FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Let me go!" It didn't take long for Frostfire to get captured by the mech's clutches, even when she fought good and hard. She loathed being a damsel in distress as she'd much rather be claw her way out than be saved by someone else.

"You're that brat whose brother wanted total domination of that wretched waste of space you call a village!" Robotnik said as he stared Frostfire down. She squirmed but she was as stuck as could be. "Your brother and your Tribe will make an excellent addition to my Robian army!" The mad man smirked. "Especially you, my hybrid friend."

Those words stimulated reminiscences of the day thaft her brother violated her. She could still remember the pain in her shoulders of when Auk threw her into that horrid machine he called the Hybridizer. She had never screamed so much in her life. That contraption rewrote her genetic makeup to allow the implantation of the wings she possesses now. He tried to create her into the monster he saw her as in his mind. Robotnik merely gave him the ability to fulfill his dream of mortifying his sister the same way she laughed at him when he embarrassed himself at the annual Husky sledding competition. That day was his day of revenge. It was only by fate that Frostfire's would-be fiancé, Snejok, the Chief's son, and former best friend, Boaz, saved her from the machine only to be hybridized themselves. She used her wings, which were too new to master at the time, to flee the scene. She could still hear the blood-curdling screams of the two boys in her mind.

This recollection angered her. So much so that she used her Cryokinesis to freeze the Mech's hand at first, forcing its metallic phalanges to stiffen.

"What the-?" Robotnik's reaction was too little too late. Moments later, Frostfire used her Pyrokinesis to burn the metallic claws to goop. Once she was free and the Mech's hand melted off, the fight against Robotnik had already been won. The Mech was strong but not strong enough to withstand the might of Sonic and his friends. After a series of attacks, such as Sonic's homing attack, Tails genius in disabling machinery, and Knuckles' brawn, the Mech was destroyed.

Frostfire rested, having used up most of her energy to freeze-melt the mech's hand. Eggman was forced to retreat. Frostfire came back to Shot.

"Hey, sorry it took so long, I got held up..." Frostfire rubbed the back of her head.

"Are you ok?" Shot asked worriedly, looking at her wounds.

"Aside from almost being crushed by a metallic hand, yes..."

"Looked to me like you were doing pretty well" Shot replied happily.

"You think Manic saw?" Frostfire looked around nervously, blushing like mad.

Shot smirked. "Why don't you ask him yourself?"

Frostfire's eyes widened. "D-Don't tell me..." She said, fearing the worst.

"He's right over there." Shot pointed toward him. Frostfire eyed him among his siblings, cheering in victory against Eggman. Frostfire exhaled slowly.

"Phew... That's better than behind me..." She darted her eyes apprehensively. "But..." She hesitated further. "I don't know... I don't know what to say..."

"Start by saying 'Hey sexy, good teamwork!'" Shot laughed.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Frostfire exclaimed, nearly shouting. "I-I'm not gonna be that forward!" She said lowering her voice and darting her eyes once again. "B-But... it would be nice to get his attention but I have to think how... m-maybe we should go..."

Before she could say another word or even leave, Manic approached her as the other two went elsewhere.

"So you've got beauty and brawn, eh?" The green hedgehog flirted with her.

Frostfire, true to her name, froze in place. "I, uh..." She was too afraid to look into his eyes, too afraid to even speak. "S-Sure..."

Manic tilted his head. "You ok? You look kinda flustered from the fight."

"Don't say anything stupid..." Frostfire thought to herself. "I-I'm fine, Manic. I've been through worse..."

"I didn't expect that fire to come out of you." Manic answered, almost smiling.

"I-I'm not surprised... when you see a snow leopard, fire isn't what one might expect..."

The conversation would have continued but Sonic sped up and butted in.

"That was some fight! Too bad it ended right when the fun started. So, Frostfire, is it?" The feline nodded. "What are you and your friend gonna do now?"

Frostfire looked at her nervous friend who was busy being silent in front of her crush, Sonic. Frostfire didn't blame her. She'd have the same reaction if Sonic hadn't butted into the conversation tween her and his brother.

"I-I'm thinking we might go..."

"Leave? You can't leave!" Suddenly the violet hedgehog came up behind Frostfire. She looked worried. "Look at you! You should have someone look over you. We have great medical facility near our base, then you can come see us afterward to rest."

Frostfire paused to ascertain her wounds and potential discomfort. There were several bruises across her arms and waist, and some bleeding. She'd be on edge the entire fight and hadn't noticed why Manic had looked so worried earlier. Then she thought about it - the wounds only got worse as she continued to ignore them. Otherwise, Sonia's brother would have said something. She sighed and looked to Shot.

"What do you think, my friend? Should we go?"

"YES." Shot cried before blushing awkwardly. "I mean, sure, yeah..." She did her best to avoid eye contact with Sonic.

"Alright, I-I'll get looked at..."

"Oh, good. I wouldn't want you to leave here without, at least, some bandages. By the way, I'm Sonia." Sonia took Frostfire's hand and dragging her over to Manic. "Here. My neglectful brother will escort you to the medical center." Sonia threw a glare at Manic before turning and winking at Frostfire.

Frostfire's face burned like the sun. "Uh, o-okay... thanks, Sonia..." Frostfire had not a clue how to speak around her brother. Her mind was like a dried up riverbed. Frostfire was terrified of looking into those brown eyes of his. She had almost wished he spoke up first.

"Are you okay?" Manic asked, worry in his eyes. It was hard to tell if he was asking because of her health or the way she was acting. This was the second time he asked this. Frostfire was not going to let him ask a third time.

"Uh..." If her mind was any more dried up, you'd swear she was dead - or at least brain-dead. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. I don't even feel the pain." She said lying through her teeth. The pain was excruciating but she dared not show that to her crush. Looking weak was the last thing she wanted. Being a hunter demanded some endurance and courage. Still, just a look from Manic and she became as the very prey she hunts.

"Okay." Manic said. He didn't seem to believe her however but he knew not to press on. Taking her hand, Manic led her in a certain direction. "The medical center's this way." Shot was not very far behind.

Frostfire about bolted out her skin and her fur. Why in the world would he take her hand? Was she really that bad?

"I-I'm fine really..." Frostfire's heart raced, she had no idea what was going on. She glanced at Shot for guidance. She merely gave her a thumbs up. Frostfire mouthed a 'help me!' with a nervous countenance. Shot reply were unintelligible gestures that only Frostfire knew. The first was more or less 'grow a pair', the next was 'he's into you', and the last being, "you got this!'. Seeing as her best friend was no help, she continued walking side by side with Manic. She kept her mouth shut despite wanting to say something to him.

Manic seemed to sense Frostfire was nervous. He couldn't seem to figure out what was bothering her but didn't dwell on it too long. "So? Do you guys speak sign language to each other or something?" He was referring to Shot's odd gestures.

"No, she's just a dork like that. I also know her well enough to know what she has to say." Frostfire laughed. Oddly, the series of gestures is what pacified her anxiety. Exhaling deeply, Frostfire snuck a smile from the corner of her mouth. "So, besides music and heroism, what is it you and your siblings do?"

"Wasn't it obvious? We lead pretty girls to medical centers." Manic smirked.

The blushing came right back. "Heh... I meant... well, you know..." Frostfire knew what she was saying but her tongue fought against her brain. Now she was starting to wonder what she even was trying to say in the first place.

Manic smiled as he turned to her. "Oh, you mean, before I met you?"

"Y-Yes."

"Well let's see... I'd annoy my sister, ride my hoverboard. Fix the van, try to avoid ever going to a restaurant with Sonic because he always orders us chili dogs. Oh, and I make things disappear." Manic sent her a wink.

The blushing continued to worsen. "D-Disappear? L-Like a magician?"

"Sure. Just like magician except I never seem to really return anything. Perhaps I haven't got that part down."

"I... I'm not sure what you mean..." Frostfire looked towards the ground as they kept walking towards their destination.

"My brother's a master thief, chicky." Sonic said half-annoyedly and half-proudly as he appeared.

"O-Oh. That's..." She paused a good long while, searching for the right word.

"Go ahead. Say it's wrong. I don't mind." Manic said, glaring at his brother.

"N-No, I was going to say impressive. You must be incredible!" She brushed her hair away from her face, feeling like she might have made her crush a little too obvious. "You don't seem like the type to steal from just anyone..."

"Oh, that's new. How rich. Someone actually admires your sticky fingers, bro." Sonic said rolling his eyes.

Manic rolled his eyes at his brother's remark. "You know what's more interesting? That you're actually spending time with a person for more than five seconds." Manic replied, referring to a disconcerted looking Shot.

Sonic's head turned. "Yeah so?"

Frostfire wished to say something about herself but she allowed the two siblings to banter.

"So? You barely spend time with me and Sonia that long. Heck! You barely spend time with Tails that long before you're off runnin' again!"

Shot seemed suddenly interested in the boys' joshing.

"Well if that's how you're gonna be then, Manic, see ya..." Sonic sped off before anyone could blink.

"What... what was that all about?" Frostfire softly asked.

"I don't know." Manic shrugs, "Apparently I hit a nerve. Haven't done that in awhile. Sorry about that, dudette." Manic said, looking at Shot.

"It's cool." Shot said plainly.

"S-So... Is there an item you've got your hands on that you're proud of?" Frostfire's tail flicked a couple of times, displaying her interest in the matter of this larceny.

"Not just yet, but I got my eyes on something." Manic replied, smirking.

"O-Oh? L-Like what?"

Manic shrugs. "Just someone special..."

Now her heart sunk lower than the depths of the ocean. He must mean a thief friend or something. "Uh... oh..." Unsure of what to say, she merely cleared her throat. "W-well I meant, have you stolen a pricey item yet?"

Manic laughed at her words, seemingly missing her fallen figure. "Well, sure I have. Tons of stuff. I can't remember them all." Manic turned and starting walking backwards. He randomly started naming off things that came to his mind.

"Amazing! You must have plenty of contenders too!" Frostfire's eyes sparkled.

"Oh, yeah! Heaps! But let's be honest. They're no match against me. Great! Now I'm starting to sound like Sonic."

Frostfire giggled. "It's quite alright!" She replied.

"But is it quite alright with your friend?" Manic asked. He tilted his head sent a smile Shot's way.

"Sure it is! We're all fans of Sonic here!" She emitted a smile, nudging Shot.

Manic nodded his head. Frostfire suddenly felt a twinge in her arm and looked up ahead. "Is that the center?" She said pointing.

"Yeah. Let's go check you." Manic said, grabbing her hand and leading her inside. Frostfire's heart jumped inside her chest once more at the touch of his hand. This was the first time in a long time she felt cared for. The last person other than Shot was her old friend Boaz the Russian Blue.

Somehow, being led by Manic quieted her shortcomings in protecting her comrades. She remained silent while walking up to the front desk of the medical center.

Manic signed Frostfire in at the desk and it was a matter of seconds before a bunch of nurses surrounded her. They kept asking her questions about how she got her wounds and if this or that hurt. Manic sent Frostfire a smile to reassure her that was all normal. Frostfire groaned unpleasantly. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you all how I got these wounds but every limb hurts..." Frostfire told the nurses. She swallowed a pocket of air. Soon, one of the nurses led her to a medical room and told her to wait for the doctor. Frostfire sat in a chair, growing a little impatient when the clock had moved five minutes. "Ugh," She groaned again.

Eventually a doctor walked in and asked her the same questions the nurse did. He started, simultaneously tending to her minor wounds and then examining her more major wounds. "Looks like your arm might need an x-ray." He said tending to the bleeding around the chest.

"Oh joy..." Frostfire said. "Is it that bad?"

"It depends on what the x-ray shows. Follow me." The doctor said, leading her to a dark room. Frostfire was intimidated by the darkness. It brought back memories of being out in the Tundra after being exiled and all by herself with no light inside a cave, her temporary home at the time, and living off nothing but seal meat. Seals were scarce where she had made her shelter so the perpetual famine drove her nearly mad. The chill in the room went up her spine. Though it was not like the Tundra's bitter cold, it wasn't unlike it either. She had heard of X-Rays but never had one so naturally she was a little uneasy. Just how exposed would she be?

"Take a seat." The doctor told her, pointing to a certain chair. Frostfire followed the doctor's orders. The doctor quickly walked over to her and took hold of her arm, leaving Frostfire uncomfortable. "Now, I'm going to show you what positions you need to make in order to take the x-ray. Some of them might feel uncomfortable or even painful but I will try to hurry the x-ray along so you won't have to keep feeling that pain."

"U-Uh... alright..." Frostfire glanced at Manic and Shot.

The doctor walked up to Manic and Shot. "You two are going to have to leave the room until we are done taking x-rays." The doctor showed them out the door. Shot sent Frostfire a quick thumbs-up before leaving.

"Okay so, what do I have to do, doc?" Frostfire asked.

The doctor instructed her to put her arm in a certain position. "Does that hurt?" The doctor moved her arm a little when she nodded. "Any better?" When she shook her head the doctor sighed. "Okay, I'm going to take an x-ray of it quickly then. don't move or we'll have to take it again."

"I hope I didn't break anything..." Frostfire barely fidgeted enough to be noticeable.

In a few seconds the doctor came back in. "You did great! Now I'm going to have you do one more position for me. This time turn your arm on its side." The doctor gave her a thumbs up when Frostfire had got her in the right position and watched him go into the small room, again.

"Ow, okay that hurts!" Frostfire yelped, biting her lip. The doctor came back out again with a big smile on his face. "Okay, you're done. Wait outside with your friends and I'll be out with the x-ray later." Frostfire sighed with relief and exited the room, looking left and right for Manic and Shot.

"Over here!" Shot called.

"How did it go, Frosty?" Manic asked, when Frostfire approached.

Frostfire stood in front of the two anxious Mobians and sat between them, with Shot hugging her reassuringly. "It was very scary but it didn't seem to hurt much - until I moved my arm this way and that." She sighed. "He'll be out with the X-Rays later."

Manic shrugged. "Could have been worse. He could have asked for a back x-ray..."

Frostfire shivered with fear. "That doesn't sound fun." She sighed again but with less oomph. She relaxed in her chair, almost ready to call it quits and sleep. Then she started to daydream about old times in the tundra. How she missed hunting in her homeland...

Manic watched Frostfire stare across the room, as if she was seeing something that he didn't. He looked over at Shot who seemed to be doing something similar. "What you thinkin' about, Frosty?" He couldn't help but ask. Her peaceful figure sparked his curiosity.

"Former days in which I used to hunt." She simply said without much emotion in her voice.

"Hunt? Hunt what?"

"Caribou, hares, foxes..." When Frostfire had finished Manic was astonished.

"Wow. The only thing I've hunted is loot." He grew a smile. "That's impressive."

Frostfire's cheeks warmed. She had no words to retort with.

"Yo, Frosty. Did I break you?" Manic started to laugh at how awkward the moment seemed.

Finally the doctor came out with the x-rays. "Could you follow me. I will show you your x-rays. Your friends are allowed to come along if you wish." He walked up to Frostfire.

"Good, I hope I'm alright..." She said, motioning to Manic and Shot to follow her.

The doctor led them to a small room and then patted a bed like seat next to him. "Have a seat, Miss Frostfire." When she had sat down he pulled some odd looking black paper out of an orange folder and placed it on a square like lamp. When he had turned it on bright shapes took the form of bones on the black sheets.

Frostfire cocked her head while looking at the images. "Fascinating." She softly replied.

"It looks like you have a nick in your radius, just above the head of the hand." The doctor pointed to a certain area of bone where there seemed to be a crack. "It's nothing too serious, however it is very painful and will most likely require a cast. Or, if you are not of fan of casts, you could go with a sling but you couldn't move your arm, which is why I suggest a cast."

"I-I'd rather go with the cast..."

"Wonderful! Would you like to get started on it now?" The doctor gave her a big smile.

"Please, do." Frostfire replied with less enthusiasm than before.

"Good. Follow me." The doctor led them to a different room. As they followed the doctor Manic couldn't help noticing how nervous Frostfire seemed.

"Are you okay, Frosty?" Manic asked, walking up beside Frostfire.

"I will be once I have a cast on..." She replied with a frustrated sigh.

Manic nodded his head and watched Shot walk up to leopard. The squid began speaking of Sonic to try and distract Frostfire a bit. Also, she wanted to talk about Sonic...

Finally, they reached a room full of different patients sitting on similar seats the doctor had led Frostfire to. He started writing a few things down on the clipboard he carried and then he turned to her. "I assume this is your first time getting a cast so I'll have to warn you, you're going to have to be quite patient and it might tickle." He smiled when Frostfire nodded her head. "Okay, then. What color would you like?"

"It doesn't matter to me, I just would like to get this over with..." No matter how she tried avoid it, the thought of being injured frightened Frostfire. "How long does I have to wear this?"

"Based on your injury and your age... I'd say two and a half weeks."

"Great... Alright, well thank you, doc." Frostfire said letting out one last sigh.

After putting the cast on, which felt quite odd, the doctor smiled. "There you go. If you have any questions don't hesitate to come back here again and if something goes wrong, just let me know."

"Believe me, I will..." Frostfire looked at Manic. "Correct me if I am wrong but wasn't I offered to stay with you and your siblings?"

Manic grinned. "Well, yeah. Are you and your friend still up for it?" Manic glanced at Shot as he led them to the exit.

Frostfire looked at Shot who gave a simple and silent nod of confirmation. "Yep!" Frostfire spoke up.

The Squid and the Snow Leopard followed the Hedgehog to his home.

"So, how's it feel to get a cast?" Manic asked Frostfire.

"It beats healing injuries with few resources..." Frostfire replied with her past on the tip of her tongue.

"Sounds interesting and kind of annoying." Manic replied. "Did you use to deal with your own injures?"

"You'd be surprised at how easily you get injured during a hunt." Frostfire gave Manic a crooked smirk.

"Not really. When you hunt practically anything, it's dangerous. I'm just surprised you got that many injures." Manic smirked.

"Fortunately, I heal fast and I am swift so my injuries." Frostfire said, thinking about the times she's narrowly avoided death. "When you hunt large game, you usually have competition..." Frostfire added.

"You're kidding? You had competition?"

"Sure, from predators like wolves or polar bears."

"Sounds... painful."

"They become simple nuisances as you gain more experience."

"I'm sure..." Manic gave her a slightly awkward smile, clearly not believing her statement.

Frostfire laughed. "It's okay, I do not expect an Outlander to understand the lifestyle of the Tlavians." She smiled warmly at Manic. "So, Manic... Tell me more about yourself."

"Let's see... I had an unhappy past and I've got an awesome future. I've faced many dangerous things, nothing with fangs, though. Well... unless you count a yeti. Nope, my past wasn't as cool as yours." Manic smiled.

Frostfire smiled for a second at his enthusiasm, then frowned.

Manic couldn't help but notice Frostfire's sudden mood change. "Did I say something wrong..?"

She looked him dead in the eye. "My brother framed me for the destruction of our village which he caused himself which had me become exiled. The use of fire is strictly forbidden where I come from unless it is used by our Chief, his son, and the Elder. Any member marked with some birth mark that foretells that person will one day naturally use fire. Among Cryokinesis users, Pyrokinesis is feared. I had the mark in my eyes whereas my brother had no visible mark, which is unheard of. There is a reason the use of fire is feared - it is said that those with Pyrokinesis have furious anger and are doomed to one day wreak havoc among my people. My brother stole my life from me out of hatred and jealousy. H-He always wanted what I had... I was to be the Chief's son's wife-to-be whereas my brother and his girlfriend were the laughingstock of the village. Ever since he failed the test to be the next Chief, he has attempted to exact revenge on me. He almost did. These wings are a reminder that he is still out there - he attached them to my DNA. My past is not anywhere near 'cool'."

Manic's face was an indescribable look. It was practically impossible to tell what he was feeling. He was silent for a long time and it had the female wondering. He eventually spoke up, his joyful tone lost, "I'm sorry." His eyes averted from hers for a while and he looked as if he was trying to pull himself together.

"I-It's okay... I shouldn't have dumped on you like that. I-I'm still getting over it all. I have only my best friend here to thank for being there for me." Frostfire replied motioning to Shot.

Shot smiled, hugging Frostfire and said "I'll always be here!"

"Good." Manic smiled, seemly getting some of his persona back. "I can tell you girls are tight."

Frostfire beamed back. "We are!" She laughed.

"That's great!"

Frostfire shared a laugh with the two of them. Frostfire continued to be led with her friend down a series of roads that became more and more narrow, eventually coming up to the base. Sonic and Sonia were already inside.

"Hey there!" Sonic greeted them with a mouthful of chilidog.

"Glad you made it back!" Sonia grinned. "I see you have a cast on. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Not in much pain now."

"You must be exhausted... Let me show you the guest room, I had it all spruced up for you two." Sonia offered, motioning for Frostfire and Shot to follow her. Down a short hallway was the room Sonia mentioned. Conveniently, there were two beds, one hugged the wall and the other hugged the wall on the opposite side. "Pick a bed and fall in it whenever you're ready." She said taking her leave.

"I'm bushed, Shot... I'm ready to sleep." Frostfire said crawling into the left bed.

"I'll turn in, too." Followed Shot soon after.

While it was difficult to sleep with the cast, Frostfire dealt with it. She covered herself with the blanket and sighed.

"You okay, Frost?" Shot spoke in the dark.

"Just tired."

"Well, get some sleep."

Frostfire laid there, almost double-crossing her own words, unable to rest. All she could think about was Manic. How interesting he was, how appealing, how charming... Before she knew it, the thoughts of him lulled Frostfire into a deep sleep.