its gonna be okay.
team chaotix fic that KIND of counts as angst? idk but some shit happens. tw for major child injury.
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``Fine, you barbarians want to ignore my warnings and keep wrecking my newly-built lair? I’ll teach you the lesson the hard way.`` Eggman’s static voice rang out from the now deactivated badnik’s screen as it flashed back to black, leaving the three to soak up what he had just threatened.
Vector fixed his eyes over to Charmy and Espio beside him. The chameleon seemed to digest the information well enough to put on a brave face in response to the threat. But Charmy.. The kid tried to be brave, too, but his body language said otherwise: his own arms were grasping onto each other for comfort as he stared at the black screen with a glint of fear in his orange eyes. A small, worried smile grew on the crocodile’s long, sharp muzzle as he knelt down to the bee’s height.
``What’s worryin’ ya so bad?`` Vector’s rough voice had a hint of sympathy.
``I- `` Charmy put his head down, considering how he should really phrase this to Vector.. ``I know Eggman’s enough of a doof-y coward to not really act on what he just said.. But it’s just this gut feeling that this whole case is gonna loop us into Eggman’s blacklist for good.``
Vector tilted his head in thought, before putting his large hand on the bee’s shoulder and giving him a reassuring smile.
``So what? We’ve probably gotten into Eggman’s bad side loooong ago, and what’s he done? Throw a couple o’ badniks in front of us? It’s really nothing to break a sweat over, kid. It’s all gonna be okay in the end.``
``And besides, if Eggman does try anything, I won't be far behind you and Espio. If we detectives kicked his butt once, we can kick his butt again.`` Charmy giggled a little at Vector’s last line.
Espio exhaled, the smallest of smiles creeping up on his face. He knew all three of them were too strong to falter at Eggman’s schemes, no matter how difficult it was to undergo. Almost all recent crime cases have started to revolve around Eggman, so if they can confront him face-to-face one time, they can do plenty more.
Yeah. It was all gonna be okay in the end.
It was all gonna be okay…
…
————
``....A-Agh..`` Charmy grunted as he slowly opened his eyes, nothing but darkness surrounding him.
…Not much was okay.
He couldn’t remember much happening, really. The rapidness of it all, the screams, the panic, it was too much for him to process in that short of time when they were all in battle with Eggman. All that was left for him to remember in the midst of the haze that was his memory was Vector and Espio yelling.. Well, it had to be something. Something important. A warning that didn't get to Charmy in time before it all went white for him.
Even if it wasn't, Charmy couldn't help but feel like it was his fault. His fault for not being able to listen to the two while he was facing Eggman full head-on.
Vector was gonna be so mad…
Well, if he could already imagine the trouble he’d get in, he’d better get started getting himself out of this enclosed area. But that was basically near impossible when all of his lower body was throbbing with pain, especially at his abdomen... His right wing hurt so much, too—immobilising any sort of flight the bee could’ve used instead. Probably just from the adrenaline of the fight.
The pain in his abdomen felt like there was a chunk of metal lodged into his body, some tears falling down his muzzle in sheer agony from it.
The rest of his small body felt numb and cold. That’s fine: it beats pain..
The little bee attempted to just walk it off and attempt to lift his body off the ground anyway, but that only ended with a yelp of agony as his body staggered quickly back to the floor.
Ow. Okay. Definitely not trying any funny stuff, then.
Charmy gazed around the tight space keeping him pinned down to wherever he was. Thick metal sheets, rubble and ruined debris of what used to be badniks piled up and enclosed the space of where the bee was — some remains were even on his body and crushing some parts — only having small creaks of openings that let air in and allowed Charmy to peer outside of where he was trapped. Whatever he could actually see outside didn't make one difference when his blurry vision clogged up any possible insight he could've gotten on how to get out or at least alert Vector or Espio.
His fuzzy antenna twitched with a constant ringing sound pulsating in his ears, deafening any familiar voices he could’ve heard from outside.
The world really was itching to kick his butt today with completely closing off all his senses when he needed them most, huh?
The bee didn't really know if the cause of his weird sense of sleepiness was from staying up all night yesterday, or from barely getting any oxygen intake and only breathing in dust and oil fumes from broken machinery mending itself one with the debris.
In either case, he felt the urge to just listen to the sensation and go back to sleep, but he needed to at least try and escape first.
…
He suddenly heard a soft static noise in his left antenna, buzzing (pun intended) in his ear quietly. Charmy weakly lifted a hand up, grazing the coarse floors with his elbow, and touched it to try and see what was causing it..
…
Right. The communicator. It was an earpiece Vector had been working extra hours and saving up for, just so the crocodile could get three for each of them — and to say that it has improved their missions in terms of coordination would be an understatement. Still, it was pretty new to Charmy, and the little bee had to fumble with it a few times until he heard—
Chrrrk!-
``Charmy?! Charmy, are you there?``
A familiar voice rang in his antenna, the bee recognizing it upon the first syllable it enunciated. A weak, small bittersweet smile emerged on his face upon it.
It— It was Vector!
``...Mmph- `` The little bee tried to reply to the voice, but it only really came out as a muffled noise of struggle. `` ..I- ..Mhm.. ``
Charmy couldn't see right now, but he could definitely sense the relief yet fear that came on Vector’s face when he heard just how weak the bee’s voice was. Practically inaudible if they didn't have earpieces heighting up eachother’s volumes.
`` Oh thank Gaia... You gave me a scare there, kid. `` Vector then seemed to yell something from afar, something not directed to Charmy. He then heard the second voice he had wanted to hear…
``Charmy? Where are you now?`` The ninja’s usually sage voice seemed to come off with a small hint of worry right now.. But still, Charmy was more than glad to hear the voices of the two people he held close in a situation like this, calming down the little kid’s internal stress.
Charmy wondered why his right wing still hurt so bad when the adrenaline he had had before was now calmed down by Vector and Espio..
`` D-.. debris.. ``
``’Debris’?`` The older reiterated as he turned back to Espio ``The kid’s under some sort of pile of remains, keep that in mind.. ``
His body seemed to not take that sudden usage of energy from just speaking well, every part of him growing more numb by the second as he felt the urge to just let go of consciousness for a while; eyes growing dull and heavy.
`` Charmy? `` The crocodile got back to the bee.
`` … ``
`` C’mon, don’t leave me hanging, little guy. ``
The kid only mustered up a feeble groan of pain instead of words, really.
``How bad are you hurting? What are the injuries?`` The slight anxiety in Espio’s voice was really starting to peek out now. It wasn't the chameleon’s fault—it’s not the end of the world if you drop your cold demeanour for a near-dead kid.
…Shoot. Charmy really didn’t want to worry the two in this case: stressing the older ones out more than he already was, was going to get them nowhere… He just wanted them to come here, not to waste time while his body was hurting most.
But he just needed to tell them, or Espio would keep insisting on knowing.
``..It- …It hurts.. A lot…``
Vector’s concerned grunt only indicated to Charmy that he was starting to get more and more worried about the bee’s general health and safety.
``Just stay with us on the line, okay? Keep breathing as deeply as you can, and we’ll be here in a blink. It’s gonna be okay, kid.`` Vector must’ve noticed how shallowly the bee was breathing.
Charmy doesn’t know if he could even really trust Vector anymore with that phrase when the croc’s already promised it once and it ended in this ruined predicament.
But he couldn’t blame Vector.
He couldn’t blame Espio.
He couldn’t blame anyone.
All he saw on who’s at fault for this was himself.
For getting himself this hurt and putting that burden onto their shoulders because he was reckless. Because he couldn’t listen.
Tears started to leak out again from his orange eyes, but now it was paired with a lifeless expression. An empty, tired expression. All his energy was being slowly sucked out of him each second Espio and Vector weren't here, and the little bee couldn't do a thing about it. Nothing but lay here and wait for exhaustion to finally pull him under.
Charmy could feel the weight of his body start to grow on him as his attempts in moving became more sluggish.
The world started to spin.
Eyelids were heavier than ever.
He finally stopped trying to hold on and let his small body rest.
`` …M’s-sorry, ‘ector… and Esp..io… ``
————
``Damnit! The communicator just went off with no signal!``
Vector struggled as he ripped the earpiece off and tried everything he could to connect back to Charmy and communicate with him, tinkering with it with shaky hands. But no — too much to ask for, it seems. To have basic communication with a dying kid you hold dear.
Espio nudged the crocodile’s shoulders to get him to focus on what’s at hand, the final door in front of them. Charmy must’ve been in here.
``I’ll need help getting these doors down. I’ll skewer the hinges, you pull each door apart.`` Vector only replied with a quick nod as Espio already made his way up the wall and against the rim of the metal doors, taking out a kunai and preparing himself to aim at the ends. The elder put his two large hands on the crack of the door, left on left, right on right.
…
``Pull!``
The crocodile exerted himself with a low grunt as he gripped and pulled apart the two openings so hard his knuckles were turning white, while the ninja kept swiftly screwing the kunai’s sharp end into the hinges until they were loosened and now susceptible to the force of Vector’s push as the two doors ripped right off.
The two immediately dashed into the final room, debris being the only thing that filled the space as toxic fumes and dust emanated from destructed badniks and other machinery.
``Charmy? We’re here! `` Espio called out from the ceiling he was clinging onto to get a better view of the room, swirled tail latched on a hanging, turned-off light
Vector checked every pile of debris with a keen eye, making sure to not miss any signs of Charmy possibly being in one of them.
``C’mon, kid.. You’ve gotta be okay. You’ve gotta be here somewhere.``
It didn’t take long before he spotted something standing out from the rest of the clumped up remains of metal and rock, near one of the piles of debris.
Something colourful that stuck out from the dull shades of everything around it.
A torn piece from Charmy’s vest.
``Espio! C’mere!`` He called out to the chameleon as Vector started to frantically lift off and throw away each piece of remains from what looked to be the bee’s body, and no sooner had Vector started to dig away into the pile that Espio had deftly sprinted next to the larger to help him out, lifting off the smaller parts more faster as Vector lifted off the bigger parts more carefully.
He made sure not to jostle anything around: he didn't want to hurt Charmy more than he already was.
Espio was able to uncover some of the smaller bee’s lower body, an icy sweat running down Vector’s forehead when he saw a large, thick sheet of metal jabbed into his abdomen with red bloomed over it. How long had the poor kid had that metal part stabbed into him like that?
Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Don’t look at the blood for too long. You’re gonna make it worse if you panic.
Vector finally lifted and got off the biggest clump of debris enclosing Charmy, the little bee’s body now in full view. He was laying on the ground flat, bloodied face slack, eyes shut and head lolled over with antennae drooped limply to the side as blood was pooling underneath him. His right wing had half of it torn off, too.
Vector wanted to punch himself when he saw the tear-jerking sight.
How could he have not gotten Charmy out of this sooner?
The pain the bee must’ve felt…
…But, he couldn’t dwell on that now.
``We’ve got you, we’ve got you.. `` He knelt down, carefully scooped up Charmy’s limp body and propped his head with his large hands, getting up again. Espio looked to be just as horrified, shuffling next to Vector as he gazed at the unconscious bee in his arms.
``That’s…- …That’s fatal. We need to rush.`` All attentive eyes, the chameleon could tell about the bee’s condition from just one look. ``..He can pull through, th-though. Correct? ``
Vector frowned at the slight wobble in the ninja’s voice. `` The little guy’s resilient; he won't give up to Eggman that easily.. Don’t worry. And you don’t have to tell me twice about getting outta here, big guy. C’mon, let’s get outside and get some medical help for Charmy.``
Vector securely kept Charmy’s small body cradled in his arms, not minding the blood and dust now covering himself as they made their way back from the doors they entered, now with their missing member with them.
As Vector took deep breaths as he walked past, today might’ve just had the most fear he’s ever felt in forever.
But they made it through.
It was all gonna be okay.
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note: charmy i am so sorry for your hurting its for the audience i swear
also its like. my first time writing a proper fic thats not a draft. can you tell
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Here’s a Chaotix amusement park headcanon that no one asked for.
——
Vector’s first trip to the amusement park with Espio and Charmy was quite the experience. Because between a hyperactive toddler that could fly and a quiet, 12 year old ninja who could turn invisible, the teen croc had his hands full.
Between the two, Charmy was the bigger thrill seeker. Those cute flying car rides? Laaaaaame. But too bad he wasn’t allowed on the roller coasters yet.
"Vector, lemme off! I faster!"
Vector had to strap him extra tight into the seat and bribe him with dessert to ensure he won't just slip out and try to out-fly the ride until he got dizzy.
Of course there were consequences to letting Charmy eat funnel cake. Long story short, Vector was very grateful that he’d had the foresight to get a child leash. But what he hadn’t expected was to come out of Dippin’ Dots and find that Charmy decided to zip towards the top of a castle - Espio tried to stop him, only to get dragged into the air himself.
Speaking of which, Espio had never seen a theme park before and wasn’t used to machines that weren’t Eggman’s mechs. It took a lot of gentle coaxing and reassuring from Vector until he finally gave it a try.
Vector didn’t know what was funnier: the death stare the little chameleon aimed at these driverless cars or the shock and awe on his face when the car rose in the air and slowly glided forward, then moved up and down in gentle waves. Either way, it was priceless.
That is, until Vector remembered that ninjas were good at getting out of restraints, or in this case, the ride’s seat belts.
Vector: "Espio! Get yer ass back in the car or they’ll stop the ride! No, get your tail outta- that’s not a tree, dammit!”
Charmy: "Espio! Go spinny leaf! Make it fly, fly!”
That said once Espio got the hang of it, the dynamic changed very quickly. At one point, Vector couldn't find him and after a few minutes of searching and having a heart attack, there he was strolling out of the exit of another ride. He'd managed to sneak in by turning invisible and skipping ahead of the line. Vector was too impressed to stay mad at him for running off and leaving him alone with the little terror.
The rest of their time was spent together at the water park, which all of them enjoyed the most. The water slides and river rapids were a blast. Charmy’s animated chatter and giggling as he and Espio splashed each other, both of them tag teaming Vector after getting dunked by him, Espio taking Marco Polo to another level, and so on.
All of them were beyond tuckered out when they finally got home. Putting Charmy to bed didn’t take much effort at all. Espio passed out the second his head hit the pillow. Vector watched them sleeping so peacefully, wondering how these were the same boys who’d ran him ragged more than once today. Regardless, they’d still had a great time and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
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