Chapter 10: Never Alone

Espio held back the branches of a giant fern so his friends could pass. Vector and Charmy came into the clearing, their eyes wide. Before them was a small log cabin, surrounded by a babbling brook. "Well, this is the place," the chameleon announced.

"Sure looks cozy!" Vector commented.

"Yeah!" Charmy buzzed around excitedly. "Hey, Espio, how come you kept this place a secret from us?"

Espio cleared his throat. "I just…need some peace and quiet sometimes…"

"PEACE AND QUIET?! WHY WOULD YOU NEED THAT?!" Charmy shouted into the chameleon's ear, nearly shattering his eardrum with his high-pitched voice.

Espio flinched. "No reason," he said quietly.

"Let's go check it out!" Vector charged towards the cabin excitedly.

"Yay!" Charmy flew after him.

Espio hung back. He glanced into the forest. Finally, Nicole emerged from the ferns, still staring down at the ground. Espio saw the faraway look in her eyes. He frowned, very concerned for his friend. "Look, Nicole," he said gently, nodding to the cabin behind him. "This is where we'll be staying."

Nicole lifted her head up. Her face was expressionless. "It looks nice," she said. Those were the first words she had spoken since she had left New Mobotropolis.

Espio smiled a little. "I promise you'll feel right at home here."

A short while later, everyone had settled in. There was a large couch set up in front of a lovely stone fireplace. Vector seated himself on the couch and slipped off his shoes. He sighed contently. "Now this is the life…"

"EW! Vector!" Charmy screwed up his face and covered his nose. "No one wants to smell your stinky feet!"

"Well, no one wants to hear your annoying voice," Vector retorted. He scratched between his toes with an annoyed grunt. "And my feet do not smell!"

"They do too, Vector!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Will you two please stop that?" Espio interrupted their arguing. His eye twitched in annoyance.

"Sorry," Charmy apologized. "But they do," he mumbled quickly as he flew out of the room.

Espio shook his head and sat beside Vector. He gave the crocodile a look.

Vector blinked. "What?" he shrugged.

"You know what," Espio said. "Nicole is stressed out enough. She doesn't need to listen to you two fight about stupid things."

Vector sniffed. He twiddled his thumbs. "Yeah, you're right," he sighed. "I'm sorry…"

Espio nodded. He looked towards the door, thinking of Nicole. "I think I'll go…" He was interrupted by a loud snort. Espio saw now that Vector was fast asleep. Drool poured out of his mouth and pooled on his chest. Espio rolled his eyes and rose to his feet. "I think I'll go talk to Nicole," he said to himself. The chameleon opened the door of the cabin. The warm, gentle breeze of a summer afternoon came to meet him. He saw Nicole sitting on the edge of the brook. Slowly, he approached her. The lynx stared at the water quietly washing over the rocks, seemingly oblivious to Espio sitting down beside her. She closed her eyes.

"Have you ever had that feeling before, Espio?" Nicole asked quietly. "That feeling of…helplessness?"

Espio glanced over at her. He nodded slowly. "Yes, I have."

Nicole sniffed. She buried her face in her hands. "I…really thought that…" she trailed off, her voice shaky. "I really thought that… I was going to die in there, Espio…"

Espio placed an arm around her shoulders tentatively.

"And I-I…I couldn't do anything…" Nicole trembled. She lifted her head up to look at her friend. "I couldn't save Sonic…I couldn't even save myself…it's a miracle we made it out of there alive…"

Espio exhaled slowly. "Nicole, I…"

"What am I going to do?" She cut him off. "I can't go back. Not after what happened. I can't protect anybody against those things!" She started to tear up.

"Nicole, listen to me," Espio said firmly. "I know you are very strong. I know how much you care about everybody in that city. And they know it, too. And they know that now, you'll be fighting even harder to protect them." He smiled. "And don't forget, you're not alone."

Nicole stared at Espio, her lip quivering. "Espio…thank you." She threw her arms around him. "Thank you for the talk."

Espio hugged her back. "Any time," he whispered.