Sonic was standing right before Aurora, reaching out his hand to help her up.
He seemed a little younger than he was made out to be, but then again, they were about the same age.
"Are you gonna get up? Or..."
This snapped Aurora out of her thoughts.
"O-Oh... right..."
She grabbed his hand and he helped her up.
Aurora averted her gaze from him, being careful not to do anything to offend him.
This IS Sonic the Hedgehog, after all!
A minute of awkward silence filled the space port until Sonic decided to speak up.
"Say, are you here to rescue me?"
Aurora only let out a small "mhm" as a response.
"I can't tell you how much I appreciate it," he continued, "It's been a while since I've seen a friendly face!"
This made Aurora blush a little, but Sonic didn't notice.
Soon, her communicator turned on.
"Hey rookie, you still in one piece?" asked Knuckles through the speaker.
"Oh sure," Sonic interrupted, "don't even bother to ask how I am!"
"SONIC!" Amy cried out, "I'M SO GLAD!"
"GAH! AMY!?"
Aurora somewhat chuckled at this.
Knuckles began scolding Amy when Sonic began to look around.
"Is there an exit around here?" he asked Aurora.
"Mhm, over there!" she said, pointing to the nearby space shuttle.
They then ran to inside it and they were on their way back home.
~~~
Aurora was sitting in the back of the ship.
She still couldn't believe she actually met THE Sonic!
No, don't forget why you're here... she thought.
Aurora then pulled out a photo of what looked like her and a crimson red wolf with amber eyes and glasses.
"Whatcha lookin' at?"
Aurora jumped when she saw Sonic at the doorway.
"Hehe, sorry," said Sonic, approaching the seat next to Aurora, "I just wanted to make sure you were okay!"
"Y-Yeah..." Aurora replied, "I'm fine..."
Sonic knew something was wrong, so he looked at the picture in her hands.
"Who's that?" he asked, referring to the crimson wolf in the photo.
Aurora didn't want to tell him, but at the same time, she wanted to just let it all out.
I might as well tell him...
"His name is Gadget. We met about three or four months ago and we've stuck together ever since, until..."
Aurora trailed off on her words.
Sonic was beginning to get concerned about this.
"Did something happen to him?"
Aurora took in a deep breath and began to explain.
"Back when you were captured, he was the only one who had enough courage to face off against Eggman's army. He was kind, caring, smart, brave, and overall, a hero. But one day..."
Aurora paused.
"One day, I went to the battlefield because I thought he was in trouble. I wanted to help him, but I ended up getting him killed..."
Tears began to fall down her face.
"He took a shot for me..."
Aurora sniffed.
"And he died in my arms..."
That's when Aurora broke down crying.
~~~
Sonic couldn't believe what he had heard.
The poor girl had been through a lot for someone who just joined the resistance.
"I'm sorry I asked..." he said to her.
"It's fine..." said Aurora as she wiped her tears away, "I needed to get that out... thank you..."
Sonic smiled at her.
"Of course! Don't be afraid to talk about it with me. If you ever need to vent again, just come and see me!"
Aurora blushed a little and gave Sonic a sad smile.
"Thank you, Sonic..."
"Ehehe," Sonic chuckled, "No problem!"
