-Chapter 286-

Rabbot Repairs

"Hello Sonic," Elise greeted with a smile. "It's been some time, hasn't it?"

"Sure has. It's great to see you again."

Gunt perked. "Hold on...Princess Elise...of the Kingdom of Soleanna!?"

" Mon dieu ..." Sealia gasped.

"Uhhh...is that important?" Gust questioned.

"Important…?!" Sealia sputtered. "Augustus, she's ruler of one of the most powerful kingdoms in Eurish!"

"Please, there's no need for formalities," Elise assured. "Right now, I am here as an emissary of Soleanna, and I've brought aid for Station Square. Once I heard it was home to some of Sonic's friends, I had to do something. My soldiers are at your disposal, and on board, you will find supplies ranging from medicine to repair supplies. My best doctors are also available, as well as several volunteers willing and able to help out where they're needed."

"We owe you, Elise," Sonic remarked. "Big time."

Elise smiled at him. "It's the least I can do for you after everything you and your friends have done for me."

Grinning ear to ear, Sonic offered his hand to her, which she happily took, and they made their way into the city,

Dr. Sorders' Office

Bunnie put her face in her hands, trying her best to keep from crying.

"I'm a horrible person..." she said.

"Bunnie, that's not true," Dr. Sorders countered.

"How!? Shorty, Johnny, Tangle, and I all got sent to Helheim and I just up and abandoned them! I smashed my limbs after three days of bein' in that hellhole, just to get away from it all! While I was sleepin' away all nice and snug in the labs, Glacia was beatin' the stuffin' outta them!"

Sorders watched as Bunnie buried her face in her hands, no longer able to hold back her tears. From what she'd heard from her friends, the poor girl had been like this ever since they returned. Every time she thought about Artika, she'd break down, consumed with guilt. The others had tried to convince her that she'd done nothing wrong but with little success.

"You're being too hard on yourself," Dr. Sorders said. "You're far from the only one who couldn't handle Glacia's 'training'."

"But I shoulda bin able to!" Bunnie shouted. "I'm a gosh darn Freedom Fighter! I survived being partially Roboticized and having my dadgum limbs cut off, and I was able to protect mah Aunt Lulu from all the crazy goin' on in Wyldwest!"

Sorders nodded. "Yes, but you had your friends to help support you through those times."

"And when they needed me, I ran ta save mah own skin."

"Bunnie, it's okay–"

"It's not okay, Doc!" she shouted, startling the stork. "I abandoned my friends! Ran off like a coward while they almost got turned into..."

At that, she broke down crying again. Dr. Sorders scratched her chin in thought. As much as she hated to admit it, there wasn't much she could do to help Bunnie.

"But they didn't, did they?" Sorders interrupted.

Bunnie sniffled, then shook her head.

"Maybe you should talk to them. They're the ones you believe you hurt, so maybe you should let them decide if you're the bad guy. You owe them that much if nothing else."

At that, Bunnie looked up at Sorders.

"Yer right..." she replied. "If nothin' else, I hafta face 'em. Aurora knows what happened to Rotor."

Station Square

Meanwhile, Team Thorndyke was hard at work trying to get the city's electrical grid up and running again.

"Alright..." Chris said as he tinkered around with an open transformer. "Replace this… Adjust that..." He hooked his Nitro Glove to the device. "And now, give it a quick jump."

He clenched his fist, sending a small jolt of nitro energy through it. The transformer hummed to life, along with several building and street lights.

"It works!" he cheered. "Keith! The Nitro Charge works!"

"Whew! That's a relief," Keith said. "For a second I thought..."

"Problem!"

Suddenly, Kat grabbed the boys by the hoods of their coats and yanked them out of the way of several wires that had snapped and fallen to the ground, sparks flying about everywhere.

"Right, I can see the issue now," Keith said.

"One should not play with live wires as it could cause electrocution and potential death," Omochao chimed in as Kat put the boys down.

Chris swallowed nervously as he eyed his and Keith's near-electrifying deaths. "Kat, how did you–?"

"I was melting ice around the powerlines and saw a lot of them were beyond frayed," the redhead replied. "The blizzard tore them to pieces."

"Crud…" Keith groused as he massaged his temples. "Hope, how are we on wire repair equipment?"

Hope checked. "Not good. We've used up over half of what we brought."

"I could probably use my flames to solder things together," Kat mused. "But I don't have the precision to do it right."

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish the Marxio Bros. were here," Chris said.

"Well, we're not Marxios, but I'd like to think that's an improvement."

Everyone perked, turning to see Axel the Water Buffalo stepping off a big, purple motorcycle that had been heavily modified for the weather.

"Axel!?" Hope exclaimed.

"Sup, Blondie?" Axel waved. "I'd ask how you kids are doing, but I think the city speaks for itself."

Hope rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Yeah, it's... it's bad."

"The power lines are shot," Kat reported. "Like, torn to shreds shot."

Axel looked up, wincing.

"Woof… Yeah, those things are rattier than Cass' pompadour after that hair iron mishap. Luckily, I got just the thing for that." He whistled. "Burners!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Everyone turned to see a trio of motorbikes speeding toward them, each with a very familiar (and loud) rider.

"Oh shit," Axel managed. "Bumper! Brakes! Hit the...!"

The bikes blazed past the group and crashed into a mailbox.

"Brakes."

"I got 'em."

Kat walked over, pulling the bikes out of the snow before she pushed the dents out of the mailbox.

"There," she said as she dusted her hands. "All fixed."

"Hold on," Hope looked around. "You got the bikes, but where are the riders?"

Her question was answered in the form of riders bursting out of a nearby snowdrift.

"Wooooo!" Bumper the Hare cheered. "Helloooooo Soumerca!"

"Are you ready to party!?" Torque the Dwarf Crocodile called out.

"If not, too bad!" shouted Revy the Magpie.

The group struck another superhero pose. "Cuz the Crash 'N' Burners are...!"

"Bumper! Torque! Revy!"

The trio froze as Axel approached. "Sir!"

"Two things..." Axel held up a finger. "First, no crashing, the city's wrecked enough as is. And second…" he held up another finger, "We got an electric job. Did you remember to bring your gear?"

"Pfft!" Revy scoffed. "Of course we did."

The trio pulled out some odd-looking devices that looked like what would happen if a hot glue gun had a baby with a blowtorch.

"What do you think we are, idiots?" Torque asked, crossing his eyes and letting out a low 'Durrrrrrrr!'.

"That depends," Hope deadpanned. "Do you really want us to answer that question?"

"Arite!" Bumper declared. "Torque! Revy!"

"Right!"

At that, they ran toward the wires.

"Guys, wait!" Chris shouted, "Those wires are..!"

A loud zap reached their ears, the Burners hollering in pain.

"...Live."

Axel facepalmed. "Dammit Bumper, how many times do I gotta tell you!? You're supposed to turn off the breakers first! Do you guys like getting electrocuted!?"

"Totally!" Bumper cheered.

"It's our third favorite automotive mishap!" Revy added.

"Number one's EXPLOSIONS!" Torque included.

"Dare I ask what the second is?" Kat questioned.

"Sudden ejection."

"Of course," Keith rolled his eyes.

"Okay, no more fooling around!" Bumper pointed. "To the breaker! AWAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"

They ran over to the breaker. Torque opened up a breaker box and looked at it intently.

"Hmmmmmmmm..."

"Well, Torque, whatddya see in there?" Revy asked.

"Wires...lots and lots of wires. Couple of switch-looking thingies… And this thing…" he pointed to a peculiar-looking piece of machinery. "Wonder what it does?"

"Ten Mobiums says they electrocute themselves again," Kat said. "Double if it's on purpose."

"Come on, Kat," Keith remarked. "Only Cubot's that stupid."

Torque touched it and got electrocuted, babbling and spasming as his skeleton briefly flashed. He stopped, looking crispy. "Lightning...lightning's what it does."

"Well…" Keith sighed, "I've been wrong before."

Kat held out her hand. "Cough it up, Keith."

Keith paid up as Revy looked down at Torque with a worried expression.

"You... good there?"

"I can't feel my face!"

"Why in Aurora's name would you just grab a wire in a fuse box?!" Hope demanded.

"I wanted to see what it did," he replied. "How else are we gonna figure out how to fix it?"

Keith wordlessly added a second Ten denomination Mobium to Kat's outstretched hand.

"How about by using our heads, not our hands?" Chris suggested.

"But…" Bumper paused for a moment, then shrugged. "Alright, if you say so." He rolled up his sleeves. "Move aside, Torky. Bump's got this."

Bumper moved Torque aside and stared at the wires intently.

"Alright...here we go. Use your head."

Bumper took a breath, then suddenly headbutted the wires, babbling and spasming as he too was electrocuted and left crispy.

"It didn't work," he said with a cough.

"Clearly," Keith muttered, handing Kat a twenty as Hope facepalmed, slumping over a railing.

"That's not what I meant!" Chris snapped.

"But you said…!"

"I meant think things through and work it out, not headbutt a live fuse box! How have you lived this long, man?!"

Bumper smiled. "I eat cereal, Chrissyfer."

He dropped to the ground at that.

"Just... just sleep it off," Keith remarked.

"Seriously Axel, how have these guys not killed themselves ten times over?" Hope asked.

"You tell me, kid, and we'll both know." Axel pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep, cleansing breath. "Okay, how about we just…" He stopped and blinked looking around, noticing someone was missing. "Wait...where's Revy?"

"Up here!" They look up to see Revy standing atop the electrical pole. "Hey guys! I found a couple more wires about to snap! Seriously, they look rattier than Cassie's pomp after that hair iron incident!"

"Revy!" Axel snapped. "Get down from there! Those wires can't hold your weight!"

"It's okay, Boss! I'm super light!" Revy perched on the lines. "Look! I'm a pigeon! Coo coo coo...!"

The wires snapped, zapping Revy, who also spasmed and babbled before coughing and dropping like a load of bricks into the snow.

"I'm okay!" she declared, giving everyone a thumbs up.

"Woo!" Bumper and Torque held up ten-point signs. Keith handed Kat one last twenty as Axel facepalmed.

"I shoulda brought Aerial and Gasket," he muttered.

"Omochao…" Hope began.

"Engaging Head Desk Protocol." The robo-Chao shifted into a small cushioned table, which Hope promptly grabbed and started slamming her head into.

Dr. Sorders' Office

Tekno sat on the bench, kicking her feet idly as she toyed with her gloves. In stark contrast to Bunnie, she was much calmer, though still noticeably bothered.

"I'm going to be honest with you, Dr. Sorders," she said. "While I appreciate you taking time to see us all, I really don't feel this is necessary for me."

"And why is that?" Sorders asked.

"Because what happened at Nidavellir, while extremely unpleasant, wasn't anything I hadn't experienced already working for the…" she took a sharp, shuddering breath, her expression becoming noticeably annoyed. "Badnik Army Repair Functionaries. Really, I'm just doing this as part of Sally's mandatory evaluation."

"Even so, I still feel you should talk about it. Have you spoken to anyone about it? About Nidavelir, or BARF?"

Tekno winced. "Please...don't call it that. I hate that name."

"Apologies. The Badnik Army Repair Functionaries."

Tekno shook her head. "Aside from me being forced to work with them, no."

"Tekno… you mentioned hating the name. Is it because of the unfortunate word, or... something else?"

"It's...a bit of both. The name is...embarrassingly stupid. And the one who came up with it is..." Tekno took a shuddering breath. "Let's just say that if I go for the rest of my life without ever seeing any of my old 'coworkers' again, I will die a happy bird."

"Who were they?"

Tekno grimaced, clearly not liking the thought of talking about them.

"I know this is difficult, but I genuinely think it will help you."

Tekno thought before sighing.

"Alright… Where do I start?"

Station Square Harbor

In the city harbor, Amy swung her hammer down on some ice, which cracked slightly.

"Whew!" She wiped her brow. "Okay, that takes care of that section. Shorty! Is the next part ready?"

"Just about!" Shorty called, flying over the frozen harbor, slicing the ice apart with his suit's lasers.

"Alright! Let me know when you're ready!" Amy looked at her hammer. "Man, this would be easier if I could figure out how to get that new power to work."

She stepped on a patch of ice, which promptly broke under her foot, making her lose her footing. Fortunately, a hand burst through, shoving her back.

"Whew!" Augustus emerged from the water. "That was a close one. "You alright there?"

"Augustus!" Amy exclaimed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for the save."

"No prob. Try to be careful though. The Ragnium may have made the ice harder, but it's not indestructible."

"Sure doesn't feel like it," Shorty came over. "Seriously, I'm firing at full blast and it's barely doing a thing. Is Sealia almost done down there?"

"Just about, mon amis."

"Oh Thank Aurora…"

At that, Sealia leaped out of the ocean and onto the ice, landing with a flourish.

"Voila! Nailed it."

Gust held up a 10 card.

"Merci beaucoup, you are too kind." Sealia lost her balance, falling on her butt with a grunt and a scowl. "Merde."

"Here..." Amy helped Sealia up.

"Merci beaucoup, Amy."

"You okay?"

"Oui, just envying those legs of yours."

"Uhhhh..." Amy tugged at her collar.

"What?"

"So, we ready to free this port?" Gust questioned.

Sealia nodded. "Oui, let's get clear."

The group got off the ice and as far away from the ocean as possible.

"So...remind me what it is we're doing again?" Shorty questioned.

"Simple," Sealia replied. "The ice is too thick to break apart normally. So… we're going to blow it up."

She pulled out a detonator.

"May I?" Shorty asked. "Please?"

"I say let him," Amy said.

"But..." Sealia sighed, reluctantly handing Shorty the device. "Oh, very well."

"Alright!" Shorty grinned eagerly as he pressed the red button on top, but nothing happened. He blinked in confusion, looking at the detonator, then the ice. He shook it, clicked it a few times slapped it against his palm, then hit it one more time (1)… and immediately leaped back as several explosions erupted across the ice field, causing large cracks to form and the ice to break apart. As the ice split, they had to retreat to the piers, watching the ice floats drift away.

"I feel much better now," Shorty said with a smirk.

Dr. Sorders' Office

"It was luck…" Porker sighed as he shook his head despondently. "All stupid, dumb luck."

"From what I've been told, your sticker was instrumental in leading the rescue team to Nidavellir," Dr. Sorders recalled.

"Only because we were lucky enough that it didn't fall off the cruiser, or worse, the Einherjar discovered it. If they had, they might never have discovered the lab, at best!"

"But that's not what happened. Your plan worked, and everyone was freed."

"Because of luck. Tekno and I were lucky to end up being sent to the labs instead of the mines or Helheim...or just killed outright. We were lucky that Ivaldi and his wife were sympathetic and not total psychos."

"Indeed, you were fortunate. But... why are you acting as if your good fortune was a bad thing?"

Porker looked right at the stork. "Because it's the only reason I'm even here in the first place."

Sorders raised an eyebrow, intrigued and confused. "I'm afraid I don't follow…"

Porker sighed. "Tell me, Dr. Sorders. Who do you think of when someone mentions the Freedom Fighters? I'm guessing Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Sally, and even Amy?"

"Indeed. Mostly the first four, if I'm being honest. Perhaps members of Team Thorndyke, them being the token humans."

"Yeah, but not me." Porker sighed. "I was one of the original founding members, but hardly anybody knows about me." He chuckled mirthlessly. "I mean, why would they? Until Sand Blast City, I couldn't even defend myself! I was that pig guy who hung out with Johnny! A side character that was occasionally remembered! A space filler! I only got recruited because I just happened to be friends with Sonic and Tails! Do you know what my Freedompedia says?" He listed it on his hand. "Brain Trust. Friend of Tails. Romantic interest of Johnny Lightfoot… and that's it. Yeah, not everyone is a superstar hero like Sonic… But I'm nobody. A nobody with friends in high places, who only got by through sheer. Dumb. Luck."

"Then make the most of it," Sorders suggested. "You were given these opportunities, so prove you deserve them."

"But how? There's nothing I can do that the others can't already. And most of them do it better."

"Then find something only you can do. Your own specialty.

Porker shook his head again. "That's easier said than done...I wouldn't even know where to begin."

"My suggestion? Your Stickers. I've never seen anything like them. And if you can build on them, I'm certain you could easily carve your niche in the team."

Porker leaned back, thinking over Sorders' words.

Relief Center

At Diamond Stadium, Vanilla and Cream were manning the concession stand. Vanilla poured Helen a bowl of soup.

"Here you are, dear." She handed the bowl over. "It's hot, so be careful."

"Thank you, Miss Vanilla." Helen wheeled to where several Freedom Fighters and their friends had gathered to eat.

"Okay seriously, how does Vanilla do it?" Sonic asked as he shoveled spoonful after spoonful into his mouth. "This is some of the best soup I've had in my life!"

"That's just what my mom does," Cream remarked.

"Well, tell her to keep doing it!" Tangle sighed in bliss. "I'm in Heaven!"

"I gotta say, this is excellent," Johnny added, using one of his ears to hold his spoon.

"Oh you're too kind," Vanilla smiled.

"Ooh!" Frances declared. "Y'know what would be awesome? We had Vanilla and Kat have a cook-off! See who's better."

"No way." Kat shook her head. "We have two different styles of cooking, and she's a mom . You can't beat a mom."

Chris raised a hand to object.

"A mom like Vanilla who basically grew up in a kitchen," Kat quickly amended, causing Chris to lower his hand

"Personally, I feel like it's missing something," Antoine mused.

You think everything's missing something, Ant," Sonic remarked.

"Antoine, you have to remember that resources are slim," Sally added.

"Right..." Antoine nodded. "Of course."

"Ummmm.." Everyone turned to see Bunnie, Tekno, and Porker arriving. Antoine practically lit up at the sight of the former.

"Bunnie!" he shouted as he ran over and hugged her.

"Ack! Hey sugah…" she greeted as she returned the hug.

"And we found the missing thing," Sonic remarked.

After Antoine finally released her, Bunnie turned to the others, an anxious look on her face. "Um... Johnny? Shorty? Tangle? Can… Can I talk to you three... privately?"

The named trio paused.

"Uhhh...sure?" Shorty decided.

"Can we eat first?" Tangle asked, getting an elbow from Johnny.

"We can talk over dinner," Bunnie assured. "Just... privately, please."

The trio grabbed their bowls and walked off with Bunnie.

"Bunnie?" Antoine asked.

"It's alright, sugah. Just sumthin' I gotta take care of. Be right back." She kissed his cheek.

"...Alright." Antoine nodded as Bunnie walked off. The coyote made note of her uneasy gait and nervous breathing.

"Bon sang tout ça! (2)" Antoine whispered.

-X-

Once they were a good distance away, Johnny turned to her.

"Alright, this is as private as we can get, given how crowded it is. What is it you wanted to talk about?"

Bunnie took a deep breath. "I'm sorry…"

Tangle blinked. "Eeh?"

"Back in Helheim… back with Glacia… I was a coward. I chose to break my own cybernetics just to escape her, and I abandoned all of you." She shuddered, choking back sobs and tears as she started to break down again. "I left you behind to save my own skin… and I regret it so much. So...I just wanna say I'm sorry… For not bein' strong enough."

"Not strong…" Shorty shook his head. "Bunnie, if we had that option, I can guarantee we would have taken it too!"

"In a heartbeat!" Tangle chimed in.

"Yeah, that was…" Johnny shook his head. "Bad just feels like the wrong word."

"Hell, Johnny," Shorty said. "It was Hell."

"You're lucky you got out, Bunnie," Tangle told her. "How could we hate you for that?"

She sniffled. "But I..."

"No." Tangle held up a hand. "Stopping that right now. None of us hold it against you. Not me. Not Johnny or Shorty. Not any of the others. Especially Sonic and Sally. Honestly, if anything, you saved yourself from getting brainwashed into one of her Valkyries. Can you imagine what would've happened if Sally and the others had to deal with an evil, brainwashed, Viking you on top of Glacia, Johnny, and Shorty?"

She shuddered, along with Johnny and Shorty.

"Yeah Bun, don't worry about it," Johnny told her. "We don't blame you, not even a little."

"Plus, you shattered your own arm and legs," Shorty added. "Cybernetics or not, that takes guts."

"Yeah, so no more of that 'I'm not good enough cuz I didn't stay in the nightmare pit' nonsense," Tangle said. "Alright?"

Bunnie sniffled, wiping her eyes a bit and nodding. "Yeah...thanks guys..."

Tangle slung an arm around Bunnie's shoulder, startling her. "Now, let's go back to the others. I think your boyfriend is worried about you."

Bunnie perked up a little thinking of Antoine.

-X-

"And then, she starts singing and moving around like a crazy, drunken lemur!" Flip recalled. "It was nuts! Frazil and his goons were freaking out!"

"Believe it or not, I got the idea from Bunnie and her uncle," Kat recalled. "I was singing an old nursery rhyme my mom taught me."

"Yeah, it's the nursery rhymes that are the scariest. Gets the lil' kid in 'em."

Everyone turns to see Bunnie and the others, the former looking much better than she had all week.

"Hey guys!" She greeted cheerfully.

"Bunnie!" Antoine exclaimed, running over to her again. "Are you alright? You..."

"I'm... getting better," Bunnie sat down next to him, leaning against him. "Just needed ta get somethin' off my chest."

Antoine wrapped a comforting arm around her. Just then, Flip felt a tap on his head. He turned to see Vanilla with a trap and two bowls of soup.

"I hate to disturb you, but can you take this to the observation deck for me?" she requested.

"Oh, y-yeah, sure." Flip took the bowls. "Hey...uhh… Guys, do we really need to keep them there? It's been like a week. I think we're good."

"Flip, you saw what happened," Sally reminded him.

"Yeah, but..."

"It's their choice," Sonic said. "Plus... I'm not ready to let him out yet, and if he's not out…"

"Right…" Flip sighed. "Okay. Be right back."

Flip solemnly made his way over to the stairs, slowly making his way up. He eventually eventually reached a door labeled 'Observation Deck. Authorized Personnel Only', where Erma was standing guard.

"Hey, Erma," he greeted.

"Yo," Erma waved in his direction. "Chow time already?"

"Yeah."

"I'm pretty sure at least one of them isn't eating. Three guesses as to which."

"Not surprised. Have there been any more...?" He gestured, looking to the side worriedly.

"Nope," Erma shook her head. "And the I-Beam is still holding up."

"Whew!" he wiped his brow. "Thank Odin!"

"Yeah, I know," Erma knocked on the door. "Soup's on."

"Erma, do we really gotta keep doing this?" Flip questioned as Erma opened the door. "Again, it's been a week!"

"I ain't taking chances," Erma narrowed her eyes. "Not with him ."

"Alright..." Flip sighed as he walked through, quickly putting on his happy face. "Heeey! Look who's here! Special delivery for…" He trailed off, sighing. "I can't do it."

Familiar, gloved hands took the tray.

"It's alright, Flip," Rotor gave him a tired smile. "Thanks for this."

"Yeah...I'm the best." As he turned to leave, he looked over his shoulder at his old friend. "You feel any..."

"Nope," Rotor shook his head. "Still me."

"Alright…" Flip nodded. "I'll uh...I'll let you go then...seeya Boomer."

"Don't worry, It's only for another day or two."

"Yeah..."

Flip turned and left, the door closing behind him. Rotor sighed, then turned toward the table. He set down the tray, grabbing one of the bowls of soup.

"You really should eat something."

He looked toward the window, where a large figure watched over everything, an I-Beam wrapped around his body as a restraint.

"I'm not hungry."

Rotor sighed. "You and I both know that's a lie... Dad."

Author's Note:

(1): Based on the Joker blowing up the hospital in The Dark Knight.

(2): Damn it all!

Sherman imprisoned!? What the heck's going on? You'll have to wait until next time. 'til then, R&R.