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chaoscheebsA continuance of this AU short (Warning: Smut, borderline R/NC-17). Set post chapter 5. Pr0n-free, unlike the linked one. What'd happen if a certain someone lived to talk to St. Jimmy another day?
*
The hawk looked around the abandoned church. “This is St. Thomas of Aquin’s, just like he said,” he muttered. He leaned against the wall near a broken stained glass window. “So, where the hell is he?”
Just then, the altar slid and revealed a set of stairs. The blue hedgehog emerged from the secret passage wiping his hands on his pants and trying to wipe black smudges off his face. “Sorry ’bout that; I was havin’ some technical difficulties down there,” he apologized. The altar slid back to its proper place. “Were you waitin’ long?”
Jet shook his head. “Nah, just got here a minute ago.” He paused for a moment, then continued. “You’re taking a big risk, bringing me here. Why couldn’t we talk when you caught me this morning?”
Sonic wagged a finger at him. “I didn’t want anyone to overhear us.”
“Who’d be there to hear us?” Jet asked skeptically, “It was three in the morning!”
“I suspect I may be being watched by someone on the inside,” the commander said. He chuckled softly. “At least, I’d be disappointed if someone wasn’t. I picked out the best of the best to be under my direct command, y’know; someone’s gotta have connected the dots.”
Well, you won’t be disappointed then, Jet thought. He shook his head. “Anyway, what is it you wanted to talk about?”
The hedgehog leaned against the wall on the other side of the broken stained glass window. He hugged himself, his gaze fixed firmly on the floor in front of him. “One way or another, this whole thing is gonna end in my death. I want you to hear my final requests, Jet.”
The hawk’s eyes widened. He stood up straight and turned to the commander. “What do you mean, ‘this whole thing’s gonna end in your death’?”
Sonic closed his eyes and laughed bitterly. “Just what I said, Jet. Either someone from GUN will find out and kill me, or I’ll kill myself after I’m done.” He turned his back to the hawk. “… or maybe sooner than that…” he added quietly.
“Spike…” Jet murmured. He walked up to Sonic and put a hand on his shoulder. “The hell’s been goin’ on with you? I know you weren’t feelin’ so hot upstairs after the Doomies’ attacks, but how did you get to this point? Talk to me, Spike.”
It was the hedgehog’s turn to be surprised. “You… knew…?”
The hawk nodded. “Yeah. I heard about it when your echidna friend came to check on me after it was all over,” he explained. “He told me they had you under observation, but you weren’t physically hurt, and that you didn’t want me to see you ‘like that’. I figured out the rest by myself.” He gently wrapped his arms around Sonic and hugged him from behind. “… he also said you were really worried about me when you heard I was in the hospital too.”
Sonic didn’t resist. Instead, he leaned back into the hug and said quietly. “… I was. On both counts.” He paused to gather his courage, then continued. “I couldn’t handle what I had done. I wanted to die. Still do,” he said. “Then I heard about you, and…” He reached up and touched one of Jet’s hands. “You have no idea how much I missed you, pretty bird.”
“‘I have no idea,’ huh?” Jet repeated. He rested his beak on the commander’s shoulder and nuzzled the hedgehog. “That’s where you’re wrong. I missed you too, hotstuff.”
“Jet…” Without warning, Sonic pulled himself free of the hug and took a few steps away. “Heh, once again, our timing sucks,” he said, shaking his head. “Go home, Jet. I have work to do and I don’t want you to get involved in this mess any further.” He then started walking back towards the altar.
The hawk just stood there, frozen in place from surprise. Regaining his ability to move, he dropped his arms back to his sides and clenched his fists. “No.”
The commander stopped in mid-stride. “‘No’?”
“Damned right, no!” Jet affirmed, his nails digging into his palms. “You just told me you’re on some whacked-out suicide mission! I sure as hell ain’t gonna leave you to it!”
“I have to do this!” Sonic countered. “Just go home already, all right?!”
“Why?!” Jet asked, advancing on the hedgehog. “Give one good reason why I should go and let you destroy yourself!”
“Because!” The hedgehog’s ears flattened back. “Because…” he repeated softly. “Because the system’s broken, Jet,” he finally said. “I tried to fix it when I wasn’t part of it, and it didn’t work. I tried to fix it when I started in GUN, and it didn’t work. I tried when I finally had power in the system, and the best I could do isn’t good enough!” He raised his fists waist-high and started to shake. “This is the only option I have left! Either I’ll shock it enough to make it change, or outright destroy it so people who don’t suck can rebuild it!” He let his hands drop. “I don’t… I can’t let the system make another one like me, another ‘hero’ to sacrifice their happiness, their wellbeing to cover for their failures.”
Jet put a hand over his face and muttered, “You never did stop being an innocent, did you? That ain’t gonna work, Spike.”
Sonic stood firm, green eyes flashing coldly. “Maybe not, but I still gotta try.”
The hawk crossed his arms and grumbled. “Sure, fine, go off and kill yourself and your good name. Just answer this for me: what about everyone else? Whaddya expect the people who care about you to do once you destroy yourself?”
Sonic broke eye contact and shrugged. “They’ll get over it. They’re strong. The world’ll be better off without me, anyway.”
Jet mirrored his shrug. “Yeah, just like that. No big deal, right?”
The commander weakly smiled. “Yeah, exactly. Now go home, Jet. I don’t want you caught in the crossfire.”
The commander never saw the hawk’s fist coming. The hedgehog stumbled back a few steps and gaped at Jet. The hawk cracked his knuckles and said, “That’s for being an idiot.” Before Sonic could reply, he pulled the reeling hedgehog in for a hug. “We—they love you, dumbass! Don’t you think they’d be torn up inside if you died like this?!”
The commander remained silent. Gradually, he began to relax and returned the hug. “… you still care that much…” he whispered.
Jet began to stroke his quills. “Heh, guess I do…” He stepped back and took Sonic’s hand. “C’mon, let’s get out of here, Spike. There’s nothin’ left to do here.”
Sonic cast a glance to the altar, then back to Jet. He squeezed the hawk’s hand and nodded. “… yeah… Yeah, let’s go, Jet.”
*
The next day…
There was no doubt about it, Saffron thought as she leaned back in her chair, things were entirely too quiet. Mr. al-Rashid never reported in after his meeting, and the commander didn’t come into HQ the next day. The only sign of either of them was a letter she found on her chair in the commander’s handwriting telling her to check the commander’s office before she left for the press conference. Her first instinct was to run straight away to the office, but she fought it down. It’d seem odd, she thought. Someone might ask questions.
She glanced at the clock. It was 9 a.m. I should get going… she thought as she rose from her seat.
Once she entered his office, there was a red notebook on the desk and a folded-up letter resting on top of it. She carefully unfolded the sheet of paper and read it. In the commander’s fast, pointy script, these words were written on it:
Jimmy died today
He blew his brains out into the bay
The hare sighed. “Oh, sir… Still putting me in awkward positions even after you’ve left,” she muttered. She shook her head. At least she had something to tell the press now.
*
The hawk looked around the abandoned church. “This is St. Thomas of Aquin’s, just like he said,” he muttered. He leaned against the wall near a broken stained glass window. “So, where the hell is he?”
Just then, the altar slid and revealed a set of stairs. The blue hedgehog emerged from the secret passage wiping his hands on his pants and trying to wipe black smudges off his face. “Sorry ’bout that; I was havin’ some technical difficulties down there,” he apologized. The altar slid back to its proper place. “Were you waitin’ long?”
Jet shook his head. “Nah, just got here a minute ago.” He paused for a moment, then continued. “You’re taking a big risk, bringing me here. Why couldn’t we talk when you caught me this morning?”
Sonic wagged a finger at him. “I didn’t want anyone to overhear us.”
“Who’d be there to hear us?” Jet asked skeptically, “It was three in the morning!”
“I suspect I may be being watched by someone on the inside,” the commander said. He chuckled softly. “At least, I’d be disappointed if someone wasn’t. I picked out the best of the best to be under my direct command, y’know; someone’s gotta have connected the dots.”
Well, you won’t be disappointed then, Jet thought. He shook his head. “Anyway, what is it you wanted to talk about?”
The hedgehog leaned against the wall on the other side of the broken stained glass window. He hugged himself, his gaze fixed firmly on the floor in front of him. “One way or another, this whole thing is gonna end in my death. I want you to hear my final requests, Jet.”
The hawk’s eyes widened. He stood up straight and turned to the commander. “What do you mean, ‘this whole thing’s gonna end in your death’?”
Sonic closed his eyes and laughed bitterly. “Just what I said, Jet. Either someone from GUN will find out and kill me, or I’ll kill myself after I’m done.” He turned his back to the hawk. “… or maybe sooner than that…” he added quietly.
“Spike…” Jet murmured. He walked up to Sonic and put a hand on his shoulder. “The hell’s been goin’ on with you? I know you weren’t feelin’ so hot upstairs after the Doomies’ attacks, but how did you get to this point? Talk to me, Spike.”
It was the hedgehog’s turn to be surprised. “You… knew…?”
The hawk nodded. “Yeah. I heard about it when your echidna friend came to check on me after it was all over,” he explained. “He told me they had you under observation, but you weren’t physically hurt, and that you didn’t want me to see you ‘like that’. I figured out the rest by myself.” He gently wrapped his arms around Sonic and hugged him from behind. “… he also said you were really worried about me when you heard I was in the hospital too.”
Sonic didn’t resist. Instead, he leaned back into the hug and said quietly. “… I was. On both counts.” He paused to gather his courage, then continued. “I couldn’t handle what I had done. I wanted to die. Still do,” he said. “Then I heard about you, and…” He reached up and touched one of Jet’s hands. “You have no idea how much I missed you, pretty bird.”
“‘I have no idea,’ huh?” Jet repeated. He rested his beak on the commander’s shoulder and nuzzled the hedgehog. “That’s where you’re wrong. I missed you too, hotstuff.”
“Jet…” Without warning, Sonic pulled himself free of the hug and took a few steps away. “Heh, once again, our timing sucks,” he said, shaking his head. “Go home, Jet. I have work to do and I don’t want you to get involved in this mess any further.” He then started walking back towards the altar.
The hawk just stood there, frozen in place from surprise. Regaining his ability to move, he dropped his arms back to his sides and clenched his fists. “No.”
The commander stopped in mid-stride. “‘No’?”
“Damned right, no!” Jet affirmed, his nails digging into his palms. “You just told me you’re on some whacked-out suicide mission! I sure as hell ain’t gonna leave you to it!”
“I have to do this!” Sonic countered. “Just go home already, all right?!”
“Why?!” Jet asked, advancing on the hedgehog. “Give one good reason why I should go and let you destroy yourself!”
“Because!” The hedgehog’s ears flattened back. “Because…” he repeated softly. “Because the system’s broken, Jet,” he finally said. “I tried to fix it when I wasn’t part of it, and it didn’t work. I tried to fix it when I started in GUN, and it didn’t work. I tried when I finally had power in the system, and the best I could do isn’t good enough!” He raised his fists waist-high and started to shake. “This is the only option I have left! Either I’ll shock it enough to make it change, or outright destroy it so people who don’t suck can rebuild it!” He let his hands drop. “I don’t… I can’t let the system make another one like me, another ‘hero’ to sacrifice their happiness, their wellbeing to cover for their failures.”
Jet put a hand over his face and muttered, “You never did stop being an innocent, did you? That ain’t gonna work, Spike.”
Sonic stood firm, green eyes flashing coldly. “Maybe not, but I still gotta try.”
The hawk crossed his arms and grumbled. “Sure, fine, go off and kill yourself and your good name. Just answer this for me: what about everyone else? Whaddya expect the people who care about you to do once you destroy yourself?”
Sonic broke eye contact and shrugged. “They’ll get over it. They’re strong. The world’ll be better off without me, anyway.”
Jet mirrored his shrug. “Yeah, just like that. No big deal, right?”
The commander weakly smiled. “Yeah, exactly. Now go home, Jet. I don’t want you caught in the crossfire.”
The commander never saw the hawk’s fist coming. The hedgehog stumbled back a few steps and gaped at Jet. The hawk cracked his knuckles and said, “That’s for being an idiot.” Before Sonic could reply, he pulled the reeling hedgehog in for a hug. “We—they love you, dumbass! Don’t you think they’d be torn up inside if you died like this?!”
The commander remained silent. Gradually, he began to relax and returned the hug. “… you still care that much…” he whispered.
Jet began to stroke his quills. “Heh, guess I do…” He stepped back and took Sonic’s hand. “C’mon, let’s get out of here, Spike. There’s nothin’ left to do here.”
Sonic cast a glance to the altar, then back to Jet. He squeezed the hawk’s hand and nodded. “… yeah… Yeah, let’s go, Jet.”
*
The next day…
There was no doubt about it, Saffron thought as she leaned back in her chair, things were entirely too quiet. Mr. al-Rashid never reported in after his meeting, and the commander didn’t come into HQ the next day. The only sign of either of them was a letter she found on her chair in the commander’s handwriting telling her to check the commander’s office before she left for the press conference. Her first instinct was to run straight away to the office, but she fought it down. It’d seem odd, she thought. Someone might ask questions.
She glanced at the clock. It was 9 a.m. I should get going… she thought as she rose from her seat.
Once she entered his office, there was a red notebook on the desk and a folded-up letter resting on top of it. She carefully unfolded the sheet of paper and read it. In the commander’s fast, pointy script, these words were written on it:
Jimmy died today
He blew his brains out into the bay
The hare sighed. “Oh, sir… Still putting me in awkward positions even after you’ve left,” she muttered. She shook her head. At least she had something to tell the press now.
