggling and laughing hysterically in front of her. She cowered in fear as he continued juggling and laughing.

Rouge snaps back to reality and tries not to scream as Balloony-Charlie was juggling.

Balloony-Charlie: (He stops juggling.) Here, little girl! (He gives her the juggling balls.) You can have these as a present!

Cream: For me? Wow! Thank you very much, Mr. Charlie!

Balloony-Charlie: (Chuckles.) I hope you have fun with it! By the way, we’re having a big party tonight and EVERYONE’S invited! Do you wanna come?

Before Cream could even say “yes”, Rouge cuts her off by grabbing her arm.

Rouge: We appreciate the offer, good sir, but as you should know we’re a little too BUSY to attend any parties. As of right now we are LEAVING. (She pulls Cream away.)

Cream: Rouge, wait! I wanted to go with them to their party!

Rouge: LEAVING NOW. (Amy and Cheese seem confused as they watch Rouge pull Cream by her arm.)

Cream: You’re no fun anymore, Rouge.

Rouge: LEAVING.

Later, at Lilian’s bookstore, Wisdom Haven…

Lilian was dusting the front desk, Cream was on a stool organizing some books on a shelf while Cheese holds a few in his arms, Rouge was sitting near the stool on the ground reading her magazine from earlier, and Amy walks in with a small stack of books.

Amy: (She puts them down.) *Whew…* This is a lot of work. (Looks at Rouge, reading.) … … … You know, it would be a lot easier if you were to give us a HAND here.

Rouge: Hey, I did you girls a favor by going with you to that crummy circus, now I’m doing myself a favor by catching up. (Reads her magazine.) … Oh Rascal, you are ONE messed up bum.

Amy was annoyed by Rouge’s lack of caring.

Lilian: You girls went to that circus this morning?

Amy: You bet! And we all had a great time there!

Rouge: Correction. THEY had a good time. Not me, though. (Flips a page.)

Cream: It was really wonderful, Ms. Lilian! They had trapeze men, dancing animals, and really funny clowns! They invited me and Rouge to go to a party tonight! But Rouge didn’t want to go.

Rouge: It’s because I don’t LIKE parties.

Cream: Rouge can be such a meanie… But look! (She takes out the juggling balls.) One of them gave me these juggling balls as a present! I’m gonna see if I can juggle them just like those funny clowns! (She tries to start but has a hard time trying to keep them in midair.)

Amy: Be careful, Cream!

Cream: Yes, Ms. Amy! (She starts getting the hang of it as she juggles the balls as carefully as she could.) Whoa… Oh! I think I got it! Amy, Rouge, Ms. Lilian! Look at me! (She was juggling with glee!)

Amy: Wow, that’s great, Cream!

Lilian: You’re a natural, kiddo.

Cream: Look at me, Ms. Rouge! Look! (She and Cheese laugh joyfully.)

When Rouge looked however… She didn’t see Cream… She saw the same clown that scared her childhood self. Rouge quickly got up on her feet and backed away from Cream. However, she accidently nudged the stool and Cream was starting to lose her balance!

Cream: (Gasps!!) Waah!!

Cream was about to fall off, but luckily Amy caught her just in time!

Amy: Gotcha!!

Cream and Amy catch their breath as Rouge starred at them with concerned. Very much unlike her…

Amy: Are you ok?

Cream: Oh… I’m… I’m fine. Thank you, Amy.

Amy: (She puts Cream down.) Rouge, what’s WRONG with you?! You almost got Cream hurt!

Rouge: I… But… But she-!

Amy: But nothing! You haven’t been acting like yourself the moment we walked in your room! First you refuse to join us for a little fun, then you desperately wanted to leave, and now you’ve almost hurt Cream!

Rouge: Well excuse me! I didn’t mean to if that’s what you’re thinking.

Amy: What I’M thinking is that you’re acting like a bitter sourpuss! The moment you saw Cream juggling you backed off as if she was about to attack you!

Lilian: Rouge, is there something wrong?

Rouge: No! Everything’s fine. Just… fine and dandy.

Amy and Cream: … … …

Rouge: Look, sorry for being spooked. I just… don’t feel well. … I… I gotta go. (She picks up her magazine and is about to leave.)

Cream: Ms. Rouge, wait! (Rouge stops.) I know you didn’t mean it and… I don’t wanna sound so rude but… You didn’t seem to like Balloony-Charlie at all when he was juggling. And you seem… scared.

Rouge: …

Cream: Are… … Are you afraid of clowns?

That question made Rouge slam the door shut and leave without saying another word. Amy, Cream, Cheese, and Lilian seemed concerned about Rouge’s behavior…

Later that day, at Knuckles’ house which wasn’t too far from Sonic’s, Knuckles was in the basement, listening to some rap music and beating a punching bag.

Knuckles: (Punches the bag.) Mff! Hgfm!! Yah!! Hah! Ya like THAT?! BOOM! Yeah! POW!! (He hears the doorbell ring.) Aah… Right in the middle of workout. (He goes over to the radio and turns it off. He puts a towel behind his head and walks up the stairs as the doorbell rang again.) I’m coming, I’m coming! Don’t get your briefs in a bunch!

Outside the door, Amy rings it again.

Cream: Why are we seeing Knuckles?

Amy: Usually when Rouge is in a bad mood, she walks by Knuckles’ place and insults him to cheer herself up.

Cream: Really?

Amy: If you ask me, that’s showing some simple signs that Rouge MIGHT have some feelings for him. (Giggles.)

Cream: (Puzzled.) I thought Amy was joking about that.

Cheese: (Shrugs.) Chao chao.

Knuckles answers the door as the smell of sweat hits Amy, Cream and Cheese.

Knuckles: Oh it’s you girls. Don’t you know it’s my workout hour? You know I like for it to go completely uninterrupted.

Amy: We can see that. Listen, did Rouge come by your house today?

Knuckles: Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen her today. Usually she comes by just to tease me or something.

Cream: Oh that’s ok, Mr. Knuckles! You should let her tease you! She only comes by when she’s in a bad mood to cheer herself up because I think that’s her way of saying that she really lo-! (Amy covers her mouth!) Mmf! Mmh mmh MMH!

Knuckles: (Concerned.) What did that squirt say?

Amy: NOTHING. NOTHING AT ALL.

Knuckles: Right… Why are you asking me about her anyway?

Amy: We had a little… incident with each other, and she just… left.

Cream: Mff. (She moves Amy’s mouth.) We brought Ms. Rouge to the circus today and we had a great time! But Rouge didn’t seem to like it because it felt like she was… um… Afraid of… clowns.

Knuckles: Whoa whoa whoa, hold up. Rouge is… afraid of CLOWNS?! (He laughs his head off like crazy.) HAH HAH HA HAH HA HAH!!! THAT BAT THINKS SHE’S SO MUCH BETTER THAN ME, WHEN REALLY SHE’S AFRAID OF A CLOWN?! YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS! (He laughs harder.)

Amy: Knuckles, this isn’t a laughing matter! Rouge flipped out and-!

Knuckles: Wait wait, I’m not done… Just… gimmie a second. … (He laughs more… and then stops and sighs…) Ok. I’m done.

Amy: … … … Rouge flipped out and we’re concerned about her.

Knuckles: Listen, I don’t know where Rouge went, as a matter of fact, I could care LESS where she wouldn’t go to!

Amy: I see. … Well, thanks for that anyway. We’ll let you get back to your little workout or… whatever.

Knuckles: Gladly. (He closes the door.)

Amy: Well. That certainly leads us to a brick wall.

Cream: Do you think she’s ok, Amy?

Amy: … … … I’m sure she’s just fine. Maybe we should give her some space until she’s ready to explain what’s going on.

Cream: You’re right. (Cheese agrees.)

Amy: Come on, Cream. I’ll take you back home.

Cream: Ok.

Just then, some kids wearing makeup, funny clown noses and party hats walk up to them.

Boy 1: You can’t go home now!

Amy: ??? Who are you??

Boy 2: We’re going to have some fun with Balloony-Charlie!

Girl: He’s having a big party tomorrow, and we’re going to help him prepare for it!

Boy 1: He wants Ms. Bat and you to come with us!

Cream: Ms… Bat? … You mean Rouge?

Girl: That’s her! Can you tell us where she is?

Amy: We don’t exactly know, but… why do you want her and us to come so badly?

Boy 1: Balloony-Charlie told us that you three would be the stars of the show!

Cream: Um… We don’t understand what you mean.

Boy 2: Don’t play silly! We saw you with Balloony-Charlie! He invited you and Ms. Bat to his party!

Girl: But you need to follow the rules in order to get invited!

Cream: What rules?

Boy 1: Always wear a smile,

Boy 2: Never ever frown,

Girl: And wear your funny clown makeup!

Amy and Cream were slightly confused…

Boy 2: What’s wrong??

Boy 1: Why are you sad??

Girl: Don’t you know that Balloony-Charlie will make you happy??

Amy: Why does Balloony-Charlie want Rouge to join his party?

Boy 1: He wants to make Ms. Bat happy! And he will make you happy too!

Girl 1: Come join us! But you know the rules! You hafta be a clown to join the party!

Amy: (Spooked.) Um… THANK YOU for the offer, kids… But it’s gonna be late soon, and we both have to go home right now.

The kids: Aawww….

Girl: You’re going to miss a great party!

Boy 1: You’re going to miss out on all the fun! You’ll be sorry if you don’t come!

Girl: But that’s ok! Our best clown friends will help you love parties as much as we do!

Boy 2: Goodbye! We will see you soon!

They run off laughing very oddly.

Cream: W…What was that, Ms. Amy?

Amy: I have no clue… Why were they talking about Balloony-Charlie?

Cream: I don’t know. But… the way they talked and how they were dressed really scares me…

Amy: … I’m pretty sure they’re just acting silly to get attention. Come on, it’s gonna get late soon. I’ll call Rouge later and see if she’s alright.

Later, it was evening. At Rouge’s apartment, Rouge’s house phone starts ringing loudly. However, Rouge wasn’t near it. In fact, she was in the shower. As Rouge was trying to make herself feel better with the hot water spewing and steam filling up her bathroom, Amy’s voice plays on the phone and Rouge can hear it, despite the water being so loud…

Amy’s voice: Um… Rouge? Are you there? Well if you’re not, that’s ok but… Listen, I just wanna apologize. For me and Cream forcing you to join us at the circus and those… clowns scaring you or something… We’re not really sure what’s going on, but…

Rouge: … … …

Amy’s voice: Listen, we’re behind you one hundred percent all the way. And… we thought it would be better if we were to patch things up if we catch up to you. How about this? Tomorrow afternoon, we can hang out at Milkyway Café and talk about what’s going on. I know it makes you feel uncomfortable but you can trust me, Cream, and Cheese with anything that’s on your mind.

Rouge: … … … (Sighs as she washes her neck with some soap…)

Back to Amy’s house, Amy was talking through her house phone.

Amy: So… I hope you can accept our deepest apologies for making you go through that. … Well… We’ll see you soon afterwards. Bye. (She puts the phone down and sighs.)

She presses some buttons on her watch to call Lilian.

In the SSP lab, Lilian was designing something on some blueprint papers which resembles a small teleporter until her computer starts beeping.

Lilian: Who could that be? (She goes over to the computer and answers it to show Amy’s face on screen.) Oh good evening, Amy. Is something wrong?

Amy: (On screen.) Yeah… It’s about Rouge.

Lilian: Oh yeah. What about her? Did you talk to her after that little incident at my shop?

At Amy’s house…

Amy: (To Lilian on her watch.) That’s just it. We couldn’t find her all day today. So I figured we should at least give her some space.

Lilian: (On screen.) Huh. Does it have anything to do with what Cream mentioned about clowns?

Amy: It seems that way. Although I’m not sure if I can clarify it is until we encounter Rouge and ask her to make sure. You know, to me it just seems silly for a woman like her to be afraid of something so innocent.

Lilian: (On screen.) Well you would be surprised, Amy. Everyone’s afraid of something even if it’s innocent and mild to someone else.

Amy: Is that even possible?

Lilian: (On screen.) It’s possible to everyone. Even to a tough girl like Rouge. It sticks onto you even through your own childhood. Keep that in mind. I gotta go. Cheers. (The call ends.)

Amy still felt a bad for making Rouge feel uncomfortable around that circus that they visited.