Okay, I know this took a while but, oh, you know what? You probably don't care do you? I mean, if you're still reading at this point you probably want me to get on with it, right? :D
Disclaimer: I only own Kate, the rest belongs to Sonic Team @SEGA
Anyway, enjoy :)The day had gone so fast.
It was evening. The day was fading into night. The group had been out since mid-morning, and the day had flown by, it seemed, in a matter of seconds.
Kate was currently stood outside of the headquarters, staring up blankly at the burnt orange sky. In any other situation, she would be in complete awe as she surveyed the beautiful sunset stained sky with streaks of gold that shot out from the dying sun.
Right now, however, it was just the sky.
Inside, final checks were being out with the Star Post to make sure it was operational. To both Sally and Tails' dislike, the officials had insisted that their little team of white-cladded engineers handle the preparation of Star Post to ensure nothing was "tampered" with. In other words, to make sure that neither Sally or Tails had the chance to "accidentally" make the Post faulty so Kate would have to stay longer as an alternative method was figured out. However, this didn't stop the pair of them from hovering over the team of engineers, occasionally coming out with snarky comments critiquing whatever they were doing at that time.
The officials themselves had taken the job of briefing Kate and the others on what she was/was not allowed to do (unfortunately, the latter was the bigger list of the two). Hearing the officials droning on about what Kate already knew was like listening to a stuck record, and there was only so much she could take. After Kate's third reminder that she had to be in total isolation from Mobius for the entirety of the ten years, she had stormed out, which was why she was now having a staring contest with the sky.
She had managed to block it all out for the day. Pretend none of it ever happened, pretend that the unbelievable terror of being forcefully removed from her home simply didn't exist. After all, there were more important problems to work out, such as the best route to take to Station Square or what flavour ice cream to get. They had simply wandered around, laughing, talking about anything but the exile. At one point, all five of them had followed a crab for ten minutes, genuinely curious about what it was up to. Unfortunately, the crab turned out to be very boring, as the only exciting thing it did was flip over a few stones. Still, it was a good way to waste time nonetheless.
The trip out had proved to be a perfect distraction. However, when the group finally returned to Mobotropolis, the UN representatives were waiting for Kate, and it was like reality had slapped her in the face.
She sighed, her breath rising up in a little cloud of mist as the air began to cool. Her head dropped as her neck began to ache from looking upwards for too long, and she instead focused on the slightly damp grass.
Any minute now, she thought to herself, any minute now, the Star Post could be ready. Any minute, someone could step outside and tell Kate it was time to go. And then she would be gone. An entire decade on another planet with new people and no contact with her friends.
It had all been so surreal. The sheer magnitude of what was about to happen just didn't seem to compute in Kate's mind. Merely two days ago, she didn't even think such an event was possible. Even when she had found out what was going to happen to her, she didn't really believe it. Only now, as her exile loomed ever closer and was merely a matter of minutes away, did it become even remotely real.
The sky was now a light blue, stained with the slightest hint of orange. The not-to-far-away city of Mobotropolis was beginning to gain a faint glow as streetlights flickered on automatically. Kate vaguely began to wonder what people were up to, and then began to wonder what she would be doing right now. Quite possibly, she would have just arrived home after helping out with whatever needed doing. She would be lounging on the sofa, either watching the TV or reading, depending on what mood she was in. No doubt she could do that in the Sol Dimension, too, but something would almost certainly be amiss. It wouldn't be the same…
She broke out of this thought, telling herself sternly to stop focusing on the negatives. True, she wasn't sure where she was going, but everyone else was. There were friends there willing to take her in. It wasn't permanent. She was coming back. And maybe...maybe...
…maybe it wouldn't happen.
Her longing to be at home somehow brought a new train of thought into her head. Maybe it wouldn't happen. She had been focusing on what was happening, or what definitely will happen. She hadn't considered the possibility that it might not happen after all. Maybe the Star Post will falter, maybe the time of her exile will be cut. Maybe they will all realise what an incredibly prejudicial snap judgement they made about someone else's capabilities to control their power and just call the whole thing off. Maybe, just maybe, life will decide to be kind for once.
Kate desperately held onto the thought that something may go wrong. As she finally began to take in the beauty of the sunset, she became overcome with the hope that life would finally be kind.
Then, however, the door behind her opened, spilling light onto the dark green grass. Someone had opened the door, unknowingly shattering whatever positive outlook Kate had managed to muster in the past few minutes. Whoever it was, they had said their name, and the sound echoed through Kate's mind like a funeral bell.
Too fast. This was happening too fast. Surely, they couldn't have been finished already? How long had she been out there?
Numbly, she turned on the spot to face whoever had joined her outside. Her movement was slow and almost robotic, like some external force was controlling her. If this was all just a dream, she thought, now would be a good time to wake up…
She gave a short grunt in reply, not finding the energy to produce any sound other than that.
It was Sonic who had poked his head out of the door. His expression was hard to read, but it certainly wasn't positive. He appeared to be wary, unsure of what exactly was going through Kate's mind. To be fair, the ivory wolf had developed quite a reputation for being spontaneous recently, and predictable behaviour wasn't exactly her style.
He let out a deep sigh, and then spoke, even though he didn't need to. His look said it all.
"They're…they're ready,"
*inside*
It was dark inside, as per usual. The few meagre lights scattered around the HQ offered little in terms of illumination. In the evenings, most of the light came from the large monitor screen. They didn't mind this. It actually made the place more cosy, especially during winter months.
The monitor was off right now. The extra light was now emanating from the lab area of the Headquarters, as were multiple voices, some familiar, and some not. Stepping numbly after Sonic into the lab, Kate found that the production of light was coming from the swirling, pale blue ball of light in between two illuminated posts.
Kate had never seen an active Star Post before and, despite her current situation, she stopped at the door for a second or two, mesmerised by the swirling vortex. Strange how such a little thing could take someone to a completely different dimension.
The officials were stood by the side of the Star Posts, muttering softly to one another. The group of scientists in white coats stood next to them, also talking amongst themselves. Stood with them, arms crossed in a solemn manner, was Shadow. His position in the room indicated that he was there as an ambassador for G.U.N. Obviously, he was there to stop Kate from running away and causing anymore trouble (however, if such an event was to occur, it was highly likely that Shadow would help, rather than hinder, Kate's bid for freedom).
Elias was also there, talking with Sally, probably just to overlook the procedure. Silver was stood on his own close to the door, and Tails was huddled over something on the work bench.
However, almost immediately after Kate's entrance, Tails had rushed up to her, almost pushing Sonic completely out of the way. The blue hedgehog snorted indignantly before moving aside, recognising Tails' urgency.
In his hand was a small, metal band. It was plain except for a single, tiny, red blinking light. He held it before him like he was offering Kate some kind of award. Kate, evidently not understanding the importance of such a small, seemingly useless object, raised her eye ridge in confusion.
"What's that?"
Tails didn't answer straight away. Instead, he gestured towards Kate's right arm with his hand. Deciding that it would be better to wait for Tails' explanation than to question him further, Kate complied, and held out her arm towards the young fox.
The band snapped open, and Tails slid the opening carefully over Kate's wrist. When it was on properly, he snapped it shut, and shifted it slightly so it was nestled behind her golden cuff.
"It's a monitor. It measures your heartbeat and other signs and sends the data back here so we know that you're okay," Tails explained proudly "we won't know your location, we'll just know that you're alright,"
Kate didn't get a chance to reply, as Sally piped up from her left.
"We would have done to make sure we could keep an eye on you, but it's the only tech they would allow,"
She shot a furtive glance towards the officials as she finished her sentence, who stopped talking for barely a second in order to respond with equally contemptuous looks.
Meanwhile, Kate was examining the device on her wrist, running the tips of her fingers over the blinking light, impressed but somehow sceptical.
"What if it breaks?"
Tails opened his mouth, ready to launch into an in-depth explanation, but Sally answered for him. His shoulders slackened rather sulkily as he became clearly miffed by the interjection.
"It's made from reinforced nanites," Sally told Kate, ignoring Tails' sulk "they're interlocking and held together by a constant electrical signal. It's pretty much indestructible, so don't worry,"
Kate nodded, but said nothing, still staring at the little metal band with the tiny blinking light. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the blue vortex swirling away, she could see the officials now tapping their feet impatiently as they waited for Kate to finish so she could leave Mobius and they could all get on with their lives.
Kate had been stalling. She wasn't worried about the monitor breaking, she had absolute faith that her friends had done a good job in preventing that from happening. There was no need to ask that question, she was just delaying the inevitable.
Now there was nothing left to talk about, nothing that she could think of, anyway. All that was left to do was to leave.
With a deep breath, she stepped forwards and turned around so she was facing the others, somehow communicating to them, telling them that she was ready.
She then began to say her farewells to each of them in turn.
Tails was the closest to her, and was therefore the first. They shared a single hug and a few pats on the back, all the while letting out muffled goodbyes and good lucks into each other's shoulder, reassuring each other how brilliant the other was. Sally was next, and the procedure almost repeated itself, although with fewer pats on the back and more comforting rubs. Elias was a handshake, with the squirrel not being one for hugs and Kate not knowing him that well except for what she learnt living in a cramped bunker for two months. They were all fairly easy to deal with. Well, as easy as it could get in that situation.
It was only when Kate moved on to Sonic did it all become so much more difficult.
They came together, not in a hug, but in an embrace, the type of embrace only a close friend could give. Just like the embrace they had shared at the beach merely two nights previously, it was reassuring, yet sad. Despite her best efforts, Kate released a few muffled sniffles into Sonic's shoulder as she began to break down. After feeling the first hot tear slip down her muzzle, she made an odd noise, like a cross between a chuckle and a sob.
"Damnit…" she muttered, very quiet, but loud enough for Sonic to hear "I was going to try to be cool about all of this…"
She felt Sonic exhale as he snorted gently.
"Eh, if I was you right now, I'd be in a complete mess. You're being cool about this, trust me…"
They couldn't stay like this forever, they both knew this. The officials were almost breathing down their necks and even the portal behind them seemed to be hissing at them to hurry it up. So, Kate pulled away slowly, as if she was stuck to a wall of glue. With another sniff, she removed her arms from her friend to messily wipe her eyes on her sleeves. Sonic' s hands, however, remained firmly on her shoulders.
He stared at her for a second, almost blankly, before he smiled.
"Thank you,"
Kate's head cocked to the side slightly.
"For…for what?"
The smile didn't leave the hedgehog's face.
"For everything,"
Ivory ears drooped at the awful hint of finality in Sonic's tone. She let out a forced chuckle to release the pressure in her throat before it came out as a humiliatingly over-the-top sod.
"O-ho...don't...don't say that like I'm going away forever," she breathed, before adding sarcastically "it's only ten years, I'm sure it'll fly by,"
It wouldn't. They all knew that. It would probably drag by as slowly as a snail on sleeping pills.
The wolf made herself turn away from Sonic, and towards Shadow. The agent, stood there sullenly with his arms crossed, looked up in surprise, not expecting Kate the interact considering he was there on official business. His human colleagues eyed Kate cautiously as she approached the dark hedgehog, arms slightly outstretched.
"Okay, I know you're not a hugger, but I'm coming in for one anyway," she said, her tone the result of a decent attempt at lightheartedness "so get ready,"
She didn't even give her brother a chance to respond (or, more accurately, protest) as she immediately wrapped her arms around him. Shadow, evidently startled, completely stiffened on contact, before relaxing. After a second or two, he hesitantly returned Kate's embrace, placing two shaky hands lightly on her shoulders.
It was new yet somehow familiar for the both of them. Neither of them had had the feeling of a close sibling with them for quite some time (although, it had been much longer for Shadow). It was an amazing warming sensation that neither of them wanted to give up but were inevitably forced to. Just like Kate had to do with James, and Shadow had to do with Maria, they unfortunately had to say goodbye.
They separated slowly, but remained facing each other. Kate's royal blue eyes bore into Shadow's crimson ones sternly.
"You better stay out of trouble,"
Shadow smirked, and gave a small nod.
"I'll do by best," he said simply, before adding "stay safe,"
Kate mirrored his smirk as she stepped back. She shrugged, and then winked.
"I'll give it my best shot,"
Her smirk faded into a smile. Then, her smile morphed into a dark grimace as her focus switched from the dark hedgehog to the light hedgehog directly behind her.
This was the one she wasn't ready for.
Kate didn't throw herself onto Silver like she had done wirh Sonic and Shadow, but stood toe-to-toe with him for a few seconds, staring at him with nothing less than pure adoration. He mirrored her, smiling. Just like he had done so many times before, he held his arms out very slightly, inviting Kate towards him and, just like all of those times before, she accepted. He wrapped her up warm in that loving embrace of friendship he was always capable of giving, regardless of the situation. It was one of companionship, but with a hint of something more.
She couldn't leave him.
The burning feeling was back, but it wasn't the same. It was longing. Longing that she hadn't even experienced yet, but she knew that it was coming. She longed to stay with him, to be able to hold him and laugh with him whenever she wanted to. She would miss the nights they shared by the lake, the way he would listen intently to anything that even caused her the slightest bit of upset.
It was the realisation of how much she would miss the hedgehog that caused her to break down into his shoulder, crying shamelessly. She too felt Silver tremble in her hold as he too lost his defences. She gripped onto him tighter as if he was a lifeline, actually causing the two of them to rock slightly with how tightly they held each other.
Of course, this moment had to be ruined. Sod's Law demanded it so. The female official had decided to pipe up behind them, causing the now disgruntled pair to separate whilst keeping their hands on each other's shoulders.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," the official said with a shrill voice "but if you could please proceed fast-"
Kate then suddenly growled, her head straining to look over her shoulder so she could stare daggers at the official through very watery eyes. Her ears flattened on her head as she snarled.
"I'm pretty damn sure you can afford to wait one more minute!"
The official scowled, but didn't say anything to contest. Strangely, for the first time that day, there was the slightest hint of pity in her icy, emotionless expression. Her shoulders rose and then fell in a strained sigh as she gestured for Kate to continue.
The wolf nodded, and her focus returned to Silver. She took a deep breath in an attempt to compose herself as she gently placed her palm on the side of Silver's face, and the other on his shoulder. Then, without hesitation, she kissed him. She didn't care who was watching.
When they parted, Kate didn't pull away, but rested her forehead on his.
"I'll be fine, okay?" She whispered gently "I'll be absolutely fine, I promise…"
She finally stepped away, although it was like tearing herself away from a strip of duct tape. She had stalled long enough. If she waited any longer, it was highly likely she would simply refuse to leave.
She turned, legs plonking along as if they were made of wood, to pick up her bag of temporary items until she managed to get some new things over in the Sol Dimension. She hooked one strap round her shoulder and then swung the back around to hook the other strap on her other shoulder. Taking a few more steps so she was just in front of the portal, she looked back.
Kate had always hated giving goodbyes. They always gave the impression that you would never see that person again. She was going to see them again, and she had to convince herself that she definitely would.
"Well…" she paused for a split second "…I'll see you all in ten years,"
There were a few scattered "see you then"'s from the others, and then a few waves. In response, Kate mustered up the most optimistic smirk she could, and gave a quick two fingered salute with her left hand.
Then, she turned away to once again face the portal, stepping towards it as she did so. Her figure became a dark silhouette against the bright light, and it became smaller and smaller as she stepped into it.
Then, she was gone. Just like that.
There were a couple seconds' delay, before the portal fizzled out and disappeared from between the Star Posts. It had served it's purpose. Kate the wolf had left that universe.
The headquarters dimmed, the main source of light no longer present. However, the portal closing had a much bigger effect on them all. It's closing had the same effect as a massive, impenetrable iron door.
And Kate was stuck on the wrong side of it.
*a few days later*
The door to Freedom HQ burst open, and a very disgruntled young fox stepped in, rubbing his head in evident irritation and confusion. He slammed the door shut behind him, although much harder than he had expected to. He stood there for a second, startled.
Tails' surprise only lasted for a mere second as his attention quickly returned to whatever the source of his frustration was.
He stomped away from the door, and immediately went over to the table. He scanned the top carefully, shuffling through the scattered sheets of paper that were there for whatever reason. He examined each one closely, checking both sides of each individual sheet. He sighed, and after a thorough investigation of the table, he glanced quickly underneath it before moving on.
Next, he checked the sofa. Things tended to get dumped there after someone accidentally miscalculated their importance. However, the sofa was completely devoid of anything.
He was losing his patience now.
He stood there stupidly for a second, running a hand distractedly over the fabric of the sofa. Then, he looked up at the monitor screen, which was buzzing with activity.
"Hey Nicole?" Tails said loudly into the empty room "have you…er…have you seen those blueprints for that micro-propulsion system I was planning? I can't find them anywhere…"
The A.I that he was speaking to took a moment to reply, and when she did, she sounded somewhat…distracted.
"What? Oh, no. I'm afraid I haven't, Tails," she said, before adding "sorry, I'm a bit busy at the moment…"
She fell silent. Tails, preoccupied with the though of finding his blueprints, paid little attention to Nicole's slightly odd behaviour. He frowned, incredibly disappointed, before his gaze moved to the lab.
He poked his head through the doorway, beginning to grow bored of his search. He couldn't remember the plans off by heart, and he had looked everywhere for them! His house, the headquarters, the-
"The airfield!" he blurted out suddenly, smacking a hand to his forehead.
Of course! Where else would plane plans be?
Abandoning his half-hearted scan of the lab, Tails whipped around and jogged back to the door he had previously slammed shut in frustration, spirits renewed by a new sense of optimism.
His gloved palm had only just rested on the door knob when Nicole piped up again, no longer sounding distracted, but worried.
"Tails, wait a minute,"
The fox looked back at the monitor as his name was mentioned. He gave a little jig of impatience as he awaited an explanation from Nicole.
"What is it?"
In response came a flicker as Nicole's holographic form blossomed into view, now fully operational once again. The lynx looked worried, and gave a somewhat awkward smile as she let out a strange chuckle.
"We…er…we have a bit of a problem,"
Of course something's wrong.
Surely you'd expect that by now?
Anyway, if anyone is reading this (btw, feel free to drop a review if you are!), I didn't manage to upload before New Year's Eve, so I hope you have a great start to 2020!
Anyway, hope you enjoyed!
Rate and Review!
~W.O.T~