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Ginger smiled as she finished her drawing of Luna. She looked at it for a moment, then frowned. She couldn’t forget what she went through in order to make this. Her meltdown. She hated how Shadow had to deal with her, even though she needed him. Ginger hated how she wasn’t able to control herself. And she hated how she cried in front of Shadow. He probably thinks I’m weird and stupid… She thought.
Ever since, Ginger had refused to talk. Not that there was anyone to talk to, anyway. Shadow was off on a mission, so she was home alone again with Luna. Her friends were always off doing their own thing, and she never had anything to do. She wanted to spend time with someone, but she didn’t know if anyone had free time that day. Well, there’s only one way to find out! Ginger thought, looking outside. On her way out of the house, she saw Luna biting down on a toy. She kissed the little kitten on the forehead and pet her, then finally left.
The sun was shining down on Ginger, but she didn’t care. Instead of being bothered by it, the warmth and brightness of the sun made her feel energized. She looked around, trying to remember the way to Sonic’s house. I hope Sonic has time off. Maybe we can hang out. Ginger thought, walking down the street.
After about ten minutes, she stopped to find Sonic talking to a brown coyote she didn’t recognize. She wasn’t able to hear their conversation, though. She began thinking about what to do, but Sonic noticed her and waved at Ginger. “Hey Ginger!” he said, running over to her. “How are you doing? I saw Shadow earlier, and he said that you had a tough night. Is everything alright?”
Ginger flinched. She couldn’t find the words to speak. He won’t understand. I’m sorry, Sonic. I can’t talk right now. The cat said it in her mind. She looked away from Sonic. In the corner of her eye, a smile of sympathy had formed on Sonic’s face. “Can’t talk, huh?” Sonic put his hand on his hip. “I understand. Just take as much time as you need to find your voice.”
Ginger looked back at Sonic, who was staring at Antoine as he approached them. “I almost forgot. Ginger, this is Antoine. Antoine, this is Ginger.” The hedgehog smiled as he said that. Antoine held out his left hand in an attempt to greet the cat. She began to reach for his hand but stopped. With a grunt, Antoine turned away.
“We’ve been searching for Badniks, who might be wandering around. I hope you can keep up, Kitty." Antoine said. “Of course she can! She just needs to find the courage to,” the blue hedgehog replied, crossing his arms. Ginger nodded. “C’mon guys, let’s go.” Along with Antoine, she proceeded to follow Sonic. They kept running until they were on the outskirts of town, and Ginger looked around as the group found themselves in the woods.
“Are you alright? You seem nervous.” Ginger looked at Antoine as he spoke to her. She shrugged. She liked the woods; she just had bad experiences in them. “Why should she? If anything comes by, we can just kick their butts together." Sonic said, smirking. “I know; I’m just not sure if she can protect herself.” Ginger lowered her ears. Was he implying that she was weak? The coyote noticed she was surprised, then continued, “I’m not saying you’re helpless; I’m just worried.”
Sonic elbowed Ginger. “See, he does care. He just can’t find the words to say it." Sonic began to laugh. Antoine gasped. “Zat’s not funny!” Sonic replied in between his laughs. “It is pretty funny.” Ginger chuckled. They sure did have an interesting relationship. “I could ban you from ze Kingdom of Acorn if I wanted to.” Ginger watched as Sonic’s face jokingly turned terrified. “You wouldn’t dare!”
Sonic and Antoine began to laugh when Ginger heard a voice that came from seemingly nowhere. “Sonic, my sensors indicate that there are Egg Pawns not too far away.” Antoine pulled an A.I. chip from his uniform pocket and watched as an A.I. appeared from it in the form of a lynx. “Where, Nicole?” asked Sonic. Nicole paused for a moment. “Northeast.”
Ginger’s ear twitched. That was behind her! In a flash, Ginger turned around. “I see what’s happening. They’re coming in Ginger’s direction!” Sonic exclaimed. Antoine grabbed his sword. “Got it. Thanks Nicole.” “No problem. And Ginger-” Ginger turned to look at the holo-lynx. “It is a pleasure to meet you.” Ginger nodded to her, and Antoine put the chip back in his pocket.
Antoine did a trick with his sword and caught it with his left hand. “Ready?” Sonic began to stretch. “Always ready, Antoine!” Ginger raised her tail. This would be her first battle. They watched as the Egg Pawns approached, and then, with a battle cry by Antoine, they leapt into battle. But as they got closer, Ginger stopped. The Badniks seemed huge compared to her. She watched as Sonic and Antoine seemingly fought the robots with ease.
Maybe I should sit this one out. She began backing away until she noticed Sonic messing up a homing attack. “Crap!” Sonic looked up, and Ginger looked on in horror as the Egg Pawn knocked him away before getting picked up and thrown by another one. “Antoine, help!” Antoine destroyed the Egg Pawn he was fighting, then jumped in to save Sonic.
Sonic! How dare you hurt my friend… Ginger growled, preparing herself to fight. “Nobody hurts my friends!” Ginger the cat screamed as she ran towards an Egg Pawn. With a giant leap, she took it out with just a couple of scratches. “Yes!” Sonic shouted, getting up and running up next to her. “Let’s do this together, alright?” Ginger landed and nodded. “Right.”
With Antoine taking care of a Badnik on his own, Sonic and Ginger began to target another one. Ginger swiftly dodged an attack, then scratched its body. With the Egg Pawn distracted by her, Sonic hit it with a few quick homing attacks before it collapsed completely. Giving Ginger a thumbs up, Sonic said, “You’re good at this! Have you done this before?” “No, at least not with a Badnik,” she replied.
Hearing a sound from behind, she moved her ears slightly and turned to find another Egg Pawn trying to attack. She scratched it, then stepped back as Antoine finished the job. She, Sonic, and Antoine continued to fight back against the Egg Pawns until Antoine took the last one down. “That was fun! I can see why you do this all the time, Sonic.” Ginger said, flapping her hands with joy. Antoine smiled. “Nice to hear you talk. I was beginning to believe that she was mute, Sonic.”
The boys looked at each other for a moment. “Well, I guess she was just feeling shy.” Sonic replied. “That’s not what happened! I just had a bad day, that’s all.” Sonic shrugged. "Well, whatever happened, it took you a while to find your voice. And you also fought pretty well.” Ginger turned away, looking at the wreckage of robots around them.
“Anyways, I’m hungry. Who’s up for Meh Burger?” Ginger, who just now realized that her stomach was growling, replied, “I am.” Antoine thought for a moment. “Sure, why not? It’s been a while since I’ve treated myself.” Sonic laughed. “Alright! Come on, let’s go, guys.” Ginger looked back. “But what about the robot remains?"
The hedgehog turned around and stopped. “Meh, the city will clean it up. Trust me, they’ve done it before.” Afterwards, the three of them continued on their way to Meh Burger, with Sonic and Antoine occasionally making snarky comments about each other.