Taking up the Mantle

by Rinpoo

Much has changed in the past decade since the defeat of Sonic the Hedgehog and Princess Sally Acorn. Robotnik's absolute power and cruelty are left unchallenged as the war escalates to greater heights. Can the youth of Knothole change the fate handed to them, or will they fall victim to this vile, decadent world of brutal tyranny?

12. Confessions

Author's Note. Re-did this one now. I found that rereading it, I forgot to put something in that I thought I did. I simply rectified it, it is minor, but why I embarrass myself, I'll never know.

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 12. Confessions

The world of the darkened abyss surrounded Max once more, just as it had on that horrific day, and no matter which direction he gazed, he could still see naught but the nothingness.

It terrified him to the very fabric of his being like it had his first time there, but unlike before, he had the knowledge of the things that lurked in the dark.

Instead of imaginary monsters coming to tear his life away from the mortal coil, he knew of the damned and forgotten souls that lay in the shadows.

He watched the blackness as it started to come alive. Thousands of red dots piercing the darkness as the damned began to awaken from their slumber.

His body froze in terror just like it had before, and they just circled him from every direction. Nowhere to turn or hide, as the faceless mechanical entities passed their judgment on him.

He wanted to escape, he didn't want to be here, but he was forced to visit once again as if it were an eternal punishment for him.

"Join us…." Their raspy voices came as a whisper along with the sounds of scraping, rusted metal.

"I-I can't..." Max shakily responded.

"You deserve to be here… you SHOULD be here!" Their voices raised in a sea of echoes, and Max could hear the piles of robots falling over one another, clamoring to reach him.

They started latching their dirty metal hands around him in the darkness. First his legs, then his arms, he could not see anything but their red dots moving all around him.

"Please, no!" He screamed, and they cared not for his cries. They started to squeeze him, choke him, suffocate him.

"You don't deserve to escape…." They said, and he was brought to his knees. His throat was now being crushed by their firm metal grasp.

"Ahhh!" Max let out a scream of horror as he shot up from his resting position.

His chest was so tight, and he found himself unable to breathe. The room was so disorienting and dark that he had no idea what was going on. His furred hand clenched uncontrollably, and he felt as if his life were still being choked from him.

"Rrrr… ah! ahh!" He cried out again, gasping for breath, as his eyes searched the room looking for light.

He could see nothing but the blackness, and he was so disoriented that he wasn't sure where he was right now.

The sounds of struggling and screams pierced the silent room, and Annie opened her eyes abruptly. She could hear Max on the bed wailing and gasping in desperation, and immediately she sprung to her feet.

"Max!" He could hear a muffled scream, and he could make the voice out to be Annie's.

However, he could not control himself and grabbed onto his head with both of his hands. He was dying. He knew it! He was dying!

Annie stumbled forward, tripping on the board she'd placed on the floor, and she nearly fell on top of Max as he sat there on the bed.

She could hear his voice grow loud, and he was practically yelling now.

"I'm dying!" He cried out in between labored breaths.

"Stay Calm!" Annie yelled as she tried to help him, but he continued to work himself up more and more.

"Max!" She cried out again, but it had no effect on his condition.

She felt him grasp onto her with his metal hand, and it squeezed so tightly that she feared he would snap her arm.

"Hey! Take it easy!" She yelled and moved her free hand over to search for the light that sat next to her bed.

Max didn't release her, though his grip lessened in response to her yelling.

Annie eventually found the switch, and with the sound of two clicks, the room was illuminated.

He looked dazed, but the sudden influx of light brought an immediate sense of comfort to him. The room was now decently lit, and he could make out both where he was and who he was with.

Max's fur was soaked through, and his metal hand still held her wrist. He was still heaving, and his eyes were wide. Now that he had light, his head began to dart around the room rapidly as if making sure there was no threat.

"Everything is fine." Annie encouraged him as she leaned in closer to get a more intimate look.

She could see he was still shaking, but his hyperventilating was starting to calm itself. She placed her hand on his wet pajamas, and he winced slightly when he felt her touch.

Annie looked into his eyes and could see just how genuinely scared he was. This was more intense than anything she'd ever seen, and she wasn't exactly sure what had happened in the first place.

"Max… It-it's ok. You can relax." Annie's voice was sweet and pleasant, but Max just stared right through her like he was looking beyond time and space.

He sat there without a word, and as the room stopped spinning, he just kept telling himself he was "ok" in his head. Even if it was tough to think of himself as okay, he felt like his life was imminently ending.

His breathing became more normalized, and he slowly released his grip on Annie, letting his metal hand plop to the bed.

"Max... I, are you alright? Do you need me to get Cream?" Annie asked in as calm a tone as possible.

Max didn't respond and merely sat there staring at her. It was as if he was stuck in a living nightmare for a brief period and only now was returning to Mobius.

He could still feel the disorientation and distress yet was well aware of his own safety.

Annie moved back a bit and sat once again in her chair with a huff. Being abruptly woken up in such a manner put her nerves on edge, and she just crossed her arms while keeping watch on her friend.

"Are you feeling better?" She eventually asked again after several minutes had passed.

Max tiredly stared and then looked as if he were contemplating her words for a minute. Eventually, he gave a sad, slow nod.

"You scared the hell out of me," Annie said to him. She had seen him whine and stir in his sleep over the past weeks, but this was something else entirely.

Max didn't answer and just kept staring at her, it was clear he was exhausted, but he seemed almost petrified in place.

"What? Am I a monster now?" Annie said as she tried to inject some levity into the situation.

Unfortunately, Max didn't even respond and continued to sit slightly hunched over with his gaze fixated on her.

After several more minutes, he slowly lowered himself back into his resting position, and Annie took it as a sign that things were starting to take a turn for the better. Over an hour of sleep had been wasted, and Annie was struggling to stay awake at this point.

She yawned and figured now that he was lying down once again, it was time to go back to resting.

"Alright, Max. I think we both need rest, you just had a nightmare, but you'll be fine. If you need me, I am right here, alright?" She said.

She had guessed what had happened and tried to keep him calm so that he could get back to sleep. Once she was ready, she extended her hand and reached next to Max to where the lamp was set.

The further forward she got, the more Max began to fidget, and just when Annie was in reach of the lamp switch. Max shot up rapidly from his lying position and grabbed onto her arm with his furred hand.

"Ah!" Annie yelled in surprise as her hand struggled against his. It wasn't a sick, weak grip but one of life and death.

She could see the fear return to his face as he struggled against her and feel the shaking of his arm as he held hers in position with all of his might. Her gaze moved from him and eventually settled on the light that she was attempting to turn off.

She stopped pressing forward, allowing Max to lower her arm, and as it came down, his grip became weaker.

She looked at him once again, and he was slowly starting to relax the further her hand was away from the lamp. Eventually, he released his grip on her, and she moved her entire body back into her chair.

Max entirely lay back down and held his chest, as he hurt it when he had sprung up in his desperation. The two said very little to one another, but Annie had discovered the source of his profound distress.

…

An hour passed.

Then two.

Three.

Annie could see Max sleeping soundly in the glow of the lamplight, and she put her hand to her tired face. Whatever that was, she knew that it had not been there before.

She shut her eyes and pulled her blanket over her head. She had tolerated the light for weeks now and decided it was a minor inconvenience to suffer for her friend's comfort.

What little sleep she had left to get, she found it under the artificial darkness of the blanket.

…

The morning came too soon, and Annie found herself unwilling to move from the comfort of her cocoon. She could sense it was time to get up, but she still felt exhausted from the previous night's outburst.

She rolled over in her chair and could feel slight pressure against her back. Her eyes opened groggily, and she pushed the blanket off her head, allowing the heat to escape.

"Ah… hm?" She yawned and looked over to see Max sitting at the edge of the bed.

He had both his hands resting on his knees, and he looked entirely run down. He had moved himself over to try and wake her up, but for what purpose she was unsure.

"Ann... I uh…" He stammered in embarrassment.

Last night was unexpected and challenging for him to put into words, so he just tried to offer an apology to his dear friend.

"Max, don't sweat it… Okay?" She said, rising up and sitting before him, half wrapped in her blankets.

Max neither smiled nor moved but instead just stared at her like he had the night before.

She knew that something was wrong with him and that it was not something that Cream could help him with. He seemed to not want attention drawn to it, so Annie just stood up and looked down at him in his sitting position.

"I need to get ready to head to the dining hut…." She said to him tiredly as he quietly watched.

She turned away from him so that she could get her boots, and as soon as she grabbed them to lift them off the floor, she heard Max finally say something.

"I want to shower..." He said sheepishly.

Annie dropped the boots with a thud and turned around to look at him. Her cheeks lit with a burning sensation, and she choked out a response.

"I… wha-what? Uhm… what do you need me to do?" She stammered, despite knowing his statement was more of an innocent request than anything else. Still, the thoughts of helping him undress and bathe made her feel extremely bashful.

"I- uhm... well... I need you to help me to the bathroom. I don't know how well I can walk on my own. Then you just need to run and get me some clean pajamas from my hut and wait for m-me to finish…. If I call for help, well…." He trailed off.

It was hard for him to ask Annie of all people this, but he felt they had a special rapport.

Annie crossed her arms, feeling even more ashamed.

Where was her mind at?

Such an innocuous request, and here she was thinking about something entirely more intimate. What the hell was wrong with her?

"I can help you with that." She eventually said, trying to downplay her embarrassment.

She moved over and extended her arm out to him so that it was easy for him to grab onto. He grasped it gently, and with a pull, she hoisted him up to a standing position.

"Ow… Ahh..." Max winced in pain as she wrapped an arm around him and allowed his weight to be supported on her body.

"There we go… just… take it easy." Annie encouraged him, and slowly the two made their way into her bathroom area.

Once inside, she set Max down to sit on the side of her tiny tub and started to run the water for him.

"I think it would be best if you soaked in a bath. It would be safer, anyway." Annie suggested because she didn't want him to try and stand on his own for too long.

Max gave a weak smile and nodded. "Alight, Ann… Thank you for helping me with this."

Annie smiled back at him and took a seat by his side while the water filled the tub. There was an awkward silence between the two now that they sat so close, and Annie kept berating herself for her misinterpretation of Max's request.

She really didn't know why her mind went there, but every time she looked at him, she felt as if he knew what she had thought.

The sound of pouring water reverberated through the bathroom, and once it had filled the tub nearly to the top, Annie turned the water off.

"There." She said softly and stood up in front of Max.

"Now, you call me if you need something, no matter what, ya hear." She said in an almost commanding tone.

"Sure." Max agreed with what she said and could sense the uneasiness in her voice.

After she had his confirmation, she turned around and walked out of the open door reasonably quickly and shut it behind herself so that she could leave him in complete privacy to do what he needed to.

Once Max saw that the door was shut completely. He weakly stripped himself down in his sitting position and then slid his battered body into the hot water of the tub.

It wasn't so hard as he had imagined initially because the majority of his wounds had healed reasonably well by this point, and even the internal injuries he had suffered were starting to hurt less and less.

He leaned back, letting his metal limb dangle over the side of the tub. He was reasonably sure he could submerge it just as he would his original arm, but he was having trouble treating it with normalcy due to his emotional grief.

Every time he looked over at the disgusting metal in all of its sheen, he could recall the absolute agony he was left in after the fall.

This new grotesque metal appendage attached to him was helping him relive the shock and suffering he had endured for hours on end in that disgusting graveyard.

In his relaxing solitude, Max's mind wandered to that day, and he still could not believe he was alive.

The fall, being trapped, the explosion, the journey. It should have killed him, and it rightly would have killed anybody.

Why was he still breathing? Did he really deserve to survive that much, where those other poor animals had not?

The events playing out in his mind led him through an emotional roller-coaster of negative feelings, and at the end of it, all was the conflicting emotions of the last event he had experienced that horrible day.

"Snively…" Max said under his breath to himself as he sank his body lower into the filled tub.

If the human hadn't given him water, he surely would have perished. It was literally the final thing he could remember before the nothingness.

Why though? Why did he help him? Why?

There was intense hatred in Max for humans at this point, but he found it hard to let go of Snively's act of selflessness.

Max's mind moved on to the burning questions he had endlessly thought about for the past decade. It finally dawned on him that the answers he had so longed for might finally be at arm's length.

Snively was here, according to Annie, and if he could get him to speak, then perhaps all of his sufferings might be worth it.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

"Max, you okay in there!" Annie shouted through the door to him as he lay soaking in the tub.

"I- y-yeah... I'm ok, Ann. I will be coming out soon!" He shouted back to the best of his ability.

Annie had interrupted his thoughts, but he knew well enough already what he wanted to do.

What he needed to do.

He pulled himself out of the water shakily and slowly, grasping onto the side of the tub to support his rise. Once he was up, he leaned his back against the wall for more support and grabbed one of Annie's towels to dry off.

After he was done, he wrapped it around his waist and opened the door.

Annie was waiting and had brought over a pair of fresh pajamas that she had retrieved from his hut.

"Here ya go." She handed them to Max gently while trying not to look at his semi-nakedness.

"Just uh… let me know if… you have trouble…." She tried to let him know she was there in an unawkward manner, but she could not accomplish that despite her best efforts.

Max couldn't understand her change in mannerisms but lowered his head to show his appreciation regardless. He shut the bathroom door, and after several minutes of slow struggling, he eventually dressed.

He struggled to pull the tub drain for a minute, as it was hard for him to bend over and stand too long, but once he did, he left the bathroom feeling refreshed.

As soon as he appeared, Annie immediately came over to offer her support to him.

"Doing better?" Annie asked while feeling the heat of him against her.

"It felt terrific on my body, and I am not so stinky anymore." He shyly admitted.

Annie let out a playful laugh, feeling excited for some reason. "Max, when aren't you stinky?"

"Hilarious Ann, you try being bedridden." Max looked unamused, but it was clear he wasn't offended.

"Seems to me like you got it good. You have 'me' waiting on you hand and foot." She smirked playfully, stopping in front of his resting place.

Max didn't take the opportunity to sit down but instead clung to Annie comfortably.

"What? Are you enjoying hanging onto me now?" Annie asked, feeling her body get slightly tense and her heart race a bit faster.

Max turned his head to look at her face, and then he started to speak to her.

"I want to see Snively…." He said.

"What? Like… right now?" Annie was shocked by his sudden proposal and was immediately against the idea.

"No way, Max, you probably shouldn't even be out of bed. Like I am going to let you talk to that bloodthirsty monster in your condition." Her strange, pleasant feelings had left her, and her voice was becoming elevated.

Max looked away from her and got slightly upset. "Please, Ann… I have to see him."

"No way in hell, Max." She stayed firm on her original decision.

"Well, fine then. If you aren't going to help me, I will go out and find where he is myself." Max became defiant and angry. He knew that if he didn't do this, it would bother him endlessly until he did.

"I… ugh... you're such a pain in the ass, Max… Why do you want to see him? He has been locked away for weeks, and nobody even acknowledges him. He ain't going anywhere." She tried to talk him out of it, but it was evident to Max he was wearing her down.

"Please, Ann. I just… he has things I need to know, and I…." His voice was becoming more desperate, and Annie knew he was doing it just to melt her heart, though, unfortunately for her, it was pretty effective.

"Oh, fine goddamnit! I'll take you and make breakfast later. Just know you owe me for this when I get yelled at for it." Annie was gruff and blunt as usual, but she genuinely cared about what Max needed.

"Thanks, Ann..." He smiled at her, and she slowly started to walk towards the door holding him steadily against her body.

She may have felt annoyed by this request, but she was strangely enjoying helping him like this. It not only made her feel important, but it gave her a strange "thrill" to have him so close to her.

When Max stepped outside, he was immediately taken aback by how drastically everything had changed around him. The temperature, the village, the trees, the damage, the feel. It was like Max's stint in bed had removed him entirely from time's flow and plopped him back at a random point.

"Geez…" Max said aloud in slight shock.

"Heh, it is the first time you've been out in weeks. Don't let it surprise you too much. Nicole kept things together, and now Rotor is doing extensive repairs on everything." Annie said while she guided Max out onto the grass towards the place where Snively was being held.

The sun was still not out, but the clouds were thinner. In all of his suffering and punishment, Max was able to see firsthand the positive consequences of his successful actions.

While it did not rid him of his grief, it did bring him a sense of accomplishment. To live was to affect his world, and he saw he had done so if only just a little.

The two continued on, and as they moved, the storage hut became closer. Max had already figured out this was where they were heading and did his best to move quicker.

Annie kept him at a steady pace and refused to let him get ahead of himself.

"Cool it, Max. If you get hurt out here, I'll never hear the end of it." She chastised him.

Max slowed down slightly and hung his head a bit. "I'm sorry, Ann. I just… I haven't been out like this in a long time." He admitted.

Truthfully, it made him appreciate that he was still among the living. The simplicity of the crisp autumn breeze running through his fur was like a delightful treat.

Annie understood how he felt and just continued to help him around the side of the small structure.

Once on the other side, the entrance was plainly viable to Max, and he could see Nicole sitting on the wooden planked floor by herself. She seemed to be staring at nothing as if lost in her own digital mind.

Max's heart started to beat faster when he saw her, and he abruptly broke free from Annie and stumbled forward.

"Nicole!" He called out.

"Max, what are you doing?" Annie tried to make him come back, but he didn't acknowledge her words.

Nicole, upon hearing her name, stood up. Her expression changed from contemplative to surprise when she saw Max staggering forward slowly.

She abruptly sprinted out the doorway and hastily made her way out towards him.

"Max!" She called joyously.

"Nicole!" He yelled back once again in elation. His hand on his aching chest and Annie standing behind him.

Nicole moved until she was directly in front of him, and the first thing he did was slide his arms around her to give her a grateful hug.

"Nicole! I- it has been so long since I've seen you!" Max felt the emotions rising within himself, and he slid his arms off her as he looked into her artificial blue eyes.

Nicole had a smile on her robotic face, and she felt a sense of "relief" seeing him here before her.

"I'm sorry, Max, but the only way I could…." Nicole began her abrupt explanations but was cut off by Max.

"Don't apologize, Nicole. You did everything you could for me. I'm indebted to you for saving my life." His voice was full of gratefulness, and he honestly felt that he would be dead without Nicole.

Annie watched the two exchange emotions, and she crossed her arms while she waited. She was glad Max had pepped up but at the same time wondered what Nicole's elation was about. Wasn't she just a machine?

Nicole backed away from Max and looked him over. It was clear he was still injured and shouldn't be out and about.

However, given his location and Annie was practically carrying him here, she figured he had come to speak to their prisoner.

Annie moved over and wrapped her arm around Max to give him the extra support he needed. "Don't go off on your own anymore." She reminded him angrily.

Max turned as if he was about to say something, but Nicole spoke to him before he could.

"I gather you are here to speak to Snively?"

Max thought for a second, then nodded in answer to her inquiry.

Nicole started to walk towards the heavy storage box that sat atop the trap door. She gripped onto it with her metal hands and began to move it effortlessly out of the way until it was entirely free.

"He is still down here. Only Tails has tried to come to talk to him since he has been here, but neither he nor I can get him to speak about anything."

"What do ya' expect from a little weasel like Snively?" Annie said.

She really didn't respect him at all and found his presence in their village a waste of time, but she had enough respect for other's opinions that she was willing to go along with it.

Max didn't like that Snively sounded unwilling to talk, but he had to try. He was full of burning uncertainty about many things, and this pathetic man was probably the only thing that could offer him any relief from his emotional pain. He needed to hear the truth, no matter how brutal and uncompromising it was.

"I just want to talk to him. I need to…." Max spoke up, and neither Annie nor Nicole had the desire to stop him at this point.

Nicole lifted up the wooden door, and it creaked as it raised. Max could see the dirty steps leading to the small storage cellar.

The single and only light was on and illuminating the very bottom of the stairs. The sounds of shuffling came, and they all know he was down there in his solitude waiting for their arrival.

Nicole went down first, and Max could see her disappear from view once she was entirely in the storage space. He looked at Annie, who started to move her way down the steps supporting him at each decline.

One…

Two….

Three….

Four….

The slow, clunky awkwardness of their descent made it evident to Snively he had something special in store as he waited while holding his breath.

Once Max was at the bottom of the steps. He could see the empty room in which Snively had been staying for the past months.

It was dirty, smelly, gross, and Snively was no different. He sat at the dusty table with an unkempt, full, grimy beard. It was clear that he was being treated in a less than humane manner, given just barely enough to sustain his life.

Max gazed upon the small human, and he just returned it back to Max. The intense staring caused Snively to start to sweat, and his hands fidgeted slightly.

Of all the people that could come down here and confront him, this is the one he had not expected.

He didn't think the boy would live, even with the roboticizer at their disposal. Yet, here he was as a broken mess of an animal dawning a robotic limb. He came to face him even in this pitiful state.

Max moved forward with the aid of Annie, and Nicole grabbed a small wooden stool propped against the wall so that he could sit across from Snively comfortably.

Once Max was settled on the seat, the two just gazed at one another while Annie and Nicole watched from behind. The silent stares were making Snively more and more nervous the longer it continued.

Unlike Tails, who came in demanding to know things, Max was just staring at him instead.

"What do you want…...?" Snively eventually broke the silence in a low apathetic tone.

Max slid his hands out onto the dirty table, and Snively could see the metal on his left side shining from beneath the loose pajama sleeve. He readied himself for the screed of intense anger that was expected, but to his surprise, Max uttered a word that had seldom been spoken to him over the past decade.

"Please…" His voice broke slightly.

Snively watched him and could see the distraught behavior of a miserable creature. He was now sweating more profusely, and that semblance of guilt that had been growing all this time exploded within him.

It was one thing to commit atrocities, but to actually look those misdeeds in the eye was something else entirely.

"Please?" Snively could only mimic the word. Such politeness and respect showed to him in a time of desperation.

"Please..." Max repeated the phrase. "I need to know… what you did with my mother and father."

Snively stared, and after a few minutes, the pieces fell into place. The person whose life he had saved was the son of the hedgehog.

He knew about him from the data extracted from his infiltration of Knothole years earlier, but he had never stopped to even consider the fact. Max was wearing the royal clothes when he first saw him, and it should have been self-evident.

"Well!?" Annie thundered, beginning to lose her patience with him.

"Annie, please…" Max asked, apparently upset. He really needed to hear the truth and was prepared to humble himself to get it.

Annie hated seeing Max suffer and throw himself before this miserable waste of subhuman garbage, but she decided to hold her tongue for now.

Nicole just stared and let Max do what he felt was necessary.

Snively said nothing for a good five minutes and then looked up at the lamp attached to the ceiling. "You know, back before w-we took over. There used to be the restaurant in Mobotropolis that served the most delicious food around." He paused his talking and looked at Max. "It's been so long that I am not sure what food beyond flavorless slop tastes like."

Annie got really annoyed, not understanding the point in saying such nonsense. Max, on the other hand, picked up rather quickly and looked in Annie's direction.

"Ann… Please make him something delicious to eat." He said to her.

"What!? To hell with that!" She became angrier. There was no way she was going to humiliate herself by serving him their delicious food.

Snively stared at the two, unable to speak. Max frowned and just uttered the phrase. "Please, Ann."

Those goddamn sad, pouty eyes. They melted her heart, and she just sighed in agreement.

"Fine," She paused to lean forward over the table and slammed her hands against the wood, kicking the dust up into Snively's face. "But he starts talking now, and while I prepare it." She finished speaking, her voice in a low, threatening tone.

Snively coughed and just looked away. "F-Fine…" His voice came out with a fit of coughs.

What choice did he have? He was starving, and even though he knew that they could betray him and give him nothing, he wasn't in a position to bargain.

Annie walked away in a huff, and as she passed Nicole, she spoke up. "Don't let him try anything funny with Max."

Nicole was about to respond, but Annie was already stomping her way up the stairs to do a task that she really did not want to.

Snively looked at Max, whom just returned his attention back to Snively.

"I… the hedg- I mean, Sonic." Snively stammered a bit. He wasn't used to treating animals with any kind of respect but figured it was appropriate when addressing Sonic's son, who promised to feed him.

Max didn't speak and waited with bated breath for whatever he was going to say to him.

Snively averted his gaze, and after a slight pause, he readied himself to speak. He knew that he was committing the ultimate betrayal against Robotnik by telling Max the intimate details of that fateful day ten years ago, but at this point in his life, who hadn't he betrayed?

He opened his mouth, and for the first time ever, he started telling the truth to an animal.

"We used the Princess' computer against her. I created a simple A.I. program that I dubbed 'ORACLE' to infiltrate and reveal to us the plans of the Freedom Fighters. Robotnik and I knew what Sonic and the Princess had been planning months in advance, and it was simply a matter of letting them do it easily so that we could trap them once they were in too far." Snively said as he rubbed his hands together and fidgeted.

"I've already figured that part out, but…." Max said, as his voice trailed off somewhat at the end.

"I know you did something with my father and something called a 'Rift Gate.'"

Snively seemed surprised but nodded to confirm his statement.

"The Hedgehog… Sonic was our first living test subject of that device. The Rift Gate is an interdimensional matter transporter that Robotnik had been building so that he could eventually move on from 'this world.'" Snively said, keeping his gaze on Max's solemn expression.

He could see him trying to hold back the pain and anger.

"This world?" Max asked, keeping his composure.

"Robotnik has… well, at least I think he has, grown bored with his all-encompassing power. He is not so lifeless that he doesn't seek an entertaining challenge, but he has an ego massive as to want his name to strike fear in as many places as possible." Snively wiped his nose a little bit. "The Rift Gate is merely a transporter, and the Hedgeho-your father was the first biological organism to use it."

"Then my father..." Max began.

"Is in a world far away from Mobius, a place that would take eons to reach without the Rift Gate," Snively concluded.

"Why do that, though? Why not just roboticize him?" Max could see no rhyme or reason for it beyond cruelty or entertainment.

"The Rift Gate was largely untested, and Robotnik needed a living subject. He chose Sonic because if he died, that rid him of his most hated adversary, but if he didn't, it would mean untold hardship and suffering for him." Snively said while he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"The Rift Gate was successful, and the hedg-Sonic lived, so now he spends out the rest of his life struggling to survive in a barren world while he is assaulted by any number of my uncle's mechanical horrors. It is both a way to test his new projects and to entertain himself." Snively finished.

Max was horrified hearing about the untold suffering of his father and could see now that he was nothing more than an abused 'pet' to Robotnik.

"I…" Max struggled to say words but couldn't find what he was looking for.

Snively said nothing, and Max wiped his face with his furred hand. "Where's my mo-mother then? He choked out his question.

Snively looked at him worriedly, but just then, there came a clamoring noise down the steps, and before Snively could answer him, Annie had returned with a board filled with food.

A bit of cooked meat, fresh fruit, bread, and a small bowl of soup.

She stomped through the room, making a ruckus, and balanced the board carelessly as she went. Some of the soup spilled out, and it was evident that she could care less about the task, as she merely rushed through it to get back here.

"Here," Annie said roughly while placing the board before Snively with a smack. "This should be enough for you to stuff your face with." Her voice was harsh, but she did as she was asked.

Snively's eyes widened at the meal. It had been years since he had actually seen food like this. He usually only sustained his life with this disgusting nutritional paste, but this, this was something special.

Max quietly watched as his question was now wholly ignored. Snively instead began to pick at and taste the variety of food set before him. It was crazy that he was so excited about this one thing and how he was now starting to shovel it into his face like a ravenous hound.

Annie could see the distress on Max's face and knew that he had heard troubling things.

"You ok, Max?" She asked, feeling in tune with his heartache.

"I-I'm fine." He responded, even if deep down he wasn't. At the very least, he had part of the answers he was searching for.

Nicole just stood and watched, she didn't appear to have any sort of change in expression, but she definitely "felt" something within the recesses of her digital mind.

Sonic had always treated her special when he didn't have to, and he taught her phrases that annoyed Sally to no end. She wanted to say she felt close to him if that was even the correct term to describe it.

Snively ate disgustingly but didn't seem to care about his audience. The flavors, the textures, it was a part of life he had but a faint memory of. He ate, and ate, and ate until his stomach was bursting.

Snively had consumed the food so fast that it was a wonder he even tasted it at all. He merely wiped the slop off his beard with his hand and leaned back, rubbing his stomach.

Now that he was satisfied, he contemplated going back to silence. What really did he owe them now? Not much, but it was Max's pained expression that kept compelling him to honor his agreement.

"…"

"Your mother… you mean Princess Sally?" Snively asked, even though he already knew to whom Max was referring.

He just wanted to jump back into the conversation without making it seem like he desired to rid himself of this burden.

Max was surprised that Snively spoke up again and kept his end of the bargain, as it really was not expected.

"Y-yeah... Princess Sally." He was not used to referring to his mother by her title or name but confirmed Snively's question regardless.

"I…" Snively started to fidget again and was hesitant to speak on the subject. However, the boy wanted the truth, and he wasn't about to pull back now.

"The Princess is no more. She was crushed and disposed of." His harsh words hit like a truck, and Max started to feel dizzy.

He grasped onto the table and began to breathe in heavily, trying not to let the shock control his body.

"What the fuck!" Annie slammed her hand on the table once again, and she looked like she was going to tear Snively apart.

It was such a disgusting thing to imagine that she dared not ask for the details.

Nicole had a shocked and saddened expression on her face. She stepped forward to get a good look at Snively. From what she could see, he did look sad about it and did seem remorseful.

Max grabbed onto his chest, and Snively looked away as much as he could. The tears streaming down the boy's face were too much for even his cold heart, and he merely did his best to ignore it.

"Did… did s-she suffer?" Max's heartfelt cry tore into Snively's soul, and Annie took her attention off the monster to try and console her friend with gentle rubs to his back.

Snively looked back across the table briefly. He could see the breakdown and the glares of disgust. He felt the contagious grief going through the room, and he started to choke back his own tears in silence.

After his fleeting moment of confronting the intense scene, Snively decided to push through and offer what little he could to rectify the misery he was responsible for.

"No… She didn't." He wiped his pointed nose.

The glares still continued, but he at least had Max's attention once again.

"T-the Princess was used to torture the hedgehog. Before Robotnik decided to use Sonic as his test subject for the Rift Gate. He would use Princess Sally to try and break his spirit, knowing the two were lovers by that point. At first, he put on a show in which he roboticized her in front of him. Then, when that failed, he went to dismantling her robotic body into pieces to prove his conquest over them." Snively said while he rubbed his hands on his dirty pants.

"Right before Sonic was put through the gate, he was promised the Princess would be crushed by his hydraulic press so that she could never be returned to him." Snively continued looking down at his feet, afraid to see the looks he might be getting.

"Sonic was sent through, and I was ordered to gather Sally and crush her into scrap. Hours after I had gathered her, Robotnik took over the procedure and booted me completely off of the task. He said he wanted the pleasure of destroying her to himself, and after that day, the Princess was no more." He concluded.

It was a lot to take in, and even Nicole had a grief-stricken look on her face. She had been with Sally longer than anybody else in the room, and to know of her demise made it all the more difficult in her new state of being.

Max was painfully grieving but chose to press on now that he had Snively talking.

"What is going on... t-the workerbots…? the brutality…? Why?" He asked, barely holding himself together.

His question was probably the central question they all wanted to be answered, "why?" Why was Robotnik so brutal now? What was he trying to accomplish? Nobody there could figure it out.

"I-I don't know." Snively continued to hang his head. "As the years went on, Robotnik put less and less trust in me. He started taking me off all of his projects, and when he had me involved in huge ones, he would take my contributions and alter them without telling me how or why."

"I spent years serving almost no purpose, and I feel like Robotnik was only keeping me around because he found scaring and torturing me pleasant." He said.

The uncertain answer to the question had morphed almost entirely into a confession, as Snively released the pain of his subordination out.

"Robotnik... He… he's always been a cruel, nasty, son of a bitch. Thoroughly unlikeable in every way, but he has spent so many years being on top and untouchable. He has come to view himself as all-powerful and immortal. He does things without thinking them through and has no regard for any life but his own." Snively was shaking and began rubbing his arm.

The three watched him take on frightened mannerisms and could tell that Robotnik still had his iron grip on his nephew. No matter where one thing was for sure, none of them were safe from the vicious brutality of this heartless monster.

"Is-is that why u left?" Max asked in his sadness, as if sympathetic to the human.

Snively shook his head. "I left because of ORACLE. She was the A.I. program I developed, but she morphed into something else entirely after Robotnik got his hands on her. She became vicious, manipulative, and horrific. Almost mirroring my uncle in many ways." He started.

"It wasn't until she tried to have me kill Robotnik that I realized she had motivations of her own. If Robotnik were to die, then I would have been in power, and when I recognized my weakness. I realized she intended to manipulate me into removing her failsafe protocols and giving her control over Robotropolis." He paused for a second as he remembered her sinister voice.

"I really don't know what Robotnik did, but I can say for certain she is as much a threat to him as she is to you." He took in a deep breath. It felt so good to expel all of that, even to one's adversary.

Robotnik had been doing many dark and strange experiments over the years by the sound of it, and Max looked at Nicole as if asking her what she thought on the situation.

"I would assume if the A.I. has gained self-awareness, or the need for self-preservation, possibly both. Then it makes sense it would see all biological organisms as a threat. If it knows how to use animal psychology, then it is only logical that it would use it to its advantage." Nicole stated.

Snively nodded at her assessment, but he really didn't know everything Robotnik had been up to in recent years. In fact, the more recent the plot, the less detail he knew.

There was an intense silence that fell over the room as everyone took in the information. Nobody knew how to feel or what to say, and even Snively himself was caught between relief and the uncertainty that he should have told all of that.

Max stared down at his robotic hand and thought of his dear mother. He could only imagine the things she went through before she left this world. Had he the power, he'd have died right now to put her in his place… but knew that such a thing was not possible.

He looked up at Snively, and the thought occurred to him that there was still hope in this dire revelation. It might be too late for him to feel his mother's warm hugs again, but it wasn't too late to challenge Robotnik's cruelty.

"The Rift Gate… Can you build it?" Max asked suddenly, turning all their attention towards him.

"I- well… I can build it, but I am not sure you have everything needed to power it. It requires a large energy crystal or multiple small ones mined from deep beneath Mobius. Robotnik collects them for various projects, so you would need to get one from him." Snively scratched the back of his head.

"Will you build it for us?" Max asked, knowing that he would throw his life away for that crystal if it came down to it.

"Wait a second, Max, you aren't even walking yet. You need to…." Annie tried to talk him out of his apparent plans, but he spoke up before she could even finish.

"No way, Ann! I-I already lost my mother forever! I refuse to lose my father to that despicable creature!" Max yelled, full of intense emotion.

"She's right," Snively said.

"Even if you did get the energy crystal somehow. The wasteland that the Sonic wanders is filled to the brim with Robotnik's monstrosities, all of which are equipped with cameras to record their sick assaults on him. It is not only a perilous place to set foot in, but Robotnik would know the second you were there, and he isn't about to let you retrieve Sonic the Hedgehog."

Max angrily slammed his furred hand on the table with a bang. "I don't care! Will you build it or not!?"

There was a pause after Max's angry outburst, but eventually, Snively answered.

"I took everything that wasn't locked down when I left. With the proper tools and supplies. I-I wo-would be willing to build one..."

"Max…" Annie said, feeling pain in her heart for him.

She knew he wasn't in the right state of mind, and now he had a pile of more grief to heap onto it.

Max started to stagger to his feet, and Annie grabbed him immediately before he could fall.

"Careful, Max, Geez..." She said, pulling him close to her.

"Nicole," Max called her name.

"Yes, Max?" Nicole responded.

"Can you build a more appropriate holding area? If he is going to help get my father back, I don't need him suffering in malnourishment down here." He stated.

Snively and Annie looked surprised at the sudden request, but Nicole just gave a flat answer.

"As a workerbot, I can perform the required functions. Collecting the supplies and working consistently. I can have the task completed in a week or so." She calculated the task.

"Max, we should talk to my mom and the others about this." Annie cautioned.

"What good will that do? Your mother and everyone else is comfortable with ignoring him while he rots down here." Max was working himself up, and Annie was beginning to feel like she made a grave mistake bringing him down here.

"Max... I… it just might be dangerous." She tried to convince him one last time while she held him up against her body.

"Look, Ann… He is the only way we are ever going to rescue my father, and rescuing Mobius' greatest hero seems to be worth the risk, don't you agree?" He said back to her.

Annie let out a sigh, seeing the truth in what he said. "Alright, Max, I just hope everyone else doesn't go crazy over this."

"I don't care if they do. I am to be King, I will be the leader, so for once, what I say is going to happen." He was unmoving on his decision, and it was clear that he was willing to accept any and all consequences, no matter what they might be.

"Nicole, please start on building a secure place for holding him as soon as possible. If anybody has a problem with what you are doing, tell them to come to speak with me about it." He instructed her.

Nicole took his instruction and then started to respond. "I shall do as you request. I just need a few days to pick an adequate location and to gather supplies for building."

Annie and Max started to saunter over towards the steps with Nicole already ascending them.

Everything had gone as well as it possibly could have, and though Max needed time to recover from the horrible truth, he was at least relieved to have his answers.

They reached the first step, and just as they were about to start their way up so they could leave the room, Snively spoke loudly enough for the two to hear him.

"You know you are a fool, right? I've betrayed my friends, my family, just about everybody I've ever come across, and you want to risk taking me up there? Allowing me access to your supplies to build who knows what?" He said.

Snively seemed to be almost taunting Max for his decision. It was as if he instinctively rejected acts of kindness or mercy.

Max stopped and turned so he could see Snively sitting within his peripheral vision. "The fact that you are willing to run your mouth about that tells me that you have no desire to do it any longer." He paused for a second. "I may be a fool for using you to save my father, but I'd wager I'm not so foolish as you, given your current circumstances." He finished in a low, bitter tone that was unusual for him.

Snively didn't respond and merely stared down at his hands lying on the table. Max and Annie ascended the steps cautiously and disappeared from the cellar. The last thing he heard was the sound of grinding as he was once again being sealed away by the giant crate above.

He still wasn't entirely sure why Max was offering him such benevolence, but what he was sure of was that he was going to try and build the Rift Gate. After all, he felt he had nothing to gain by betraying the animals a second time.

…

…

Four long days had passed since their encounter with Snively, and Annie found herself struggling with her own personal dilemmas.

She had seen Max sob over the time for the loss of his dear mother, and it was affecting her so strongly that she was having difficulty functioning on a healthy level.

The feelings and experiences she had that were contingent on Max were becoming a concern for her. Always sitting in the kitchen lost in thought, instead of doing the work she knew she ought to be.

Her mind was deprived continuously of every other task so that it could now only concentrate on one thing.

It wasn't like it had been before when she would merely worry or wonder what he was up to, no. Now it was an all-consuming thought that kept distracting her throughout the entire day.

She never wanted to leave him in the morning, and she anxiously awaited the hours to pass until she could visit him next.

Annie had done nothing but think about him day after day since he had awoken, and the more time that passed, the more she became lost in her personal obsession.

Why had he taken over her mind now more than he ever before? Her parents, her duties, her day.

All replaced with shades of Max, what they could do, how they would do it. How he looked, how he acted.

His thoughts, his feelings, his pain, his grief. She cared about it all, and even more so now since the meeting with Snively.

She kept thinking even as she slowly cut vegetables up to serve them in a stew for dinner. She had to prepare food, but her heart was not into cooking at all.

"What is wrong with me?" Annie said aloud to herself as she placed the food into the heated water sitting next to her.

She put her elbow on the table and propped her head up with her hand, trying to think of anything else, but almost immediately started fantasizing about Max again.

What would they do after she got back to her hut tonight?

"Rrrr!" Annie growled in frustration as she buried her face into her other arm that lay flat on the table.

No matter what Annie thought about, it constantly changed back to the same topic somehow.

Her father was injured? Max was more so.

Stuff needed to get done? Max needed help to even move!

She was bored. I bet Max is also.

She loved her mother? Well, she also…?

…

Her mind held on to that thought, and then she heard the revelation loudly spoken in her own head.

"I can tell you must really love him a whole lot."

She was reminded of Sonia's words to her about Max.

"Love…..."

Annie always practiced restraint, even in her imagination. She wouldn't allow specific events to happen because she felt they might be wrong to think about.

Even if she knew part of her wanted to experience certain things, she tended to push them into the back of her mind. She had done it so often that she was struggling to hold back this growing curiosity in herself.

She quietly sat there while the stew boiled and kept her face buried in that arm of hers. The words Sonia had said to her now kept assaulting her over, and over, and over again until she just couldn't take the insinuation any longer.

What would it hurt? Who would it hurt? Nobody had to know… It was just her and herself.

Annie felt emboldened as she took a deep breath, and rather than push her embarrassing, inappropriate thoughts aside. She allowed herself to fantasize in a way that she hadn't let herself before.

"I care about you, Max." Her voice in her head spoke.

Annie felt stupid for thinking even this far in, but she continued regardless.

"Ann?" She could hear his response, confused and cute as could be.

She could see Max standing before her in the sparkling white nothingness, shy and blushing.

She could imagine the heat and the embarrassment. She imagined reaching forward and grasping his hands into hers. Even the thought made her palms feel sweaty against the wooden table.

"I-I love you?" She said, testing the conflicted thought out, allowing the fantasy to take over.

"I love you too." She imagined his bright smile. Her chest getting tingly the deeper she delved.

Her imagination went wild, and she leaned in to kiss Max, allowing the notion of inappropriate to fly out the window.

A kiss, even an imagined one, sent Annie to a place she'd never been before, and she felt like she was light and hovering.

Her body was slightly ablaze, and the feeling of elated embarrassment coursed through her. She unburied her eyes, and once she came back to reality, she felt intense guilt and shame for the fantasy.

Annie had enjoyed the thought in a way she had not initially expected, and it only lent more credibility to Sonia's words. Is this why he was consuming her every thought? Her every worry?

Did she love him? It wasn't like she hadn't ever had a lustful thought in passing about him before, but this was the first time she had ever envisioned it in excruciating detail.

"Ugh…" Annie was disappointed in herself. She wanted to be a good friend. She genuinely cared about him, but this? It was stupid.

She had never been so moved by her personal imagination to this extent, and she would have never gone down this line of thinking if it hadn't been for Max's blasted sister.

She looked over and could see the stew overcooking as the water splashed over the sides.

"Shit!" She grabbed the pot immediately, and it burned her hand slightly.

"Ow!" She yelped and grabbed a cloth. With it, she quickly moved the burning meal from the stovetop.

"Goddamnit!" She yelled in frustration and kicked the wooden counter with her boot.

Her adventures to la-la land were getting out of control, and she was getting reckless.

As the time passed and the light disappeared, she grew ever more nervous about going and seeing Max at her hut.

Where lately she had been excited, she was now filled with apprehension, guilt, shyness, and sadness.

Her heart was beating ever faster the closer she got to finishing her work, and her fantasies kept turning themselves over to desire.

After some time, Annie finished and walked through the village with her head hung low and a sack of food slung over her shoulder.

She had been so gripped with fear she avoided feeding Max earlier. In fact, the apprehension had gotten so strong it was as if she were marching her way to the guillotine at this point.

Of all the frightening things that occurred these past few months, this one felt the most intense. How ironic that she would find something within herself that she assumed most would be overjoyed with, yet she was terrified by.

She took a moment to look up at the blackened sky and could see the clouds were so thin that she could make out the illustrious moon trying to shine from beyond the veil. It was barely visible, but she knew she could see it finally.

Her boots stomped, marching ever closer to her hut. She looked forward and was able to see the light on from the front window that was peeking through her closed curtains.

When she had finally reached the front of her hut, her stomach got ever more unsettled. She put her hand on the door and listened quietly from the outside. Of course, she couldn't hear Max at all, and it brought her hope that he might have gone to sleep early tonight.

Once she swung the door open, she saw Max look up from another one of her books he had been reading.

"Damn..." She thought, as his gaze now made her feel weak on her feet.

"Ann... I was getting worried about you. You didn't stop by to bring me dinner." He sounded concerned but also slightly agitated.

"Ah… I know, sorry, Max… I... things just got kinda' busy..." She sounded as awkward as she felt, and her voice was meeker than usual.

Max looked at her, and she refused to look back at him. He could sense something was wrong and contemplated what exactly he had done.

Annie pulled the sack off her shoulder and plopped it onto the bed. "Don't worry, though. I brought you a bunch of goodies to eat."

She was still aloof in her speech, and it was plain as day. She wanted to hide the intense feelings she was having, but it was proving more difficult than even she was used to.

Max had suffered for days, he had come back from the dead, and she had diligently watched over him through it all.

It was hard for her to accept things as they were now, but something had changed in such a short period. Annie felt it was almost useless to try and resist, and even though she made an effort, her body reacted against her will.

Max calmly pushed the food aside despite his hunger. He then shuffled his way to the end of the bed just before where she was standing and looked up at her.

"What's wrong, Ann?" He asked.

"Nothing..." Came the immediate reply.

"Don't lie to me…." He shot back.

Annie looked and could see the determination on his face. He had been through so much, and now this was it.

He was not going to let her hide away like she always tried to do. He could see right through her antics now, and she was unsure how to approach the truth.

"Max… Please, come on... I'm just tired." She tried to dodge the inquiry.

"No, Ann, every time you get like this, something is bothering you. Well, this time, I won't allow it to fester like before. You saw what happened when you hid how you felt from me before." His voice sounded low and intense, and it was filled with a passionate fire, clearly derived from his great care for her.

"I…" She trailed off awkwardly.

She was starting to flounder, becoming weak in the knees, reliving the passionate thoughts of this afternoon.

Max stared at her and waited patiently. He didn't want her to suffer in silence. If she was upset over something, he wanted to know about it.

Annie stared directly at Max's face and lowered herself down to sit next to him on the bed. They were so close, but Annie felt like there was a chasm between them. Her fears seizing her vulnerable heart at this delicate time.

"Max... I..." Her heart pounded, and her eyes fixated on his mouth. The fantasies from earlier pushing her toward this conclusion.

"Don't do it stupid!"

"Ann… Are you ok?" Max asked, genuinely concerned. She seemed to be lost in another plane of existence, unable to speak while only sitting inches apart from him.

"You're not worth it."

"Max, look... I..." She hesitated once more. Her body was numb and shaking ever so slightly.

"He'll be mad! He won't be your friend anymore!"

Max's green eyes looked into hers, and her heart beat fiercely against her ribs. She was so scared over the simplest thing in the world.

Why was this so terrifying? Why did she make it so hard for herself?

"I'm saying it! I have to say it!"

"Take your time Ann. I am here for you like you have been for me." Max encouraged her as sweetly as ever.

"I… uhm..." She paused.

"I like you."

"I love you."

"I care for you."

Anything would do.

"Say it!"

"Just say it!"

Annie's heart was about to explode with emotion. She wanted to risk it all, just to make clear her feelings of closeness to him.

She stared at him, and with every ounce of strength and courage she had, she put her thoughts into words for the first time.

"J'ai un faible pour toi."She blurted out unintentionally. Her voice was clear and bold.

…..

…..

"Jee uhn… what?" Max blinked, not understanding what she just said to him.

Annie sat there, and her face was full of heat. The embarrassment and fear had locked her body up, and she felt like a complete idiot.

She continued to look at him and immediately regretted following her heart's instructions.

"What's that mean, Ann?" Max asked her, confused.

He genuinely wanted to know, as her father was the only person she ever spoke to in that language.

"I um. Well, it means…." She started to stammer once again.

Max waited, and now that she said it, she knew she wasn't going to get off the hook.

"I, well, it means. We are really close… Like… like, better than the best of best friends." She lied.

Max blinked, surprised. He didn't think it was something to be so nervous over, but given Annie's propensity to hide even the simplest of her feelings. He could buy that explanation easily.

"I… well thanks, Ann..." He smiled at her, feeling touched.

It really gave him the strength to deal with everything knowing she cared for him so.

Annie nervously nodded and took in a deep breath. What had she done? She got so carried away by her stupid imagination that she did something foolish. Sonia had planted those thoughts in her head, and she let herself go with it.

"Je uhn fables poors ta." He said back to her, butchering it horribly, but even then, hearing it made her heart skip a beat.

"Y-you should prob… Probably stick to Mobian dialect…." She said, feeling hot and as if she were about to float off the bed.

"I'm that bad, huh?" He rubbed his hair with his furred hand and felt a little foolish.

"You're my best friend, Ann… Thanks for helping me with, well, with everything." His voice was heartfelt.

Annie smiled at his gesture and rubbed her pants while getting off the bed and plopping into her chair. All those feelings and their intensities had really taken it out of her. She just wanted to sleep and pretend this never happened in the first place.

Max watched her from his spot on the bed and could see her exhaustion. He opened the sack of goodies and pulled out an apple.

"You want it?" He asked.

She shook her head. "Nah. I… I just want to get some rest." She admitted to him.

Max put the apple back in the bag and pulled out something quieter to snack on so that she could have more peace.

He nibbled on some dried meat, and after about an hour of peaceful-looking between the two, Annie had succumbed to her sleepiness. Now alone, Max was left to occupy himself until he would eventually join her.

He placed the sack on the floor, then moved back to his lying position against the pillows and reopened the book he had been reading earlier.

The story had been an apocryphal retelling of the myths of a historical hero. It was filled with action, womanizing, and death-defying feats, but it still had a unique draw even though the protagonist was very un-Max-like.

To be engrossed in a character that was nothing like yourself was a kind of diversion from the many flaws Max had seen in himself recently.

He started trying to read from where he left off, but he found that his mind kept focusing on the words Annie had spoken earlier. He would read a few words and then glance up to see her sleeping haphazardly in the chair.

Max had all the time in the word to feel indebted for what she did and sacrificed for him, yet she always acted as if she owed him something special.

He had come to understand the difficulty of which Annie expressed herself but thought that even with a flaw like that, his deeds failed compared to what she had done.

She had revealed the soft inner core that was her being to him since his revival, and the more he thought about it, the more sacred a gift he realized that was.

Max set the book aside, realizing that Annie was of more interest to him, and just watched her sleep.

She had probably done this so many times with him that he felt a bit selfish for it. It was no wonder she was exhausted all the time. The longer he watched her sleep, the more he reminisced about the recent time they were together.

"…"

He placed his hands on his stomach as he lay there watching her sleep, and though he would never dare say it aloud to a soul, he was finding her rather adorable as she did so.

With Annie to focus on, his mind was not so haunted by the tragedies of days past, and he eventually found himself able to join her in sleep.

…

…

…

…

"Max…"

"Hey, Max."

"Wake up."

Max could hear Annie's voice calling to him as he lay in between a place of asleep and awake. His eyes remained shut, but he was coming around to believing this wasn't a dream.

"Hm, Ann?" He said tiredly, then opened his eyes. His vision was blurry, and he started to move his right hand upwards to clean them.

"I-I am sorry to wake you, but you have to see this," Annie said to him.

When he finished rubbing his eyes, he could see more clearly, and the immediate thing he noticed was that the light in the room was entirely different. Rather than a yellowish brightness, the room had an almost translucent glow.

He turned his head to the right and could see Annie standing at his bedside. She looked as tired as he felt, and he pulled himself up so that he could see her more clearly.

"What's going on, Ann?" He asked her.

"Max, look." She said as she moved out of the way and pointed her finger towards the window.

Max turned his gaze to the place she was pointing and was immediately taken aback by the beautiful splendor revealed to him.

He could see the moon casting its lucent beams throughout the night, and overhead, he could see that the clouds had all but disappeared from the thin veil they used to be.

"I… I can't believe it… the sky..." Max said. He was kind of at a loss for words, and it made him realize just how long it had been since he had seen it.

"It's clear…." Annie piped up entirely mesmerized by the beautiful spell of the moon.

The majestic rays of light pouring forth from the darkened heavens were an incredible sight to behold. Even if they'd both seen it a thousand times before, it never seemed to lose its power over them.

The two were awe-struck and just stared up at the stars shining brightly around the pale glowing orb. Max felt at ease, and he was utterly speechless.

The moon was so comforting to him that it felt like he derived strength from it. He knew that this day came because of what was sacrificed, and deep down, he secretly wanted to believe this was the world's way of thanking him.

Annie came over and took a seat next to him at the edge of the bed. Max looked over at her face as the moonlight hit it, and he smiled at her. "Thanks for waking me up for this. I… I really am happy to see it."

She let out a nervous laugh and averted her gaze slightly. "I wasn't sure if I should, but I guess I just wanted you to see it with me." She admitted.

After waking up in the middle of the night to discover the moon had appeared, she felt it would be wrong not to share it with him.

Max noticed her shyness, and he started to feel slightly hot. He looked over her face and body as the vibrant light shined onto her. It felt new and exciting to him, and he just lost himself in the moment.

"You're the only one I want to share special things with." He blurted out and then realized how forward and embarrassing that sounded. His face burned, and he quickly looked away from her to stare out at the moon.

"You… you know what I mean..." He tried to play it off as nothing.

Annie smiled and didn't read into it any more than she should, but her heart wanted to run away with the statement.

They both noticed something had changed between them, but neither wanted to risk bringing it up.

Annie quietly kept her eyes on Max as he lost himself in the moon. His body was lit entirely with a pale light. His eyes shimmering with contemplative thoughts while he stared off into space as if trying to figure something out.

Annie kept sitting next to him and was fighting against the vital need for intimate closeness. She'd wished she'd never allowed herself to think in such a way, to begin with, but it was too little too late for that.

She looked down and could see Max's metal hand on the bed outstretched as he leaned on it.

Seeing it made her sad, but she wasn't disgusted by it or afraid of it. It was still a part of him like her mother's mechanical parts were of her, and she genuinely viewed it no differently than his real arm.

She thought back to all the times she caught him hiding it beneath the covers and that time she had slapped it away.

Annie felt remorse for her action, but she also felt the need to show him it was ok. She looked up and saw that Max was still lost in looking at the moon.

Her heart started to pound rapidly like so many times before, and she feared to do what she wanted to. Her heart battled against her mind over the appropriate thing to do, but the stronger she resisted her heart, the more power it seemed to gain.

She quietly slid her hand across the blankets, and when her fingertips grazed his metal hand, she stopped. Her eyes started nervously watching Max's face.

When she felt brave enough, she finally slid her gentle hand on top of his. She could feel the coldness of the steel against her fur, and despite that, the touch lit her body like a torch. The tingling ran through her, and the adrenalin surged, her heart bounced, and her breath was stilled.

The moment she felt her body's elated reaction, she almost immediately removed her hand and was about to offer an apology for "accidentally" touching him. However, she decided to keep it there

when she realized he hadn't even felt or noticed it.

Even if Max never knew or realized the growing passion within her heart, she at least had this overwhelmingly wonderful feeling to remember for the rest of her life.

…

…

…

…

…

"Run faster!"

…

"Don't stop!"

Lupe thought as her paws carried her through the dim forest. She understood that to stop was to die, and even though she was in no condition to keep moving, she had little choice in the matter.

She ducked under a fallen tree that was leaning against another massive trunk, and she only briefly glanced behind herself to make sure she wasn't being tailed.

With nobody in sight, she contemplated stopping to catch her breath, but she chose not to because she refused to allow herself any chance of getting caught.

Three robots had chased her through the caves and out into the woods. It was hard for her to keep acting like a coward, but she was not so foolish as to think they would give up in their pursuit so easily.

Lupe kept moving through the woods, knowing full well that the only safe haven left for her was Knothole.

She had failed her people, been driven from her land, and was now the prey of a much more vicious predator. She'd kept wishing she had left with Tails when she had the chance, but part of her was saddened that he had not kept his promise to return with help.

She pushed the thoughts aside, for now, continuing on through some bushes. She could now feel her lungs starting to burn and knew that stopping was inevitable. Even though she didn't want to, she could not go on forever without a break.

Lupe skidded to a halt and lowered herself to the ground, hiding in the thick of the bushes and brush that surrounded her.

She clenched her spear tightly in her right hand as she peered out of the bushes, briefly searching for any threats. She knew that her ability to fight was compromised because her left hand was missing all of its fingers but the pointer and thumb. Even so, to be armed and have one hand was better than to be unarmed and dead.

She breathed in as quietly as possible and was allowing herself to recuperate for another long sprint. She looked once again out of the bushes and could see a wide river that had been overflown from the rain.

Across it was the way to Knothole, and she knew that if she wanted to survive, she had to make it there.

Five minutes passed, and once Lupe was sure she could begin moving again, she revealed herself from her hiding spot.

There was nothing in sight, and she felt confident she was on the right path to safety. She moved forward, sticking her feet in the cold water, and then continued on, submerging herself so that she could cross.

The further she went into the river, the more she sank. It was deeper than she had anticipated and went all the way up to her chest. She steadily made her way against the swift current that was carrying water down towards the west.

Lupe may have been exhausted, but she refused to allow the difficulties to stop her.

As she moved, her eyes took a moment to look up towards the sky, and she could see the beloved full moon piercing the treetops with its radiant light. Such a thing was a symbol of good fortune to her, and she couldn't help but feel confident in her chosen course.

The moon's disappearance was an ill omen, and she firmly believed its absence was the reason for her misfortune. She didn't believe in many superstitions, but she felt the moon had extraordinary power, especially when it came to wolves.

After the slaughter of her most recent band of survivors, she felt the futility of her effort to stabilize the pack, but now as she crossed the river with the moon's light guiding her, she thought that the tide would turn and the pack would rise up once more to smash their foes.

Lupe could see the other end of the bank but had taken longer to cross than she had realized. Her aching body and the thoughts of her precious moon continued to distract her from her task.

"Come on, almost there." She encouraged herself as she pushed through to the other side.

Once she was entirely out of the water, she dropped to her knees. She could no longer sustain the continual movement, and her muscles still needed more rest.

Lupe was so tired of moving, and she desperately needed help from somebody, anybody.

Knothole still seemed so far away, and she was continually oscillating between who to blame for what was transpiring now.

Tails had promised to bring support, but he also offered her the chance to leave from the beginning, and her just finding survivors inevitably got them killed.

Lupe eventually realized it was hopeless to blame anybody other than herself, but she just wanted to feel less like a failure for a leader.

She had tried to do what she thought was right but found that what she thought was right was probably most foolish. There was a better part of valor, and she now felt she had failed to exercise it.

She pushed herself up from her knees to be ready to be on the move once again. She leaned on her spear for a second and then took to looking up at the sky once more.

The moonlight was starting to blend in with the morning colors, and she was beginning to realize that day would soon be upon her.

She moved her legs to take a step, and then a rustling in the bushes alerted her senses. She looked around the forest and could see blue lights approaching from the east and west.

Lupe raised her spear in her right hand and took on a combative stance, knowing that there was potential danger everywhere around her.

Two of the robots that pursued her came forward and were approaching rather quickly. She had had her fill of seeing these robots, and though she doubted she could win, she was not about to let them have her so easily.

"I still have fight in me if you think you can take me!" She bared her fangs and pointed the spear towards the first of the two.

One of them apparently carried a rifle, and the other was equipped for close combat. Neither of them responded to her and instead spoke gibberish to one another.

"&*^# ! &^% *^%$ ^%$# %^ # !*&^% ^%$ &^ $% ^%#$" The riflebot said pointing at her.

The robot carrying the energy sword stepped forward "*& *&* $%##" It said.

Lupe had had enough of this nonsense and was ready to get this underway. She charged the first robot with the sword, thrusting her metal spear at its head. It jumped backward quickly, and the second robot took aim at her arm and fired its gun.

Lupe jumped out of the way and landed into an agile roll, and quickly bounced back to her feet. The gun robot just watched without moving, and it seemed intrigued by the speed at which she dodged its shot.

"Weak! Every last one of you!" She yelled with fury, spinning the spear in one hand and quickly pointing it towards the sword robot rushing towards her.

The swordbot carelessly swung, knowing that the steel spear would effortlessly be cut from the energy weapon, and the riflebot tried to aim for her leg in hopes of incapacitating her.

Lupe quickly arched her arm back, and with every ounce of strength she had, she threw the spear when the swordbot got within striking distance. Having anticipated her movement wrong, the robot tried to move out of the way but was caught in the head by the sharp object.

It pierced the delicate visor of the machine, and it dropped to its knees, grabbing onto the spear.

Sparks and electricity shot out of it, and then a small explosion came, which interfered with the riflebot's shot. Her spear went flying and impaled itself into a tree from the force generated by the blast.

The riflebot recovered from the temporary lapse in vision and took aim once more. It once again started speaking nonsense to itself.

"*&^% $%^^# ^% $# #% ! ^%$" It said. Its gun pointed at her leg as it fired its energy weapon a second time.

Lupe quickly rolled out of the way, but the force from the blast into the dirt sent her tumbling to the ground.

"Oof!"

The riflebot aimed at her while she was lying on her back, and it brought its weapon down once again to point at her leg.

She rolled to the side when she heard the weapon fire and quickly leaped up once the robot had missed. She could feel the energy of battle flowing through her, and she refused to quit until she was triumphant.

"Is that all you got!" She taunted the emotionless machine and waited for it to take aim at her again.

Once it did, she jumped behind many trees located close together and started making her way towards where her weapon had landed.

"%^**&^ %$#" The robot chatter came, and she quickly ducked and sprinted her way until she was on the other side of the tree containing her precious spear.

Lupe hung low behind the tree in some lush plants at the base of it. She was quiet and hoped to fool the robot into thinking she had taken off.

She knew it wanted her captured; otherwise, it would have just been shot at her haphazardly until it ended her.

She gazed out of the brush and could see endless trees as well as the colors of the morning sunrise taking over the sky.

She quietly started to sneak her way around the tree and could now see the gun-toting robot facing the direction she had run off in previously. It had not given up its search for her, and she knew now was her chance.

If she could rearm herself, she could be victorious.

She quietly carried herself towards the spear as it stuck out of the giant tree trunk. She wrapped her right hand around it and gave it a silent tug.

"Rrf." She grunted lowly, as it was lodged in really good.

She only had her thumb and pointer finger on her bandaged left hand, so that would prove of no use to her.

Lupe tugged again, and the spear moved slightly. She stopped to look back at the riflebot, making sure it was still unaware of her location.

It kept searching for her in the other direction, but with this latest tug, she realized the spear was unlikely to come loose.

She considered running away for a moment, but her passion as a warrior dictated she finished what she had started.

She kept the spear in her grasp and gave one final massive tug on it. When she reached the end of the powerful pull, she saw a brief flash of blue light shoot before her eyes, and in a second, she was sent tumbling backward in a world of pain.

"Ahhhh!" She screeched in agony as she tumbled to the ground, trying to grasp the wrist of what used to be her right hand.

Her two bandaged fingers could do little to hold anything, and she stared blankly forward at the missing appendage. She was in a state of shock as a third robot decloaked and stood there holding its energy blade, her severed hand lying on the ground inches from its feet.

"*&^ %$^," It said.

Lupe was befuddled at her own ineptitude and now realized how they got through the caves undetected so easily. She held the bleeding stump as best she could, but her physical agony was not as severe as her obliterated pride.

She thought she was being clever, but she realized they played her for a complete fool.

The riflebot came over and looked down at Lupe in her pathetic state. It merely raised the back of its gun up without any chatter, and with one swift mechanical blow to her head, she was rendered uncurious.

She lay there bleeding and at the mercy of the heartless monstrosities.

"*&^% %$#$ &** %$#^* &^%&" The riflebot said.

"^&& %$#$ ^%$# %$#" The swordbot responded as it watched the riflebot turn and quickly rush off into the forest.

The swordbot leaned down and began pressing the heated energy sword on Lupe's new injury so that it would cauterize.

It was unconcerned with causing damage or infection. It just needed to ensure her survival long enough to complete its task.

After it had finished burning her wound closed, it picked up Lupe's unconscious body and began to carry her over its shoulder. Its first mission completed, it headed off to deliver her to where it needed to.

….

….

"Ugh..." Lupe moaned as she opened her eyes.

The bright blinding light of the mid-morning sun cast its rays in her vision. The endless sea of blue that she had once loved to take in had returned to the heavens.

She moved her head from side to side and was so disoriented she'd wondered if perhaps she had dreamed a horrific nightmare while dosing off in nature's splendor.

Her body was tired, and she was quick to realize the amount of pain she was in. She could tell almost immediately that she lacked the digits to grasp anything and solemnly turned her head completely to the right.

She could see the two machines from earlier standing a little bit away from her, and it started to sink in that she had been dragged out into a field away from the forest.

Lupe's thoughts quickly began to move to escaping, and she immediately tried to push herself up with her handless arm. She was so weak, and it proved challenging to maneuver herself swiftly and painlessly without the aid of a hand or fingers.

She flopped back down on her back and stared up at the sky once again. It felt hopeless, for even if she escaped, her days as a proud warrior were over.

They had mutilated and taken away both her skilled hands, leaving her with nothing to offer the Freedom Fighters.

Lupe started to hear loud sounds and could feel a current of air blowing through her fur, but for the life of her, she couldn't muster enough care to look at anything other than the sky.

It brought peace to her in what she believed were her final moments of freedom. She foresaw a life of servitude before her and could only hope that her foolish mistakes could be rectified someday.

After a minute or two, one of the robots came over and looked at her from above as she stared upwards. It reached down and roughly grasped onto her arm, pulling her up by sheer force.

Lupe let out a whine of pain as it pulled her to her feet and held her upright. The second robot came and grabbed her other arm, and together they turned her around to face into the field.

Lupe could see a blackened hover pod sitting before her, and there, standing in front of it, was Robotnik.

He had a smile of pure happiness on his face, and he was now approaching her menacingly.

She didn't know if he had come all the way out here just to taunt her, but she was disgusted by the mere sight of him regardless. Even as disabled as she was, she wanted to tear his face off.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here?" Robotnik laughed slightly as he got closer to Lupe.

"You simply must forgive the lateness of my arrival. I came as soon as I heard you had decided to 'visit.' I trust my dear robots have been ample company for you until I came?" He was laughing harder as he spoke and gave a mocking bow.

Lupe looked sickened, and even though most animals would be terrified in her position, she was not.

"Silence yourself! I care not for your words!" Her anger and defiance were direct.

Robotnik walked up until he was directly in front of her. "My, My, look what happened to you!"

He touched her bandaged hand roughly and could feel her struggle to pull it away.

"Does it hurt?" He tried to keep his laughter in, but the glee in his expression was undeniable.

Lupe gritted her teeth with anger and pulled forward against the robots holding her. "Face me, coward! I will tear you apart without my hands!" She bared her sharp fangs, and there wasn't any doubt she would tear his throat out if given a chance.

Robotnik found it amusing that she continued to act this way when she was nothing but a disabled fool at this point.

He examined her body. She had nothing but her clothes and a stupid neckless on. What could she do to someone as great and powerful as himself?

"I must say, you put up a decent fight, but it seems that the games end here. To think at one time, you and the rest of the rodents would keep me up at night, but now are nothing more than the useless beasts I always knew you were." He moved in closer to her face.

"You're the mongrel I've been searching for. The one that will be the downfall of the hated village you call 'Knothole.'" Robotnik paused for an exasperated, angry breath.

"Those disgusting rats delayed my precious canon, and such an act is an insult to my very being… but now, now dear wolf. It will come to an end." He breathed in heavily once more and cackled loudly in her face.

"I'll not tell you anything, you scum!" Lupe said.

She could feel a certain degree of intimidation seize her heart, knowing that she could be facing unimaginable tortures. Even so, she was serious about what she said, even if it meant Robotnik would harm her in a plethora of ways.

"Oh, my dear, that is irrelevant… you see, you don't get a choice whether you tell me anything or not. I simply take what I want from you and throw the rest in the garbage." He laughed a bit. "How amusing it is that before, I would have wasted your value on slave labor." He put his hand to his chin in thought. "Actually, come to think of it, you should be thanking me. I am now freeing you and your filthy kind from this world you have come to hate so much."

"We hate it because of you!" Lupe screamed and struggled again. She was losing her mind, to be so close to somebody so vile, yet unable to take action against them.

Robotnik laughed louder than before as he enjoyed her suffering. "Shut your mouth, beast, and know your place. Your very existence is a plague, and it doesn't deserve to share space with the likes of me." Robotnik said, leaning forward to stare her directly in the eyes.

Lupe knew she couldn't physically fight him, and his stare was a warrior's challenge.

She would not be so disrespected and intimidated by him. She breathed back in and, with all the force in her throat, spit a giant wad of phlegm in his face.

"Fuck you!"

Robotnik winced in surprise as it flew out of her mouth and hit him directly in the face. She had fought back in the only way that she could.

Her disrespect and fearlessness in the face of the great Robotnik sent a rage coursing through him. His expression changed from giddy and excited to merciless and rage-filled.

His eyes began to glow red like some demonic entity, and he struggled to gasp air into his raging body.

He stepped back from her and wiped the spit from his face. "My dear wolf, I do think it is about time you learned the value of respect."

He held up his hand and snapped his fingers. Immediately one of the robots let go of Lupe and stood attentively to Robotnik.

Lupe was held in place by the second robot as it moved to take both of her arms. Robotnik stared at the attentive robot and then pointed to Lupe's leg.

"Teach her some respect." He commanded.

The robot pulled out the hilt from its waist, and it morphed into the long, blue energy blade.

It turned to her, and as quickly as she had spit in Robotnik's face, it had jammed the energy weapon through her upper leg, effortlessly cutting through to the other side.

"AHHHH!" She howled in agony as the smell of burning flesh and singed fur wafted to Robotnik's nose.

He took the wonderful scent deep into his nostrils while smiling and then walked up to her while the robot kept the weapon stable inside of her leg.

"How easy it would be for me to command it to tear your leg clean off." He taunted.

"After all, what are a leg and two hands really worth?" He started to laugh in her face, his sadistic smile of pleasure forever burning into her memory.

Ah! hhahh!" She screeched out from the pain as Robotnik relished the suffering more and more each second that had passed.

After thirty seconds of the agonizing torture of cooking the inside of her leg, Robotnik snapped his fingers, and the robot immediately withdrew the weapon from her.

Lupe collapsed immediately the moment it was pulled, only being held up in a dangling position by the second robot.

Robotnik pointed his finger at it and gave his command. "Release her!"

The robot followed its direct instruction and let go. She hit the ground forcefully with a thud, landing face-first into the dirt.

The once strong, proud warrior was reduced to tears as she started to roll on the ground grabbing at her leg with her only two fingers left.

Robotnik turned to the robots and began to speak. "I am sending six more MK-II units to ensure that she is secure. I don't care how long it takes her, but she is to walk to Robotropolis for her disrespect, and when she gets there, she is to come before me on bended knee if she wants any hope of mercy. Is that understood?!" He was shouting by the end of his command.

The robots both gave a bow of utmost respect, and Robotnik began to head towards his hovercraft. Once he was at the door, he turned one last time and spoke.

"If anybody, workerbot or otherwise, even remotely comes close to you… eradicate them." He finished.

The two robots didn't respond, and Robotnik just entered his ship. Once settled into his pod, he hit a button to activate the intercom.

"ORACLE…" He said.

"Yes, sir, your excellency?" ORACLE immediately responded to him.

Robotnik breathed in heavily and then let out a low cackle. "Open sector B-8 and removed MK-II units from latest capture in exchange for the successful 'delivery.' 48 hours only, after acknowledgment... Is that understood?"

"Yes, your majesty," ORACLE responded, and then Robotnik cut off communication.

He pressed a button and began to fly his craft back towards his dark kingdom. With all orders handed out, he had other things he wanted to accomplish, such as catch a tiny worm that had escaped his grasp.

….

Ten minutes passed since Robotnik's departure, and Lupe was now surrounded by a team of those advanced robots.

They all circled and watched her as she repeatedly attempted to stand on her feet but kept falling back to the ground. There was no empathy, sympathy, or emotion. They merely watched and carried out their directive.

Eventually, Lupe found the strength to stand on her shaky, destroyed leg, and the second she tried to walk, she immediately fell right back down.

"Ahhhh! Rrrrr!" She cried as she painfully dragged herself forward with her lower arms. The little bit she moved caused the robots to stir and follow her.

Things were worse than she ever imagined, and she didn't know how what Robotnik had planned for her could be any worse than this.

There was nothing, no escape, no rescue, no fight in her left. All she had was the hope for relief through a quick death and the promise of grimmer deeds to come.

Wrap Up. I had fun rereading this. It wasn't too bad.