Author's Note. I had a plan in mind when I wrote this chapter, but I ended up messing it up, so I fixed it and redid the chapter to make it less trash.
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 10. Respite
Days had gone by, and Tails could do nothing but look at the rainy world that sat beyond the window in front of him.
His mind was heavy with guilt for the many things that had transpired, and he couldn't fathom where to begin his atonement. He owed Cream a fixed map; he owed Lupe a rescue. He owed Max an apology for leaving him to such a dangerous task.
What could he do to fix everything?
He was sitting in front of scattered robot parts to examine the new threat that assaulted him, but he just kept staring out the window instead.
BANG!
The loud sound of his door made him jump, and he turned to see Cream walking in. She looked sleepless and sickly from wear and tear, but she still wore a pleasant smile.
It had been a little over a week, and the only thing that seemed to be improving around here was the weather.
"How is he?" Tails said while keeping his gaze on the young rabbit.
"He is still unconscious, but Annie is diligently watching him. Heck… she hasn't left his side this entire time." Cream paused to yawn then continued. "I think the worst is over, but he is not out of the woods yet, we are out of intravenous medicine, so unless he wakes up soon to eat the oral medication available, we might have problems." She finished and plopped herself on Tails' bed and held her head up with her hand.
"Why don't you sleep. I think it will do you some good." Tails recommended to her.
She knew what he said was the truth, but the reality was that she was scared to sleep. Ever since the day she and her friends had been captured, she was unable to let go of the fear that came with it. Keeping busy in any small way she could, was her distraction.
"I- I will when I feel up to it..." She said to him.
Tails just gave her a look of disbelief but choose not to press it further. He welcomed the sleepless company, as it was not often he had somebody like her to talk to.
He turned away from her and looked out at the moderately heavy rain. So much damage had been done to the forest and the village.
He could see it easing up, but he wondered how Max got through that thinking back on it. Hell, he wondered how he got through it.
"…"
"Mr. Tails… uhm?" He could hear Cream's delicate voice interrupting his thoughts from across the room, and he became slightly annoyed.
"No, I am not fixing the map cube. You will have to wait. I have told you several times already." Tails said irritably.
Even though he enjoyed her company, she still found ways to get on his nerves. He would get to it when he was able, but he didn't need her hounding him repeatedly.
"I-um... I'm sorry..." Cream hung her head down a little bit. She had been asking him a lot, and she felt bad about herself for being an imposition on him.
Tails shook his head and let out a sigh. "Could you please stop apologizing? For the last time, I will figure out how it works and fix it for you. That is a promise." He stated.
He was starting to feel that her constant niceness and apologetics were a falsehood, as nobody could be that pleasant. In fact, over the several conversations he had with her, he kept noticing inconsistencies in her storytelling.
He was thankful for her help in all of this, but he couldn't change the fact that he was suspicious of her and her motivations at this time.
"O-Oh… well. I am sorr- I mean, thank you, Mr. Tails." She stated hesitantly and started to rehydrate herself with some water from a bottle in his room.
Tails looked at her out of the corner of his eye, she was so disarming to him, and it made him feel paranoid.
He started to stand up and stretch as he turned around to face her fully.
"I'm going to go get some stuff for us to eat. You stay here and relax. If anything comes up, I promise I will come let you know." He walked to his door and opened it.
Cream watched him in silence and then lay her head on his pillow. "I- sure. I will just wait here." She eventually responded right before he was to take his leave.
He nodded to her and shut his hut door, knowing that sleep would undoubtedly claim her before he could get back.
He stood out in front of his hut and could see the downed trees and damaged huts. He stepped forward and made his way to the dining hut. There, could see Nicole using wood to stabilize and repair it.
Her machine body allowed her to work and keep things operational even during the intense weather. When she wasn't running around trying to keep this place from collapsing, she kept a close watch on their prisoner.
"How are things, Nicole?" Tails asked her as he passed by. It was hard to get used to, but he wanted to treat her like he would anybody else.
Nicole looked at him and said nothing. She just stared with her intense blue eyes.
She eventually turned her attention back to the roof and resumed patching up the damage. She was aloof and off-putting, but Tails knew that this was all new to her, and it was probably overwhelming.
Tails didn't bother to disturb her any further and entered the lit room of the dining area. He could see Sonia eating and gathered she had been doing many of the chores that nobody else was.
She seemed tired, though she looked devoted in her quest to keep Knothole running, if only for her brother's sake.
"Hey, Sonia." Tails said as he walked by and into the cooking area.
He intended to stock up on some food so that he and Cream could eat their fill.
"Hey, Tails..." She answered back, sticking a piece of bread in her mouth. She wasn't in the mood for talking, but she was in a good enough mood to at least give basic responses.
Tails rummaged through the stored food and started picking out things that could easily be kept in his hut. Nuts, cheese, some loaves of bread, water, fruit. It would all last reasonably well in the heat of the summer.
He filled up one of the smaller sacks to the brim and tied it up. Once he turned around and exited the storage area, he found Sonia standing up alongside the door, watching him.
"Something up, Sonia?" Tails asked her.
"Nah… I just… ya' know." She played with the ground with her shoe.
Tails smiled at her and rubbed her hair with his gloved hand. "Max is doing the best he has been yet, so I think it is only a matter of time until he gets his lazy bones out of bed."
"Ah... Hey! Geez… you are as bad as he is!" She started straightening her quills.
Once she was done being annoyed, she gave Tails a small smile. "Heh, it's good to know he will be back up soon. Doin' all the chores myself is a real pain. I gotta' make sure he knows just how much he owes me for this."
Tails let out a hearty laugh when he heard that, the first in a long while. He couldn't help but feel thankful Sonia never changed in all of this.
"I will make sure he knows." He held onto the sack and walked on past her. "Just make sure not to overwork yourself, alright?"
Sonia nodded and stood there watching him exit the front door to the outside. She was spending a lot of time getting things for her brother and keeping Knothole running.
Clean sheets, pillows, washing old sheets, getting routine chores like cooking done. She had her hands full, but she was honestly not spiteful about it. She just wanted to do everything in her power to help the one person she loved more than anybody else in Knothole.
Tails left the dining area and walked past Nicole, who was still working on the roof. He didn't say anything to her and decided it was best to let her be alone for the time being.
He started walking towards his hut, but he stopped halfway there. He turned to gaze over toward Annie's hut, and he could see the light inside was on.
He realized that she was probably hungry and wanted to see how Max was doing with his own eyes. He moved his way through the rain and found himself at Annie's door in no time.
Tails didn't even bother to knock and instead merely pushed open the door with his free hand.
Once inside, he could see Annie sitting in a chair by the lamp. She had been sleeping in the chair, using the edge of the bed to prop her feet up. Max lay beside her in an unconscious state, though he looked far less sickly than he did before.
"Hey, I brought you some food." Tails said, opening the sack as he walked next to where she was sitting.
Once there, he started removing goodies from the bag and placed several items on the side table next to both her and Max.
"Oh… well, thank you." She said restlessly.
Tails nodded and looked at the lamp surrounded by the food and water he had just placed, content it was enough. He could tell she had no intention of leaving this room, and he wasn't about to force her.
For some reason, it almost seemed like an obsession for her to be here with him, and though Tails didn't fully grasp it, he knew that she had her reasons.
Annie said nothing and just looked at Max, losing herself in contemplative thought.
Tails decided to take this opportunity to leave and started to turn and head towards her door. He didn't want to disturb her further, and he knew Cream was probably famished if she was even still awake.
"Hey..." He heard Annie's voice call out to him before he could leave.
"Hm?" He turned around to look at her.
"I… do you have any cheese and bread? I... uhm... Max, he really likes cheese and bread as a snack. I just thought…." She trailed off, as it felt awkward saying this, but Tails got the gist of it rather quickly.
He moved back to her and opened his sack, giving her a quarter of the small wheel of cheese and an entire loaf of bread. It was quite a lot, but he figured Annie would pick at it before Max ever came to.
"Thanks..." Annie said quietly once more and placed them on the table with the rest of the fruit and water given to her.
Tails smiled at her and turned to leave her hut. There was still so far for Max to go, but he had faith in him.
After all, Max was the son of Sonic the Hedgehog, and he believed that they shared the same fighting spirit within them.
With that, he quietly opened Annie's door and exited the hut shutting it behind him.
…
Nicole looked at the patched roof, and the rain smacked off the back of her metal head as she focused.
Her mind was so full of things that she could barely keep it set on one task. She was attempting to keep Knothole from falling apart, but she wished she could be taking care of Max, in all honesty.
She still felt indebted to him after all that transpired, and even though she kept her promise to the best of her abilities, she still felt it wasn't enough.
Nicole sat up on her knees and could see that the roof was relatively stable and sturdy with the newly applied wood, and she used her metal hand to knock against it to check.
Once she determined it was reliable enough to her liking, she figured it would be best if she got down off the roof and onto her next planned task.
Nicole moved over and started to climb down the wet slippery ladder propped up against the side of the hut.
She descended it rather quickly, realizing she had nothing to fear from the elements or a fall, so why bother taking her time?
She jumped off the ladder halfway down, and her metal paws smacked into the wet grass with a slap. She looked up the ladder and once more at her handy work, nodding in approval of it all.
Nicole turned around to start walking away towards the storage place where Snively was being held so that she could keep an eye on him, but she was caught off guard by the sight of Sonia standing in front of her.
Sonia's stared inquisitively at the metal being, and she only moved in closer to stare even more.
Nicole didn't know what to say or do and just remained silent. She was expecting some suspicion or skepticism of her purpose here but was surprised when Sonia finally spoke up.
"I hear from Tails and Annie that you are my bro's computer?" She put her hand to her chin.
Nicole looked left and right and then nodded slowly to Sonia without speaking.
"O ya' well prove it. Tell me somthin' only I would know." Sonia was direct in asking for what she wanted, and Nicole kept wondering what the motivation for all of this was about.
Nicole stood there unresponsive for a minute and then uttered the only phrase she could think of. The phrase she spoke during that night the two of them went to Robotropolis.
"Way past..." Her voice came out low and hesitantly.
"Holy shit! It is you, no kiddin?" Sonia seemed really happy about that, and before Nicole knew it, Sonia reached out and gave her a quick hug.
Nicole stood there baffled as Sonia quickly broke the hug and rubbed her nose a little bit.
"You're 12… no 13? 14 maybe?" Sonia said aloud, and Nicole was even more lost.
"What exactly are you getting at?" Nicole finally asked.
Sonia ignored her and stood in front of the robot. She then raised her hand to the top of her head and pulled it forward until it was slightly above Nicole's head.
"Hah, I'm taller! So, I must be older!" She said excitedly and put her hands down at her sides.
"I am a robotic A.I. It is illogica..." Nicole began but was cut off by Sonia.
"Blah, Blah, you're a robot that is like uncle Chuck, so that means you were once an animal. Come up with all the nonsense you want, but an animal is an animal." She said.
Nicole stared in silence. While what Sonia said was technically accurate in its most base form, she was utterly incorrect about her as a whole.
It still didn't make sense to her why Sonia was acting this way, so she didn't bother correcting her, especially if it meant outing Max for this stolen body.
Sonia smiled at her and grabbed onto Nicole's metal hand. "C'mon, I need some help with some things, and I figured you could be useful."
Nicole was not sure what to say to that, but in truth, if Max's little sister needed help with something, how could she refuse? She was well aware Snively wasn't going anywhere, and she had fixed up a lot of the most devastating damage in Knothole already.
Nicole simply nodded, allowing Sonia to lead her, and the two walked all the way until they found themselves in Sonia's messy hut.
Nicole's eyes scanned the room, and she could see that it looked like a disaster. She turned her attention to Sonia, who had already begun picking up scattered clothes.
At this point, Nicole concluded her purpose here and went to pick up piles of clothes to be placed where Sonia would direct her.
"Hey, hey, you put those down!" Sonia reprimanded Nicole, who immediately dropped the clothes she was holding to the floor.
She was so utterly confused as to what Sonia was doing that she couldn't even function.
Sonia placed her dirty clothes in a wooden hamper box and moved over to stand next to Nicole. "Guests shouldn't do work… you just make yourself comfortable." She said.
Nicole stared blankly for a minute. She felt like this was a confusing waste of time that made no logical sense, but as she watched Sonia continue to clean up the room, she began to listen to what she was actually saying.
"What's it feel like to be a robot?"
…
"What do you do when you're bored?"
…
"Hey, how about we..."
…
"I think you are…."
…
At first, Nicole was processing the speech but eventually tuned it all out to stare towards a mirror fixed to Sonia's wall.
Nicole could see her image clear as day for the first time and could see her dirty metal body, intense blue eyes, expression, and movement.
She could see the very fabric of her identity laid out before her. She, lynx, Nicole, child, robot. This identity that she had never known became clear to her the more she fixated on herself.
Sonia could see her for what she was, but it dawned on Nicole that she could not up to this very point.
Nicole turned her attention back to Sonia, who had placed another pile of clothes into the bin and kept talking. She focused intently on what Sonia was saying at this moment as if she were learning the most guarded secrets in animal history.
"I was thinkin' if you're lonely Nicole, you could always come stay with me..." Sonia said sheepishly.
Nicole hadn't paid attention to much of the conversation, but she had heard enough to grasp her reason for being here.
"So, you want to be friends?" Nicole blurted out as if against her will, and all of a sudden, she felt an intense emotion well up within her mind, to the point that she actually had to avert her gaze from Sonia.
"Friend?" Sonia said in surprise.
Nicole started to think that she had misjudged the context of her visit and found herself wanting to go back to quiet solace.
It was so hard, so confusing, and still, she struggled with these new emotions and things that were foreign to her. Though the familiarity of emotional response was more jarring than the concepts that she felt she never knew.
"That's a great idea, Nicole! Hell, I ain't never had anybody my age around here ever!" Sonia sounded deeply satisfied, and her elated response helped Nicole find the courage to look at her again.
So that was it. Sonia saw her as a roboticized child that was roughly her age. It didn't matter that she'd once been an emotionless A.I. tool. She was now something completely different, and she wouldn't argue against the fact that the labels given to her did fit or feel appropriate.
"Why did you bring me here if you didn't want help?" Nicole asked. She had to know; she wanted to hear it.
Sonia put her hands at her sides and let out a sigh. Her head looked down at the floor, and Nicole could immediately see the feeling in Sonia that she had just recently experienced.
"Look, I ain't good at speakin'… my bro… he trusts you, and I figured… if he trusts you, then I should trust you." She began her story. "I've felt so alone for so long, and then I got to thinkin' about how he always has Annie, but I ain't got nothin'. You are like uncle Chuck, so I figured… why not?" She finished rubbing her shoe against her wooden floor, feeling like an ineloquent fool.
Sonia looked frustrated trying to explain herself to the robot, but Nicole started to grasp it, just like how she too felt powerless until Max had unchained her. It was a feeling of isolation due to their distinct differences.
"I understand… You were never really alone, but you feel that way because there's nobody that you can closely identify with." Nicole said.
Whether it was age or similarity of persons, Nicole recognized she belonged more now than she ever had before.
"Yeah, like that!" Sonia snapped her fingers and came over to stand in front of Nicole. "That's why I think bein' friends is a great idea!" She smiled at her.
"I... am not sure I know how," Nicole answered honestly, she was learning to do it with Max, but now with all these new capabilities and this new identity, she wasn't sure any longer.
"Ah, it ain't hard! What's something you like a lot?" Sonia asked her.
"Like?"
Nicole wasn't expecting that, but to humor the girl, she thought of all the things she could possibly "like."
At first, it seemed that it was a meaningless question for her, but the more she thought, the more certain topics kept repeating themselves. Max, Sciences, Sally, Sonic.
These people and concepts that held little to no meaning before were now easily identifiable as things that she "liked."
"I… uh?" Nicole hesitated and lowered her head a little bit. "I like your parents, Ma- your brother, and uh… Science." She said, sounding almost childlike.
She fumbled over her words and looked like she was struggling to put her thoughts to her feelings.
Sonia let out a playful laugh and placed her hand on Nicole's shoulder. "Hey, I love my family too, and science is cool. I ain't that good at it, but maybe you could show me."
"…"
She slid her hand off Nicole after a moment and turned her attention to the clothes on the floor, then started cleaning up the pile Nicole had dropped earlier to feed it to the bin.
Quantum physics, technology, robotics, anatomy, biology. There were so many things that Nicole could have said, and she chooses the blanket term science?
She felt as though this new form was compromising her intellectual capacity, but hearing Sonia take an interest in what she said made her feel strange in her mind as if it was far more important than it ever had been before.
"Sure, I can... show you science..." Nicole gave her weak response.
Sonia had just finished dropping the last of the dirty clothes in the bin, and she turned around to give Nicole a thumbs up. "Way past…" Sonia stopped.
"Cool." Nicole finished like she had before, making Sonia jump with excitement.
"Alright, now we're getting somewhere!" Sonia said, and with that, she lifted the wooden box full of clothes.
Nicole watched for a second, and then she moved over to Sonia. Without a word, she grasped the handles of the clothes box and took the container away from her.
"Hey! What'd I tell you about guests?" Sonia complained.
"I am capable of carrying large objects with little effort…." Nicole started her dry explanation but then stopped herself in favor of a more simplistic one. "… I wouldn't be a good friend… If I didn't help out." She finished.
Sonia stared at her and grinned, and Nicole just stared back thoughtfully.
"Alright, let's get to washing these clothes then!" Sonia raised her fist in the air and opened the door for Nicole to walk through easily.
It was strange how Sonia must have needed somebody to be with in these times of trouble, but the more Nicole thought about it, the more she wondered if it was her that needed Sonia and not the other way around.
The two of them exited the hut to do mundane chores, but it was apparent that there was much more importance and meaning behind it than that.
…
Tails sat at his cluttered work table with his sack of goodies open, nibbling at some of the fruit he had brought with him.
Cream was sound asleep on his bed as he predicted, and he didn't have the heart to disturb her, even for food. He would just save her some and eat his portion while attempting to get some kind of work done.
He had stopped even trying to examine the robot scraps he had brought back with him and instead was trying to analyze the map cube that Cream kept asking him to fix.
Tails sighed, biting into his apple, and looked over the contraption. It appeared to be old and had gone through years of wear and tear. However, he could not even decipher how it worked.
He rolled it in his hand, looking for an entry panel he could open to expose the inside, and after several minutes of searching, he finally noticed a small crease that would allow him to pry it open.
He set his apple down and took a screwdriver that had been lying on the work table, and started to use it to try jimmy open the side of the device. It took some effort, but he eventually pried it off after a couple of minutes of tinkering.
He looked inside with the help of his desk lamp and could see various circuits and wires filling the space. It also happened to be filled with some water, and it was filthy inside. These cubes were supposedly valuable in finding one's way, but they appeared to be completely neglected and in disrepair.
"Hm?" Tails made a noise.
None of this added up; he suspected the reason the cube failed to display a map was that of the apparent lack of care given to the object and not necessarily the heavy rain.
Tails looked up and back out the window and once again picked up his apple to take another bite of it.
It didn't make any sense to him that Cream's single device for navigation was this neglected pile of trash. He had a feeling if he cleaned it and replaced some of the parts, he could get it back into functioning order, but it would have to wait until he could find all the components he needed.
He shook his head and glanced once again at Cream. Tails felt both sad for her and frustrated with her all at once.
He really believed she was not telling him the entire truth, and this cube was even more evidence in his mind. He saw her good intentions in the past week, but all right actions can belie the real insidiousness of someone's motivation.
Tails hated his over-analyzing brain sometimes but couldn't change what he thought based on what he had seen and heard. Was he ungrateful for everything Cream had helped him with? Probably, but that was irrelevant if his suspicions wound up being correct.
He finished his apple and left the core underneath the lamp to throw out at a later time. He pushed the open cube aside and stared in a daze out the window once more.
He was ready to get lost in thought and fight with himself over the whole Cream issue but was taken out of it when he noticed someone familiar making their way into the center of Knothole.
Tails blinked and stood up from his chair and leaned in closer to get a better look. He could see the more rounded body and that bright yellow hat through the droplets of rain that ran down the window.
"Rotor." Tails' voice was full of excitement, but he kept the volume of his voice to a whisper to not disturb Cream.
He quickly and quietly made his way out of his hut, and once he was sure he couldn't be heard by anybody, he started making a quick sprint through the moderate rain to his friend.
He huffed and puffed with each splashing step he took. When he came around the hut, the figure in the yellow hat noticed him and gave him a massive wave, which encouraged Tails to run even faster.
"ROTOR!" He lost himself in excitement as his shout rang through the rainy village.
Rotor moved forward and opened his arms wide to receive the young fox into his embrace. The two let out laughs of joy and surprise as Rotor patted him on the back.
"Oh, Man! Tails! We were worried sick about you!" Rotor's voice was loud and full of joy.
Tails laughed and pulled himself away to look him over. "I heard that you stopped by to check up on Knothole, but I arrived after your departure." He said to him.
Rotor nodded. "Yeah, Robotropolis is a mess... There were SWATBOTS crawling everywhere. I brought back food but decided against coming home because of the clutter."
Tails stepped back and took in a deep breath. "Man, is it good to see you. How are Bunnie and Antoine?" He asked.
He had heard from Annie that Antoine had been injured, but nobody in Knothole knew just how good or bad he was doing.
"Ah, well… they are actually behind me. After the SWATBOTS cleared out to their new assignments, we all decided to head back to Knothole. Antoine is a bit slow due to his injuries but refused to let Bunnie carry him any longer." He rubbed the back of his head.
"That's great!" Tails said ecstatically. "We all had our struggles, but we are coming back together as an unbreakable family!"
Rotor looked solemn for a second and let out a sigh. "Well, most of us anyway."
"Most?" Tails said, confused, and then it dawned on him that he was unaware that Max had pulled himself from the jaws of death and somehow still breathed.
Tails smiled at him and grabbed onto his hand. "C'mon!" He started pulling the tired, wet walrus along towards Annie's hut.
"I… can't I eat first before explaining Antoine and Bunnie to Annie?" He protested. He was honestly starving, but Tails refused to let go of his hand.
"Trust me!" Tails said, even more excited, and burst his way into Annie's hut, causing her to jump slightly.
"Ah! Tails! could you calm the hell down for a second?" Annie became loud, she wanted quiet so that Max could rest, but once she realized Rotor was here, she immediately stood up.
Rotor first noticed Annie, but then his eye immediately saw the young boy lying in bed. "Holy hell... No way!? I thought he was… was…." Rotor stammered over his words in disbelief.
"This is the son of Sonic Hedgehog we are talking about here." Tails said happily.
Rotor had grieved and written Max off as dead. Hell, delivering the news to Bunnie was like destroying the soul of his friend. He had never seen Bunnie break down and cry like that in his entire life, and she had been in a trance-like state even to this very day. When she found out about this, she might damn near explode from happiness.
"I…" Rotor stopped when he saw the robotic arm that Max now had, and his expression turned to intense concern. There was much more about Max's return that he didn't know about, and it was making him feel uneasy. He turned to Tails, who merely gave him a serious look.
"Rotor… I will explain everything when Bunnie and Antoine get here. This is… so much has happened that… well, we all need to be together for it." Tails turned his gaze to Annie, who looked as if she now had stars in her eyes.
"My parents are coming home!? Are you serious!?" She nearly shouted but then cupped her mouth upon remembering her own rules for quiet resting.
Rotor looked at the two of them and just nodded slowly. He didn't want to wait to hear about everything that had happened, but he figured Tails had a point in wanting to tell everyone simultaneously.
"Alright, I'll trust you. I will get some food in my stomach and then head to my workshop to try and take a nap. I haven't slept in so long that I really need a clear head to hear exactly what it is you have to tell us." He turned away and moved out of the room.
He knew it would be at least a few hours before Bunnie and Antoine would make it here, and he knew they were safely in the forest by the time he left them to check ahead.
Annie paced back and forth; she couldn't believe her parents were coming home. She was so excited and happy, but she was also filled with dread, almost like they already knew the things she had done just days before.
Tails patted her on the head and smiled at her. "Everything's turning out fine. I am going to go and find Nicole to tell her to lay low until everyone is gathered. Make sure you try to take it easy; you wouldn't want them seeing you all gloomy."
Tails didn't want Rotor to be shocked by the robot trampling around Knothole, and he also wanted to make sure that everyone could be on the same page by nightfall.
He moved towards Annie's door and gave her one last look before walking through it. Annie didn't respond to him or even try to stop him. She just waited and watched until Tails had shut her door to leave her in peace.
Annie paced back and forth, still lost in her worries, and she found herself repeatedly gazing down at the floor towards the bottom of her bed that Max rested upon.
She knew it was under there… she had kicked her pistol there when cleaning the room, so she didn't have to touch the damn thing. She still felt intense shame for what she had done and didn't realize she could sink so low.
She moved back to her resting chair and just looked at her unconscious friend laying there peacefully under the covers.
Oddly his comatose presence brought her comfort, as it gave her somebody to take care of, to want to see happy and at peace. She would always think about their talks, their times together, his smile, and it just made her want to fight as hard as she could to bring those things back.
It had become an obsession for her, and she recognized it was probably the guilt of all the things she had said, and done, or failed to do.
Sonia had spent much of her time avoiding Max in this state as it appeared too painful for her to confront, but she felt as if she owed it to Max. Whether it was too difficult or not, she kept remembering the smile he gave her just before the mission and just how much comfort it had brought to her.
She watched him as his chest rose and fell from his slightly labored breathing. How his fur had been shredded and shaved, and his body was wrapped in white to prevent more sickness.
He looked so peaceful in his sleep like that, yet so destroyed and tortured at the same time. It made her heart break uniquely, and she really couldn't figure it out to save her life.
Annie averted her gaze when it became too hard to continue staring and turned her attention to the food. She broke off a piece of cheese and bread, and all she could do is think.
"Max's favorite snack."
She combined the two simple ingredients and took a big bite out of it. It tasted somewhat bitter due to its sharpness, but the bread seemed to balance it out by softening it a bit. She chewed, and as she did so, she was hit with intense grief and sadness.
"His favorite."
Annie started to choke, and she abruptly dropped the bread to the floor with the cheese. She covered her face with her hands, and though she struggled, she could not stop the tears from flowing.
She hadn't cried since that night, but now it seemed as though her ability to hold it back had been lost entirely. She sniffled and whined in the chair as her tears and snot wet her hands. Crying was so unflattering and gross. She hated it, but why did it release so much pressure from her aching heart?
She rubbed her hands on her pants, then covered her face and whimpered. Her mind trying to figure out why she was so overcome with pain in the first place.
Max was ok… she was ok… there was no need to cry, was there? She pulled her face from her hands and started to bury it in the blanket she slept under.
With a deep gasp, she peeked her eyes over it towards Max, who still lie there unresponsive.
"I… I'm sorry you had to see that... Max." She let out an embarrassed laugh and wiped her runny nose with the blanket.
"I... I will get you more cheese and bread, don't worry about me wasting it." She said apologetically and picked up a bottle of water sitting by the lamp.
She started to drink some of the fluid, and much to her surprise, the tears she briefly shed had actually taken a good chunk of energy out of her.
Restless nights were commonplace anymore, and they were filled with worry and heartache. She could swear she'd wake up every hour expecting to see Max dead, but somehow, he kept living.
She pulled the slightly wet blankets over herself and let her feet rest at the end of the bed. Her chair was big and comfortable enough that she could lean back and sleep if she were able to.
Her eyes stared at the hut ceiling, and with the dim light that the lamp next to her provided, she could see the shadows cast upon it.
She shut her eyes and took a deep breath in through her mouth, letting the pleasant thoughts of her parents and of Max fill her mind. It was bringing her ease knowing that the three of them all lived and were going to be reunited with her in due time.
The minutes she sat there in silence, recalling events of past days and good times, caused her body to slump down in relaxation, and in about an hour, she found herself asleep with her arm dangling over the chair, covered by her warm blanket.
…
…
…
…
.
"Annie…"
…
"Hey, Annie?"
…
"Hm?" Annie's eyes slowly opened, and the light of her lamp was the first thing she noticed.
She immediately thought Max might be calling out to her and turned her head towards him sleepily. He had not moved and was asleep just the way she had left him when she fell unconscious.
"Annie, you are awake?" She could hear the voice once more and turned towards the direction of the sound.
Her sleepy eyes were coming more into focus, and she rubbed them to clear them. "Ah... Tails, I am sorry, I kind of nodded off." She said groggily upon noticing him.
Tails smiled at her and looked over at Max sleeping. "Your parents are here. Rotor was talking to them just as they arrived."
"My parents?" She asked with a groan.
After a second, the news hit her, and she nearly leaped out of the chair.
"Where are they?" She asked, full of concern, and Tails let out a low laugh.
"Last I checked, they were on their way to see you. You must have been asleep for a while because it is already six o clock." He informed her.
Annie looked out the window and could see what little light the clouds had was starting to fade. She immediately brushed past Tails and opened her door so that she could sprint to her parent's side.
However, as soon as it opened, she was greeted by her mother standing only a few feet away. Bunnie's eyes lit up, and her solemn expression turned to that of intense joy.
"MOM!" Annie jumped out of her hut and ran to her mother.
Bunnie outstretched her arms, and as soon as Annie smacked into her body, she embraced her as tight as she could without hurting her.
"My Lil' sugah bunny." She cried out her daughter's embarrassing child nickname, but Annie neither protested or complained.
She was wracked with overwhelming pleasant feelings as she nestled her face into her mother's chest.
"I was so scared…." Annie choked out, and it was evident from her voice that she was partially crying.
"Honey... I... I am so sorry…." Bunnie's voice was just as broken as Annie's.
They both were letting out their raw emotions and holding on to one another for dear life. Their anguish being significantly alleviated, having found each other once again.
"There's no need to apologize, mom. I just, I was so scared and worried." She looked at her mother's face.
It was clear Bunnie had been crying a lot, and it was also clear that she hadn't been able to wash up for days.
Annie didn't care… this was her mother, and she would do anything to stay within the safety of her arms at a time like this.
Bunnie caressed her daughter's face with her furred hand and smiled down at her.
"I know y'all have been through so much, but it's over. Your father and I are safe." She reassured her confidently.
"F-Father, where is he!" Annie got slightly panicked, now realizing that her father wasn't right here.
Bunny chuckled slightly and moved aside, placing her hand on Annie's shoulder. "Why not see for yourself?" She said.
Annie squinted, and she could see her father limping forward from a distance. He had one of his arms in a sling, and he was using a makeshift metal crutch to help himself walk.
She felt her heart race and left her mother's side abruptly. Her bare feet were slapping on the wet grass as she ran as fast as she could.
Antoine could now see her running, and he started pushing himself to try and run also. He was so caught up in the moment that he started shouting at her in his native language.
"Ma fille!" ("My daughter!") He shouted at the top of his lungs.
Annie could easily understand him, being fluent also. She just kept running without a response. All she wanted to do was give him the biggest hug she could.
"Tu m'as manqué!" ("I missed you!") Antoine shouted as she stopped directly in front of him.
He looked in reasonably good shape despite the wounds, and in looking at him and hearing him, Annie just lost herself in the moment.
She grabbed onto his body, and he winced in pain as she did so. She hugged him and started shouting back to him, full of emotions.
"Papa! Tu vas bien! J'étais inquiet!" ("Dad! You're okay! I was worried!") She was trembling, holding onto him, and he dropped his crutch, putting his working arm around her.
He couldn't help but cry and return the sentiment.
"J'étais inquiet aussi!" ("I was worried too!") He yelled with excitement, but also quivering from the crying he was doing at this moment.
The two just stood there in silence for what felt like ages. Their bodies froze in a comforting hug. Annie never felt safer than when she was in her father's loving embrace.
She looked up at him and remembered all the times he embarrassed her with his doting love.
He looked down at her, and she decided to speak before he even could.
"Je t'aime, papa." ("I love you, Dad.") Her voice came out sincere and loud enough for only him to hear.
She had always struggled to say it, but she refused to be embarrassed or fearful of these words at a time like this.
Antoine looked down at her and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. He felt his heart overflow with love, and he appreciated his daughter's words to him.
"Je t'aime, Annie." ("I love you, Annie.") He said as he kept her close to him.
After about another minute of silent embrace, they felt someone hug both of them, and it didn't take much time to figure out who it was. They just welcomed her into their loving circle and basked in each other's silent company.
The family was reunited after such strife, and it was the one thing they needed right now. To cry together, feel each other, and to know how much they loved one another.
"I… I'm sorry I interrupted y'all's moment, but I couldn't resist," Bunnie admitted with a sniffle. She had been through much and really needed them right now.
"O-Oui, my darling. There is to be no needing to apologize. We would never leave you out." Antoine smiled at her, it was clear he was feeling physical pain, but his emotional joy overrode it by quite a bit.
"Mom, dad. I… Thank you…" Was all Annie could bring herself to say.
The three broke off and turned their attention towards Tails, who was walking over. Rotor had already left the area and went to the dining hut to prepare for the get-together.
Tails figured that Bunnie didn't want to spend too much time on Rotor and get to Annie as quick as possible.
Annie bent over and picked up the makeshift metal crutch Antoine had dropped and handed it to her father. He slid it back under his arm and let his weight rest upon it.
Now that the moment of happiness had passed, Bunnie and Antoine returned to a seemingly solemn expression.
Annie looked at them and frowned. She didn't like seeing them sad, but she realized there was still much to be anxious about.
"I am sorry for bein' this down. I just… I ain't used to the fact that..." Bunnie started to speak, and it was evident she was about to break out into tears.
Antoine hobbled over to her and attempted to console her. "I am to be being sorry; we are to be having a lot of trouble with the passing of Max." Antoine came out and said it.
Hearing the words sent shivers down Bunnie's spine, and she averted her gaze. It seemed like the pain of grief would never stop destroying her heart, no matter how strong it might have been.
"You don't know?" Tails said to them.
"Know what?" Bunnie sniffled and tried to rub the rain and tears off her face.
Antoine looked at Tails and seemed perplexed about his meaning.
Tails was surprised Rotor hadn't corrected the record, but as he looked at Annie, she nodded back.
"Max is in my hut..." Annie said to her parents, and they looked at each other in disbelief.
"Rotor told us that Max had been killed..." Bunnie stated, recalling hearing the news about a week ago.
All the grieving she did, and she still felt her heart was in pieces. Could it be true that Max was still there with them?
"Oui, Rotor told us you had to be telling us a story about everything that had been happening since you were gone, but did not to be mentioning Max." Antoine shuffled forward.
"That is true. I guess you were more concerned about Annie than talking to Rotor, so he didn't get a chance to get to everything… but you can see Max right now if you want." Tails offered them.
Without hesitation, Bunnie and Antoine agreed, and the four of them walked together into Annie's hut.
There was much to discuss, but before anything, Bunnie and Antoine needed alleviation from their pain and confirmation that Max indeed lived.
The four of them stared at Max lying in Annie's bed. He looked almost unrecognizable, and merely seeing him caused Bunnie to begin weeping.
Annie had never heard her mother break down like this, and it only caused her to imagine the sorrow she would have caused her had she blown a hole in her head.
It brought heavy guilt to Annie's heart, but she attempted to suppress it lest she start crying herself.
Besides Max's shaved fur, bandaged wounds, and sickly looks, it was readily noticeable that his arm had been roboticized.
Bunnie's sorrowful expression turned to one of anger and suspicion. She knew that was not something that Knothole just had on hand, and her imagination ran away with the many different scenarios in which Max's survival played out.
"What's the meanin' of all this? I for damn sure know, there's a lot to this story, and I wanna' hear it this instant!" Her voice became loud, the grief only fueling her anger and frustration further.
Antoine looked disappointed and shook his head. He could tell that there would be vehement disagreements shortly after the beautiful happiness they had just experienced. He didn't want any of this but knew it needed to be handled without delay.
Tails nodded. "Then let's all go to the dining hut. I will tell the entire story from start to finish." He stated maturely.
Bunnie eyed him and then looked over at Max, her heart was destroyed more and more every second she looked at him, and so she just nodded and started walking out of the hut with a slam to open the door.
She was oscillating between her usually sweet self and a grieving mother, but it was understandable why she had become this way. The trauma Max had sustained was apparent, and Bunnie could identify with the pain of having limbs roboticized.
Antoine just turned and started to follow suit. He wanted to try and help his beloved as much as he could but felt somewhat powerless in his wounded state.
He left through the open door towards the location of their meetup, fully knowing that he wasn't going to like anything he was about to hear.
Annie looked at Tails, who rubbed the side of his head. "I am sorry… My parents are hurting..." She began.
"I need you and Sonia to have my back." Tails said abruptly, cutting her off. "They are emotional and not thinking clearly. I made some choices I probably shouldn't have, but it is because of those choices that Max even had a chance at life." He had a serious look on his face.
Annie just nodded slowly. "I know they are my parents, and I love them, but I… I know what you did was the right thing."
Tails smiled at her, giving her a pat on the back. "Alright then. Sonia is hiding out with Nicole in her hut. Go and get them. I will collect Cream, and we can get this underway."
Annie nodded to his instructions and started to put her boots on. Once that was done, she sprinted out the door to collect the two.
Tails watched her go and then looked at Max. "I hope you stay strong; we need you," Tails looked down somewhat sadly.
"I need you."
With that, he left the hut and closed the door behind himself.
…
Now was the time to tell those ostensibly in charge what he had decided in their absence and face whatever repercussions would come as a result.
Tails' heart was free of guilt or shame, but he still felt the fear that came with defying those he considered to be his elders.
After an hour and a half passed, Tails had finished his baffling and chaotic story to Antoine, Bunnie, and Rotor.
New robots, suspicious threats, a village none had even heard of, and the transformation of Nicole.
The three just sat there in shocked silence as Nicole, Annie, Sonia, Tails, and Cream stood next to one another in a unified fashion. Nobody knew where to begin or just precisely how upset to be.
Rotor was intensely concerned about the new robot threat, and his attention kept its fixation on Nicole. It was as if he were looking at a ghost, and try as he might, he couldn't understand why Max had taken it as far as he did…. Unlike everyone else, he knew what this form meant for a fact.
Bunnie, as well as Antoine, looked downright angered by some of the things they were told, and it was difficult for them to qualify precisely what concerned them the most.
Skilled, intelligent robots murdering animals? A strange rabbit claiming to be part of some village that nobody had ever heard of? A machine reminiscent of a workerbot claiming to be Sally's computer Nicole? Snively himself in Knothole?
It was maddening for the two of them, but inevitably Bunnie figured out the two precise things that upset her the greatest.
"So, what y'all are tellin' me, is ya' not only let a strange robot into Knothole, but you also brought SNIVELY here!" Bunnie started losing her already elevated temper.
She was agitated immensely even though she knew the reasons Tails had given for doing so.
Antoine just shook his head. It seemed like bad decision making, there was a reason uncle Chuck never came to Knothole, and that was to keep it uncompromised, and now there was a robot claiming to be Nicole with little to no proof? It was absurd.
"I am to be thinking that this was not a good idea," Antoine commented, less angry than Bunnie, but it was apparent he was disappointed.
Annie came to Tails' defense as she promised. "That isn't fair. If it weren't for Tails and Nicole, Max would be dead or worse!" She said vigorously, but it didn't stop Bunnie from shaking her head.
"It ain't about all that. It is about keeping everyone safe, not just Max." She tried to keep her emotions in check.
"I am no threat to you. Robotnik never had control of me, so it is impossible for him to discern the location of Knothole from my presence." Nicole explained calmly and rationally.
"Yeah, well, maybe we don' believe you are Nicole!? An if you are, where'd that body come from?" Bunnie pressed because she couldn't handle the robot, and the fact it kept claiming to be Sally's computer was disturbing to her.
Nicole moved her head and fixated her eyes on Rotor, as she knew he was aware of the truth. Her gaze on him caused him to start fidgeting nervously… it bothered him so much that he eventually just admitted defeat to himself and defended her.
"I… it has to be Nicole..."
"What?" Bunnie said simultaneously with Antoine. They didn't expect him to be ok with any of this.
"Max had me help upgrade Nicole, and we… sorta'… well… we used a roboticized citizen's brain to do it." He admitted shamefully. "This would be the natural progression of that, though I never thought in my wildest dreams it would play out this way or go this far."
Bunnie and Antoine looked upset, and Bunnie smacked her furred hand against the table with a slam. "So that's what we're doin' now? Keepin' secrets from one another!?"
She felt hurt that Rotor would hide this from everybody, and it was planting much doubt in whether Tails had done the right thing or not.
Bunnie once again glared at Nicole, and then in her disgust, reposed her question. "So, if you're all Nicole… Where'd the body come from…?"
Nicole stared back and felt pressured to tell the truth. However, her loyalty to Max was unquestionable, so, on her own accord, she lied. "Max assembled me from discarded parts…."
The lie was so evident that it made everyone in the room uncomfortable, but just as Bunnie was about to go ballistic, Antoine spoke up instead.
"I am to be thinking that if it is to be being Nicole, then perhaps it is all ok…." Antoine didn't like to go against Bunnie, but he was on board with changing his mind about the robot. Regardless of its origins, Snively was the central issue to him.
Bunnie shook her head. The thought of Max's desecration or sacrifice of an animal like that made her sick, but without admission, she would have to let it slide. Even if deep down she knew.
She just signed and rested her head on her hand as she used her elbow to hold it up. Her anger and displeasure were at odds with her love for Max and Tails.
She kept being told that Max would be dead had Snively not been brought here, or if Nicole never carried him here, but she kept thinking there had to be another way...
"I just… I don't know. Y'all are makin' it hard for me. I just…" She trailed off, trying to focus on anything that didn't make her think poorly of Max or Tails.
Eventually, with resignation, she said the first sympathetic thing that popped into her head. "How could you roboticize his arm like that… I… I just…?"
She struggled with that fact immensely, and it was the source of much pain for her in her life, which made it easier to focus on than disgraceful taboos and idiotic actions.
"Max's a-arm was severely i-infected. I-if it wasn't turned to m-metal, then it would have required amputation." Cream stuttered in an attempt to stand up for Tails and explain that it was necessary.
She was intimidated by Bunnie but still chose to speak up regardless.
Bunnie glared at the young girl, and though she only heard briefly from Tails about her.
Bunnie was confused. She was trying to be happy that Max was alive, but she feared that all of Knothole was in peril now. She feared for the lifelong pain Max would experience.
"…"
After a tense silence, Bunnie refocused herself and then tried to speak rationally.
"I… I can get you bringin' this… Nicole in, and I can understand ya' bringin' the rabbit in, but why? Why, of all people, did ya' bring Snively here?" Bunnie questioned, removing her focus from the other things on her mind.
Antoine was in complete agreement with this, and even Rotor to an extent. He was the last person that needed to be here as a prisoner, eating their food and potentially plotting against them.
"I had..." Tails began his defense but was abruptly interrupted by Nicole.
"I made him do it. I was the one that suggested Snively be brought here, and I was the one who suggested trying to get a roboticizer from him. If you must be mad, then be so at me." Her voice was confident, and she seemed to believe in her decision.
"I just... I am sure that Max could've..." Bunnie tried to write the decision off, but Nicole refused to back down.
"No!" Her voice was growing louder.
"I watched Max, broken and battered, claw his way through to the Great Forest. His ribs were shattered, and his arm was so badly broken that it tore through his flesh. I watched him suffer, wheeze, cough, cry, and almost die every step of the way!"
She was becoming ever more emotional in her tirade.
"I promised him… I promised him he could keep his arm, and with every fiber of my artificial being, I made sure he did!" Her hands were balled into fists, and everyone in the room could see the passion she had.
Bunnie rubbed her face, overwhelmed and in defeat, while Antoine sat silently with his uninjured arm resting on the table.
There was a long silence in the room, and eventually, Bunnie decided to speak once more.
"I… I can't say I ain't' upset, but the truth is, what happened, happened, and ain't no use in bein' bitter over it. I am happy Max is alive, and if it really did take th.. the robot, and Snively bein' here to make it so, then I guess it is a price worth payin'." She took in a breath to try and calm her nerves.
Antoine wasn't so convinced but figured if Bunnie was willing to accept it, he should also.
"That just leaves there to be one problem," Antoine spoke up.
The room turned their gaze upon him and waited to hear what it was he had to say on the matter.
"What are we to be doing about Snively now? Max is to be already saved, so…" He turned his gaze towards the wooden table, and everybody else was catching the drift of what he was implying.
Justice, retribution, punishment. It was all at their fingertips. They could do anything they wanted with such a hated war criminal. Such power was enough to make some of them uncomfortable with the possibilities.
Annie wouldn't lie that she wanted Robotnik and Snively dead for what happened to her father and Max, and she was sure mostly everybody felt the same way.
"Let's just kill him," Annie stated bluntly, not really concerned with his wellbeing. She didn't want to have to take care of somebody who had caused so much suffering and agony.
Tails looked at her and shook his head. "I made a deal that I wouldn't harm him if I brought him here, and I am not going back on my word, even if it is to a slimy worm, like Snively."
Sonia shook her head. "I… I don't think my dad would agree with this." She became defiant. She knew her father believed in the good in everybody and always found a way to defeat his foes without the need for cruelty and death.
Bunnie was hesitant, she too wanted to see Snively die, but she recognized it was for her own personal and emotional satisfaction. She looked over as Antoine began to speak his mind.
"It is for to his crimes against the throne, the people of Mobotropolis, and this land, that he should be put to death." He believed firmly in retribution, especially given how treason was treated by the royal guard.
"I disagree… we could use the things that he knows to aid us in defeating Robotnik. If he was out here in the woods on his own and willing to submit to capture, it is likely he is no longer allies with Robotnik." Rotor gave his opinion and leaned forward.
"I- I know I do not r-really deserve a say, but I do not think execution is a way an animal should c-conduct themselves. If we kill this prisoner, then are we no b-better than our enemies." Cream once again stammered out an opinion, even if it was unwelcomed.
She believed firmly against killing in such a manner and felt that such barbarism was inappropriate for animal kind.
Nicole didn't care if Snively died one way or the other. To her, his life was meaningless.
She had used him to save the person whose life had meaning to her. She logically knew Snively would be a drain of time and food for the people of Knothole and that death for him would save them precious resources.
However, in the depths of her artificial heart, she believed that Max would be fundamentally against this.
Her emotional core drove her logical thinking off course, and though she recognized it, she felt somewhat at its mercy.
"I do not think Max would condone such an action, so therefore, I think Snively should be kept prisoner until further notice." She said in a calm voice.
Bunnie shook her head and knew it didn't matter what she may or may not have wanted. The majority there supported keeping Snively as a prisoner for the time being, and though she couldn't say she was thrilled with the decision, deep down, she felt somewhat happy about it.
It made her feel as if she was above as well as separate from the monstrous actions of Robotnik, and maybe, that was the solace in all of this.
"Alright then, we'll keep him round' here until we can come to a definite solution, but as far as I am concerned, execution is off the table," Bunnie said, placing her metal hand on her lap.
"We are all to be in agreement here?" Antoine followed up.
The room gave a collective "Aye" in agreement with the central deliberation.
As far as everyone was concerned, they wanted to put this all behind them and look to the future. They all needed a lot of rest and time to heal from their physical and emotional wounds.
Bunnie was still upset over speculating what Max did with Nicole, Tails bringing Snively here, and the secrets Rotor had kept, but decided to let it go until she was well enough to handle herself properly.
The hut started clearing out quickly, with people segregating off into groups to avoid more drama.
Nicole and Sonia in one, and Tails and Cream in the other. Annie and Rotor took off on their own without a word.
Bunnie could sense how fractured everybody was becoming, and in truth, it weighed heavily on her heart.
The talk needed to happen, and decisions must be made, but at what price did all of this have to come with?
Antoine placed his hand on Bunnie's shoulder, and she looked up at him.
"My darling, you should not be worried about things. Perhaps it is to be bad looking now, but disagreement leads to personal growth, I do be believing." He smiled at her, and she couldn't help but smile back.
"Maybe yer right Ant' I am letting my feelings cloud my better judgment. We should talk about this when we're all feelin' better." She stated in an attempt to make herself feel less terrible.
With that, she and Antoine slowly made their way out of the dining area and toward their hut. It was a place that they had been away from for over a week, and it was a place they missed greatly.
It may not be fancy or extravagant, but it definitely was their comfortable home together.
…
Hours passed, and the clock on Annie's table struck midnight. Annie sat in her chair once more; the room was silent and dark save for the sole light that had always been there to illuminate her room.
The meeting with everybody was somewhat surprising to her, as she expected a much more vehement hatred for Snively. She wondered if it was stupid for her to voice her opinion, but in truth, she really felt the way she did.
Over the past week, she had seen and felt enough pain for a lifetime, and who else did she have to lay blame at the feet of, other than the disgusting species of humanity?
Honestly, there was hatred in her heart for them, and just the simple thought of feeding one and keeping it as some sort of "pet" disgusted her.
Her parents seemed really angry, and at specific points, she wanted to agree with them more than Tails.
Had it not been for the sole fact that Max's life was involved, she very well might have been against Tails on everything. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
She just wanted peace from all this misery and suffering, and every time she felt she found it, something contentious or terrible happened to fuck it all up.
She threw the blanket over her head and sat there listening to the lighter rain pound on the roof of her hut. Peace had returned to Knothole in some form, but it had shattered once again into pieces in record time.
No…
It had not shattered.
Annie realized after some thought that most of Knothole was in agreement on what should be done, and it was her and her parents against everybody else. She stared at the lamplight through her blanket, and the longer she stared, the more evident she thought the answers became.
It was all because of Max. Her mother loved him as dearly as a true son, and her father did as well. They were proud of him, and it had all become an intensely personal affair.
Annie sat beneath her blanket, turning her vision down to stare at her legs, and began to think hard.
"What about me?" She thought. "Why do I care so deeply."
He was no brother to her, he was her best friend, but she felt that he was tied to her feelings significantly. The loss he had suffered felt like her own loss, and how he used to smile dominated many of her thoughts in this dark time.
Annie thought of Sonia and how she stood by her principles, so why did she and her parents take greater offense to the crimes committed against Max?
No… her parents had suffered at the hand of that monstrous tyrant long before Max's birth.
"Rrr," Annie growled lowly. It was tricky figuring other animals out, and every time she thought she had an inkling of the truth, it was snatched away from her by more reasons and questions.
"Max…" She said to herself, understanding at the very least that he wasn't the prime motivation for her parents, but rather the prime reason for her at this time.
"Ann…?" She could hear Max's voice in her head, and it reminded her of their sacred glade.
Annie shut her eyes and took in a deep breath, thinking about what they would do with one another.
"Let's go talk in the glade." She could feel the sun on her face and the wind in her fur.
"Ann…" His voice came again into her mind, and she opened her eyes with realization.
"Max?" She called out to her eerily silent room.
Annie started to lower her cocoon-like blanket and peer out into the dim room. She could see Max lying there in the same position, but something unusual caught her eye.
"Max?" She repeated, and she could see his head move slightly at the call of his name.
His eyes opened just barely, and he couldn't move a muscle. Annie leaped from her chair and tossed her blanket to the floor. She stood over him and stared down at his face, his eyes were shining in the light, and he looked terribly uncomfortable.
"Did you call my name?" Annie asked him worriedly.
He didn't really answer, and he appeared to be unable to move his body much at all. He shut his eyes and struggled to speak.
"I… hot…" He choked out, prompting Annie to feel his forehead.
He was feeling hot, and she quickly reached over to the side table and grabbed a bottle of water.
"Are you thirsty?" She asked worriedly.
Max barely moved his head, and she took that to be a yes. She opened the container and slowly placed it in his mouth.
Her hand gently started to pour it, allowing him to drink as much or as little as he was able. She held it there for a good five minutes, letting him take in water. Once she figured he had his fill, she placed it back on the table next to them.
"Max… I... I'm so glad you are ok." Annie started to speak. She had so much she wanted to say to him, so much she wanted to talk to him about and tell him.
"Max?" She repeated, but he was already gone.
His eyes had shut, and his weak body had already re-entered the realm of sleep. Annie couldn't believe that he had woken up, and now panic started to set in that he might die once again.
She turned away from Max and threw her boots on. She knew that only one person could help her right now, and she wasn't about to let anything bad happen to Max after so long a fight.
Annie quickly busted out of her door and didn't even bother to shut it behind herself. All contemplations could wait.
Her friend had finally awoken for the first time in a long while, and she wasn't about to let him slip away into eternal slumber. Her feet slammed on the ground as they carried her ever closer to Tails' hut, the place where Cream waited to save the day once again.
Wrap Up. I remember not wanting to write this chapter, I was tired and sad, but even though I didn't, I put more effort into this than chapter 3. I guess it is why ch 3 was trash, and this one isn't.