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Tangle woke up at the crack of dawn; today was a very special day. She was going to make breakfast for both Jewel and Whisper. She tiptoed towards the kitchen, not wanting to wake them both up (Whisper, in particular, was a light sleeper), and grabbed a few slices of bread from the pantry.
Tangle’s ears flicked at the sound of a door creaking open. She turned around to find Whisper half-awake in her lemur onesie. (She still can’t believe Jewel bought Whisper a lemur onesie and that Whisper actually wore it regularly.)
“Morning, Whisper!” Tangle chirped.
Whisper hummed while rubbing her eyes. “Why are you up so early?”
“Making the most delicious of food, of course!” She held the slices of bread up high for Whisper to see.
“...Toast?” Whisper tilted her head slightly.
“Yup!” Tangle grinned.
“Isn’t that my job?”
“Not today, it’s not! You and Jewel just sit tight while I get everything ready,” Tangle said as she turned on the toaster and used her tail to grab a slab of butter from the fridge.
“Gotta say Tangle,” a voice said from behind her, and Tangle could recognise that saccharine voice anywhere. “I didn’t know you knew how to operate a toaster.”
“Hey! I can cook perfectly fine, Jewel.” Tangle protested, turning towards Jewel and crossing her arms. “I’ll have you know that toaster-operating knowledge is essential for survival!” She placed the butter down on the table. “I mean, Sonic had to deal with Eggman’s toaster at his weird tower back then.”
“Really, now?” Jewel smirked. “Remember when you mistakenly put in sugar instead of salt?”
“That was one time—”
“The pasta incident?”
“Jewel!” Tangle pouted. “We agreed not to talk about that!”
“Pasta incident?” Whisper asked, curious.
“Well, there’s one time where spaghetti just kept coming out of the pot and—”
“Um, Tangle?” Whisper interjected.
“Yeah?”
Whisper pointed at something behind her, a concerned look on her face.
“What is it?” The faint smell of smoke caused Tangle to turn back.
The toaster was on fire.
Oh.
“Uh…that’s not good,” Tangle said.
They froze in place, unable to move even an inch of their bodies while the fire grew larger by the second.
“The fire extinguisher.” Whisper supplied.
“Oh, yeah,” Tangle said.
The three of them frantically searched for a fire extinguisher, each person running into different rooms, overturning their furniture and belongings. About a minute later, each of them met up back in the kitchen. There was no fire extinguisher. Of course Tails would provide them with a myriad of advanced gadgetry for their new house but forget to supply the essentials.
“Where’s the fire extinguisher!?” Jewel screamed, hands up in the air, waving frantically.
“For the record,” Tangle said, crossing her arms, “I blame Tails.”
“...The fire’s still there.” Whisper's tone was a nonchalant one.
“Uh…okay, you know what?” Tangle grabbed the toaster using her tail. “Oh! Hot-hot-hot!” With as much force as she could muster, Tangle threw the toaster out of the window, causing it to leave a smoking trail in its wake. There was a sound of a crash, and the three of them looked out the window, their eyes trailing the smoke until they landed upon what was left of the toaster, apparently having found a new home besides Ron’s chilli dog stand.
“It’s only been two days and we’ve already thrown a burning toaster out the window,” Jewel said, incredulous.
“On the plus side, at least the fire seems to have died down!” Tangle said as she turned to face Whisper and Jewel, ignoring Ron’s colourful vocabulary.
Whisper frowned. “Is this…fine?”
“It’s fine. Fireballs are only banned on Sundays. Though,” Jewel added with a heavy sigh, “I have a feeling they’re gonna be banned on Saturdays too now. So,” Jewel said as she gestured to a spot on the kitchen counter where there was a newfound lack of a toaster. “What do we eat now?”
Tangle stared at the spot where the toaster was before, and at Whisper’s expression. There was a small smile plastered on her face; it looked like it was going to deflate back into pursed lips at any second. “Well…our breakfast is currently flaming roadkill. Y’know what? This gives me an idea! Let’s go out and eat!”
Tangle, Whisper and Jewel departed from their house, walking past the no longer ablaze toaster, which apparently migrated into a rubbish bin. It was a quiet day, with only a few people walking about the streets despite the cloudy weather. The leaves of trees were a mix of orange, yellow, and red, most of which had already begun the abscission process. Tangle’s nose picked up the musky yet sweet smell of the piles of leaves on the ground (and the residual smoke from the toaster). Each of them wore their usual outfit, along with the addition of a scarf to shield themselves from the crisp winds of autumn. Tangle enjoyed the cool weather; it was invigorating and a respite from the blazing summer.
“You know, Whisper,” Tangle began, gesturing to Whisper’s long blue scarf that fluttered in the chilly wind, “your scarf makes it seem like you have a pair of wings sprouting from your back.”
“O-oh, is that so?” Whisper’s gloved hand fiddled with her scarf as her head seemed to disappear into it, not unlike a tortoise.
“Yeah, ask Jewel!”
Jewel nodded. “I agree. There is some resemblance.”
“Thanks.” Whisper’s face seemed to sink more into her scarf, and there was a rosy hue on her cheeks. There was a genuine smile on her face, but it dissolved into the cold air as quickly as it had appeared. Hm. Perhaps something more extreme needed to be done. Something more…Tangle-like.
“So, where are we going anyway?” Jewel inquired.
“There’s this new cafe—Delicia’s Delights—that I heard has really great desserts!”
They walked for a few more minutes before stopping in front of a posh-looking building.
“Here we are!” Tangle said as she ushered both Jewel and Whisper in.
They could hear classical music as they walked into the elegantly furbished place. A server sat them down and took their order. Tangle got a strawberry cake, Whisper got a pound cake, and Jewel got a tiramisu cake.
“So Jewel, how’s the Restoration going for ya?” Tangle asked as she ate a reasonably sized piece of her cake. The sheer sweetness of it made her taste buds sing with joy.
“Eh, mostly just paperwork and handling Surge and Kit,” Jewel said. “Tails is handling Kit, though I’m still not sure what we’re going to do with Surge.”
“Yeah, those two caused quite a ruckus, didn’t they?” Tangle paused for a few seconds, taking the time to chew on her cake. “Oh yeah, Jewel!” Her hands gripped the edges of the table excitedly. You were busy with Restoration stuff, but last week, Rough and Tumble—you know, the skunk brothers,” Tangle explained, as Jewel seemed to draw a blank, “attacked the village and tried to steal some supplies, but Whisper and I totally kicked their butt! Right, Whisper?”
“Mm.” Whisper was poking at her pound cake with a fork half-heartedly. Usually, her tail would wag at the sight of it. (Whisper has always denied that, though. She’ll get evidence one of these days.)
“Sounds like the both of you have it covered here,” Jewel said as she nibbled her cake.
Tangle got up and shouted, “Yeah! If those jerks come back again, we’ll show them!”
The classical music hit a dramatic crescendo. The patrons in the restaurant stopped what they were doing and stared at Tangle, transfixed by her impromptu speech.
A waiter approached their table, a bemused expression plastered on his face. “Miss, may I ask—”
Tangle climbed up onto the table. She stumbled, and her shoes accidentally knocked into her fork, causing it to bounce off the table and hit the floor with a clang. “Know that no matter who or what you are, if you plan on endangering the village,” Tangle said as she used her tail to grab onto the chandelier right above them, causing it to teeter precariously, “then Tangle and Whisper are going to stop you!”
The whole cafe was silent.
Unable to hold Tangle’s weight anymore, the chandelier broke.
The next few seconds were a blur.
“Gah!”
“Tangle!”
“Oh-great-Chaos-and-his-pogo-stick—”
“I knew it—”
“Not again—”
The chandelier crashed on the table with resounding finality, narrowly missing Tangle as she landed on the marble floor butt first.
Ow. Okay, this kinda hurts. Ow-ow-ow.
Tangle looked up, head still spinning from the fall. A small glass chandelier now decorated the table they were at, and bits of glass from the chandelier now garnished the plates. Tiny pieces of cake landed everywhere; on the chairs, on the floor, on Jewel and Whisper. Everything seemed to come to a stop; the only thing still moving forward was the classical music playing in the background that had now reached a calm piano solo.
Then, Whisper giggled, her usually soft voice resounding throughout the cafe. Tangle could drink her laugh up like a glass of fine wine. It was like music; the way it made Tangle happy and reassured her that all was right once more. Whisper stopped, looked at her (Tangle assumed the chandelier also caked her with…well, cake), and then giggled some more.
Jewel covered her mouth in an attempt to stifle her laugh. “Tangle, I think the village’s in danger every time you pick up a butter knife.”
Someone with a gruff voice cleared their throat. Tangle slowly turned her head towards the voice; there was now a very-not-happy manager in front of them.
“Yes, yes.” Jewel sighed, then fished out a handful of rings from her wallet. “Here. For the desserts and the chandelier.” She handed the rings to the manager, got up, and left. “Come on. I think there are some snacks left in the cupboard.”
Tangle swiftly got up, brushed herself off, and carried Whisper (who was now heaving over laughing) gingerly using her tail. It hurt to move in some places, and she probably couldn’t sit down without feeling pain for the entire day, but as she looked at Whisper’s cheerful expression, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief and contentment.
Tangle sat on a hill with Jewel and watched as the sun slowly set, the thin, golden rays of sunlight that stretched out and painted the hills gradually diminishing. It was an autumnal paradise, one that soothed Tangle’s heart and made her feel at ease.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” Jewel asked, breaking the comfortable silence.
“Haha, was it really that obvious?” Tangle rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “I guess that’s why you’re my best friend.”
“Well, Whisper doesn’t seem to realise it. Don’t worry, it’ll be our little secret.” Jewel winked at her. The gentle wind swept up a bunch of fallen leaves, and Jewel shifted slightly. “Today’s the day, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.” Tangle narrowed her eyes and stared at Whisper, who, from afar, appeared to be kneeling in front of a gravestone. “The anniversary of the fall of the Diamond Cutters…I heard anniversaries usually hit the hardest.”
“That’s why you did all that back there, wasn’t it?”
“Mhm.” Tangle gave a small nod. “Hopefully, she can associate this day with a happy memory instead.”
Jewel ruffled the tufts of fur on her head. “And that’s why you’re my best friend, Tangle.”
“It’s…been a while.”
Whisper took off her mask and laid it down in front of the three tombstones. Flickies chirped as the wind howled slightly, causing a few golden leaves on the tombstones to be swept away. She took a photograph out and laid it down on the cracked stone bricks. It was without creases, pristine, despite how hard she clung to the memory depicted in it with her claws. Dragging, thrashing, refusing to let go.
“Mimic…he’s…well, he said he never cared about us, but I don’t believe that. Not entirely.” Whisper focused her gaze on the complex innards of the mask. “I’m not sure why he did it, but…I’m sorry. For not realising Mimic’s betrayal. For not stopping him in time. I’ll never forgive myself.”
“Don’t say that!” a voice cried out, laced with determination.
Whisper turned around to find Tangle, one hand clutching a bouquet of carnations.
“You couldn’t have known what was going to happen.” It was like a switch had flipped. Her voice was now soothing, quiet. “From what you told me, Mimic did actually care about the team.”
“I guess…it’s just…maybe I could’ve prevented it from happening.” Whisper looked down at the stone path. “Maybe I could’ve talked him out of it. I feel…responsible.”
Tangle’s hand gently reached for Whisper’s and squeezed it. “You’ve done more than enough good in this world. You saved so many people.” Tangle knelt down, facing the graves. “Hey, guys.” Her tone was demure for someone who was usually a bundle of energy. “I don’t know you all well, but from what Whisper’s told and shown me, you’re basically her family. Well, you can rest easy. Whisper’s still out there doing what she does best: kicking butt and watching over everyone.”
Tangle placed her bouquet of carnations down, her gaze completely fixed on the three tombstones. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of her for you guys.” She got up and turned to face her. “I’ll give you some alone time, okay?” She put a hand on her shoulder and gave her the widest grin she’d ever seen. “You’re a hero, Whisper. The one who saved all those Resistance fighters back then is the strongest hero I know.”
Whisper’s tears cascaded as Tangle walked away. She was quiet for a minute to collect her thoughts. Usually, she wasn’t able to cope on this day. And yet, when Tangle entered the picture with her bright, exuberant nature that she cherished dearly…Chaos, how did she stumble upon someone like her?
She gently brushed the faces on the photograph with her thumb, the cheerful faces that were blissfully unaware of just how close they were to death’s cold touch. She wished she could return to that time of blissful ignorance.
Finally, she took a deep breath and spoke. “She’s something else, isn’t she? Wish you guys could’ve met her.”
How she wished the events that took her teammates’ lives never happened. She would’ve done anything to save her former teammates, anything to have them back right beside her.
She sniffed, then continued. “Tangle thinks I’m a hero. I’ve never needed anyone to think so, but…” Whisper gingerly picked up her mask and put it on her bangs. “I hope that she is right. When she said that, I believe I’d finally discovered it. The happiness we were searching for. A simple daily life with her must be what we call ‘happiness’.” She clenched her hand into a fist and put it on her chest. “That’s…what I think.”
But, if given the choice now, she knew she wouldn’t trade Tangle for the world.
“Rest well. I’ll carry the convictions I’ve inherited from you all,” she said as she glanced at Tangle—who was happily chatting away with Jewel—and smiled.
“Together with her.”
Whisper placed her bouquet of carnations down beside Tangle’s and made her way towards Tangle and Jewel.
“Ah! You’re done?”
“Mm. Thanks. For…coming along.”
“Don’t mention it. C’mon, let’s go grab a bite! I’m starving!”
Sometimes, things fall apart, and you can’t seem to control anything. Things will be tough for a while: a harsh winter of obstacles will seem to barricade your way. However, as Whisper looked at Tangle happily chirping about what they were going to eat for dinner, she knew things do get better. They genuinely, genuinely do.
After all, the gentle, welcoming spring was always just around the corner.