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The morning sun filtered through the single window of the dingy Chaotix Detective Agency attic. The golden beams cast their blinding light directly into the eyes of a sleeping Vector The Crocodile.
“GAHHHH!!!” Vector groaned and rolled over in bed for cover. He instantly regretted every life choice that led him to this very moment. His head throbbed with the force of the drummer of a death metal band. “Ow. Ow. OW… Okay. I’m fine. This is fine.”
It was, in fact, not fine.
Vector made a noise that could only be described as a mumbly grumble. “Just need some coffee.” His voice came out of his mouth with an echo that sounded like he had gargled sandpaper. “And maybe a new head. But mostly coffee.”
He swung his legs out of bed with the confidence of a man who did not realize what he was really in for. His head began to spin nauseatingly as the walls seemed to wobble and shake. He had to tightly grab the nightstand to avoid face-planting directly onto the floor.
“Woah! Okay! We’re doin’ this now. Geez…" He squeezed his eyes tightly together and opened them again slowly. The first thing he saw was his reflection in the mirror that was across the room. He looked ghostly pale, not his lovely shade of green.
“That ain’t right.” Vector shook his head to clear his mind.
He did not realize the weight of his mistake.
The room felt like it did three backflips in a row. Vector had to sit voluntarily back down on his bed before his body involuntarily fell down.
“Yep. Totally fine”
He forced a smile, soon feeling that telltale tickle in his throat that promised nothing good. He clasped his hands together and looked down. “Dear Gaia, not today, please… I’ve got stuff to do."
Vector was able to get his plea out before a loud ‘ACHOO’ shook his room.
The sneeze that erupted was less a ‘polite bodily function’ and more a ‘small explosion'. It was so powerful that it actually knocked him back a considerable distance. It took him three tries to sit back up straight.
“Okay, Vector.” He told himself as he used the nightstand to pull himself onto his feet. “You’re a professional. You got this.”
He did not have this.
The bumbling crocodile shuffled to the dresser; he moved with a visible lack of speed and grace. He reached for his signature gold chain and headphones and attempted to put them on. (Keyword: Attempted.)
The chain missed his neck entirely on the first attempt and thwacked him in the face.
On the second attempt, the same exact thing happened.
Vector muttered something under his breath. His feverish brain treated the simple task like it was hyper-advanced rocket science, something way out of his league.
The third attempt was a success! An annoying, stupid success.
“My day doesn’t stop for nothin’,” he announced to his empty room, trying to inject some sort of confidence into himself. Instead, it came out sounding like a dying frog. “The Chaotix Detective Agency is open for business.”
He took a couple brave steps towards his door. On the third step, his legs decided to pack up for the day and turned into what felt like miserable Jello. Vector had to grab the wall to keep himself upright, breathing as heavily as a first-place marathon runner.
“Just gonna stay here for a sec.” He wheezed.
-
Twenty minutes passed (though it felt like three hours.) Vector was slumped at his desk in the main office, staring blankly at a file that might as well have been written in ancient hieroglyphics. That is to say it made zero sense.
Each word were doing their own little jig; A’s dance was noticeably more obnoxious. And Vector was pretty sure the letter ‘Q’ just winked at him.
“Focus, Vector…” He rubbed his eyes so hard he saw stars; they were doing dances too. “Client’s countin’ on us to do, uh, find their missin’ …. Uh …”
He squinted as far as his eyes could go without fully closing.
“Wuh…wuzzat? Is that a cat? Missing cat, yeah… Or is it a hat? Why would somebody hire us to find their missin’ hat? Do people lose hats? Is that a thing? I lose things all the time. Maybe I should hire us.”
Vector’s coffee sat in front of him. It was completely untouched and most likely cold by now. He spent ten minutes making it, which was impressive considering he’d forgotten what coffee was halfway through and just stood in front of the coffee maker and staring at it like it had owed him money. The thought of drinking his coffee made his stomach churn.
“Just gotta… focus. Focus on the, uh… the thing.” He squinted at the file again. “The cat…hat…the cathat.”
Things were just peachy.
That’s when the front door was seemingly kicked open; in fact, it WAS kicked open. The sound hit Vector’s sensitive ears like an anvil.
“GAHHHH!!! WHO’S SHOOTIN’ CANNONS IN MY OFFICE??” He clutched the sides of his head like his life depended on it.
“Vector Vector VECTOR!!!” Charmy blasted into the room at his normal speed, which was already hyperfast. He did a loop-de-loop, a barrel roll, and some sort of attempt at a corkscrew. Great, the kid had the drive of a dozen energy drinks at once. He hovered directly in front of his boss’s face. “Guess what I saw on the way back home! You’ll NEVER EVER guess!!!”
“Eeugh…inside voice, kiddo.” Unfortunately, Charmy was already off with the retelling of his day so far.
“So there I was on the walk back home. There was this HUUUUGE puddle, like, SUPER HUGE! I splashed in it and water went EVERYWHEREEEEE! I got this lady’s newspaper wet, and she yelled at me, which made me feel kinda bad, but it was still really fun! And then I saw this cool rock that was kinda shaped like Knuckles’ head, then I –"
Charmy stopped mid-tangent. His already large eyes grew even larger as he actually turned his focus to Vector.
“Um, Vector? You don’t look so good…”
“I’m perfectly fine, kid.” Vector croaked.
“I don’t think you are. You look all yucky and gross.” Charmy was always brutally honest like that.
Espio entered behind Charmy with considerably more carefulness. He closed the door quietly…well, it would’ve been quiet if Vector’s head didn’t amplify every sound in the world all the way up to eleven.
The teenaged ninja took one good look at his boss and narrowed his eyes. Vector knew that look. It was that look that meant Espio was gonna be right about whatever he had to say.
"Vector", Espio spoke in the tone of some sort of professional. Vector was too sick to decipher what kind of professional, though. “You look feverish. Hm…that must explain why you were still asleep when Charmy and I ran our errands.”
“I ain’t feverish, Espio. I’m perfectly fine.” Vector could barely get his statement out before going into a violent coughing fit.
“Uh-huh.” Espio was unamused. “Your scales are abnormally pale, and your voice sounds like a wood chipper. Are you sure you’re feeling well?”
“Never been better, Esp!” Vector straightened himself in his chair, his aching body made it considerably hard to do so.
His head immediately disagreed with that decision. Everything began to wobble again. He attempted to steady himself by clinging onto the desk, accidentally knocking over a pencil holder in the process. The pens and pencils scattered everywhere, rolling into nooks and crannies that admittedly hadn’t been swept in a while. The sound of the writing supplies hitting the floor were like violent shocks of thunder to Vector’s sensitive ears.
“Whoops. I meant to do that.”
“You sound like a broken garbage disposal, Vector.” Charmy was now hanging upside down from the ceiling fan.
“I do not sound like a—" Vector began to bite back, but his voice cracked halfway through, proving Charmy’s point.
“See. I told ya so.” Charmy smiled with a cheeky, yet worried, grin.
Vector grumbled something under his breath, shaking his head after. “Okay, okay, maybe I sound like that a LITTLE bit. But that’s just because I stayed up late."
“You went to bed before I did, Vector.” Espio retorted.
“Geez, just get off my back, boys. I’m tellin’ ya that I’m fine! Okay?” Vector attempted to stand up, his legs quivering under his weight.
Vector’s knees clacked together before completely giving out, sending the huge crocodile hurdling towards the floor with a yelp.
“WOAAH-“
Espio had caught one side, and Charmy caught the other. The two of them announcing a helpful ‘gotcha’ in unison.
“Eehhh… Thanks, boys. I just, uh, lost my balance for a second there. Happens to everybody. Very normal.”
“You nearly face-planted.” Espio pointed out.
“It’s a…secret detective technique. All the guys in the big league do it.”
Espio and Charmy exchanged a look with each other. They’d learned to silently communicate through years of working and living together.
Espio was the one to break the silence. “Vector, maybe you should consider –"
“I should consider gettin’ my butt back to work, that’s what.” Vector interrupted so he didn’t have to acknowledge the suggestion. “We got stuff to be workin’ on. Don’t forget you boys are on the clock.”
Vector pushed aside his boys and took a confident step forward; his body, however, took this as a personal attack. Another coughing fit overtook him. It was like a demon was trying to escape his body through his lungs. A harsh, mucus-y sound emerged and shook the building. Vector doubled over and braced himself against his desk as his whole body quivered with each cough.
When it finally subsided after what felt like an eternity (it was really fifteen seconds,) Vector found himself gasping for air. Charmy and Espio were right beside him with looks of horror plastered across their faces.
“You’re getting into bed. Now.” Espio demanded.
“I told ya-“ Vector needed a couple more breaths. “I told ya I’m fine. Just got somethin’ in my throat.”
“Yeah… like a chainsaw…” Charmy blurted.
Vector did his best to straighten his posture, only for Charmy to tug on his arm with that scary super-human strength he possessed.
“You’re gettin’ back in bed, mister!” Charmy declared as he dragged Vector across the room. “That’s what you always tell me when I’M sick, remember? You’re the one who says that ‘sick bees need their rest’, REMEMBER?”
“I remember, Charmy.” Vector grumpily muttered. “But that’s different. You’re a kid ‘n I’m an adult. I got important stuff to do.”
“I had important stuff to do too! Like, I had a play date with Cream last time! But we had to cancel ‘cause I kept throwin’ up!”
“Well ya don’t see me doin’ all that, do you? Let me go so I can get back to my responsibilities!” Vector swung his arm back close to his body, slightly launching Charmy backwards in the air.
“What kind of responsibilities did you have planned for today?” Espio questioned.
Vector looked around desperately for something that needed doing. “Uhh… that plant needs waterin’!!”
“That plant has been dead for three months.”
“Well, maybe if I water it, it’ll spring back to life.”
“Like how you’ll spring back to life once you get your rest?” Espio smirked.
“Don’t get smart with me, boy.”
Espio rolled his eyes then took a deep, calming breath. He was visibly collecting himself. “The agency will survive until you get better. You, however, might not survive if you don’t rest.”
Vector’s expression visibly faltered. “B-but-“
“Clients can wait. You cannot.” Espio placed a hand on Vector’s back and began to guide him towards his room. “We had a wealthy client last week, the agency will stay afloat until you get better.”
Vector tried to dig his heels into the ground. Unfortunately, his legs were as strong as overcooked spaghetti.
“For pity’s sake, Espio. I’m the boss here. I’m supposed to be takin’ care of you boys! Not the other way around.” Despite his efforts, Vector still found himself being guided to safety by his teammates. His feet were moving, but he wasn’t entirely sure if he was actually in control of them.
Espio didn’t take his eyes off of the path, but a smidgeon of remorse made itself apparent in his voice. “You’ve taught both Charmy and I that being strong means knowing when to ask for help. Perhaps it’s time you took your own advice.”
“I didn’t ask for-“ Vector began, only to be interrupted by Charmy.
“You’re ALWAYS helping us!” The bee continued to tug on his boss’ arm. “It’s about time we returned the favor. That’s what teams do, right? It’s the Chaotix Way!”
Vector couldn’t beat that logic. He also couldn’t beat the sensation of his ego taking a hit. He appreciated the help, even if he didn’t want it.
Vector continued to insist. “Boys, really, I’m FINE. I just need my coffee and I’ll be good as new. Maybe two coffees. Or three.”
Espio was firm. “You don’t need coffee. You need to get in bed.”
“I don’t think bed’s a drink.”
“I think the fever is making you confused, Vector.” Espio said (mostly) gently. There was a just a sprinkle of judgment in his tone.
“I ain’t confused, you’re confused! Bed’s confused, too.”
The three made it up the stairs and into the attic where Vector slept. Charmy Immediately released his arm to zoom over towards the bed. He grabbed the covers with both hands and swung them off the mattress. “Alright, Vector! Time to rest!”
Vector wanted to argue more, but he couldn’t possibly do so with the wave of dizziness that hit him. He gave in to his fate and made the unconscious decision to drop onto the bed.
“I got stuff to take care of.” Vector’s voice was pathetically weak and unconvincing. “I don’t need to take the day off if I’m feelin’ just a little under the weather.”
“A LITTLE?!” Charmy’s high pitched voiced pierced Vector’s eardrums. “You’re practically on death’s door! I bet they’re already preparing a casket for ya! Don’t be sad when you can’t hear my piano skills during the funeral.”
“You don’t know how to play the piano, Charmy.” Espio corrected.
“I’ll learn before he dies!”
“I AIN’T GONNA DIE.” Vector was visibly trembling.
“Just lay down, Vector.” Espio had a serious look on his face, but his voice was uncharacteristically worried. “I don’t want you to fall over, we’d have to pick you up. You’re heavier than you look.”
“Are you callin’ me fat?”
“I’m calling you sick”
“Same thing.”
“Not really.”
Vector grumbled something to himself as he cozied himself into his bed. Charmy promptly began to tuck his boss in.
“Y’know I don’t really need to-“
Espio shot a gaze of disapproval at Vector. Vector was the boss, but even he couldn’t handle disappointment.
Espio cleared his throat and returned to his usual demeanor. “We can handle things well. You can trust us. Well, trust us enough to not burn down the office, at least.”
“That ain’t as reassuring as you think it is, Espio.”
“I won’t burn the office down, I promise!!” Charmy declared while clasping his hands together.
“Whatever you say, kid.” Vector clearly wasn’t amused.
The crocodile yearned to resist and protest, but his body had other plans. He sunk into the mattress as physical relief showered his body. The pillow was cold, a nice kind of cold. And the blankets were just so cozy. Sigh. Maybe things won’t be bad after all. Vector still had his doubts, though.
“I’m supposed to be takin’ care of business, it’s my responsibility.”
“And the responsible thing to do right now is to rest. And also stay hydrated. I’ll get you some water.” Espio reassured Vector.
“Ooh, ooh! And you should have plenty of soup! I like eatin’ soup when I’m sick” Charmy cheered, already out of the door like a rocket.
Vector’s face turned into a look of despair. “Charmy, wait-“
A loud crash echoed from the kitchen. “I’M OKAY. THE POTS ARE OKAY, TOO. OKAY, WELL, ONE POT ISN’T OKAY, BUT IT WAS ALREADY DENTED.”
Vector shot a hopeless look towards Espio, who was already getting up; a reassuring smile shined on his face. “I’ll help him make the soup. His heart is in the right place. He’s worried about you; we both are.”
Another crash emerged from the kitchen. “I’M OKAY…AGAIN."
Vector sighed. He felt guilty being cared for by his boys, but he remained appreciative. “Thanks, Espio.”
“It’s no problem, really. All I ask is that you let us do our part to help.”
Vector felt his eyes getting suspiciously misty. Maybe it was the sickness; that was a good thing to blame it on.
“I don’t want you boys to do everything for me; that ain’t fair to either of ya”
“It’s unfair to yourself to keep going when you really can’t. I understand you feel guilty; I often feel the same when I’m sick, but you cannot deny you need the help.”
“…Maybe you’re right, Espio.”
“I always am.”
“Ohhh, get your butt outta here and get me my soup, already!”
Espio snickered. A tender smile resided on his face, an expression that was was quite uncommon for the ninja. Vector cherished it as he watched the chameleon head downstairs.
The crocodile stared at his now empty room and sighed. He thought about his boys, he really didn’t want to let them down. He hates feeling useless, that’s why he loves being the boss. Having something to do, having a purpose, is what Vector has wanted all of his life. Being sick is just a really annoying roadblock. A roadblock that-
Before he could finish his thought, Charmy carefully flew into the room, holding a bowl of soup which he tried really hard not to spill. “I got your soup, Vector! And I only spilled a little bit of it! I made you Alphabet Soup, it’s my favorite. I thought it would be nice if I made you my favorite even though I really really wanted it… I hope you like it.” He set the bowl on the nightstand and flew back slightly, cupping his hands politely.
“Thanks, little buddy.” His voice was rough, yet genuine.
Charmy beamed so brightly it could power a small city. Espio followed behind him, even shielding his eyes slightly from the smile. “I have your water, do you have any other requests? Tissues? A book? I think we might have some cough syrup somewhere if you’d like me to find it.”
“Nah, I’m good. Well, as good as I can be right now.” Vector took the glass of water out of Espio’s hands and took a swig. The cold liquid was like a blessing to his throat, he really needed it.
Espio quietly locked eyes with Charmy, the two of them mentally agreeing to leave the room and let Vector eat, then rest.
Well, Vector attempted to rest. But not really.
After fifteen minutes of closing his eyes, he decided he had enough and got up from his bed. He insisted to himself that he’d just look at one thing, just one quick little thing. It would only take a second.
He made it approximately three steps down the stairs before the boys materialized in front of him as if they’d teleported. They blocked his path with identical stern expressions.
“Bed,” they said simultaneously, pointing back towards the bedroom.
“But I just need to-“
“BED,” they repeated with more bite in their voices.
“C’mon, boys. It’ll only take a-“
Charmy crossed his arms and Espio placed his hands on his hips. The both of them sharing an expression that Vector only thought disappointed parents could make.
“…Fine.” Vector muttered, shuffling himself back to bed like a scolded child. “Mutiny, I tell ya.”
“Mutiny for your own good.” Espio declared.”
“The best kind of mutiny!” Charmy added.
Vector couldn’t help but chuckle, which immediately turned into another coughing fit. He let his boys guide him back to bed without further protest. He was too tired to fight, and actually secretly grateful he didn’t have to.
-
Hours had passed. The afternoon sun slanted through the attic window. Vector found himself propped up against his pillows that Charmy re-fluffed probably about eight or nine times. The cozy crocodile was sipping on a cup of tea that Espio made. The teen had read about different types of tea leaves that are supposed to help with certain sicknesses. Charmy was sitting cross-legged on the foot of the bed, telling Vector about an elaborate story about a superhero bee that saved the world from evil vegetables. He figured it would be nice to give Vector some company.
“And the nefarious Dr. Broccoli said ‘you’ll never catch me alive!’ And the awesome Super Stinger used his AWESOME BEE POWERS TO- wait, what kind of superpowers do super bees have? Can they shoot lasers? I think they should shoot lasers. Okay, so he shot lasers from his eyes and-“
“I don’t think bees have lasers, kiddo.” Vector noted while sipping his tea.
“Okay, well SUPERHERO bees do. It’s in the superhero rules!” Charmy insisted while performing some crazy hand movements. “Anyways, he shot lasers at Dr Broccoli, and then Dr Broccoli exploded into a million little broccoli pieces, and everyone cheered, and – oh! There was also a carrot! An EEEEEVIL carrot! An evil carrot who had a mustache!”
Vector was getting invested. “Why does the carrot have a mustache?”
“‘Cause he’s evil, DUHHHH.” Charmy said this like it explained everything. “All the evil vegetables have mustaches. It’s how you know they’re evil.”
“Ah, my mistake. Please continue.” Vector watched while Charmy gesticulated wildly as he described an epic battle between Super Stinger and the evil mustache carrot. Charmy was being his usual loud self, but Vector couldn’t help but feel comforted by the company.
Footsteps emanating from the stairs told Vector that Espio was coming with some more tea, emerging as Charmy finished his story. “How are you feeling, Vector?”
“Could be better… I, uh, I’m sorry I’ve been so stubborn about this whole sick thing. I just don’t want to let you boys down.”
Espio smiled as he refilled Vector’s teacup. “You’d only let us down if you never admitted to needing help. You are, in fact, very sick.”
“Yeah! Like the most sick ever! I think you’d get a gold medal in the sick Olympics!” Charmy chirped enthusiastically.
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s a thing, Charmy.” Vector commented.
“Maybe it should be! You’d get ALL the gold medals. Then you’d have to give a speech! You’d say, ‘I’d like to thank my fever for –'
“That’s enough, kiddo.” Vector sneered.
“You know, you wouldn’t be Vector if you weren’t stubborn. Remember when you insisted you could fix the roof by yourself?” Espio remarked.
Vector scowled. “We agreed not to talk about that.”
“And you fell through the roof!” Charmy muffled his giggles with his hands over his mouth. “Then you landed on the floor with a biiiiiiig thud! You said a buncha bad words, too!”
“I get it! I’m stubborn, boys! You made your points.” Vector rubbed his temples frustratedly.
Espio shook his head with a blithe spirit. “Point is, Vector, you’re always trying to do everything yourself. You want to be strong for us. But strength is about accepting help when offered, not pushing it away and insisting you’re hunky-dory.”
Vector looked at his boys and couldn’t help but form a big dumb smile. He felt his eyes getting misty again, and this time he couldn’t bother blaming the fever.
“When did ya get so wise, kid?”
“Simple. I learned from the best.” Espio grinned slightly.
Charmy lit up the room with his enthusiasm. "We BOTH did! You’ve taught us just about everything there is to know about anything! Like, you taught me that it’s okay to be scared sometimes and that family takes care of each other and that you should never put metal in the microwave!”
“I think he gets it, Charmy. Although that is a very important lesson.” Espio reminisced on the incident and the fire extinguisher and also how the team had to buy a brand new microwave.”
“We’re here for you, Vector. It’s what teams do. It’s what…families do. We love you.” Espio didn’t show this much tender emotion often; that’s how Vector knew he really meant it.
“We love you forever and ever!” Charmy wrapped his arms around himself to demonstrate a huge hug.
A lump grew in Vector’s throat. It was an uncomfortable lump, but a welcome one nonetheless. “You boys are somethin’ else, y’know that?”
The room went silent for a moment as everyone soaked in the bliss of being a family. It was Charmy who decided to break the silence. “Vector? Are you… are you crying?”
Vector couldn’t care to hide the obvious; he figured it would be best if he just swallowed his pride. “Yeah, yeah. I’m cryin’.” He took a tissue from the box on the nightstand and blew it loudly. “Now don’t you go tellin’ nobody that your boss gets all sappy.”
“Awwwww, I promise I won’t tell nobody. I cry sometimes, too.” Charmy crawled across the bed to wrap his little arms around the huge crocodile. Espio followed suit, despite his resistance towards physical affection. The three of them embraced the moment, the boys not even caring if the sickness could be contagious. If they got sick, Vector would just take care of them. They’d all take care of each other.
They hugged for what felt like an eternity. It was only when the room began to get dark from the lack of sunlight through the window that they let go of each other.
“Alright, boys. Go wash up and do somethin’ nice for yourselves. I don’t want ya catchin’ what I got. If I need anything I’ll just holler. Thanks for everything.”
“It’s no problem at all.” Espio noted.
“Yeah, no problem!” Charmy repeated.
“We’ll leave you be, and perhaps occasionally check up on you, just in case. Espio headed towards the door, motioning for Charmy to follow.
“Oh, one more thing.” Charmy stated. He gave Vector one more, tight hug. The warm smile on his little face made Vector feel a little better already.
“I love ya, Vector.”
“I love ya too, kiddo.”
Charmy hovered in front of Espio, the chameleon soon closing the door and leaving Vector be.
Vector settled back into his pillows, the exhaustion finally catching up with him. Everything still ached, his throat was still scratchy, and he definitely still had a fever, but he had felt better than he had all day.
Maybe it’s okay to not always be the strong one. If people love you, they’re more than willing to carry the weight. Admitting you need help isn’t something to be ashamed of; instead, it’s a sign of bravery. He had taught the boys about bravery in the past. Like when Espio was a younger teen and needed to get out of his comfort zone, or when Charmy was a toddler and learning to master new developmental milestones. Bravery is a part of life. Things are supposed to be hard; how else would you know when to ask for help?
Vector could hear the noises emerging from downstairs. It was the noise of Espio reading something to Charmy, probably to settle him down enough for bedtime. It was the noise of two people caring about each other.
Vector smiled and got into a comfier position.
Tomorrow he’d probably try to get back to work too soon, and the boys would probably have to stop him again, and then there’d be another battle with stubborn protests.
But now, things were wonderful. Even if Vector’s head pounded and it hurt to swallow.
Vector thought about Espio and Charmy once more and how much he'd seen them grow over the years. He’s seen them grow into great detectives and even greater people. And Vector thought to himself. He thought about how he couldn’t be more proud to call those two misfits his boys.