Antoine
Antoine got into the rental car after leaving from the hotel. He turned the key and rested his right arm on the back of the passenger seat as he swiveled his head to back out of his parking spot. As he did so, he saw Sonic take off down the street in a blue blur. He smiled almost knowing where he was headed. He continued to back out and headed down the road.
He was thinking this trip was turning out to be quite worth it. It was nice to see the Museum; he never actually saw it when he was little – no need to read about the things you experienced until it's hard to believe you experienced it. And even though the old hometown didn't live up to how it used to be, things change and he knew that very well.
He felt a bit bad for Sonic however. A lot of the information about the Freedom Fighters came as a shock to him. But other than Tail's break-up with Mina, all seemed well. At least according to the information plaques. It did discomfort him a bit to see Sonic in the place he was at but what else could he expect.
The one thing the coyote wished would happen on this trip was to see more of his old friends. He agreed with Sonic that he missed seeing all their younger happy faces run around carefree but everyone grows up eventually. He knew Sally still resided in Knothole and wouldn't mind seeing her but that was probably unlikely seeing as she was most likely very busy.
As he drove down the street, a light suddenly flashed on the dashboard of his rental. "Mon dieu, you 'ave got to be kidding me." He proclaimed as suddenly steam poured out from under the hood of the car. He threw it in neutral and cruised into the nearest mechanic which luckily the shops lined the old and beaten street he traveled down. He looked at the light again and saw the engine was overheating. He wasn't a mechanic and probably didn't know more than how to change a spare tire but he knew that this was sudden and unpreventable.
His momentum after shutting off the engine made it just enough to get into the middle of the small gravel parking lot. He got out and noticed how hot it was that day. It was still morning but the temperature was probably near 85 already and the hot tarmac from the main street did not help in making it feel any cooler. He popped open the hood and took a look. It had seemed the coolant container had suddenly burst as the components underneath the steaming plastic dish were drenched in coolant and the container had a small crack in it.
As Antoine was inspecting the engine, someone approached from behind. "What seems to be the problem?"
The coyote stood up straight from his hunched position and turned. "I think it's–" But he stopped himself seeing a walrus looking down on him. "Sacre bleu, Rotor?" He asked in perplexity. The walrus's eyes grew a bit then returned to a size smaller than normal. "Rotor!" Antoine said gleefully as he opened his arms. "It's moi, Antoine!"
Rotor kind of sank where he stood and redirected his eyes to the group while scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "What are you doing here, Ant?" He responded.
"I came back to see ze old town. What are you up to?" He still answered just as happily as he did before.
"Oh, I work here now. I'm…a mechanic." He said shamefully.
Antoine looked at him funnily. "What happened to that scholarship and academic program you got into?" He asked, wondering why he was rebuilding cars instead of constructing rockets.
"Yeah…About that." He said still sounding ashamed. "Everything was going great for the first two years but then I got disenrolled."
"How?" Things still didn't add up for him.
"Well I don't like to talk about it but I had this really good friend." He kind of paused and looked around suspiciously before continuing. "We would do everything together, worked on project together and all that stuff. Well one day, I came into our appointed lab and found one of our nano launch vehicles sabotaged. Later that day, I was placed under investigation for an integrity violation for not coming forward about the hampered design. They are kind of strict about that kind of thing. Well turns out, my friend turned me in for the sabotaged piece and kind of threw me under the bus. He betrayed me, stabbed me in the back, took all I had. I got the boot and well, I didn't have any other options left."
"Oh. Oh Rotor." Antoine looked just as down as the saddened walrus did. "I'm sorry."
"Yeah, well it sucks. But I'm managing." He said not entirely too confident. He again looked around suspiciously as if someone was watching him. "But anyway, let me take your keys and…and I'll pull this thing into the shop.
"Yeah, sure." Antoine still felt bad for the guy and definitely didn't feel comfortable letting his old friend do such tasks as fixing his car for him. But he extended his hands, gave him the keys and began to close the hood. In the short time they were talking and with the hood raised, the engine cooled pretty quickly as did the newer cars in the kingdom tended to do. He slammed the hood down and heard Rotor turn on the engine. But suddenly, he threw it in reverse and peeled out of the lot and drove away down the street.
The coyote stood in shock. Nothing added up at the moment but he was thinking, 'Did Rotor…did Rotor just steal my car?' He stormed up up to the main office and stepped through the door. It was rigged to a hand bell and rung when the door opened. Shortly, a burly beaver came in from the back workshop. "Can I help ya?" He queried while chewing was Antoine suspected was tabacoo.
"I think one of your employees just stole my car!" He shouted at the man.
The beaver spat out a bit of his darkened saliva into a cup he was holding, proving Antoine's hunch about what he was chomping on behind his buck teeth. "Dat man yous were talking to don't work here. Neva seen that man in mer life."
Antoine's jaw dropped. Rotor's life has resorted to petty thievery. He walked out of the mechanic's main office and pulled out his phone. He dialed in '911' but hesitated before hitting the call button. Was he really going to turn in his old friend? He had renters insurance which covered this kind of thing but still. Rotor just stole his car. Back in the day, if one of the Freedom Fighters wronged another, they'd have to answer to Sally which could be frightening enough but they all answered to a higher power now. He didn't want to betray him like his other friend did but he remembered the position he held in regards to the entire Kingdom and knew what he had to do. He closed his eyes and bit his lip, hit the call button and waited for the operator.
"911, what's your emergency?"
"Hello, yes. I think someone just stole my car…"
…
Rotor was sweating heavily as he constantly was swinging his head behind him in the stolen vehicle. He had hoped no one was following him or anyone identified him in his longer than intended theft. But that was all behind him now. It was not long before the car would overheat again but the chop shop he dropped cars off at was not too far down the road.
He pulled in and honked three times consecutively, the signal to let the people inside open the hidden door to sneak the car into the shop. He quickly pulled in and the door closed behind him. He hoped out the front seat and threw the keys to a small raccoon that ran them back to a rack on the back wall.
"Booms, how'd it go?" The kingpin of the operation said with a big smile.
"As good as ever. No one followed me but the guy might have gotten my name though so I might have to lie low for a while."
"We'll make sure you have cover." He gave Rotor, or 'Booms' a pat on the back and dismissed him.
The walrus went into a back room a bit bigger than a walk in closet and sat on a bunk that was awkwardly positioned in a slant on the other side of the room as the room was not long enough to fit the bed. He threw his hat to the side and buried his face in his hands. "What have I amounted to?" He asked himself hypothetically. His eyes began to water. He stood up and threw a fist into the wall, causing a small dent and shouted in rage, "AHHH!"
He stood there panting for a moment, then plopped back down on his bed. He imaged a picture in his mind of his successes at Hassan Aerospace University and the program he got accepted to. He was the best engineer there. He had everything going for him and received numerous awards and top marks. His friend was up there with him but did not amount to as much as Rotor did.
He remembered being just about finished with the nano launch vehicle when he was pulled aside by his Reporting Investigator, his sort of mentor through the project. "Rotor, we have a problem." Those words, said so solemnly struck a note of fear in Rotor's mind. His RI wouldn't even look at him in the eye. "We have received information that you have sabotaged your design. You know the policy about this." He began to state.
"What?"
"These are very expensive devices and you know you are not to have unauthorized tampering of them." The RI continued, not giving Rotor a chance.
"What? No! I didn't do this!" He exclaimed.
"You were the only one who had access to the project and it was in your contract to not disclose your registration so either it was someone else and you gave them your information or it was you and you're lying right now." He said sternly.
The scene dissipated back to the musty old room he now resided in. Tears were flowing down his face at his failure.
Then he relived the worst feeling he had ever felt. He was back at the university, wallowing in the library trying to figure out what he was going to do with his life now that he was being kicked out of the program when his friend came up to him. "Hey, Rotor. I've been meaning to tell you something." He said so casually. "It was me who turned you in for that nano launch vehicle. I had to do it, you know? I hope you understand but we're still cool right?" He said extending a hand toward Rotor as his voice held no remorse at all. Rotor stood up and bunched his 'friend' in the face and left the building and university, never to return.
Again he was back on his bunk. His moldy pillow was soaked with salty tears about how he had everything, then lost it all. When you lose a part of yourself to somebody you know, it takes a lot to let go. And when you lose it all to a friend who betrayed you, it's hard to cope at all. His trust was entirely gone after that. This is what his life had amounted to; a fallen king who lived among thieves.
And not only that, he just stole from one of his old friends. An old buddy who went into the field with him, and a friend since they were mere children. "What have I done." He asked again and let the bawling begin. The tears of pain of what he has become and the suffering of the loses he had to endure. He only wondered what Antoine thought of him now.
…
'Now what.' Antoine thought as he walked down the street. The rental company was going to have someone bring another car to him at the hotel but until then there was nothing to do. He didn't feel like getting a cap just yet, instead he just wandered down the main street of the old town he once called home.
He still couldn't believe who Rotor has turned into. The coyote remembered when he was kindest guy he ever met. Always tried to comfort him when Sonic picked on him in their younger years. Now he was involved in the life of street crime just to get by. Just like Sonic, another life that was spent too soon. He still felt bad for the guy though. Having to deal with the betrayal of a good friend like that is difficult. But he would assume Rotor would have been stronger than to become who he just showed he was.
Antoine kept walking down the road and saw The Boothill bar across the street. He figured he was in need of a drink after his last occurrence. He looked both ways, waited for a few cars to give him a good time to cross, and dashed across the street. He regained his slower walking pace and entered.
"Excuse me hun, but we ain't open just yet." The same rabbit from the night before stopped Antoine before he could get a few steps in.
"Then why was ze doors open?" He asked and kept walking, past the tables with chairs turned and resting g on them and sat down almost in the same seat he did the night before but he didn't notice.
"I guess I forgot to lock 'em again." The young lady mumbled to herself and bit her tongue at her clumsiness. She looked over at Antoine and saw his sweaty back, caused by walking in the street heat. He rubbed his face with his palms and limply let them fall on the counter when he felt his face was massaged enough. She walked over to the bar and got behind it. "I guess I can open a little early for yer. What'll it be."
"Something strong." He said firmly.
"Something wrong big guy?" She asked, noticing how the night before he was for one thing a lot more chipper but also not too big on the harder stuff.
"Just a rough day." He said.
The rabbit let out a light chuckle. "It's only barely the afternoon sug."
"And a hell of one it 'az been." He said as he was handed a darker concoction and immediately took a sip.
"Well ya want to talk about it?" She asked. "I mean, you're the only one here right now."
Antoine paused. "You ever realize that sometimes things are not what they used to be?"
The rabbit's ears dropped a little. "Everyday."
"Well I think I'm beginning to do zat." He said, taking another drink from his glass. "I thought everything was fine with my old friends but I ran into one on my way here and he hasn't gone anywhere since last I saw him. And another…well…" He cocked his head down at his fingers as they subconsciously were tapping on the countertop. The bartender raised an eye brow waited for his next comment. Antoine disingenuously smiled and looked up at her without moving his head, his eyes just barely on the edge of rolling into his head, and said, "well another just stole my car."
"Oh mah stars!" The bartender said, not expecting that to be the other half of the story.
Antoine gave her a weird leer at her choice of words. "Now tell me you're are not ze Bunnie Rabbot." He almost demanded.
The bartender stopped then returned the leer. "Now what is it with you and that Freedom Fighter?" She began to get angry. "Now you keep callin' me that, I'm going to have to kick your butt outta here. Ya hear?"
He started to get defensive now. Now because he was convinced of anything but because he felt like he was being insulted. "There is no problem with me calling you ze queen of Acorn!" He shouted.
"Leave." The rabbit demanded as she flung her finger toward the door.
"Gladly." He mumbled and began to head out.
He was just about to leave, hand on the door about to push it open, when he was stopped. "Antoine, wait." The bartender sounded almost sorrowful but Antoine noticed something else. He turned around slowly in confusion and suspicion and saw the rabbit with her ears dropped entirely. Her face was low and her right arm was anxiously scratching at her left shoulder. "Ah should have said something earlier." She admitted. "Guess now would be good since it's only us two right here and now." She put on a fake smile.
Antoine caught on immediately. "Bunnie." He said gently. He saw tears beginning to fall from her eyes.
"Not the Bunnie y'all used to know." She said with a sniffle.
Antoine felt his face melt with pity. He walked up to the bar and instead of taking a seat on a stool, he went behind it to join her. He grabbed her hand. "But that Bunnie will always be a friend, non?" With that statement, she collapsed into Antoine and wrapped her arms around him, crying heavily into his shoulder. The coyote was a bit taken back at the sudden approach but eased into a friendly rub on the back of the rabbit.
Next thing the both of them knew they were seated at one of the tables with their elbows and a beer each resting on top where their chairs just recently sat. "So first." Antoine started off. "You're robotic limbs." He said more as a statement than a question.
"Ah always wanted to be flesh and bone again. So when the opportunity presented itself, ah jumped on it. Happened a bit after Sonic left for the big city." She said. Her voice was still low and humble. "But hard to find work as a 'supergirl' without any 'superpowers.' I initially tried to get work in the military but once I got deroboticized, they turned me down." She let out a small huff. "Should 'ave seen that one coming."
"Why all ze hiding then?" He asked, wondering why she never gave her identity or always tried to hide it like she did with him and Sonic the night before.
"Simple. Embarrassment. I couldn't bear to see everyone off and so successful while little ol' me was sitting here in a small town bar. It's sad to think there are no guarantees at all." She took a drink from her beer and licked the little bit of foam that stuck to her upper lip.
"What about ze princess? Surely she'd be here for you." He too took a drink from his mug.
"She was. But we kind of started growin' apart as old friends do. She started seeing Craig and took up more responsibilities in the kingdom and didn't have time for me." She noticed her eyes began to water so she cocked her head back and to the side to try and let gravity retract the tears back into her eyes. When that tactic proved to be successful, she tilted her head down at her mug and gave it a light spin. "Sounds like you're the only one that actually did something." Antoine sat speechless as he was beginning to realize she might be right. "Ah just wish we could all be happy again. Thinking of all these memories – they're just so much better than what life is now." That seemed to be the common theme at the moment.
"It's all only relative mon ami." He said trying to comfort her. He hoped she didn't ask him to explain because what he would say to explain the statement wouldn't be valid because even he didn't believe his own words.
"Thanks for the effort sug, but it really ain't. It was Rotor that stole your car wasn't it?" She threw Antoine's statement into his face, proving that it wasn't relative at all. It was factual.
"How did you know?" He sounded a bit shocked.
"I've heard somethings. Sad what ended up happening to him, getting backstabbed and all. But there was better things he could have resorted to than carjacking. 'Booms' they call him." She explained.
"They?" He asked.
"The group he hangs around. Came in here once. Thankfully didn't recognize me like you did the other day. Sad thing about Sonic too. Never thought there'd be a day where that guy was so…blue." She said in a sad attempt to make a pun but it received a small emotionless chuckle from her counterpart.
The two paused for a moment in reflection before Bunnie took up again. "How rude of me, talking about all our downsides. Ruinin' your trip back home and all. Tell me what it's like being the 'Chief Coordinator'?" She sounded a little pensive.
"It's... well… good." Bunnie gave a light nod. "Busy." The coyote chuckled. "But it's a good job. Interesting, pays well, and I get to feel all important and such." He joked. But he still had something on his mind and it couldn't be averted as easily as simply changing the subject. He was still feeling hampered by the fact that all the kids and friends from his prime years are not alright. "So why did you not leave town like ze rest of us? Even after you got deroboticized?"
"Ah figured everything just went downhill for everyone once they left. I didn't want that to happen as bad as things were." She explained.
"But Tail's turned out fine. So did Amy." He urged for a better explanation.
"Tails did good career wise but that ain't everything. He was young and talented and smart enough to avoid business failure but I don't know about 'fine'. Kid had to come back to the old homestead for paperwork for the divorce and coincidentally came in here often. Never saw that kid sober once. Practically drank himself to death on two occasions as ah remember. Took care of the kid a few times." She tried to lighten the mood by recalling a small event with the drunken fox on one of his visits. "Little guy tried to hit on me at numerous points saying he 'needed to get back at the she-devil'." She chuckled a bit and took a drink of her brew. Antoine gave a light huff as well and mirrored her moves with his own drink. "Bet if the guy would have known who he was trying to get with he'd ah stopped in his tracks." Her tone changed back to a somber one. "But it's such a shame between him and Mina and his youngins'. And Amy? Yeah, I guess she was successful but I wouldn't do what she did to get there. I ain't that kind of girl." She said a bit abruptly.
"What ever do you mean?" He asked puzzled.
"It's the coast hun." She said bluntly. "She got caught in the need to make it and to get a start you need help, but down there, help ain't free. Working with her agents and such." She vaguely gave her explanation. "Called me up one night, crying her little eyes out. This was back when I'd still say we were all pretty young. Wanting to come home, crying for her mum. She took the fast lane but it was too late for the brakes." She nodded her head in sorrowful pity and took a good heap of her draft.
"Ze one to fall onto but no one picked you up." Antoine said, nearly forcing Bunnie to have him clarify the statement.
"Huh?"
"You sound like ze one who cared for everyone but no one seemed to return ze favor." He said trying to be kind.
"Uh…" Bunnie was flattered but was surprised that's what he was saying. And a little bit happy someone seemed to notice. "Thanks." She nearly blushed.
"But I must ask," his face was that of one obviously trying to be playfully mean, "how come I was never cared for while I was eway. Hmm?"
Bunnie's face dropped down which was not the expression Antoine expected. His face switched to a serious one, concerned that his joke might have done some harm.
'Should I tell 'em?' She asked herself under her breath but it was too low for Antoine to hear. She slowly pulled her head up. "Ah've always cared." She said firmly.
Antoine was taken back. What did that mean? His mouth was cocked open as a silent articulation came up from his throat, brought by sheer confusion. "I don't–" He began to say.
"I've always cared 'bout you sug." She looked down and began scratching her left shoulder again like she did when she called Antoine back before he stormed out of the bar earlier in the afternoon. "Thought your bit of cowardliness was cute, but I knew the real you from when you saved me from those swatbots. You never left your duty and was a Freedom Fighter like the rest of us. Fighting for freedom. But none of that mattered." Antoine could only sit in silent observation as she poured out her suppressed feelings to him. Feelings he didn't even know existed either back then or still in existence after all these years. "You were always kind, funny," She giggled a little. "and that sexy French accent."
"You've always felt this way?" He asked just trying to clear things up as it was all coming to him too fast.
"Well 'course there were times where I fancied Sonic, I mean who didn't, but what kept me coming back to ya, you proved shortly after you stepped foot in that door not too long ago." She teased him with a hint that he would have never guessed. "You cared about me." She paused to let that statement sink in a bit.
"Well of course! Why would I not?" He said almost frantically from what was going on right now.
"Ah always felt…different, because of my limbs. But that didn't matter. Didn't matter to the lot of the Freedom Fighters but I always felt something else from you, whether it was there or not. You looked past it all and saw Bunnie Rabbot, not Bunnie Rab-bot." A small whimper emerged as did a tear that was quickly wiped away. "You recognized me not because of my limbs yesterday. But because of me. When you left town, I let you go but seeing you these past two days have made me feel like a bee in a flower patch."
And that's where she stopped for the moment, giving Antoine a chance to retort. But he didn't say anything immediately. He was still trying to process the abruptness of the confession. " Why didn't you mention zis earlier?" He wondered behind squinted eyes.
"Bit of a thing uh weakness I guess. I was a powerhouse with them limbs and I guess that made me feel like ah couldn't be nothing but. Sure I cried and got scared, laughed and joked, but that ain't nothing compared to confessin' like ah did just now. Ah just hope it wasn't a mistake right now." She got up and took her mug behind the counter. Antoine didn't even notice it was completely empty at this point.
"Bunnie." He got up and approached her. She turned around and found him right there, face nearly touching hers. She could feel the calm, minute exhales coming from the coyote's nostrils. "There's always room for one more mistake." And his mouth dove onto hers as they both gave each other a short but passionate kiss. Antoine pulled away but Bunnie kept her eyes closed and stuck up her muzzle slightly, begging for more. When she realized he wasn't going to give it to her, she opened her eyes and saw him still close to her, wielding an adoring smile. She didn't even notice his arms wrapped around the small of her back. "Things may be bad right now, but it's all relative." He said, making use of his previous statement. "We can make it better."
