Disclaimer - I do not own sonic or any other characters. They are property of SEGA and anything sonic the hedgehog affiliated with it.
Sonic and Bunnie reached the Freedom Fighters hut in no time and were greeted by Tails, Rotor, Antoine, Sally, and Nicole. Sally had went over their basic strategy of protecting everyone, but the added detail of the Dark Legion made her rethink her whole plan.
"Bunnie, you will be in serious danger, but we need you out there with everyone else. Eggman chose the perfect time to attack, when the sun is starting to set..." Sally said looking over a map of the Knothole with a stern expression "From the intelligence gathered I can't say if they're going to go after everyone. We're just gonna have to ride it out. Let's go!" Sally said grabbing Nicole and exiting the hut with everyone following her outside.
They all split up and followed the procedure of rounding up the citizens. Bunnie had made her way over to the area were her hut was and began calming down the citizens and leading them in the direction of underground bunkers. Bunnie led the citizens out of the Knothole and into the forest. It was a chaotic few minutes, but a few minutes into the forest Bunnie heard the sounds of guns in her general direction. Bunnie hurried the many people she was escorting, but was not fast enough. Small metal devices flew through the air attaching themselves to the citizens. Bunnie dodged them seeing the Legionnaires come from out behind some trees not far away.
Dressed in black hoods and wearing red mask they continued shooting the devices from their guns. Bunnie was getting ready to attack when she heard the cries of people around her. Some citizens had fallen to the ground stiff as a board. The rest had ran off into the darkness of the forest. Bunnie looked closely at the fallen people still avoiding the Dark Legion's attacks; they were the partially robotticized citizens. In her own shock by what was happening she was also hit, a small metal device magnetically attached to her robotic leg. In an instant, Bunnie went numb. She blinked her eyes with a neutral expression, but she could not move the rest of her body; aware but unable to move.
The Legionnaires ran over to her and pushed her to the ground. Bunnie would have grunted, but she couldn't speak. She watched as they attached more devices to the people. The ones who had no robotic parts were not affected and got away. Bunnie felt fear remembering what Sonic had said not long ago. As she lay on the ground helpless she wondered why they were rounding up the partially robotticized. To control them would be too simple although Bunnie knew that was a possibility. The Legionnaires went out of sight for a moment; Bunnie looked around as best as she could, but it was too dark. Minutes later The Dark Legionnaires returned and pulled out a radio and called someone; she couldn't hear them though.
After their radio talk the Legionnaires went all around the area gathering the frozen bodies and putting them into a pile along with Bunnie. For a couple of minutes Bunnie could not see anything; someone's foot was in her face. Then the sound of a vehicle approaching was heard. Bunnie heard a hatch open and the Legionnaires began tossing the citizens into the vehicle. When Bunnie was finally able to see again, she saw a huge truck with a large cargo area to transport them; thankfully there was no roof on the cargo area. Bunnie saw a few more people chucked into the truck when she finally was. She landed on her back, and she could only see the night sky full of stars. The last bit of people were tossed in, and they closed the hatch.
Bunnie heard them get into the truck and close the doors. She couldn't express herself at the moment, but she was in a panic as the truck started to pull off but the truck only drove a little distance and shut off. Bunnie could not see anything; it was pitch black under the trees. She didn't have to wonder what they were doing when she heard the guys talking to citizens.
"Where is Bunnie?" Rotor asked them.
"We don't know. I was just running for my life when those guys disappeared." a concerned citizen responded.
"Let's go check the bunker." Sally said and the sounds of many feet slowly disappeared.
Bunnie was screaming in her head; those good for nothings were pretty clever parking just far enough away so they were hidden. When everything was quiet again the truck started and they pulled off again. The frustration of not being able to move made her panic even more. Bunnie was at least able to see because she was lying on her back. Looking straight up seeing the trees sweep by then disappear as they left the forest, and out onto the open land. Bunnie had all types of horrific things running through her mind when the truck hit a bump, and she was turned over to her side and could not see anymore. After what seemed like hours of mental torture she began to wonder what would happen to them if no one had caught on. Eggman would have a field day...
Bunnie almost let the thoughts slip, but the smell of dirt and sulfur filled her nostrils. Her panic went back into overdrive knowing how close they were to Robotropolis. Her eyes darted back and forth with a neutral expression, but she could not move. But after a few minutes of driving she then felt the truck violently swerve, making her and everyone's bodies slide to the left. Then the truck stopped.
She could hear the trucks doors open and feet hit the ground still not able to see anything. She clenched her eyes closed as moments later the hatch was opened. She readied herself to be yanked from the truck but instead she felt fingers feeling over her body. She opened her eyes to see the relieving sights of Sonic and Tails. They looked over her and found the device on her robotic leg. They pulled it off of her, and she sprang back to life. Bunnie flexed her arms moving them about then looked to them donning a serious look; she got up and jumped out of the truck.
Her face remained serious as they all started freeing the citizens. It took a little searching, but they freed everyone and instantly started their trek back to the Knothole. Not before Bunnie had lifted and over turned the truck with a satisfying smile. As they walked back towards the forest of the Knothole, Bunnie looked back pass the overturned truck to see that Robotropolis was just in seeing distance; it was way too close for her comfort. In the back of the group she knew it was gonna be a long walk back tonight...especially in her head...
It was around midnight when everyone had made it safely back to the Knothole. Bunnie, Sonic, and Tails group made it to the bunker and found out they had successfully fended off the Legionnaires without losing anyone...well this time anyway...
Sometime later when they were sure the coast was clear the citizens retreated home, and so did the rest of the gang. Bunnie instead wandered around the Knothole in the night with many a thing on her mind. Many people were still out and about, but she was still feeling torn. After her little run in with the Dark Legion she felt violated. They really had developed some kind of technology were they could take over someone's body. Sonic to the rescue again...
Her mind wandered back to when Sonic was tried for treason; she couldn't help but to see the look in his eyes burned into her memories after the whole Mecha Sonic incident. He looked so burnt...resentful of them all...
No one had believed him and she was even tough on him because at the time she was equipped with a missile that was designed to hurt him. That was just before Sonic proved he was innocent and was sent to space, and everyone thought he had died. After Sonic had come back from space Patch and Scourge showed up and tricked everyone. Her relationship with Antoine didn't restart until Sonic came back not too recently after dealing with the Anti's.
Bunnie stopped at a nearby tree and leaned her back onto it; her eyes narrowed with frustration on her face. She and the others had really believed Sonic had intentionally tried to hurt them...it was the best way to break trust...to incriminate...he had proved them wrong by continuing to stand by them and help them like he always had...but she was sure he didn't trust them anymore...
She ran her hand through her short hair with a frown on her face. She remembered the day he came back from space; he saved everyone without a word. And when she saw him the first time in a long time he still had that look...a frown of distrust...
A little while after coming back from space Sonic discovered the Anti's were messing around, and he saved Antoine from the Anti's; at the time she was ecstatic that Antoine was back. But Sonic looked even more distrustful of her the next time she saw him; most likely learning about Scourge's antics and hers...
It wasn't just her though, Sonic had been quite indifferent to everyone after all that; she hoped she hadn't hurt him. Which was an excuse in her head to hide the painful feelings of guilt. Sarcastically she looked to the glittering sky full of stars. Of course not after he saw everyone at their worst, and now everyone looked upon him as a threat….her using who she thought was him...
"I hope everythang will be ok..." she mumbled to herself with her brows narrowed together in frustration as she stared into the night skies.
A warm breeze blew through the trees above her. She wasn't sure if it was guilt that drove her sympathy or whether that was just another excuse to hide that she knew exactly what she was doing. She prayed she wasn't that bad of a person...
But she had to admit after Sonic had attacked she was weary of him for a time, that is until they thought he had died when he went into space. She had also moved away from Sonic even though it was a plot of Eggman; everyone had disowned Sonic like some kind of animal. She and Antoine had been together a lot more since Sonic had come back, but she was beginning to think Sonic was not himself anymore...
Bunnie's ears perked up hearing a loud argument. She moved from the tree she had been leaning on and moved to the sound of the argument which looked like a few huts away. Once there Bunnie saw a few people in the area not engaged in finding out the commotion but listening.
"You did everything you could...it wasn't all your fault!" the woman yelled to the person.
"Whatever..." Bunnie heard Sonic's voice.
"Now just wait a second!" the woman yelled to him.
Bunnie and the citizens saw Sonic run out of his hut and into the forest. Bunnie jogged up to his hut to see Bernadette come out of the hut. She looked upset and Bunnie questioned her "What happened Mr.s B?"
"Sonic is just trying to readjust...people are still mocking him about what happened between him and Sally...and the Antis...and just all of it. I know there have been spiteful rumors spread about my son, they aren't true, but I know it bothers him that people are acting this way right now. Being picked on certainly isn't helping anyone right now..." Bernadette responded looking in the direction Sonic had run with a worried expression.
"Why did he jus run off like thet?" Bunnie asked raising an eyebrow in confusion.
Bernadette frowned finally looking at her "I keep trying to guide him so he'll let go. Sometimes things are out of our control..."
Bunnie then frowned seeing and remembering that they were all in the same boat in this situation fighting against Eggman. It made her want to see if Antoine was feeling any different. Maybe it would make her feel better "He'll comeback tonight won't he? It's dangerous to be out alone."
She nodded "And just after what happened tonight...he can be so reckless sometimes." Bernadette looked at Bunnie "I don't think he will come back tonight." Bernadette sighed "I'm going to bed. He's gonna get his ears talked off when he gets back here." she smiled gently as she went back into her hut "Goodnight Bunnie."
Bunnie frowned and bid her a goodnight too as she headed to Antoine's house…
A small walk later she had reached his house and knocked on his door; moments later he appeared and opened the door. He smiled "And what do I owe this visit?"
Bunnie smiled back at him "I wanted to talk."
Antoine let her in and closed the door behind her as she stepped pass him. The room was illuminated by candlelight and Antoine sat down on his bed placing a book he had been reading on his nightstand. Bunnie sat down next to him "Yiah know sugh, I feel like before we moved to fast."
"I think zis was more situational. I mean...you were the only one around at the time, and you didn't seem to mind me as much as the others..." Antoine said briefly looking away from her with his hands folded; he looked a bit shy.
Bunnie frowned as he looked back at her with a curious expression, "Why did you?"
Bunnie shifted uncomfortably with uncertainty in her tone "Jus like yiah said..."
"That was only a part of it though, right?" Antoine asked her.
Bunnie nodded "I really wanted to try. We did but..." Bunnie stood turning her back to him, and she paused speaking confidently "I don't think it was a mistake..."
"You're doing it again...lets put the truth out in the open." Antoine stared at her with an upset face.
"Is it my...parts thet yiah don't like?" Bunnie said turning around with an upset face.
Antoine quickly shook his head "They do not bother me. It's just I think we should spend a little more time thinking about zis. I need to rethink something's myself so let us not be hasty..." his tone sounded slightly untrusting.
Bunnie furrowed her brow looking more upset "I told yiah tha truth." he was sneakily referring to her deceitful ways with the Anti's.
"Be that as it may, I feel what happened will be a catalyst for many of our disagreements if we do not address it." Antoine said frowning.
Bunnie placed her hands on her hips giving him a wise look; her face upset "Yiah dont trust me?"
Antoine was sick of the conversation and sighed closing his eyes, and a frown on his face speaking in a huff "I still have mixed feelings..."
Bunnie's eyes widened in confusion "What's thet supposed to mean?"
Antoine kept his eyes closed and it remained silent as it sunk in that he was not just talking about her behavior. He referred to the decline of passion in their relationship which was already happening before the anti's. And after it was over it didn't seem to be any better; like it was now. They had already forgiven each other for what happened between the Antis; and though that was a problem within itself that still caused friction between them. Why they were in such a rut in their relationship was a question they still hadn't been able to answer.
Bunnie frowned knowing it to be true; she didn't have an answer either "It jus somthang we need ta work on..."
Antoine adjusted his collar looking at her still frowning lightly "I want to make this work..."
Bunnie crossed her arms and her face became sympathetic "Jus kno yiah dont got to compete for me..."
But Antoine's frown deepened as his lips curled down even further "I must become better..." he paused looking away from her "I must become a worthy Knight...and for you..." his last statement a long pause.
Bunnie blinked her eyes with a surprised look on her face, she couldn't believe how much she didn't buy his last statement. He was still competitive, he wanted to, and he liked to. And her upset face returned "Yiah anit gotta compete with Sonic!"
Antoine's face suddenly became angered looking at her, and he blurted out almost raising his voice "It's not that!"
Bunnies anger flared as her brows knotted and she narrowed her eyes raising her hands in the air "Yiah aint doing it for me anyway! Wha does thet have to do with us? Our problems?"
Antoine was taken aback looking surprised as he realized that his competitiveness to be a better person was totally off topic and irrelevant to what they were talking about in their relationship. He realized how off topic they had become and still had no answers for where they were headed together in their relationship….
Antoine mumbled as he narrowed his brows looking upset "Well...you see..."
So Bunnie answered for him with a frown "Yiah need to stop being so darn full of pride."
Antoine frowned right back at her "And what if I was not? Is that your solution?"
And Bunnie continued to frown as he had a good point. Him being competitive had always been a source of tension in their relationship, but him not being so didn't mean things would suddenly be better between them. As if the moment he stopped they would regain all the passion in their relationship. It wasn't the problem...well at least not the main problem...
Bunnie looked away from him with an upset face "Yiah know what...I can't do this right knaa...don't yiah think we're already fightin enough among ourselves..."
She turned and stomped her way over to the door, and opened the door of the hut to leave. Antoine looked grumpier too after being caught in his lie, and he yelled as Bunnie slammed the door "You hide a lot!"
Bunnie was pretty steamed as she made her way back to her hut; in her anger she admitted it now. Maybe they were just caught up in the moment when they got together. Maybe they were emotionally attached because they were lonely at the time...Antoine was never as physically attractive as she made him out to be…
But he was the only thing she knew…
He was the first person she had ever been with and being all that she knew she was afraid to move out of her comfort zone. Her mind was so clouded at the moment though, all she could think about was her own shame, with Sonic and the new threat of the Legionnaires, hoping sleep would wash it away. Being captured tonight was added to the list of things she was feeling bad about at the moment as she stomped her way home with an angered expression.
Meanwhile on an overlook Sonic stared into the distance at the bright glow of Robotropolis. His lips were curled down into a frown and his brows were furrowed in frustration. For the first time in his life he thought about...giving up...
He'd casually shrugged off every attempt that Eggman had tried to kill him in the past. He held a deep frown; that wasn't what bothered him anymore though. The dis-trustfulness of his friends bothered him more...and he was tired...
The erosion of their friendships started years ago, but with every new challenge they faced he began to lose trust and faith in everything. What he thought he knew, and the people he thought he knew, were turning out not to be what they seemed...
When everyone turned on him...he looked at them different...
He couldn't see them the same anymore...
As he looked to moving forward in his life, he began to question did they really care? It didn't seem they really had his best interest at heart sometimes. The answer became increasingly uncertain as he kept his distance from everyone…
He was trying not to judge so hard…he tried giving the benefit of a doubt…but his expectations continued to be smashed as he watched others choose their actions…
He'd got captured by Eggman once…and he'd been mechanized...
He didn't remember much after he was restored but after he saw the damage to the Knothole. He knew that whatever he'd done it was bad...
And because of almost destroying the Knothole, he understood the reactions from his friends. But they still ignored him…they didn't believe him even though he proved himself innocent…
From that time on though he saw them in a way he never had…
Resentful, hostile towards him, they really didn't believe him...after everything they'd been through together…
They didn't believe for one second that he was telling the truth. And that's what hurt the most...that they actually believed he would do something like that...
In his eyes all trust between them was destroyed...
Some time passed after the Mecha Sonic incident, and things were normal for a time. They tried to move pass the whole incident even though he had to prove himself innocent, and they forgave him. He never truly got over it though, and he just bottled it. Then the Xorda attacked and he was hurled into space...
Sonic sighed as he walked over to the ledge of the overlook and stared out into the distance. He tried to move on after he was robotticized but when he returned from space the anti's made things worse with his friends. They'd posed as the Freedom Fighters and caused a lot of trouble, and their deceit left them even more jumbled up. And for a second time he saw his friends true selves in the face of a crisis…
Of selfishness...of distrust...
His eyes burned because he was sleepy, but the horrible feelings haunted him; it made it hard to sleep sometimes. So he then sat on the ledge for a few more hours letting his thoughts wander. He wallowed in the traumatic memories in his mind; the only way he knew how to deal with such things were to face them.
Around the same time elsewhere in the Knothole…
Antoine closed the door to his hut as he began walking to the ring pool. He couldn't sleep. He was infuriated. He had let his irrationality get to him again. He knew he should had padded out his lie to Bunnie better. She didn't understand though. A man's pride was number one on every guys list and Sonic was the alpha male. Antoine walked pass a few more huts then pass a few trees when he came upon the open area where the power rings resided. He walked over to the water of the ring pool and stared at his saddened reflection in the water.
He was telling the truth kinda...he did feel threatened by Sonic...
Not so much about Bunnie either, that was an excuse. Although Bunnie had never said so the only reason they were even together was because at the time Bunnie was lonely. He was too, and they were caught up in the heat of the moment. He felt a lot of time they clashed, even though they always worked through it, it didn't make it any easier. He was beginning to see that he and Bunnie where attached, not attracted to each other.
Heck every women around the Knothole was fairly attractive. Bunnie was at first too...
He didn't find her captivating like when they first hooked up; she was the first woman that had ever showed him any interest. They were younger and in war times; they were still in war times. Bunnie was the first woman he had ever been with, and it was by default. Now Sally...
Antoine felt warmer thinking about her pretty face; he donned a weak smile looking at his reflection in the water. Oh he had wished Sally would have given him a chance, but as Rotor had put it when women did such things. He had been placed in the friend zone, and Sally would not consider anything pass that with him. Antoine bent down and swished his hand through the water then sat. The thing was…Bunnie was the only thing he knew…
Anything with Sally was pushed out of his mind long ago when Sonic had hooked up with her. This was a habit he was going to have to break, but seeing Sonic be depressed lately had lifted his spirits. He knew it was bad to feel that way...
But he wanted to be a hero like Sonic…hoping that maybe one day he would be a great hero in his own right….
But Bunnie...
Antoine's smile died and his face became neutral. He was going to try and see what was going to happen with her. In the times of slow, their real selves had shown. Things had calmed down a bit over the years, and now he saw they never really had anything in common...
Bunnie and Antoine are dealing with problems in their relationship and Sonic his issues. Let's see how they progress.
