"A Light In The Darkness"
Written by: Toni the Mink
Comissioned by: Royal_Serene
Sonic and all related indica (c) SEGA
Opal the Cat and Flora the Chao (c) Royal_Serene
A/N: This is based in the headverse of the commissioner, taking place after Sonic Forces. Here, the Avatar is "Opal", with Flora as her service chao.
Also, Mighty the Armadillo, Honey the Cat, Ray the Squirrel, and Cosmo (a princess from Green Gate) are Resistance members as well.
...
One month… It has been exactly one whole month since the war ended against the Eggman Empire, and the planet seemed to already be recovering rather quickly.
But for Opal, the memories still lingered. And they weren't going away anytime soon…
She was always a bit awkward when it came to socializing, but after her father's death, she became a complete introvert. Having faced Infinite directly didn't help her any, although it did become the push she needed to overcome her anxieties and truly contribute to the Resistance.
Slowly, and with the support of her friends and service chao Flora, she was not only deemed worthy to join the Resistance, but was made deputy, second-in-command, and even had a huge helping hand in stopping the Eggman Empire and freeing Mobius once and for all…
But at what cost?
Sure, she made it out alive, but she couldn't say the same for many others, who lost their lives in the war…
And Sonic…
That final Triple Boost to take out the Death Egg Robot pushed him way over the limit. Once all was calm, he was found unconscious with breathing issues, and quickly rushed to medic. He was transferred to many different hospitals before ending up in Queen Alicia Memorial Hospital in Mobotropolis, where he was pronounced comatose. He hadn't waken up since.
And today, one month after winning the war, the Resistance was honoring all of those fallen members with a proper funeral. And she was to give the eulogy. As if her anxiety and repeated terrorized memories weren't enough to bother her… now she had to deal with stage fright on top of that.
She looked out the window of the cemetery's main office. Outside, members of the Resistance were lined up in two rows. A small cargo truck drove up, and parked between the rows. The members worked together to unload more coffins and carry them to their new burial grounds.
'That should be the last of them,' Opal thought, 'I guess it's showtime…'
She turned for the door, but found herself trembling. Was she that nervous?
No… She could feel it being deeper… It wasn't just her nerves. It was her memories. Flashbacks of her father. Being told of his fate. Memories of her mother falling to her knees in tears, while Opal herself stared blankly ahead, wanting to scream, but just stood there instead, frozen with shock.
With all these caskets lined up, it was like her father's funeral all over again… only 30 times worse.
She suddenly heard a soft chao-like mew from the other end of the room. She turned to look, just as Flora was floating over and began burying herself into her chest. Opal gave a content sigh as she hugged her service chao. "Thank you, Flora," she said quietly, "I'm going to need all the help I can get today…"
The funeral precession was about to start, just as Opal came in, joining up with the others. The head of the Resistance was up front, save for Knuckles, who as leader of the Resistance would've ordinarily given the eulogy, but he was needed elsewhere at the moment, hence Opal was given the duty. Every other Resistance members stood to the sides outside of the coffins. Family members and friends sat in seats behind the members.
The coffins were lined up in rows of four, with five to each. Twenty people were killed that final day against Eggman… Although many more had died in the line of duty during the entire war. Each coffin was covered with a small, red flag, which had a white circle in the center, and the image of a random-colored Chaos Emerald encircled by a golden ring. This was the symbol of the Resistance. The flags each had a different colored Chaos Emerald on them. It didn't matter what the colors were. They didn't signify anything, only that there were seven different colored Chaos Emeralds, which were helpful tools that won the war in their favor. Opal had a blue Chaos Emerald flag in her barracks that belonged to her father, Alex. It was given to her mother at his funeral, but when she left to join the Resistance, she gave it to her, as a reminder of her father and his role in the battle.
"Psst…!" Mighty leaned over to Opal and whispered, "You okay? We were afraid you weren't going to make it. You sure you can handle this?"
Opal gave a small nod and whispered back, "I'm okay. I got this…"
Soft trumpets began to play. The Resistance members up front, made up of Amy, Espio, Vector, Charmy, Mighty, Honey, Cosmo, and Opal did a salute. The members on the side approached each coffin and carefully removed the flags, folding them neatly, and handing them to the loved ones of the deceased.
As they returned to their spots, other Resistance Members stepped up, each with a different type of Wispon in hand. They faced forward, aimed their Wispons in the air, and fired shots. Different types of blasts shot out into the sky (fire, blue cubes, a mini black-hole), but when combined, they burst out like a beautiful firecracker.
The members placed away the Wispons and then took their seats. The main members found their seats and sat as well. All but Opal. There was a small podium with a microphone in the corner, ready for her.
'This is it…'
She held Flora closely as she made her way to the podium. There was a deep pit forming in her stomach. Her body began to tremble once more. Not only was she nervous, she couldn't bear the fact that these people had all died fighting for the same thing she did… Like her father did… And yet, here she was still alive. How is that fair? She should've died the first time Infinite laid eyes of her… She still wasn't sure to this day how she made it out.
But then what began to eat at her was the fact they died because they all fought for the same thing she did; the return of Mobius from Eggman's clutches. She made it out alive. She helped save the world. Just because they weren't as lucky shouldn't mean she should feel guilty about it. That would be doing them a great disservice…
She had a job to do. She had to honor them.
Flora gave her an encouraging nuzzle under the chin. Opal glanced up to see she had made it to the podium, and all eyes were on her. She looked down at her service-chao once more, remembering how Sonic was always a beacon of hope. When things looked low, everyone pressed on, because that's what Sonic would've done. And when Sonic had returned, the war practically turned around in their favor.
With Sonic comatose, and Knuckles away, it fell on her to be the beacon of hope that day.
And it wouldn't look very hopeful if she had to carry a support-chao with her.
Opal gave Flora one last hug. "Thank you," she murmured, "I'll take it from here."
She gently released her, and the chao floated back to the ground, but stayed nearby. Taking a deep breath, she stepped up to the podium and leaned towards the mic.
"Good afternoon," she spoke, "We are gathered here to honor the fallen soldiers of the Resistance. These twenty brave men and women gave their lives to protect the planet. Without their help, we could not have won the war against the Eggman Empire once and for all."
She bowed her head. "Out of respect for the fallen, I shall name each one…"
She named them, one after another, and what part of the world they hailed from, and their primary duty within the Resistance.
"They died fighting for the Resistance, to free the world, and to protect its people from the tyranny of Dr. Eggman and the monstrous Infinite. Now that they were both defeated, we thank them for their service. It's gravely unfortunate, however, that they had to pay the ultimate price for our freedom…
"Our hearts go out to these brave soldiers… and the brave soldiers before them who also died for our cause. Those who were killed in the line of duty either fighting Eggman…" She lowered her head as she remembered her father, "…or protecting their comrades. Words can't express the sorrow all of their loved ones must go through every day. These were our friends… our fathers… mothers… siblings…"
Opal raised her head in a sudden hopeful spirit. "But remember," she continued, "They died so that we could keep living. While it would have been better if these circumstances never took place… We must honor their sacrifice by living our lives to the fullest while working to keep our planet safe from the likes of the Empire, or any other force that would dare threaten us. We must forge new bonds to keep up the security of the world. And we will continue to protect this world like they have, no matter what. Let us keep their memories in our hearts, for they will live on through us."
She bowed her head. "Thank you."
The crowd applauded as she stepped down, picked up Flora, and returned to her seat. Amy placed her hand on her shoulder. "That was really sweet, Opal," she smiled.
"Yeah," Vector said, "And how you just said it all in one take, no notes or anything. You must have really rehearsed like crazy beforehand."
"Rehearsed..." Opal thought back. Come to think of it… she didn't have a single speech prepared ahead of time. Holy cow… How did she not choke? What if she DID screw up?! That would've been the ultimate disrespect towards honorable Resistance members!
Her thoughts apparently could be reflected on her face. The others were able to take note at her reactions that she not only not read a script, she didn't even rehearse anything…
"Opal… Why do you look so upset?" Cosmo asked, "Think about it. Everything you just said… Without missing an entire beat… You spoke entirely from the heart. That you were able to know exactly what to say right then and there and still be so heartfelt means that the Resistance and its members mean a lot to you, and that you care deeply for them as if they were your own family."
Cosmo smiled, "And that's nothing to be afraid or anxious about."
At this, Opal began to ease up. The idea of unknowingly going in unprepared still weighed on her uneasily, but everything the Veridian princess just said made her feel much better about it. Perhaps she was more valuable to the Resistance than she originally thought…
She held Flora close. The darkness wouldn't go away overnight… But with the help of her friends, as well as her beloved chao, things were starting to look a whole lot brighter.