Nack's Golden Mistake
Subchapter 2
Nic's perspective
Author's notes: Please read Nack's Golden Mistake s-chapter 1 before this. You
will be happier that way, and so will I. Read it at http://www.fanfiction.net/~frwl
~Nick "frwl" Byrd
***
I will always remember that night, those days. Days spent in thought about life.
Hours spent in mourning. That night when I almost became an only child in a family
which was on the brink of extinction...
And in a sense, for a short while, that did happen.
***
"Nack!" I yelled as I pounded on his door. "Nack!"
He cracked it open and looked at me suspiciously. "Wha'd YOU want?" he asked
as if angered to see me.
I could sense that something was up; he was hiding something. "Exactly what do
you do in there?" It was an innocent question, but now that I look back to it, I did throw
in an unfriendly tone.
"That's none of your business!" he snapped, slamming the door in my face.
Again I knocked. "Open up!"
"Go away!" Then silence.
I stood there for a few more seconds, hoping he would open up and be willing to
talk. I hadn't gone to find out what he was doing after all. But he didn't do anything,
didn't say anything. "Stupid brother," I growled under my breath. I'm not sure if I said it
loud enough for him to hear, or if I meant for it to be that way; this was one of our lighter
arguments.
But I wasn't going to let that get in the way of my night plans. I went to the
kitchen, took out a paper and pen, and wrote: "Nack- Went to buy a Freedom Call CD,
I'll be home later. I'll bring dinner this time, so you better be home by the time I get
back, cause I ain't letting my food get cold waiting for you! ~Nic" I had a feeling that he
might try going somewhere for the night. It wouldn't have been his first time doing so.
Sometimes he went to the local bars, other times he would walk into the city and just
wander around. You couldn't blame him; living outside Houston can be pretty boring and
depressing, as with a bountyhunter's life. One needs distractions occasionally to keep
from going insane when in our 'profession.'
Freedom Call... It's a silly little thing I took a shining to. The Internet these days
is an amazing thing; information on anything can be instantly available to you right from
your own home. You could stream audio and decide what's good and what's not.
Freedom Call, I had decided after a few mp3 downloads, was good. I didn't feel right
pirating their works, I figured that my job kept me stealing enough stuff and laying
enough guilt on me as it was. And hey, if it's worth the money...
Yes, they weren't a modern band, but they weren't too old either, their album
publishing days ranging from the late 1990s to the late 2000s. They performed a unique
form of music which could only and rightfully be called 'symphonic metal.' People all
over the world were experimenting with it quite a bit and had been even since my
childhood, but only a handful of groups managed to pull it off with success, FC being one
of them.
I rode into Houston and quickly found my favorite music store. Well, I be durned
if I didn't go through every album and category three times and come up empty handed.
So they were a European band, but tell me that this country didn't carry European albums
in its stores. I broke down finally and asked the guy behind the counter for information
on the situation, and sure enough, they didn't have it. Well, I gotta credit him for honesty
as he pointed me to another store across town that he assumed would have it. So I was
off, and was I glad that I had my airbike or the traffic would have killed me... or someone
else for that matter.
So I picked up the album for a nice price, $15. Eternity was the album's name
that I chose. Some of the catchiest tunes were in there, so I was happy.
As I headed home, I popped in the CD and listened. How any store could not sell
FC's music is beyond me, if people would give them a bit more of a chance, they too
would see how excellent they were.
But then I got to thinking bout Nack and me. Why did we fight? Did we really
hate eachother? No, that couldn't be. More times than I could count we proved that there
was love there. But then why did we fight? That was the burning question. Was there
both love and hate in our hearts? How could that be? I always wished we would just end
it all and get along like we should, like Mama always wanted. So many times we would
get in an argument while on a mission or something and one of us would come out
bearing a resemblance to raw hamburger, and the pain it brought upon us to know that
our last words to eachother were angry ones. But then we would save eachother and
come out crying with joy and such mush... maybe it really was healthy for our
relationship... But hey, speaking of hamburger, I DID say that I would bring dinner home,
and when in Texas, it isn't hard to find a Mc Donallds.
I got home and put the bag of food on the kitchen counter. "Nack! Dinner!" I
called, expecting him to come before long. I noticed the blinking light on the answering
machine; someone had called. I hit the button to hear it and the machine's voice came:
"One new message. Sent: 9:16 PM." I looked up to the wall-mounted clock as it just
turned over to 9:18. I had just missed the call, wonderful.
"Hey Nic," Nack's voice came. Well, it explained why he didn't answer the phone
himself. "I'm sorry, but I won't be home for dinner tonight!" He laughed, and I scowled.
"You idiot," I cursed him under my breath as I took out my hamburger so I could
eat it before it got cold, not thinking much of a sudden coughing spell Nack had over the
line.
There was silence for a few seconds, then he started up again. "Aw, sis, I'm sorry,
I won't be home again. I've fallen down Ferreira Mine." At that, I wasn't sure if I was
gonna spit my food out, but somehow I swallowed it, nearly choking myself in that
attempt. I listened closely to his message, paralyzed by fear. "By the time you get this
message, I'll probably be dead." Those words simply did not sink in with me at first. It
couldn't be happening. "C'mon sis!" he was straining now, I could hear it in his voice.
"Don't cry! Yeah, I'm dyin' down here, but it's ok... It ain't that bad. I'm fine, really."
"T...This is a joke, he's just tryin' to get a rise outta me," I remember saying out
loud. But Nack continued, bringing the situation more horror to my mind.
"Nic, I guess I am just now realizing that, well, all the bad stuffs I said about you,
all the stuff I did... I never really meant it. I love you, sis..." That was something that he
didn't say unless he meant it from the bottom of his heart and only when he felt that it
was of total necessity. This was no joke. He coughed again, this time powerfully, and it
brought chills to my every bone. "Well, sis... I think I gotta go now. I love you, I'll miss
ya... Goodbye."
"End of messages," the machine beeped.
Why was he down there? How did he fall down? What was I going to do? These
questions flooded my mind as I sat there for several seconds in utter shock. Then I
thought of one questions that quieted all the others: Was he still alive?
Instantly I called 911. I don't remember what I said, I was trying to keep myself
from crying, but I knew that I was failing horribly. But by some miracle, the dispatcher
understood exactly what my babbling was. She comforted me, saying that help was
already on the way and that I should head there too. It did calm me a bit, and I agreed to
it all and hung up (I'm not sure if she knew I was going to hang up like that). But I didn't
budge. The reality of it was still sinking in... Something inside me told me that Nack was
dead.
I fell to my knees and wept like I never did before or after in all my life. "No,
Nack! I'm sorry for what I said too! I never meant it, you aren't stupid or a fool or weak!
Don't leave me, not this way!"
Then something hit me, an urge of desperation, something I think I should have
done more often. "Lord!" I cried out in prayer. "Don't let this happen, not this way...
Mamma, you told me that He would always be with us... Please, Mamma, if you can hear
me, don't let him die! I'm not ready to be an only child..."
Some form of pure peace washed over me just then. I slowly stood up and looked
to the clock as it ticked off second after slow second. I knew what I had to do, and so I
ran to my airbike and sped off to the mines.
The rescue workers beat me to the scene. I asked where my brother was, and they
told me that he was on his way up now, but that I couldn't go into the area because they
didn't want to have to fish another weasel out of there. Then the worst thing came over
the radio that held the above-ground party in contact with the workers below. "This
doesn't look too good... I think we lost him."
I sat there, numb at what I heard. "What?" the man I was talking to started in to
the radio. "Can you confirm that?"
A few excruciating moments of radio silence passed before the answer. "Yes."
The man sat there for a few seconds before turning to me. "Miss Weasel? I'm
afraid that your brother is dead."
I denied it over and over again. "No, he can't be dead! It can't be!"
"I'm sorry," the man continued as I kept telling him he was wrong. "He isn't
breathing and he has no pulse. There's nothing we can do..."
"No!" I screamed, tears streaming down my face. "He is alive! He is! I know it!" I
rushed forward to burst into the mine, but the man grabbed me and held me fast.
"I'm sorry, I know how you must feel! But we can't let you..." I had my limit, so I
put all my strength, emotions, and voice into a punch, which connected with the man's
stomach, sending him strait to the floor. Then I ran for the double-doors that allowed
entrance to the mines, but I barely had the time to kick them open when two pairs of arm
grabbed both of mine and pulled me back. I screamed and pleaded for them to let me go,
but they didn't. Then...
Nack was wheeled out on a stretcher. I saw him and nearly fainted at first. His leg
was torn and he was motionless. His eyes were closed loosely, but his mouth hung open
somewhat, letting a bit of blood stream down his cheek. But rather than fainting, I broke
the grip of the people and ran to his side and hurried along with the rescuers as they
wheeled him into the ambulance, talking to him as I tried to convince him to wake up.
I sat there alone with him for a good half a minute. It was true, he was dead, and I
couldn't help but lament it. By and by, a man in a white coat walked in and sat besides
me. "Hello," he said, holding out his hand, trying to get me to shake it (which I didn't
do). "I am Dr. Wolfram. I'm sorry about your brother... but judging on how he looks now,
he died peacefully."
"Yes," I said with a small but sad smile, not taking my eyes off of my brother. "I
believe he did." I ran my fingers through the hair on his head, mentally reliving notable
moments of our lives. Mission and freetime, success and failure, childhood and
adulthood, through thick and thin we had stayed together as brother and sister, a team
that nobody could match up to. "Oh Nack," I cooed softly. "You forgot your hat..." I took
mine off and was about to place it over his face, but what happened was nothing less than
a miracle.
He coughed once or twice, I couldn't tell, it caught me so off guard that my heart
almost jumped outta me. "God, is that you?" he asked in a parched voice. His eyes were
cracked open, and he was looking up at the central examination lamp. "Wow, you really
are bright like they say."
I gasped, to scared to move at first, afraid that if I touched him that he would be
gone again. "Nack... Nack!" I said softly, "Are you awake?"
"Nic?" he called out, straining to sit up, but clearly too weak to.
"Don't move!" Wolfram replied, equaly caught off guard. "You need your rest!"
"Nic..." he called out again, before going limp again.
"Miss Weasel," Wolfram began as he reached out across the ambulance's
compartment and grabbed a case of sorts. "It seems that you were correct when you said
that your brother wasn't dead, but that won't last long. He needs a blood transfusion,
right now." I would have given him the transfusion all by my self if I had to. Lucky for
him, he was blood type AB.
The doctor started up the transfusion immediately. Yeah, it was kinda painful, but
I had been in worse and I would do anything for Nack. Wolfram slapped an oxygen mask
first on Nack, then on me, saying that I was too excited for the amount of blood I would
have left when he was done. The he hollered for someone to start the ambulance for the
hospital, but nobody did so, they didn't believe that Nack still had life in him. "Do it!" he
shouted. "This man's life depends on it!" Magic those words were, it was like the original
crew was transformed into a new one. Everyone dropped what they were doing and tried
cramming into the compartment to see if it was really true, but the doctor simply shut the
doors and told them to get driving.
We arrived at the hospital in no time. The doctor and driver quickly wheeled
Nack out of the ambulance and into the hospital. I tried to keep up with them, but simply
couldn't find the strength, but I'll assure you that I did make it. A nurse greeted me there
with a plate of cookies and a glass of apple juice; she said that I would need to eat in
order to get my strength back up. Eating wasn't on my mind right then, but she said that I
might as well do so while they were stabilizing and running tests on Nack.
As I sat there in the waiting room, eating and drinking to my own health, I
couldn't help but think about Nack's; how close I had come to loosing him. "Thank you,
Mama," I whispered, knowing that some non-earthly force had done this.
But he wasn't in the clear yet. After a short while, Wolfram called me into Nack's
room. "He seems to be in a coma. He may wake up any minute, or he may never do so
again; we really can't tell at this point."
I quietly accepted this and managed to keep my tears back. "Do you know his
chances? Are they high or low?"
"As I said," Wolfram picked back up, "We can't tell." He looked over to Nack
with an almost mystified facial expression. "It isn't every day that someone comes back
from the brink like that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must get to the lab. I hate to say it,
but your brother isn't the only patient here."
So we were alone. I sat in a chair for a few minutes, listening to the beeping of
the ECG next to him. He was alive, but at the same time, he wasn't. I got up and walked
to his side. He looked just like he was sleeping... so calm, so peaceful. I took of my own
gloves and took ahold of one of his hands. "Nack, can you hear me?" He didn't move. "I
hope you can... you know, I never really hated you. You aren't a fool, even though you
did foolish things some time," I laughed, wiping a tear from my eye. "In fact, I looked up
to you a lot. You're my big brother, and nothing can change that, right?" No response.
Could he really hear me? Were my words too late? I sat down again and sobbed quietly.
Three days passed. Over and over again I had similar "conversations" with him,
hoping that some of it would get through, but I never got a single sign that it was. I
didn't sleep, and at this point my own spirit was failing him. While I wanted to keep
watch for him to come back, I knew that I couldn't do it forever.
One more time I walked to his bedside and took his hand. I had this feeling that
he wouldn't be waking up again. "Hey Nack, it's me again," I started, looking down at his
still face. "Remember all the good times we had together? all of our missions? How
about that one time when the boiler blew it's top? I thought you were a goner then, but
you were stronger than that..." I paused for a second before continuing. "And how about
that time at Albion? That time, you saved MY life! What would I do without you?" I
laughed to myself as I answered it. "Died, I guess." I thought about it. Now what was I
gonna do without him?
"Well, I guess that you weren't lucky enough this time, eh Fang?" I paused trying
to hold my tears back yet again. "It IS ok; we all have our times, and I guess you just
came to yours first. There's nothing to do but accept that, I guess. But we'll see eachother
again one day, right? One day, Another Day..."
I couldn't go on any more, I sat back down and cried. I might have cried myself
into some form of sleep. I don't know how much time passed, but something awoke me.
"Nic..." The voice came to my ears. I looked up, half of my mind telling me that it was
real, the other half telling me that I dreamed it up. As I looked at him, he was awake and
looking at me. "Nic..." he called out again.
I stood up, hardly unable to understand that it wasn't a dream. "Nack! Are you
OK?"
He strained for a few seconds, like he was trying to get up or something. But he
fell back to his pillow after a few tries. "Yeah, I'm fine..." He replied with a tired lil'
smile.
I started crying with joy. "I thought I lost you that night... I got home hardly a
minute after you sent the call."
"Wow, what luck."
"I instantly called police, firefighters, medical crews, everything. I knew that there
was still hope... that you wanted to live." I paused to regain my composure. "When we
got to you... you..." How could I tell him? It was so painful just thinking back to that day.
"I what?" He asked, wanting out with it. Well, here goes nothing.
"You were clinically dead."
He just looked up at me for a few moments, unable to believe it himself. "How
am I alive?"
"It was nothing short of a miracle. As we were taking you out of the area, you
inhaled, started talking. It was quite a struggle, but we managed to keep you alive till we
got to the hospital... It took quite a large blood transfusion in order to stabilize you."
"Sis... you...?" I didn't let on to it, but he knew that it was I that gave the donation.
"Thanks." We hugged then, crying in eachother's arms. It wasn't a big hug, he was
limited from his position, but it doesn't take a big hug to show a lot of love.
A few days passed, and during that time I was able to get some much needed rest.
It was a smart move of mine too, cause Dr. Wolfram said that Nack was healing up so
well that he could come home. That made me his personal servant. I didn't mind it much,
it was definitely better than being his hostess at his funeral.
Dr. Ivo Eggman Robotik called up one day; said he had a mission for us. Nack
and I were ready to accept it... as soon as Nack was out of his bandages that is. One thing
was for certain: I wasn't going to let Nack die before me this time. Little did I know what
that meant at the time.
Next Subchapter!
Fallen Angel: Nic's Perspective
+Spoiler for chapter 8: Rain of a Thousand Flames
Subchapter 2
Nic's perspective
Author's notes: Please read Nack's Golden Mistake s-chapter 1 before this. You
will be happier that way, and so will I. Read it at http://www.fanfiction.net/~frwl
~Nick "frwl" Byrd
***
I will always remember that night, those days. Days spent in thought about life.
Hours spent in mourning. That night when I almost became an only child in a family
which was on the brink of extinction...
And in a sense, for a short while, that did happen.
***
"Nack!" I yelled as I pounded on his door. "Nack!"
He cracked it open and looked at me suspiciously. "Wha'd YOU want?" he asked
as if angered to see me.
I could sense that something was up; he was hiding something. "Exactly what do
you do in there?" It was an innocent question, but now that I look back to it, I did throw
in an unfriendly tone.
"That's none of your business!" he snapped, slamming the door in my face.
Again I knocked. "Open up!"
"Go away!" Then silence.
I stood there for a few more seconds, hoping he would open up and be willing to
talk. I hadn't gone to find out what he was doing after all. But he didn't do anything,
didn't say anything. "Stupid brother," I growled under my breath. I'm not sure if I said it
loud enough for him to hear, or if I meant for it to be that way; this was one of our lighter
arguments.
But I wasn't going to let that get in the way of my night plans. I went to the
kitchen, took out a paper and pen, and wrote: "Nack- Went to buy a Freedom Call CD,
I'll be home later. I'll bring dinner this time, so you better be home by the time I get
back, cause I ain't letting my food get cold waiting for you! ~Nic" I had a feeling that he
might try going somewhere for the night. It wouldn't have been his first time doing so.
Sometimes he went to the local bars, other times he would walk into the city and just
wander around. You couldn't blame him; living outside Houston can be pretty boring and
depressing, as with a bountyhunter's life. One needs distractions occasionally to keep
from going insane when in our 'profession.'
Freedom Call... It's a silly little thing I took a shining to. The Internet these days
is an amazing thing; information on anything can be instantly available to you right from
your own home. You could stream audio and decide what's good and what's not.
Freedom Call, I had decided after a few mp3 downloads, was good. I didn't feel right
pirating their works, I figured that my job kept me stealing enough stuff and laying
enough guilt on me as it was. And hey, if it's worth the money...
Yes, they weren't a modern band, but they weren't too old either, their album
publishing days ranging from the late 1990s to the late 2000s. They performed a unique
form of music which could only and rightfully be called 'symphonic metal.' People all
over the world were experimenting with it quite a bit and had been even since my
childhood, but only a handful of groups managed to pull it off with success, FC being one
of them.
I rode into Houston and quickly found my favorite music store. Well, I be durned
if I didn't go through every album and category three times and come up empty handed.
So they were a European band, but tell me that this country didn't carry European albums
in its stores. I broke down finally and asked the guy behind the counter for information
on the situation, and sure enough, they didn't have it. Well, I gotta credit him for honesty
as he pointed me to another store across town that he assumed would have it. So I was
off, and was I glad that I had my airbike or the traffic would have killed me... or someone
else for that matter.
So I picked up the album for a nice price, $15. Eternity was the album's name
that I chose. Some of the catchiest tunes were in there, so I was happy.
As I headed home, I popped in the CD and listened. How any store could not sell
FC's music is beyond me, if people would give them a bit more of a chance, they too
would see how excellent they were.
But then I got to thinking bout Nack and me. Why did we fight? Did we really
hate eachother? No, that couldn't be. More times than I could count we proved that there
was love there. But then why did we fight? That was the burning question. Was there
both love and hate in our hearts? How could that be? I always wished we would just end
it all and get along like we should, like Mama always wanted. So many times we would
get in an argument while on a mission or something and one of us would come out
bearing a resemblance to raw hamburger, and the pain it brought upon us to know that
our last words to eachother were angry ones. But then we would save eachother and
come out crying with joy and such mush... maybe it really was healthy for our
relationship... But hey, speaking of hamburger, I DID say that I would bring dinner home,
and when in Texas, it isn't hard to find a Mc Donallds.
I got home and put the bag of food on the kitchen counter. "Nack! Dinner!" I
called, expecting him to come before long. I noticed the blinking light on the answering
machine; someone had called. I hit the button to hear it and the machine's voice came:
"One new message. Sent: 9:16 PM." I looked up to the wall-mounted clock as it just
turned over to 9:18. I had just missed the call, wonderful.
"Hey Nic," Nack's voice came. Well, it explained why he didn't answer the phone
himself. "I'm sorry, but I won't be home for dinner tonight!" He laughed, and I scowled.
"You idiot," I cursed him under my breath as I took out my hamburger so I could
eat it before it got cold, not thinking much of a sudden coughing spell Nack had over the
line.
There was silence for a few seconds, then he started up again. "Aw, sis, I'm sorry,
I won't be home again. I've fallen down Ferreira Mine." At that, I wasn't sure if I was
gonna spit my food out, but somehow I swallowed it, nearly choking myself in that
attempt. I listened closely to his message, paralyzed by fear. "By the time you get this
message, I'll probably be dead." Those words simply did not sink in with me at first. It
couldn't be happening. "C'mon sis!" he was straining now, I could hear it in his voice.
"Don't cry! Yeah, I'm dyin' down here, but it's ok... It ain't that bad. I'm fine, really."
"T...This is a joke, he's just tryin' to get a rise outta me," I remember saying out
loud. But Nack continued, bringing the situation more horror to my mind.
"Nic, I guess I am just now realizing that, well, all the bad stuffs I said about you,
all the stuff I did... I never really meant it. I love you, sis..." That was something that he
didn't say unless he meant it from the bottom of his heart and only when he felt that it
was of total necessity. This was no joke. He coughed again, this time powerfully, and it
brought chills to my every bone. "Well, sis... I think I gotta go now. I love you, I'll miss
ya... Goodbye."
"End of messages," the machine beeped.
Why was he down there? How did he fall down? What was I going to do? These
questions flooded my mind as I sat there for several seconds in utter shock. Then I
thought of one questions that quieted all the others: Was he still alive?
Instantly I called 911. I don't remember what I said, I was trying to keep myself
from crying, but I knew that I was failing horribly. But by some miracle, the dispatcher
understood exactly what my babbling was. She comforted me, saying that help was
already on the way and that I should head there too. It did calm me a bit, and I agreed to
it all and hung up (I'm not sure if she knew I was going to hang up like that). But I didn't
budge. The reality of it was still sinking in... Something inside me told me that Nack was
dead.
I fell to my knees and wept like I never did before or after in all my life. "No,
Nack! I'm sorry for what I said too! I never meant it, you aren't stupid or a fool or weak!
Don't leave me, not this way!"
Then something hit me, an urge of desperation, something I think I should have
done more often. "Lord!" I cried out in prayer. "Don't let this happen, not this way...
Mamma, you told me that He would always be with us... Please, Mamma, if you can hear
me, don't let him die! I'm not ready to be an only child..."
Some form of pure peace washed over me just then. I slowly stood up and looked
to the clock as it ticked off second after slow second. I knew what I had to do, and so I
ran to my airbike and sped off to the mines.
The rescue workers beat me to the scene. I asked where my brother was, and they
told me that he was on his way up now, but that I couldn't go into the area because they
didn't want to have to fish another weasel out of there. Then the worst thing came over
the radio that held the above-ground party in contact with the workers below. "This
doesn't look too good... I think we lost him."
I sat there, numb at what I heard. "What?" the man I was talking to started in to
the radio. "Can you confirm that?"
A few excruciating moments of radio silence passed before the answer. "Yes."
The man sat there for a few seconds before turning to me. "Miss Weasel? I'm
afraid that your brother is dead."
I denied it over and over again. "No, he can't be dead! It can't be!"
"I'm sorry," the man continued as I kept telling him he was wrong. "He isn't
breathing and he has no pulse. There's nothing we can do..."
"No!" I screamed, tears streaming down my face. "He is alive! He is! I know it!" I
rushed forward to burst into the mine, but the man grabbed me and held me fast.
"I'm sorry, I know how you must feel! But we can't let you..." I had my limit, so I
put all my strength, emotions, and voice into a punch, which connected with the man's
stomach, sending him strait to the floor. Then I ran for the double-doors that allowed
entrance to the mines, but I barely had the time to kick them open when two pairs of arm
grabbed both of mine and pulled me back. I screamed and pleaded for them to let me go,
but they didn't. Then...
Nack was wheeled out on a stretcher. I saw him and nearly fainted at first. His leg
was torn and he was motionless. His eyes were closed loosely, but his mouth hung open
somewhat, letting a bit of blood stream down his cheek. But rather than fainting, I broke
the grip of the people and ran to his side and hurried along with the rescuers as they
wheeled him into the ambulance, talking to him as I tried to convince him to wake up.
I sat there alone with him for a good half a minute. It was true, he was dead, and I
couldn't help but lament it. By and by, a man in a white coat walked in and sat besides
me. "Hello," he said, holding out his hand, trying to get me to shake it (which I didn't
do). "I am Dr. Wolfram. I'm sorry about your brother... but judging on how he looks now,
he died peacefully."
"Yes," I said with a small but sad smile, not taking my eyes off of my brother. "I
believe he did." I ran my fingers through the hair on his head, mentally reliving notable
moments of our lives. Mission and freetime, success and failure, childhood and
adulthood, through thick and thin we had stayed together as brother and sister, a team
that nobody could match up to. "Oh Nack," I cooed softly. "You forgot your hat..." I took
mine off and was about to place it over his face, but what happened was nothing less than
a miracle.
He coughed once or twice, I couldn't tell, it caught me so off guard that my heart
almost jumped outta me. "God, is that you?" he asked in a parched voice. His eyes were
cracked open, and he was looking up at the central examination lamp. "Wow, you really
are bright like they say."
I gasped, to scared to move at first, afraid that if I touched him that he would be
gone again. "Nack... Nack!" I said softly, "Are you awake?"
"Nic?" he called out, straining to sit up, but clearly too weak to.
"Don't move!" Wolfram replied, equaly caught off guard. "You need your rest!"
"Nic..." he called out again, before going limp again.
"Miss Weasel," Wolfram began as he reached out across the ambulance's
compartment and grabbed a case of sorts. "It seems that you were correct when you said
that your brother wasn't dead, but that won't last long. He needs a blood transfusion,
right now." I would have given him the transfusion all by my self if I had to. Lucky for
him, he was blood type AB.
The doctor started up the transfusion immediately. Yeah, it was kinda painful, but
I had been in worse and I would do anything for Nack. Wolfram slapped an oxygen mask
first on Nack, then on me, saying that I was too excited for the amount of blood I would
have left when he was done. The he hollered for someone to start the ambulance for the
hospital, but nobody did so, they didn't believe that Nack still had life in him. "Do it!" he
shouted. "This man's life depends on it!" Magic those words were, it was like the original
crew was transformed into a new one. Everyone dropped what they were doing and tried
cramming into the compartment to see if it was really true, but the doctor simply shut the
doors and told them to get driving.
We arrived at the hospital in no time. The doctor and driver quickly wheeled
Nack out of the ambulance and into the hospital. I tried to keep up with them, but simply
couldn't find the strength, but I'll assure you that I did make it. A nurse greeted me there
with a plate of cookies and a glass of apple juice; she said that I would need to eat in
order to get my strength back up. Eating wasn't on my mind right then, but she said that I
might as well do so while they were stabilizing and running tests on Nack.
As I sat there in the waiting room, eating and drinking to my own health, I
couldn't help but think about Nack's; how close I had come to loosing him. "Thank you,
Mama," I whispered, knowing that some non-earthly force had done this.
But he wasn't in the clear yet. After a short while, Wolfram called me into Nack's
room. "He seems to be in a coma. He may wake up any minute, or he may never do so
again; we really can't tell at this point."
I quietly accepted this and managed to keep my tears back. "Do you know his
chances? Are they high or low?"
"As I said," Wolfram picked back up, "We can't tell." He looked over to Nack
with an almost mystified facial expression. "It isn't every day that someone comes back
from the brink like that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must get to the lab. I hate to say it,
but your brother isn't the only patient here."
So we were alone. I sat in a chair for a few minutes, listening to the beeping of
the ECG next to him. He was alive, but at the same time, he wasn't. I got up and walked
to his side. He looked just like he was sleeping... so calm, so peaceful. I took of my own
gloves and took ahold of one of his hands. "Nack, can you hear me?" He didn't move. "I
hope you can... you know, I never really hated you. You aren't a fool, even though you
did foolish things some time," I laughed, wiping a tear from my eye. "In fact, I looked up
to you a lot. You're my big brother, and nothing can change that, right?" No response.
Could he really hear me? Were my words too late? I sat down again and sobbed quietly.
Three days passed. Over and over again I had similar "conversations" with him,
hoping that some of it would get through, but I never got a single sign that it was. I
didn't sleep, and at this point my own spirit was failing him. While I wanted to keep
watch for him to come back, I knew that I couldn't do it forever.
One more time I walked to his bedside and took his hand. I had this feeling that
he wouldn't be waking up again. "Hey Nack, it's me again," I started, looking down at his
still face. "Remember all the good times we had together? all of our missions? How
about that one time when the boiler blew it's top? I thought you were a goner then, but
you were stronger than that..." I paused for a second before continuing. "And how about
that time at Albion? That time, you saved MY life! What would I do without you?" I
laughed to myself as I answered it. "Died, I guess." I thought about it. Now what was I
gonna do without him?
"Well, I guess that you weren't lucky enough this time, eh Fang?" I paused trying
to hold my tears back yet again. "It IS ok; we all have our times, and I guess you just
came to yours first. There's nothing to do but accept that, I guess. But we'll see eachother
again one day, right? One day, Another Day..."
I couldn't go on any more, I sat back down and cried. I might have cried myself
into some form of sleep. I don't know how much time passed, but something awoke me.
"Nic..." The voice came to my ears. I looked up, half of my mind telling me that it was
real, the other half telling me that I dreamed it up. As I looked at him, he was awake and
looking at me. "Nic..." he called out again.
I stood up, hardly unable to understand that it wasn't a dream. "Nack! Are you
OK?"
He strained for a few seconds, like he was trying to get up or something. But he
fell back to his pillow after a few tries. "Yeah, I'm fine..." He replied with a tired lil'
smile.
I started crying with joy. "I thought I lost you that night... I got home hardly a
minute after you sent the call."
"Wow, what luck."
"I instantly called police, firefighters, medical crews, everything. I knew that there
was still hope... that you wanted to live." I paused to regain my composure. "When we
got to you... you..." How could I tell him? It was so painful just thinking back to that day.
"I what?" He asked, wanting out with it. Well, here goes nothing.
"You were clinically dead."
He just looked up at me for a few moments, unable to believe it himself. "How
am I alive?"
"It was nothing short of a miracle. As we were taking you out of the area, you
inhaled, started talking. It was quite a struggle, but we managed to keep you alive till we
got to the hospital... It took quite a large blood transfusion in order to stabilize you."
"Sis... you...?" I didn't let on to it, but he knew that it was I that gave the donation.
"Thanks." We hugged then, crying in eachother's arms. It wasn't a big hug, he was
limited from his position, but it doesn't take a big hug to show a lot of love.
A few days passed, and during that time I was able to get some much needed rest.
It was a smart move of mine too, cause Dr. Wolfram said that Nack was healing up so
well that he could come home. That made me his personal servant. I didn't mind it much,
it was definitely better than being his hostess at his funeral.
Dr. Ivo Eggman Robotik called up one day; said he had a mission for us. Nack
and I were ready to accept it... as soon as Nack was out of his bandages that is. One thing
was for certain: I wasn't going to let Nack die before me this time. Little did I know what
that meant at the time.
Next Subchapter!
Fallen Angel: Nic's Perspective
+Spoiler for chapter 8: Rain of a Thousand Flames
