This was something I started writing for Team Chaotix Week, but then it just kinda evolved into something else.
~~~
[Based on the Chaotix Casefiles]
Vector stood alone, the night air swirling gently past his skin. The last couple days had been rough on everyone. The last few hours especially.
Vanilla and Cream were inside, patching up Espio and Charmy.
Poor kid.
Not much can be done for that bent wing of his. Insect wings are fragile enough, mess with it anymore and–
No. Enough about that. He's safe, Espio’s safe. They just need time to heal.
Vanilla appears at Vector’s side.
“Your turn,” she chimes gently, revealing a basket of medical supplies.
First, she cleans the cuts and scrapes. The rag stings Vector’s skin and he winces each time.
“You’re doing great,” she insists. “Almost done.”
After taking care of the more obvious damage, she finds a little cut on his shoulder, no bigger than a paper cut.
She tuts. “Oh, dear. It seems I missed one.”
Vanilla pulls out a little cardboard box, opens it, and asks Vector to pick from the collection of band-aids.
Admiring the comically bright patterns, he chooses a classic; one with a series of smiley faces across it.
She applies his choice with as much decorum as it deserves, this medical technology of the highest priority.
“There,” she declares, “all better.”
They stand together in silence for a time, staring up at the night sky.
“What’s it like up there?” she asks absent-mindedly.
Vector turns to look at Vanilla, her eyes full of stars.
“Flying?” Vector confirms.
It seems that she didn't realize she'd asked this out loud. “Sorry. I suppose now isn’t the best time to ask that.”
“No, it’s fine. Apart from the crash, that helicopter is the best decision I’ve made.” Vector’s eyes dart towards the house for a moment. “Well, second best.”
Vanilla giggles. Sighs. Looks away. “Cream and Charmy always seem so happy flying together. Sometimes I can’t help but wonder what that must feel like.”
Again her eyes drift towards the stars, the picture of a dreamer. Vector joins her, returning to thoughts of clouds, sunshine, and the vast horizon.
“It’s like nothing else,” he comments. “Your entire world, so small you could hold it in your hand. So incredible, you wouldn't trade it for anything.”
This time it’s Vanilla who looks back at the house. “That sounds familiar.”
Vector wonders how she does it. She takes such good care of Cream. Her daughter hopes to be a daring hero, just as Charmy hopes to live up to the Chaotix legacy.
If there even is such a thing.
Just hours ago, Vector let them down in every sense of the word. In his mind, it’s no wonder that Espio and Charmy seem so lost when he's all they have to look up to.
And before Vector can even work up the nerve to ask Vanilla for advice, she’s already back inside.
Then it’s just Vector, alone under the night sky.
One little crocodile against the whole galaxy.