Author's Note. I decided to make Tails appear later in the story because I recognized with his popularity, nobody would care about the characters I was trying to get the reader invested in. It might seem like they were robbing Tails of his spotlight.
I think my choice was right because not only did we spend a whole lot of time with new characters, but when I finally got to writing this part, I was extremely excited to work on it. Probably one of the more adrenaline-filled chapters IMO.
Tails' dream at the beginning was parts of my experience being in a coma and passing away. Near-death experiences are rare, so I thought portraying Tails' coma similarly would make it stand out.
Redid the whole thing, so it is less shit.
Legal Trash. Sonic and everybody else is copyright SEGA/Archie comics. Except for Max, Annie, and Sonia. I created them in my rattled brain; if you like my OC's, use them and let me know. It'll be fun; we will have tea.
Chapter 6. Tails' Adventure
Tails ran as fast as his feet could carry him. He knew that he had to be quicker to keep up with the likes of Sonic as his hands pushed forward through the shadows, looking for his best friend.
Where was Sonic? He tried to yell out for him, but he found himself alone in the void of endless darkness.
"Sonic!?" He yelled. His voice echoing back to him in the emptiness.
He stopped running and finally found himself at the edge of the abyssal darkness. A nonsensical hole lay atop groundless shadow, and he stood still to stare at it, not even able to contemplate the logic of what he was seeing.
His mind only wondered one thing as he gazed into the endless expanse.
Was Sonic in there?
"Sonic!?" Tails called into the amorphous darkness but received nothing in return, only that of his own voice once more.
He stood there for what can only be described as an eternity. Time itself seemed to hold still in the void, and the longer he stared blankly at the hole, the more jumping in to search for his beloved friend seemed logical.
It was evident that such a drop would outright kill him, and with no way to gauge the depth, there was no telling if his tails could carry him below.
"Nowhere to go but down." He reasoned with himself.
His mind was unconcerned with death or fear. He had been wandering this place for what felt like forever despite time itself seeming to no have a grasp on the void.
Tails moved towards the hole and instinctively started to jump into the pit. His tails began to twirl, and he tried to descend downward at a steady pace.
Unfortunately for him, as he jumped in, his tails and body seemed to lock up. He was thrust downward at breakneck speeds, lost in an invisible downward pull.
He could feel himself falling, but there was nothing in sight. He did not panic or feel any distress as he descended and could "tell" that the end was drawing near, though he could not see it.
"Falling…."
"Falling…"
"Falling…."
He hit the bottom of the darkness…...
…
…
His eyes opened slowly, and the faint glow of orange flickering caught his attention. It danced and dimly shined on his face, though the rest of the area was marred by shadow.
"Tails?" He heard a familiar voice whisper to him in the darkness.
Tails could now feel pain rushing through his head, and he struggled to pull himself up. What happened? Where was he? What was that endless void? So many questions entered his mind rapidly, but he couldn't make sense of any of it.
He used his arm to push himself up, and now that he could see the surrounding scenery, it only led to more confusion.
He was lying in a mess of dirty blankets and could see a small fire. It was apparent that he was in a sealed cave. Probably the same caves the Wolf Pack used during combat. It was a maze-like series of caverns that allowed for smooth movement, escape, and ambush.
Tails could now see Lupe standing up by the fire, and her gaze was settled on him. She seemed surprised to see him even though it was her who called him there to help against Robotnik's robot attack.
"Y-your awake….?" She trailed off and started to move closer to inspect him.
"I… What is going on…? My head hurts." Tails said, placing his hand on his head, and it was now that he realized it was covered in cloth bandages. It was clear to him that he had suffered severe head trauma.
Lupe looked as if she was about to give a long story, but Tails, having already pieced what happened to himself together. Merely asked a different question before she could start.
"How long was I out...?"
"Two weeks," Lupe responded to him, with a grim look on her face.
Tails sat there in complete shock. He had been in a mild coma all this time and somehow wasn't dead.
He thought back to what felt like yesterday morning and could remember massive explosions.
The SWATBOTS that came were not the typical bulky SWATBOTS he was used to… they were sleek in design and moved with incredible agility.
He remembered when the mass of explosions went off, he was in combat, and then, blackness.
Tails' eyes traveled over to Lupe, and now he noticed that she was banged up.
He looked down to her mid-section and saw that her left hand that hung at her side had a bandage wrapped entirely around it. The contour of the dressing made him realize that she had lost several of her fingers somehow.
"Lupe… I." He tried to speak, but she just turned and stood by the small fire.
"We were decimated." Her voice came but subdued painful cries. "The machines Robotnik sent were not like machines at all. They lured us in and then cut us to pieces."
She bared her fangs in anger at the thought of the defeat. The Wolf Pack was typically very proud, and this loss was more than just a simple defeat.
Tails said nothing and watched her as she stared at the dancing flames.
"They killed many of the pack, and some of them they attempted to capture, myself included. I managed to escape during the chaos and saw one of them trying to drag you off to bring you back to Robotnik. I… I felt personally responsible for calling you here into this disaster, so I fought to free you." She explained and looked down at the blood-soaked cloth wrapped around her mutilated hand.
"I somehow won the fight… but it cost me a great deal." She continued solemnly and looked towards the dirt that littered the floor of the cave.
"Lupe… I..." Tails tried to say… Anything, but he found no words he could speak that would make any of this less bitter for her.
"Thank you…" He murmured eventually and averted his gaze. It was tough knowing what he had cost her.
Lupe shook her head and let out a sigh. "I shouldn't be thanked. To be honest, I have failed everybody, and in my desperate attempt to save you, I abandoned them all... You almost didn't even make it, and now we are stranded here cowering away in hiding."
"Stranded?" Tails murmured while he rubbed his aching head.
"Yes… Whatever those… things that showed up are, they are prowling around in search of us. I believe their mission might have been to get ahold of me and my kin specifically." She responded, sounding as if she were in pain.
Given her wounds, it was hard to tell which type of anguish was overpowering her at this point.
Tails stared and thought hard about the new threat. Given his own injury, it was challenging to remember everything that happened before the blackout, and the void he found himself moments earlier was taking over all of his thoughts.
"T-then we need to get you back to Knothole." Tails said, leaning forward to orient himself.
Lupe shook her head. "I... I cannot leave… I refuse to be driven off these lands. If any of the pack still lives, they will fight." She spoke defiantly, but it was clear to Tails that she had lost, and this was suicidal.
"I don't know why Robotnik has started capturing certain animals and simply murdering the rest, but until we know, we cannot let you fall into his hands." Tails pleaded to her with logic, but as expected, she quickly refused.
"No, it is your job to go back to Knothole and figure out how to deal with these monstrosities. I may have saved you, but I am responsible for the pack, and I will not abandon any that might still be here." She said, turning around to look down at him.
Even though she was in no condition to fight. She had drawn the line, and she was not going anywhere.
Tails' eyes looked her over briefly, then, after a moment. He traveled to his side, where he noticed his brown utility belt and rifle made from SWATBOT parts were lying on the ground.
They must have been unstrapped from him by Lupe when she dragged him here, and it brought him great relief to see them.
"Great!" He said in quiet excitement and moved his hand to pull the utility belt towards himself. "My stuff wasn't lost. There's some hope for me yet."
Lupe nodded to his statement and painfully sat herself down in front of his rest area. "It was already strapped to you, so I saw no reason to remove it. The rifle was lost, but I retrieved it sometime yesterday from the battlefield."
She rested her wounded hand on her cut-up legs and pulled the gun over so that it lay before Tails.
"You've gone out with them prowling around? Are you crazy?" He said, somewhat shocked.
If these alien robots could destroy a significant portion of the Wolf Pack, then that sounded utterly insane.
Lupe shook her head and responded. "I needed to see if there were any survivors amongst the carnage, and though it appears all the bodies lying out there are dead. A good chunk of my finest warriors have ended up going completely missing. I assume they were among the captured."
Tails picked up the rifle and examined it. It had minor damage, even from the explosions that had triggered. His craftsmanship was top-notch, and he was sure it was still wholly functional in its current state.
"I don't know how you managed to do it, Lupe, especially with all of them crawling around." Tails said as he pressed a button on the rifle, and it made a powering on sound, then the red light on the side of it lit up.
"It wasn't as hard as you think. I know this area like the back of my paw, even though they are looking for us. They have a lot of confusing caves and traps to get through to find us. Not only that, but something happened yesterday, and I noticed a substantial decrease in their presence." Lupe said and looked towards the fire next to them.
"Something…?" Tails said, and then a realization hit him that something terrible must have occurred in Robotropolis.
"Shit." Tails' voice raised slightly in a panic as he pulled himself up and started to stagger. He landed against the wall and used it to hold himself up by applying his weight against it.
Lupe looked at him and stood up as well. "Tails, you are still really hurt."
"I don't care... Something has happened in Knothole… I know it!" His voice got a little loud due to fear taking hold of him, but he never reached the point of yelling.
Lupe shook her head. She assumed the same thing, but what good was it to have Tails wander about in his condition?
"We need to wait so that you gain some strength back." She tried to use reason to appeal to him, but like her, his stubbornness wouldn't allow for that.
"I… I can't." He said as he reached down and started to fumble with his utility belt. He couldn't abandon his family any more than she could leave hers.
Lupe just nodded and walked over to him. She put her uninjured hand on the belt and helped him attach it to his person. "I understand and won't stop you. If ever there was a time to go, now is it. If the robots are busy with something else, you need leave."
After she finished latching the belt across his shoulder and around his waist, she picked up his rifle he had dropped and handed it to him.
"Just promise me you will come back to help us." She said to him in a heartfelt tone.
"I promise." Tails said and watched Lupe bend over for one last thing.
She held his brown leather gloves in her hand, and she reached out to offer them to him.
Tails gave her a weak smile and started putting them back onto his furred hands. "Things will be ok, Lupe. We will get through this." He said.
He knew how much she had suffered and lost, and he hated abandoning her here but knew that he had to get back to Knothole as soon as possible.
"Just go this way." She said as she pointed to a rock jutting out from the wall like so many other rocks.
"If you move that out of the way, the tunnel leads to the opposite side of the mountain. It is well hidden and goes straight to the forest. Once you reach the river, head east until you arrive at Knothole." She instructed him, then moved towards the rock and propped herself against it.
Tails followed suit after listening to her instructions, and though he staggered a bit and his head was killing him, he started getting the hang of being up and about.
The two applied their body weight against the rock, and it moved relatively easily. It revealed a hidden tunnel that led to complete darkness.
"I'll seal it from this site once you're in, but I warn you, it is very dark," Lupe said as she stepped aside, allowing Tails to enter into the tunnel.
He turned to look at her and reached inside one of the utility belt's pouches. Once he removed his hand, she could see that he was holding a small flashlight.
Lupe pressed against the rock and was about to start sealing Tails into the cavern, but when she heard him call out her name, it caused her to stop abruptly.
"Lupe." He said, pulling his hand from his side pouch and reaching out to her.
Dangling from his hand was what appeared to be a sterling silver neckless with a small ball attached at the end.
"What is the meaning of this?" Lupe said in a confused tone.
Now was not the time to be flattering older women with gifts, and she saw no other reason to take such a trinket.
Tails stepped forward and grabbed her paw, practically forcing the decorative jewelry into it.
"It's my good luck charm... It has always kept me safe. Please just wear it, and if you ever find yourself at the end of your rope, clench it tightly in your paw and hope for safety." Tails said earnestly.
Lupe seemed surprised by Tails' superstitious proclamation. However, it was an endearing gesture, if not a practically useless one. She gave him a nod, and with a bit of help from Tails, fastened it to her neck.
Once that was done, Tails stepped back into the tunnel and left Lupe to seal the entrance from the other side. Within half a minute, the warm glow of the fire had disappeared, and Tails was left alone.
Tails made his way through the dark, narrow corridor with his small yet powerful flashlight illuminating the path.
He could see rocks piled up by the walls, and it occurred to him that many of them were probably other interconnecting tunnels that led all over the place. Such things did happen to make the claustrophobic cave challenging to navigate, but it was a stroke of genius for any Freedom Fighting resistance group.
If you knew the ins and outs of this place, then you could probably avoid any threat or take any force by surprise.
Tails staggered through the cave. He felt drained, and his head was pounding, but he knew he couldn't take many breaks.
He needed to reach Knothole, and if everything turned out to be ok, he would then need to return to help Lupe as he promised.
He had a strong sense of guilt for what happened to her and even more regret that he just up and left her alone in such a dangerous place. Fortunately, though, he was slightly relieved that he convinced her to take the neckless he offered her, even if it put him at higher risk not having it.
Tails continued walking for minutes, and as he stopped to rest his tired body, he was hit with the sudden uneasy feeling that things were not ok.
He turned and looked back down the dark corridor from which he came and then looked towards the direction of his destination. Nothingness and silence surrounded him. Maybe his rattled brain was playing tricks on him, but the fear told him he had to keep pressing on.
He marched forward for about another several minutes, and his eyes briefly caught a glimpse of something on the dirt floor. He slowly moved forward and bent down to scrutinize it with the flashlight.
There were dots and then splatters. His vision traveled from the dirt floor up to the wall, and he could see dried blood staining the rocks and dirt. He held his breath, and he tried to maintain calmness.
He reached out his gloved hand and touched the blood, and it was clear to him that it was old enough to be dry but prominent enough to be recent.
"What's going on...?" Tails whispered to himself.
This place was supposed to be hidden very well, but the splatters suggested that an attack took place here. He gazed at the trail leading to the nothingness, and chills ran down his spine.
Tails stood up and decided to follow the blood since it was traveling in the same direction he needed to go.
His brown boots kicked up dust as he walked, and his flashlight was set towards the floor. The dry blood was everywhere. He stopped when he reached what appeared to be a lump in the darkness ahead, and he was almost sure that whoever's blood was littering the cave was also the lump before him.
Tails moved closer, and when his light finally hit the lump, his suspicions were confirmed. A wolf warrior lay face down in the dirt. There were visible wounds on her body, and it appeared as if both of her hands had been severed because they lay detached beside her, still connected to her spear.
Whatever attacked her didn't bother trying to disarm her by going for the spear. It just neutralized the threat outright.
Tails walked over and scrutinized the body. He could see holes in her back, and it was apparent she was run through, but oddly enough, the wounds had evident signs of burns.
"Did they use some advanced laser?" Tails said as he tried to puzzle it out.
He turned the wolf over and inspected her front. By the style of her dress, he gathered that she was a seasoned and skilled warrior and one of the ones that would have been captured.
The struggle in the cave indicated that she was probably trying to flee when she was caught in the back somehow.
The burn marks on her chest alluded to a high-energy weapon, but the contour and size of the hole suggested that it was a knife or stabbing weapon that pierced her.
Tails stood up and looked behind himself again. It was beginning to dawn on him that leaving Lupe here alone was a terrible mistake. Whatever did this had the capacity to sneak up on a skilled veteran warrior, something that even he was not.
He felt afraid, and his gaze shifted in both directions, looking for something, anything that might be there with him. He turned back and started to walk back the way he came but stopped himself from getting too far.
"This happened a while ago… Lupe is fine. She's been hidden for two weeks." Tails reassured himself and rubbed his bandage.
He turned back around and started walking past the corpse, moving on to his destination. He removed his rifle that was slung over his shoulder and powered it on as he walked. The flashlight was challenging to wield while carrying the giant gun, but he still felt safer carrying his weapon than not.
After about ten minutes of walking, he reached a dead end, and it was now that he realized he had reached the end of the line.
He used his body weight and started to press against the stone as hard as he could. Within seconds, the rock moved, and he was greeted by the vicious howling of the wind and the rumbling of thunder.
It was crystal clear to Tails by just the rain and stormy weather that things were going crazy since he'd been out cold.
The clouds were dark, but it was light enough outside for him to tell that it was daytime.
He quickly left the cave and happily shoved the rock behind himself in place. It felt good to be outside, and the warm summer rain felt invigorating for the moment. The wet forest had a beauty all of its own, and when contrasted with the dark and sinister cave, he would take this change of scenery any day of the week.
Tails moved down the rocks, and even though it was somewhat tricky due to his tiredness, he knew he was making decent time.
After about thirty minutes of careful descent, he made it into the thickly wooded area, and he started following the narrow path. Even though he could fly, he thought it would be dangerous to do with the significant threats lurking and with this type of injury. If he lost consciousness or became dizzy while flying, it would be a disaster.
Tails walked beneath the full summer trees, his bandages and fur wholly soaked already, and the thunder was roaring as lightning pierced the sky.
Even though he was in familiar territory, he still felt uneasy. Tails couldn't shake the unnerved feeling that he wasn't safe.
He stopped and looked behind himself once again and then up towards the tops of the trees. After which, he turned to gaze to the side of himself, and in the distance, he saw the massive amount of rain pouring off a small tree.
The tree, at first glance, seemed utterly ordinary, but as his mind wandered, it looked more and more out of place to him. He felt as though every little thing he took notice of jumped out to him as suspicious.
"….."
Tails averted his gaze back to the path and started walking again. This injury must have been severe, as he was having vision problems.
His boots sloshed through the mud, and his heart pounded with each step. The uneasy feeling only grew within his breast, and he was at the mercy of his paranoia. Through thick bushes and trees into the lost forest, he marched alone, and he felt as if he could die at any moment.
The visions of the void mixed with the lamentations of the damned warrior from the cave assaulted his mind.
He walked for a good forty minutes until he reached the flowing river Lupe had mentioned to him. He was feeling lightheaded and decided to sit on a fallen log by the riverside.
Tails was drenched and exhausted, but his sense of urgency had kept him going. He looked up and thought for a second, then stared at the river.
"Now, which way did Lupe say was the direction of Knothole?" He asked himself as he put his hand on his aching head once more.
He peered around himself and could see nothing but trees, bushes, rain, and the river.
"I think she said it was west of the river." He said to himself and took a compass out of his utility belt. He stared at the needle as it pointed in the direction of west.
"So, if I follow the river this way, I'll be going west." Tails reassured himself and placed the compass back to where he retrieved it. He took one look around again and then settled his eyes to the west along the river bank.
"Can't rest forever." He said, standing up.
After that, he started to travel westward from the river. He tried to keep a brisk pace despite everything wrong with him, and he was now feeling slightly more confident about the situation at hand.
"Perhaps everything will be ok after all." He thought to himself.
Tails moved forward along the riverside for roughly two hours. His brisk pace deteriorated substantially over time, and the aches in his head continued to worsen with each step. He was pushing himself too hard, but he was sure that continuing onward was the smartest idea.
He felt as if his body turned to rubber, and every step caused him to strain. He looked about as he walked, attempting to take his mind off his fatigue, but doing so only forced him to succumb to his fear.
He could see the trees blowing and dripping, but he could not stop feeling like some ghost or presence was pursuing him to collect his precious soul.
Tails stumbled slightly, dropping down to his knees. He propped himself up with his brown gloved hands but struggled to move.
Being injured this way was extremely bad, and worse still, he knew he was in a place nobody could help him.
"Lupe…" He said solemnly while on all fours in the storm. He was dwelling on how foolish he was to push himself away from her so quickly.
Tails brought himself up and sat on his knees along the muddy riverbank. He reached his right hand into one of the brown pockets that were strewn across his chest. Then pulled out a small vial with clear liquid inside of it and quickly drank it. He put the glass back and wiped his mouth with his arm.
"Fresh, clean water… I needed that." He said to himself and pushed with all his might to get to his wobbly feet.
He staggered quite a bit once he fully stood up and tried to latch himself onto a tree.
"Whoa!" He called out in surprise. His hands slipping on the wet, fragile wood of the tree, and he fell forward.
"Ahh!" He cried out once more in complete surprise and started tumbling down a steep incline of bushes, sticks, and thick leaves.
Tumble, roll, crash, snap.
Tails just covered his face knowing he lacked the strength to anchor himself to anything. He landed with a thud into some thick brush, and he rolled over onto his back, staring up at the leaves and trees that obstructed his view.
Even if he was aching quite a bit, lying there felt incredibly good, even with the rainy world rotting around him.
After what felt like an eternity, Tails slowly sat up and rubbed his wet face. He was disoriented, exhausted, and had lost all sense of time and direction.
CRACK!
The loud snap of a branch came ringing out from a short distance. His eyes moved towards the sound, and his paranoid thoughts began to overtake him again.
He pushed the shrubbery aside and peered out into an open clearing. There, he saw nothing but the heavy rain and the occasional flash of lightning.
Tails looked behind himself at the steep, wet incline he had tumbled down. He held his breath for a few seconds and decided to crawl slowly forward using the bushes as camouflage.
The wind, rain, thunder, lightning, and ambient noises provided him with excellent cover for his movement.
Inching forward, his gloves grabbing onto exposed roots and branches for support. 1 minute… 2 minutes…. 5 minutes… 10 minutes… He kept creeping slowly, and the further he moved, the louder the sounds he thought he heard became.
"Ple…. BAM…. ble. I… RUMBLE…" The sound of faint words could be heard rising but was abruptly cut off by the raging storm.
"Is that… talking?" Tails whispered to himself and started to pick up his crawling pace to see what exactly was going on here.
He pushed forward for about another three minutes until he reached a small break in the trees that had enough leaves and brush for him to remain concealed. Staying quiet for a minute, he didn't move to better hear the noises around him.
RUMBLE
CRASH
RUMBLE
FLASH
"Y... don't have to do… I…." The speaking was as transparent as possible over the rain and thunder, and Tails knew for sure this was the place.
Tails lifted his head forward and ever so gently moved some of the brush aside to look out. He could see a small clearing cluttered with stumps, roots, and bushes. He could also see a few animals on the ground with their hands over their heads.
It was clear to him that they were captive. His eyes honed in on their manner of dress. It was odd… It looked as if these Freedom Fighters were dressing fancy and casually, almost like it was an outing to the movies.
He examined them intensely. Who were they? He had never seen them before in his life, and he was familiar with most Freedom Fighting groups.
A rabbit, a bat, a dog, a pig, and a raven. Tails closed his eyes for a second, and then he opened them to look towards their obvious captor. His eyes widened the moment he took notice of the sleek white machine with its cool blue visor.
"It's them." He said, shaking his head, barely whispering louder than a breath.
The robot was roughly the size of an adult animal, and its legs and arms were jointed in multiple areas. Judging by the looks alone, Tails could tell that it must have incredible dexterity.
It had almost no bulkiness like the SWATBOTS of Robotropolis. In its hands was a large rifle, and Tails gathered these new robots shed their built-in weaponry to cut down on the encumbrance it brought with it.
"Ah…" Tails grabbed his pounding head and shut his eyes.
Memories of these monstrosities storming the battlefield returned. They were so few compared to the Wolf Pack, yet they made a mockery of them and himself.
Tails took a small breath, and once his lightheadedness left him, he peered back out.
He could now see that where once there was one robot, there now was three. Two were holding high-powered rifles, and one had a strange box contraption along its chest area. Tails watched as the bat made a plea to the machine.
"Please… we aren't your enemy… we just wanted to…." She made her case to the robot, who didn't even bother to acknowledge her, at least until she moved.
The one robot with the box chest immediately kicked her in the side, causing her to double over in pain. Tails could see the look of horror on all of their faces, and he sank back into the bushes.
"I… I've got to get out of here." Tails reasoned in his head.
He knew how dangerous these things were, and he knew that three of them meant there was almost no chance to succeed.
"You can't leave them..." Tails' heart was going against his better judgment. He felt awful, but he was sure that leaving was the best option.
"Sonic…" Tails whispered to himself and looked out of the brush once more.
He could see the box robot placing a strange helmet-like contraption on the kneeling rabbit's head.
Was this some portable roboticizer?
Tails could only think about Sonic… Sonic wouldn't leave them no matter the odds, but…
Tails' guilt was becoming too great, and he realized that sometimes the right decision wasn't always the wisest.
He slowly moved his hand down while the rabbit sat helplessly in her fancy dress. He grabbed onto his rifle and slowly started bringing it forward.
The robot with the contraption and storage box was an easy shot out in the open like this.
Tails raised the gun slowly, silently, and peered down the sights. His vision was blurry for a moment, and the rain obstructed his view, but he would only get one shot.
"Steady…" Tails reassured himself and put the robot's head in his sight.
SSSSSSS
The sizzling sound of rain on heat could be heard as if someone dropped water into a hot cast iron pot.
Tails concentrated hard, knowing his gun got hot when it was on and charged with the unstable energy.
SSSSSSSS
Tails rested his finger on the trigger lightly as he was getting ready to fire, but then he was hit with a sudden realization that sent fear coursing through him.
He hadn't released the safety valve… There was no way the gun could be hot.
"No!" He shouted and braced himself.
SLAM!
"Ahh ooooffff..." Tails came tumbling out of his hiding spot, his gun sliding away from him. The other robots and captured animals turned to see the Freedom Fighter lying helplessly on the ground and disarmed.
Tails rolled over and looked up towards the source of the slam. He could see a fourth robot staring at him with its soulless visor. In its hand was a bright blue sword that appeared to be made of pure harnessed energy.
The sizzling of the rain against the high heat weapon caused a slight mist to appear atop it.
Tails knew now that his paranoia was well-founded, and this… thing was likely tracking him since the tunnels.
It was relentless in its pursuit, and it made Tails feel somewhat better that he hadn't gone insane.
He gawked as it was pointing directly at him and began to speak a strange, indecipherable language.
"*&^ $%%# *& ^&% &." The robot said, communicating with the other robots through a series of digital sounds.
Tails was entirely shocked by the sophistication displayed by the machines, and he could not comprehend anything they were saying to each other.
The one with the box storage on its chest pointed at Tails, and one of the two carrying rifles began to speak.
"&^%$# *! &*^$# *$ %$^# &* ^&$ ^% *& ! $^ #!*&^%" It appeared to be issuing some command.
The one with the energy sword wasted no time in moving towards Tails. It slid the blade against the straps of his utility belt, and it fell off almost instantly. The smell of burning fox hair wafted to all the animals.
The heat from the blade was enough to burn his fur just being near him. The robot tossed aside the utility belt and put itself between Tails and his rifle. It was evident to Tails that they were making sure he was disarmed… their intelligence was horrifying to him.
"*&^ *%$#%," The sword robot said as the box robot came over and started to strap that metal helmet contraption to his injured head.
Tails didn't move, he didn't know exactly what was going on, but he knew at the very least it would not roboticize him.
After a minute or two, the robot detached the helmet and moved to the pig. It spoke in the same computer dialect.
"&* ^&$ ^%$# % *&^%% %$ %^&*$# &^^* &^* ! %^%."
With that said, the sword robot gave Tails a swift kick to the side, forcing him to roll towards the frightened rabbit and bat.
"Ohhh," He groaned and pulled himself up.
Tails' whole body ached, and his head felt like it was spinning. He felt foolish for even trying to intervene, but he now knew he was being followed by the dangerous mechanical entity for hours, so it would not have made a difference even if he didn't.
He gazed around, and it was sinking in just how much of a terrible predicament he was in.
His eyes glanced over towards his weapon and utility belt, and all he could think about was what a fool he was to give Lupe his neckless, especially in a predicament like this.
He turned back to see the pig being fitted with the same helmet, and Tails kept trying to piece together exactly what it was they were doing.
The two rifle robots were keeping watch over their prisoners while the sword robot guarded Tails' equipment.
Tails could see that they were using a hierarchical structure and possessed special functions based on their design. He could also infer that they displayed the terrifying capability to strategize and think… though he was confident they lacked emotional abilities of any kind.
This made them extraordinarily dangerous to any living creature they encountered. How was this even possible? What was Robotnik up to?
Tails' eyes traveled to the scared, terrified animals sitting next to him. The rabbit was wearing a fancy dress and elegant white gloves and looked as if she never ventured out into the forest.
The bat was a grey color and had on quite a bit of gaudy jewelry. It was evident she was probably somebody important, but he could not piece together why the two looked like they came from the wealthy side of Mobotropolis instead of a ragtag Freedom Fighter group.
The dog was dressed nicely but looked relatively fail and old compared to the rest of his traveling companions.
While the plainly dressed raven looked like she would all-out panic and try to flee. Tails knew that would be a huge mistake in this kind of weather and against such proficient machines.
"&*%$ ^$# *& ^%$"
Tails' analysis and thoughts were interrupted by the robot chatter, and he turned to see the rifle robot step forward towards the pig.
"*&^ # %$#%^%$& *# ^%&" The robot with the contraption responded, moving aside.
Tails could see the gun rise towards the pig, and he already knew where this was heading. He could feel his heart hasten.
"P-please… please stop... M-Mr. Robot, please... don't!" The rabbit raised her white glove up and started to plead helplessly for mercy, the roar of thunder partially muting her cries.
The pig began to cry and was shaking visibly at the imminent threat.
"Please… d..." He started, but with ruthless efficiency, the robot pulled the trigger.
BAM!
The loud sound of laser fire echoed through the small clearing. The rabbit let out a shriek of horror, and the bat covered her eyes.
The dog stared blankly, and the raven fidgeted even more than before.
Tails looked on as the pig fell over. The sight of blood flowing caused him to become sick. He averted his gaze, and he knew that he needed to do something.
The callousness and brutality were just too much for him to handle, and it made little sense to him why any of this was happening, but maybe at this point, it no longer mattered.
"N-no" The sound of protest started to echo once more as the robot began attaching the helmet to the dog.
He was trying to fight back slightly, and it caused the sword robot to walk towards him.
Tails' stuff was unguarded, but it was too far to get to reliably. He thought for a second and realized that all of their focus was on the dog. Maybe now was his best chance to spring an attack, though it might cost them their lives.
Tails started to move his fingers into the outer rim of his brown glove and unzip a small pouch concealed within.
He kept his gaze on the dog who was being held and subjected to the whims of the robots.
Tails gently pulled out a flat disk and clenched it in the palm of his hand. Then looked around to get an idea of where the animals were for when things went down.
After thinking, he figured his best chance to attack was when they moved away from the dog. He needed to time it correctly to minimize the possibility of casualties caused by him.
"*&^ *&^ ^& ^% %$# $ &^^* ?" The chatter came, and the helmet bot moved aside once more.
"$*&^%$#$$" The robot raised its rifle up to the dog's head, and the cries of panic and desperation came once again.
"STOP!" The bat shouted as her tears mixed with the falling rain.
The rabbit couldn't bear it any longer, and she pushed her giant floppy ear out of her face.
Something inside her snapped, and she rose to her feet. She started to charge towards the dog, and the robots watched.
Tails couldn't understand why they did not immediately shoot her, but lucky for her, she made it all the way to him and placed herself between the shot and the older animal.
"P-please y-you can't… PLEASE!" She sobbed to the emotionless being and hugged the old canine.
"C-cream, get on outta' here… y yer gonna' get yerself." The dog struggled to push her off him, but she refused to budge.
The robot raised its weapon and forcefully smacked the rabbit in the face with the butt of its rifle.
"Ah!" The rabbit moaned as the hit caused blood to trickle out of her delicate mouth, staining the white fur around it.
Still, she would not let go, and the robot just pulled back and whacked her again, catching her on her brow. She flew back in a daze, a nasty bruise and a gash above her eye.
Her body hit the ground, and the machine returned its aim to the dog once again.
Without warning, the raven got up and started to hightail it towards the trees.
"I can't take it!" She screamed, jumping over a small log.
The rifle robot pointed at her and began speaking.
"&^%$#$ ^%$!" It said as the second rifle bot took after her with haste.
Its speed was much higher than that of the raven, and Tails recognized this was probably his brief window of opportunity.
With all the chaos, Tails got up as well and made a sprint for his weapon.
"&^%% %^&!" Tails could hear the chatter while he ran.
The rifle bot just aimed at Tails' legs and was preparing to fire. The dog sprung up and grabbed hold of the weapon, and tried to weakly wrestle it away from the machine's grip.
"C'mon!" He growled as he was quickly overpowered by the robust robot. The robot pointed its weapon at the canine and wasted no time in opening fire.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Tails grabbed his rifle and could hear the yelling and crying of agony behind him.
"You're on your own!" The bat screamed and started to run, but she was hastily cut off by the sword robot.
It quickly ran her through with the energy blade, and she cried out in pain. Tails turned and threw the small disk he had nestled into his palm. It attached itself to the rifle bot and began to beep quickly and loudly.
"*&^% *& ^&%$?" It said as it looked left and right for the source of the threatening beeps but couldn't locate it quickly enough.
BOOOOOOOOM!
A loud, massive explosion engulfed the riflebot and even the box robot in its proximity.
The blast sent the rabbit who had wobbled to her feet, tumbling down to the ground and rolling towards a tree.
Tails turned the safety valve on his rifle off and eyed the sword robot who had tailed him for so long.
The swordbot looked at Tails and zeroed in on him as the primary threat. It overrode all protocols and determined that lethal force might be necessary.
Tails fired the rifle, and a powerful, large beam of heated energy exploded from the barrel.
It traveled all the way to the robot but was quickly evaded by the machine. Tails blinked and could see that it was already running towards him at incredible speeds.
Tails aimed his rifle again, and instead of pointing directly for it, he gambled on which way it would dodge. He aimed off the mark to the right and fired again.
The swordbot initially dodged to the right, but it tried to correct it by heading left once more when it realized it had moved into the collision path.
BAM!
The rifle blast connected with the right side of the machine, sending sparks and flames flying everywhere.
The robot skidded to a halt and looked over at the area of the hit. Its arm had been blown clean off, and the damage to its protective center armor was extensive.
It stared in Tails' direction, and could see that he was now aiming once more. It reactively started to slink down to its knees and into a fetal position.
"Hm?" Tails made a confused noise.
He shook his head and aimed again. It was better to just finish it than wonder what it was doing. At first, he could see it, but as the seconds passed, it faded into obscurity.
Tails fired the rifle, and as it hit the dirt, it exploded into a spectacular fire show, but he could not determine at all if he nailed it.
He looked left and right and stood still, attempting to detect its presence.
"That's how you were tracking me!" He yelled in frustration as his vision settled on the rabbit who was standing up watching the spectacle.
She was frozen in place and defenseless, but the robot seemed to be primarily interested in him. He was almost positive that it was still lurking around and that this was not over.
"Get out of here!" He called to her, but she shook her head. Her eyes fixated on the carnage before her. The corpses of three people she once knew lying discarded in a river of blood.
Tails shut his eyes and took in a deep breath. He tried to listen as hard as he could. The thunder, the rain. It was loud, but as he listened silently, he noticed something else mixed in with the ambient noises.
sssssssss
It was faint but growing ever more emphatic as he stood there.
SSSSSSSSSSSS
The sizzling of rain on the heat.
THUD.
Tails turned quickly to the sudden noise and pointed his gun forward.
BAM!
He fired the rifle, and a spectacular explosion went off as it collided with a thick forest tree.
"…?"
Tails didn't hit anything. He looked about, and that was when he noticed the energy sword lying on the ground at his boots.
"Shi-" He started to shout.
SMACK!
From atop the tree, the robot came smashing down, bashing Tails upside the head. Pain shot through him, and then the world began to fade into nothingness.
His gun flew from his hands and stopped just short of the rabbit. The machine stood on top of Tails' unconscious body and retrieved its sword from the ground.
PROCESSING….
DAMAGE DONE TO SYSTEM 45%...
REPAIRS REQUIRED…
It stared intensely at Tails.
ANALYZING THREAT….
MILES PROWER…
PRIORITY TARGET…. POSITIVE.
STATUS… THREAT NEUTRALIZED. RETURN TO ROBOTROPOLIS INTACT AT ALL COSTS.
It turned to look at the rabbit standing there near the line of trees. She had retrieved the gun and was struggling to hold it. Her shaky hands were unable to steady the weapon at all.
ANALYZING THREAT…
CREAM RABBIT…
PRIORITY TARGET…. NEGATIVE...
USE LETHAL FORCE IF NECESSARY TO PROTECT DAMAGED SYSTEM FUNCTION…
COMBAT DATA…. NO EXPERIENCE… THREAT NEUTRALIZATION LEVEL… EASY.
The robot pointed its gleaming sword at her.
"%^$$#$# # %^& !$%^$" It lowered its sword towards the ground threateningly as it gave its order.
Cream got the gist of what it wanted but was too fearful of doing anything; she knew that she was as good as dead no matter what she did. Still, she tried to hold the weapon and aim it as well as her weak arms could.
The robot began to make its way towards her cautiously as it seemed to understand the threat level of that weapon. It was reasonably damaged and did not want to compromise its mission.
Cream was shaking and started to pull the trigger.
BAM!
Cream was sent flying back a little, and the shot was entirely off the mark. It landed and exploded not too far from the robot.
The damaged machine kept inching forward, its sword at the ready. As much as it wanted to capture the rabbit alive, it was looking like cutting her down was the appropriate course of action.
"P-Please s-stay back. T-there's no reason for you to come any closer." She naively tried to reason once more, but the swordbot cared little for her pleas.
She aimed the rifle more steadily this time and attempted to fire again.
CLINK.
ZZZZZZZZZZ.
Sparks came shooting out of the weapon, and the robot, sensing it was not functional, wasted no time and darted towards her.
Cream panicked and banged on the gun with her fist, but it only caused more sparks to emit from it. The machine was closing in on her with frightening speed, and its sword was aiming directly at her neck.
Cream did the only thing she could think of and flapped her large floppy ears as hard as she could. The motion caused her to rise, and she used the sudden movement upward to propel herself over the charging threat.
The robot, not expecting such an abrupt and erratic change in movement, continued forward with its energy blade effortlessly slicing through a thick tree. The tree subsequently fell, and fire consumed the top of the burnt stump.
Cream landed herself near Tails and turned to face the machine. The robot was already heading in her new direction, and it was anticipating her movement should she fly again. It was sure that it would be able to cut her down and retrieve the fox.
She slammed the rifle, but to no avail. She was fully panicking, and she didn't know what to do.
Cream shut her eyes and did the only thing that popped in her head. She moved both her arms and tossed the gun at the oncoming threat.
"Ahhh!" She yelled as the robot carelessly cut the weapon on its way to ending her life as fast as possible.
BOOOOOOOOM!
The rifle she'd thrown erupted in a spectacular explosion when pierced, catching her and the machine by complete surprise.
Its metallic limbs flew in all manner of directions, and its energy sword fell feet in front of her as just an empty hilt.
The robot was eradicated, as was a small square area of the forest glade. Trees came tumbling down, and bushes were set ablaze.
Cream fell on her butt into a puddle of mud and sat there in stunned silence. Everything that had just come to pass slowly sinking in. Her heart pounded, and light sobs started coming from her as she buried her face in her gloves.
"It... wasn't supposed to be like this…." She lamented in her sobs. The rumbling of thunder and the howling of the wind picking up more so than it had earlier.
She removed her once pure white gloves from her face, and they were stained with blood. She wiped her nose and looked around herself.
Alone, silent. It was slowly dawning on her that there was still another robot out there and that it would undoubtedly be back.
"Oh no!" She scrambled to her feet in a panic and moved her way to Tails. "H-hey Mr., please. Mr., you have to get up!" She gently nudged him, not wanting to cause any more damage to him.
She heaved while looking around. The forest had small blazes and knocked-over trees everywhere. Her friends lie motionless and bleeding on the ground. She moved away from Tails and began to check each one.
"D-Diana!" She rolled the bat over and could see the energy sword had torn through half of her stomach. It was no good… there was nothing that could be done.
She ran over to the dog. "Red… RED!" She shouted in desperation, but it was clear that he was dead. He had several laser wounds that had passed through his body.
She looked over at the pig and knew that Sammy had to be dead as well. He had been shot point-blank in the head.
RUMBLE!
FLASH.
Thunder roared as lightning soon followed it. Cream turned to Tails and started to grab him by his underarms. She struggled and pulled as hard as she could, moving him all the way into the deep thicket of bushes and downed trees.
She stood up and took a deep breath, then gazed back out at the messy clearing, and her eyes caught something. It was her brown satchel bag and the rest of her friend's stuff. She looked out in every direction for the fourth robot and rushed over to everything that had been taken from them. It was imperative that she get her things back.
She placed the moderately heavy satchel around her shoulder as it slung at her side, after which she reached over and took the backpack that had belonged to Diana and slung it over her back.
She stood up and looked around once again.
Once there was a blue light in the distance, not too far off from her present location. She could feel the fear explode within her as she ran and quickly dove into a thick set of bushes.
Thorns, sticks, and leaves assaulted her body from every angle, but she covered her mouth and tried not to make a peep.
She watched from behind the leaves as the last riflebot stopped and looked over the clearing.
ANALYZING….
MISSION STATUS...
SQUAD REMAINING 1 OF 4….
ANIMALS CAPTURED 0 OF 6….
ANIMALS NEUTRALIZED 3 OF 6….
ANIMAL PROFILES EXTRACTED 6 OF 6….
SUMMATION: CRITICAL MISSION FAILURE….
PRIORITIZE RETURNING TO ROBOTROPOLIS FOR REPORT…
The robot turned away, and within seconds it had disappeared off into the thick, rainy forest. Cream, though sure it was gone, dared not to move an inch.
She lay and waited in the brush for over an hour, too fearful to even move. It wasn't until the dangerous winds and thunder from the intense storm became worse that she decided to remove herself.
She stood out in the open clearing once more gazing at the destruction, and she was not quite sure how or why she was still living.
She turned her attention to where she hid the fox and started to move her way over to him.
There wasn't much she could do during the capture, but she was sure she could do something now. With that in mind, she headed into the deep brush with her two heavy bags strapped to her body.
…
…
…
…
…
…
"You did good, Tails."
"I did?"
"Of course, big guy! Would I ever lie to you?"
"N-no, never Sonic."
…..
"I promise I'll be back."
…
"You lied to me!"
"Sonic, I hate you!"
…..
"You lied to me!"
…..
"Sonic…"
"Sonic... Please."
…
"I'm sorry..."
"Ow! Ah! W-what the!" Tails said groggily after being awakened from his unconscious state, a bright light now shining directly into his vision.
He was dazed and confused, and the world around him did not make any sense. The light stopped assaulting his senses for a moment, and he now realized that he was waking up from slumber once more.
All around him was darkness, and his eyes were starting to adjust to the dim light level. He could make out the beam of light as a flashlight and shook his head. The sounds of falling rain beating on wood could be heard above him, and it was at this time he realized he was dry.
"Please, Mr., hold still." A calm, soothing voice pierced the darkness, and he stayed frozen.
The light once again and assaulted his vision, and he could see the white gloves holding open his eyelids.
"Ah... wh... what are you doing?" Tails asked in dazed confusion.
"I am treating you." She said softly as she removed the bright light.
"Both your pupils have different dilation. You have a concussion." The voice rang out again, and the flashlight was placed in a hole in the wood.
Tails could see the rabbit from earlier leaning over him to rummage through a brown leather bag. Her face was still bruised and cut up. Dried blood was matted into her mouth fur, and she still looked as terrified as she had earlier.
He looked up to the "roof," and it became apparent that she had taken shelter with him in an old, downed, hollowed-out log.
She pulled from the bag a needle and a vial, and Tails immediately sat up.
"J-just what do you think you're doing?" He asked, slightly nervous.
"O-oh, forgive me..." The rabbit gave a slight bow and politely apologized. "I wanted to help you recover. You seemed to have injuries, and I wanted to thank you for… for… trying to help me… us…." She said.
It was clear to him that she had never really spoken to anyone outside of her circle and that she was still in a state of shock after everything that had happened.
Tails reluctantly nodded his head and leaned forward while sitting up. He watched her thread the needle in the light source.
"So, you're a physician?" Tails broke the silence and looked at her face, which was hidden halfway by the shadows.
"Me? Oh! N-no, I am not a doctor... I just uhm. Well…" She said nervously.
"You seem to know what you are doing." Tails stated the obvious and watched as she tied the thread.
"I well. Thank you." She gave another slight bow and moved her gloved hands up to his head.
"I uhm... I wanted to be a doctor. I love to h-help people." She admitted, resting one of her hands on Tails' mouth.
He tried to speak, but before he could, she cupped over his mouth hard.
"Uhm mfmmfm?"
?
"I'm very sorry." Cream apologized as she placed a piece of wet gauze over his wound.
"MMMMFFFFFFFF!" Tails yelled into her cupped hand as she disinfected his head wound.
She was as gentle as possible, but it was tender, and it stung badly.
"I can see somebody already tried to seal the wound, but without sutures, it did not hold." She said, releasing his mouth.
Most of the burning and stinging was intense, but he could barely feel the needle going in and out of his flesh as she worked.
"Well… thank you." Tails said he was grateful for the help, but he realized that he almost got himself killed and did little to save her friends.
She gave him a gentle warm smile and nodded. She was in a world of pain and despair, but the treatment she was administering him was taking her mind off of it.
After a few minutes of stitching, she began to wrap his head up in fresh, clean bandages from her bag.
Tails was surprised that she had quite a bit of medication stored and that she had no qualms about using them on strangers.
It was odd how out of place she was in this dying world, yet she seemed to be flourishing in a way most Freedom Fighters were not.
He watched as she closed the bandage off and handed him a few pills.
"These will lower the pain and help you rest. Please take them." She asked politely.
Tails held onto them and looked as they sat in his palm.
"My name's Tails..." He said abruptly.
"Oh… Well, where are my manners? My name is Cream Rabbit." She said, closing up her doctor's satchel.
She turned to face him, and he looked directly into her eyes. Though she had a smile on, he could see right through it to the pain mulling underneath.
Tails let out a sigh realizing that there was no point in trying to beat around the bush.
"What happened out there? I need to know…." Tails said directly to her, and she looked down at the ground hesitantly.
"I… We... came from a safe haven. A hidden place… it is a city that is free from the pain of war. After the coup by Robotnik, some animals took to recreating society not defined by strife and suffering." She started to explain, and Tails couldn't believe his ears.
A whole city that went about its life acting as if the suffering caused by Robotnik never happened? It almost made Tails angry.
"So, you just hide away? You pretend everything is ok out here?" His tone was slightly harsh, but Cream shut her eyes and looked away.
"I… I am terribly sorry, but I…. the five of us that came out here agreed with that sentiment. We believed it was our duty to help our fellow animals, and so we were given a task to find a Freedom Fighter faction." She reached into the backpack that belonged to Diana and pulled out a cube with a computer screen fixated on the top portion of it.
"This is a map cube. We were to activate it when we found a faction so that we could easily navigate and offer supplies to them." She said.
Tails curiously took the cube and examined it. It didn't look like any map he'd ever seen, but it was pretty sophisticated, if not old-looking.
"Every so often, a group of animals that share similar ideals as us is chosen to find a Freedom Fighter faction. It is that trade that allows us to keep our city supplied and to help the Freedom Fighters by giving them much-needed medicine or supplies in return." She said as she took the cube back from Tails and frowned slightly.
"Unfortunately, the map cube is broken. It was submerged in water on our way here due to the storm, and when we tried to activate it, the map failed to appear. We weren't supposed to activate it before reaching the Freedom Fighter location, but we panicked and wanted to make sure it was ok." She paused.
looking down at the cube in her hands, she eventually kept talking. "Red… Redford was going to try to fix it… Well, if he could manage… but before we could take a break to try, we were attacked by those… things..."
Tails smiled slightly even with the harsh circumstances and leaned forward. Extra supplies in Knothole would be a boon, and he was sure that everybody would welcome such a deal.
"I can fix it." Tails said to her.
"You? You can?" She asked, somewhat surprised.
"I am pretty good with technology. If we get it to my workshop and you give me a few days, I can repair it most likely. The other plus side is that if you travel with me, you can also talk to Bunnie and Antoine, who currently oversee our Freedom Fighter faction." Tails explained to her.
Cream couldn't believe her ears… not only could she fix the map cube, but she also happened to locate a Freedom Fighter. Could it be that she would be the first successful person to find Freedom Fighters and return home unscathed?
Her friend's deaths might not be in vain after all.
Tails started to force himself to get up, but Cream grabbed his wrist. "You are still weak and need rest… we cannot go yet." She warned.
Tails shook his head. "We have to go now. I need to return to Knothole as soon as possible." He said, remembering the urgency of before.
He knew that he had taken a wrong turn purposefully out of paranoia earlier because he felt he was being pursued, but he had to make up for that lost time.
"Please…" Cream pleaded with him.
He stared into her eyes, and he was hit with a sudden influx of remorse. She wasn't used to any of this, and her friends had just been brutally murdered hours earlier. He knew she was hiding her pain behind a smile, and it made him feel like a monster for his callousness.
"Fine…"
Tails reluctantly sat down and placed the pills he was given earlier in his mouth. He then lay down and stared at the wood above his head, listening to the raging storm above.
The flashlight was shut off, and he stayed motionless as the medication started to make him drowsy. His thoughts were lingering on the events of the day. He couldn't help but feel remorseful for Cream's friends or his abandonment of Lupe. He couldn't shake the terrible feeling that something was wrong in Knothole.
Tails' eyes began to shut on their own as consciousness left him periodically. He could see Sonic's face and longed to hear his comforting voice once again, and he kept thinking to himself that maybe if things kept going the way they had today… he just might.
"…"
Cream sat in the darkness alone, and once she was sure Tails had fallen into slumber. She buried her face in her knees and hunched herself into a ball-like position.
Cream's arms quivered from both her sadness and the cold of being soaked for so long. She was in pain, and she could feel her heart being boiled in the bowls of her stomach. She wept as quietly as possible, far into the twilight hours.
"I-I don't know if I can…. I'm sorry." She sobbed, calling quietly out to nobody in particular.
If only she weren't so pathetic and weak. She thought, but the proof of her frailty was the blood of her friends that soaked her delicate hands.
For better or for worse, this was the reality that Cream found herself in, and she wasn't sure she had what it took to make it through to the end.
Wrap Up. I still find this one engaging.