#I didn’t have enough time to draw sonic so naturally I drew him as fast as he runs

[nonbinary-red-supergiant]

Tails, Amy, and… Sonic doodles from school today 😌

[shedreamsofstars]

Cataclysm of the Heart - Epilogue

She’d waited so long to hear those words fall from his perfect lips. She’d never even stopped to consider that they might not be sincere.

They were going to die. He’d been sure of it. It had only been meant as a comfort. Something to keep a smile on her face as their end loomed.

Neither of them had counted on being rescued.

Start from the beginning 

… xxx …

Sonic rushed around the small clearing, his vision as clear as crystal as he rushed around in what others might have considered to be dizzying circles. Every now and then he glanced out towards the underbrush of overgrown trees, looking out for any signs of movement beyond.

"Why aren't they here yet?" he whined, coming to stop with a childish pout as he turned towards Amy. "It's almost noon."

The pink hedgehog sat perched delicately on a rock in the middle of the clearing. An amused smile played about her lips but otherwise she looked completely unbothered by her boyfriend's ridiculous antics. "It's still early Sonic."

"It's not that early," he countered, breaking into a run again. He sped up until he was a nothing but a blue blur, relishing the feel of the wind on his skin, the ground pounding beneath his feet.

"You know Sonic, most people like to be on time for things," Amy said, rolling her eyes endearingly. She startled as he came to an abrupt stop just inches away from her, almost toppling off the rock if not for a pair of strong arms circling her waist.

Sonic leaned in, closing the remaining distance between them as he brushed his nose against hers. "I'm not most people."

"I guess you're not," Amy replied, trailing a hand along his jaw.

Sonic's brows dipped into a frown. "You guess? That doesn't sound very reassuring Ames."

Amy bit her bottom lip but before she could say anything more, the sound of shuffling drew Sonic's attention behind him. He turned to see the leaves shifting precariously at the edge of the clearing. The pink hedgehog stood up to join him, her warm fingers entangling with his as they both waited to see who would emerge first.

"Tails," Sonic shouted happily, his face breaking into a grin at his younger brother's arrival.

"Hey Sonic and Amy," the fox said with a small wave. Beside him, Amy smiled happily as she returned the gesture, giving Sonic's hand a gentle squeeze as she did so.

"Have you found them?" someone called out in the distance.

"Yeah, I found them. They're over here!" Tails called over his shoulder as he headed towards the two hedgehogs. As his brother came to a stop in front of him, Sonic couldn't help but marvel at what a difference a year could make.

Sonic had always been older and taller than Tails, but sometime during the past year he'd lost the second advantage. Tails now stood a whole head taller than him and the blue hedgehog couldn't help but feel a rush of sadness that his little brother wasn't so little anymore.

Behind the boy, the leaves shifted again and Sonic's grin only widened as Knuckles, Rouge and Cream appeared.

"It's been a while, huh," Tails said softly, drawing Sonic's attention away from the others by holding out his hand and producing two single roses. "A whole year actually. Three hundred and sixty-five days and still …" The boy's eyes glistened as he clenched his fist around the stem of the flowers tightly. "I … I miss you every god damned day."

"Tails," Cream called out gently, hesitating to join him. Tails shook his head and took a deep breath. He leaned down and placed the two roses on the ground by Amy's feet, clenching his jaw as he stood and took a step back.

Sonic took a shuddery breath as his little brother covered his face with his hands, tears escaping through his fingers. He needed to be stronger than this. He had to be, he reminded himself as Cream abandoned the others in favour of pulling Tails into a tight embrace and placing a comforting kiss against his shoulder.

"When did that happen?" Sonic said curiously, doing everything he could to keep his spirits up and ignore the lump in his throat. He hissed in pain as Amy shoved her elbow into his side, rubbing the tender skin with a wounded expression.

"That was always going to happen," she whispered, a proud glow lighting up her eyes as Tails held onto the younger rabbit tightly. "You were just moving too fast to see it." Sonic spared his girl a single glance before looking away with a non-committal shrug. Knowing Amy, she was about half a second away from tears and if she started crying, then he would be a goner too.

Whilst Cream held Tails, Knuckles took the opportunity to step forwards. He crouched down on the ground, his face blank and stoic as he placed his own roses down beside the ones from Tails. "Everyone's always thinking of you both. All the time. I just …" The echidna shook his head, working his jaw as he tried to find the words he needed. "I just wish it didn't have to be like this."

He bowed his head deeply, hiding his face from view as he stood and stepped away. Amy made a noise of protest and Sonic stepped closer to her to remind her he was there if she needed him. He wanted to do more, wanted to hold her and tell her everything was fine. But if the past year had taught him anything, it was that the girl he loved needed time to feel her emotions in the moment.

They would have an eternity to comfort each other later.

"Alright kiddos," Rouge said as she walked towards the centre of the clearing. "I don't think sappy words are much use to anyone, so I'll keep this short." She glanced at the flowers in her hands, seeming to consider something before proceeding to rip off the petals.

Knuckles watched on in alarm but made no move to stop the bat as she collected all the petals in her palms and flung the empty stems into the trees surrounding them.

"I hate that I even have to say this, but I hope that you're both happy wherever you are." As she spoke, Rouge upturned her hands and the petals showered to the ground at Sonic and Amy's feet, studding the dirt like bright gems.

"Cream," the bat said, swiping at her eyes hastily. The rabbit turned at her name, reaching for Tails' hand as she led him back to the centre of the clearing beside Rouge. Knuckles joined them, the four of them linking hands in solidarity.

"We don't really know what became of Eggman, but we do know that thanks to the both of you, we'll be ready if he ever shows his face again. We all miss you terribly … Mr Sonic, Miss Amy, we hope you two like it out here."

Their friends had outdone themselves. The clearing they'd found for them was wild and free like Sonic and natural and effortlessly beautiful like Amy. It was perfect in every way that mattered.

"We do," Sonic replied, knowing that his friends couldn't hear him but needing to say it regardless. He smiled at Amy, using his thumb to swipe away the stray tears that had found their way onto her cheeks with a frown.

"I'm pretty sure we promised no crying," he whispered lightly, earning a playful shove from the girl beside him as their friends began to say their goodbyes and take their leave. Tails was at the rear of the group, and as he reached the edge of the clearing he paused and took a deep breath.

He turned back towards the single large rock that stood sentry in the middle of the clearing, the look of anguish and hurt in his clear blue eyes a mirror to the pain in Sonic's chest. He stared helplessly at his brother, and for a moment Sonic was convinced that Tails could see him standing there, that there was a flicker of recognition in his gaze.

But then the fox blinked, and the moment passed. Tails turned away and headed after the others, leaving Sonic with an all-encompassing sinking feeling in his heart, a reminder of why he'd stopped visiting.

With a heavy sigh, Sonic turned around to face the stone Amy had been perched on earlier. He fell to his knees, reaching out to run his fingers against the engraving of their names etched into the rock.

It hurt too much to see his brother live his life without him. It hurt too much to have to leave every time. It hurt too much to watch his brother slowly build a life without him. To watch him forget him, little by little.

"It's crazy, isn't it …" Amy said, dropping to the ground beside him. "The world turns, and life goes on whether or not we're around to live it or not."

Sonic nodded solemnly. Mobius had grieved for its fallen heroes, but it too would move on. To a day when the two hedgehogs who lost their lives for the world were nothing but a distant memory. But their friends, they would never let the world fall to ruin and that thought alone gave Sonic the peace he needed.

Both he and Amy were silent for a time, letting the other feel their pain alone. They would share it later and lessen the burden, but for now it was theirs alone to carry.

"Alright, that's enough sulking," Sonic said after a while, standing and nudging the pink hedgehog beside him. "We got to see our friends, so today is a good day." Amy nodded in agreement, but no matter how she tried to hide it, Sonic could still see the tell-tale sheen of tears in her eyes.

"I'm so happy they all came. I missed them so much."

"Me too. Although, I do kind of wish at least one of them had been considerate enough to bring chilli dogs."

"Sonic!" Amy cried, slightly scandalised by his blasé attitude.

"You know I'm kidding, and you love me for it," Sonic said with a cocky smirk before a sudden thought wiped it clean away. "Wait. You do love me … right?" he asked, sounding unsure.

A grin spread across the pink hedgehog's face.

"Why don't you catch me and find out?" she said, taking a teasing step backwards, an unfaltering smile on her face. She shrieked as Sonic threw himself at her, wrapping her up in his arms so quickly that she didn't have a hope of outrunning him.

"That's funny … I don't … see … you running … anywhere," he said between pressing kisses to any part of her he could reach. He paused as he reached her lips. "So … do you love me or not?"

"I've always loved you silly hedgehog, why would now be any different? But … do you love me?" she asked quietly, sounding almost as if she was afraid of the answer.

Sonic and Amy had been with one another this entire past year. Together they'd figured out the ins and outs of their new lives, the freedoms and restrictions. They were ghosts with heavy hearts and broken love in their souls, and it had taken some time, but they'd put each other back together piece by piece.

Yet over the course of the year, Amy had never once tried to define what they were to each other. They just were, and Sonic was a little surprised to only realise that fact now. Had she not mentioned it to keep from scaring him away when they were almost all they had left? The thought left a bad taste in his mouth.

"I think you already know the answer to that question," Sonic said pressing a quick kiss against her nose. "But in case there was still any doubt, then yes … you do still owe me that chilli dog date you promised me a year ago."

He chuckled at Amy's glare, dodging her half-hearted attack effortlessly by pulling her closer to him.

"Sonic? Please be serious for a second."

Sonic rested his hand against Amy's jaw, guiding her to look at him full on. Her face was unguarded and vulnerable, and the lost look in her eyes brought him back to the moment. "Alright fine. Ask me again."

Amy looked reluctant but asked again anyway. "Sonic, do you love me?"

He leaned forwards to brush back the hair from her face and meet her gaze head on. "Of course I do Amy. I don't think I could ever explain how much even if we had all the time in the world … which we kinda do actually. I love you Amy Rose. I will always love you."

Amy's eyes lit up at his words and the full force of her smile, the sheer joy it beheld, did him in. It was the type that shone like a beam of sunlight, caressing your soul until it knew no other equal. There was no resisting her, not anymore. He'd known it for quite some time now, but he still chuckled to himself wondering how he could ever have believed otherwise.

He might have been born touched by the gift of speed, but Amy was one force of nature he could never outrun, only grow into. Sonic let his lips fall into hers, his hands tangling in her quills as he let his kiss linger, long and sweet.

Alone, the two of them were powerful and constant, pushing and pulling at each other in their bid to come out on top.

But together?

Together they were cataclysmic.

... xxx ...

fin.

thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who read and supported this story! all of your kind words meant so much to me and i'm so grateful to have such wonderful people reading my work! i truly hope you enjoyed this finale. i rewrote the entire thing three times and i'm still not sure on it lol (don't you just love writers block?) i hope no one was too disappointed but like ... i had to go there. having them escape death a second time felt like too much of a cop out.

thank you once again and i hope you're all safe and happy. until next time guys!

[disrepairhouse]

Chapter 25 - Caught

No matter how hard she banged on the glass separating her from the outside room, it neither budged nor drew the attention of those around her.  Her arms were heavy and thick cords restrained her every movement, pumping a strange purple liquid into her veins that made her head foggy and her legs wobble. The room outside the tube was filled with massive electrical wires and giant, roaring machines at every corner, all connected to a bulky computer directly in front of her.  The screen displayed a collection of graphs and numbers and outputs that made no sense to her, no matter how she looked at them.  The heavier she felt, the blurrier her vision became, and the harder the screen was to read.

She was tired and groggy and confused and could barely comprehend anything she was looking at, beating weakly against the glass until her fist slid helplessly down to her side.  Her body was giving out on her.  The large, round man at the computer in front of her finally turned her way, goggles obscuring the sharp, peering eyes behind them, and it was all she could do to keep her eyes open long enough to study him, study his shape, remember his face… in case she ever escaped.

As she was dragged relentlessly to the darkness of her subconscious, the faraway sounds of explosions and furious growls echoed through the open doorway.  Metal walls creaked and collapsed in on themselves, drawing the man’s attention away from his experiment.   Alarms blared frantically as electricity zapped and snapped through the base, the roar of a tornado tearing through the facility caused a panic the small hedgehog could only mildly react to.  The searing heat reached her even inside the tube and as the man ran out, panicking, screaming wildly, she knew she likely wouldn’t ever see him again.

She didn’t want to be left alone.  Even if it was some mad doctor, something about the heat felt so much worse, so much more dangerous.  Something that would destroy her, rather than simply use her for her powers. She had to escape, she had to break free, she had to…

 Itara stared up at the strange red robot for some time when she noticed him.  He looked as though he were waiting for an answer to something, some question she never heard.  She wasn’t even sure she wanted to know what it was, either.  She shook the images from her head and glanced around before returning her gaze to the tall red robot.  Zero, his name was, she remembered that much, at least.  But she didn’t know anything else about him.

She didn’t know where he stood, nor who or what he was, he was a complete wild card and she didn’t like it.  The only thing she knew for sure at this moment was that he brought her to Robotnik and that was all she needed to know.  He brought her to Robotnik and put her in this situation. Whatever happened on this ship was his fault.

She took another step away from him and narrowed her eyes. She wanted nothing to do with him. Even if he promised not to harm her, or not to let harm befall her, he had already done that by bringing her here.

“T-Take me home.”

“I will do so once I have my answers,” the towering bot stated flatly.  “So, I’ll ask once more: who and what are you?”

Itara remained silent.  She wouldn’t answer that so easily.  She couldn’t, even if she wanted to.  “I’m Itara,” she frowned, “I’ve already told you my name once before. And I’m just a hedgehog.”

“I didn’t ask your name, and judging by the Doctor’s response to your appearance, it’s safe to assume you’re not an average hedgehog.” She winced, but remained silent. “So, for the final time, what are you?”

There was a distinct threat behind his voice, suggesting she answer if she didn’t want to get hurt.  It would have easily scared anyone, especially a child, and Itara briefly debated putting up an act to keep him from guessing otherwise.  She realized, however, how meaningless that would be and only glared.  She didn’t scare that easily and she wasn’t telling him her nature just so he could go tell Robotnik.  There was more at stake than her physical well-being if he did.

When he realized she had no intention of answering he narrowed his eyes and stood back up.  He towered over her, even more so than RK or Metal; if Itara had to guess he was even taller than the humans in their neighborhood.  But she spent the first two-hundred years of her life dealing with Iblis; a too-tall robot wasn’t about to shake her.

“Fine.  Then you can just remain here.  I’ll be back.”

With that, he turned on his heel and stormed out, letting the heavy, metal door slam shut tight behind him, leaving Itara to her thoughts once more.  She sighed heavily once he did and let her legs slide out from underneath her, dropping her head with them.

“…RK…”

Pulling her legs up against her chest, she wrapped her arms around them, resting her head against her knees and curling up as tightly as possible.  Brave of a face as she’d put on, she honestly was terrified.  Not because of Zero, or even because of Robotnik, but because of the familiarity of the situation.  Captured and powerless, left alone with no help within reach.  The last time she faced this…

She shook the images from her head again.  If she slipped back into that, escape truly would be impossible.  No, she had to stay focused.  RK and Metal wouldn’t be able to rescue her in this situation, not this close to Robotnik, and she doubted even Kipper would draw near him.  She had to at least escape the airship on her own.  Somehow.

If she could just get off the ship, if she could just get away, it would differ from the past.

Sighing heavily again, she lifted her head enough to glance around the room, studying it for any possible means of escape.  It wasn’t a cell, at least.  If anything, it looked like unused lab space, with bare walls and no windows.  Everything was covered in thick metallic plates, like everything of Robotnik’s always was, and there were no noticeable fixtures or indents.  Even the heavy door simply slid into the wall and nearly disappeared if she hadn’t already seen where it was.

But why was she in here instead of a cell?

She knew there had to be some, it was a large enough carrier and Robotnik always had some sort of holding cell, usually designed for a specific blue hedgehog.  Was it because they thought she was just a child and they didn’t expect she could escape? But surely Robotnik would recognize she’s no normal mobian and likely had some sort of power.  She doubted he knew she couldn’t control them, either.  So why such a lackluster response?  It was entirely unlike his responses to her in the previous timeline.  Then again, he had nothing to do with her creation in this timeline.  He had no idea who she was.

But what about the mobian girl?

She had still been kidnapped, likely still by Robotnik. Itara had wondered, many times, just how much Solaris reset, but the changes had all been so random in nature that she could never truly pinpoint it.  Nor could she exactly ask him.  But this was the first situation where she desperately needed to know what was different.

What did Robotnik know?

Had her changed appearance actually kept him from recognizing her?  Or was everything about her erased from his memories?  She needed to know.  Maybe she could use this unfortunate situation to learn more about the reset, learn what Robotnik knew compared to what she knew.  Shadow hadn’t recognized her at all and Robotnik only realized she wasn’t normal.  Maybe she could drag some answers out of him if she played her cards right.

But first she would need to get out of this room.  It was as good a way as any to keep her distracted, at least.  With a determined nod, Itara began her trek around the small room, running her hand over the walls, studying the corners, looking for any indication of either a ventilation system or exit.  She didn't find much, however, and continued over to the door, staring up at it.

Just like everything else, it stretched far above her head and any likely panel to open it was well beyond her reach.  There had to be one inside, she knew, but it didn't do her any good if she couldn't even reach it, let alone find it.  She took a couple steps back to get a better view of the wall beside it, having to strain to find the outline of a removable panel.  Standing on her toes, her fingers just barely brushed the bottom indent and try as she might, she could do nothing to remove it.  When that didn't work, she gave a couple small hops in hopes she could grab onto something before she landed, but that went nowhere fast, either.  As a final resort, she gave the wall a swift kick in an attempt to intimidate it into listening to her… but that only offered a sore foot as a reward.

Huffing angrily, she sat down, both to think and rub her foot.  She had to get that door open.  Removing her shoe, she gave it a hearty chuck at the panel, but it only clanked against the metal and fell.

“Stupid Sparky… why’d he have to go and fight Sonic?  He was supposed to be watching me.”

Metal wasn't the only one she blamed for her predicament.  In addition to the red robot that brought her there and Metal, she also blamed Sceira.  If she hadn't been there, if she hadn't been so annoying, Itara would have gone straight to the museum with Kipper and none of this would have happened.  She could have gotten the manuscripts and gotten out and still at least been with Kipper.

Why did she even save that annoying scorpion in the first place?  She could have just as easily left her there and she would have been an unfortunate loss during the attack, Itara couldn't have even been blamed for it.  It would have been the perfect opportunity to finally be rid of the pain in her neck.  So why did she save her?  Why did she risk so much for Sceira?

It was a stupid mistake.

She wouldn't make it again.

Growling and pulling her thrown shoe back on, Itara marched around the empty room once more, giving a final, thorough look around, before returning to the door again.  With a heavy sigh, she turned around and leaned against the wall, sliding down and curling up again.  She hadn't felt so alone in so long she'd forgotten how awful it was.  She had gotten so used to having Kipper or RK, or at least her phone with her, she felt lost without them.  Even her useless book would have been a comfort, she could at least write her thoughts down.  But she had nothing.

No powers, no book, no robots, no doll, nothing.

Before she could get too far back in her thoughts, however, the door slid open again, jolting her out of her head and causing a small screech of surprise to escape the tiny hedgehog.  The ghost of a smirk touched the robot’s face as Itara scrambled to her feet, glaring back at him and standing on the defensive.  He shook his head and motioned towards the hall, explaining, “We’ve got some things to discuss, come on.”

Itara remained in place, her spines prickling further at the potential threat, but no amount of prickling and glaring kept her feet on the ground as Zero walked over and picked her up by the back of the shirt again.  She attempted to wiggle out of his grasp, but found it just as useless as before and finally retreated back into her mind to devise a strategy.  She hated how little control she had over anything anymore.  Quietly begging with her powers, her dad, even her book, to just give her control, even briefly, at least let her know where the current path led, she whimpered to herself when no such assistance came.

She was utterly at the mercy of Dr. Robotnik and the strange robot named Zero.

As they continued down the hallway, Itara taking note of every detail she could along the way, the familiar sounds of electrical wires and whirring machinery echoed from every direction.  Itara had no doubt in her mind every inch of this ship was covered in some manner of defense that only Sonic’s – or Metal Sonic’s – speed could possibly out match. Escape would be difficult, but she already knew that going in.  Robotnik dealt with Sonic on a near-daily basis, he would have contingency plans for any number of situations, and her tiny, stumbling, powerless self would hold nothing to someone like Sonic or Tails.

She missed Kipper. She would have felt even a little better if the ghost doll was with her.

They came to another set of large, metallic, sliding double doors and Zero reached over to punch a short code into a pad beside it.  Itara did her best to remember it.  The doors slid open with a heavy vwom and revealed the expansive main control room of the carrier.  There were a number of screens and videos displayed on the grid-based window to the outside, showing several locations inside the carrier as well as the cities and hillsides around them.  The video feed of Spagonia was growing smaller and smaller every second, tying a knot in Itara's stomach.

From what she could tell, they weren't headed back towards Soleanna, either.  She had been hoping maybe they would return to the base RK had infiltrated before, at least putting her back on the ground and within running distance of home.  But there was no such luck.  In fact, they appeared to be heading the opposite direction.

In a grand chair in front of the screens, inputting some sort of command in the console, was the large, round man of her past, those same goggles glinting off the screens before him.  Dr. Robotnik.  Eggman.  The cause of almost every great calamity to befall the world in its many timelines.  The single-handed creator of the killer robots of the Metal Series.  And, in a time reset, the cause of Itara's own initial creation, as well as the release of Mephiles and Iblis.  His far-reaching genius was something to be feared, and often was, with few exceptions, though Itara was not one of them.  She had seen his penchant for destruction a number of times over, both incidental and purposeful, and she wanted nothing to do with him.

Zero strode over to the chair at the center of the console, announcing his presence, and Itara felt her panic turn to terror with the turn of the chair, the reveal of that grinning face and those shining goggles.  Once more, she could feel the peering eyes behind them and the inevitable destruction they always caused, and her body shuddered in response.  Even for someone like her, whose goal was once to see the destruction of humanity, whose physical body was only a container for something greater, the unstoppable need for power consistent in Robotnik’s actions was a terrifying ordeal to face.

With Zero’s release of her shirt and her placement back on solid ground, she slid back down into a sitting position and stared up at her captors, frozen, shaking. The two studied her before shifting their focus to one another.

“She refuses to answer any questions,” Zero explained, looking between the doctor and the small girl, a touch of suspicion in his tone as he explained, “it seems she’s quite afraid of you.”

A small grin spread across Robotnik’s face before he wiped it away again and leaned back, studying the little girl staring, horrified up at him, her bright green and purple eyes making him somewhat uncomfortable.  Shaking his head, he looked to Zero again, “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised.  I’ve explained what the mobians think of me, it’s not uncommon for the young ones to fear me.”  Something about the statement caught Itara’s attention as her previously flattened ears perked.  Turning back towards her, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, studying her, trying to understand her strange appearance.  “It’s okay, I won’t hurt you.  We just want to ask some questions.”

Something was off.  He was putting up a face, though Itara couldn’t imagine why.  He’d never been the type to act coy around children, he’d been the one who initiated her kidnapping, after all.  Why the façade?  Itara’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, her ears pinning back again as she unconsciously leaned further away.  But the shift in expression in the Doctor brought her attention to her own movements as she sat up straight again, studying him.  She couldn’t be so obvious, if she wanted to learn what he knew, she’d have to play the same game.  She had to join the act.

She shook her head slowly, shifting her expression back to one of concern as she stammered, “L-like what?”

“Well, for starters, what’s your name?”

The strain in Robotnik’s voice and the look of frustration on Zero’s face would have gotten a laugh, realizing just how ridiculous the situation was.  Only one of them was putting on no act and he was the most out of place.  Meanwhile, both she and Robotnik were hiding their own natures, for one reason or another, and would likely get nothing out of the interaction about to happen, yet Zero seemed to be the most frustrated over this.  She became curious of his goal, as it clearly wasn’t the same as Robotnik’s.  What was he looking for, that he thought only Robotnik could give?  Perhaps she would start there.

After a short back and forth between her and Robotnik, neither of them gaining anything, just as she suspected, Robotnik grew frustrated first.  He turned away, waving for Zero to take over the conversation, which he seemed all too happy to do.  Itara watched Robotnik turn back towards his computer to go back to monitoring whatever progress was happening before shifting her gaze to Zero, who seemed to be debating how to go about getting answers from the small mobian ‘child’.  If Itara had to guess, he was normally a shoot-first-ask-questions-later sort of guy and having to reign that back was putting him on edge, in addition to whatever other problem he was apparently dealing with.  She decided to ease up the act ever so slightly with him, wanting answers, herself.

“If you promise to take me home, I’ll tell you about my crystals,” she offered, but interrupted before they could respond by pointing to Zero, “but it has to be you, not him.”

Zero debated, but nodded, “fine, as I said before, I’ll take you home if you answer my questions, I have no intention of doing otherwise.”

Itara noticed the hitch in Robotnik’s face and shook her head, wanting to test the waters, “he does.  He doesn’t want to take me home.”

She watched Zero cast a long sideways glance towards the Doctor, studying both their expressions carefully until Robotnik waved the thought away. “Nonsense,” he argued, though refused to turn towards them and kept his sight on the computers, “I have no need to keep a child here.”  She needed to push this further.

“There,” Zero responded, looking to her again, “I’ll take you home, so answer the question: what are those crystals?”  Itara remained silent, looking cautiously between the two, stalling for time to come up with an answer.  They weren’t exactly easy to explain, and she didn’t want to give Robotnik any ideas, she had to deal with the situation carefully to avoid piquing his interest. But apparently, she remained quiet for too long and pushed the red robot a bit too far as she rather suddenly found the end of a glowing blue sword pointed in her direction, impatient blue eyes sparking behind them as he once again demanded, “answer the question.”

Itara jumped and scrambled further away, staring up at him with widened eyes. She still wasn’t even sure what the sword was made of and didn’t want to be on the receiving end of it.  “I-I-I don’t know!” she stammered, “they just… appear-show up sometimes!  Wh-when I’m upset!”

The answer drew Robotnik’s attention back as he turned towards them again, studying her and the angry bot.  “Are you the only one this happens to?”

Itara winced and looked away, the shining light of the sword still present in her peripheral.  That was a dangerous answer.  But what would be the best response?  “I… n-no, I…” her ears pinned back again, “m-my dad… could also do this but… he… he died… last year.”  The sword finally lowered and retreated into its hilt, giving her a moment to breathe, but it was short as Robotnik hummed, curious.

“Your dad, hm?”

The best lie was often sprinkled in with truth, she’d learned early on, but she doubted any amount of lie or truth would have kept Robotnik off her trail. She was caught the second he saw her. Perhaps she could have convinced someone else that she was just some kind of rare breed of mobian, but not Robotnik. She kept her eyesight off to the side, curling in on herself again, lost in thought about both her situation and now the mobian parents that had, in fact died.  She wasn’t sure how to respond anymore.

“I… I told you… so… take me home now,” she mumbled, only looking up enough to watch their responses.  Zero studied her before turning his gaze to Robotnik, but the doctor only kept his sight glued to her.

“We will, in due time,” Robotnik responded, “but that wasn’t the only question we had.”  Of course it wasn’t.  “What do you know about Solaris and Gaia?”  Itara’s ears pinned tightly against her head as she cast a wary glance towards him, trying to look as confused as possible.

“What… do you mean?  Solaris is… Soleanna’s Sun God, right?”  The frustration in her voice when she uttered his name caught even her off-guard, and Zero’s attention.

“That’s right, you’re from Soleanna, aren’t you?” Robotnik continued.

“I… m-maybe.”

“Well we can’t take you home if we don’t know where that is, after all.  In fact, why don’t you come put your address here in my console and we can talk on our way there,” he motioned towards the long, backlit keyboard spread out across the table, reaching up to pull the GPS up for her.

Itara hesitated, eventually shaking her head, “I said he could take me home, not you.”  Even if she had no intention of giving either of them her real address, she didn’t want Robotnik even knowing where she’d be dropped off.  He reached up and rubbed his chin, seeming to consider this before shrugging.

“Alright, alright, then let’s talk a bit more, about the monsters that attacked. Do you know what those were?” Itara shook her head.  Of course, she knew, but he didn’t need to know that. He continued once she did, “they were monsters created by Solaris and Gaia, two of the three main Gods of this world. Do you know the last one?”

Chaos.

Now that Itara looked up to the GPS, she could see their current location and heading.  They had gone west from Spagonia, apparently, across the desert.  They were headed over the ocean.  The destination was Station Square.  So Robotnik did know something, he was on the exact same path as her. But… how?  She had no further time to debate as the doctor turned to her once more.

“You look like you know, after all.  There’s more to you than just those crystals, aren’t there?”

“I…”

“So why were you at the university?”

“I… was just… on a field trip.  For school…”

“Is that so?”

“How…?”  Itara’s brows furrowed together in confusion, realizing what had struck her as odd before, “How did you… know about Solaris’ creations?”  No one should know what Solaris’ monsters looked like, no one but her. How did Robotnik know they were his? Robotnik remained silent, but grinned, and only then did Itara realize she gave herself away.  She shouldn’t have known.

[invictus-rp]

Team B Infiltration

Setting the Scene: Team A has already begun the front assault on the large stronghold, drawing a number of the Apokolips army's forces out to the main fight. As the halls empty, Black Canary's previous knowledge of the labyrinthine area will tell you that you need to get down to the subterranean levels. While many of the Apokolips army is distracted, this will not be an easy journey down. If you must fight, the goal is to dispatch quickly and quietly so as not to sound up an alarm and distract from the front assault. Dinah Lance

She breathed through her nose as she approached the lift. The others were doing their part and the distraction was all they needed to get inside. She probably thought there was people better for this job. Hell, she was surprised she was given leadership but she supposed she had to make it count for something.

“I know some of us haven’t worked together before.” She murmured. “But I need you all to keep this tight.” She pressed the button for the lift, hearing the battle start outside. “Our priority are the captives kept on the lower levels. Myself, Gambit and Spider-Boy will form a tight circle around Scarlet Witch when we have everyone.” Her eyes shot to Wanda. “You are the master key out of this place. We’ll cover your back.”

“And if that fails, well, someone will owe me a new jacket.” She mused as the lift arrived. “Come on in.” 

𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐘 𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐔 With all Remy's years of experience at getting in and out of secure places, there was no way he would not have volunteered to help out this time. Not that he was not equally good at blowing things up and distracting, but he thought this was where he would be needed more.

"Ah, no worries on dat account, chere," he said to Dinah, "I'm good at adjustin' on de fly." That he was. Even if Remy had not worked with all of them before, he was mighty good at improvising. He only hoped the rest of them were as good on that count. But Dinah was right that getting everyone out of there depended on Wanda. "Uh, yeah, I don' t'ink any o' us wanna be stuck down dere, so I hope your hocus pocus is up t' snuff."

The elevator arrived and Remy stepped inside, adjusting his own coat a bit as he smirked at Dinah's remark. "Hope you got more faith in us dan dat, but I'll be sure t' steal--er--buy you a nice one if it comes t' dat." Wanda Maximoff Wanda nodded, listening to the instructions before letting her eyes slip closed for a moment so she could take stock. "I can do it," she promised. At least, she was decently sure she could do it. "But I have to stick mostly to my hex bolts otherwise. Any other overly taxing magic and my stores might get depleted. Without a means of channeling anything, I'd have to recover naturally." And she very much doubted they would have the time. Still, she gave a wry grin. "Good thing I'm learning to punch." Dinah, Peter, and Remy were all better martial fighters than she was, though. In this case, that was a good thing. Spider-Man Sneaking was what spiders did best, so Peter pounced at the opportunity to work a little more closely with the team - he loved street work, he really did, it was where he thrived, but he also needed to stretch his legs a little and do something that needed a little more finesse. He was glad to see Wanda in their group. The other two he hadn't the pleasure of working alongside until then, though knowing where their strengths were held Peter was hopeful that they'd make it out intact. Hopefully.

He stepped into the lift beside Remy and sucked on his teeth, the sound muffled just slightly by the mask covering his face. After Darkseid's initial touchdown to Earth, Peter's select few who know his true identity grew - strictly, really, to the Avengers and Fantastic Four. The latter were family, the former - coworkers, but people he trusted. The rest had to earn it.

"Don't worry, I think we've got you covered. We're your personal punching posse, after all," Peter returned to Wanda, a little proud of himself at that one. "Also, I know that some of the newspapers get it wrong, but it's actually Spider-Man. You know, like a boy, but grown up.. I haven't been Spider-Boy in like, ten years. It's, uh.. Sorry." His voice waned towards the end as he suddenly felt too anxious to hold the humored steadiness in his voice. Peter was smart enough to be at least a little scared of a lady who could definitely kick his ass. Dinah Lance She pressed the button and rolled her shoulders before she looked over to the Cajun mutant. “Don’t let my boyfriend here that.” She humoured when he mentioned buying her a new jacket. She wasn’t actually too concerned. Inside, it was more the fact she didn’t know these people well like her own. Even then, it took her time to trust Barbara and Helena. To trust the League. She liked the idea of a team but she had fought on the gritty streets. She knew what is was like from ground level that some didn’t get to see.

As Wanda mentioned about her training lessons, Dinah nodded. “Don’t forget to rotate your hips. It’s where the power comes from.” She reminded her as she pressed her back to the wall of the elevator and gestured to the others to do the same. “Most of the forces will be out there but that doesn’t mean this is unprotected.” She told them. The last thing they needed was to be fired at soon as the doors opened.

As Spider-Man began talking, Dinah let him finished and paused before she spoke. “You talk a lot.” She said as the elevator pinged. “Keep it together. Keep it tight.” She reminded them as the doors drew open. 

Setting the scenet: As the elevator descends, Wanda senses the twinge of a number of threads. "We won't be alone once the door opens," she tells them. There are a few waiting Apokolips forces. Tread lightly, heroes.

𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐘 𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐔 As Spidey moved beside him, Remy chuckled at his insistence he was Spider-Man. "You sure 'bout dat? Don' you need t' be at least...dis tall t' be Spider-Man?" He held his hand up purposely a good ways above the web-slinger's head as he spoke. He had no idea how old the guy really was, but he could not resist the tease. "Hey, if you're legal t' drink or not don' matter. It only matters how good you gon' throw dose punches when de time comes."

Dinah's comeback made him grin. "Wouldn't be de first time I'd been told dat," he said, which was certainly true. But hopefully they would make it out with both themselves and Dinah's jacket intact, and thus render that problem moot. At her instigating, Remy pressed against the wall. He would not be surprised if there was a welcoming party waiting for them, which was why he reached into his pocket and pulled out his bo staff, promptly extending it.

Wanda's punching ability might not have been tested yet, but her ability to sense danger certainly was. "You got it, chere. Bring on de bad guys, hein?" And when the doors slid open, they certainly did--a bunch of them, heading for the elevator. Remy heard their footsteps, and waited with the others until they drew near enough. Then he finally leapt out, whirling his staff to knock out the nearest one. "Bonjour, mes amis! Hope you don' mind us droppin' in wit'out an invitation!" Wanda Maximoff Wanda was happy to help where she could, as it wasn't exactly her forte to throw herself into the fray. She tended to provide magic support from the back. However, it wasn't the same now that she didn't have unlimited access to her magic. But, like she had said, she had her hex bolts. Quickly, her eyes darted around the area before she stepped back to give Remy room to work. His words almost would have made her laugh if the situation weren't serious. Red power thrummed in her palms before she called out: "I count eight!" Setting the Scene: Blasts begin to fly from the eight guards in the area. The Apokolips army is extremely fast, their speed difficult to track. Hiding behind the martial fighters, Wanda's hex bolts provide support, taking down a few of the attackers from the back.

Dinah Lance Seeing the oncoming forces, Wanda and Remy helped thin out the approaching members. As they got close, that is when Dinah stepped in. She landed an uppercut that Ted would be proud of before performing a  Krav Maga elbow strike to the face. The enemy stunned, she gripped the large arm, drawed herself close and manipulated his weight into a Judo throw to the ground, flowing into a high drop axe kick.

Like water, she flowed into combat easy as her clenched fist smashed into her next target before her leg launched into a low kick, causing it to hunch over. Rolling across their back, her arms linked theirs, manipulating their weight over herself to then collide with the floor, finishing it off with a direct blow of her forearm.

Standing up, Dinah braced herself. “Cover your ears!” She called out before, her face contorted. Her jaw clenched. Then she released that signature sound. The sonic waves made the walls vibrate as if a train was running right by then, the lights flickering and bursting as bodies went flying back. 

𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐘 𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐔 As soon as Remy had jumped out of the elevator, he had been knocking back as many of the oncoming attackers as he could. Wanda's magical attacks helped immensely, as did Dinah's fighting skills. He definitely would not have wanted to end up on either of their bad sides. "Remind me not t' get either o' you mad anytime soon," he remarked, never able to refrain from quipping as he fought.

That became even more apparent as Dinah gave them a warning before unleashing her real weapon. Thankfully Wanda had put up some sort of magical barrier to protect them from the vocal equivalent of a grenade. "Eh? What was dat?" Remy said afterward, smirking at Dinah as he pretended to clean out his ear, "Not sure I caught what you said dere, but wow, dat's some voice you got, chere." It sure was, because it had taken out most of the attackers, and left the others seriously disoriented. Flipping his staff, he knocked out one of the few left standing. "Wish I could jus' scream at someone an' make 'em fall down!" Setting the Scene: The attackers have fallen. Down the hall is a thick door that will require either picking or a hacking job to open. Likely, this is where the prisoners are being stored.

Wanda Maximoff Grinning a little at Remy as he finished the last of their attackers off, she nodded about Dinah. "She's incredible, isn't she?" the witch praised. "But you're pretty good yourself." She let the field fall that she had put up to protect their ears, taking a slow breath as she felt her magic dwindle. She'd have enough. She had to. But Wanda hated these restrictions. It really took her out of the game.

"Can we get that door open?" Dinah Lance Despite her usual cockiness, she was never sure how to take compliments like this sometimes. These were people she deemed much more powerful than her, praising her. She was a fighter with a sonic bird call. These guys were on a whole other level. “A bird call.” She mused as Remy asked what the hell she just let out. “Yeah? Well, even Mariah Carey has days off.” Approaching the door, Dinah knocked it gently. “I can’t scream at this range. It could kill them. “ She looked at the others. “Don’t know if you have a hacking spell or something under your sleeve. Computes aren’t really my strong point.” 𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐘 𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐔 "Ah, I jus' seem t' end up in de wrong place at de righ' time," Remy said with a grin in response to Wanda's compliment. But he had a little difficulty wrapping his mind around Dinah's vocalization being a bird call. "Dat's some kinda bird you callin' den. Don' t'ink I wanna see it."

Now that the attackers were out of the way, he took a look at the door. It was a pretty tough one, and while Remy might not have been a hacker, he had bypassed plenty of security systems in his time. "Pardon cheres, but I t'ink I might be able t' handle dis." Smirking, he reached into his coat and withdrew a lockpick. "I might not be officially thievin' dese days, but I still never leave home wit'out one o' dese."

Kneeling down, he took a moment to study the lock before starting to work. It definitely was not easy; obviously these aliens were better at keeping their valuables secure than humans were. But there was not a lock made yet that could keep Remy LeBeau out, and in a little while, this one joined that list. Hearing a click, he smiled and said, "An' dere we go! See, a gentleman always opens de door for ladies...an' Spider-Boys," he added with a chuckle at Peter. Wanda Maximoff Watching Remy work, Wanda let her eyes closed, her mind reaching out to display the threads of reality around her. If she could find the threads connected to the people they were seeking, it'd be easier. They'd have a clearer trajectory. Her eyes glowed red as she focused. "Down. They're further down. But we're nearly there. There's... hm..." Her brow furrowed before she focused on the room again.

Remy had the door open and Wanda nodded to the long hallway. "We're lucky," she murmured. "We have a gentleman, a freedom fighter, and a witch. I only hope there won't be any more parademons waiting to see what we're made of." Spider-Man "There's.. What?" Peter trained the large white lens of his mask on Wanda, worried both for her and for their situation, though the click of the door unlocking stole his attention. He focused beyond it for a breath of a second before offering the group a shrug. "I don't sense anything on the other side, so we should be good to go," Peter remarked, ignoring Remy's comment but he found himself smirking at it despite himself. Dinah Lance She glanced between the all of them before shrugging to Remy. “Yeah, well, when it comes to the queen of Amazons and an alien god then, yeah, it’s a sonic bird call.” She mused. She didn’t compare herself to the likes of Clark or Diana because she would severely outmatched, even with her vocal power.

As the door opened, Dinah glanced to Wanda who seemed to be locating the group. “Then we head down.” She stated before frowning slightly. “Why did you hesitate?” She asked, the others having not mentioned it.

“Don’t forget. Keep it tight. One of us goes down the rest will fall.” Though Dinah had already planned that if it meant the mission would be complete then she would stay behind in the thick of things. 𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐘 𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐔 Proud of his opening the door, Remy smirked as they started to walk past it. But he agreed with Dinah; he had not liked the way Wanda had paused. He was not in tune to magical stuff, so if something was bothering her, it was probably not good. "You know somet'ing we don', chere? Should we be 'spectin' more o' a welcome wagon? Or somet'ing else?" He still had his staff in his hands, and plenty of cards in his pockets, though he was trying to avoid using them in such close quarters, especially once they found the people they were looking for. Wanda Maximoff She wasn't as accustomed to reading minds as a telepath, but she could do it if she focused. Trouble was, more focus meant more power used, and she was conserving. Still, she looked between the three others. "There are more Parademons, I believe. But something... else, too. Altered. Like their reality has been changed." It was cryptic. She gave an apologetic smile. "I can't investigate too much. I want to be able to do the teleport."

Setting the Scene: As they reach the bottom of the elevator shaft, the door opens to a large handful of parademons with their weapons. The presence that Wanda sensed is a pair of parademons in strange helmets. Wanda can't get a read on them, but she throws up a forcefield to guard her allies. Inside the room is a large caged off area full of prisoners. This is your objective, ladies and gentlemen. You've done it. Now you just have to make it out. The forcefield will hold, but the longer Wanda holds it, the more magic she saps. Act fast!

Spider-Man "Sounds like a party," Peter returned - altered Parademons? That really was the last thing they needed, but he felt confident in their group that they'd pull through. Still, Wanda was an integral part of them getting out in one piece, so he was pretty okay with relying on a bit of mystery. He had to rely on his 'feelings' one way or another; so instead of pushing, he waved away Wanda's worry with a slight wave. "Hey, no worries. We want you to be able to teleport, too," he finished with a sheepish laugh.

Though the sound was cut short when the elevator door revealed, indeed, a party of Parademons ready to turn them into swiss cheese. The two with those funky headsets were Peter's top priority, if only they'd caused quite the concern earlier. The instant that Wanda's shield went up, Peter already had his web spinners aimed at the pair - webbing was quick to shoot out and landed its mark. He kept the line tethered and pulled hard as he leapt forward into the fray. The goal was to drop the first two and bounce around the room to avoid random fire. Dinah Lance Her lips formed thin lines as Wanda described what she had sensed. Wanda was a finite resource at the moment which meant she could only be used sparingly. “We are all wearing costumes and doing something stupid. I think we can all handle this.” She mused though she was concerned in the back of her head.

As the gunfire began, she watched the bullets bounce off Wanda’s force field.  “We’ve got to handle this fast. If Wanda runs out.” She didn’t need to add anything other than that. Stepping forward, she released her Canary Cry again, knocking several parademons back and keeping the pressure on them. “Remy, you’ve got nimble fingers.” She called out, her leg firing into a push kick as she was charged into a frontal assault. “Think you can get these cages open?” She asked as she threw an elbow back into another enemy.

𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐘 𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐔 Any magic stuff was out of Remy's realm, so he was not going to press Wanda for more. "You already doin' plenty, chere. I don' need t' know more more dan 'it's somet'ing weird'." A bunch of Parademons was plenty weird, so how much weirder could it get? Coming out of the elevator, they found more of them, though the ones in the helmets were certainly weirder. Clearly Remy should not have wondered about things getting weirder.

Wanda had put up a forcefield, which was good, and Spidey was shooting webbing at the helmeted Parademons, and Dinah was giving her "bird call" again. Remy was still reluctant to use his cards in such close quarters, so he was ready to start knocking Parademons with his staff until Dinah spoke. "Oh, I been told dat quite a lot, in more dan one situation," he said with a wink, "So yeah, I t'ink i can do dat."

Thus instead of readying his staff to hit the Parademons, he used it to vault over them, landing close to the cages. One of the nearest enemies figured out what he was trying to do, but a quick knock from Remy's staff took him out of the equation, and thankfully the others were occupied with trying to attack his comrades, so he turned his attention to the cages. "Jus' a moment, mes amis, an' we'll have you outta dere," he said to the people closest to the doors as he took out his lockpick again and went to work. After a moment, the lock clicked, so Remy opened the door and moved on to the next one, then the next one in quick succession. Now that the people were free, they just had to get them--and themselves--out of there. Setting the Scene: As Remy gets close to the people in the cages, they seem terrified. One of them whispers: "The helmets. The ones in the helmets can do things."

As if on cue, one of the helmeted enemies engaged with Dinah throws her back before raising their hand and beginning to murmur something. Around them, strange symbols begin to form, almost as if they are on fire. Single versions of the inscrutable glyphs fly toward Dinah. When they hit her, they seem to affect her mentally.

Wanda Maximoff

As the doors clicked open, Wanda let magic flow through her to appear in the midst of the frightened civilians. "You're safe now," she promised, trying to let her magic calm them. As the scarlet energy glowed in her eyes, however, several were afraid as they staggered toward Remy. "Is she like them?" they ask him.

Wanda was about to ask what they meant when her hazel eyes shot to Dinah as a new sort of power... not quite magic but not exactly mundane filled the room. "Peter!" she shouted. "Stop them!" There was something Wrong about it. Something thick and dominating. Dinah Lance Her fist collided with another monstrous jaw before she kicked them back, her leg firing like a loading gun. “We can’t keep this up.” It was like a small tickle in her brain to start with. Then it grew and grew and it was like she was drowning. Dinah froze as her breathing was hard, looking around her. “I…I can’t do this.” She whispered. “I’m not strong enough to save them. I can’t-“ A sob caught in her throat as she fell to her knees, being overwhelmed by the outside force. 

𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐘 𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐔 He had expected the people in the cages to  be nervous, worried, scared. Remy could only imagine what they had seen. Obviously they had seen something from the helmeted Parademons. "Quoi? What can dey do?" Weird magic shit, apparently, as one of them suddenly sent a bunch of blazing symbols to attack Dinah. "Merde. Why dese t'ings always have t' get weird?"

At least Wanda was nearby with her own, and reassuring, brand of weird. Some of the people were concerned about her, though, and Remy was quick to tell them she was good. "Non. Whatever dey are, she ain't dem. She got magic, yeah, but she's here t' help you. I promise."

Dinah definitely needed some help, but now with the people right there, Remy definitely did not want to throw any cards. And he did not fancy his chances fighting hand-to-hand with someone who could do magic. "Wanda! Can you do your t'ing an' get us all out? Or at least do somet'ing t' combat whatever dat shit is? 'Cause I can't exactly blow up somet'ing dat ain't really dere!" Spider-Man Things certainly took quite the sharp left turn in the wrong direction, something they all really should have anticipated a little better - okay, maybe there was really no way of knowing that the bad guy's had some crazy mind altering Parademons under their sleeve, but they'd all dealt with worse - right?  With Black Canary faltering quickly and everyone else tied up, Peter steeled himself and set his aim on the helmet twins. Using the Parademon he'd just knocked out as a sort of diving board, he leapt through the air and careened himself into the first one. The idea was to at least break the mental connection it had on Black Canary; the taste of success only lasted for so long before his attention was on the second demon. He made short work of it with a wad of webbing to the face, incapacitating it momentarily - or for however long the webbing held.

Wanda Maximoff

Wanda used the moment that Spider-Man incapacitated Dinah’s attacker, her eyes glowing bright red as she let power flow around the people in the cage, around Remy, around Dinah and Peter. It was a lot of power, draining her resources down to the quick as they all moved. When the scarlet power cleared away, she went to her knees, exhaustion going through her. But they were done. They had made it. And the other teams were going to need communication soon.

[cutegirlmayra]

What of only male hedgehogs get the instinks triggers? And this just leaves Amy confused what's going on with sonic.

LOLOLOLOLOL

Poor Amy XD

(This prompt request is based on my fanfiction I’m planning to re-edit known as Instincts on Fanfiction. It’s old and needs some work done on it xD Then I’ll be making season 2 :) )

The problem is… without Amy going into ‘heat’ and having her smell exposed there wouldn’t really be a ‘trigger’. The squeak is also done through instincts along with the natural smell.

She would definitely be weirded out by his animistic advances, considering he would be pulled towards the alluring smell and his body would start shifting into Instincts without him knowing it until he was already trapped in his mind’s eye.

Then, knowing Sonic, he would fight to reclaim himself, but his instincts would just be trying to flatter up Amy.

But again, without Amy’s instincts, Sonic’s instincts wouldn’t have fallen for her anyway. How would he communicate? Amy would see his eyes shift but wouldn’t understand what that meant either unless Tails explained it but then Amy wouldn’t be in love with his Instincts and try and help Tails to control them too.

It would definitely be a new story :)

So I’ll do a little ditty in this regards- Amy and Tails have noticed a ‘shift’ in Sonic’s behaviors. During April (hedgehog mating season. where Instincts are more easily triggered) Sonic disappears and stays as far away from everyone and humanity as much as possible. However.. Amy, being worried about him, goes out to try and find him.

Miraculously, as usual, she does! Though… was that really a good thing..?

Prompt:

“Sonic!”

“Amy… you can’t be here… It’s not safe here.” Sonic slowly started stepping back, his face looking as though he was fighting something, and losing…

His face was pulled back, looking worried and a bit faint.

His ears drew back, something Amy hadn’t see before.

“Sonic..?” She came more towards him. “What’s wrong? You look like your about to fall over…” She leaned down, holding a feminine hand upwards before her quills draped over her cheeks…

This swishing motion sent her scent hovering through the air, spreading out, till it reached Sonic’s nose…

His eyes widened, clenching his teeth as he struggled to not breath.

“…Sonic… you’re scaring me…” Amy straightened herself out, holding her hands together. “Me and Tails are awfully worried about you… you’ve been gone for so long… it’s making us fear that something really bad is happening to you.”

She stepped forward, a branch cracking under her weight.

“Stop!” Sonic clutched his head, feeling the rushing of adrenaline and the ever strong pull of letting the beast out, of letting his Instincts take over and move closer to Amy…

Her smell… most girls didn’t trigger his instincts, but recently, he had been having dinner with her and moved to try and smell the food.

But it wasn’t the food that was drawing him in, wetting an appetite he hadn’t realized before.

Ever since his nose drifted to her, he had been distant ever since, warning Tails not to say a word, since Females don’t have instincts anymore. Tails said they were too ‘evolved’ now, but that males, if the female’s scent was strong enough to pull it out, could still trigger and unleash the instinct form.

In fear of that happening, his will being subjected to his more primal, inner being; he had avoided her at all cost during this time of year…

When her alluring scent… was at it’s strongest.

Most months, she was just fine. And therefore, so was he.

But come around April…

“Sonic!” Amy lunged foward, seeing him fall to his hands and knees, gripping the ground as if for dear life, squinting his eyes shut as his body twitched.

“You shouldn’t have come here…” he mumbled, faintly, as Amy’s eyes scanned his trembling being to try and find a clue, a trace of help for her to intervene and soothe him with.

She lightly placed a hand to his back, but with instincts on the verge of emerging, his eyes shot open at the sensation of touch.

In Instinct form, he was told everything would be heightened. Sense, touch, smell… everything…

Even strength.

He found himself slowly losing grip of reality and even his own fear subsided as he had to breath.

With her so close, her scent engulfed him, and slowly his power to control what was happening began to slip…

He leaned up, to the crook of her neck, and breathed in the heavenly aroma that drove his being into a wild frenzy of desire…

His eyes blinked softly down, before rising as his pupil’s had shifted to a cat’s diamond eye…

Instincts //// (

Instinct Sonic’s eyes dilated a few times, showing his immense interest in this new scent, but also looking around at himself.

It was the first time he was fully alive, fully present. Since his other had always shunned him away and pushed him down from ever being exposed to the sensation of being free for a change.

He examined his surroundings, no foreign scents to claim the terrain…

He better act fast.

He suddenly darted passed her, rubbing the under part of his scent gland, now fully active from the release of Instinct Sonic, over trees and bushes, darting around to claim his territory.

And the female present…

Amy turned around, looking confused. She got up a bit before he darted back to her, nipping annoyingly at her quills to pull her down so he could smell behind her quills again.

“Ahh!” Amy blushed, being pulled down so… violently? It wasn’t aggressive, no… it was just…

“W-what are you-!?” she pushed away a minute, more spooked than afraid though, as Instinct Sonic pushed his head further into the back behind her head.

Her scent glands weren’t strong…. but her scent on the other hand…

He then took his muzzle out from under there and shook to get the spiky quills out of his face, looking dead into her eyes.

She had closed her eyes in shock, before blinking them open and showing her withdrawn expression, before awing the new shape of his pupil in his eyes..

“What…” she reached a hand up, not caring that he was over her at the moment but still in a bit of shock. “What happened to your eyes..?”

Her touch sent a signal that excited his whole being into a feeling of pleasure.

He lowered his eyes and rubbed his scent gland on it, enjoying the touch.

She’ll do. He declared to himself, looking down at her again, before lowering his chin to her.

He waited for her to respond, but because Amy didn’t have any instincts, too evolved for that matter, he rose it back up and looked perplexed.

She wasn’t acting like an animal at all.

‘Let me out of here!’ Sonic’s true voice, and real self, seemed to bang a mental headache into Instinct Sonic.

He leaned away, shaking his head.

‘I swear, if you do anything to Amy, I’ll-!’

He had no control over his body, was just stuck as if an annoying spectator to Instinct Sonic.

He huffed, not liking his ‘other’s voice’ within his head.

Silent, please. I’m claiming us a female.

Instinct Sonic sent a snarky response back through his thoughts, and if he wasn’t an animal, he probably would have chuckled too.

‘Claiming..? What’s that? Amy’s not someone you can just take!’ Sonic continued to fight and struggle, his voice hounding on Instinct Sonic as he strained his head down, and started to crawl off and away from Amy.

Annoying. You’re so annoying!

Instinct Sonic then looked up at the female.

Amy? she calls herself… Amy? And I am..?

‘You’re nothing! Just something I have to deal with later!’ Sonic threatened, trying to get himself free.

Instinct Sonic thrashed his head around, his other was strong…

Amy slowly got up, still breathing quietly but profoundly.

What on earth was going on with Sonic..?

Who is Amy to you? Instinct Sonic turned his head, as if figuratively speaking to his Other within his mind…

‘Gah! Urffh! … ha… she’s my friend.’ Sonic was growing exhausted, as Instinct Sonic could feel that…

Friend?

Suddenly, Instinct Sonic moved around Amy, circling her as she started to get up.

He kept himself low to the ground, an indication that he wanted her, but she was moving as if about to leave, threatening his authority over the area as it’s new alpha.

Why isn’t she respecting me? What an odd female… it’s like she can’t communicate or something. Is she defective?

‘What!? No! Amy doesn’t have any idea who or what you are!’ Sonic countered from within, but this time, Instinct Sonic listened. ‘She’s not an animal! You are!’

She’s not-?… Ah, she’s still an Other.

Instinct Sonic rose up, realizing his normal tactics of what his ‘body’ told him to do, wouldn’t work with her.

A Hedgehog Female is still a Hedgehog Female… I have my ways.

Again, if he wasn’t an animal, he would have smirked at the challenge.

She kicked away but he came closer, trying to look more submissive to be able to be granted closer access to her.

She’s a stubborn one, just like the rest of them before they’re claimed. Instinct Sonic commented, seeing that her actions weren’t uncommon though.

‘She’s backing away not to reject you, but because she’s afraid! Leave her alone!’

Instinct Sonic lightly moved to try and rub her foot with his scent, showing no harm or ill-intent, but she pulled it away, making him growl slightly at her rudeness.

She doesn’t even want to become friends. I thought you said she was one to you, already? Instinct Sonic couldn’t understand Others culture. He only knew his own, which was an ancient culture long since forgotten in the Hedgehog spieces.

Sooner or later, he knew that him and his Other would merge, their will’s syncing into one accord. Where Sonic would have better control over his Instincts, and his Instincts would still empower him.

But for now, he was a still a embodiment of Sonic’s natural desire, senses, reflexes… basically…

His body.

‘I mean it! Leave her alone!’

I like this Female. She’s coming to apologize.

Amy lifted a hand out, still spooked but willing to try and understand what was happening.

Her hand gently moved forward, twitching a little as she saw him shift and move closer.

He let her hand rest on his forehead, showing in Hedgehog language- trust.

See…? I only want to get to know you… Protect you in my territory. Instinct Sonic kept his head low, giving her a sense of security, or at least, that what it should have showed.

If she could read into it, she would have realized that him exposing his belly later on was a form of kinship, showing he meant her no ill-will and also that his intention was to be closer to her.

She didn’t understand him rolling over but let out a scoff, more so to let out the tension than being sparked into humor by it.

“What on… earth are you… doing, Sonic?” she breathed out, a nervous grin on her face, as he continued to rub his back against the ground. “You’re acting like a dog.” she stated, as he turned to look up at her from a curved tilt of his lowered body.

What is she saying? I can’t understand her strange noises, but I hear Sonic a lot.

‘She’s comparing you to a dog!’ Sonic seemed frustrated, ‘Great, there goes my carefully constructed image…’

Image? Instinct Sonic tilted a ear up and one down, showing his curiosity in these strange words.

Well, now I’m bored.

He flipped around, and attempted once again to draw closer to Amy.

“Ah!” She moved away, but he swiftly got over her again, making her eyes widened as he came down lower, as if lay down.

“What… what are you..!? Sonic, get off of me!” she pushed, he was amazed by her strength.

Strong female. Instinct Sonic amused. Her young will be quite formidable at survival.

‘Young!? You leave her alone!’

Suddenly, as Instinct Sonic went in to try and seduce her neck, which would keep her on her stomach instead of what he was expecting her to do; which would be to flip around and spike him as she curled into a ball, starting the courtship process…

However…

“BACK! Back, I say!”

Instinct Sonic whimpered and cried out in pain as he scampered away, before turning back, hobbling on an arm and his legs because his shoulder was stabbed with something hot and stingy.

What was that?!

He growled, turning and spiking his quills up threateningly.

A predator had attacked him! Trying to steal or eat his female!

‘Or a taser to get you to stop assaulting my friend!’ Sonic seemed to sarcastically spit out from his mind.

I was properly going to mate with her! There wasn’t any harm in any of my intentions! Instinct Sonic snapped back.

‘That sounds like harm to me!’

Then you are selfish. How do you expect to grow in strength and power without loyal females? Especially an Alpha!

‘FEMALES!? You mean.. you’re not saying.. Ah crap.’ Sonic realized then,…

Hedgehogs don’t mate for life.

“Stay back, Amy! I should have told you sooner!”

“Tails!?”

Amy got up, as Tails held out the taser, it’s electrical shocks zapping out and spooking Instinct Sonic as he snarled at it.

He barked, a warning for the fox to scram.

“N-now… I know that in your mind… right now.. you see me as a timeless enemy…” Tails tried to talk the out of control hedgehog down, but also kept thinking that Sonic could come back if he just stayed away from Amy’s scent long enough.

Amy slightly hid behind Tails, but was confused on what he was saying and why he seemed to know what was going on.

“But I assure you… in this modern age and time… I’m very much a recent ally.” He nodded, terrified the animal would come at him.

Which…

Instinct Sonic leaned back, getting ready to spring.

“Run!” Tails flew up, twirling his tails and gripping Amy bridal style as he soared up.

Instinct Sonic leaped up and clawed the air, but came back down, running along after them.

“Wait, what happened to Sonic? Why is he not using his super speed? Why is he on all FOURS!” Amy kept asking questions, as Tails just looked super apologetic.

“Alright, alright. I promised I wouldn’t tell you but this seems important!” Tails flew up to a tree, holding Amy steady as the two looked down.

Instinct Sonic growled, annoyed, as he paced the tree.

The two breathed deeply, before Tails finally sighed, trying to relax a little now that they were safe.

“He’s shifted into his Instinct form. Let me explain. In Instincts, it’s just your body taking over. It’s not necessarily a split personality, but your inner animal coming through.”

Instinct Sonic jumped up the tree, before falling down and sliding since his nails weren’t long or sharp enough through the gloves, and pounced back down, shaking his head, huffing in frustration.

He moved swiftly in a circle around the tree, wanting Amy now more than ever.

“Those grunts… it’s communicating.” Tails pulled out his MilesElectric.

“Communicating!? You’re saying… Sonic turned into a… a …”

“An ancient, primal Hedgehog. Correct. But he’s still there. You’re more advanced in that females evolve faster than most males. If a scent is strong enough, it will trigger this until the two merge and are in sync. Then instinct won’t have a say in the matter, it will just be Sonic. But look!” Tails squinted his eyes, trying to explain but also work at the same time.

“The screen says… if that fox eats her, I’ll rip out the flesh of his throat…” Tails gulped, rubbing lightly along his throat light, turning pale.

“Wait, let me see that.” Amy took the device, and then looked to Tails. “Can you reverse this? Maybe I can communicate with him.”

“Grunts are tough to translate, but he… he’s um… you shouldn’t try and do ANYTHING with him.” Tails didn’t know how to explain the REAL predicament at this current time.

He just hoped to dissuade her.

“Really, I’m sure he’ll shift back once your scents far enough.”

“I’m going down.” She started to climb down.

“NO! WAIT!” Out of love for his friend, he tried to frantically reach down to her, but she slid faster than he could, with the device in hand.

“AMY…!!!” Tails let out a high-pitch sound of worry, his eyebrows back in panic and his hands reaching up to pull his ears down.

“Please, Chaos. Don’t let him hurt her. I don’t know if I can keep her safe from a doubly-powerful Sonic right now!” he nervously bit at his gloved thumbs. “Be careful, Amy! He’s… well, he’s-”

“Wild, got it.” And nodded up to him, confident, as Tails covered his face.

“I was gonna say ‘into you’ but…” he lightly mumbled.

Amy moved towards Instinct Sonic, who frantically started sniffing her all around, trying to make sure she wasn’t hurt.

He let out a squeak, as Amy was shocked Sonic could even do that, and looked at the screen.

You’re alive! You’re alive!

“The screen… it’s saying… Aww, of course I’m okay, silly! It’s Tails!” Amy held the device close and smiled down to him. “Now… let’s see…” she tried to figure out how to speak back with the device, but Instinct Sonic started tugging on her dress, not liking her standing on only two legs.

It wasn’t natural to him, and he let dress go to peer up at her, shifting his eyes down to the ground to show her that he was upset by her ‘observation’ pose.

In hedgehog language, to stand on two feet meant to be searching for potential threats, because he was trying to ‘woo’ her so to speak, he wanted her to feel safe enough to breed with him…

“Haha, aren’t you needy.” Amy sat down, reaching to pet his head as he didn’t understand the custom she was doing.

Though it felt amazing… he wondering what she was trying to communicate.

What does this mean? In your lanuage?

‘It means sit, boy. Don’t move.’ Sonic lied, sounding frustrated and overly annoyed he couldn’t do anything about what was happening.

Instinct Sonic, fairly innocent at just being released into the world, sat down and let her scratch his forehead and ears.

Is that a good thing?

‘Shut up…’

“Ah, ha! Got it!” Amy clicked the button, and turned the screen to Instinct Sonic.

An electric simulation of grunts was heard, as Instinct Sonic’s ears perked, and he sniffed the screen.

The device stated, I want you to return to normal Sonic, please.

He huffed, biting at the device.

I am Sonic! he growled.

Amy played tug-a-war a moment with the device before falling back down, turning on her stomach to try and see what the device said.

“What? You are not!” She angrily disagreed, before feeling his breath on her back…

Her quills shook unsteadily and she turned around, seeing him about to lick her and shoving his head away.

“EW! Quit it!” she hollered out, then looked up to Tails. “What’s wrong with him!? It’s like he’s trying to mount me or some-”

Her eyes suddenly widened.

“TAAAAILLSS!!!”

He looked even more apologetic, sweat dropping and lightly chuckling.

“Surprise..? You’re the only female around!”

“YOU COULD HAVE WARNED ME!” Amy struggled to speak to him while also getting the feisty and apparently ‘turned on’ hedgehog off of her!

“IS THIS WHAT YOU MEANT BY- ANIMAL!?”

“…Yes.” Tails fiddled with his fingers, before dropping them and his head down, showing how embarrassed he was at not being able to fully communicate it.

Sonic, within himself, suddenly had conjured enough strength, Amy’s scent fading enough so through the increase of wind that he burst from his sub-conscious- gaining control over his body once more.

“AH!” He stopped fighting Amy, looking down in terror as he realized he had won the war.

His hands were to the side of himself, and Amy blinked, before he flung himself off of her and started dashing away.

“Wait..!” Amy reached a hand out, but Tails jumped down, sparking the taser around with his eyes closed, clutching it in one hand.

“GO-GO-GO!!” Tails frantically tried to be a hero, but Amy stopped his wild flailing to show that Sonic had left.

“I think he came back to his old self, I need to talk to him!”

“Are you crazy!?” Tails looked shocked, “He almost-!”

“I would have been fine, Tails! He only wishes he could win against me in wrestling. But I have to let him know it’s okay! It wasn’t him!”

“Amy-!” Tails gripped her arm, and pulled her back to him. “It was him.”

He held her directly in front of him, making her stop a moment, remembering what Instinct Sonic had said on the device’s translator.

“…Amy…” Tails looked like he was having a hard time explaining this, and took a deep breath. Calming himself down, he continued, opening his eyes.

“Sonic was triggered because he liked your scent. He likes… well,… he’s naturally attracted to you, Amy. Instincts only heightens that. I’m sure he’s feeling guilty and ashamed right now that he couldn’t fight off his Instincts as soon as he had hoped… but for now, staying away from you until your natural scent goes down is probably for the best.” He patted her shoulders, seeing her shocked expression, and realizing what he was saying.

“When April rolls over, and you smell normal again,” He nodded his head and gave her a funny look, only trying to play around and lighten the mood a moment. “Then you two can talk about this. Until then, I think it’s best to leave him with some alone time. Agreed?”

Amy’s mouth dropped, “He likes me?”

Tails sucked in his lips.

“I never said that.”

“You were about too.” Amy’s face suddenly lit up, her hands covering her mouth. “And you just said he’s naturally in to me. Which is why his Instinct also was trying to get cocky with me, right?”

“Let’s not use that terminology.”

“Ah! He loves me!” Amy jumped for joy, kicking her feet up and holding her arms out wide. “Yes! I knew it!”

“Is that really all you’re getting out of this?” Tails spread his arms out, before rolling his eyes as he leaned forward. “Sheesh. Unbelievable.”

Tails flew her home… just to be safe.

(Second Season of Instincts will come out when I first edit the First Season. Stay tuned! And if you like the idea of ‘hedgehog instincts’ and like ‘innocent stories’ then check out my fanfiction with the link above. Much more where that came from! MAJOR SONIC AU, don’t worry, the worst that happens is a lot of kissing, promise xP I don’t write nasty stuff! XPPP)

[sonicringbond]

Sonic Ring Bond: The Journey - Scene 28

Here we go, my favorite scene out of the whole story so far. I had so much fun when I wrote this scene, and the emotions and action just came to me so naturally. Even the scenes that come after this one have yet to hit me so hard as this one did.

But let me not keep everyone away with my gushing though. instead, please enjoy...

    ~It was so noisy, which was not what I was expecting when I tried to take my cards out. As I touched them with my fingers it was like the voices of all the ghosts tore through me and I couldn’t make out anything. But there were flashes of images. They were so tinged with fear. So much fear. And it was all directed to that planet in the sky. What was it? Why was it so frightening? And how could they see it in this storm?

    ~And is it looking at me? Smiling?~

    “Come on! Snap out of it!”

    “Wha...?” Rosy barely mumbled her question as Draw shook her from her trance.

    “Come on, I hear voices, and they don’t sound like ghosts!”

    Rosy was barely able to connect reality with her hazy mind. The image of the small planet that hung in the sky watching her everyday was now watching her from within her field of vision as if she were having a half-asleep hallucination. Draw did not care however as she had at least responded and no longer resisted his attempts to lead her to a massive fissure in the tower floor.

    “–Talk big all you want flightless rodent! That Red Star Ring is mine and all the power it entails. Then I’ll make sure all the world knows the name of Doctor Fukurokov and his Battle Kukku Armada! Even that fool Eggman won’t be a match for me once I harness it’s power.”

    The voice of the mad owl that came up through the fissure was unfamiliar to Draw. The voice that responded to it was also one he had not heard before. However…

    “Oh yeah bird brain. I may not be looking my best, but that hasn’t stopped me before.”

    “SONIC!”

    Rosy snapped out of her daze in an instant. The voice of none other than Sonic the Hedgehog had that powerful of an effect on her and she missed the amusement that lingered uninvited within her being held by the vision of the small planet in the sky. That did not matter to her even if she did notice as she was more concerned about the fissure that Draw had led her too. The same koala who was holding his ear with both hands. “What was that for!”

    “I’m sorry Draw, but that’s Sonic! And it sounds like he’s in trouble! We have to go help him!”

    “We don’t even know where he is,” Draw tried to calm Rosy down, but she did not hear him as she pushed back the cuff of her glove and fiddled with the small device strapped to her wrist. As a holographic little screen was emitted from it, she whined out her frustrations.

    “Ooh~! Why didn’t I check like I always do! Sonic really is here, but…”

    Dashing to the edge of the tower in a blink, leaving Draw chasing after her, Rosy looked out at the raging ocean. “He’s out there…”

    “Out… there…,” Draw panted as he caught up and looked at the ocean. “Then those stories about underwater ruins…?”

    “We have to go find out now! Hold on!”

    “Gyah~!”

    Draw had noticed it before, but when Rosy was desperate or extremely emotional she seemed to handle her speed a lot more competently than when she was having fun. She demonstrated as such when she smashed into him with her back and snagged his arms pulling him into an awkward piggyback position. He wrapped his legs around her almost instinctually and was glad he did as she jumped down the fissure and charged through the castle.

    ‘I wonder, if she, does this on purpose,’ Draw pondered, faced with Rosy’s sudden competence.

    The koala failed to understand how much Sonic meant to Rosy though, and she herself could feel the warm glow of her Ring Bond with Sonic in her chest as she ran with everything she had. She was running so fast Draw could not hear Sonic or the voice that belonged to Doctor Fukurokov anymore. He could barely see where Rosy was running as she bounced off walls, columns, the ceiling, and any other structure that redirected her desperate run in pursuit of the warmth in her chest. Even the ghosts were no match for such, which made Mote keeping up all the more surprising.

    ‘Why didn’t you share that speed with me?’ Draw practically criticized the fairy with his thoughts. What he received in return was not the response he was expecting though as the fairy turned its eyes fearfully to the stormy sky. “What is that!”

    Creating a vortex within the clouds, a massive artificial island with an equally absurd impossibly large spinning propeller on its underside descended along with a fleet of airships. The Jolly Roger of the battle Kukku Armada flew high as countless rocket powered pods descended upon the ocean as it was pulled up into a swirling wall of destruction. Draw could not see the exposed ruins beyond the wall of sea water, but he knew Rosy was running towards it. And unlike the growing fear in his chest, or the fear shared by Mote and the spirits of the dead of the little planet in the sky, Rosy ran without fear.

    “No way!” Draw yelled trying to pull away from Rosy fruitlessly against her surprising strength. “You can’t run into that!”

    “That’s where Sonic is, and I’m not letting a wall of water stop me!” Rosy shouted back determinedly.

    “You’re crazy you WEIRDO GI~~~~~RL~~~~~!!!!!” Draw cried out in horror as Rosy truly ran right into the swirling wall of water as she ascended debris pulled from the ruins by the island above. ‘She’s going to drown me!’

    Draw’s fear was in vain as he suddenly found himself upside down as Rosy kicked off a ceiling she hit after emerging from the water.

    “Where are we now!”

    “Almost to Sonic! I’m sure of it!”

    ~I know Draw didn’t believe me. But he didn’t have too. I just had to reach Sonic. The ruins that floated within the swirling vortex of water wasn’t going to stop me. The ghosts and even the golems that occupied it weren’t either. I could swim fast enough even with Draw on my back. I could run fast enough even as the island above us made the water even fiercer. I could run to Sonic wherever he was. It didn’t matter. If I knew where Sonic was, I could always run to him.~

    “Wait for me Soni~~~~~c!”

    Draw was unprepared when Rosy suddenly tossed him across a pool of water full of rubble. As he landed on the steps on the other side, he drew an arrow from his quiver, shocked it was still there. Jamming it into the cracked brickwork to stop himself, he fought to hold steady against the pull of the island above’s impossibly huge propeller. As he did so he barely had time to see Rosy dive into the water, curling into a tight ball of destructive rotation as she hit the surface.

    “What are you doing now you crazy weirdo girl!”

    Beneath the water Rosy did not hear her companion who was less likely to survive the vortex than her. She believed in him though and knew that right now it was not him who needed her help. She knew exactly who needed her embrace right now as she hit the rubble and decimated it making her way fully to the bottom of the pool. There she found him and smiled so bright even as the sight of her stole what breath he had left away. That did not matter though.

    As she bounced off the ground, she revved her best underwater Spin Dash and smashed into the rubble that had pinned him and ricocheted back and off the wall behind her. She knew he was obviously feeling weak from lack of air as he otherwise would not have let her grab him.

    And she embraced him, shoving her head into his chest and him clear out of the water as she swam with everything she had. Every ounce of speed she could pour into her legs granted to her by the blue hedgehog whose life was in her hands for once.

    “Gya–!” Draw shouted as Rosy miscalculated her ascent and crashed straight through the stairs he was situated on. He did not have to risk being pulled away by the vortex though as he was promptly pinned by two hedgehogs. “Oof!”

    “Sonic!” Rosy cried out as she forced herself up by fully extending her arms. Looking down at none other than the one and only Sonic the Hedgehog, her heart skipped a beat as he was bent over backwards on Draw and she could not see his face. Or the awkward smile he offered Draw before holding up a hand and giving Rosy a thumbs up. “Ah… ah… ah… SONI~~~~~~C!!!!! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH! WAHHHH~~~~~!!!!!”

    “Looks like you’ve been making friends though kid,” Sonic comforted Rosy as he sat up despite the force the hedgehog girl buried her face and tears in his chest with. Placing a hand atop her head, Sonic ruffled her quills soothingly and Rosy lost every ounce of strength she had left as she cried with overwhelming joy into Sonic’s chest.

Scene 28 · CLEARED A Tide of Ghosts, End

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And there we have it! Rosy has finally caught up with one of her friends, and of course it’s Sonic 😁 And I really did have so much fun writing this scene. It just felt so right and came so naturally. I hope everyone enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it and are hyped for what comes next. I really hope you enjoy!

Thank you!

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Special Thanks to Cutegirlmayra Story by @JoshTarwater/SonicFanJ Inspiring Song – Second Advent – Tsutomu Narita, GRANBLUE FANTASY – Granblue Fantasy Original Soundtrack: Chaos

Fair Use Disclaimer

Sonic the Hedgehog and all affiliated characters and logos are the express property and Copyright© of SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS used without permission under Title 17 U.S.C Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 in which allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. “Fair use” is use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be considered copyright infringement. The Sonic Ring Bond: The Journey alternate universe (AU) consumer written work of fiction is a non-profit transformative work primarily for personal use and can and will be taken down without warning or prior notice at the request of the copyright holder(s) should it not be recognized under “fair use”.

*Sonic Ring Bond logo created by DEE Art – twitter.com/daryliscute.

Sonic Ring Bond AU and Sonic Ring Bond: The Journey are the creation of Joshua David Tarwater/ynymbus/sonicfanj/@Joshtarwater and is to be, including all contents herein considered for all legal purposes the property of the Sonic the Hedgehog intellectual property (IP) and copyright owners, SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS. All story contributors via prompt, suggestion, written scene, art, and all and every other contribution acknowledge that all contributed material is forfeit for legal purposes to SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS upon official request from SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS.