[Stella] The Savage Beast: Ch. 3

It was hard for me to describe the look on the fox's face after I spoke those last few words.  I was expecting a quiet, pensive look as he weighed the deal in his mind, but if anything, he looked dumbfounded.  It made me worried that I had naively offered a ridiculous bargain, as he muttered to himself "Does she really think we would--"  But ultimately, he looked me eye-to-eye, extended his hand, and said "It's a deal, Stella."  I shook his hand, then I said "It's late, and I suggest you both get some sleep.  But let's keep this encounter between us, OK?  I don't know what Dad would do if he found out I was talking to you."  Tails nodded, but Knuckles chimed in with "You were the one who woke us up, remember?  Now how about getting us some pillows, or at least some gauze to wrap up the wounds you gave us?"  I shrugged and replied "I can't, or else Dad will know I helped you."  And with that, I quickly left the room, but I could hear Tails say to Knuckles "You big baby...didn't you use to sleep outside on the stone altar of the..."

I started heading back to my room, but then remembered that I had two disabled guard robots who would surely give me away if I didn't turn them back on, so I reversed direction and headed to the robot control room.  After completing that, I felt I was past the point of danger...at least until I (almost literally) ran into my father in the hallway.  I froze dead in my tracks, my mind already thinking up some excuse of why I was awake at this hour, but in the dimmed light I could see he was facing away from me.  I could've turned tail and found somewhere else to hole up for the night, but decided that would be more incriminating than just passing him outright, so I walked right by him.  "Stella?" he asked, and I turned to face him.  He was clearly lethargic, dragging his feet along.  "What are you doing up?"  I lied through my teeth as I said "I couldn't fall asleep...I must've had caffeine too late in the day.  Or maybe I was just worried that I wouldn't be able to get E-103 back in full working order...I don't know.  What were you doing?"  He sluggishly blinked and muttered "I had a dream about a bunch of anthros launching a full-scale attack on our home."  I put a hand on his shoulder and tried reassuring him with "Well, Dad, it was just a dream.  Everything's quiet now.  How about we both just lie back down again?"  He agreed, and I watched him traipse off to his room while I wasted no time at all returning to mine.  As I shut the door behind me, I was so nervous from the close call that I bent over catching my breath for a minute, then lied down in bed.  But as if fulfilling my own prophecy, my racing mind kept me from falling asleep.  Glancing at my clock, I noticed that my clandestine rendezvous had taken 30 minutes, and it took an additional 45 minutes to finally calm down enough to sleep.

I've heard that broken sleep is nearly as bad as getting no sleep at all, but I didn't realize how true that was until the following morning came.  I didn't even hear my alarm clock going off, truth be told...I woke myself up when I rolled off the bed and landed on the hard metal floor.  The events of the previous night felt surreal, as if I'd only dreamed or imagined it all.  I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror as I arduously pulled myself upright, and I was a mess: my eyes were bloodshot, my tank-top sleep shirt was all stretched out and hanging loosely around my chest, and I had a serious case of bed quills.  I could usually count on my morning shower to wake me up and help me look halfway decent, but this morning the warm water caressed my tired skin and beckoned me to just shut the water off and flop back in bed without even drying off first.  I was clearly in need of a shock to my system, so I turned the nozzle all the way to "cold" and that got every quill on my body standing on end.  It was enough to get me through my shower, dressed (in dirty clothes I had to dig out of my clothes basket because I'd forgotten to do the laundry the day before, but at least I had clean underwear), and out the door to the mess hall for some breakfast.

The servant robot prepared some pancakes and bacon for me while I poured myself a big mug of coffee to complete the illusion that I was awake and ready for a new day.  Dad was here at the same time today, working on what looked to be a bowl of oatmeal.  I sat across from him at the table, not saying anything at first because I didn't want to trigger his memories from last night.  But there's only so long you can sit in silence before things turn awkward, so I finally spoke up with a "So, Dad, got any big plans for today?"  He put down his spoon and looked at me somewhat pensively.  "I was planning on putting the savages through another round of interrogation.  Spending the night in a cell was bound to have done something to their psyches."  I nodded, but then asked "Yeah, perhaps, but you have a contingency plan, right?  I know you're stubborn and won't give up until you get what you want, but what if they're just as stubborn?"  He sighed and muttered "I hope it doesn't go that far, but if I have to, I'll kill them and hang their bodies outside, to serve as a deterrent to any other savages who might try the same stunt."  I involuntarily gasped -- my mind flashed back to the conversation I had with Tails and Knuckles, and while I may not have known much about them, and while I still didn't trust them, I didn't think they deserved to die.  Dad noted my reaction with curiosity.  I interjected "But don't you think that's a bit harsh?  I mean, if you're trying to get them to give up the location of their base, wouldn't you want to lure them in, rather than scaring them off?"  Dad shook his head.  "Remember, Stella, I know these creatures better than you do, and I know how they think.  You've gotta do something drastic like that because they aren't threatened by words."  I let my gaze sink to the floor.  "I'm just thinking there's bound to be another way to find out the info you're looking for."  Then an idea hit me.  "What about RFID tracking chips, the kind that people normally inject into their pets?  You could sedate them, inject the tags, then set them free and just track their movements all the way home."  My father smiled for just a moment, saying "I like your thinking, Stella, but these savages are too smart for that.  They're bound to notice the injection sites and dig the tags out of the skin, by any means necessary, even gnawing off the limb if they have to."  Then his face switched to a look of mild puzzlement.  "What's gotten you so interested in these savage anthros anyhow?"  I matter-of-factly replied "It's the first unusual thing to happen around here in months, so it's a welcome break from my daily routine.  And I want so badly to see them for myself because, in case you've forgotten, I am -- or used to be -- one of them, and I just wanted to see what I might have otherwise grown up to be."  He gave a mild nod of agreement, saying "You've explained your point, but let me tell you, Stella, it's not good to focus on the past.  You are who you are now, not who you used to be."  He then turned his eyes toward the wall and sighed.  "It's unfortunate that all of this has happened.  I failed you as a father, failed to keep you safe when a threat loomed, and now your mind is full of these toxic ideas.  My advice to you, Stella, is to just forget the savages ever invaded this place.  I'll make sure, one way or another, that within a day or two, you'll never hear of them again."

For the remainder of breakfast, we sat in silence.  I put away my dirty dishes and slumped off to robot repair to continue my repair work on the E-100 series of robots that got trashed in the scuffle the day before.  E-103 "Delta" was the robot currently on the chopping block, but try as I may have, I couldn't seem to stay focused on the task at hand.  Every few minutes, my mind shifted back to the anthro fox and echidna wasting away in the detention cell.  Dad's words echoed in my mind -- "I'll make sure, one way or another, that within a day or two, you'll never hear from them again" -- and I feared that time was quickly running out, not only for them, but for me.  Tails had mentioned something about knowing the circumstances of my actual birth, and I was beginning to lose my skepticism just a little bit, because I surely hadn't told him or anyone else about the "city park" dream I'd recently experienced.  For all I knew, Tails (and maybe Knuckles) were the only individuals who could tell me the story, and depending on the steps Dad took in the immediate future, it may have been my last chance to ever interact with another of my own kind.  I had to talk with them, at least one more time, and get the information I was looking for, but last night's close call still sat in the back of my mind, and I knew I wouldn't be so lucky if I tried it again while Dad was awake and alert.

As I finished bolting together the left-arm assembly on E-103, an ingenious idea came to mind: If I can't speak with Tails and Knuckles directly, maybe there's another way I can.  I put down my socket wrench, wiped the sweat from my brow, grabbed a shop towel to get most of the grease off my hands, then walked over to the large plastic bins where miscellaneous parts and tools were stored, and pulled out a tablet from the shallow clear bin on top.  I turned it on, then opened the robot-remote-control app and used it to turn on E-103.  I put it through a laundry list of basic actions to test full range of motion, and when I felt convinced that the robot was ready for service once more, I activated its eye cameras and switched the tablet display to what the robot was seeing.  I made it take a few steps around while in this visual mode, to ensure I got a good feel for smoothly controlling the robot in this way, then had it walk right out the doors.  Even through the wall I could hear the robot's heavy mechanical footfalls, which definitely raised questions about this being a stealthy operation, but it was the best chance I had.  As I turned the corner to walk down the hall leading to the detention room, I passed Dad walking in the opposite direction.  "Ah, E-103 Delta...glad to see you're up and moving so soon from that vicious fight yesterday.  But why are you going this way?"  I froze, unsure of how to answer his question.  He quickly grew impatient, and to save face I finally had to switch on the built-in speaker in E-103's torso, and Dad heard my voice saying "It's OK, Dad...I'm just putting E-103 through some paces 'cause there isn't enough room in robot-repair to do speed tests and such."  He paused for a second, then said "OK, Stella, but don't keep it out for too long.  I'm sure you've got more repair work to do."  I even sped up the robot's pace after that as if testing its speed.  I'd successfully fooled my father once more, but instead of feeling relieved I only felt guiltier.  Every lie I told him only dug me deeper into a pit, and I knew that sooner or later I'd get trapped.  But Stella Robotnik would have to damn the consequences, because she wasn't going to let the opportunity slip through her fingers.

Through the eyes of E-103 "Delta," I trekked onward to the detention room housing Tails and Knuckles.  I knocked on the door so as not to catch the guard robots by surprise, and they let me enter.  They did question my presence, though, but after thinking quickly, I continued the lie from yesterday, telling them to report to robot repair because their serial numbers matched the range in the recall, and that "I" would serve as a heavy-duty guard replacement until they could resume working.  Amazingly, they bought it, and less than a minute later, I stood at attention on the back wall, wielding my arm cannon in typical "guard" fashion.  Tails and Knuckles had been watching this whole scene take place, and looked E-103 over with curiosity.  I let a few minutes pass by, intending to get everything calmed down again, but I nearly leaped out of my skin when I heard the double doors of robot-repair open up.  It turned out it was just the two guard robots I'd summoned, and I set the tablet down to manually approach them and shut them down.  I picked up the tablet again, then turned the robot to face Tails and Knuckles.  Knuckles took one look at me and said "Didn't we destroy you just yesterday?"  I switched to speaker mode and replied "Yeah, and I spent part of last night and all morning today patching it up!"  Both the anthros were surprised to hear my voice coming from the robot, and Tails asked "Stella, are you in there?"  I took a few seconds explaining how I was remotely controlling the robot as a way of speaking to them without the risk of visiting them in person, then I got to my point: "I'm not quite as skeptical as I was last night, but please understand that I'll still be taking your words with a grain of salt.  Now, Tails, you seemed to know a fair bit about me and where I really came from.  Could you tell me more?"  He shrugged and said "Well, like I said, your parents were Sonic and Amy, and the four of us used to fight against Dr. Robotnik and his robot minions."  I said "OK, so you guys do fight.  But why do you choose to attack innocent humans?  I know they're different, but that's no reason to set fire to their houses, loot their shops..."  Tails recoiled in what looked to be legitimate surprise.  "Whoa, Stella, what are you talking about?  We don't commit arson or burglary or any of that other stuff!  Who told you that we...oh, I think I know."  But before I could push the point, I suddenly heard my father's voice asking "Stella, what are you doing?"...and it was very close by.  I looked up to see him standing a few feet in front of me, and I literally jumped back, fumbling the control tablet and hearing it clatter noisily to the floor but thankfully not breaking it.  "Who were you talking to?  There's no one else here besides you, me, and..." Then he gasped and screamed "You've been talking to the SAVAGES, haven't you?!"  My heart felt like it would explode in my chest as I meekly replied "I-I just wanted to learn more about them!"  He stormed right in front of me and pointed his thick finger in my face.  "I've already told you everything you need to know about them!  Why did you disobey me and go behind my back?!"  I shouted back "And why have you been telling me that the anthros burn and loot and pillage human settlements when Tails said they don't do anything of the sort?!"  He drew back and gasped audibly at the mention of Tails' name.  "It's because they're LYING to you, Stella, just like I WARNED you they would!"  I stomped my foot and screamed "But why would they lie about--" but I didn't get to finish my sentence before Dad roared "GO TO YOUR ROOM!"  I had a feeling that Dad would sic the robots on me if I continued this for any longer, so I drooped my face and ears, curling my short tail between my legs as I trudged the cold, cold path down the hallway to my room.

I closed the door behind me and walked forward into the darkness.  Once I felt my shin reach the edge of the bed, I flopped forward onto it, and it didn't take long for the tears to start pouring from my eyes.  I knew my lies would catch up with me one day, but I hadn't anticipated that it would be this soon.  Dad would probably have his robots supervise me for the rest of my natural-born life because of it, but what felt worse was the thought that, instead of buying myself time to find out more information from Tails and Knuckles, I'd probably sealed their fate.  Already I could picture their corpses hanging from a tree just outside the campus, and I cried even harder -- I'd never be able to forgive myself if I was directly responsible for ending the life of a fellow living being, even if they were some human-animal hybrid...just like me.  After some indeterminate time, I finally stopped crying, then sat up on the bed and clicked on the lamp to illuminate the room.  My mind was still a jumble, though; having been presented with two conflicting theories, I wasn't sure what to believe anymore.  Then I heard a knock upon the door, and weakly announced that it was unlocked.  In walked my father, not looking so much angry as disappointed, and he sat down on the bed next to me.  "I'm sorry I yelled at you before, Stella.  I was just surprised to see that not only were you disobeying me, you went to great lengths to hide it from me.  Why, Stella?  If you wanted to know more about the savage anthros, I could've answered whatever questions you had.  I just wanted to protect you from a danger you weren't equipped to handle."  I looked into his eyes and sighed.  "You've told me some things about them, and they've told me the complete opposite.  I just don't know who to believe."  Dad promptly stood up and retrieved the photo album I had atop my wardrobe, and he flipped it open so we could both see its contents.  "See for yourself, Stella...look at all these times that I've been here for you.  Look at how hard I labored to make sure you never lacked anything.  Now who do you trust: some freak-of-nature fox and echidna who violently forced their way into our beloved home and whom you've only seen for a day, or the man who took compassion on you, saved you from certain death as an infant, and committed to raising you for 18 years?  If experience truly is the best teacher, what have your experiences taught you?"  He'd made a very compelling argument, and for a moment I sat in silence.  But finally I asked "You're gonna kill Tails and Knuckles, aren't you?"  His only response was a sigh.  He then stood up and turned to leave, saying "If you ever need to be reassured about who you are, or what your purpose is, just ask me, OK?"

I watched the door close behind him and I was left alone once more.  The conversation definitely gave me food for thought, and I brought my feet up on the bed, resting my chin on my knees.  There was no question that I had been raised by Dr. Robotnik ever since I was an infant, but it still bugged me how I had been hearing two different stories about how exactly I had come into his care: one suggested that my biological parents left me for dead and I had been rescued, while the other seemed to state that I was forcibly taken away from my real parents and they had been killed afterward.  These two stories painted my father in very different lights, and if he was concerned with saving face, it may have led to him concocting the story about me being abandoned.  But ultimately, it was a judgment call I would have to make, for both sides were standing by their arguments and there was no way both of them could've been correct...and I was almost out of time to hear the anthros' side of the story in full.  Oh, how I wish I could talk to Tails and Knuckles just one more time!  But then, out of nowhere, I heard a faint rumble, sounding an awful lot like an explosion.  I instantly sprung to my feet.  Was that the sound of Dad using one of the robots to execute Tails and Knuckles?  I was instantly at the door, intending to step out and investigate the sound, but I found my door locked from the outside...I didn't even know it was possible to do that with these fingerprint locks!  I put an ear up to the door, listening for anything else that could give me a clue; I didn't know whether to feel relieved or worried when alarms started blaring almost immediately afterward, followed by the click-clack of unidentified robot wheels on the metal tile floor of the hallway.  Three explanations came to mind for the explosion and alarms: Tails and Knuckles had found some way to escape capture on their own; more anthros had invaded the campus, either to rescue their cohorts or to retaliate for their capture; or the explosion was unrelated to the anthros, maybe from one of the boilers in the subterranean power-generation rooms.  In all cases, however, staying locked in my room would've done me no good, so I pounded on the door with my fists, begging to be let out.  I even tried running at the door to break it down, which in retrospect was a stupid thing to do because it only resulted in a bruised shoulder.  I leaned back against the door and slowly sank to the floor.  When I heard the squeaking of shoes outside the door, I immediately turned around and slammed my fist once again to call attention to myself.  I heard the indistinct voices of Tails and Knuckles, followed by a powerful hit that caused me to jump back.  On my hands and feet I scooted back all the way to the opposite wall, watching as hit after thundering hit befell my door.  This continued for at least a full minute, before I could finally see a sliver of light coming from a seam on one side.  Four beefy fingers wiggled their way through before curling around the door and pulling it to the side as hard as possible.  I was about to stand up and help in the process when the door finally slammed open.  There stood the silhouettes of a twin-tailed fox and an echidna, towering over me, and as they both rushed toward me, I instinctively screamed and curled up, but Tails gently grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet.  "C'mon, Stella, we've got to get out of here!"

I followed the two anthros out of my room and further down the hall, with alarms continuing to blare in our ears.  Knuckles asked "You know this place...which way to the exit?"  I had to think about it for a minute, but finally said "I think I know what you're talking about.  Follow me!"  He gave me a strange look, but I had them turn a corner, head a short distance down a narrow branch hallway, and turn another corner.  This hall ended with a wide, arching, seamless door, which I had always assumed was the main entrance/exit, but this time, a dozen E-206 robots stood in our way, weapons drawn.  "Leave this to me," Knuckles growled, as he charged the formation of robots like a football player.  I had to shield my eyes, because I couldn't bear to see either the sight of Knuckles getting shot to pieces, or to see my beloved robots get reduced to heaps of scrap, but the sounds of crunching metal told me enough.  I finally looked up when things quieted down, and there was Knuckles, catching his breath and pulling an E-206 body panel off his arm.  "It's all on you now," Knuckles said as he looked right at me.  That's when I tensed up, knowing what he was implying.  Both of them looked at me curiously, with Tails asking "What's wrong, Stella?  All you've got to do is open the door and we can all get out of here.  Do you still not trust us?"  I shook my head and sheepishly admitted "It's not that...it's that I...can't open the door."  Knuckles exclaimed "WHAT?!" and looked like he was about to punch me in the face, but Tails asked for clarification.  I explained "The entrance door has a fingerprint lock just like most of the doors around here, and I've learned from experience that my fingerprint won't unlock it.  Dad has never allowed me to leave this place."  Knuckles looked frustrated at this revelation, and Tails looked downhearted (for lack of a better term).  Not wanting to be a total disappointment, I quickly added "But I think I have another idea to get that door open.  Stay right here; I'll be back soon."  With that, I tore up the hall, making a beeline for the robot-repair room where I spent so much of my time.  My plan hit a snag when I came across another two dozen E-206 robots coming the opposite direction, with Dad himself following closely behind.  "Stella, what are you doing out of your--"  Without even slowing down, I shouted "No time to explain.  The fox hijacked E-104 'Epsilon' and I overheard him saying something about blowing a hole through the door of the loading dock!  We've gotta get all the robots over there before he escapes!"  The robots instantly fell for the ruse and turned around at top speed, but Dad wasn't immediately convinced.  "You seemed pretty sympathetic to the anthros before...how do I know you're telling the truth?"  I replied "Because I finally see that you were right all along, Dad.  Once the anthros figured out where I was, Knuckles used brute force to get my door open.  If I hadn't kicked Knuckles in the nose, his hands would've been around my throat for sure."  He stayed silent for a moment, but I tried to rush him along with "Let's make sure they never do bother us again!"

He eventually acquiesced, and followed the robots up the hall.  I followed him as well, watching him to make sure he didn't second-guess the decision, but slowed my pace until he turned a corner and was out of sight.  Then I bolted to robot repair as was my original intention, grabbed the remote-control tablet, and turned on E-102 "Gamma" who wasn't fully repaired but had enough functionality for what I needed.  I switched it from footstep mode to wheel mode to move along more quietly, then pushed it at top speed back to the entrance where (hopefully) Tails and Knuckles were still waiting for me.  I followed along as fast as I could, but the robot outpaced me and turned the corner first.  I heard Tails gasp when he saw E-102 charging for him, but then I appeared and told them both to stand down...and back up.  I readied E-102's arm cannon and built up a charge as high as his energy reserves allowed, firing it straight at the door.  Even though I've seen every single one of our robots in action, I was still caught off guard by the thundering explosion that reverberated through the halls, and when I looked at the door once more, I saw a wide circle of glowing metal with a small irregularly-shaped hole in the middle of it.  Using the last bit of energy that E-102 contained, I charged it straight forward, tearing through the softened metal with a screech and breaking the robot to pieces all in one smooth motion.

Finally, there it was...a gaping hole into the outside world.  Knuckles was the first one through, taking care to avoid touching the jagged edges that still glowed red in some parts.  I stood there in disbelief before Tails grabbed my hand and pulled me through.  I gasped at the strange sensation under my feet as they trod the grass for the first time in my life.  I felt myself involuntarily slowing to a stop, just taking in the sights of the trees and the clouds and the sky that were no longer just pictures in books, or kept behind triple-pane seamless glass windows.  Thank goodness Tails was paying closer attention than I was, for he yelled out "Stella, WATCH OUT!" and yanked my arm hard enough to make me stumble...right out of the path of a laser beam from one of the dozens of external-mounted cannons that make up the campus's first line of defense.  The consequences of what I had done were just starting to sink in, and I began to panic.  I would've fallen on all fours and cried if Tails hadn't tried to encourage me by saying "Just stick with us, Stella, and we'll keep you safe.  But we've gotta get away from this place."  My adrenaline was the only thing that kept me going as I followed Tails and Knuckles to the treeline and into the woods.  I couldn't run easily on this soft, uneven terrain (especially with things like exposed tree roots tripping me up) and before long, the two anthros were leaps and bounds ahead of me, beginning to disappear into the dense foliage.  I called out "Wait for me!" but suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, I felt a searing pain on the left side of my abdomen.  I stopped to clench my hands around the wound, and then something else grazed my shoulder.  I fell to my knees...and something hit my left ear.  Every time, it felt like a hot scoop had ripped chunks out of my flesh.  I curled up into a ball, crying out for Tails and Knuckles to help me, hoping they weren't too far away by now.  I can't do this, I kept telling myself.  This world really is too dangerous for me...