Originally Posted: 2-10-2025, Written by Sparkel Dog
^ Audiobook
Buzz Buzz.
Charmy’s wings were pounding with restlessness. He was racing around the office’s ceiling fan, nimbly avoiding the slowly spinning blades. The little bee’s head was spinning from understimulation, and simply flying around the agency in circles was not doing much to relieve his boredom. If Charmy didn’t find something to do soon, he might actually explode.
Charmy plopped down from the air. His shoes made a soft thunk against the creaky wooden floor. He looked up at the giant crocodile that was slouched in the front desk, “...Vector, are you sure there’s no new cases?”
Vector didn’t move much from his position glumly hunched over in his chair. He had a stern looking grimace stretched across his snout. His eyebrows creased as he glared at the kid. With a tired sigh, he said, “...Yes, Charmy. Stop asking.”
Charmy frowned. Why did Vector seem so mad at him? It’s not like he had done anything wrong… “Well, what else am I supposed to do? My head feels fuzzy. The only thing I’ve done today is watch you and Espio mope around the office.”
That last bit seemed to strike a nerve. Not just with Vector, but with the purple chameleon who had been quietly leaned up against the back corner of the room. Espio straightened a little at the sound of his name. His expression changed into one of slight offense.
Vector’s long tail swished forcefully, almost knocking into the chair behind him. Charmy could see his hand tighten into an upset fist as his voice raised, “Watch it. Don’t you say anything about us moping.”
Charmy faltered at the scolding. He hesitated over his words for just a moment…
He knew full well why Vector and Espio were acting so melancholy on that specific date. They were like this every year, spending the entire day in uncomfortable silence and being too moody to give him any attention. But knowing the reason why they were like this never made Charmy feel any better. The young bee whined, “But Vector… I hate sitting around like this… I don’t like everyone being so sad…”
“...If you need to do something, why don’t you go clean up all of the toys you left scattered in the hallway?” Espio suggested bluntly with an impatient tone. Charmy wasn’t sure if he was still mad over having accidentally stepped on a lego yesterday, or if the chameleon was just bothered by Charmy pestering them.
Charmy groaned, “I’ll do that later… I wanna do something fun! Ya ever heard of fun?” Maybe if these sad sacks had heard of it, they could be doing something to get their minds off of the past instead of despondently brooding in quietude.
Charmy decided to test his luck. In order to accentuate his point, he bounced into the air again. Quicker than you could blink, the bee had zipped behind Vector. Hovering over his shoulder, Charmy playfully gave him a shove.
It did not go over in the lighthearted way he had intended it to. The big crocodile, completely caught off guard, almost tumbled out of his seat and onto the floor. Within seconds Vector had scrambled to his feet and was swiping at the air for the kid, “AUGH! Charmy!”
With how intimidating his tone could be when he was cross and how loud his volume was, Vector sounded much more livid than he actually felt. It didn’t help that he was the largest figure in the room, with great strength and a powerful presence. His patience had run thin enough to finally snap.
Charmy’s heart quickly dropped upon hearing his superior’s yell. With a frightened squeak, he somersaulted out of Vector’s reach.
It wasn’t out of the ordinary for the two to play this game of chase and catch. Sometimes Charmy found it funny to intentionally provoke the leader of the Chaotix group, goading him into trying to catch the hyperactive bee for the sake of entertainment. But Vector’s demeanor was usually a good indicator of whether or not they were just messing around or if he was truly angry.
Charmy flew a little higher. Maybe he shouldn’t have teased the guy when he had been grieving. It was like kicking someone when they were already down. He feared that he accidentally trespassed into actually being in trouble. If Vector managed to grab him, he would probably find himself seated in the time out corner he loathed so much.
Once Charmy had practically hit the ceiling, he would have hidden himself on top of the fan if the blades weren’t spinning at a speed slightly too fast for comfort. Instead, he hovered in the air and watched Vector with apprehension.
Once he stopped waving his arms wildly, Vector let out a discontented grumble and turned. He was stomping back over to the desk, muttering “I can’t deal with this today…” to himself. Then Vector picked up the corded phone and practically punched each of the numbers in.
If the blue quilled hedgehog hadn’t been famous for his speed, it would have been surprising how quickly he had shown up when called for help. Sonic now stood at the Chaotix’s front entrance with a friendly grin, “...Hey guys!”
Espio had been the one to answer the door. He didn’t give much of a response to Sonic’s greeting, but he did step away momentarily to grab the small yellow and black striped backpack they had prepared for him. “...Apologies for the last minute call.” Espio said as he handed the bag over to Sonic, “...Thank you for agreeing to take care of him today… This should have everything you will need.”
Charmy braved flying down from the ceiling corner where he had been avoiding the others so he could peek over Espio’s shoulder at the person standing in the entryway.
The bee themed backpack was a little too small for Sonic to actually wear himself, but he slipped one of his hands under the straps so he could just sling it over his arm, “It’s no problem. Didn’t have too much going on today anyways. Well, other than hanging with Tails, but I’m sure he’ll have no problems with Charmy tagging along.” When Sonic spotted Charmy curiously watching him from behind Espio, the blue hedgehog gave a small wave.
Charmy was in no way shy, so usually he would have been one to wave back. This was especially true with Sonic, who was a great hero and a cool friend that Charmy really looked up to and admired. But a twinge of guilt was lurking around inside of his head… Espio and Vector both still had those tired creases under their eyes. When they spoke, there was a biting tone to their words. Charmy suspected that they just wanted to get rid of him for a few hours so they could continue to dwell on their depressing thoughts. With that in mind, this felt more like he was being sent away as a punishment instead of being a fun playdate.
Espio was rushing through giving Sonic the guidelines for Charmy’s care. It sounded like he wanted to be done with it as soon as possible so he could go back to his sulking. “We have dinner at 6, so make sure he’s home by then… Should anything happen, you can call the agency…” He sighed, “...If he starts giving you any trouble-”
“Hey, don’t stress about it, Espio.” Sonic cut in. “It’s not my first rodeo with the kid.” He had played the role of babysitter on a few different occasions now, so he figured he had the rules down pretty well by now. “Besides, Charmy’s always good with me. We’re gonna have a great time today, right bud?” At that point, Sonic shot Charmy a knowing grin.
“...Uh.” The bee mustered up a smile in return, “...Right!”
Espio studied the two for a brief moment more before nodding, deciding that Sonic was trustworthy enough to take care of him. So, Espio decided to leave it all in his hands. He gently pushed Charmy towards the door while whispering a reminder, “...Behave.”
Charmy huffed, directing an irritated glare at the lizard, “I am, I am!…” Honestly, Espio was acting as if he had already committed some grave crime or was incapable of staying out of trouble for one day.
The door was shut before either of them had really properly said goodbye.
Sonic believed that he had the ability to turn any situation around into a positive one. No matter what kinds of danger he and his friends found themselves in- be that a perilous battle against Eggman or his army of robots, having taken a beating from a particularly ticked off rival, or the safety of the world being at stake: Sonic always bore through it with a smile and as optimistic an attitude he could muster.
Yet no matter how hard the hedgehog tried, he was struggling to get the little bee to perk up. Though Charmy was smiling brightly, there was still a distant look on his face that told Sonic that his mind was elsewhere. He was being uncharacteristically quiet and slow to respond.
“Hey Sonic, why don’t we try that ride next?” Tails the fox was pointing at one of Twinkle Park’s coolest attractions: The bumper car race track arena. His two tails flickered with excitement as the group watched a gaggle of racers in brightly colored hovering bumper cars speed by, thrilled squeals erupting out whenever the participants knocked into each other with great force.
Sonic grinned. He was always the biggest fan of the rides where you could go fast. From rollercoasters to racing games, he lived to chase the thrill. Sonic looked down to his left side. He gently nudged Charmy, who was walking next to him, “Sounds like fun, right?”
Charmy glanced up at Sonic, before staring back at the shiny vehicles whizzing past the finish line of the attraction. It did look exhilarating. The thought of flying around in a whirling bumper car made his heart pound. “….Yeah, let’s do it!”
If only he met the height requirement to ride around on his own. After having marched into line, the teenage looking employee gave the kid a sympathetic smile before pointing over at a board with a ruler printed across it, “Sorry, mobians have gotta be at least two and a half feet tall to have their own car.”
“Aww, what?” Charmy stepped over to compare himself against the measurements, “I’m two and a half foot!”
Sonic placed his hand so it lined up on the top of Charmy’s head, trying to see how it measured up against the board, “Don’t think the antennae count, bud…” Without those taken into account, the bee was only two foot three inches.
Charmy started to pout. He gloured at the others, “That’s no fair!”
The employee offered up another solution, “…Any child who doesn’t meet the height requirement can still ride if they’re accompanied by a guardian.”
“No sweat, I’ll ride with you!” Sonic said, giving Charmy a thumbs up.
“You will?” That helped a little in easing the bee’s distress. He would have preferred to have his own car and the freedom to drive wherever he wanted, but going on the bumper car track with Sonic was better than watching bored from the sidelines. Knowing Sonic, he would still be allowed to go super fast.
Tails measured himself against the ruler board next. It confirmed that he crossed the threshold for the attraction’s entry by just a few inches. Meanwhile, Sonic was getting situated with Charmy in a sapphire blue colored hovering car. It took a few minutes of awkwardly shifting Charmy on his lap to find a comfortable position where his sharp stinger wouldn’t accidentally poke Sonic in the belly. Once they made it work, Sonic fastened the seatbelt over them both.
Tails was now sitting in a bright yellow car, inching close to the starting line. He shot a giddy glance over to the others, “...I’m not gonna go down easy!” It was true that Sonic almost always won races or competitions against the fox, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to give it his best shot.
Sonic lifted his hand in an ‘OK’ sign, “Alright, bring it on!” He called out. Then he looked down at Charmy, “You ready?”
Charmy nodded.
“...Great, hold on!” Sonic’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. His foot was bouncing over the gas pedal in anticipation of the sound that indicated the start of the race.
Charmy did as he was told, holding onto the side of the bumper car.
The instant the buzzer blared, the engines revved loudly into the air. The vehicles blasted forward as if they had been shot out of a cannon. “Woah!!!” Charmy was glad he was buckled in. As he leaned back and found himself pressed against Sonic’s chest, he thought he could feel the hedgehog’s heart pounding hard. He guessed even the fastest thing alive still felt the thrill of the acceleration.
As they neared a corner on the track, Tails turned his wheel sharply and caused his car to drift in such a way that he swerved around Sonic and Charmy before bumping them off their course.
The impact from the small collision rumbled through the entire car. Charmy felt his breath catch. Though it was rattling, he had a huge grin on his face. Sonic quickly redirected the vehicle so it was lined up better with the main track. Once it was, he slammed his foot into the pedal so they could chase after Tails.
It was somehow even more exhilarating when the bumper car reached what was likely it’s top speed. Their surroundings had turned into a blur of colors. Soon they had gained enough momentum to pass the sly fox. The bumper car whipped around another tight turn.
The wind hitting Charmy’s face reminded him of flying. In fact, the current velocity transported Charmy’s memory back to how the Chaotix would often take Eggman’s robots head on. After he and Espio curled their bodies up into balls, Vector would scoop them up into his mouth and hurl them with great force at the bad guys. Even though it only happened during fights, it was great fun for Charmy to cut through the air at top speeds made possible only by the head start throw their leader provided.
Charmy wondered what Vector would think of his speed in this little car now. Would he protest it as too much for the kid to handle, or would he laugh along and try to beat him and Espio in a friendly bumper car contest? Those two did have a surprising tendency to get very competitive when it came to playing cards or whichever board game they had picked out for their ‘family game nights’.
Suddenly, Charmy’s stomach started to do flip flops. Was it from the high speed maneuvers and turns? He might have thought so if his brain wasn’t now focusing entirely on the thought of his teammates sitting sadly in their office while he was selfishly here at Twinkle Park. He had been living it up with their friends in an attempt to distract himself from his feelings, instead of mourning their losses like the others were.
This was wrong.
Charmy made a soft distressed sound as he started to squirm. Unfortunately, whatever noise he made was drowned out by the booming vroom of the vehicles. Sonic didn’t seem to have noticed the bee’s plight, as he was still laughing with excitement. His eyes were glued on the finish line.
Just a few more turns ahead. Victory was locked within their grasp.
Another sharp swerve. Charmy’s head was spinning almost as fast as the car. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes when he realized there was no safe way out of the ride at that exact moment in time. He squeezed the car’s side so tight that his hands hurt, wishing it would come to an end.
Sonic let out a loud whoop as they crossed the finish line, claiming first place. It took several more seconds after that point for him to slam on the brakes. The vehicle screeched as it slowly jutted to a rocky stop.
Once Tails had passed the goalpoint, Sonic cheered again too noisily, “Too slow! Better luck next time!” He had a cheeky but lighthearted smile as he teased the fox.
Despite his loss, Tails was giggling as he unfastened his seatbelt and started to exit his bumper car. “Great job, Sonic! That was a really cool victory!” Even in defeat, Tails was always good natured and appreciative of his friend’s skills. “That attraction is so much fun! We need to do it again next time we’re here.”
“Totally!” Sonic agreed. “You’d better be ready for round two with the blue.” It wasn’t until he reached down to undo their own seatbelt that he noticed the look on Charmy’s face. Sonic’s expression immediately fell, “Uh oh. Are you doing okay there bud?”
Charmy didn’t respond. He was still trying to adjust to their fast motion having stopped completely. Not only was it disorienting, but his messy thoughts were clouding up his emotions. With his fur disheveled from the wind and tears dried on his cheeks, he looked a bit awful.
Sonic finally released him from the seat and gently lifted the kid out of the car. When placed on the ground, Charmy stumbled a little until he regained his balance.
Tails was now walking over, worry written on his face, “Oh no, did you go too fast? It’s real easy for people to get motion sickness from rides like that…”
“Aw man, I’m sorry Charmy… Didn’t mean to push it that much.” Sonic had moved a hand to his lower back comfortingly, patting a spot just below his wings. He glanced over at Tails, asking concernedly, “...Think we should get him some water or something?”
Some of the park visitors that were walking past were laughing. They could smell the sugary sweet scent of freshly fried funnel cakes being served from somewhere nearby. Flickies were happily singing as they flew overhead. Everything was too cheerful. Charmy wasn’t sure if he was going to throw up or burst into crying. Neither option was ideal, especially as he stood here in front of two people he admired and absolutely did not want to embarrass himself in front of.
He couldn’t stand to be here for even a single second longer.
Before Sonic or Tails could react, Charmy took off. After a short running head start, Charmy’s wings started pounding as he zipped away from the group. In an instant, he was lost in the crowds.
“Wha-... Charmy!!!” It took Sonic a few seconds to even process what had happened, but he called out in alarm. Then, Sonic has hot on his heels speeding after the bee. He ran towards the direction Charmy had disappeared into.
“Sonic, wait!” Tails was forced to chase after them both. This was a little difficult, given that he wasn’t as fast as either of them.
Soon enough though, the fox came to a halt when he spotted Sonic standing on high alert in the center of a crowded park plaza. The hedgehog was grimacing, glancing around in every direction. His ears twitched. He was straining himself trying to pick up on any sounds that could have led him to where the bee had fled to, but any audio clues were being drowned out by the loud chatter amongst visitors. Sonic started muttering to himself, “Which way did he go???... Aw man, Vector’s gonna kill me…”
“Calm down, Sonic!” Tails had sprinted over to his side. He panted a little, trying to catch his breath. Then he straightened up so he could better address his friend, “We won’t find Charmy by just rushing off in a blind panic.”
“....Right.” Sonic nodded. Losing his chill was the last thing that they needed. “How should we look for him then? We could ask around to see if anyone’s spotted him, or…”
Tails’ namesakes began to spin with great speed. Their velocity was so great, it allowed the fox to helicopter himself into the air, “Let’s try getting an aerial view of the place. We might be able to spot him with a better view of everything.”
Sonic smiled, “Good thinking!” He held out his hand for Tails to take.
Soon he was dangling up high, being carried by his friend as they started soaring slowly over the park. Sonic’s attention was directed below. He was trying to scan every inch of the park, though the fine details were a little lost from this height. Still, he was able to see individual people walking along the sidewalks, various rides spinning and accelerating, decorative water fountains… yet no sign of the missing kid.
Where could he be hiding? He couldn’t have left the park, right? Sonic did one more quick glance of the park section they had been flying over.
….There. Out of the corner of his eye, Sonic caught a glimpse of black and yellow. He turned his head sharply and did a double take. It was near a long Twinkle Park bridge lined with benches for sitting, leafy bushes and decorative foliage that was nestled in long planters. And on the ground next to those…
Sonic pointed, “Over there, Tails!”
“On it!” The fox redirected his course to fly in the direction Sonic had indicated.
Charmy was curled up, seated on the dirty grass. It wasn’t that good of a hiding place, being next to a giant plant that barely obscured him from passersby, but that didn’t matter too much right now. He was choking on a sob, his hands covering his face as he struggled to breathe or calm himself.
Sonic gently landed right in front of Charmy, with Tails setting him down before descending from the sky himself. The blue hedgehog tried to be mindful of how he approached: slow and careful as to not startle the kid. When he spoke, he tried to sound sympathetic, “Hey, Charmy… are you okay?”
He evidently wasn’t. Charmy didn’t move to look up at either of them, instead choosing to stay huddled on the ground while quietly crying to himself.
“...” Sonic and Tails shared a concerned look, before silently stepping forward to sit on either side of Charmy. It wouldn’t do them any good to try and force him into talking, so instead they decided to just give him company until he felt like trying to open up. Sonic’s hand was once again trying to rub comforting circles into the bee’s back.
It was unclear how much time had passed. Had it been one minute or ten? It felt much longer than that. At some point, Charmy realized he had started leaning over to lay against the hedgehog’s warm fur. He was holding tightly onto Sonic for some sort of comfort. Tails was attempting to help too, as the little fox rested his paw on Charmy’s shoulder and he softly advised, “...Try to take a deep breath, okay?”
Charmy’s crying had slowed down significantly by that point, but that didn’t mean doing as he was told was easy. He took a big gulp of air and shakily exhaled…
He was grateful the two weren’t rushing him into sharing his feelings or questioning him too deeply. By the time he had gotten all his tears out, he felt too exhausted to speak. He continued to sit with the two for a few quiet moments more.
Eventually, Sonic’s voice interrupted the silence, “...I didn’t know anyone could get that sick from bumper cars.” He had to be telling a joke in some sort of attempt to get Charmy to talk, since it was clear at this point that he hadn’t just been upset from motion sickness. Sonic’s emerald eyes studied Charmy, as if trying to dig for the real reason the kid had run off like that.
Charmy sniffed, trying to sit up a little. He was keeping his gaze directed at the grass they were resting on top of. There must have been sprinklers that went off around here sometime recent, because some of the blades had fat drops of dew dripping from them. Perhaps that explained why his seat was so uncomfortably wet.
Eventually, the words started to just spill out, “...I must be the worst person in the world.” Charmy muttered glumly. He was trying to stop himself from crying any more.
Tails frowned, “...What makes you say that? You haven’t done anything wrong…”
Sonic agreed, “That’s right. Plus, I’m sure you could never be worse than Eggman.”
Charmy sighed. Neither of these guys had a clue as to what the actual problem was. Eventually he offered up the start of an explanation, “…Today is a really upsetting day for Vector, Espio and I…”
“Did something bad happen today?” Sonic asked.
Charmy shook his head, “…Something bad didn’t happen on this day exactly, but it, um…” He was starting to fiddle with his gloves a bit nervously, thinking over each of his words carefully. The story was a little long… he wasn’t quite sure where to even start.
Charmy suddenly turned to look up directly at Tails, “…Did you know that the Chaotix used to have more than three members?”
That came out of nowhere. “…They did?” Tails blinked in surprise, “I had no idea.”
Charmy nodded, “It’s true! It was me, Vector, Espio… Knuckles was even a part of the group!”
“Knuckles? Really?” That was the last name Tails had expected to come out of the bee’s mouth. “…I would have never guessed he was once a detective!”
Charmy giggled a little. Knuckles was still a trustworthy friend of theirs that they saw on the regular, so he knew his serious and aggressive nature well. It was a little funny to imagine what he would have been like as a Chaotix member back in the day, “…Apparently he helped Vector take care of catching the crooks! He never had a knack for actually cracking any of the cases by himself…”
Sonic grinned, “That’s Knuckles for ya. Even if he’s misguided at times, you can always rely on him to deal with anyone causing you trouble…”
“… And… There was one more guy who was a part of the team too.” Charmy continued. He hesitated slightly when mentioning him… “…A big red tough guy. He was super duper strong. Espio says he wore armor so hard, not even Eggman’s spike traps could poke through it! And Vector said he had a kind heart and was always willing to help out anyone who was in need.”
“…Hold on a second.” Sonic interrupted. His expression was a little hard to read… but recognition was crossing his face, “Tough, red armor… You’re not talking about Mighty, are you?”
Charmy’s eyes widened, stopping to stare at the hedgehog. His mouth was slightly agape, “…How did you guess that?”
Tails leaned over to look at Sonic as well. His eyebrows were creased in confusion, “…You don’t know this guy, do you Sonic?”
Immediately, Sonic’s face lit up. “Yeah I do! Mighty the armadillo! He and I go way back!” He started to move his hands in animated gestures as he excitedly described the tale, “It was one of the first times Eggman was actually able to capture me. He had us all stuck on this tricky island filled with all sorts of traps! But when we all worked together, we were able to escape!” There was fondness in his giddy voice. “…Man, it’s been ages… I couldn’t even begin to guess how many years ago that was.”
Charmy was back to staring solemnly at the ground. He had crossed his arms over his legs so he could hold them close to his body, “…See? Even you already know who he is…”
“…” Sonic frowned. He watched Charmy for a few moments. Then, the pieces of the puzzle finally clicked. The answer as to why the kid had been so troubled had hit Sonic in the face, “Oh… have you guys been upset about what happened to them?”
Charmy’s eyes darted avoidantly. He started to shift his position uncomfortably again.
Tails had a blank expression. He leaned forward to get Sonic’s attention, “…You’re going to have to catch me up.”
“Uh…. Well, you see…” Sonic rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly anxious about the topic at hand. Was it really his place to be relaying this story in front of the kid who was clearly distraught about it all?
Before Sonic had the chance to tiptoe around the subject altogether, Charmy started explaining again, “The Chaotix had a lot of adventures back when those guys were in the group… The day that we had our last big case together was on April twenty-first…. That’s today, by the way. Knuckles and Mighty helped us stop the bad guys, saving everyone! But then…” Charmy trailed off.
Tails was a little nervous in asking the question. The implied answer didn’t seem positive, “…Did something bad happen to Mighty?”
Another sad glance up at the fox. The silence in the air that filled the pauses in between talking was deafening. “… We… never saw him again. After that day, Mighty and Ray… Um, Ray was Mighty’s best friend, Vector said they were practically brothers… They disappeared.”
“Oh no…” The revelation took a few moments to fully sink in. Tails’ ears drooped as he struggled to come up with something meaningful to respond with, “…That’s terrible…”
Charmy was continuing on, “Nobody knows what happened to them. Maybe they got hurt by Eggman, or got lost someplace far away from home… The Chaotix’s next big case was finding our missing friends… but years later we still have no leads.”
“Charmy…” Sonic scooched closer to the kid. He moved an arm around him, giving the bee a hug, “…I know it can be really hard to lose someone you love. Especially when it’s friends as great as those guys were… It’s okay to feel bad about it.” It wasn’t that he wanted him to cry any more than he already had, but sometimes fully letting out and expressing all of your emotions helped in processing those feelings. He wanted Charmy to know it was safe to be vulnerable around him and Tails.
Charmy sat stiffly, letting the hedgehog hold him. But after a few moments, he whispered a confession, “…That’s the worst part… I don’t feel bad….”
“….Wh… What?” Sonic let go. There was no way he had heard that last part right, was there?
Maybe he had, because Tails had a look of shock painted across his face as well, “Wait, you don’t?!”
Charmy grabbed his antennae out of some kind of nervous habit. He groaned loudly and then hid his face behind his hands, “Agh, it sounds awful!” Tears were returning to his eyes, “I mean, I do feel a little bit bad! I feel sorry that those guys went missing… It’s scary thinking about if they’re hurt or in a dangerous situation…. But… I didn’t even really know them!”
Sonic was having trouble wrapping his head around what Charmy was saying, “Of course you knew them! You were all in the Chaotix together, right?”
“Yeah, like, years ago! But I was barely even a toddler then! How am I supposed to remember any of that!?” Charmy was now dramatically ranting, finally being able to vent the frustrations he’d kept secret for so long. The bee was waving his arms as he spoke, “Everyone else has really fond memories about them! Espio and Vector have spent hours telling me about what those two were like. They’re always talking about how righteous Mighty was, or about how he helped people around him… They tell me all sorts of stories about how Ray was apparently a really good friend to me. He and I would play different flying games around the office. It drove Vector crazy, but now that it’s gone he just gets really sad whenever he’s reminded of it! Knuckles couldn’t stand being in the Chaotix after Mighty was gone… Yet I can’t even remember any of it! I’m the only one who feels like he never got to meet them at all!”
Sonic and Tails were quiet. It sort of made sense, in a strange way. It was only natural for the bee to not have any strong memories of Mighty or Ray given that he had been so young at the time.
Charmy huffed, crossing his arms again. After a short moment though, he sniffed, wiping away some of the tears that had started to spill from his eyes. He gave a small hiccup, before admitting, “…It’s so weird, trying to make myself miss people who feel like strangers… I feel terrible that I don’t cry about it the same way Espio or Vector do. That’s probably why they called you to make me go away for the day… No wonder they don’t wanna put up with me…” Then the kid couldn’t contain his emotions any longer. He burst into full on sobs again, making his words almost indecipherable between wails, “I’m such an awful person for feeling like that! It’s like I shouldn’t even count as a real Chaotix member at all!”
Sonic was back to throwing his arms around Charmy in a tight embrace. Tails joined in too from the other side, trying to do whatever he could to help quell the bee’s distress. The scene they were making was loud enough to catch concerned park visitors’ attention, and for a brief second Tails was worried about the possibility of getting thrown out by security. Sonic though was completely focused on uttering soft comforts to ease Charmy, “Hey, It’s alright, you’re alright…”
Sonic’s assurances were hard to hear over his own weeping, but Charmy clung to the hedgehog anyways. It was hard to believe how many tears had been bottled up inside someone of such little stature. He was starting to feel lightheaded and completely overwhelmed by all of his frustrations having finally erupted out.
It took a long while longer for Charmy to quiet down some. Eventually, Sonic slowly pulled away from the hug. He moved to take off the black and yellow striped backpack that he had been carrying around all day. Sonic unzipped it, and rummaged around it’s contents for a few moments. Then he pulled out a small travel sized pack of tissues.
As Sonic leaned forward to dry the bee’s eyes, he gave him a kind smile, “Charmy… Every single feeling you have is okay. Even if it doesn’t seem like the ‘right’ feeling.”
Charmy grabbed one of the tissues from Sonic’s hand and blew his nose until it honked. After a few seconds of soft sniffling, he looked up at Sonic, “… It… it is?”
Sonic nodded. “Every living thing has different emotions, right? But none of us can really control those emotions. Different things making us feel great or terrible… It’s just our bodies’ way of responding to the world around us.”
“…Hey, that’s right!” Tails chimed in, “That means that whatever feelings that you have are your natural ones. Even if it’s not feeling as bad as you think you should. That’s a completely normal way to feel!”
“Trying to force yourself to change the way you feel about something will only really make you feel guilty about your honest emotions.” Sonic pointed out. “…What really matters most is our actions and what we do based on those feelings we have. And you don’t act out in any ways that hurt others, right?”
Charmy frowned, thinking back to that morning, “…I try not to… I think I messed up today, though… I made Vector really mad by bothering him while he was upset about everything…” He faltered a little, “…Do you think he’s gonna hate me for not being nicer about missing Mighty and Ray?”
“I don’t think Vector could ever hate you.” Sonic said. “Have you ever heard him bragging about how proud he is of you for the way you handle your guys’ investigations?”
Charmy squinted at Sonic. Was he just making that up to make him feel better? “…No.”
Tails confirmed it as true, “Vector is always talking about how you and Espio are the greatest teammates he could ever ask for. I think he really appreciates getting to have you in his life, Charmy.”
“…” That gave Charmy a warm feeling inside. He ruminated on the thought of the Chaotix’s leader for a moment… Even if there were many instances of the crocodile losing his temper and shouting at him, Vector did always seem like he was making an effort to do nice things for him and Espio. He often gave him and Espio encouragements for doing good work during investigations. He stayed up late whenever Charmy woke up in the middle of the night from a frightening dream just to comfort the kid. Even though they were pretty much always strapped for cash, last week Vector had splurged and gotten Charmy his favorite glazed honey bun snacks as a treat. There was even that one year for his birthday that he had given him that cool, round blue drum that Charmy quickly took a habit of banging on for fun. Vector did everything to make his boys happy.
Charmy wished he could do something to repay the favor…
Before that, though: he needed to apologize for pushing him that morning.
Charmy moved to stand on his feet. He still felt a little shaky after having sat on the ground so long, but since he was moving slowly he didn’t stumble. He turned to Sonic and Tails, “...Thank you guys, for helping me feel better.”
“It’s no problem, buddy!” Sonic said.
Tails was getting up as well, “That’s what friends are for!”
“Do you think you’re feeling good enough to keep walking around?” Sonic asked. He glanced around at the giant park rides towering around them, “...Or maybe we should head out of here. I think I’ve had enough excitement and racing around bumper cars for one day.”
“Before we leave, do you think we could stop by one of the food trucks?” Tails asked with a sheepish smile. “I’m kinda hungry after all of that. Plus, we really should get some water. Crying too much can dehydrate you.”
“...I am really thirsty.” Charmy remarked, now that he thought about it.
Sonic gave them both a thumbs up, “Of course, guys.” He looked around, before grinning knowingly, “...You know, I think that food stall over there has honey sticks and mint ice cream…”
Both boys immediately perked up with excitement. Charmy’s eyes practically shone, “Ooh, I want some, I want some!!!”
With a laugh, all three were soon at the food stall’s side as they lined up to get a good look at all the options available. Tasty treats with friends were just the thing to brighten the mood and make the day feel a little bit better.
Espio stirred the pot of bubbling broth before sprinkling a little more pepper into the brew. With the help of a silver spoon, he tasted a small sip of the soup to make sure that it had just the right amount of flavor. After he put the lid on the pot and turned down the heat to a low simmer, he glanced over at the rickety old clock that hung on the cracked kitchen wall.
It was 5:56 pm.
Vector was pacing back and forth around the desk in the next room. He kept repeatedly rubbing his forehead out of worry. The only thing that startled him out of his anxious trance was Espio walking back into the room, at which point Vector barked out, “What’s taking that kid so long?!”
Espio shrugged. It wasn’t like there was any way for him to know Charmy’s whereabouts. It was concerning that it was so close to dinner time and there was no sign of him or his slightly conceited blue babysitter, though. “...Perhaps Sonic was not the best choice to entrust him to for the day…”
Vector returned to his office chair once more, grabbing the phone and dialing up Sonic’s number for what felt like the tenth time that afternoon. It rang for several seconds… But there was no response.
Growling, Vector slammed the phone back onto the receiver. Then, he let out what could only be described as a cry and sank his head down onto the desk, covering his face with his hands.
The whole day had been flat out insufferable. Mournful thoughts that screamed inside of his head had been drowning out all rationale. He had snapped at Charmy, but in the hours since, the office had grown dead silent…. Too quiet for him to bear. Guilt was churning inside of his stomach. And now, it was nearing closer and closer to when the boy was supposed to come home and there was no sign of him. Maybe Vector’s already dishevelled state of mind was forcing him to jump to irrational conclusions, but increasing worry was permeating through his mind. What if something had happened to Charmy and Sonic before they could get back to the Chaotix detective agency?
The last thing he needed was to lose someone else important to him…
Vector suddenly stood, marching over to the doorway, “...That’s it. I’m going to look for them.”
“...Huh? But, Vector…” Espio stepped forward, “...They could just be running late.”
“Then you stay here in case they show up!” Vector instructed. “I’m not waiting around any longer in case they got themselves into trouble and-”
His rant was interrupted by the front door swinging open, revealing Sonic the hedgehog standing relaxed with his usual chill attitude, a yellow fox on his left and the little bee hovering on his right. “...Hey guys.” Sonic said.
Vector froze, “...S-Sonic! …Where were you guys?”
“What do you mean? We’re right on time.” Sonic pulled out his phone, which he had evidently been ignoring calls from, to show off the clock. The numbers 6:00 were displayed in a large font. Sonic smirked, “...Not a second late.”
Precisely punctual as always. Would it kill a guy to show up even a few minutes early? It would help to not scare Vector half to death.
Charmy flew forward, rushing over to throw himself into the crocodile’s arms. “Vector!!!”
“Woah!” Vector hadn’t been entirely ready for Charmy’s energy, but he caught the bee nonetheless.
Charmy hugged Vector for several seconds, not wanting to let go. “Vector…” He was squeezing his superior so tight, it was starting to hurt.
Vector patted his head, “...Good to see you, kid… Uh, think you could ease up a little?”
When Charmy finally did want to pull away, he was gently set on the ground by Vector. His shoulders were slumped, but he looked up. Vector could see the features on his face twisted into an expression of guilt, “Vector, I’m really sorry for pushing you earlier…” His gaze darted to the wooden flooring, “...I guess I was just really worried seeing you guys acting so sad… I wanted you to cheer up and have fun with me. But I probably shouldn’t have been trying to make you change your feelings.”
Vector blinked. Had the kid really been that distressed about the whole thing? “...It’s alright, Charmy. I’m not mad.” Then, he rubbed the back of his neck, “...I’m sorry if I scared ya by shoutin’ about the whole thing…”
The bee seemed to brighten up after being assured by Vector that he hadn’t upset him that much. He had a big smile on his face, “...Sonic and Tails were really good to me today!”
“Oh yeah?” Vector turned to look at their guests, “...Thank you guys again for helping us out.”
“It’s no problem.” Sonic had his eyes shut, acting nonchalant as he idly rubbed a finger below his nose.
“...Hey, Sonic…” Tails was sniffing the air. He tried to keep his voice quiet, but the sound was still loud enough to be heard by everyone, “...Something smells great!”
“That’s my miso noodle soup.” Espio said proudly. Whenever it was his turn to cook, he took his job very seriously.
“Ooh, you guys should stay for dinner! It would be so much fun!” Charmy excitedly suggested. Then he turned, “Can they Vector? Can they?”
“What? Uh.” Vector sighed… they hadn’t been expecting extra mouths to feed. It would cost them a little more in the long run, which made him a little reluctant to accept. But it would be pretty rude to turn them away when they had been such a good help. “Sure, you guys make yourself at home.”
“Yay!” Charmy cheered, buzzing over to fly around his friends.
“Thanks, Vector!” Tails was smiling with appreciation.
As Espio started to direct Sonic and Tails over to their seats at the old dining table, Charmy hovered over Vector’s shoulder to whisper into his ear, “Hey, Vector?”
“Hm? What is it, Charmy?” Vector paused, waiting to follow after the others during the brief aside.
He asked the question a little shyly, “...Do you think that during dinner, you could tell me again about what Mighty and Ray were like?”
“...Huh?” Vector stopped and stared for a moment, “...You’ve already heard all that before, haven’t you?”
“Yeah, but…” Charmy fiddled with his hands, “...You guys talk mostly about the brave things they did out on missions and cases, like beating up bad guys. I wanna hear more about what they were really like. Back when they hung out at the office… the things they did on the days when we had no cases.”
“...” That was asking a great lot of Vector, especially after the long day of mourning he’d suffered through. It was still painful to think about those two, wherever they might be… Missing, possibly injured or captured by Eggman’s forces, or even worse… The more Vector dwelled on those thoughts, the harder it was for him to quell the anxieties he had about Mighty and Ray’s safety.
But before Vector could open his mouth to turn Charmy’s request down, another thought hit him. Remembering the positive moments that they all had together was a lot more fulfilling than focusing on the dark reality of where they were now. In fact, he was certain that if Mighty and Ray were here now, they would encourage him to laugh about the good times they had all had together. Mighty was optimistic, and had always expressed the importance of not letting the pitfalls of life get you down. Ray could have won an award for the world’s brightest and most infectious smile. The squirrel had hated seeing people down in the dumps, and could always be trusted to turn things around into happy memories instead.
Plus, looking at Charmy’s pleading eyes right now, there was no way Vector could ever say no to him.
“…Alright Charmy. We’ll talk about them.”