Give Me Strength
A Sonic The Hedgehog (ArchieVerse) Fanfic
by Save Fearow
Author's Note: Spoilers for both STH #234 and #235 (and maaaybe one other scene, if you look for it). Primarily inspired by Amy's comment on how Rosie was taking the news of Antoine's suffering "very hard".
Disclaimer: All characters are copyright SEGA, DiC, and Archie Comics. The following is created purely for the enjoyment of fans, and no profit is to be generated from it.
She couldn't believe it had happened to one of her children, especially not him. He wasn't the first child she'd helped raise (that was Elias) or the smartest (a toss-up between Rotor and Tails), and he'd never been a natural leader (like Sally or Sonic), he didn't possess exceptional strength and fortitude (qualities best seen in Amy and Bunnie), and he'd never achieved fame (the way Mina had). But he was still her boy and she'd watched him grow from a cowardly pup to a courageous young soldier.
There were many things that could be said about Antoine, that he was childish, naive, timid, obsequious, and perhaps even a few beans shy of a chili dog (that was one of Sonic's sayings) and she couldn't deny the times when the description seemed apt. But he was her boy, and she hated to see him like this. Antoine was lying unnaturally still in a hospital bed, bandages obscuring most of his muzzle. His breathing was shallow and raspy- Quack seemed to believe that some of the debris had pierced a lung- and she knew if it were not for Sir Charles' marvelous invention, he wouldn't even be on life support. What had he ever done to deserve such a fate? For eighteen years she had listened to him babble on the virtues of being "ze brahv and 'onorable soljair, like Papa", all the long and exaggerated stories of heroics he had done or would do if only given the oppurtunity, even the private whisperings at night of how he would never live up to his father's expectations. Was this all that Antoine's legacy would ever be, a bright flickering flame of glory, immediately swallowed by darkness?
"No." she whispered. She wasn't prepared to outlive one of her charges, and she never would be. All of the children had experienced hardships, it was an unavoidable and tragic fact of wartime. But they had always persevered. She still remembered the day long ago when Robotnik had first taken over. She had watched right alongside Antoine as that dreadful usurper had opened a portal to a fiendish "Zone of Silence" and sent King Max hurtling into the void. She had ran immediately towards her cousin, Julayla, in an attempt to shepherd all the palace children to safety. Somehow, in those desperate moments, she had lost Antoine. She couldn't say when it happened exactly, one moment Sally was berating 'Twan for just standing by while her father was attacked, "didn't he know that a king's bodyguard was s'posed to guard his body?", the next they were all running for their lives and Antoine was missing. She had no idea how to react when she saw they'd arrived at Knothole with only four children in tow. If it hadn't been for Julayla urging her to keep calm, she probly would have burst into a fit of tears, but instead she had pushed her fears and feelings of inadequacy aside in order to get young Sally, Sonic, Tails, and Rotor settled into some semblance of a normal routine.
But she had keep an ear open all day for even the smallest piece of news. Every time she gave Tails a bottle, or explained to Sonic why they couldn't just "go and thrash the SwatBots", she listened for the sound of another arrival. More and more refugees staggered in throughout the day, and she was especially relieved to see Quack who had brought his physician's bag and could administer competent first aid in an emergency, and Col. Stripe, who along with his team had the most knowledge of military strategy and tactical evasion. But still, there was no one who could say they had any idea of the young coyote's whereabouts.
She had almost given up hope when in the middle of the following night, Antoine had come crashing through one of the Knothole tunnels, inexplicably towing a large chest. He was muddy and bedraggled, wild-eyed with fever, and speaking purely in French, but he was alive, he was safe, he was home. She wan't sure what was more surprising, that he had made it there unescorted and in one piece, or that he somehow managed to smuggle one of his father's old uniforms and a Mobian sabre out of the palace.
Col. Stripe of course, had been more impressed with the weapons than the child. He had been a good valiant man, all things considered, but sometimes she felt that he didn't appreciate the forest for the trees. Sonic, as unbelievable as it seemed at the time, had the quickest grasp of the situation. While she was cooing over Antoine, Sonic had actually stopped Col. Stripe from taking the sword to the new Knothole Armory, and had personally handed it to the coyote, insisting that "he'd earned it". It was the first time the hedgehog had shown the older boy some respect, and thankfully it wouldn't be the last. She had carried young Antoine off to bed (clutching that sword as though his little life depended on it) and although she'd tried for two days to coax the story of his ordeal out of him, she'd never gotten him to say any further than "SwatBots! Un lapine tres jolie!"
Her remembrance was interrupted by a gentle paw on her shoulder. "I'm sorry dear. Quack says it time to go." Sir Charles quietly informed her.
She nodded, and began to get up. But before she left, she placed a sheathed sword by the foot of Antoine's bed, the sword that had only just been recovered from the battlefield, the same sword he had carried so long ago. After all, he'd earned it.
~~~The End.
Author's Note: Thank you all for reading, and remember these words of wisdom- Never give up, never surrender! Reviews are greatly appreciated.