Vulpecula et Anser

Chapter 1: Dusk

It had been a week since the battle. The culmination of two masterminds trying to control everything with an iron fist. After the performance has finished and everything has been said and done, the stage is broken down, and the actors are removed.

Kit lay in a cell alone, sitting on a bed slumped against the wall, thinking, even as the torrential rain outside poured. He was stripped of his rudimentary powers, thanks to a device built by a certain two-tailed fox. He looked out the window (which was just an opening in the wall with metal rods cemented into it). There were only dark skies; they were devoid of any ray of hope or silver lining.

He and Surge lost, of course. Their entire purpose was to beat Sonic and Tails, and they couldn't even do that. That was how the status quo dictated it: the do-gooders were destined to win each time.

Kit was so deep in his tidal wave of thoughts; he didn't notice someone slipping through the corridor that led to his cell until the sturdy metal door at the end of it closed with a resounding clang.

He looked at the stranger who was just outside of his cell. A female wolf with biscotti fur. Her eyes seemed to be perpetually closed. Some part of Kit's brain informed him that she was Whisper. They'd never met before this, but Kit did not doubt that this was her: the soft-spoken, taciturn wolf who preferred fighting in the shadows. His eyes trailed her as she moved to sit down on a creaky wooden chair, watching him as he hastily wiped his tear-streaked cheeks. (Well, her eyes weren't exactly wide open, but Kit could feel that he was being observed, appraised even.)

It soon dawned upon Kit that she hadn't said anything since she entered the corridor. What was she doing here? It doesn't matter. He didn't want to talk to anyone, especially someone who sided with the "heroes".

"J-just..." Kit muttered, hating how his voice wobbled. "Just go away."

Whisper hesitated before she spoke. "I wish to talk to you. If that's... alright with you," she said, clearly not intending to leave anytime soon. Her voice was soft, melodic, yet there was something about it that almost radiated authority.

Kit jerked his head away from her slightly. "W-What is there to talk about?"

"Your perspective."

So she was trying to extract information from him. Great. But there was a tender sort of expression on her face. It was one he so desperately wanted Starline or Surge to have; Kit just couldn't find it in himself to refuse. No, Kit reminded himself. She's the reason they're in this mess in the first place. He'll indulge her a little. Tell her things that weren't of any importance. Surely it wouldn't hurt.

"Firstly," she began. "Why did you and Surge go through with Starline's plan?"

"You heroes have gone back and forth with Eggman instead of just ending it for so long now. You all were what caused Starline to use us for his plans!" He cursed himself inwardly for getting too riled up. He took a deep breath and continued. "That's why we wanted to get our revenge. This world treated us unfairly. It's all because of this continuous cycle between heroes and villains. That's why...we decided to use the powers given to us to make everyone realise how callous and tragic it is."

Whisper lowered her gaze slightly. "I see. I've come to understand a little, now."

He scoffed. "Someone who maintains the status quo could never understand."

"Hm. Is that so?"

"Anything else?" He said in what he hoped was a dismissive tone.

"There's one more thing. Your hearing. It's set for next week. Came here to tell you this."

Of course. She didn't care at all, not one bit. She only pretended to care; all she had to do was inform him of this hearing where they'll no doubt deem him and Surge too "dangerous" and decide to eliminate them. He's almost sure of it, but maybe, just maybe, he needed to hear it from someone else. Hear it straight from the wolf's mouth.

"If you only needed to tell me that, then what was all that for?"

She froze.

"Why pretend to care?"

A tense silence fell between them.

Kit was furious. She had tried to deceive him, just as Starline had weeks ago. He got off his bed and walked towards Whisper. "You call yourselves heroes, yet you don't care at all!" His face reddened, and his hands balled into fists that trembled with rage.

"You—you only care about others when it's convenient for you!" Tears were cascading from his eyes again. A tidal wave of emotions washed over him, and he felt as if he may drown on the inside.

"If you did care, then why'd you not capture Eggman and Starline earlier? Stop all this from happening in the first place? Stop Surge and me from getting hurt?" His voice rose an octave higher, throat threatening to burst from how loud he was screaming. Whisper stayed silent as her hand reached for the mask that sat on her bangs.

"It's all just a game to you guys, isn't it?" He spat. "Save the world time and time again so the world could shower you all with praises?"

He could hear echoes of rushed footsteps from the outside. The guards have most likely overheard the commotion he was causing. They'd probably restrain him for making such a ruckus; he needed to get this out quickly.

"If you guys were actually heroes, then maybe no one would have died!"

Four guards burst through the door, Hover Wispons in hand.

Everything seemed to stop at that moment. Only the heavy rain pouring outside reminded Kit that time was still flowing. It wasn't because of the guards, however. It was because of Whisper's glare. Her gaze was piercing; it felt like a harpoon had shot through his chest.

"Is that what you think?" Whisper's fangs protruded from her now slightly ajar mouth, and her eyes were fully open now; he could see the anger and...something else in her cadet blue depths. Kit briefly pondered if this was the expression of someone who knows how to kill another in 30 different ways.

That glare quickly dissipated; the pained expression contorted on her face corrected itself into something more neutral.

"I wonder about that." She sighed, giving Kit a wistful look before turning to the guards. One of the guards moved towards him but stopped as Whisper raised a gloved hand.

"We had a conversation. That's all." Any traces of anger within her had left. She spoke in her usual dulcet undertone.

The guard's face was a frappé of fatigue and confusion.

"See if you can move him to a...less unsightly cell." she continued.

The guard snapped out of it and nodded earnestly. "Y-yes, Miss Whisper!"

Whisper strode through the corridor and left through the now open door, the guards tailing her not long after.

The steel door closed, and despite the rain, Kit soon fell asleep basked in his thoughts.