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It was hard to see with her eyes so bleary. It was hard to hear with her head so foggy.
But even amidst the flames and the smoke, Sally could see that unmistakable blur of blue heading toward her. “Hey, Sal.”
Even against the hum of electricity crackling all around, she would know that voice anywhere.
“Can you hear me?”
And even with her every muscle burning, her fingers wrapped tightly around the hilt of her buried beaten sword, she welcomed the soft touch of a familiar hand to her cheek.
“Sonic…” she whispered.
“Yeah, Sal…I’m here.”
The princess managed to raise her head and meet his eyes. Though the hedgehog’s fur was coated in bruises and oil, a bit of blood dribbling down his chin from a punctured lip, the smile on his face still shined through. It was so bright that, even with all the aches running through her body, Sally couldn’t help but match it with a smile of her own. “And the others…?” she asked.
“Still helpin’ the prisoners get to the tunnels,” he answered. “A little worse for wear, but still kickin’.”
Sally let out a shaky lilting breath at that, her ears folding down just a little. “Thank goodness,” she said. “Then…that means…”
Sonic’s smile inched up just a little more, his fingers gently moving through her fur. “Yeah, Sal,” he answered. “We did it. We won.”
And just like that, the pain in her chest, the ringing in her ears, the fog in her vision…it all grew just a bit lighter. “Thanks to you,” Sonic continued, leaning in so that his head pressed warmly against hers. “Thanks to how hard you fought.”
“How hard we all fought,” she tried to retort, but her voice was so small now that it lacked any real bite.
Sonic chuckled a little. “Hey, I took enough of a beating that I ain’t gonna argue with you about that,” he said. “But you were the one out here on the front lines. You were the one we rallied around.”
Sally’s fingers loosened from the hilt, her shoulders slumping a bit. Sonic moved quickly to meet her, his one hand still to her cheek while the other moved gently to prop up her stomach. “It’s OK, Sal,” he said softly. “Take a little rest now. You’ve earned it.”
Sally’s fur bristled at that thought. Victory or not, this place was still a warzone! She had to…had to….
“I promise I’ll be there when you wake up.”
…maybe it was just the exhaustion finally catching up to her. But the warmth of his words…the care of his touch…the sureness of his presence…in spite of everything, Sally felt her body relaxing more and more, her eyes gently closing, because with Sonic there…
She felt safe.