Allies (Tails x Reader) Book 2

Pt4. Ready or Not

You walk onto deck, the rest of the crew already waiting around for you to make an appearance. You look between them with a tired droop, your body still struggling to catch up after such an extreme amount of excess sleep. "Tonight we're hitting the Doctor's underwater fracking facility. The strike team will be Viper and I, Ava you will handle deploying and retrieving us with waterborne distraction as needed. Jasper you will act as sonar and detect any attempts from outside forces that could potentially affect our mission success. This goes without saying but I'll say it as usual- Be smart, be vigilant and don't let your guard down no matter how safe you might feel."

Ava looked at you apprehensively, "East are you really gonna brush over the fact that it's this late in the afternoon? You're usually the first one up, scolding us for waking up later."

You glare at her, "It was a big op last night, and we have a second one back-to-back. It's not so hard to believe that I want to get extra rest to keep pace."

"You don't do that though, it's not like you to miss deadlines or... times in general." Jasper mumbles in your direction just loud enough for you to hear. Viper watches on in silence, their words not needed as you felt them drawing several hypotheses from your oversight.

You cross your arms, "Look, we're not doing this today. Review your roles and make tonight a success before you decide to read into my actions."

Ava shakes her head, "East, we're worried about you. You've been going back to back for a few weeks now. We've made a bunch of progress but Jasper can hear your breathing at night these days- You haven't been sleeping well." She looks at Jasper, and glances Viper before returning to you. "I was hoping that after we got the emerald you would slow down but you're running yourself ragged-"

You raise a hand. "The last thing I need is for any of you to poison me with your pitiful sentiment. These are all important targets that need to be taken out if we're going to succeed in taking down the Doctor for good. I have no reason to explain myself to any of you."

"East, what happened between yesterday and today-?" Jasper played with his hands awkwardly, trying to avoid your gaze. "-your breathing was erratic all night, almost like you were drowning for hours. Your breaths are quiet and troubled when you get exhausted but they're never that labored..."

"Shut up!" Jasper cowers, taking a step back. "Whatever this is? Stops now. I'll leave the map at the helm, Ava I recommend you look at it before nightfall. Viper, once the sun sets we're going under so prepare amply. Jasper-" He looks to the floor, staring at your shoes, "-the only thing that concerns you for the next 24 hours is whether or not there are any other living creatures approaching this ship. Am I clear?"

They all nod, an uncomfortable silence descending onto the ship. You retreat back to your quarters, looking through your gear pensively. You knew they meant well but that only made you feel worse. Everyone that had ever tried to protect you ended up making things worse in one way or another. They needed to mind their own business, if you suffered for your decisions then that was your burden and not theirs...

-----

Tails and Espio cruise in the high atmosphere, silence occupying the space for a solid 20 minutes. Tails' mind traced over the whole talk with Vigil again as he came to grips more and more with what he agreed to do.

"Espio, sorry about being so rude earlier..." He grips the controls a little tighter, an image of you being locked up in the energy cage flashing into his mind. "I really don't want your clan to execute the (y/a) whether they're my enemy or not... We... Caught them a few months back. They attacked Sonic and stabbed him in the leg. Initially I thought that was the end for Sonic and his days of running and saving the day... I cursed them for ever showing their face on South Island."
He pauses as his mind traces over the details he could remember of your bewildered and frightened face. "-it was... only a week later that I learned that nothing vital was damaged. The doctor who looked at Sonic's leg said it was like surgery with how precise the cut was... I'm pretty sure there isn't even a scar."