A/N
May be obvious, but this is based on the closing pannels of issue 134.
Duty Calls
"I should've known you'd be selfish!"
Rubbing your cheek and repeating the last word of that sentence, you're not sure what surprises you more. That either a) you've returned to Mobius after a year of everyone thinking you were dead, that b) Sally has just slapped you after you pointed out that fighting Eggman takes priority over personal affections or that c) she called you "selfish."
As your anger rises, you realize that option c is the most distressing.
"I sacrificed my life to save the planet!" you yell, your anger matching Sally's own. "Ended up on the far side o' the universe because of it, did everything I could to get back, only to find out that I lost a whole year of my life and now I just wanna end this stupid war. How is that selfish?"
In an instant, you regret your words, or at least how you put them. Yes, you have a point, but maybe, just maybe, you should have pointed out that duty dictates your response. And after years of being Freedom Fighters, Sally knows all about duty...doesn't she?
"Do you know what it was like believing you were dead?" the Acorn princess responds, tears trailing down her cheeks as she trembles with rage. "It completely broke my heart. Watching Mecha hurt you brought it all back...and I refuse to have my heart broken again, Sonic."
You blink, not sure of what to make of this. In light of your earlier options, perhaps you should have considered option d): Sally, your closest friend, the most sensible and reasonable of your little gang that toppled down Robotnik Mk. I, is, for once in her life, not seeing the bigger picture. A picture that only now, are you seeing.
So...you think slowly to yourself. This is duty.
You realize in an instant that you've drastically underestimated how unpleasant duty can be, how it weighs down on you. In hindsight, you wish you'd given your friend more credit for it. And now, that lack of credit is coming to back your backside harder than a jaws badnik. Or Sally being as close to you as a menacing Combot...and as loud as their creator.
"What's more important to you anyway?" Sally yells, reversing roles even further by being impatient for an answer. "Punching out Robotnik's lights or being with me?"
You don't answer, even as your tears reach your mouth. Deep down, you're not sure whether that's because you can't, or because you won't. Is it that you're too shocked for words, that Sally isn't choosing hers? Or is it that for once, you actually want to think about what you say before you say it?
So this is the price of duty...
You don't watch as Sally runs off the stage, her patience and charisma having gone the same way as Mobotropolis. You're barely aware of Tails and Amy climbing onto the stage, asking if you're okay. All you can say is two words that are meant for you and you alone...
"...duty calls."