Forbidden Fruit
an ArchieSonic (SatAM inspired) Fanfic
by Save Fearow
Author's Note: An earlier version of this existed once, before our computer got rebooted completely. On the whole, I think this is a better example of my efforts (although the French may be less grammatically correct, been awhile since those high school lessons.) Due to differences in their comic and TV origin stories, this adventure is set in a universe more similar to the SatAM incarnations, so chibi!Antoine and chibi!Bunnie are better acquainted, but he's also even more of a wimp that he is elsewhere. Antoine being a lefty is a minor plot point, serving as a small shout-out to Scott Shaw! (the first ArchieSonic artist in publication, who always drew the character as such.)
Bunnie sighed, and adjusted one of the pink ribbons in her ears. "Y'all are such a coward, sug." she informed Antoine.
Antoine hardly glanced up from his crayon sketches. "Moi is a coyote. Zat is a very importan' breed of canine, not a cow." he corrected, as he used his left paw to put the finishing touches on the drawings.
"It means yer yellow." Bunnie huffed impatiently.
"Brun, or per'aps marron. I am 'ow you say, brown." Antoine once again supplied her with the truth. "Voila! My own self, to the rescuation of mon prinzess!" Bunnie didn't care how artfully he had depicted Sally's fur, or how many nasty hyenas were lying defeated around her and the so-called prince Antoine, that drawing was a terrible, well-executed representation of lies.
"Don'tcha ever want a REAL adventure?" Bunnie asked him.
"And 'ow am I to be doing zat? Eet is no' like we 'ave ze dictateur, putting our ownselves in danjair con-stintly." Antoine asserted.
"We can make our own danger, then!" Bunnie announced. "We can go someplace we's not s'posed to be, then face a multitude of challenges to get back home!"
"I am being 'ome, zat is where ze boite de crayons de couleur are." Antoine insisted firmly. "What is to be 'ad by leefing zem?"
"There's lots to be had, and ya'll never get it, jus' sitting there like some ol' bump-on-a-log!" argued Bunnie.
Antoine scowled. "I am no' bog-lumpair! I shall show be the most adveran-shura-zome escor' evair." he stumbled a bit over the English, but his intent was perfectly clear.
Bunnie smirked. "We'll see, sug. First we need a real adventurous place to go." she thought it over carefully.
"Ze kitchen?" Antoine suggested. "I make ze most tremondous creme brulee!"
Bunnie's stomach rumbled in spite of herself. The kitchen was the only part of the palace Antoine was actually encouraged to visit. "N-no, that's too easy. But we can git our own food, out in the gardens! The King done roped off some'a them orchard-y plants!"
Antoine looked appalled. "Sacre bleu! We canno' do zat! Zose pommes are ze finest in all Mobius, import directement from ze Mercian soil, which ees 'aving les fruits fras of 'igher reknow-ed zan all othair contan-tan- areas." he concluded lamely.
"Don' rightly know about pommes, but ah could sure go fer some apples." Bunnie smiled appreciatively. "Ah ain't never had no Mercian food, probly too rich fer my blood."
"Non!" Antoine exclaimed hotly. "You will be 'aving your fill of zuch treats eef I most be getting eet pour vous! Je vous interdis de refuser!"
Bunnie giggled. "When ya'll put it that way, how can ah say no?" she asked.
She and Antoine stood together, outside the garden gates. The fences were very high, even a little taller than the young rabbit had remembered them, but that just made their plans even greater!
Antoine's eyes grew large and he trembled slightly. "L-ladies first?" he offered.
Bunnie rolled her eyes. "Thanks ever so. Gimme a boost then, sugah." she requested.
Antoine very obediently got down on bended knee and lifted her up. He struggled a bit under the added weight, but at least she was not quite as heavy as Princess Sally, who had recently begun to share in Sonic's appetite for chili dogs. Not that the princess was fat, just more well-rounded than Bunnie. Antoine was often considered the idiot of the group, but even he knew better than to criticize the female figure.
"I take eet I am to be joining you?" Antoine called out nervously.
Bunnie's feet dangled over the top of the fence. "It ain't that hard, sugar-twan. Jus' pick yer feet up and climb." she suggested.
Antoine nodded miserably. His father always included several climbing walls in the Army training course. It shouldn't be any problem for a young coyote, not if Papa could do it! Someday they would ALL recognize that he was his father's boy, brave and certain. Today might very well be the day to start. Antoine backed up slightly, and took a running leap at the fence. The material dug into his paw pads, but he would not let go. Any true swordsman developed callouses eventually. Blisters were practically a badge of honor.
"Ah knew y'all could do it." Bunnie grinned and reached out to lift him over the very peak of the fence. "Let's go find us the biggest, best-est apple in all'a kingdom!" she hopped down gracefully. Antoine staggered behind her.
"Zis is the nearest tree." Antoine pointed to a very small sapling with a few bite-size fruits.
"Y'all call that a tree? This is a tree!" Bunnie gestured to the largest plant in the entire orchard.
Antoine shook with fright. "Please to be jokin' ma cherie. Climbin' zat is eempossible!" he declared.
"Ah believe in doin' 6 impossible things a'fore breakfast. Y'all do well to try the same." Bunnie insisted.
"I believe in winning ovair ze Prinzess. Zat is one eempossible zing." Antoine permitted.
"Long as you recognize the hopelessness of your pursuit. C'mon, we's almost there!" Bunnie cried out in delight as she ran towards the gigantic apple tree. She enfolded her paws around the trunk and began shimmying her way to the top. Antoine dutifully followed after her, trying his hardest to suppress several nervous exclamations.
"Bunnie, stop zis! Etre loin de chez soi. We should be returning back, s'il vous plait!" he begged her.
"Go on home if'n that's what y'all want, yuh big baby! Ah ain't leaving without mah- mah ribbon!" Bunnie moaned as one of the pink decorations got tangled in a branch. She tried to reach for it, but it slipped from her grasp and fell further down the tree. Bunnie grabbed a hold of her branch, and looked back despairingly.
Antoine gulped. It WAS only proper for a gentleman to retrieve a lady's favor, but mon dieu! Why must it have fallen so far? With a sigh, he very gingerly lowered himself down several feet and plucked the pink ribbon from it's resting perch. He gripped it firmly in his preferred paw (not the clumsy wrong one, why Sonic and the other fools persisted in making him use the s'posed 'right' paw more was behind Antoine's understanding) and hauled himself back to where Bunnie stood, frozen in surprise. "Zere. I 'ave re-guarded your ruban de velours. Ees tres jolie, n'est-ce pas?" Antoine smiled as he affixed the ribbon to her ear.
Bunnie beamed. "Ain't you just the sweetest thang, my little muffin!" she cooed.
"I am ze coyote." Antoine stated most emphatically.
She gave another sigh of exasperation. "It's a good thang yer cute. Here, have a bite!" Bunnie plucked an apple from the branch and expertly split it into 2 halves. The youngsters smiled happily as they indulged in their secret delight.
"Delicieux." Antoine pronounced his judgment.
"How do you like them apples? You was right Antoine, everythang tastes better if'n it comes from Mercia!" Bunnie discovered to her amazement.
A short distance away, Sonic and Sally were walking together, having spent the better part of the morning visiting Uncle Chuck's diner.
"Not bad, huh Sal?" Sonic asked her.
"I guess I'm developing an appreciation for it." Sally admitted. "But I still don't think we should do it too often."
"Can't have too much of a good thing!" Sonic argued. "I say, let's do it to it!"
"I say, we ought to find our friends. I know Rotor went to the science museum with Rosie, but I haven't seen Antoine or Bunnie all day. What have they gotten up to?" wondered Sally.
Sonic smirked, and directed her attention to the palace gardens. "Check it out, Sal. Antoine and Bunnie, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" the hedgehog taunted.
~~~The End.
Author's Note: Antoine's French dialogue is primarily cognates, so I didn't feel a translation was necessary, although you can PM me if you are confused by any of his expressions. (The word program I use does not permit accents and other diacritical marks, sorry.) I've only had 2 years of French instruction, and I bet I've forgotten at least half of my former knowledge, so don't expect complete fluency! But it is a joy to write for the young pup, he's got reserves of bravery that even he doesn't suspect. Reviews are greatly appreciated, merci beaucoup.