Polaris

Dreams As They Fall

28 hours.

For 28 hours, Sally was too shocked to do or say anything. She couldn't eat. She couldn't sleep. It was like the planet had simply stopped spinning, and everything was thrown around her while her limbs sank into the ground like a tree.

That's what Sally felt like. A tree. Trees are sturdy things. They can take a beating, stand fast against the cruelest storms, and shrink and wither when they're cold and alone. Like battle-hardened titans, trees stand through it all. But this little lynx, she was like an axe.

And Sally could feel her chipping away.

Everyone in town had gathered to crowd together, hoping to steal a glance at the girl as she slumbered. Sally couldn't blame them; who wouldn't want to marvel at the machine turned flesh? Bunnie had been quick to stomp that out, insisting that the girl needed to rest, undisturbed. That was the smart thing to do.

Sally tried rationalizing it in her head. Sonic had already told her everything. She listened silently as he explained what the girl had done and why, and how Sonic had ended up bringing her here. It was a fantastical tale. Sally didn't want to believe it.

It was a miracle of science that the girl was alive. But aren't miracles supposed to make you feel... good? Happy? The tiniest bit grateful? Sally didn't feel any of those things.

She mostly felt sick.

For 28 hours, Sally only watched the lynx. She felt like a canyon had been carved into her chest. And out of that canyon rushed a tidal wave of doubt. Sally refused to believe that what she was seeing was anything other than a cruel trick. One last laugh from Robotnik beyond the grave.

The girl made a lot of sounds in her sleep. Some moans of distress, whimpering, panting. She even cried a couple of times. Sally watched tirelessly, just waiting for the girl to let slip any sort of sign that she was an imposter. Sally's work piled up, and everyone just sort of milled around town, unsure of what to do while the Princess waited. For 28 hours, Sally watched the lynx with bated breath.

And then she woke up.

The girl rustled quietly in Sally's bed, groaning as she sat up, as if the action required a great deal of effort. In a wary voice as soft as a feather, she spoke out into the darkness.

"...Hello?"

"...Hello," Sally answered back, her voice heavy like a large metal chain.

The lynx's ears perked, and she turned to face Sally. She squinted, before sinking back into her spot on the bed. "Sally...? Is that you? I can barely see; everything's so blurry."

Sally fidgeted in place. The more she heard that voice, the clearer her memory became. "Yes, I'm Sally. Are you... how are you feeling?"

The lynx stared up at the ceiling, her mouth slightly agape. "...Scared. Weak. Tired. Hungry."

Sally winced at each word. They lunged at her like swords from the shadows. The shallow breath behind them showed just how weak the lynx truly was. There was an irreplicable sadness that grated at Sally's ears. A hopeless kind of sadness. Like an old fisherman laying his eyes on his beachside home for the last time. Like a dog who knows its owner is never coming back...

Like a child who never shared a tearful goodbye with her best friend.

"W-well, I might be able to do something about that last one," Sally mumbled as she stood up hastily, her heartbeat quickening. She had to get away from that lynx.

"Sally," the lynx called out feebly, stopping the Princess in her tracks. "Wait, please."

Sally pursed her lips, turning stiffly to face the lynx again. "Yes?"