Sally sat cross-legged on one of the re-stuffed couches in the Underground. She took another spoonful of Crème's soup.
Crème sat next to her, also eating. She sniffed, wiping at her still red eyes.
"It's not that I do not care about them," Sally said, her voice low and shaky. She drank some water. Her hand trembled and the cup rattled as she set the cup back down.
Crème didn't reply. She stared down at her own hands, clasped in her lap.
"I…" Sally pushed a lock of hair out of her face softly. "I…don't want to see what happens to them..."
"You lost your Mama and Papa and home," Crème said. "You're sad."
Sally paused. She glanced at Crème and two girls' eyes met in understanding.
"Yes," Sally said.
"…and scared," Crème added.
Sally did not respond.
They both sat in silence for a moment. Sally set down the bowl of soup.
Crème stood up and picked up the quilt thrown over the back of the couch. She circled it around Sally's shoulders.
"You stay right here while you get better, Miss Sally," Crème said.
Sally smiled at Crème, and a soft light glowed in her eyes. "Thank you."
What could she do? She couldn't do anymore thinking. Her imagination was a terrifying place to be right now. It hurt to see her mother's bloody remains. It hurt to see her capitol crawling with metal. It hurt to feel the emptiness around her, devoid of the people she loved. Bunnie, Tails, even Amy Rose. Sonic.
Everything felt wrong. Haunted.
Suppose her father returned after they were all dead? Would he look out of his aerial craft with his entourage of Mobian dragons and see his ruined city? Would there even be anyone left to tell him what had happened to his wife and daughter?
Sally closed her eyes shut, then opened them again, desperate for a distraction. Something to fill up the quietness.
She glanced up at the projector screen hanging from the cavern wall over the sitting room.
"Were they watching a movie reel?" Sally asked
Crème, back in the kitchen somewhere, replied. "What? Oh! Miss Bunnie was watching that the night they brought Mr. Rotor back here—Mr. Tails found a camera bot file and it must have been important somehow. Miss Bunnie watched some of it, but then she got tired of it and called you. She said she had to talk to you right away about Mr. Sonic."
Sally's eyelids drooped. That already felt like so long ago…
"There's still a lot left on it, but it's really boring. Miss Bunnie said it must have had several weeks of feed."
Sally glanced up at the screen.
Several weeks of feed. That would certainly be a long time to keep one's mind occupied.
A part of her was scared. She didn't want to see anything that had to do with their fight. Or Robotnik or Robotropolis or robots…
But at the same time…this feed was one of the last remnants of life as she had known it only a few days ago. Back when they were just a bunch of kids doing illegal stuff and she was the princess who was helping them. Back when she had her city and her room and her stable mind and her mother-
"I think I'll watch it," Sally said. "What was she looking for?"
"Something about a red echidna in the lab "Specktank"…" Crème said.
Hello, friends! There are finally some longer chapters coming up, but I'm gonna stop here. I may or may not post them tomorrow since these were shorter. God bless and have good nights/days depending on your time zone! *bows*
~Constance.
