Disclaimer: All Sonic Characters © to Sega/Sonic Team/DIC/Archie Comics.
Fan characters belong to the writer of this fiction, which is me: Lynxia aka Patty Hendriks.

Life before and after Death

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Chapter Six:
A Mistaken Gesture

Her humming and the bopping of her head, makes Bronx wonder where the one who stands in front of him gets the excited personality from. It is hard to believe that in this dark cold place, a light skates around like there are no worries at all. If only he could think like that as well; it would make things much easier.
Pepper continues to sway as she listen to the music which flows through the headphones she wears, working on a device which looks like a sonar weapon. Handy and easily, she takes the tools she needs from the toolkit beside her and also knows how to use them in a proper way.
No clumsy acts or wrong decisions... She knows exactly what she has to do with this piece of machine.
Bronx remains leaning against the wall as he watches Pepper working. This husky brings up many questions, like how she got here and why she wears that awkward thing across her eyes. Ever since he got here, he never saw her without that visor.
His ears perk up when Pepper's humming flows over into singing and he can't help it to smile a little. At least she continues to stick around him; like that she actually tries to become a friend. That she cares about what he is going through.
"Underground music rocks!"
Bronx quickly blinks with his eyes as he hears Pepper's loud voice and looks at her, seeing she turned around to face him. She has the headphone half over her head so one ear can be seen, yet the music still roaring through it.
"Dun ya agree?"
"Uhh..." the hedgehog replies as he looks for the right words to answer her question. He never heard Underground music before. He knows most Mobians listen to it, but they didn't even have a radio in the village he lived," yeah, sure I do."
He will just agree with her.
Pepper smiles towards him and takes the headphones off, letting it hang around her neck. She closed the toolkit and picks it up, holding the handle in both hands as she skates over to Bronx. Without a pardon she tosses the heavy toolkit towards Bronx and chuckles softly as he tries to catch it.
He quickly leaps forward; grabbing the kit with his hands and presses it against his chest so it won't drop down on the floor, looking at Pepper with a questionable look. That was kind of dangerous... He grits his teeth as he continues to hold the toolkit in an uncomfortable way and hears Pepper say," well, enough work for today. Time for some deserved rest, watcha think?"
Rest...? He didn't do anything than watch her sway to the music and work on that odd weapon all by herself. Yeah, leaning against a wall is very tiresome. He grimaces and slightly lowers the toolkit to get it out of his face, saying with a hint of sarcasm in his low voice," yes, I bet singing and dancing is a tough job. I really do not understand how you keep it up."
"Aww, ya flatter me, Bronx. Just looks at this body and ya get the answer right away, me friend," she snickers with a tease as she lets her hands slide down her curves and lifts one up towards him. She wraps her fingers around the handle of the kit and pulls it out of Bronx's grip without any pardon.
Bronx sighs softly and nods slightly, saying as he watches Pepper holds the kit with both hands on the handle," you worked hard on that machine. You deserve a rest."
"Alrighty, lets go outside then. But be quiet," Pepper says softly as she presses a finger against her lips," I am sure Robotnik won't like it if he figures out ya have left the base without permission. He doesn't trust ya enough yet."
Pepper bents through her knees to set the tool kit down and then takes Bronx hand with a gentle smile, tugging on it as she skates away to make him follow her.
"No sound, okay?"
"… Sure."
Pepper grins and starts to pick up speed, Bronx running after her as the husky holds on to his hand. Moving and rolling hallway in and out, crossing the labyrinth within this base, they head towards one of the many exits.
Bronx has trouble with keeping up with the blue and white creature on wheels and wants to call out to her to slow down a bit, but he is afraid someone might hear him. He rather not faces an angry Robotnik, because that madman is the only one who can help Jenna. No risks…
Soon the metal floor and walls flow over into rock and sand and the two Mobians are in a cave which will soon lead to the outside. The base is hidden within a mountain so it is easy to defend and hard to detect. Hidden entrances or exit are common in the blue prints of the one who realised this mass construction.
Bronx can feel the cool breeze brushing over his fur and he can't help it to smile. He lost count of the days he was locked inside the base to serve Robotnik; simply waiting for the day he might step outside with Jenna again. Yet, there is no light at the end of the tunnel. As soon as the two leave the cave, the night closes in around them.
"Night…? I thought it would be around noon."
"Losin' count already?" she asks with a chuckle and lets go of Bronx's hand, saying," I prefer the night because of the stars. The sun is too bright for my eyes, so I rather not go out when it is day."
Bronx looks around, inhaling the scents and listening to the sounds. It's like this is the first time he experiences being outdoors. Everything seems so new… even the smell of grass is like he never smelled it before. As he wants to say something to Pepper, he sees she is gone. He looks surprised for a moment, then panic takes control and he calls out," Pepper…? Pepper, where are you?"
She wouldn't have left him behind, has she?
"Over here."
Bronx clears his throat after he hears Pepper's voice in the distance and walks to where it came from to join her. He didn't want to sound that desperate, but she is the only thing he has now at the moment; a good friend.
Pepper sits down hill in the grass, legs pulled up and her arms wrapped around them as she gazes up to the sky. The smile across her white lips show she is at peace and happy. It is odd how people can find happiness in such a small thing like watching the stars.
Bronx sits down beside her and drops himself back to enjoy the feeling of the grass. Stretching himself, he groans softly and closes his eyes to finally relax.
"Hey, look…"
Pepper points up to the sky and says softly as if she is afraid to scare something away," those stars form a pan. How odd…"
Bronx opens one of his eyes and looks up to Pepper who lowers her arm with a soft 'heh' while her eyes are pinned up to the dark blue sky with all the white specks and dots. He continues to look at her, remembering…
Slowly, Pepper's form turn into the one he fights for. The grey hedgehog with the pink highlights across her head spines looks up to the night sky and speaks to him, softly about nothing important at all. Just… stuff… He never did mind, because he enjoyed listen to her voice.
He can even hear her voice now…
He sighs softly and closes his eyes, his mind drifting away back to the good old days when he and Jenna had nothing to worry about. Sneak out of house at night to go stargazing together without any intentions. He still hoped of course. Hope that him being together with Jenna would bring them closer to one and another so he could tell her he liked her more than simply like.
"Do you see it?"
Bronx opens his eyes again and sees the image of Jenna ripple away to bring Pepper back in view. He nods slightly and says," I seen it…"
He sits up and lets his head rest in his arms as they lay over his knees, holding back a sigh. The memory made him feel icky again. He misses her so much…
Pepper frowns slightly, seeing he doesn't feel so well and she asks," Somethin' botherin' ya?"
Bronx shakes his head to go in denial and says as he looks at her from the corner of his eyes," no… just tired that's all."
"That's why we are restin' now. Better enjoy it," she chuckles and leans to the side so her head rests against the hedgehog's shoulder. Bronx looks up because of this, unsure about why she is doing this. Is she tired as well?
"This is nice…"
His ears perk up in surprise and he tilts up his head to look down at her, starting to feel uncomfortable. Suddenly she seems to be very close to him.
"I always thought I would be alone within the base with nobody to talk to. I am glad you suddenly appeared…"
Bronx quickly looks away from her, blushing a little bit. He slowly gets the hint of where she is going to and he isn't even sure if that is such a good idea. Nah, she wouldn't even think about that. They are just buddies who are in the same situation. She just needs attention.
"Bronx…?"
"Yeah?"
He looks back at her and the smile he just put across his lips quickly fades as she leans in with an unexpected move and forces him back down in the grass. The kiss she quickly gives and holds is a pleasant surprise, but wrong…
Bronx stares at her with wide open eyes, not sure if he should push her off or to return the kiss. He remains motionless for a moment and makes a decision. He gives her a light kiss back, his hands moving up to her shoulders and rubs them gentle, before tightening the grip to pulls her back.
The kiss breaks as Bronx carefully pushes her back and sees the expression across her face. Even though he can't see her eyes, he can see she is disappointed. He glances up to her, still holding her shoulders and says softly, almost whispering," I can't…"
Pepper nods and leans back, feeling his grip on her shoulders loosen. She lowers her head, looking ashamed of what she just tried to do and says," I am sorry… It's just… Ya're such a nice guy and… I like ya a lot. I was just hopin' that ya would feel the same about me."
Bronx sighs softly. He was afraid of this…
He sits up to face Pepper and says clear enough to her so he doesn't have to repeat himself," I like you, Pepper… Really, I do. But I love Jenna, how silly it may sound. She may be dead, but my love for her keeps me hoping that she will be alive again one day. I am sorry, Pepper… I can't give you more than my friendship."
They both remain silent for a moment, staring at each other with doubts and hesitation, afraid they might hurt each other's feelings. The moment is fragile now.
"I understand… I guess I overreacted a little bit with the kiss… Buddies, right?" Pepper asks and scratches over her furry cheek as she stands up, not certain about it. Maybe Bronx wants to keep some distance from her now that she made clear to him how she feels about him.
Bronx nods, smiling slightly as he is glad she is taking this so well and stands up, holding out a hand to her," yeah, buddies."
Glancing down at his gloved hand, she frowns slightly. It takes a few seconds, before she realises what he means by it. She takes his hand with a small smile and feels him pull her close to him, drawing her into a friendly and comforting hug. She will not complain about this. It still feels nice and she missed these kinds of gestures and feelings ever since she came here.
They remain like this for a minute, before Bronx lets go of her and sets a step back. He rubs a finger over his nose, as if he is embarrassed and looks over to where the base should be.
"I think its time we head back, before someone might figure out we are out here, don't you agree?" he asks and hears the small wheels of Pepper's skates roll through the grass so she gets beside him.
"Yeah, we better go."
They both look at each other one more time, before they move forward to enter the cave so they will be within the base again. Not sharing a word with each other, they entered the cold and empty hallways of the base without any trouble or problems. Nobody has noticed they have been gone, because a certain person is trying to deceive Death for a certain cause.
It won't take long anymore.

-To Be Continued-