#I like boom Amy but jeez

[kaylatoonz]

I pray that paramount doesn’t listen to fans that insist that they should make movie Amy like boom Amy.

It’s ok if people like boom Amy but it grinds my gears when fans say “I hope they don’t make her a stalker or obsessed with sonic so they should make her like boom Amy).

She was NEVER an obsessive stalker in the games. she has been mishandled in the past just like any other character. Even so I still wouldn’t say she a stalker.

In fact boom Amy ironically has shown more obsessed tendencies then game amy!🫠

Game Amy’s love for sonic (and her friends) is a core element of her character.

Why would anyone want to remove or down play a core factor of a character!?!

Fans keep acting like there’s nothing to her character but her love or in some fans eyes “her obsession” with sonic.

Just like almost every sonic character they have some core element that may be the main thing about them (in some cases) but it’s NOT the only thing to them.

Imagine if they removed tails admiration for sonic and their sibling like bond.

Or

if they removed knuckles or shadow rivalry with sonic or down play their roots, their background.

Sure they could still hold up without these elements but they wouldn’t be as iconic. It would just be something missing.

Note that I’m open to movie Amy and movie sonamy being different but not at the cost of the erasure of what makes Amy, Amy.😤

[secret-fiction]

Sonic Boom: Those Who're Made Fools

As April Fools day is upon them, Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends must content with a series of pranks that go a little farther than they would like.

Below is a oneshot Sonic Boom Fanfiction that I started and finished today, April fools day 2024. I have not time to edit because my scope for this got out of hand, so I'll share it now as to release it within Apr 1st my time. I'll release an edited version later this week. _________________________

While Sonic the Hedgehog would usually be sleeping in, the cool breeze blowing through his hut and swaying the hammock he lay on beckoned him awake. He declined this request to wake up at a normal time and curled up further. However his body began to shiver and his mind was dragged into enough consciousness to realize that the cool breeze was actually a freezing wind. His eyes shot open, seeing a light flurry of snowflakes blowing over him, already building up drifts in his beachside hut.

“What the f-, flakes? Snow??” said Sonic as he wobbled while standing up.

The warm light of sunrise was peering through his windows and the island outside looked as tropical as it should. The culprit, Sonic deduced, was likely the large yellow painted machine that looked like a window air-conditioner if it were on an industrial scale. 

A letter lifted off of the pile of mail he kept strewn on the ground and into his face. It was the invitation to Amy’s birthday event this evening. Thus, it was also April Fools day.

“Either Tails actually got his sleep schedule in check just to get me first, or I need to have a chat with him about staying up all night again,” said Sonic aloud, ears turning to listen for any unseen listener. 

The wind then picked up, and the snow flurries began to sting as they struck him. In fact it was more of a semi-frozen rain now. Everything in Sonic’s hut was quickly being coated with bits of water and ice which then turned into a slick layer over everything. He grumbled and shivered, then dashed to his door to find the off switch. The machine however blocked the entire doorway, and there were no controls on the side facing Sonic.

“Aw what the heck?!” Sonic tried to push the machine out of his door but found his feet slipping on the frozen and wet floor. “TAILS! I don’t wanna break your new toy here, but I will!”

Sonic heard no response aside from the torrent of wind and freezing rain, which grew strong enough to send him slipping onto his face and sliding away to the far wall. He grumbled, stood up, and placed his feet on the wall. With one strong kick he spin-dashed into the machine, sending pieces of it flying as it fell out of his doorframe. 

“Brrr, jeez,” said Sonic as he stood up and looked around, seeing no sign of Tails, “don’t tell me he already ran off to prepare another prank. This one was already a bit much… Guess I’ll have to teach him a lesson on restraint…”

With resolve filling his eyes, Sonic the Hedgehog took off running across the beach in a blur. The machine was left behind on his front porch, a problem for later perhaps.

A potential problem for Sonic immediately descended from a hidden perch in the trees of the jungle to the machine. They fluttered with insectoid wings and had a green colour to match the jungle canopy. They landed atop Tails’ machine, and yanked a kunai dagger out of the machine's control panel before returning heading for their next target.

____________

The drone of power tools echoed throughout Tails’ workshop as usual while he assembled a new gadget. Progress was going good by his insane standards of pacing, so he took a step back to look over the device. Lifting the goggles off of his eyes, which bore a giddiness bright enough to almost hide his dark eyebags. This projector he was modifying would surely be perfect for setting the mood at Amy’s event this evening. All he needed to do now was program a remote for ease of use, something he was learning other cared about when using technology, and then-

A swinging sound from his mail chute on the door pulled Tails’ attention away. Could it be Sonic’s counter attack already? He chuckled to himself, picturing Sonic popping out of a pile of harmless snow with a dumbfounded look on his face. Upon approach however he saw that it was clearly from Amy. It bore fancy calligraphy for the address and her custom rose wax seal which was slightly cracked, likely from its journey. 

“Oh, she must be excited,” muttered Tails to himself before biting the letter to open it with his teeth. 

Tails immediately regretted his lazy choice of letter opening when a pink cloud of a gas blasted from the letter and filled the workshop, and his mouth. The taste of floral air freshener made him gag and spit. Then the overwhelming smell filled his nose. It should smell pleasant, but the flower scent was so overwhelming and suffocating that Tails had to cover his snout. He then scrambled for the nearest window. 

“What The FLYING FFff-!” Tails gritted his teeth and compressed his fit into a soft growl. 

One by one Tails swung each window open. Then he opened the garage door of the hangar portion of the workshop. That didn’t dilute the air freshener smell fast enough so he turned on every industrial fan he could. Soon he resorted to his emergency eye and face wash station, shoving a pile of boxes that surrounded it out of the way. The torrent of water on his face face made his eyes stop stinging so bad and got most of the taste out of his mouth. But his nose was still completely overwhelmed. 

“I can’t work like this!! Why should I work like this?!” said Tails as he shook the water off of his head. 

The ring of his doorbell drew Tails’ irritated red eyes to the door. Opening it revealed a fast food bag of which he couldn’t smell at all sitting on his welcomemat. This was definitely another prank, and the fact that he was hungry now that he thought about him annoyed him more. So he leaned forward and kicked the bag away before turning to slam his door shut.

“Hey woah!” said Sonic, jumped down from atop the workshop roof, “what’s up? Not hungry?”

Tails glared at Sonic, and glanced at the bucket of ice and snow in Sonic grasp.

“Okay to be fair you really-” Sonic coughed and waved a hand in front of his muzzle, “wow bud isn’t that a bit much air freshener? It’s kinda distracting.” 

“Yes! And I guess Amy thinks that’s funny, since evidently you had a much more lazy prank in mind,” said Tails.

“Amy?” said Sonic, “She usually doesn’t take time for anything more elaborate than what you can buy at the joke store.”

“Yeah, except when she asks for help with her party tonight.” Tails walked to his work table and plugged his nose with tissue paper before pushing the projector project aside. “Let’s see how she likes my help now, heheheh…”

“Tails you’re getting a bit maniacal,” said Sonic, “seriously, don’t go overboard again. It just smells a bit too nice in here.”

“You don’t mess with someone's sense of smell and get off easy,” said Tails.

“Okay, well, can I ask your opinion on something first?” said Sonic

Tails turned to face Sonic, only to get a bit of half melted snow in his face. 

“I’ll ask for your help fixing my house later!” said Sonic before dropping the bucket and dashing away.

Tails grumbled, wiped the snow off his face, then grabbed any errant material he had lying around to build his revenge on Amy. After a moment or two he started thinking about what Sonic had said.

“...Fix his house? What?” 

In his state of sensory overload and anger, Tails failed to notice a figure move from the jungle canopy outside a nearby window. It stood tall, then began leaping between trees toward the village.

____________

The hum of Amy Rose’s voice trailed through her house as she happily prepared for the rest of the day. Her daily twenty-four step quill-styling routine was now ready, she was dressed, and every surface of the room was covered in decorations and snacks to be assorted. Sure she always had a bit of anxiety about the fact her birthday falls on the first of April, the day of fools fooling other fools. But that worry was now barely present after living the last couple years dealing with attacks from Dr. Eggman at any random time. 

Working out a block of time in her schedule to deal with an inevitable attack or crisis meant Amy had all the time she needed to still have a fun birthday. She smiled to herself while looking over a stack of colourful papers she had printed, it was hard to suppress her enthusiasm at having her friends over tonight. Truly the real power of one's birthday was the leverage it put everyone else to try your favorite forms of entertainment.

“Alright, let’s get this next part right,” said Amy to herself as she organized the papers, character sheets. “This is my one chance this year to convince the other that this’ll be fun. And this time I’m right.”

Amy’s smile faltered slightly as she remembered her failure to convince Sonic and the others that playing out her favorite musicals was fun. Really she should’ve known that’d be too much. This time though, a simple role playing game, she can get them to agree to do this more often.

A knock on her door made Amy jump and gasp with a smile. She waved her hands a bit to lower her giddiness, taking a deep breath. Then she skipped over to the door.

Greeting her outside was a basket with a bow on it, sitting just past her welcomemat. Amy’s heart skipped a beat, but she quickly recognized Knuckles’ handwriting. “Hope you like these colourful rocks!” It wasn’t a romantic gesture from Sonic, but still nice. With a sigh and a soft smile she stepped forward to see what varieties of polished stones Knuckles had-

Her boot fell through her welcomemat, and Amy stumbled into the hole the had been hidden just under it. It was a short fall, but she landed on her face and splattered some liquid all over herself. It took a few seconds of sitting still to process what just happened.

“What the F-Ow…” said Amy, as she stood up, eyes stinging from the oily fluid coating her. “What is this stuff?”

The smell, and once her vision cleared, the black colouration showed Amy that this was actually just oil. Used oil, most likely motor oil, from a motor, filled with gunk, that was now in her quills… and her whole dress.

“Are, You, SERIOUS?!” shouted Amy, “isn’t this a bit much!?” 

Amy sighed, but tried not to let this ruin her mood. It was meant as harmless fun, even if it was ruining her morning. It wasn't usual for Knuckles to be that deceptive though, even though signs pointed to him being involved with how good he is at digging. Perhaps Tails put him up to this, considering the use of engine oil. But why would he? This is usually a thing between him and Sonic.

After a moment to glower, Amy decided to climb out of the small hole. The dirty motor oil made this tricky however, as she fell back in several times. By the time she heard the swishing of Tails’ tails mid flight, and a nefarious chuckle, she had worked through her patience.

“TAILS! Get down here this instant!!” 

Amy heard a gasp, then the patter of footsteps. Tails leaned over the hole and looked at her with a strange squint. She in turn gave him the most stern look she could.

“This is really obnoxious, especially for you!” said Amy.

“Yeah, like you don’t know a thing about obnoxious pranks,” said Tails, glancing away from Amy’s eye contact.

“There’s Motor Oil In My Quills Tails!!” said Amy.

Tails leaned out of Amy’s sight, she heard him put something down on her deck, before he leaned back over the hole. “Who put a hole full over motor oil here anyway?”

“...It wasn’t you?” 

“No! This is lazy, and just mean!” said Tails as she gestured energetically, “I’d at least be way more creative for something this mean! Or just less mean if I don’t have time to be creative.”

“Okay, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to insult your… prowess with pranking methods,” said Amy, “Please get me out of here.”

“Oh yeah, sure.”

With ease, Tails lifted Amy out of the hole and dropped her on the deck before landing himself. She pretended not to notice him immediately kicking a really haphazardly thrown together looking device out of sight. 

“Uh, Amy,” said Tails as he rubbed the back of his head, not noticing the oil stain he was leaving there from his glove, “do you happen to know anything about the perfume filling my workshop.”

“What? What happened?” said Amy.

Tails made eye contact with Amy, a look of anger quickly fading to regret. “I-I’m sorry, someone else must’ve put that perfume bomb in my mailbox then.”

“...Probably Eggman, right?”

“He… He’s not good at all at being that sneaky though…” Tails squinted as he looked at the hole, “And this does look like it was dug by claws, natural or those glove things people can get. And I guess Knuckles can be sneaky sometimes?”

“Okay but how would he do this without your help?” said Amy.

“...I dunno, could’ve gone to a mechanic,” said Tails, “But this is something he’d try to do to Sonic for April fools, not you.”

Just overhead, as Amy & Tails started talking about their problems, a sneaky individual leapt and flew away from the top of a palm tree. 

_________________

It was much easier for Knuckles to find specific rocks when they were in the ground. The polished stones he’d put in a gift basket for Amy evaded him in a way most minerals couldn’t. He’d been forced into retracing his steps to the best of his ability, now out on the jungle trails just outside of the Village. However all he could find was litter and Sticks’ traps.

“Oh come one gift basket, where’d you go?!” said Knuckles aloud, “I need you to be a good friend to Amy!”

The gift basket didn’t answer, only the rustling leaves did. Of course Knuckles could quickly gather some neat looking plants, but it wouldn’t have the same meaning to it. He slapped himself on the head trying to remember where he could’ve left the basket. After the week he spent picking out the perfect colourful stones it sickened him to just lose that gift. 

Searching the edges of the trail closely, Knuckles came across a tree with a nook inside it. The colours inside excited him for a moment, until he realized that it was only foraged fruit and not his basket of rocks. His stomach grumbled now, and the smell and look of the berries there enticed him. Then when he noticed a doodle carved in the bark next to the nook in the tree, depicting a simple Sticks the Badger giving a thumbs up, he smiled.

“Oh! Awesome! I really gotta thank Sticks for these snack stocks she leaves out.” said Knuckles

As Knuckles stepped close enough to reach into the nook of this tree, something snagged on his leg. He instinctively kicked, and felt something wrap tight around his leg and pull him upward. He gave a yell as the complex and well hidden snare trap hung him upside down from the top of the tree, several feet out of reach of the collection of berries. 

“Ah dang! I set off one of Sticks’ traps again…” said Knuckles as he folded his arms. “Wait, why was there a trap there, when there was a friendly and welcoming sign?! That’s like, the opposite of making sense!”

Knuckles grumbled to himself. If it took Sticks too long to find him then he’d have less time to find his gift basket. Then even less time to beat Sonic & Tails in the April Fools prank war.

“Wait, I think I know what’s going on…. Sticks is trying to make me an April Fool!” said Knuckles, slapping his face in shock. “Oh man I’ve never had to deal with a prank battle involving her before.”

“Knuckles! What’re you doing up there!” shouted the voice of Amy Rose.

“Amy?!” Knuckles looked down to see Amy with several paper towels in her hands and a bag over her shoulder. “Thank goodness you’re here! Sticks got me in a prank-snare thing! Who knows what she’ll do next!”

Amy’s eyes widened, then squinted. “Knuckles, Stick doesn’t do April Fools day!”

“Oh wait, really?”

“No, she stays in her burrow all day, remember?” 

Knuckles thought about that. He did begin to recall Sticks’ distaste for the idea of April Fools day the first time it was ‘explained’ to her. That was one crappy day, Sonic only barely survived. 

“Oh yeah!” Knuckles leaned up and grabbed the robe tied to his legs, then ripped it apart with his raw strength. He landed on his feet next to Amy and sighed in relief. “I was worried I’d have to stay up there all day. Good thing this rope doesn’t actually belong to Sticks.”

“Hey, I had a question for you,” said Amy.

“Oh yeah, I was gonna ask you about the oily smell but I can wait,” said Knuckles.

“...Yeah you didn’t dig that pit in front of my house then.”

“A pit?” 

“Yeah, sorry, I thought you tried and succeeded to prank me.”

“Oh wow! If I were you I’dve like, punched me in the snoz,” said Knuckles as he looked over just how messed up Amy’s quills were, “man, I’m glad you’re  so reasonable Amy, it’s nice knowing you have faith in the rest of us.”

“Heheh, yeah,” said Amy, tucking the bag over her shoulder behind herself. The spice-laden cupcakes inside will have to wait before burning someone's mouth up.

Seeing where Amy and Knuckles’ conversation was going, the hidden figure in the canopy fluttered away. Only one more member left to find. 

_____________

No amount of fresh air from outside could alleviate the tension in Sticks the Badger’s nerves. She’d just managed to will herself out the door of her burrow, knowing that the number of traps and practical alarms she’d placed around would warn of any intrusion. None of the others were going to mess with her this year, she knew that, they assured her and she trusted them. She desperately wanted to just trust them. 

“C’mon, you promised Amy you’d go to her party…” Sticks muttered, glaring down at her boots. 

The sound of a bell jingle made her ear twitch and her body stand even more tense than before. She glanced over, seeing no sign of anyone there. That upset her more than anything she could’ve seen prowling toward her burrow. Her teeth clenched together hard enough to become sore again.

Sticks looked in the direction of the other makeshift alarms, and more broadly the edges of the jungle near her burrow. To her relief and wraith, someone was here and it wasn’t only her. That camouflaged figure staying perfectly still in the trees evidently didn’t realize to what extent Sticks had memorized the area around her living space.

Being sure to not look to close in the direction of the figure, Sticks started walking into the jungle. The peripheral view she had gave her enough information about the size and shape of this stalking figure that she was confident about what to listen for. After only a few steps she heard the sound of it sticking to a new tree, a light thud very subtle but distinct from the tropical woodpeckers. 

“Heh, see, It’s not any of your friends,” Sticks muttered, trying then to steady her breath.

Based on the pace of when the figure hopped between trees, Stick knew exactly which snare to pass under. With a hand on her boomerang she listened as she walked. In short order, the figure fell into the trap as Sticks heard the snare suddenly tighten above her. She turned on her heel and threw the boomerang, letting herself snarl just a bit. 

The sight of a scarf and large insectoid wings is all Sticks could see of the figure through a cloud of blue glitter as they were pulled away into the air. Sticks heard a snap from her rope, and saw the figure dodge the boomerang and duck behind a tree. Then the boomerang came back and knocked the figure down, triggering a chain reaction among Sticks’ traps.

Nets and leaves went flying throughout the air as several trees sprung loose from the ropes of the traps. Sticks dived behind a safe tree and tried to watch the figure, but they managed to escape her sight and each trap they triggered. Eventually she heard the drone of their large wings as they disappeared into the jungle. The only sign they left behind was a spot of blue glitter on every tree they’d touched. 

“Sticks!” shouted Knuckles, “What was all that?! Are you alright”

“I’ve only heard legends, but if my guess is right… some sort of Ninja,” said Sticks.

Knuckles gasped, “a Ninja?! AWESOME!”

“Wait you’ve heard of ‘em?” said Sticks, “The rest of you hardly ever know what I’m talking about.”

“Well when you watch enough tv you learn what a Ninja is,” said Knuckles.

“TV? Darn, I should’ve known…” said Sticks as she walked out to find her boomerang, “wait, why’re you out here?”

“Oh yeah, Amy wanted me to find you. We have a problem.”

_________________

“Hoh Hoh Hoh!” laughed Dr. Eggman as he sat in his room of many monitors. On the largest screen the unfortunate situations of Sonic and his friends played out on loop. His assistants, Orbot and Cubot, waited patiently for him to get his fill of laughs in. As did the green Preying Mantis Ninja standing with their arms behind their back. 

“Look at his face as he slips on his face!” said Dr Eggman, hitting his control panel and laughing, “he’s helpless against a bit of wind and freezing rain! I gotta remember that!”

“Uh boss,” said Orbot, “now that we’ve played these recordings on loop 20 times, perhaps we ought to worry about what Sonic and the others are going to do to retaliate?”

“Oh yeah, what did you build for Sonic to blow up today boss?” said Cubot.

“I didn’t build anything for today,” said Dr. Eggman.

“But eeh… that means they’re gonna break something else,” said Cubot.

“No you nincomputer!” Dr. Eggman stood up from his fancy swiveling chair, “they don’t even know who’s responsible for the appropriation of their pranks! It’s genius you see!”

“But sir, who else would antagonize them like that other than you?” said Orbat.

“Why this mischievous freelancer of course!” said Dr. Eggman, putting one of his hand on the Mantis’ shoulder and giving them a friendly shake.

“I did in fact sabotage their joy today,” said The Mantis, standing stiff and waiting for Dr. Eggman to release them.

“Yes you did! And you got four out five of them! That's four stars out of five in my book! I knew I wouldn’t regret hiring you out of that catalog.”

“Oh yeah, you were like ‘I better not regret this!’” said Cubot, taking up an Eggman-like pose.

Dr. Eggman glared at Cubot, then coughed and turned to look down at the Mantis. “Your contract said I’ve got your services for the whole day, yes?”

“I am standing here for that reason, yes,” said the Mantis.

“Good, now let’s show them who’s really responsible for their misfortune! I’ll even let you partake in gloating with me!” said Dr. Eggman.

“I do not have ‘gloat’ in my skillset. Thus I would perform poorly at that task,” said the Mantis.

“...I can teach you a bit about it on the way.”

___________________

“Alright team, if we’re going to have fun during my birthday, and Sonic & Tails are gonna have a fair ‘battle of annoyance,’ we gotta deal with that person who's trying to ruin our day!” said Amy Rose to the rest of Team Sonic. They had assembled at the Teams agreed DPZ, De-Prankified Zone, the Meh Burger dining lot. 

“Who, other than Eggman, would go to these lengths anyway?” said Tails, “that’s what’s really bothering me. Have we done anything to someone recently?”

“Well there’s people who get ‘parasocially angry’,” said Sonic with finger quotes. “Could be literally anyone who doesn’t vibe with our brand of swagger and has no life of their own.”

“Ninja’s are notoriously without a life,” said Knuckles. 

“And good at blending in…” said Sticks, turning and eyeing a family sitting at a nearby table with suspicion.

“That I have seen,” said Sonic.

“Oh yeah, did you manage to hire-” started Amy, before the attention-demanding voice of Dr. Eggman rudely interrupted her. 

“MUAHAHAHAH!” bellowed Dr. Eggman from his flying eggmobile. His threatening presence caused the other patrons of meh burger to steadily flee, after only gathering their food, napkins, and food packets. “Have you had misfortune today Sonic?”

“Are you going to have some misfortune?” said Sonic, leaning forward but staying seated.

“Not today, Hedgehog! For you see, I have the upper hand.”

Some patrons scooted by the teams table as Tails said “Have you actually built a badnik we haven’t seen before, or are you just trying to hype up Mega again?”

“Grr, I don’t use that one that often!” said Dr. Eggman

“Uh, yeah, you kinda do,” said Sonic.

“It’s frankly embarrassing how often you pull out the same badniks on us,” said Amy, “the people of this village can’t even be bothered to put energy into fleeing from you anymore, that’s how stale you’ve gotten.”

“Yeah, and you use the same robots all the time!” said Knuckles.

“Yeah, okay, so maybe I can’t churn out new super badniks at an insane rate, but I’ve got standards for my health! I’m not gonna crunch my schedule if you lot won’t even respect what I build!”

Sonic turned and stared at Tails for a moment, who took a bit to notice. “What?”

Sonic titled his head and raised an eyebrow.

“What??”

“Does Egghead actually have a better sense of self care than you these days?” said Sonic.

Tails folded his arms and looked away from Sonic. 

“If you all could be bothered to pay attention for more than a second!” shouted Dr. Eggman, “You might notice-”

The crash of a soda cup hitting the ground drew everyone’s attention to Sticks. She’d turned round and snarled as she tightly gripped the wrist of the Mantis Ninja, who appeared to have been attempting to tie a small wire to Sticks’ leg. 

“Well, colour me impressed,” said Dr. Eggman with a widening grin.

Sonic recognized the smile and immediately dashed toward Dr. Eggman. Then Eggman pressed a button, and something tightened on Sonic’s leg. He fell onto his face then saw that a thin wire tied to his leg led to a small round black badnik with the shape of a spider. Three more wires protruding from this badnik were tied to Tails, Amy, and Knuckles, who were all sent to the floor by the momentum of Sonic’s dash. 

“Ow FUCK!” shouted Tails.

“Tails what the F-! You can’t say that!” said Sonic.

“Actually,” said Knuckles as he pushed the dining table off of himself, “I’m with Tails, this fucking hurts.”

“I’ve had enough of Eggman’s shit today too,” said Amy.

“Goddammit, could you guys at least try to keep the Team PG?” said Sonic.

“It’s no use anyway,” Said Sticks, still grippin the Mantis, “It’s not like we’re getting fucking renewed anytime soon.”

“...What?” said the Mantis, with the second emotion to appear on their face being sheer bafflement. 

Sticks responded by punching the Mantis in the face. The force allowed them to pull out of her grasp and dart away, diving behind the counter to the despair of the service worker there. Still Sticks gave chase, throwing her boomerang. 

The Mantis responded with a flying kunai that struck Sticks’ boomerang and changed its trajectory. Truly Ninja’s are as dangerous as Sticks worried, as she found it hard to follow the boomerangs flight path. She only saw it just before it was about to strike her in the face.

Then a second kunai hit the boomerang, deflecting it away from Sticks. Everyone looked over to see a floating hand. Actually, it was attached to a  well blended figure, whose colours changed from that of the background to purple. 

“Chaotix agency, Espio,” said Espio the Chameleon.

“Oh he’s good,” said Amy, “how much money did Vector want?”

“Not too much,” said Sonic as he stood up and struggled against the wires of the spider badnik, “they said if we were actually dealing with another Ninja we’d get a discount.”

“That… doesn’t make sense,” said Tails.

“The honor of testing my skills against another trained in these arts,” said Espio as he stepped closer to the Mantis, “is worth a quarter of my boss’ revenue.”

The Mantis nodded, “so be it.”

“What is even happening anymore?” said Dr. Eggman, “this was supposed to be when you all cower at the genius of my Tripping-bot in conjunction with my competent hiring judgment!”

“Well Egghead, you’re not the only one who gets the ‘spies and assassins’ catalog,” said Sonic.

“That’s it,” said Sticks, “two Ninja’s is too much for me to worry about! I’ve got something more important to be doing!”

Sticks the Badger proceeded to leave… without her friends even. Sonic and the others exchanged a glance and shrug. 

“Alright, no more delaying! Ninja, attack!” shouted Dr. Eggman.

“Go get em Espio!” said Sonic.

The two Ninja’s locked eyes, raised their kunai, and charged at each other. Just before an intense clash of blades, both Espio and the Mantis dodged toward different directions, hiding behind different tables. 

Meanwhile Knuckles managed to get a footing against tension of the wire from the Spider Badnik. Seeing this, Dr. Eggman attacked team Sonic with the base missiles and laser on his eggmobile. 

Two epic battles played out over the next few minutes. One where Team Sonic steadily overcame the problem of being tied together. At Amy’s suggestion, Knuckles took the lead of which direction they would all move, and even threw the other within range of Eggman. Via taunting Tails tricked eggman into blasting the cord tying him to the others, and started flying interference. 

Eventually Tails lured Dr. Eggman close enough to the ground for Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles to time a jump together and all land on Dr Eggman's vehicle. Just in time too, as he had finally grabbed ahold of Tails and was about to throw hands. From there all four of the team beat up Dr. Eggman and his eggmobile until he finally admitted defeat, which took an impressive amount of blows to make him do. 

All the while the two Ninja’s engaged in the most intense battle of their lives up till now. The Mantis used their flight advantage to duck behind elevated positions and look for Espio. However Espio knew this and compensated with his camouflage and speed. From the perspective of everyone else and each other however, they both remained completely out of sight. Some customers even started returning to the meh burger, unaware of the intense battle going on between tables and booths.

“...Are either of them still here?” asked Amy.

“ I literally can’t tell,” said Sonic.

“Well one of those ninja knives just appeared in my shoe, and I’m sure it wasn’t there before,” said Knuckles.

“They must be so fast!” said Tails.

“And sneaky,” said Sonic.

…

“This is so boring,” said Sonic as he sat down in a chair.

“Yep,”

“I’m afraid so,”

“Maybe I could build a Ninja tracker?” said Tails. 

“If this fight takes that long, I think we’re better off-” Sonic leaned back in his chair as he talked, and to everyone's surprise tripped the Mantis Ninja who stumbled out into the open.

The Mantis immediately opened their wings to take flight, but were stopped as Espio charge out of nowhere horn first into their torso. The two Ninjas tumbled to the ground with the sounds of struggle. Once everyone managed to realize what was happening Espio had his kunai at the Mantis’ neck.

“Damn,” said the Mantis.

“Yep,” said Espio.

The two stood up and dusted themselves off. Espio quickly went to retrieve his scattered ninja weapons while the Mantis adjusted their scarf. 

“Apologies Doctorate Eggman,” said the Mantis, “I was bested in the duel. Here is an adjusted invoice. Call my number if you have questions.”

“Right…” said Dr. Eggman.

Sonic and the others went over to Espio to congratulate him. Though the chameleon kept a stoic pose, Amy at least could tell he seemed to appreciate the praise.

“For the discount,” said Epsio and he pulled a pocket register out and started typing into it, “please write down all the thoughts you had about my performance for my boss to see.”

“Yeah I’ll tell vector you did a good job,” said Sonic.

“How will you be paying?”

“I have a card,” said Amy.

“But it’s your birthday!” said Knuckles.

“Yeah, we can cover it, right Sonic?” said Tails.

“Uh… yeah, I’ll just… hafta to buy a smaller gift for Amy,” said Sonic.

“D’aw,” Amy smiled warmly at Sonic, that comment fully recovered her mood from earlier, despite the battle damage to her dress and quills. “Don’t worry Sonic, having more money for later is a perfect birthday gift.”

“Oh, yeah, sure thing Ames,” said Sonic.

______________

While his mood was a bit soured, Dr Eggman took some pleasure in knowing he at least inconvenienced Sonic and his friends today. That was worth something. Now he just needed to figure out how best to word that to Orbot and Cubot as to make it sound like he didn’t lose. 

That train of thought was halted when Dr. Eggman got within view of his lair. Smoke poured out of several portions of the structures, and loose wires threw sparks all over the place. Several of his defensive badniks were flying and walking circles around the base in full alert, but it was clear they had no idea where the culprit of this mess was. Dr. Eggman grumbled and flew in closer to evaluate the damage.

“No who had time to do this?!” Eggman said to the badniks. 

From behind a rock, Orbot and Cubot peeked out and pointed to the top of the base, Orbot saying “she did…”

“Wha-” Dr. Eggman was cut off by Sticks the Badger landing on his Eggmobile and driving an obsidian shortsword into its control panel. He screamed in genuine terror as they crashed to the ground.

Dr. Eggman felt himself tumbling until he lay flat on his back, then Stick jumped onto his chest and bared her teeth, putting a hand on his collar. 

“I have WAY too much to worry about, without dealing with this damned ‘Fools Holiday!’”

“Wait, I-” muttered Dr. Eggman.

“Shut up!”

Dr. Eggman shut up.

“When I hafta to worry just that much more, it actually hurts! And I’m not willing to spare you that pain!” Sticks took a few heavy breaths and made sure Eggman was looking her in the eyes. “Now, are you EVER, going to make me hafta to worry about an ‘April Fools’ again?!”

“Well… when you ask so nicely…”

Stick growled like a wild badger.

“No no of course not! Jeez! I’ll leave you alone if you leave me alone!” said Dr. Eggman. 

Sticks’ posture immediately softened and she released Dr. Eggman's collar. She let out a sigh and said “thanks,” before stepping off of Eggman’s chest and lying on the ground.

“Uh… don't mention it,” said Dr. Eggman.

“Yeah, of course… Sorry I hafta be so mean…” 

“I'm going… to go inside, and hide.”

Sticks gave him a thumbs up and continued to just lie on the ground in front of his base's door.

[oopsiedoopsie23]

Mission gone wrong | Jake Peralta x reader

A/N: Obsessed with Brooklyn 99, I’ve definitely been binging it way too much. And, I love Peraltiago so, so much but I agree, Peralta is way too charming and deserves way more love! Also I’m slowly going through my requests, so if you have sent me one, I’m gonna get through it eventually, so stay tuned my loves! And thank you for the request, babes <3

Prompt: The reader works at the 99 and goes undercover for a case as a stripper, but Jake worries when things don’t go exactly as planned (the two are dating in this imagine).

Warnings: mentions of alcohol, drugs, drugging and strippers

“Okay everyone, settle down, settle down.”

The briefing room was ecstatic, everyone muttering and gossiping to one another about the new case that they had just received this morning.

It was rumoured to be one of the largest cases that the precinct had ever seen, involving one of Brooklyn’s largest drug kingpins, and the case being handed to the 99 by the commissioner himself. 

“Charles, are you sure that you’re right?”

“Yeah Charles, us storming into a fancy Peruvian banquet to take down this guy seems really unlikely...and weird.”

“Guys! The Captain told everybody to be quiet...so be quiet!”

You and Jake turned around, facing the front of the room to look at Terry and Captain Holt, not bothering to hide the fact that the two of you were gossiping with Charles.

“Thank you, Sergeant Jeffords. As you all know, this morning our precinct received a rather large case from the commissioner so if you have all stopped gossiping and whispering amongst yourselves then, we can get started with the briefing.”

“Jeez Captain is it really that bad?”

“Excuse me, my apologies if my previous statement was rather harsh but there are um, some aspects of this case that are making me rather uncomfortable uh, Sergeant Jeffords would you give our precinct the briefing please.”

You and Jake looked at each other, the fact that Captain Holt was nervous was definitely not a good sign. 

“Damn maybe we really are going to a Peruvian banquet.” 

“Okay everyone, so today we are going to be taking down this man...” You all sit up straighter as Terry shows the precinct the photo of the convict, “His name is David Robertson, 41 years old, executive on Wall Street and one of the biggest drug king pins in Brooklyn.”

“Okay, so we have to take down the big bad wolf of wall street?”

“Hey was that a reference to that movie with Leonardo Dicaprio that we watched together?”

You can’t help but let out a laugh as Jake interrupted you, “Yeah, dang he looked good in that movie.”

“I know!” the two of you high fived before Terry continued speaking,

“L/N, Peralta, if you could keep your weird flirting and conversations ‘till after the briefing?”

“Or at home?”

“Or just not do it at all...ever.”

You and Jake smiled sheepishly as he turned to shrug at Amy and you chose to give the finger to Rosa (jokingly of course, you don’t have a death wish).

“Anyways, the good news is that the 84 has already found a lead that we can use to take down Robertson for good!”

Everyone in the room cheered and high fived at the good news.

“Wait so all we have to do is surround the location, storm in and Boom! Bad guy’s gone!”

Everyone in the room agreed and chuckled before Rosa cut in, 

“What’s the bad news Sarge?”

“...the location is Walt’s Gentlemen’s club.”

The room went silent as everyone digested Terry’s words,

“Wait so it’s a Peruvian banquet that no girls are allowed in?” Everyone groaned at Charles’ confusion causing him to let out an exasperated “What?”

“Charles, it’s a strip club not a Peruvian banquet!”

“Oh! Oh no...” 

You face palmed as Charles’ unconscious body hit the ground,

“We’ll just...give Charles a minute.”

3 hours later~

You all settled back into your seats in the briefing room, everyone once again muttering to one another about the big case.

“I mean a gentlemen’s club? This is like a case from my nightmares!”

“It’s okay Amy! Hitchcock and I were there last week, it’s very clean!”

Everyone’s faces scrunched up simultaneously in disgust and horror, “Scully! Why were you and Hitchcock at a strip club last week?”

“What? They’ve got the best chicken wings in the city!”

You hear Charles gasp dramatically, and see him place a hand on his chest in horror, “Scully! You did not just say that!”

“Okay everyone! We’ve just got word from the commissioner and we have decided that due to the importance of this case, we are turning this into a brief undercover mission.”

“Wait...so does that mean that Boyle and I are gonna get to dress up in the suit that I wore to my Nana’s funeral and eat some chicken wings while some ladies are sliding on poles?”

“Or, does that mean that we’re gonna have to watch Amy talk about personal hygiene as she attempts to slide down a pole?”

You try your best to hold back your laughter as Amy blushes and stutters after Gina.

“Actually...we were thinking of having someone else go undercover...”

You and Rosa immediately gave each other the look, knowing that with both of your skills, experience and luck, it was probably going to be one of you.

Before Holt or Terry can continue talking about the case, you and Rosa simultaneously stick your fists out, preparing for an intense game of rock, paper, scissors,

“You know the drill, L/N.”

“Loser has to work this brilliant, but extremely embarrassing and demeaning case that would ruin either of our reputations, you’re on Diaz!”

You feel Jake began to bounce in your seat in anticipation behind you,

“C’mon Y/N you got this! Make me proud, honey!”

“C’mon Rosa! Don’t let them win! I may have lost my bet against Jake but you can still take down Y/N! Don’t let another one of them get away!”

Everyone stares at Amy, with her sudden outburst of intensity, “Jeez Santiago, you good?” 

“Y-yeah I’m fine Sarge, just really into this game of rock, paper, scissors, you know? I just uh, really want to see who gets to work the pole?” Amy stutters, clearly flustered but is luckily saved by Holt,

“Actually, Santiago this time it isn’t up to a wager of rock, paper, scissors to deci-”

“Okay everyone! My name is Jake Peralta, I’m your host this evening, and welcome to the annual, L/N, Diaz showdown, this time to decide who gets the pleasure of pretending to be a...drum roll please, Boyle...lady of the night for a bunch of sketchy drug dealers and pervy old men!”

“What’s a lady of the night?”

“Oh not now Boyle!”

“In this corner, she is the reigning rock, paper, scissors champ, who would make the most terrifying pole dancer ever...Rosa Diaz!”

Cheers are heard throughout the room as Rosa cracks her knuckles, preparing for the game.

“And in this corner, she has the best taste in men and after the last fight, had to pretend to be married to Hitchcock, and did I mention is my hot girlfriend...Y/N L/N!”

Cheers are also heard throughout the room as Jake echoes your name dramatically and you nod your head at Rosa in acknowledgement.

“Okay fighters, on shoot,  ready?”

The two of you shake hands as you feel everyone slightly tilt forward to get a good view of your matchup.

“Rock...Paper...Scissors...Shoot!”

On cue, you quickly lay your hand flat in a paper formation as Rosa balls her hand into a fist, signalling rock.

“YES!”

“And our winner by paper...Y/N L/N!”

Everyone claps and cheers as Jake raises your arm into the air and you take a bow, smiling as Rosa groans and puts her head in her hands.

“Actually detectives, the commissioner and I have already decided that the best choice for this undercover mission would be, Detective L/N.”

“Wait, what?”

“B-but I won the rock, paper, scissors!”

“You all realize that this is an extremely important case which your petty game has no impact on right?”

You open your mouth again in protest when Holt cuts you off,

“It is only used for small, un-important cases like homicides.”

You groan as Rosa snickers,

“Ha! Y/N still has to pretend to be a stripper!”

“Terry you can’t possibly agree, I mean you told me that Rosa used to do ballet, right? You’ve got dance experience surely you’d be a better stripper than me!”

Terry’s eyes widen as Rosa growls at him, “I-I have no idea what you’re talking about Y/N um, I’m sure you’d be a great stripper, m-much better than Diaz.”

you sigh, letting your head fall onto the table, feeling Jake feverishly pet your shoulder as Holt dismisses the meeting.

“On the bright side, you’ll look hot?”

“Not the time, Jake.”

Another 3 hours later~

“Ugh, I hate this, I hate this, I hate this, I hate this, I hate this!”

“But you look amazing! That brassiere really brings out your eyes!”

“Charles! Why are you looking at my girlfriend’s brassiere?” 

You roll your eyes as your boyfriend and his best friend begin to argue over the pronunciation of brassiere, instead choosing to prepare yourself for the hours of hell ahead of you.

“Damn L/N you look hot.” you smirk at Rosa, giving your friend a salute.

“Yeah um, the mascara was a good touch.”

You chuckled at how uncomfortable Amy was with you standing in the bullpen practically half naked.

Then, Holt walks in with Terry and the commissioner by his side, seemingly re-discussing the case,

“Okay team, you all know the drill, L/N will go in, pretending to be an employee at our target’s location, and flirt with the target, enticing him to go to a private room in the back and Peralta and Boyle will also be undercover as fellow customers as another set of eyes in the room. Diaz, Santiago, Jeffords and I, along with a task force from the 84 will then surround all the exits as L/N finds a way to distract him, then when he tries to run we got ourselves a convict.”

You all cheer, and suit up (or in your case put on a flimsy trench coat), preparing yourselves for the mission.

“Hey, are you okay?” you look over and see Jake watching you with worried eyes,

“Yeah...just nervous.” you chuckled nervously, fiddling with your hands.

“Hey, look at me, you’ll be fine, I won’t let anything bad happen to you, I promise.”

He gently takes your hands in his, making you smile at the sweet gesture,

“I’m more nervous about having to dance half naked in front of a bunch of strangers than being surrounded by a bunch of drug dealers.”

Jake laughs, making you smile as he gives you a quick peck to your forehead.

“Promise me that you’ll close your eyes?”

“Oh no way! This is my one chance to watch you perform!”

You dramatically gasp, lightly smacking his chest as the two of you burst out laughing once again,

“Will you at least make sure that Charles closes his eyes?”

“Oh yeah, for sure, that’s disgusting.”

The two of you stay silent for the rest of the short car ride, choosing to instead, hold hands and pretend to listen to Charles list off all of the restaurants that should rightfully be named the best in the city.

“Alright, we’re here, you know what to do. Good luck L/N.” 

You nod at Holt with a slight smile gracing your lips, as you step out of the car as gracefully and seductively as you could, and walking into the club.

As you walk in, you let your eyes momentarily adjust to the dark lighting, subtly dropping your trench coat to the floor, attempting to blend in with the rest of the half naked ladies walking around.

You grab a nearby tray of drinks and begin to circle the club, trying your best to act as if you weren’t about to barf from all of the sleazy looks you were getting.

“Hey gorgeous, over here!”

You turn your head and see David Robertson himself, sitting with a group of large men, calling you to him.

You gulp and tense but instantly relax as you see Jake and Charles walk through the door, both failing miserably to look as if they belonged at the club.

You give a slight nod to them as you strut over to Robertson’s table, putting your best flirty smile on your face (the one you give Jake when you try to talk him out of forcing you to watch Die Hard for the 1000th time).

“Hello Gentlemen, what can I do for you?”

“You must be new around here, we come here every night and we haven’t seen you around before.” you inhale as all of the burly men chuckle as if the comment was funny.

“Well I’m new here so, you probably know this place better than I do.” you giggle

The men chuckle once again, one of them even tossing you a dollar bill,

“I like you, what’s your name sweetheart?”

“Sugar...” you lean forward, trying your best to seduce the man, “Because I’m sweet...and once you taste me you can’t get enough.” 

You swear you can hear a gasp and a “Oh that’s good!” from Charles behind you but you pretend like it didn’t phase you at all,

“So...Sugar...you got any moves?”

“Well sir, I’m not like other girls here...I only dance in private, it makes things a lot more...interesting.”

“Ooh, now I like you even more!”

You smile as your target takes out his wallet, placing a black card on the table, clearly taking you up on your offer.

But as you lean back, holding your hand out for the man to take, Robertson instead pushes forward two glasses filled with a dark liquid, clearly signalling that he wants you to take one.

You try hiding your shock from the gesture and quickly try finding an excuse for not drinking the unknown drink...and whatever substances may be in it.

“I’m not so sure about that...I’m on the clock, you know.” You give another flirtatious smile, hoping that it will get you out of the situation.

“Well sweetheart, no drink...no deal.” You gulp as you watch him dramatically slide his card away from you as the last words leave his mouth.

You tilt your head slightly, to take a look at Jake and Charles, one of which has chicken sauce all over his face and the other who is feverishly shaking his head no.

But if I don’t do this, this whole case may go to waste.

You look away from Jake, looking Robertson dead in the eye once again,

“Oh the things we do for a little fun hm?” you attempt to say nonchalantly.

You slowly wrap your hands around the small glass, trying your best to identify whatever’s inside of it, before tilting it upwards and letting the burning liquid slide down your throat.

You watch as your target quickly does the same, before slamming his card on the table and letting you guide him to the back into a small room.

You feel your head become slightly dizzy and your throat burns from whatever was in the glass, the side effects becoming so severe that you barely notice that you’re now in the back room.

Focus L/N, focus.

You try to stand up straight and keep your vision clear as you watch Robertson begin to unbuckle his pants and take out a bunch of small containers of substances from his pockets.

“Wha-what are you doing?”

“Well...sugar I’m just preparing for a bit of fun...I mean this is what I paid for right?”

You gulp, praying that Jake and Charles and everyone else on the team were in their positions by now, you knew that you couldn’t stall any longer.

“Um, sorry Robertson but no, I don’t think this is what you paid for.”

The man freezes and tenses, clearly shocked from your answer,

“H-how do you know my name?”

You try to stand up straight once again, trying to look as strong as possible,

“Because of this...” you hold up your badge.

Robertson’s eyes widen and he scrambles as he tries to make a break for it. 

You immediately chase after him, watching as he finds the nearest exit door, pushing it open, and sprinting out.

“Freeze! This is the NYPD, David Robertson, put your hands in the air!”

You watch smugly as he reluctantly puts his hands in the air, surrendering himself to your colleagues. That is until, your knees begin to buckle and your dinner start to come back up.

Jake, who was right behind you, is quick to notice and guides you to a nearby bush, holding your hair back as you begin to vomit.

“Jeez, was it really that bad in there?” you hear Rosa walk up to you, disgust laced in her voice,

“No, she drank some sketchy drink from that Robertson dude.”

“What? Y/N what the hell? That could’ve been poisoned!” 

You gag and feel a gentle pat on your back, before sitting back down on the curb, not caring if you were still half naked.

“H-he wouldn’t go with me if I didn’t take it...I didn’t want the whole case to be a bust.”

You gratefully smile as you feel Jake’s jacket wrap around your shoulder,

“That was stupid...but brave, L/N.”

You jokingly swat Amy’s hand away as she tries grabbing onto your wrist, to check your pulse,

“I’m fine Amy, I’m alive.”

Rosa takes your terrible humour as a sign that you’re better, and signals for Amy to give you and Jake some space.

“So...since you just barfed your dinner all up, you wanna get something to eat?”

[ninzied]

but i know where i belong

prompted by @fortysevenswrites with the word ‘bar’ - thank you!! have some kastle.

It was a couple of years before she saw him again, before she found an excuse to make her way back up to the city. She wasn’t all that sure he would even show up, but she figured Curtis wouldn’t have suggested the place if he thought Frank would leave her hanging like that. And besides, he missed her. She knew that he did.

Florida had been good to her – almost disgustingly sunny all the time, even when it rained, and she didn’t even mind that the salt never seemed to wash completely out of her hair. Amy had found a home there, had even been seeing one of the guys teaching this diving class with her, and she couldn’t wait to tell Frank all about it.

She’d kept him updated in little ways, a letter here and there, photos from graduation, postcards addressed to “Your Trailer” by way of the actual address she’d managed to track down for Curtis’ place. One time she’d written “Cupboard Under the Stairs,” because it made her laugh to picture Frank wrinkling his face in that annoyed kind of confusion he liked to feign with her sometimes.

He never responded, but on occasion she’d get something back from Curtis, a few carefully penned lines to let her know that Frank was around, that he was paying attention in his own way. That he was even doing well, too.

“Caught up with an old friend the other day,” Curtis would say. “Might have actually convinced him to get a real job for a change. Had some help. You look like you’re doing all right, kid.”

Also:

“P.S. If someone gives you any trouble, or isn’t treating you like you deserve, I know a guy.”

“Jeez, Frank,” Amy had muttered at that, with a dramatic roll of her eyes. “I only just started dating him, chill.”

She’d already been half-planning the trip for a while – setting money aside with each paycheck, keeping an eye out on the changing bus fare – when she got Curtis’ postcard. It was a black and white photo of an albatross, wings spread wide as it flew down to its mate on the rocky seashore.

Amy turned it over. There was no note with this one, only another address, and a date that was still a few weeks away. It gave her plenty of time to get ready.

She took a plane – with a brief layover in Charlotte, now how was that for irony – and stressed the whole way there, bouncing a leg in her seat at the thought of what awaited her. She fussed with her hair, throwing it up into a messy bun only to take it back down again every five seconds, until it was so unruly it looked two sizes too big for her when she stopped in the bathroom on the way out.

She had to check Curtis’ postcard at least twice, to make sure she’d gotten the address right.

It brought her to some rundown place in Hell’s Kitchen called Josie’s. The windows looked like they hadn’t been washed since the day they were built, and they were covered in yellow-edged flyers, with the bar’s sanitation score conveniently buried beneath an ad for a pawn shop down the street.

The inside of it did not seem any more promising, and Amy was waffling at the doorway when she caught a glimpse of something – someone – over by the bar.

It was that Homeland Security agent, Madani, Amy realized with a little shock, and she was carrying a tray full of shots, distributing them around to people Amy didn’t recognize until—

There was a flash of golden blonde hair, and Amy almost dropped her jaw to the floor as Frank materialized out of nowhere in his black sweater and jeans, leaning in to sweep her hair aside and whisper something into her ear.

“Oh. My God,” said Amy under her breath.

It was the woman from the hospital, who’d raised her voice at him when no one else would, who’d made Frank go all soft-eyed when Amy walked in on them standing too close to each other. Who he’d refused to say more than four words about later – a very gruff “Karen” when Amy asked who she was, and a short, flat “Not gonna happen” when she opened her mouth to grill him for more.

She was still a ways away from them, the music and the bar regulars shoving themselves into all the space in between. But even from here she could see the way they swayed together, how different Frank looked when he smiled.

There was no bruising on his face, no blood. Only the glow of something warm when he looked at Karen, and she looked back at him, bringing a hand up to his cheek and saying something that made him bite his lip on a chuckle before moving in to kiss her.

Nothing stopped him this time, and Amy let out a sigh, grateful they hadn’t noticed her yet. She was not going to make a habit of barging in on any more moments of theirs, no sir, no thank you.

She looked around for Curtis instead, finally spotting him at a corner booth deep in conversation with Madani and a round-cheeked, cheerful-looking blond guy.

She was careless when she brushed past someone else along the way, stammering an apology when she came close to kicking his cane out from underneath him. But he only shrugged it off with a smile, tilting his head an infinitesimal degree as she stumbled on by and tried not to stare after him.

“You made it!” Curtis was practically beaming at her as she approached their table, wrapping her up in a hug that lifted her feet off the ground for a moment.

“Of course I made it,” she told him dryly, grinning across the table at Agent Madani. “How could I say no to such a cryptic message?”

“Hi there!” interjected the blond guy next to her, extending his hand. “Foggy Nelson, at your service. You must be the Amy we’ve heard so much about. You old enough to drink one of these yet?”

“Hi,” said Amy with an overwhelmed sort of smile, at the same time that Curtis was shaking his head and reaching over to take the shot for himself.

“Absolutely not. For another twenty years at least.”

“Good answer,” Madani told him, and the grin he gave her was just flustered enough that Amy gleefully catalogued this information for later use.

“So what’s the occasion?”

But the three of them were looking past her shoulder now, smiling in answer, and Amy turned to see Frank leading Karen over to them.

She raised a knowing eyebrow, trying to keep her face straight and not smirk too obviously at him.

“Hey, kid.”

He looked almost bashful, standing there holding hands with Karen, and Amy couldn’t contain herself anymore.

She launched herself forward, flinging her arms around them both. They stumbled back, but only a step, and Frank lifted her into her toes, Karen’s laughter in her ear.

“I knew it,” said Amy. “I knew it. I knew it, I knew it!”

Karen smelled like a freaking spa or something, clean and sweet like cucumbers and rosewater, and she also looked about seven feet tall when Amy stepped back and decided she was just a little bit in awe of her.

“Okay,” she said. “Yeah, I can totally see it, Castle.”

“Ah, knock it off,” he told her, voice rumbling, and he pressed a kiss to her hair before he released her.

He hadn’t let go of Karen’s hand, Amy noticed, but from this angle she could just see a glint of something on her finger, and she almost had to cover her mouth to keep a Shut up, shut up, shut UP from bursting out of it.

“I, uh,” and Frank cleared his throat as Amy gazed up at him as innocently as she could, eyes wide and unblinking. “Thought it was time you guys met.”

“It’s good to see you again,” Karen told her, something like a wink in her tone to match the smile that went with it.

“You too,” said Amy, then with a hasty look over to Frank – “Sorry, but I’m gonna have to borrow her now” – she linked her arm through Karen’s and began to pull her away. “Tell me everything.”

“Christ,” she overheard Frank groan behind them, “Didn’t I say this was probably a terrible idea?” and Curtis’ laughter boomed over the music as Karen and Amy walked off arm in arm.

[definitelyameatbag]

Meet the Trouble

Another chapter for the college AU by @drawbauchery!

---

“C’mon, P! You nearly done in there?!”

Amy knocked on the door to the beach hut, causing Laplace behind her to grimace. “Amy, stop it, you’re not helping.” Laplace refixed her sunhat, trying to ensure her face was at least partially covered, she could spot one or two students from the campus along the fairly crowded beach. “I don’t know how you talked us into this.”

“I’m nearly done!”, Perri’s voice echoed out of the hut, betraying how nervous she was to leave its security. “Oh, jeeze...”

“Aw, don’t be like that, Perri!”, Amy responded, “Me and Laplace will be right beside you!”

Laplace ducked in, “It’s ‘Laplace and I’, Amy. But it’s true, Perri, everyone on the beach will be too busy getting chatted up by Amy to be bothering either of us.”, before being shut up by an elbow hitting her in the side. “Ow!”

“Alright, alright...I’m coming out...”, announced Perri, before the hut door slowly opened, Amy and Laplace getting a peek through to see her, changed into a dark-green one piece swimsuit. Perri, cheeks blushing red, in turn looked at Laplace in her blue bikini and especially Amy in her...provocative sling swimsuit.

The three women spent a moment in shared silence.

“Uhh, well...you look good, Perri.”, Laplace finally spoke, realising she was staring and averted her eyes to the sky in embarrassment. Amy kept looking at Perri, though she covered her mouth when she found it impossible to avoid growing a smile. “Perri, you look adorable!”

Perri tried to growl in displeasure at Amy, but the sight of Amy and Laplace had made this rather difficult. “No! I...yo-you shut up! I won’t come out if you do that!”

Amy laughed, “Do what, sweetie?”

“That! Well, whatever...”, Perri opened the hut door further, finally walking out onto the sunbaked beach.

She scoped around her for the possible sight of people staring at her. She saw families, groups of friends, pitched up and relaxing or playing as far as she could see the beach go. Down both lengths were some barbeques and nets set up for volleyball, and in the water were more people playing, taking advantage of the late wave of hot weather. Perri’s breaths were initially rapid, bordering on panic, but slowly she calmed down as it seemed nobody was really paying attention to her. She snapped stiff, seeming to grow another inch, as Amy wrapped an arm around her, before relaxing, nearly, as quickly.

“See, P? Nothing to worry about. How ‘bout we have some fun?”

---

An orderly grid was imposed on the side of the exposed cliff. Mounds of material were dug out in rows and columns, the dug up earth being repurposed to expand the worksite.

“That doesn’t look an awful lot like a castle, Perri.”, commented Laplace, turning her eyes away from her book while sitting in her fold-up lounge chair, comfortably under her beach umbrella. Perri looked back at her from her spot on the ground, assembling something looking like a canyon out of wet sand with her bucket and spade.

“Hey, I’ve spent a bit more time around quarries than I have around beaches, I am sort’ve new to this.”, rebuked Perri, extending the trench with her spade.

Laplace sat up, inquisitive, “Was this back home? You never really told me where you’re from.”

Perri furrowed her brow, “Well, I suppose you might’ve guessed by now I’m from Canada. A tiny town on the Mackenzie River way up in the Far North, set up by a mining company. One of my earliest memories was having to be told that there existed other human beings outside our town. If you Yankees think North Tecumseh is cold, imagine digging a tunnel through snow to get to school.”

She looked back up to see a set of wide eyes on Laplace’s face, “My word. Was college the first time you left?”

Perri looked back down. She hated remembering it. She shook her head. “No, I went to a boarding school in Fort Herne. I was amazed at seeing so many people in one pla--”

She was interrupted by a splash, followed by a scream from Laplace and laughter from Amy, who Perri could see had snuck up behind Laplace with a bucket, a bucket that had very recently contained water. “Amy!”, yelled the drench Laplace, jumping out of her chair and looking ready to burn a hole through Amy with her eyes. Ducking down to grab a handful of sand, which only gave Amy time to start running, Laplace took off after her, “Come back here!”

Perri collapse into a laughing fit, seeing the two of them bolt away. Recovering from the giggles, she thought about how lucky she was to meet them.

A voice came from behind her.

“Hey there, babe.”

It was a voice that did its best to sound sweet, as if it was trying to sound like a mother making baby talk to her child, but not nearly with the sense of endearing care. The saccharine coating dripped off to Perri’s ears, for her a predatory tone carried through.

She was terrified of turning around.

“Can’t you hear me? I’m talking to you.”

Slowly, Perri turned her head, then her body, to see behind her. She tried to not recoil when her fears were confirmed. It was her. Less than ten feet away.

She looked slightly different from how Perri remembered it. She was in biker leather, like how Laplace dressed when on her bike, and a few tattoos on her arms added to her scars. Yes, thought Perri, she definitely had more scars than before. She loomed large over her. Whether her size in her nightmares was true to how she was back then, they were true to now.

Perri looked right up to her face, at her wide, hungry smile.

“I thought I’d never see you again. Small world, isn’t it?”

Perri was shaking, a lump in her throat making it difficult to speak, “A-Alexa?”

Her eyebrows jumped up, “Ah, you do remember me! Well, aren’t you cute as ever? So, what’s up?”

“I-wai-how...”, Perri beat down the adrenaline, “What are you doing here?”

Alexa shrugged her shoulders, “Meh, been riding down the Coast looking for a good time. Guess I’ve just found it.”

She took a step forward.

“Stay back!”, Perri shouted, wondering if others were watching them but not daring to take her eyes off Alexa.

Alexa halted, and the smile dropped away. It seemed her face, like a sponge, returned back to its natural state after being squeezed and twisted into a form it wasn’t made to take. Harsher. Meaner. Her voice, though remaining calm, lost the saccharine.

“Don’t freak out on me, babe. Not again. You were lied to a lot in that school. All those teachers and admins made you think there was something wrong with us. What was so wrong about us? I kept you safe, didn’t I? You were lonely, and I was there for you. And then they all put stupid ideas in your head. You always thought you weren’t stupid, didn’t yo--”

“Stop, stop, stop, STOP IT! Leave me alone!”, Perri scrambled backwards, her heart booming inside her chest, she tried to tell her legs to move, but they were shaking so much she could barely think to place the soles of her feet on the ground. She struggled over her mound of wet sand, flattening it, before she was frozen again, still looking directly at Alexa.

Alexa bit her lip, swallowing some bile, but the smile returned, nakedly pleased at Perri’s pathetic attempt to put distance between them. “Oh, but you are alone, aren’t you? Alone, except for--”

“Hey, Perri, we’re back. Lap nearly got sand in my eyes, but - Hey, who’s this?”, Amy interrupted. Perri felt like her own neck had snapped with how quickly she turned it to see Amy and Laplace, both out of breath, come back to her. The two now stared at the new arrival, who looked at them just as confusedly. Laplace looked back down at Perri, seeing her stuck in a mess of panic.

Alexa spoke first, “Oh, me and Perri go way back, we were crushes in school, weren’t we?”

Laplace stepped to the side, towards Perri. “It’s ‘Perri and I’. And I think she does not want to have you around.”, she got down on one knee, moving her body to partially shield Perri from Alexa, and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Are you ok, Perri?”

Perri couldn’t speak, but Amy took her turn to step forward, cracking her fists as she eyed Alexa, “You looking for trouble, bud? ‘cause you’re outnumbered.”

Alexa looked down at the significantly shorter Amy, “And you’re outgunned, pipsqueak. Why don’t you and your friend take a hike while I talk to Perri here. I don’t want anybody hurt.”

Amy smirked, looking at the women standing right behind Alexa, “Neither does she.”

“Wh--”, Alexa tried to question her, before she turned around to face a black tank top, with the words ‘Beach Hunk’ written on front. She craned her neck up to see the face of the woman behind her. She had another half a head of height on her and easily had more muscle, she was made to look even bigger by her mass of bright blonde hair that looked like a lion’s mane, her brown skin broken up by streaks of pale. And she was taking pleasure at seeing Alexa realise how stacked the odds were against her.

“Is there a problem here?”, she growled at Alexa, squinting down at her, standing tall with her hands on her hips.

“N-nothing for you to worry about, Tiny.” Alexa got her bearings, but now far gone from her position of confidence,. “How about you stay out of this?”

The larger woman shook her head. “No, no. You see, my baby sister there has gotten herself into a scrap, and it’s always been my job to pull her back out. At least she’s sticking up for a friend, that isn’t the worst reason I’ve had to beat someone into a pulp. No, I think it is you who needs to get out of here, not me or her or anyone else. Since you’re surrounded, though, and since I only beat up people who ask for it, I’ll give you the chance to take the first swing, if you think you could knock me out on the first try. Your choice.”

Alexa was shaking, ever so slightly, like a lid on a boiling pot. Exhaling, she turned back around, looking directly at Perri. Perri looked right back at her. Her anger washed away into a cocky grin.

“See you around, Perri.”

Alexa bumped past the larger woman and stormed off, nearly bumping into a tall, thin, pale woman in a light blue sundress, holding two ice cream cones. The woman turned to track Alexa, then looked back to the group, “Jasie? Who was that?”

Jasie shrugged, walking over to Amy, “Nobody, Pearl. Some twerp who thought she could push around my baby sister.” She grabbed Amy and gave her a noogie on her head, much to Amy’s protestation. “She didn’t know what she was dealing with, did she?”

“Ah! Stop it!”, cried Amy with some laughter, though the laughter stopped as she saw Pearl come up to them. “Anyway, it wasn’t me she was pushing around.” With a mild shock of realisation, she looked back at Perri. “Perri, you OK?

Perri sat on the sand, her face buried in her upright knees, looking like she was trying to regulate her breath. Laplace was sitting beside her on Perri’s right, rubbing her back. She didn’t respond to Amy.

Laplace bent in towards her, speaking gently, “Are you alright, Perri?”

Perri turned her head, peeking out at Laplace, mumbling, “No.”

Laplace swallowed, “Do you want to talk about it?”

After a moment, Perri shook her head, “No.”

Laplace took a deep breath, seeing she didn’t want her to pry, “Do you want a hug?”

Perri’s lips trembled, tears very nearly forming. She nodded, “Yes.”

Laplace took her in , wrapping her arms right around Perri, who in turn grasped onto her right arm. Soon enough, Amy had dropped down on Perri’s left, putting a hand on her shoulder. Perri faced her, and Amy put on a smile. “Hey, P. Wanna get hot dogs?”

Perri was crying, but she managed to laugh. “Yeah. That’ll be great.”

[wordsturnintostories]

1/ Remnants of Time

Prologue | ... | Chapter 2

Masterlist

Word Count: 3.813 Song Choice: Soothsayer - Zack Hemsey Special a/n: nope. have fun with the first chapter. please accept hugs as repayment for comments and feedback. :)

Natasha pulled herself up a balcony, her leg wound scraping against metal and then stone, the burst of pain making her suck in a harsh breath. She almost let out a moan but no, she needed to concentrate and mainly, to not be noticed. That was because right now, a number of men entered the street underneath her, all clad in the same uniforms, carrying handguns and expecting another surprise attack by the scarlet spy. Not today, she decided with a look at her leg, but I’ll sure come back for more.

The balcony wasn’t big, only enough space for her, a lonely greenish cactus and a chair. A glass door led into the house, or more precisely, the apartment, one of thousands in the densely populated urban France. The handle didn’t budge under her hand and curtains prevented the redhead from peeking in. The light of the streetlamp a few meters away turned the glass into a mirror and she frowned at her appearance. Several cuts parted her black uniform, traces of an explosion hung in her hair, and some kind of mesh created a neat net pattern on her tired face. Well. She wished all these were the only traces her little surprise visit had actually left.

Natasha sighed. This mission was stupid. Had been from the beginning. Maybe she should’ve stayed in the dark for a few days longer so that she could’ve come up with a really good way in and a clever enough strategy to come out the HYDRA facility unharmed. No one had asked her to do this, it had been her own choice, born out of emotions she had assumed buried since decades. Curiosity always pushed her, however, it simply was the best catalyst for risky actions and she had gotten almost all she wanted, except she hadn’t managed to take it outside.

It was only a few pieces of paper she’d come for, assemblies of letters any child could’ve written out for her, but put her life at stake now for having been read. It made a difference. Written by a man in a high government position, now filed in her head as Hydra, these words could mean her death. But she was running from police units since a month already, most definitely alarmed by the CIA, who despised her way of finding herself missions, so adding Hydra to the list didn’t change much. Natasha had expected them to drop the chase, however, as soon as she had left the building. Hydra had not recovered to full force after DC yet.

A cat snuck up on her, but instead of swatting it away like she usually did with cats, the spy let it sit right next to her intently watching thin gray smoke rising beyond the houses.

She could almost hear Steve’s disapproval. He liked to always have everything planned out so neatly, so organized so that she actually felt like she was back in training, back under the wings of a mentor teaching her how to survive. And then he sacrificed himself on a regular basis and that was something she’d never seen in either her training or the rest of her life and that she’d never really practiced, which was either really good or really bad. She couldn’t live so selflessly, not when he wasn’t around.

And now he wasn’t, definitely not, he was in Wakanda, her network of spies claimed and she guessed King T’Challa intended on keeping it that way. The public wasn’t supposed to know, they didn’t, according to newspaper headlines and internet articles. The king was intelligent so he would keep them, Steve and the others, in the isolated little country of his, until the roaring waves of politics smoothed down around the Sokovia- Accord matter, for the good of everyone involved. No need to let the world know he harbored heroes declared criminals by the law of his father, honored regent before him. Maybe they even tried to fix Bucky. A bright flame of hope flared in her, small, but steady like her heartbeat. The Winter Soldier mentioned in the files she’d seen just a few minutes ago.

Natasha knew she couldn’t keep this intel from Steve and she swore she wouldn’t. What the two men had was special, their brotherly bond she envied deeply but never openly, and she didn’t dare to keep both from recovering. The cat caressed her bare hand with a few sweet strokes of her tail and disappeared towards the roof. “Adieu, mon ami petite”, Nat whispered and heard the softest reply that faded into the night, mirroring the gray pillars of smoke on the other side of the city.

A man in a familiar attire stepped into the alley underneath her and she realized the repeated setting of that one car door a few seconds ago must’ve been her cue. Balancing her weight on the good leg, she moved closer to the balcony’s end, peeking through the metal bars. There was no eyepatch now, no long trench coat, but she recognized his step, how his feet on the ground sounded. So she bid not-so-lonely-anymore-cactus farewell and bit her teeth together when she swung her feet over the reeling to climb down. Just when she hung in the air, halfway down, more men ran into the dark street, directly focusing on her. Hurry up, Romanoff”, the man already ran back to his parked car. “We gotta be somewhere. Want to pick a souvenir?” He pointed at the men running towards their car, guns ready and all. “Nah”, she grinned, tired but happy to see her friend, “just go.” And Nick did, crushing those armed idiots standing in his way, no respect for anything Hydra.

It had been a long time. More precisely, thirteen big paintings, four clandestine SIW missions and a hundred and nine workout sessions ago that the scientists started their research on Bucky’s brain condition and still hadn’t presented any promising findings or solutions. Steve shook his head, not letting the frustration cloud his mind. The pull-up bar under his hands glinted with sweat. His and Sam’s. No, this morning Steve had interrogated the project’s leader about updates and a release date. The tube was still dark, and still icy. Holding a man still pretending to be dead, a ghost. Still trapped in a dark room resembling the greedy blackness of the night stealing the last rays of light. The thick windows absorbed much of the outside light, securing everything inside like a safe. Or a prison, Steve added in his mind and scolded himself for it instantly. Every time he visited his friend, he felt the same, powerful pain gurgling in his stomach, ripping apart all hope everyone maintained with extraordinary care. Since countless nights, nights of unrest and torment. The 95- year old sighed. With a scientific progress of only 36 percent after so much time, patience was more scarce than snow in the tropic Wakanda.

“You’re doing it again, Speedy Gonzales! Have some mercy”, Sam yowled from far behind and the super soldier pulled out of his trance, only now realizing he’d taken off sprinting at an ungodly pace. He let Sam catch up and focused on the track. “How about sparring later?”, the blonde inquired and received a sharp huff and a playful glare. “Yeah, I’m no fan of dentists. I actually learn from my past, that’s for sure.” “Oh, that’s what you do now?” “You should try it too.” Steve snorted and with a smirk, took off again, leaving a panting Sam behind.

But he didn’t run far, because once Sam fell back and out of his peripheral sight, Steve’s mind wandered off again, uncontrollably like a wave with its own tumbling dynamics, back to planning what he prepared for Bucky, armloads of memories collected to be returned to their rightful owner.

Steve couldn’t stop himself soon enough and crashed into Clint with the force of a speeding bull. The archer had no chance to get off the running track. Now he was buried underneath America’s greatest steroid experiment of all history (aka America’s greatest hope). “Jeez Steve”, Clint snorted, wiping blood off his scabbed elbows, “You’re not a dog. Even Lucky doesn’t jump at me like that.” A thousand apologies flew at him, but he just shook his head, grumbling something along the lines of “I’m not getting paid enough for this shit”. Sam checked for more injuries on the blonde’s neck, while Steve looked around the room, spotting Wanda, who stood completely apart from them. There was something unusual about her, the way she stared onto the ground. More alarming however were the levitating dumbbells from the racks around her. Worry rushed through Steve’s veins instantly. He remembered that one night a booming crack had shaken him out of bed, that one time he’d almost slept through. Like the others, he’d run towards her room with a gun ready, checking for intruders, but all they could find were a wardrobe split in two and a sweaty, panting and sobbing Wanda. Any loss of control over her abilities only ever occurred when nightmares quenched her heart, when she was under heavy duress. So Steve approached her, with soft steps and his most soothing tone, calling her name until her watery eyes met his. It didn’t surprise him that the girl fell into his arms for a few seconds. Moments like these made him feel like a father, comforting his strong and brave daughter, whose heart cared so deeply about things that it made his own ache just the same. He felt her shift and while she pushed him back a little, away from the radius of the gym’s security cameras, he watched her face turn back to very serious. Natasha probably taught her that, he thought, to push emotions away. To concentrate even if your heart feels like it’s bursting from bitter pain. A towel floated through the air, right behind Wanda and there was a water bottle right underneath the ceiling. The girl was a mess. “They took Scott”, she whispered. “It’s all my fault, they’ve taken him and they’ll keep us in here and…” “Wanda, what did Scott do? Who took him? You didn’t make another bet with him, did you?” She nodded timidly, not like a child afraid of scolding, but like a person deeply regretting what had happened. On the inside, Steve cursed their empty schedules, of course, everyone was bored since a few months now and stupid things only happened out of boredom. “He saw something. At work.” “And you dared him to get it.” “Only a copy.” She stepped a few steps forward to put a hand against Steve’s still sweaty forehead. They’d practiced this before and Steve knew her hands weren’t shaking because she didn’t know what to do. Her grabbed hers with his', softly rubbing her palm, her fingers, and her wrist. “Take a breath. Another one. Deeper. In and out. Okay, now show me”, he ordered. Sam and Clint stepped into the changing room just before Steve’s vision blurred, leaving him with a single picture: the memory of a file. It said James Buchanan Barnes in fat, black letters. He gasped. This was a full medical report. One never shown to Steve or the medical supervisor, Dr. Hopkins. Did T’Challa know about this? Why was there a stamp underneath it? Who had read these papers? His eyes widened when he made out a CIA-signature. They shouldn’t even have their location. This was exactly why the four ex-Avengers hid here since five months. It didn’t take much to see the doom suddenly rushing over the little group in the changing room, dark clouds looming in the sky, hiding all the light. This wasn’t gonna end well, Sam could already tell. He had this feeling again, that tingle in his left biceps. The biceps never lied.

Steve and Sam stood in the elevator that transported them right into the office compound, straight before the doors to the SIW’s quarter in the royal palace. Both of them were unarmed - hopes remained that Scott could be liberated with diplomacy rather than guns. Also, nobody wanted to cause trouble so short before the big conference tomorrow, the one that had everyone on highest alert, even those not involved were experiencing the overall nervousness. It also explained the extra guards in front of the office hallways, checking everyone for their ID-beads and weapons. For Steve and Sam, it also meant being put into a waiting room because of restricted access.

Just when they assumed they must’ve been forgotten, the door opened and revealed a man in a suit, his face not stern, also not marked with the usual tattooed colors of rank. Lt. Lomawu. Sam had heard rumors that the council had denied him the usual elevation ceremony because he’d studied abroad, in Europe, possibly sending the wrong message to others. He did, however, not lack the golden accessories that noble fashion loved these days. As always, he wore his shiny black shoes that Steve hadn’t seen anyone else wear here, a reminder of his past just like the style of his hair that was partly bleached. Today, his upper arm was bandaged.

“Mr. Rogers, Mr. Wilson, I suspect to know the reason for your uncharacteristic visit.” “We would like to see Scott.” “Mr. Rogers, I understand you value Mr. Lang…” “He’s family.” “I’m afraid we cannot grant any access at the moment”, Lomawu scanned the faces in the room, “however we might find a solution for an accelerated release.” Something vibrated in Steve’s pocket and he pulled out his phone. He raised his eyebrows. No one has my number, this phone is secret, he thought when he excused himself under the interested gaze of the SIW’s leader.

He answered, but waited for the caller to speak up. If this was a trap, he wouldn’t give them confirmation of his identity. “Hey Rogers”, a woman with a husky voice said and Steve immediately knew it was Natasha, smirking, with one hand on her hip. “Miss me much?”, she asked and every burden seemed to fall from his heart for a second. Of course, he’d missed her, she’d been a constant part of his life. Her eyes were the only ones that grasped the tragedies of his heart. “Why are you calling?” “You know you do. How does a road trip through France sound to you?” He looked back to the others, realizing that this wasn’t Natasha calling, this was a spy he was talking to. Whatever she wanted, she could’ve also called the general line. What she did now had probably required crushing a number of firewalls and security protocols. Mr. Lomawu hadn’t stopped listening to the call although he seemed to converse quietly with Sam. “What are we gonna see?” “Oh, you know, everything you missed in World War II? I found a special exhibition you and Barnes would like. We still need a way in, but I know a guy.” Steve hung up and turned back to the others.

“What happened to the arm?”, Sam asked right then, his arms crossed, like always. “Just a cat that needed to be reminded of its place in the food chain.” “Must’ve been a big one. Did you kill it?” Sam had heard of the Wakandan hunts but hadn’t been aware they hunted big cats as well, especially when considering the panther a sacred animal. Weren’t cats all related? Maybe cousins were excluded from that rule. Families were always messed up, at least to a certain degree. Maybe the panther was the crazy uncle. “It still lives. Sometimes, Mr. Wilson, things serve a greater purpose, but are just not ready yet, don’t you agree?” Someone opened the door, stepping in half-way. A man in the honorable position of secretary and second to the SIW’s leader. Mr. Djenge, a man of military with a fine sense of character and behavior analysis.  “Sir, Mr. Whittaker is on the line.” “I’ll be there, thank you.” Mr. Djenge nodded and moved his tall body out of the room.

“Change of plans”, Steve interrupted to get their attention and Sam’s face looked like a giant question mark. “We’re still asking for a release of Scott. But I need that favor now.” Mr. Lomawu hesitated but finally nodded. He probably hadn’t expected this so soon, only a month after Steve had finished giving a special training session to an assortment of guards in an emergency situation. That was the reason the leader of the SIW owed him, even if he didn’t like to admit that. “Sam and I need a way out of Wakanda - by tonight.” There was a long pause after that. “In case you have forgotten, I’m tasked with your safety on royal order, I can’t allow your leave.” Lomawu sent a look towards the door, stepping a little closer to Steve. His voice had changed into a whisper. “But if you happen to steal a certain Quinjet, locked away like a gold treasure in Hangar 14, at 1830, when the guards receive the new instructions for the conference security protocols, I guess there would be no unit prepared to stand in your way for at least ten minutes.” “We’ll hurry.” “There is one condition. Keep me updated via this secure communication bead. If need for extraction appears, we shall aid you.” “Fair enough”, Sam agreed, Steve nodded and all three of them shook hands. A strange feeling spread in Sam’s body, a warm fuzzy feeling mixed with strong excitement. Finally. If this is what freedom feels like, being unchained, I don’t ever want to feel anything else anymore, he thought. A look at his side showed him a smile on Steve’s face. The door opened again. “Mr. Whittaker requires your attention, Sir.” Djenge tapped one of the beads on his bracelet, the silver shimmering against his dark skin, and a live hologram information of the caller appeared, showing a man’s face, European from the looks. At that Steve and Sam left, not intent on keeping the SIW from their work.

Evening took a long time to finally come, but it came. The two soldiers had prepared and Steve spoke to the others who would stay back in Birnin Zana, Wakanda’s greatest pride, every single one of them a little disappointed. Understandable. “Wanda”, Steve began, choosing his words carefully, “Bucky is in your hands now. Make sure he’s safe. It’ll only be a few days.” She nodded and hugged him, accepting the new responsibility that had never slipped out of Steve’s hand before, not by his choice. But finally, there was his opportunity to end Bucky’s suffering and he wouldn’t let that fire die. Clint promised to look after Wanda and to take care of the whole situation with Scott. No one noticed how he slipped an envelope into Steve’s pocket and made him promise to throw it into the mail for him. On it, in black ink, stood the name of his wife.

Steve and Sam departed after that, sneaking out into the dark of Wakanda, checking their surroundings more frequently than usual on these compounds, considering their guest status, while finding the ways around the majestic palace that led towards the hangars. Lomawu was right, the number of guards on shift had been cut down to a -still considerable- minimum, so that the two soldiers almost made it to Hangar 14 undetected. They were clad in the standard uniform of Wakandan guards and maybe that contributed to how far they came as well, but suddenly, just when they passed a strip of dry grass and waist-high bushes, already in eyesight of their hangar, guards appeared. Sam remembered how he’d seen special kinds of ground sensors in a tech exhibition. They must have them everywhere. You couldn’t just get in, you couldn’t simply walk out of the palace. Great. This is either run or fight, Steve thought with a look behind.

He signaled Sam to go ahead, to get the Quinjet and prepare for departure while he took care of the handful of unlucky guards. He dropped right there, seeking concealment behind some bushes not big enough to really hide his physique. As they came closer, he took all of them out. The first one he got down with one well-placed blow, the other four needed more convincing to lay down their consciousness. Steve rammed the one left of him into the prickly bushes. His size gave him a clear advantage. That gave him enough time to bring the next down with a kick to the back of his knees. For the first time in long, he actually wished he had his shield back. From the ground, the guard attempted to activate his alarm-bead to call for backup. Just in time, Steve ripped the bracelet off his wrist. The third guard landed a few punches on him. The blonde’s elbow hit hard into that guy’s ribs and he sank down with a crack. Both left guards, the one from the bushes and the other, attacked at the same time. Instead of pushing into them, Steve pulled the one’s fist towards him, putting off that guard’s balance. He crashed right into his companion, proving to be no obstacle either. On the ground was more movement. One of them came back up. He looked at the bracelet still dangling from Steve’s fingers. “Sorry, buddy”, Steve said and dodged a kick. He took him into a chokehold until the guard passed out. He hated doing this, but it was still better than killing them for just standing in his way.

The Quinjet rolled onto a landing strip some 300 meters away, so Steve started running. The cargo ramp opened and with a final sprint, the super soldier made it before the jet took off. He got his ride, closed the ramp. Sat down next to Sam. Caught his breath. “Man, you actually did sweat a little today, didn’t you?”, Sam grinned. “Seems like you finally got a real workout.” No call came in from the tower, the Golden City’s aircraft-base probably hadn’t managed to get a hold of this situation yet. No one was following them, just like Lomawu had implied before. Even if they still tried to send in jets to follow theirs, the two soldiers didn’t notice anyone in the airspace around them. What Steve and Sam also didn’t notice were two guards standing in the hangar, giving each other a handshake upon seeing two ex-Avengers, and actually, the right ones, depart. Then, pulling out their communicative system, one of their special beads the Wakandan population used for so many things, to report to their commander. “Confirmation of Rogers’ and Wilson’s departure. Further instructions?” -“Return to posts. Do not engage. Prepare for tomorrow.”

Masterlist 

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I was tagged by @wenamedthedogkylo! Thanks for that! :)

Rules: Answer the 20 questions, and tag 20 amazing followers that you’d like to get to know better. (Non-compulsory, in case this isn’t your speed!)

1. Name: Sarah 2. Nicknames: Depending on the person: Sarah Lou, Ser-Claire, Sar (pleeease, do not ever call me Sar-bear) 3. Zodiac sign: Taurus 4. Height: 5′4" 5. Orientation: Panromantic / ace spec 6. Ethnicity: White and american. If this meant more like, background, none of them really influence my life much, so they’re not really worth mentioning. 7. Favourite Fruit: Apples, mangos, and watermelon are all pretty high on the list. 8. Favourite Season: Definitely fall. Can’t beat the crisp air, coloful leaves, and seasonal activities that come with it! 9. Favourite Book Series: Oh, jeez. Well, hp will always have a special place in my heart, but I love so many.  I just finished Empire of Storms from the ToG series, which, although it’s got its faults, manages to keep ripping my heart out. Right now, I’m returning to Crooked Kingdom to finish it, which is an absolutely amazing book. Tamora Pierce’s many, many series all are very dear to me as well. 10. Favourite Flower: All of them. Just- yeah, all of em.  Flowers are just so dang pretty and theraputic!  11. Favorite Scent: New books, coffee, any warm baked good, lilacs 12. Favorite Color: Depends. Right now like a deep jewel toned green. Red and purple are also up there too. 13. Favorite Animal: Elephants and manatees and orcas and dogs and foxes and owls and… I don’t know man, I just really like animals. 14. Coffee, Tea, or Hot Cocoa: Again, it depends. I really like them all, but in an ideal world where I maintain a normal sleep schedule and have energy the entire day without a caffeine boost, coffee goes with breakfast, tea throughout the day, and hot cocoa later in the day as a ‘congrats, another day done’ 15. Average Sleep Hours: Oh, jeez. On a good night, anywhere from 5-8. Recently? Finals and papers were kicking my ass, so about 3-4. 16. Favorite Fictional Characters: You may be sensing a trend, but I don’t have a favorite.  I really love Kieran and Amy from In the Flesh (which is like my fav show ever and if I ever recommend anything, it’s gonna be that), Hermione, Garcia from Criminal Minds, Aly from Trickster’s Choice, Kel from Protector of the Small, Alanna from SotL, the gaang from atla. 17. Number of Blankets You Sleep With: Currently 2-3. My favorite quilt recently bit the dust in the wash, so I’ve got a bunch of thinner, normal blankets I’ve been using. 18. Dream Trip: Hmm, I don't really have one. I mean, I could list off places I wanna go to, but what would make any trip great is going with people I care about and learning as many new things as I could. 19. Blog Created: Dude. I think it was in 2011? Like February ish maybe? I was a little sophomore in high school. That means I’ve been here for six fudging years. Holy shit. 20. Number of Followers: Hovering around 450, but lots are probably fake ones or inactive.

Okie doke, I’m tagging: @theoriginalklutzyveghead, @nerdybookishblonde, @8liveswasted, @somethingtoholdonto, @heartbreaker-whowants2bloved, @sandcastlescollapse, @wittleladybug, @jordynnlynn

Aaand, I’m tagging anyone else who wants to do this! Like, for real, you wanna do this and want someone to tag you, boom, take this as me doing that!

[zoomswish]

Generations was *six years ago* not to mention, everyone in that game was written poorly AND honestly Sonic has been really, really bad in the past six years too. Mostly due to these Pontaff guys. In comparison Modern Amy has only really been bad in Free Riders and Generations. She was fine in Lost World, Boom and Lego. I'm not trying to be super defensive, but if we're gonna shit on her, then we shouldn't look the other way and pretend like every other character has been fine these past 6 years

(cont) Besides Amy has never been a "creepy fangirl". Flanderized and overzealous for the sake of comedy? Yes that has happened. The weirdo yandere some fans make her out to be? Nah. And again, Amy hasn't been written as a fangirl since 2011, half a decade ago. So that's all i'm saying to that other anon.

(cont) also i dont understand that about Sonic X. like of course Amy would get angry at Eggman. He was taunting her and stuff. Besides the whole "aura of power/fire" thing is very common trope in anime. It happens for both serious stuff and comedy. Amy is the later. It's not a yandere thing its just like, a Dragonball spoof that has become really popular. Also I dont think Amy was seriously going to fight Blaze or something jeez, at worst she would have just embarassed herself infront of her.

(cont) also im sorry for sending you like 3 asks about that thing (amy and stuff) i dint meant to invade your askbox lol. i'm just trying to set the record straight here. since i am very passionate about the sonic franchise and amy is like, one of the most misunderstood characters in my opinion.

---

Sorry for the delayed response. I was trying to formulate a reply, but I gave up because I don’t have enough recollection/knowledge of Amy to really give a decent answer as she’s not an absolute fave of mine.

But I’ll post this for others anyway, including the previous anon(s) who were talking about Amy, seeing as you clearly put a lot of time/thought into it!

[becamitchellsbeats]

Hazardous Headphones Part 4

So I’ve finally written part 4 after revising part 3. So boom. also on AO3 

Kimmy Jin's front door flew open and clanged against the wall. "Okay you won't know but what you've just said is really fucking un-cool." Beca said angrily as she glared at Chloe.

"Beca, Fat Amy told me about your mom" Chloe admitted "She did? then why would you say such a hurtful lie!?" Beca snapped to which Chloe shook her head "I'm not lying, I just wanted to protect you" she raised her phone and showed Beca a photo of the woman she captured looking up at the flyer. "I meant it Beca, I saw her today, I'm just as confused as you are"

Beca's eyes widened as her eyes focused on the image. Her bottom jaw trembled as she failed to come up with a response. It had been 9 years, and sure she looked a bit different to what she remembered but that was most definitely her.

Beca stepped outside and slowly closed the front door to Kimmy's apartment, this wasn't a conversation she wanted her to overhear.

"When did you see her?" Beca said quietly as she looked down at the ground. "A-Around 30 minutes ago, I came straight here, she wanted to come find you I just wanted to warn you"

Beca took a hold of Chloe's phone and continued to stare at the photo. "I've mourned her for 9 years, I don't know whether to be happy or angry anymore..." Chloe was unsure of how to comfort her, on one hand she knew Beca needed someone but at the same time, she didn't want Beca to think she was trying to brush aside what she had done. "Did she at least say why?" Beca asked glancing up, Chloe slowly shook her head "I asked, but she said she wants to tell you in person."

"I feel sick." Beca was getting paler "I'm so confused this is like a bad dream I can't be dealing with this right now, this wasn't part of my plan I--"

Chloe suddenly pulled Beca in close and held her tightly and for a moment Beca let her before pulling away. "Chloe, we're still not okay, I really appreciate you telling me but I can't be dealing with you right now either. I think I need some time alone"

Beca turned her head towards Kimmy Jin's door and sighed "But going back in there just means I'll have to bottle my emotions and I'm not sure if I can do that this time." Beca felt trapped, she knew she needed to let all her emotions out at once, whether it was by actually allowing herself to cry or shouting out her frustrations. She knew hiding in her car wasn't the answer, returning to the Dorm wasn't it either and going back inside with Kimmy Jin was something she wanted to avoid. But at the same time she knew she was too upset to drive.

Chloe could see Beca's desperation to hold back her tears, she hated seeing her like this, she didn't know what to do. Given how she already messed up she knew she was the last person Beca wanted to be around.

"Beca, I know you haven't forgiven me, and I know that right now you want to be left alone, and I need to respect that. But if you need me I'll be there" Chloe then went to turn away.

"Uh, actually Chlo . . . do you know someplace quiet we can go? I feel like I'm going to explode and I just don't know what to do."

Chloe turned around and smiled lightly "I think I have a place in mind" she then paused "ugh, it's just I kind of dropped my keys" she said whilst eying up the drain. At that moment the front door opened and Kimmy Jin emerged "Whilst you're here, I forgot to tell you, I got your keys."

Chloe gasped "You retrieved my keys for me?" Kimmy maintained a dead expression "Not because I like you. Having your car parked outside my apartment is just a real inconvenience is all. Oh and," Kimmy Jin reached into her pocket "You have several parking tickets, for some reason they keep getting put in my mail box" Kimmy Jin then handed the keys and parking tickets over to Chloe and headed back inside.

Beca smirked ever so slightly "you really don't have much luck do you" Chloe laughed a little "I guess not" she said shoving the parking tickets into her bag "but at least I can drive us now" she said holding up the keys. Chloe then clicked her car key and unlocked her car. They both made their way to Chloe's car and slowly climbed in.

- After a short drive, they arrived at The Lodge Of Fallen Leaves. "What even is this place?" Beca asked as she glanced around at the nature that surrounded them.

"It's a camp, Aubrey runs it, she's got a cabin that she said I can use anytime, I thought maybe you could use that?"

"Is she here?" Beca asked "well, I know she's closed it off for a week, she wanted a break or something, so I'm not sure if she's around or not" Beca slowly nodded "Ah, explains why the place looks so vacant." Beca then turned her head towards the window as she spoke quietly  "uh, thanks for doing this Chloe"

Chloe smiled softly as she opened up her car door. "I don't mind at all Beca, I just want to make sure that you're okay," she said as she climbed out of her car. Beca sat there for a moment before getting out as well. "I'll show you where the Cabin is" Chloe said as she gestured Beca to follow her, there was definitely an awkward vibe between them and it didn't help that Beca was even quieter than usual, she appeared to be visually calm but on the inside, she was falling apart.

-

After a five minute walk, Beca and Chloe reached the wooden cabin. It was a decent sized cabin, surrounded by trees. The scenery was oddly calming, but at the same time, the cabin was pretty isolated.

"Here it is" Chloe said as she handed the keys to Beca "Just take as much time as you need Beca, just call me if you need anything and when you want to come home - or um, go back to Kimmy Jin's just let me know and I'll come pick you up" Beca took the keys, she stared at Chloe for a moment contemplating what to say.

"And if you do get lonely and want some company just let me know" Chloe said awkwardly as she backed up. "Chloe wait," Beca said with a sigh " I've was thinking about a lot of things on our journey up here, on one hand, you know me better than anyone else, but on the other hand, you literally know nothing about me."

"Beca, what do you mean?" Chloe asked looking puzzled "What I mean is I always push people away, I don't open up and I guess if I should open up to anyone it should be you." she said sincerely.

"Beca, I don't want to force you to open up to me." Chloe said softly "You're not, I want to" Chloe smiled lightly "If that's what you want to do Beca then I'd gladly listen"

"lets uh, go for a stroll"

Beca started walking and Chloe followed quietly beside her "so, you know how I hate Boats and well, the sea in general" Chloe slowly nodded "Yeah?" "Well, me, my dad and my mom we went on a boat once, we went on The Maid Of The Mist Boat specifically, its by Niagra falls kinda in between both Canada and New York, but me being a kid I didn't care much for the location, I was just excited." she admitted

"See, this was a big deal because my mom used to travel a lot, sometimes she'd even miss Christmas, so we wanted to have a real special family holiday." Beca went on to explain as Chloe listened intently.

"Everything was going fine, until my Mom decided she wanted to go Scuba diving. At the time I didn't know what was going on, all I knew was that Dad had to stay on deck with me but, to watch me I guess" Beca paused for a moment as the memory still hurt to think about "My Mom never came back. I uh, later found out that she got swept away by the undercurrent, she swam too far from the boat, she ignored the instructor's warnings and well, she got taken by the sea."

"She got caught up in the current? Beca that's terrible..." Chloe said softly

" Yeah ... my Dad never told me much about it when I was younger, he lied, I guess he didn't want me to know the truth, but as I grew older I pleaded with him to tell me everything. The truth was something that never left me. I threw a huge tantrum, and that's why my mom wanted to go Scuba diving, it was to get away from me." Beca looked to the ground looking pained.

"My Dad told me it wasn't my fault, but I couldn't help but blame myself, if I wasn't such a Brat, mom wouldn't have left the boat and well, I thought my actions killed her. I guess that's why I shut people out, I'm afraid that once people truly get to know me that they'll want to leave and then I guess I'm afraid they won't come back.

I mean for 9 years I thought I contributed to her death, it was a lot to deal with "

"Jeez, that's terrible" Chloe looked pained "but Beca, of course, that wasn't your fault. You were a kid, you can't blame yourself for that, kids throw tantrums all the time, you couldn't have predicted it, and just so you know" Chloe placed her hand on her shoulder and smiled "No matter how much you try and push me out, just know that I'm not going anywhere."

"It makes me really sad that you've blamed yourself for so many years but" Chloe gave her a warm smile as she continued "all of the Bellas look up to you, not to mention we're all friends for life. Its because of you that the Bellas are where they are today."

Beca glanced away she never knew how to react in these kinds of situations.

"Seriously, Beca you're the most amazing person I know, next to myself, I'm still the tits" she joked to try and lighten the mood.

Beca smiled faintly "You're definitely the most persistent person I know." Beca paused for a moment "That uh really means a lot Chloe." Beca came to a stop as her eyes began to well up she exhaled sharply "Yikes," she said swinging her arms back and forth "I hate deep conversations but as you can see my whole life is upside down, after all this time my mom was alive, I just, I'm confused, like- part of me is relieved that she's alive but like, I don't understand why it's taken her nine years to reach out. She physically can't have been stranded for 9 years I just, I just don't understand..."

Chloe thought back to the conversation she had with Beca's mom and how she had said that her reasonings weren't very good. The last thing she wanted was Beca to get hurt but at the same time she wanted to keep an open mind "Beca, I don't want to be one to judge. I guess the only way to get your answers is to meet her."

"You're right, but I still need time. And ideally i'd like it to be on my terms"

"I could see if I can find her? maybe even arrange to meet her, I can always go with you? just remember, you don't have to deal with this alone Beca"

Beca turned to Chloe and smiled lightly "I'd like that, thanks Chlo" Chloe smiled back "It's the least I could do. If you want I could stay up here with you?" Beca paused for a moment to think about it "yeah okay - wait, what about The World's don't the girls need you for rehearsals?"

"Sure, the world's are important but this is a bigger deal. You matter more right now Beca, besides it'll just be for a few days they can manage until then. I already showed Stacie some of the choreography, she's a quick learner so she should be able to take over."

"If you're sure" Beca started walking again, she walked through a clearing that led to a cliff top, below was a stream and some large rocks. It was a pretty sight "This place is perfect" Beca said as she suddenly ran forward "What are you doing?" Chloe asked sounding concerned.

"I HATE FEELINGS!" Beca yelled out as loud as she could, her words echoed in the distance. Chloe smiled as she watched her for a moment, she to then ran forward and joined in,

"I HATE PARKING TICKETS!"

Beca turned and laughed at her "Really Chlo? Parking tickets?" Chloe smiled "Is that not how it works?" Beca shrugged "I guess you can shout whatever really"

"Maybe you should also shout about something you love?" Chloe suggested "That'd be pretty lame" Beca said dismissing the idea "Well, i'm going to do it" Chloe said cheerfully "I LOVE SINGING!" Beca rolled her eyes "You seriously have just made this so lame" Chloe tugged at Beca's arm "C'mon Becaaa" Beca rolled her eyes once more "fine-" she inhaled,

"I LOVE MY BEAT--" her words trailed to a stop, she almost felt bad for bringing them up even though she had every right to still be mad about them being given to an auction. "Maybe I should shout about something else..."

Chloe cleared her throat "About your Beats-" Chloe said awkwardly "Chloe, I don't want to talk about it right now--" "We got them back, well, actually, your um, your mom came to the auction and bought them back, I had hoped to stop the auction but uh, she kind of went all out"

Beca raised an eyebrow "wait? my mom bought them back? how did she even know they were mine?" Chloe winced "Something about an angry tweet?" Beca looked confused for a moment "Ah, my tweet- but still, i'm lost, tell me everything that happened since you left Kimmy's apartment"

Chloe nodded "Okay, well, Stacie picked me up and --" Chloe then went on to explain everything that had happened.

-

A few hours had passed,  it was now night time and they were now laying in their respective beds.

Beca was aimlessly scrolling through her twitter feed when she noticed Chloe shivering out of the corner of her eye. She glanced at the fire place "Why don't you turn the heat up?" Beca suggested casually "oh it's already on max" Chloe said whilst her teeth chattered together. Beca raised an eyebrow "Do you want my blanket?" Chloe shook her head "No Becs, its okay honest, don't worry about me, just focusing on getting to sleep"

"hard to do that with your teeth chattering away," she said softly as she patted at her bed "Why don't you come join me" she said in a mumble "What?" Chloe asked not hearing her,

"I said, why don't you come join me..." she grumbled slightly louder this time.

"No, No Beca it;s fine. I'm not trying to take advantage of you I know I messed up, I'm just glad you're letting me be here for you"

Beca sighed "Look, what you did hurt me, because I trusted you and it really wasn't cool. And if anyone knows how to hold a grudge its me, but its just not worth it. The main thing is I've got my Beats back, and I can tell you're sorry. Don't punish yourself, now are you coming over or not?"

Chloe climbed out of her bed, grabbing her blanket "Thank you Beca" she said softly as she got into the bed with her. Chloe laid there almost stiffly, she didn't know if this meant anything, but she tried not to think too much into it. "Yikes, you're really broken aren't you" Beca said lifting up Chloe's arm as she put it around her "it'll be warmer for you, this way" she mumbled. Chloe smiled softly "Goodnight Becs".

-

Another two days passed, during this time Chloe felt she had discovered a lot about Beca, they really began to bond and Beca felt for once that she was showing one of her truest sides of herself.

The time they spent together was short but nice. But, Beca finally decided to face reality again. She wanted to return to her internship and make contact with her mother and so her and Chloe were now on their way back home.

"Oh, your headphones are at the dorm, do you want to get them before you head back to Kimmy's?"

"Actually, I was thinking I'd return to the dorm again."

Chloe smiled "Oh, that's great Beca. Whilst you’re at work today I'm going to see if I can set up a time to see your mom. I don't have her details but i'm sure she's around somewhere"

"Thanks"

Chloe pulled into the Bellas drive, they both got out of the car. The two of them then made their way inside.

-

"Beca!" The girls all exclaimed cheerfully as they saw her follow in behind Chloe.

Beca and Chloe were surprised to see Emily's mom there. "Katherine Junk? what are you doing here?" Chloe asked "Oh, I hope you didn't mind, Emily said Stacie was struggling so I thought i'd swing by and help, I've still got it y'know" she said with a smile

"I'm sure you do, after all you were the top bitch of the 1981 Bellas" Chloe stated to which Katherine smiled "Ah, I remember my days as a Bella, they were the best day of my life. I'm so jealous of you girls, when I was in my first year I could only ever dream of going to Europe, Siobhan always hoped we could make it, she was one of our leaders. You guys have a lot better fashion sense than us though" she joked as she pulled out a photo that she had purposely brought with her "This was us" she said showing them a photo "And those two in the middle are Siobhan Mitchell and Sarah Kennedy our Senior leaders"

Beca glanced at the photo to be polite more than anything. "Yo hold up" Fat Amy went to comment as her eyes focused on Siobhan, she then stopped herself from commenting.

Beca's eyes focused on the woman in the photo "My mom was a Bella?" she exclaimed sounding surprised. Katherine turned her head towards Beca "You're Siobhan's daughter?" she exclaimed sounding equally surprised "Ah, Mitchell! it never clicked! as if you're the feisty thing that came from her"

Beca stepped forward "You have to tell me about her life as a Bella" Beca then looked at Katherine expectantly "Well, your mom was a lovely woman, so warm and vibrant. She had a beautiful voice too, so beautiful we all agreed to give her the big solo in our final performance, we came so close to winning too.  But if I'm honest Beca, It was so many years ago though, that's all I can remember about her."

"It's cool, anything you know is good to know so... Thanks Mrs.Junk"

"Well," Katherine stood up "now your that Captain's are back I'll let you girls get back to working your vocal magic! Make me proud girls" Katherine then walked up to Emily a tight embrace "Make me proud Emily" she then waved goodbye and left.

The girls all looked over at Beca who was standing there scratching at her head "Okay so i'm a little weirded out that she was a Bella, but I need to go, because unfortunately, no reason is good enough for me to miss out on work." "But Beca you just got here" Fat Amy commented sounding disheartened "I'll be back after I promise, I guess I owe you guys an explanation, and you'll get one, I promise"

Beca then made her way outside and Chloe followed after her "Oh Beca, if I can arrange a meeting place with your mom, should I phone you after?" she said whilst standing at the door "Yeah, call me" she said with a slight smile "Oh and Beca, do you want me to make you a quick lunch? We missed breakfast and--" "No, its cool Chlo, I'll just grab a burrito, thanks tho!"

Beca then hurried to her car and drove off.

-

At the internship Beca was doing what she did best, she was pretending that everything was fine it was far from fine. But she couldn't let it phase her, she was doing well within her Internship, and with all the sudden chaos in her life she was desperate to maintain something.

She grabbed her phone [Uh Stace, Amy, Chlo, either one of you will do, but can one of you fill the girls in about my mom? I don't want to make it into a big thing, even though it is a big thing and yeah.. thanks]

"Reggie" Sammy called out as he peered his head around into the studio she was working in, causing Beca to jump as she glanced up. "You have a visitor. Again" Beca sighed "I am so, sorry, I told Chloe not to worry about lunch, did she bring it again?" Sammy looked puzzled "No? will you just hurry it up? time is money. I've sent her through" Sammy then hurried off barking orders about how paper towels needed replacing.

Beca's phone rang, so she picked up and answered. "What is it Chlo?" Chloe sighed "Beca I'm really sorry, I just can't seem to find your mom"

The door opened again and this time Beca's mom stood in the doorway. "Beca?"

"Uh, don't worry about it Chlo"

"What? why not?"

"She's uh, standing right here . . . ." Beca then cut the call and slowly pulled her phone away from her ear.

Beca's jaw just hanged as her eyes scanned over every feature on the woman's face. It was her. "H-How?" Beca struggled to say. Beca's mom entered the room and slowly shut the door "I have a lot of explaining to do"

Beca slowly nodded "Yeah... you do"

"Mind if I sit?"

"I didn't quite want to talk like this but. . ." Beca sighed "well you're here now so, go for it..."

Siobhan pulled up a chair, she sat down opposite her. "Beca, you-" Beca narrowed her eyes as she sharply interrupted her "Look, I know you want to talk but, this whole situation is bizarre, I just need to know why so start with that..."

Siobhan nodded "Okay Beca. Did your Dad tell you about what happened with the Boat trip?" she started out.

"Well, yeah he eventually told me, but that was nine years ago. Why has it taken you over nine years to contact me?" Beca asked the hurt apparent in her voice.

"I'll need you to hear me out Beca. I had a very difficult time, I washed up on a Beach, I don't think I was drifting for too long but it felt like an eternity, I lost consciousness and awoke on a Beach that I later found out to be in Canada." Beca listened intently as she continued,

"It was a struggle, I had no money, no phone, no passport, nobody knew who I was, not even I knew who I was. you see, I had amnesia" Beca looked shocked "You mean all the time they spent looking. . . they were looking in the wrong place? Dad said they said that it was unlikely you'd end up over the Canada side of the falls, so during all this time ---"

Siobhan slowly nodded "I didn't even know I had a family looking for me Beca, so don't feel bad. I lived on the streets until I eventually met a man, he was kind hearted and would often give me some change, perhaps bring me a hot drink on cold nights, some time passed and he asked me if I wanted to help him with his deliveries, because of him I finally had a chance to make some money and truly get back on my feet."

"I later fell in love with this man and I finally started to get back on to my feet. I was living my new life, the only life I knew. Some more time passed and we had a baby"

"You had a kid? I have sibling?" Beca exclaimed feeling slightly hurt, almost as if she had been replaced but at the same time surprised.

"A younger brother, yes. But if you want to know more about him i'll tell you after, I still have more to tell you"

Beca slowly nodded so Siobhan continued.

"So at first I could hardly remember anything, until one day, Blake threw this huge tantrum, and my tongue slipped, I yelled at him 'Beca! stop doing that' the thing was, I didn't know who 'Beca' was, I just knew that, that name was important to me, over the following months I started to regain more memories, we worked with doctors and therapists and I finally managed to regain most of my memory. That's when I remembered you, I was ecstatic, I rushed to track you down and found out that you attended Barden. There was an open day so I flew out and thats when I saw you, you hadn't grown much but you looked so mature, you also looked happy with that group of girls, I knew that losing me must have been so hard on you and I didn't want to throw your life into chaos again. So I went back to Canada, I wanted to approach you but... I just couldn't"

Beca was feeling a surge of all kinds of emotions, it was overwhelming, she was relieved that her mom was alive, sad that she had gone through such hard times but also angry that she didn't approach her.

"That’s a lot to take in... but I can't help but feel hurt that you didn't talk to me... sure it'd of turned my life upside down but thats basically what its done now, why come back at all? why now? I just, I just don't get it."

Siobhan looked pained "Beca the thing is--" she paused for a moment contemplating whether she should say, she then decided not to. "Beca, I have my reasons, but right now isn't the time, I know I don't have the right but please wait just a little longer"

At that moment the door to Beca's work room flew open "Beca I came as fast as I could!" Chloe exclaimed sounding breathless as she entered the room.

Siobhan slowly stood up "Beca, if you want to get to know me again that's your decision. I hope you do" she placed a slip of paper down on her desk with some details on it. "But if you don't, I understand, I won't force you, I lost that right a long time ago" she lowered her head as she awkwardly walked passed Chloe shutting the door behind her.

There was an awkward pause as the room fell quiet.

"Beca? are you--"

Chloe's words trailed to a stop as Beca suddenly stood up and embraced her, burying her face into her chest.

"Do you want to tell me about it..." Chloe said softly as she held her.

- End-

[geek-gem]

Sonic Movie Rights Switch To Paramount Pictures

I feel like I just wanted to get to the point lol. It's normal to smile even now as I make this. Including I'm gonna copy this and paste it on Deviantart because this is important news.

Basically I learned about this when I was watching I think it was yeah TheFilmJunkee's latest video making a quick joke video about a stupid article of saying don't expect Justice League to be a Wonder Woman sequel.

Then I saw a thumbnail of a video from John Campea just saying I really don't like the guy. Including I tried searching up Sonic the hedgehog yet nothing or well didn't check all. Including John didn't link the source.

So then using John Campea's name decided to use the c and well I was on my laptop when I saw these videos and find the word movie to go with Sonic.

Here are the videos I watched.

Also yeah remember the first one talks about the movie news first but goes on to talk about other things.

The Rundown https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=24ziB39drKo

Sega Collecting https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=50tjRfNuJ4I

Now time to talk about this. Including gonna spoil these parts mentioned in both videos. The first video makes a stupid joke about Sonic 06 about well having a romance with a human or some shit. After Sonic says definitely I just fucking laugh. Because mainly it's so tiresome of the Sonic 06 jokes yet I laughed well...people are still shitting on the game. Well I don't like the game too yet I mean jeez.

The next one mentions about Chris and I laughed as the guy was talking. Including because I'm pretty okay with Chris hey that's my opinion just...said in my head I love him no just... really my head says random shit I'm okay with his character. But it was funny the guy mentioned him.

Now let's get back to the topic. So the rights to the Sonic movie have gone to Paramount Pictures. Let me say a day like this I thought might not happen or just...I don't fucking know.

The first video mentioned well...let me say mainly I guess even during the first video and second video I said in my head I'm excited also twice during the second video.

Okay back to the topic. Yet I think this is a very good decision. Because all the shit happening with Sony. Such as having Tom Rothman, and Amy Pascal there, their movies haven't been all that good and even the first video mentions that shit. Including the shit that went behind The Amazing Spider 2, and all the drama, the Sony Hack which I dubbed the month of Spider-Man but that was years ago.

Also that shit show known as The Emoji Movie.

The video mentioned it could be possible Sega and whoever else I guess departed from Sony because of the failed Ratchet And Clank movie.

But also I think or just well I talked to myself about this of why the fuck did Sega almost put Sony first but why pick them. Yet this was before where shit was really out in the open. Okay I'll mention the Ghostbusters shit too last year that was part of the problem too. Including just...the direction and I'm not trying to be mean.

But honestly I feel Sega and Sonic Team may have looked at Sony and see that they failed the Summer season and all the shit that's been going on, they might of been like, "Dear lord of God let's get out of here" and also maybe the idea of since Sony is taking money out of films and a big film might not be possible. Including they've been going down the drain. Basically I feel this year is the worse. Which just shows basically the whole Emoji Movie bullshit is maybe another reason why.

So now we are with Paramount who I feel because their movies do make a shit ton of money. Including they have had big films. Basically seems a lot more hopeful.

Along with some of their films I mainly remember Mission Impossible being one of their biggest films, and well...no not DreamWorks that was mainly with those Transformers films.

Also they are part of Nickelodeon mainly the movie part. Such as Nickelodeon Movies which is real nice because have enjoyed quite a bit of those movies.

Yet here's the other thing......I mentioned Transformers......with the whole DreamWorks thing....

Paramount is the film company or whatever that owns the Transformers live action movies. Including I have talked about how much I despise those films because how much they destroy the franchise or just...yes they bring in lots of money.

Yet I have made jokes. I see Paramount as a studio where they have no respect for themselves, they don't give a shit about what their product is, as long as it makes money it's good for them. I feel the Transformers well they are the reason why I have this mindset that they just don't give a shit.

Yet after Transformers The Last Knight in a way....kind of bombing yet I don't know if that's the right word I don't wanna lie or give out the wrong information. Yet compared to Dark Of The Moon, and Age Of Extinction it didn't make a billion dollars. Including I didn't see it because I was done with the movies.

Along with their have been news of shit going down such as that Transformers animated prequel shit I learned this from Mundane Matt that movie is now kind of their focus. They have the Bumblebee movie next year and for some stupid reason they think they can take on Aquaman on that date during December.

Sorry off topic also theirs those TMNT live action movies while I was okay and mostly enjoyed the 2nd one, yet that movie didn't make as much money as the first.

Including just...it's another talk about Michael Bay because dear God Michael Bay isn't involved with this shit.

Now that's a thing that concerns me. It's with Paramount. But honestly anything is better then Sony Pictures I said go to Hell in my mind wow mainly towards Sony Pictures and keep hearing it in my head while typing.

Honestly I have thought I would have preferred Warner Bros. Because they have the DCEU, the Harry Potter movies, the Lego movies, and many other films those are some of their bigger films.

Even Disney was an idea even as a joke. But my mindset towards Disney such as how the MCU is handled and that whole cancelling Wander Over Yonder shit and despite it might be quite successful I just don't want that. Also Sonic Boom is on Boom and Warner Bros has Cartoon Network.

So about the second video and got a DeviantArt message. The film being based upon the SATAM series I'm sorry but they have said they are focusing on the games and no offense yet said full offense in my head I would rather want that. Along with the Archie Comics fuck it...are kind of dead. Sorry okay...I feel like since I understand it has fans and I don't want to be rude. But those comics were cancelled yet they weren't perfect but could understand and saw some things I liked.

Now another thing the second video mentioned a origin story. I really don't mind that my head said it sucks no...my head says random shit okay... really just...I said I like it in my head but....

It depends on what the story is. Because no offense I feel like sometimes people seem a bit tired of origin stories. Sorry to say I remembered we had Wonder Woman this year and that's a great film awesome. That was an origin story in a cinematic universe.

I'm getting off topic and just have to focus.

Basically it's nice to have some news and good it's always from Sony. Almost left good as food. But which means the budget can be bigger and said script could be better okay my head stop doubting.

Seriously because just I have a lot more hope now. Or I'm just thinking of the FNAF but it's nice to have some news and it's with a different studio got another Deviantart message.

Honestly about that story part or some shit and Warner Bros I guess. Seriously smiling a bit but I keep thinking like my mindset I have a film trilogy or mainly the 2nd film planned out because the first is difficult. I'll leave 2nd like that but basically I keep thinking of a Zack Snyder like Sonic film.

Where the action is kind of similar and shot almost left the word shit but like mix with the animation of Sonic Unleashed from the intro and other shit.

Basically my own version of a Sonic film or even a Sonic Cinematic Universe is how Man Of Steel, Batman V Superman Dawn Of Justice, and Justice League are like a Superman trilogy, and we have the next part of the story later down the road.

Including the sequel being a mix of Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 and with their stories. Almost left including again but also the idea I listen to the track from BVS, "This Is My World" and think of the Death Of Shadow The Hedgehog I just made those letters caps wow it's silly. I even listen to some remixes I was thinking I'm gonna listen to the original, "This Is My World" track after this and so that shit well think about it like I said.

But I think that's all it's nice no doesn't suck head it's nice to get news now don't judge me...sorry weird shit. Got tags down and hear TheFilmJunkee's voice

[acoolguyscoollife]

Chapter 17: Despair!

“We’re going to do what now?” Seth asked incredulously, a sentiment and feeling I agreed with wholeheartedly. Tabitha had said it as if she was describing dinner plans, and yet, it was the edgiest thing I’d ever heard said outside of an indie film that floats around the internet.

“Okay, I know how that sounds.” Tabitha began, as the void around us began to fade, the signature sign of us travelling. “But trust me, someone who’s been jumping between worlds this long, they’ll know how to avoid death. Technically, this wouldn’t kill them.” Tabitha raised a finger as she spoke, to punctuate her speech.

“Wait, hang on, I’m confused.” Aki said, more to me than anyone else, though I’m sure the others could hear her too. “What are we actually calling this? World-hopping? Dimensional jumps?” She raised a good point. All this time, I’d been just using what came right, but a definitive term would definitely be useful.

“I say we call it travelling. Technically the truth, but vague enough so when we say we’re travellers from a far-away place, nobody’s gonna think much about it.” Amy proposed, which worked for me. Travelling. Had a catchy ring to it, now that I thought about it. The world had finally shifted completely to the one we’d travelled to, and immediately, the stench became clear. I’d thought that the sewers in The Under-World had been bad, but this stunk of… flesh. It was a little disconcerting, but slightly alleviated by actually seeing where the smell came from. Seth clearly had a field day when he had come here, as we were surrounded by pig-headed demonic creatures. It didn’t take much for me to know that we were in Despair, a hyper-violent shooter with a wisecracking protagonist. Speaking of, he had set in well, quickly grabbing a shotgun that had been strewn on the floor. I half-expected him to say something about a boomstick, but before he could, Tabitha spoke up.

“We’re looking for something else that Uchen left in here. Think of it as a fetch quest, each one letting us travel to another world where we keep getting closer. Neither Uchen nor the protégé have the machine, so we can move faster than both.” Tabitha messed around with the wall of the room we were in, which only just now registered as a futuristic military base, complete with hidden computers and holographic maps, both of which she managed to make visible quickly.

“We’ll split up, cover more ground that way. Amy, Aki, and CG, you take the north end of the facility. Tabitha and I will take the south. We’ll rendezvous at 1600.” Seth said confidently, and I checked my watch. It was at 2PM currently, meaning only a few hours of separation. “Synchronise watches on my mark.” He added, moving to adjust his watch, as the rest of us just stared blankly.

“Seth, we weren’t in different time-zones. We’ve all got our watches set to the same time.” I said, and he frowned.

“Couldn’t just go with it, could you?” Seth grumbled, turning away to face the south corridor. Tabitha hurried to follow him, as I grouped up with the other two. “So, do we actually know what we’re looking for, or was I right in thinking that Tabitha totally overlooked that?” Amy asked me, and I nodded at her in response, causing her to curse under her breath.

“We’ll know it when we see it.” I said firmly, hiding my doubt even from myself. “Most likely.” I added, out of habit.

Seth

Ka-BOOM!

The force of the shotgun blast caused my body to buckle, but my smile didn’t falter, despite the gore and general viscera that was splattering everywhere. Tabitha was using magic against some pig-demons coming from one way, as I used my boomstick and sometimes my pistol to take on the ones from my side. When I had a moment’s reprieve, I glanced over at her, watching as she fought. Her hair was splayed even more than normal, but that was nothing compared to the fire literally shooting from her hands, lighting up her face with every ball of flames that flew towards the demons. One got close to her, and I moved for my pistol to shoot it down, but she was quicker. A swift hand-gesture, and the demon wasn’t given the chance to stop moving, hoisted and thrown over her shoulder to the floor behind her before it had a chance to react. She gave me a quick look before turning back to the ones that were still coming, and the demon began to move. The kick from the pistol wasn’t as powerful as the shotgun had been, but it still sent a crack of noise through the air as the demon was given some incentive to stop living. One of the pig demons managed to grab her lab coat, which tore slightly under the claws of the demon, but in return, Tabitha burnt his face and pushed it into a wall, which I honestly thought was fair. Never mess with someone’s style.

“Jeez, I’m kinda seeing why you enjoy stuff like this.” Tabitha said after everything had quietened down, hopping in place with excess adrenaline. “It is very cathartic.” A hand came up to wipe the sweat off her brow, and I saw her wince as she realised that her arm had been a bit more injured than she thought it would have.

“Hey, let me.” I said, tearing off a part of the tattered v-neck I was wearing and wrapping it around her shoulder-wound. “It’s gonna hurt like a bitch for a bit, but should be better soon.” Tabitha looked away as I worked, and I knew this was something she wasn’t happy about, but had to deal with. Out of everyone, I was the one with the most medical training, so she knew I’d just chastise her for trying to do it herself.

“And what are you going to do about being practically shirtless now, nurse Allen?” She replied, using her good arm to poke me in the stomach. “You’re a pretty good poster-boy for an attractive action hero, but I still think that some sort of protection would be better than going Arnold.” I made sure that the final knot tightened just enough to make her wince, before loosening it to what it needed to be.

“Alchemy, right? I’ll just…” I began, looking around for something I could work with, before grabbing some of the leather clothing that the demons wore. “Do something like this.” Alchemy was easier said than done, it turns out, but taking off my shirt and making some minor modifications to the rips in it didn’t take too much effort. So little effort, in fact, that I took some more of the demon leather and fashioned a lightweight jacket out of it. I kinda looked as if I was ripping off CG’s look, but it would just be something he had to deal with.

“You’re wearing that? It’s hotter than hell in here.” Tabitha said with an eyebrow raised, looking me up and down. “Turn around for a second.” She added, taking off her lab coat, and I quickly did so. While I knew she had clothes underneath it, I wasn’t about to question turning away from someone when clothes were involved. A few seconds passed, during which I could hear the faint crackle of alchemical energy. “You can look now.” Tabitha said, letting me turn and look at her. I caught sight of her sending the lab coat to her void storage, and took a moment to see her new look. If my style was copying CG’s, then her style was copying Amy’s. The tank-top that Tabitha wore was white, however, which worked quite well with the aesthetic of action hero.

“I like it. It’s very Sarah Connor.” I remarked, causing her to grin.

“Well then…” she said as she picked up one of the guns left on the floor (Seriously, these things were everywhere). “Come with me if you want to live.” I stifled a laugh at her poor delivery of the line, and took a quick few steps to catch up with her.

“You not gonna put your hair up or something? Leaving it loose might end badly.” I asked, and she shook her head, causing said hair to hit both her and me in the face.

“It’s demons, not zombies. I’ll be fine.” Tabitha reassured me, as a clatter came from ahead. She brought up the pistol, resting her outstretched arm on one that sat at an angle to her. The path ahead was darker, but a snap of the fingers in her free hand and a fireball hovered there, lighting up nearby.

“You’ve got fireballs and you’re using a gun.” I said under my breath, rolling my eyes as I did so.

“Yeah, because there’s no exertion whatsoever in using magic.” Tabitha replied back with the same amount of snark. Whatever was in the darkness was beginning to move closer, claws clattering against the cold steel floor.

“Realistically, it shouldn’t make a difference, but with you waving your arms around I can see why it would.” I retorted. More claws against the ground.

“Those gestures are highly necessary! It channels the energy in the form I want!” Tabitha said adamantly. The creature in the darkness crawled forward, becoming visible in the light, and let out a blood-curdling screech in my general direction.

“Oi!” I yelled at it, pulling on the leather strap that held the shotgun so it flipped into my hands. “Mother and father are fighting!” I quipped, causing it to charge. It reached point blank range, practically swallowing the shotgun, when I fired, blowing it up.

“…mother and father?” Tabitha said, wiping the blood off her glasses. “Was that really the best you could do?”

“Honestly, as soon as I came up with it, I didn’t want to use it, but I blanked on thinking of anything better.” I replied, loading another shell into the shotgun. “I really feel for whoever has to clean this up.” I added, looking at the explosion of guts that was everywhere now.

“Yeah. Gross.” Tabitha stepped around the gore, pushing onwards. I made a point of it to step in the guts, almost falling over as a result, which thankfully wasn’t seen. “So, CG, you know him more than everyone else.” Tabitha said casually when I had caught up to her.

“I believe that’s how best friends work, yeah.” I replied, as the similarities of the walls made me think we were walking in circles, even when going in a straight line.

“I mean, I know him, obviously, but like… I’ve never known him to be so out of his shell.” She said, glancing around a corner at a crossroads we had reached. “He ever been that way with you?”

“Not with me, no. There was one time he was very different, but that was when he was seeing someone.” I covered the other corner, as the two of us moved to the other side, staying in the direction we were going.

“Oh yeah, I think I remember you talking about that a bit once. Something about a harlot stealing your best friend?” Tabitha’s smirk was audible, despite the fact that I could barely see a few inches in front of my face.

“Dude, when I’m drunk, I’ll say anything. What about you, why are you suddenly so interested in CG’s personal life?” I was curious. While she was scientific at heart, she never really socialised well, so for her to notice someone else’s personality changes… if nothing else, it was a prime target for mocking. “You got a crush on him or something?” I said, purposefully raising the pitch of my voice to hit that peak level of annoying style.

“Get bent, buggerface. I’m not into weird guys, even if they’re nice friends to have. I prefer people that actually get me, and stuff. People I can have dumb jokes with. Like you, you know?” Tabitha said as we walked. Simultaneously, our footsteps stopped, as the words she had just said sunk in.

“Like me?” I asked, unsure of what else to say. It had started my mind racing, thinking about way too much stuff, in way too small a timeframe.

“Let’s put a pin in that, okay? We’ve got a lot to do, and being distracted with that probably won’t do much.” Tabitha said, and I agreed quickly. There was no point dwelling on something as significant as that, right? No, definitely not. Everything was A-Okay.

CG

Everything was not okay.

[secret-fiction]

Sonic Boom: Those Who're Made Fools

As April Fools day is upon them, Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends must contend with a series of pranks from an outside source that go a little farther than they would like.

Updated Version of this Sonic Boom April Fools themed fanfiction. A new ending & epilogue will be added at to this post as a reblog. 6,238 words here. 10,198 words total.

General Audiences, Swearing

While Sonic the Hedgehog would usually be sleeping in, the cool breeze blowing through his hut and swaying the hammock he laid on beckoned him awake. He declined this request to wake up at a normal time and curled up further. However his body began to shiver and his mind was dragged into enough consciousness to realize that the cool breeze was actually a freezing wind. His eyes shot open, seeing a light flurry of snowflakes blowing over him, already building up drifts in his beachside hut. 

“What the f-, flakes? Snow??” said Sonic as he wobbled to his feet.

The warm light of sunrise was peering through his windows and the island outside looked as tropical as it should. The culprit then, Sonic deduced, was likely the large yellow painted machine that looked like an industrial sized window air-conditioner if it were built by a mad scientist. 

A letter lifted off of the pile of mail he kept strewn on the ground and into his face. It was the invitation to Amy’s birthday event this evening. Thus, it was also April Fools day.

“Either Tails actually got his sleep schedule in check just to get me first, or I need to have a chat with him about staying up all night again,” said Sonic aloud, ears turning to listen for any unseen listener. 

The wind then picked up, the flurries of snow beginning to sting as they struck Sonic. In fact it was more of a semi-frozen rain now. Everything in his hut was quickly being coated with bits of water and ice which created a slick layer over all surfaces. He grumbled and shivered, then dashed to the machine jammed in the door to find the off switch. The machine however blocked the entire doorway. There were no controls on the side facing Sonic, just a torrent of freezing rain blowing from a vent.

“Aw what the heck?!” Sonic tried to push the machine out of his door but found his feet slipping on the frozen and wet floor. “TAILS! I don’t wanna break your new toy here, but I will!”

Sonic heard no response aside from the gale of freezing wind and rain, which grew strong enough to send him slipping onto his face and sliding away to the far wall. He grumbled, stood up, and placed his feet on the wall. With one strong kick he spin-dashed into the machine, sending pieces of it flying as it fell out of his door frame. 

“Brrr, jeez,” said Sonic as he stood up and looked around, seeing no sign of Tails, “don’t tell me he already ran off to prepare another prank. This one was already a bit much… Guess I’ll have to teach him a lesson on restraint.”

With resolve filling his eyes, Sonic the Hedgehog took off running across the beach in a blur. The machine was left behind on his front porch, a problem for later perhaps.

A potential problem for now descended from a hidden perch in the trees of the jungle toward the machine. Insectoid wings fluttered, carrying a figure whose green colour matched the jungle canopy. They landed atop Tails’ machine, then yanked a kunai dagger out of the machine's control panel before heading for their next target.

________________

The drone of power tools echoed throughout Tails’ workshop as usual while he assembled a new gadget. Progress was going good by his insane standards of pacing, so he took a step back to look over the device. Lifting the goggles off of his eyes revealed they bore a giddiness bright enough to almost hide his dark eyebags. This projector he was modifying would surely be perfect for setting the mood at Amy’s event this evening. All he needed to do now was program a remote for ease of use, something he had learned others care about when using technology. From there he’d-

A swinging sound from the mail chute on his door pulled Tails’ attention away. Could it be Sonic’s counter attack already? He chuckled to himself, picturing Sonic popping out of a pile of harmless snow with a dumbfounded look on his face. Upon approach however he saw that it was clearly from Amy. It bore fancy calligraphy for the address and her custom rose wax seal which was slightly cracked, likely from its journey. 

“Oh, she must be excited,” muttered Tails to himself before biting the letter to open it with his teeth. 

Tails immediately regretted his lazy choice of letter opening when a pink cloud of a gas blasted forth from the letter, filling the workshop and his mouth. The taste he recognized as floral air freshener made him gag and spit. Then the overwhelming smell filled his nose. It should’ve smelled pleasant, but the flowery fragrance was so overwhelming, suffocating, that Tails had to cover his snout. He scrambled for the nearest window before his breath ran out. 

“What The FLYING FFff-!” Tails gritted his teeth and compressed his fit into a soft growl while throwing a workshop window open. 

One by one Tails swung every window open. Then he opened the garage door for the hangar portion of his workshop. That didn’t dilute the air freshener smell fast enough so he turned on every industrial fan he could. Soon the continued overstimulation made him resort to using his emergency eye and face wash station, after shoving a pile of boxes blocking access out of the way. The torrent of water on his face made his eyes stop stinging so bad and got most of the taste out of his mouth. But his nose was still completely overwhelmed. 

“I can’t work like this!! Why should I work like this?!” said Tails as he shook the water off of his head. 

The ring of his doorbell drew Tails’ irritated red eyes to the door. Opening it revealed a fast food bag, of which he couldn’t smell at all, sitting on the welcome mat. This was definitely another prank. The fact that he was quite hungry now that he thought about it annoyed him greatly. So he leaned forward and kicked the bag away before turning to slam his door shut. 

“Hey woah!” said Sonic, jumped down from atop the workshop roof, “what’s up? Not hungry?”

Tails glared at Sonic, glancing between him and the bucket of ice and snow in his grasp.

“Okay to be fair you really-” Sonic coughed and waved a hand in front of his muzzle, “wow bud isn’t that a bit too much air freshener? It’s kinda distracting.” 

“Yes! And I guess Amy thinks that’s funny, since evidently you had a much lazier prank in mind,” said Tails.

“Amy?” said Sonic, “she usually doesn’t take time for anything more elaborate than what you can buy at the joke store.”

“Yeah, except when she asks you for help with her party.” Tails walked to his work table and plugged his nose with tissue paper before pushing the projector project aside. “So let’s see how she likes my help now, heheheh…”

“Tails you’re getting a bit maniacal,” said Sonic, “seriously, don’t go overboard again. It just smells a bit too nice in here.”

“You don’t mess with someone's sense of smell and get off easy,” said Tails.

“Okay, well, can I ask your opinion on something first?” said Sonic

Tails turned to face Sonic, only to get a glob of half melted snow thrown in his face. 

“I’ll ask for your help fixing the wind damage to my house later!” said Sonic before dropping the bucket and dashing away.

Tails grumbled, wiped the snow off his face, then grabbed any errant material he had lying around to build his revenge on Amy. Though after a moment or two he started thinking about what Sonic had just said.

“...Fix his house? What?” 

In his state of sensory overload and anger, Tails failed to notice a figure move from its perfectly still position in the jungle canopy outside a nearby window. It stood tall, then began leaping away between the trees toward the village.

_____________

The hum of Amy Rose’s voice trailed through her house as she happily prepared for the rest of the day. Her daily twenty-four step quill-styling routine was now finished, she was dressed, and every surface of the room was covered in decorations and snacks to be assorted. Sure she always had a bit of anxiety about the fact her birthday falls on the first of April, the day of The Fool. But that worry was now barely present after living the last couple of years dealing with Dr. Eggman attacking at any random time. 

Working out a block of time in her schedule to deal with an inevitable attack or crisis meant Amy had all the time she needed to still have a fun birthday. She smiled to herself while looking over a stack of colourful papers she had printed, it was hard to suppress her enthusiasm at having her friends over tonight. Truly the real power of one's birthday was the leverage it put on everyone else to finally try your favorite forms of entertainment. 

“Alright, let’s get this next part right,” said Amy to herself as she organized the papers, character sheets. “This is my one chance this year to convince the other that this’ll be fun. And this time I’m right.”

Amy’s smile faltered slightly as she remembered her failure to convince Sonic and the others that playing out her favorite musicals was fun. Really she should’ve known that’d be too much. This time though, an engaging role playing game… she can get them to agree this activity is worthy of regularity.

A knock on her door made Amy jump and gasp with a smile. She waved her hands a bit to lower her giddiness, taking a deep breath. Then she skipped over to the door.

Greeting her outside was a basket with a bow on it, sitting just past her welcomemat. Amy’s heart skipped a beat, but she quickly recognized Knuckles’ handwriting. “Hope you like these colourful rocks!” It wasn’t a romantic gesture from Sonic, but still nice. With a sigh and a soft smile she stepped forward to see what varieties of polished stones Knuckles had-

Amy’s boot fell through her welcomemate and she stumbled into the hole that had been hidden just below it. It was a short fall, but she landed on her face and splattered some liquid all over herself. It took a few seconds of sitting still to process what just happened.

“What the F-Ow…” said Amy as she stood up, eyes stinging from the oily fluid coating her. “What is this stuff?”

The smell, and once her vision cleared, the black colouration showed Amy that this was actually just oil. Used oil. Most likely motor oil. From a motor. Filled with gunk. Gunk that was now in her quills… and her whole dress.

“Are, You, SERIOUS?!” shouted Amy, “isn’t this a bit much!?” 

Amy sighed, but tried not to let this ruin her mood. It was meant as harmless fun, even if it was harmful to her morning. It wasn't usual for Knuckles to be that deceptive though, even though signs pointed to him being involved with how good he is at digging. Perhaps Tails put him up to this, considering the use of engine oil. But why would he? This is usually a thing between him and Sonic.

After a moment of glowering, Amy decided to climb out of the small hole. The dirty motor oil made this tricky however, as she fell back in several times. By the time she heard the swishing of Tails’ tails mid flight, along with a nefarious chuckle, she had worked through her patience.

“TAILS! Get down here this instant!!” 

Amy heard a gasp, then the patter of footsteps. Tails leaned over the hole and looked at her with a strange squint. She in turn gave him the most stern look she could.

“This is really obnoxious, especially for you!” said Amy.

“Yeah, like you don’t know a thing about obnoxious pranks,” said Tails, glancing away from Amy’s eye contact.

“There’s MOTOR OIL In My Quills Tails!!” said Amy.

Tails leaned out of Amy’s sight, she heard him put something down on her deck, before he leaned back over the hole. “Who put a hole full of motor oil here anyway?”

“...It wasn’t you?” 

“No! This is lazy! And just mean!” said Tails as he gestured energetically, “I’d at least be way more creative for something this mean! Or just less mean if I don’t have time to be creative.”

“Okay, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to insult your… prowess with pranking,” said Amy, “Please get me out of here.”

“Oh yeah, sure.”

With ease, Tails lifted Amy out of the hole and dropped her on the deck before landing himself. She pretended not to notice him immediately kicking a really haphazardly thrown together looking device out of sight. 

“Uh, Amy,” said Tails as he rubbed the back of his head, not noticing the oil stain he was leaving there from his glove, “do you happen to know anything about the perfume filling my workshop.”

“What? What happened?” said Amy.

Tails made eye contact with Amy, a look of anger quickly fading to regret. “I-I’m sorry, someone else must’ve put that perfume bomb in my mailbox then.”

“...Probably Eggman, right?” 

“He… He’s not good at all at being that sneaky though…not without letting you know it was him.” Tails squinted as he looked at the hole, “And this does look like it was dug by claws, natural or those glove things people can get. And I guess Knuckles can be sneaky sometimes?” 

“Okay but how would he do this without your help?” said Amy. 

“...I dunno, could’ve gone to a mundane mechanic,” said Tails, “But this is something he’d try to do to Sonic for April fools, not you.” 

Just overhead, as Amy & Tails started talking about their problems, a sneaky individual leapt and flew away from the top of a palm tree. It was bound for a path deeper into the island's jungle. 

_________________

It was much easier for Knuckles to find specific rocks when they were in the ground. The polished stones he’d collected in a gift basket for Amy evaded him in a way most minerals couldn’t. He’d been forced into retracing his steps to the best of his ability, now out on the jungle trails just outside of the Village. However all he could find was litter and Sticks’ traps.

“Oh come on gift basket, where’d you go?!” said Knuckles aloud, “I need you to be a good friend to Amy!”

The gift basket didn’t answer, only the rustling leaves did. Of course Knuckles could quickly gather some neat looking plants, but it wouldn’t have the same meaning to it. He slapped himself on the head trying to remember where he could’ve left the basket. After the week he spent picking out the perfect colourful stones it sickened him to just lose that gift. 

Searching the edges of the trail closely, Knuckles came across a tree with a nook inside it. The bright colours inside excited him for a moment, until he realized that it was only foraged fruit, not his basket of rocks. Though his stomach grumbled now, and the smell of the berries grew enticing. Then when he noticed a doodle carved in the bark next to the nook in the tree, depicting a simple Sticks the Badger giving a thumbs up, he smiled.

“Oh! Awesome! I really gotta thank Sticks for these snack stocks she leaves out,” said Knuckles

As Knuckles stepped close enough to reach into the nook of this tree, something snagged on his leg. He instinctively kicked and felt something wrap tight around his ankle and pull him upward. He gave a yell as the complex and well hidden snare trap hung him upside down from the top of the tree, several feet out of reach of the collection of berries. 

“Ah dang! I set off one of Sticks’ traps again…” said Knuckles as he folded his arms. “Wait, why was there a trap there, when there was a friendly and welcoming sign?! That’s like, the opposite of making sense!”

Knuckles grumbled to himself. If it took Sticks too long to find him then he’d have less time to find his gift basket. Then even less time to beat Sonic & Tails in the April Fools prank war.

“Wait, I think I know what’s going on…. Sticks is trying to make me an April Fool!” said Knuckles, slapping his face in shock. “Oh man I’ve never had to deal with a prank battle involving her before.”

“Knuckles! What’re you doing up there!” shouted the voice of Amy Rose.

“Amy?!” Knuckles looked down to see Amy with several paper towels in her hands & quills and a bag over her shoulder. “Thank goodness you’re here! Sticks got me in a prank-snare thing! Who knows what she’ll do next!”

Amy’s eyes widened, then squinted. “Knuckles, Sticks doesn’t do April Fools day!”

“Oh wait, really?”

“No, she stays in her burrow all day, remember?” 

Knuckles thought about that. He did begin to recall Sticks’ distaste for the idea of April Fools day the first time it was ‘explained’ to her. That was one crappy day, Sonic only barely survived. 

“Oh yeah!” Knuckles leaned up and grabbed the rope tied to his legs, then ripped it apart with his raw strength. He landed on his feet next to Amy and sighed in relief. “I was worried I’d have to stay up there all day. Good thing this rope doesn’t actually belong to Sticks.”

“Hey, I had a question for you,” said Amy.

“Oh yeah, I was gonna ask you about the oily smell but I can wait,” said Knuckles.

“...Yeah you didn’t dig that pit in front of my house then.”

“A pit?” 

“Yeah, sorry, I thought you tried and succeeded to prank me.”

“Oh wow! If I were you I’dve like, punched me in the snoz,” said Knuckles as he looked over just how messed up Amy’s quills were, “man, I’m glad you’re  so reasonable Amy. It’s nice knowing you have faith in the rest of us.”

“Heheh, yeah,” said Amy, tucking the bag over her shoulder behind herself. The spice-laden cupcakes inside will have to wait before burning someone's mouth up.

Seeing where Amy and Knuckles’ conversation was going, the hidden figure in the canopy fluttered away. Only one more member left to find. 

_____________

No amount of fresh air from outside could alleviate the tension in Sticks the Badger’s nerves. She’d just managed to will herself out the door of her burrow, knowing that the number of traps and practical alarms she’d placed around would warn of any intrusion. None of the others were going to mess with her this year, she knew that, they assured her and she trusted them. She desperately wanted to just trust them. 

“C’mon, you promised Amy you’d go to her party…” Sticks muttered, grimacing as she stared down at her boots. 

The sound of a jingling bell made her ear twitch and her body stand even more tense than before. She glanced over, seeing no sign of anyone there. That upset her more than anything she could’ve seen prowling toward her burrow. Her teeth clenched together hard enough to become sore, as they often do. 

Sticks looked in the direction of the other makeshift alarms, then more broadly the edges of the jungle near her burrow. To her relief and ire, someone was here and it wasn’t only her. That camouflaged figure staying perfectly still in the trees evidently didn’t realize to what extent Sticks had memorized the area around her living space.

Being sure to not look to close in the direction of the figure, Sticks started walking into the jungle. The peripheral view she’d had gave her enough information about the size and shape of this stalking figure that she was confident about what to listen for. After only a few steps she heard the sound of it sticking to a new tree, a light thud very subtle but distinct from the tropical woodpeckers. 

“Heh, see, It’s not any of your friends,” Sticks muttered, trying then to steady her breath.

Based on the pace of when the figure hopped between trees, Stick knew exactly which snare to pass under. With a hand on her boomerang she listened as she walked. In short order, the figure fell into the trap as Sticks heard the snare suddenly tighten above her. She scowled, turned on her heel, and whipped the boomerang at the figure whilst snarling. 

The sight of a scarf and large insectoid wings is all Sticks could see of the figure through a cloud of blue glitter as they were pulled away into the air. Sticks heard a snap from her rope and saw the figure dodge the boomerang then duck behind a tree. Then the boomerang came back and knocked the figure down with a thwack, triggering a chain reaction among Sticks’ traps.

Nets and leaves went flying throughout the air as several trees sprung loose from the tension of ropes and traps. Sticks dived behind a safe tree and tried to watch the figure, but they managed to escape her sight and each trap they triggered. Eventually she heard the drone of their large wings as they disappeared into the jungle. The only sign they left behind was a spot of blue glitter on every tree they’d touched. 

“Sticks!” shouted Knuckles, “What was all that?! Are you alright”

“I’ve only heard legends, but if my guess is right… some sort of Ninja,” said Sticks.

Knuckles gasped, “a Ninja?! AWESOME!”

“Wait, you've heard of ‘em?” said Sticks, “The rest of you hardly ever know what I’m talking about.”

“Well when you watch enough tv you learn what a Ninja is,” said Knuckles.

“TV? Darn, I should’ve known…” said Sticks as she walked out to find her boomerang, “wait, why’re you out here?”

“Oh yeah, Amy wanted me to find you. We have a problem.”

_________________

“Hoh Hoh Hoh!” laughed Dr. Eggman as he sat in his room of many monitors. On the largest screen the unfortunate situations of Sonic and his friends played out on loop. His laughs bellowed uninterrupted as a figure stood patiently behind him. It was a green Preying Mantis in gray robes, a pine green scarf hanging from their neck to nearly the floor. They kept their arms folded behind their back and their eyes on the Doctor. 

Also waiting patiently were Dr. Eggman’s assistants, Orbot and Cubot. Though their postures grew more eager and anxious with each loop. 

“Look at his face as he slips onto his own face!” said Dr Eggman, hitting his control panel and laughing, “he’s helpless against a bit of wind and freezing rain! I’ve gotta remember that!”

“Uh boss,” said Orbot, “now that we’ve played these recordings on loop 20 times, perhaps we ought to worry about what Sonic and the others are going to do to retaliate?”

“Oh yeah, what did you build for Sonic to blow up today boss?” said Cubot.

“I didn’t build anything to face them today,” said Dr. Eggman.

“But eeh… that means they’re gonna break something else,” said Cubot.

“No you nincomputer!” Dr. Eggman stood up from his fancy swiveling chair, “they don’t even know who’s responsible for the appropriation of their pranks! It’s genius you see! The initiative still lies with me!”

“But sir, who else would antagonize them like that other than you?” said Orbot.

“Why this mischievous freelancer of course!” said Dr. Eggman, putting one of his hands on the Mantis’ shoulder and giving them a friendly shake.

“I did in fact sabotage their joy today,” said The Mantis, standing stiff and waiting for Dr. Eggman to release them.

“Yes you did! And you got four out five of them! That's four stars out of five in my book! I knew I wouldn’t regret hiring you out of that catalog.”

“Oh yeah, you were like ‘I better not regret this!’” said Cubot, taking up an Eggman-like pose.

Dr. Eggman glared at Cubot, then coughed and turned to look down at the Mantis. “Your contract said I’ve got your services for the whole day, yes?”

“I am standing here for that reason, yes,” said the Mantis.

“Good, now let’s show them who’s really responsible for their misfortune! I’ll even let you partake in gloating with me!” said Dr. Eggman.

“I do not have ‘gloat’ in my skillset. Thus I would perform poorly at that task,” said the Mantis.

“...I can teach you a bit about it on the way.”

___________________

“Alright team, if we’re going to have fun during my birthday, and Sonic & Tails are gonna have a fair ‘battle of pranks,’ we gotta deal with whoever’s trying to ruin our day!” said Amy Rose to the rest of Team Sonic. They had assembled at the Team’s agreed DPZ, De-Prankified Zone, the Meh Burger dining lot. 

“Who, other than Eggman, would go to these lengths anyway?” said Tails, “that’s what’s really bothering me. Have we done anything to someone recently?”

“Well there’s people who get ‘parasocially angry’,” said Sonic with finger quotes. “Could be literally anyone who doesn’t vibe with our brand of swagger and has no life of their own.”

“Ninja’s are notoriously without a life,” said Knuckles. 

“And good at blending in…” said Sticks, turning and eyeing a family sitting at a nearby table with suspicion.

“That I have seen,” said Sonic.

“Oh yeah, did you manage to hire-” started Amy, before the attention-demanding voice of Dr. Eggman rudely interrupted her. 

“MUAHAHAHAH!” bellowed Dr. Eggman from his flying eggmobile. His threatening presence caused the other patrons of meh burger to steadily flee. Though only after gathering their food, napkins, and flavour packets. “Have you had a bout of misfortune today Sonic?”

“Are you going to have some misfortune?” said Sonic, leaning forward but staying seated.

“Not today, Hedgehog! For you see, I have the upper hand.”

Some patrons scooted by the team’s table as Tails said “Have you actually built a badnik we haven’t seen before, or are you just trying to hype up Mega again?”

“Hey! I don’t use that one that often!” said Dr. Eggman

“Uh, yeah, you kinda do,” said Sonic.

“It’s frankly embarrassing how often you pull out the same few badniks on us,” said Amy, “the people of this village can’t even be bothered to put energy into fleeing from you anymore, that’s how stale you’ve gotten.”

“Yeah, and you use the same robots all the time!” said Knuckles.

“Yeah, okay. So maybe I can’t churn out new super badniks at an insane rate, but I’ve got standards for my health! I’m not gonna crunch my schedule if you lot won’t even respect what I build!”

Sonic turned and stared at Tails for a moment, who took a bit to notice. “What?”

Sonic titled his head and raised an eyebrow.

“What??”

“Does Egghead actually have a better sense of self care than you these days?” said Sonic.

Tails folded his arms and looked away from Sonic. 

“If you all could be bothered to pay attention for more than a second!” shouted Dr. Eggman, “You might notice-”

The crash of a soda cup hitting the ground drew everyone’s attention to Sticks. Her hand was clasped around the wrist of the Mantis Ninja, having caught them in the middle of trying to hook a small wire to her leg. The two made eye contact, Stick’s glaring furiously and the Mantis wide eyed yet focused. 

“Well, colour me impressed,” said Dr. Eggman with a widening grin.

Sonic recognized that grin. So he immediately dashed toward Dr. Eggman. Then Eggman pressed a button and something tightened on Sonic’s leg. He fell onto his face and heard a crash behind him. A thin wire had tied to his leg, which led to a small round black badnik shaped like a spider. Three more wires protruding from this badnik were tied to Tails, Amy, and Knuckles, who had all been sent to the floor by the momentum of Sonic’s dash. 

“Ow FUCK!” shouted Tails.

“Tails what the F-! You can’t say that!” said Sonic.

“Actually,” said Knuckles as he pushed the dining table off of himself, “I’m with Tails, this fucking hurts.”

“I’ve had enough of Eggman’s shit today to care,” said Amy.

“Goddammit, could you guys at least try to keep the Team PG?” said Sonic.

“It’s no use anyway,” Said Sticks, still grippin the Mantis, “It’s not like we’re getting fucking renewed anytime soon.”

“...What?” said the Mantis, with the second emotion anyone’s seen on their face being sheer bafflement. 

Sticks responded by punching the Mantis in the face. The force allowed them to pull out of her grasp and dart away, diving behind the counter to the despair of the service worker there. Still Sticks gave chase, throwing her boomerang. 

The Mantis responded with a flying kunai that struck Sticks’ boomerang and changed its trajectory. Truly Ninja’s are as dangerous as Sticks worried, as she found it hard to follow the boomerangs flight path. She only regained sight of it just before it was about to strike her in the face.

Then a second kunai hit the boomerang, deflecting it away from Sticks. Everyone looked over to see a floating hand. Actually, it was attached to a well blended figure, whose colours changed from that of the background to purple. 

“Chaotix agency, Espio,” said Espio the Chameleon.

“Oh he’s good,” said Amy, “how much money did Vector want?”

“Not too much,” said Sonic as he stood up and struggled against the wires of the spider badnik, “they said if we were actually dealing with another Ninja we’d get a discount.”

“That… doesn’t make sense,” said Tails.

“The honor of testing my skills against another trained in these arts,” said Espio as he stepped closer to the Mantis, “is worth a quarter of my boss’ revenue.”

The Mantis nodded, “so be it.”

“That’s it,” said Sticks, “two Ninja’s is too much for me to worry about! I’ve got something more important to be doing!”

Sticks the Badger proceeded to leave… without even assisting her friends. Sonic and the others all exchanged a glance and shrug. 

“What is even happening anymore?” said Dr. Eggman, “this was supposed to be when you all cower at the genius of my Tripping-bot in conjunction with my competent hiring judgment!”

“Well Egghead, you’re not the only one who gets the ‘spies and assassins’ catalog,” said Sonic.

“If that’s the case, no more delaying! Ninja, attack!” shouted Dr. Eggman.

“Go get em Espio!” said Sonic. 

The two Ninja’s locked eyes, raised their kunai, and charged at each other. Just before an intense clash of blades, both Espio and the Mantis dodged into different directions. The blur of their respective colours of green and purple disappeared among the furniture of the dining area. 

Meanwhile Knuckles managed to get a footing against the tension of the wire from the Spider Badnik. Seeing this, Dr. Eggman attacked team Sonic with the basic missiles and laser on his eggmobile. He was sure he could give them a humiliating defeat himself in these conditions. 

Two epic battles played out over the next few minutes. The first being Team Sonic steadily overcoming the problem of being tied together. At Amy’s suggestion, Knuckles took the lead of which direction they would all move, even throwing the others up to Eggman. Via taunting, Tails tricked eggman into blasting the cord tying him to the others and started flying interference. 

Eventually Tails lured Dr. Eggman close enough to the ground for Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles to time a jump together and all land on Dr Eggman's vehicle. Just in time too, as he had finally grabbed ahold of Tails and was about to throw hands. From there all four of the team beat up Dr. Eggman and his eggmobile until he finally admitted defeat, which took an impressive amount of blows to make him do. 

All the while the two Ninja’s engaged in the most intense battle of their lives up till now. The Mantis used their flight advantage to duck behind elevated positions and look for Espio. However Espio knew this and compensated with his camouflage and speed. Both moved between positions only at the best opportunities and waited to find a clear opportunity to attack the other unawares.

From the perspective of everyone else and each other however, they both remained completely out of sight. Some customers even started returning to the Meh Burger, unaware of the intense battle going on between tables and booths.

“...Are either of them still here?” asked Amy.

“ I literally can’t tell,” said Sonic.

“Well one of those ninja knives just appeared in my shoe, and I’m sure it wasn’t there before,” said Knuckles.

“They must be so fast!” said Tails.

“And sneaky,” said Sonic.

“How impressive!” said Amy.

…

“This is so boring,” said Sonic as he sat down in a chair.

“Yep,” said Knuckles.

“I’m afraid so,” said Amy.

“Maybe I could build a Ninja tracker?” said Tails. 

“If this fight takes that long, I think we’re better off-” Sonic leaned back in his chair as he talked and to everyone's surprise tripped the Mantis Ninja, sending them stumbling out into the open.

The Mantis immediately opened their wings to take flight, but were stopped as Espio charged out of nowhere, ramming horn first into their torso. The two Ninjas tumbled to the ground with the sounds of struggle. Once everyone managed to realize what was happening Espio had his kunai at the Mantis’ neck.

“Damn,” said the Mantis.

“Yep,” said Espio.

The two stood up and dusted themselves off. Espio quickly went to retrieve his scattered ninja weapons while the Mantis adjusted their scarf. 

“Apologies Doctorate Eggman,” said the Mantis, “I was bested in the duel. Here is an adjusted invoice. Call my number if you have questions.”

“Right…” said Dr. Eggman as he rebooted the eggmobile.

Sonic and the others went over to Espio to congratulate him. Though the chameleon kept a stoic pose, Amy at least could tell he seemed to appreciate the praise.

“For the discount,” said Epsio as he pulled a pocket register out and started typing into it, “please write down all the thoughts you have about my performance for my boss to see.”

“Yeah I’ll tell vector you did a good job,” said Sonic.

“How will you be paying?”

“I have a card,” said Amy.

“But it’s your birthday!” said Knuckles.

“Yeah, we can cover it, right Sonic?” said Tails.

“Uh… yeah, I’ll just… hafta to buy a smaller gift for Amy,” said Sonic.

“D’aw,” Amy smiled warmly at Sonic, that comment alone fully recovered her mood from earlier, despite the battle damage to her dress and quills. “Don’t worry Sonic, having more money for later is a lovely birthday gift.”

“Oh, yeah, sure thing Ames,” said Sonic.

________________

While his mood was a bit soured, Dr Eggman took some pleasure in knowing he at least inconvenienced Sonic and his friends today. That was worth something. Now he just needed to figure out how best to word that to Orbot and Cubot as to make it sound like he didn’t lose. 

That train of thought was halted when Dr. Eggman got within view of his lair. Smoke poured out of several portions of the structures, and loose wires threw sparks all over the place. Several of his defensive badniks were flying and walking circles around the base in full alert, but it was clear they had no idea where the culprit of this mess was. Dr. Eggman grumbled and flew in closer to evaluate the damage.

“Now who had time to do this?!” Eggman said to the badniks. 

From behind a rock, Orbot and Cubot peeked out and pointed to the top of the base, Orbot stuttering out “she did…”

“Wha-” Dr. Eggman was cut off by Sticks the Badger landing on his Eggmobile and driving an obsidian shortsword into its control panel. He screamed in genuine terror as they crashed to the ground. Dr. Eggman felt himself tumbling until he lay flat on his back. Then Sticks jumped onto his chest and bared her teeth, putting a hand on his collar. 

“I have WAY too much to worry about, without even dealing with this damned ‘Fools Holiday!’”

“Wait, I-” muttered Dr. Eggman.

“SHUT UP!”

Dr. Eggman shut up.

“When I hafta to worry just that much more, it actually hurts! And I’m not willing to spare you the pain it causes me!” Sticks took a few heavy breaths and made sure Eggman was looking her in the eyes. “Now, are you EVER, going to make me hafta to worry about an ‘April Fools’ again?!”

“Well… when you ask so nicely…”

Sticks growled like a wild badger.

“No no of course not! Jeez! I’ll leave you alone if you leave me alone!” said Dr. Eggman. 

Sticks’ posture immediately softened and she released Dr. Eggman's collar. She let out a sigh and said “thanks,” before stepping off of Eggman’s chest and sitting on the ground. 

“Uh… don't mention it,” said Dr. Eggman.

“Yeah, of course… Sorry I hafta be so mean…” said Sticks as she laid her back to the ground. 

“I'm going… to go inside and hide.”

Sticks gave Dr. Eggman a thumbs up and continued to just lie on her back in front of his evil lair.

PART TWO: https://www.tumblr.com/onesecretperson/747242079944622080

[definitelyameatbag]

Meet the Cats

Another chapter for the college AU by @drawbauchery!

---

“Well, that’s the Reptile House done. How far until we see the elephants, Laplace?”

Perri turned to look at Laplace’s face as the taller woman flicked through the map of the zoo. She noticed the bright sun bringing out freckles on her face that she hadn’t seen before. Perri already felt her own skin burning in the heat wave, the last gasp of summer weather before the winter chill. Amy, currently enjoying a bag of popcorn beside them, had suggested they go to the city zoo for the weekend, while they still had the good weather. Well, her first idea had been the beach, but Laplace and she bargained that down to only going if the heat lasted long enough after a Sunday to somewhere else, so the zoo it was. Good Lord, Perri thought, what if some of the students saw them?

“The elephants seem to be down that path, on the other side of the tiger pit.”, Laplace pointed forward, on a path parallel to a ring of steel railings circling a pit. The zoo was hardly packed, the summer boom of visitors over, but the path Laplace pointed to had more people than the average they had seen during the day, suggesting it was a place boasting a few star attractions.

“Jeeze, Perri, you’re pretty damn eager to see these elephants.”, Amy noted, ruffling Perri’s hair. Perri blushed, straightening her hair out again.

“I’ve always wanted to ride one, ever since I saw The Jungle Book as a kid. They’re so big an powerful and--oh!”, she turned to run towards a sign next to the railing of the tiger pit.

“‘The Siberian Tiger is the largest cat on Earth. Native to the Sikote-Alin mountain range, less than 600 individuals are alive today, but due to conservation efforts that number is rising. Wysex and Jaden are the third-generation descendants of a donation by Novosibirsk Zoo in the 1980’s. Their coats are of--’”

“Perri, there they are!”, Laplace interrupted Perri’s reading, in a hushed tone. Perri looked up to see two huge tigers emerge from behind a rock formation, drinking from a stream with a few cubs in tow.

“Awww!”, Amy sounded, moving her popcorn to dig into her pocket. “Hey Perri, get into shot, I’ll take your pic!”

Perri looked at her, and acquiesced, “Alright!”, shifting to the right to get between them and the tigers leaning back on the railing. “Tell me how to pose!”

“You’re good for the catwalk, Perri!”, complemented Laplace at seeing Amy fiddle with her camera-phone, who responded with a “Hey-oooo!”

Perri smiled. She hadn’t known either of them for very long, but for their quirks she had thought they were pretty cool people, being friendly enough to let her into their little world.

She barely heard the ‘cheese’ as her ears rang of the bolt that snapped off the connection to the section of railing she was leaning on. She had even less conscious thought to give to the sight of the world spinning as both she and the railing fell backwards.

In just a second, by the moment the camera clicked, she had disappeared under the new entry into the pit.

“Perri!”, screamed Laplace and Amy, running to the edge of the rim. About fifteen feet below them, on a patch of dirt ground, Perri laid on top of the railing, not moving.

Amy ran her hands her her hair, muttering, “Shit, shit, shit, what do we do, what the hell do we do?” Laplace spun around in a panic, looking for a zookeeper. “Help! Someone’s fell into the tiger pit!”

Amy took a deep breath, looking down at Perri, still lying still on the ground below them.

“Fuck me.”

Laplace stood in shock as she saw Amy step off the edge. “Amy!”, she shouted, ducking down to peak just over the edge, seeing the woman landed on her feet at the bottom, “What you doing, you crazy bastard?!”

“Chill!”, Amy shouted back, looking down at Perri to her right. She could see her eyes slowly opening, possibly her regaining consciousness. “Perri, are you alright?!”, Amy asked, much more quietly, putting her hand on her back to shake her.

“Uhhhhh...”, moaned Perri, pushing herself up with her hands, “What happened...”

“We’re in the tiger pit, Perri.”, answered Amy, managed to send a chill down her own spine.

Perri continued lifting herself off the railing, “What...Tiger...”, before freezing when she lifted her head.

“Amy.”, she spoke, as evenly as she could manage. “They see us.”

Amy looked up to see them. Two Siberian Tigers, each one the size of a motorcycle, stood about thirty feet away, watching them. Amy had no idea how fast they could run, but she couldn’t imagine it would give them much time. “Is this where we puff ourselves up to look as imposing as possible?”, she asked Perri.

“No!”, shouted Laplace from above, “They have cubs! Being threatening will just make them want to kill you more!”

“Wow, thanks!”, screamed Perri, harshly, jolting up to a stand. Amy looked behind them for a moment, not an instant more than she dared to, to see her climbing surface. She met with fifteen feet of concrete wall, poured into a concave surface like a seawall, impossible to climb.

They couldn’t go back, and they couldn’t go forward. Amy darted her eyes left and right, trying to see an exit. “Blue! You see a gate anywhere?!”

“I think I see one at the other end! Go right!”

“Alright, P, get ready to run.”, Amy slowly motioned to Perri.

“I can’t.”, Perri replied, refusing to take her eyes off the tigers.

“Perri, seriously, we need to high-tail it, now.”

Perri slowly leaned to her left, to Amy , “I can’t move. I can’t.”

Amy was dripping with sweat, adrenaline shooting through her veins as her heart boomed in her temples, “Perri, this isn’t the time to pa--”

“I can’t. Move.” Perri pleaded, one last time.

Then one of the tigers took one lumbering step forward.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”, Perri yelled, shooting off to the right and sprinting as fast as she could, Amy staying close behind her.

The ground had been mostly level next to the wall, and minus a near slip when crossing the stream that ran through an iron grate, Amy and Perri kept at full sprint. Amy could see that Perri was running with a slight limp, maybe through hurting herself on the railing. She nearly slowed down, the popcorn in her stomach making a quick job of leaving her winded, but a momentary turn of her head to the left, and the spotting of an orange blur, put her back to top speed.

At last, they approached the gate, part of a section of wall made of vertical metal bars, like a prison cell. Amy had slightly overtaken Perri, and banged on the gate, locked shut with a chain. “Hey! Is anybody out there?!”

She turned to check if the tigers were there, but she could only see Perri, ten feet back, on the ground after tripping on a log. “Perri! Ar--”

The tigers emerged, slowly lumbering from the bush, one approaching Perri and the other facing Amy, putting itself between the two women.

Perri rolled onto her back, causing the tiger to halt for a moment, giving her a considering look. Perri was frozen in helplessness, her arms instinctively up and exposing her belly. She started hyperventilating at the thought of disembowelment.

“Amy...please, help me...”, she whimpered, as the tiger took a few more steps toward her. Sniffing her, it began licking her face, her skin getting a few scratches from the tongue meant to peel hide off flesh. It placed its forepaws across her torso, and gave a yawn, baring a mouth that could fit her head inside, armed with a set of thick and sharp teeth. A small voice inside Perri’s mind told her to stay still, accept her fate, and try to faint to avoid the worst of the pain.

She stayed fully aware as 300 pounds of tiger slumped on top of her, using her as a cushion.

“P!”, Amy whispered, losing her mind at the site of what seemed to be Perri being adopted, but still alert at the tiger directly in front of her.

She nearly had a heart attack as the tiger roared and leaped at the bar wall, from which squirted a jet of water aimed for the tiger.

“We’re here, Amy!”, cried Laplace, which Amy could see was holding the hose the water was coming from, “Get Perri!”

“How?!”, screamed Amy, looking at Perri, who now seemed to be having her face licked by one of the cubs.

“Here, take this!”, yelled another voice, likely a zookeeper, pushing something through the bars.

Amy grabbed it immediately, looking at it in her hands. It was a brown leather bullwhip.

“What the hell do I do with this?!”, scoffed Amy.

“Smack them!”, ordered the zookeeper, “Get them to retreat for the cubs’ safety!”

Adrenalin continued to numb away at her sense of danger as she unfurled the whip, letting about ten feet of leather strip fall to the ground as she took a few swings to get used to the weight.

Moving her arm in a great arc, she took one first swing at the approaching tiger, hitting the ground just beside it, causing it to flinch but not much. Amy tried shifting around it, sliding right in a semicircle she planned to eventually reach Perri on. She took another swing, this time a direct hit on the snout, causing a blood-curdling snarl.

The tiger on top of Perri also roared, jumping off her and dashing behind the tiger facing Amy.

After a few more swings, Amy praying each time to not hit one of the cubs and shifting a little more inbetween the opening each hit gave her, she managed to get next to Perri, still catatonic on the ground.

“Perri, I think we need to get out of Dodge.”, Amy assured her, in a sense of bravado that even she thought was a little misplaced.

Perri muttered something incomprehensible as she lifted herself up and took shelter behind Amy, leaning onto her for support. She managed to collect herself enough to say, “My leg feels like it’s broken. I need carried if I’m going to move.”

“Well, I’m not going up against these things without a whip!”, snapped Amy.

Water squirted out of the bars again, distracting the tigers. Lapis shouted, “Try heading back to where you feel in! I’ll be there, we’ll pull you up with the whip!”

In a spin, Amy scooped up Perri and began to run back where they came. Perri gripped on as tightly as she could as Amy leaped over the stream, sprinting the full distance back to the railing.

Her arms and legs ached as she placed Perri onto the ground. “Alright, P, get on my back.”, she gasped, struggling for air as she sat in front of Perri. Perri dutifully put her arms around her neck, as Amy leaned forward to get standing again. “Alright, Laplace, c’mon, get here...”

“Amy.”, said Perri, into her ear. “If we die here, let me just say...you looked really cool swinging that whip.”

Amy gave a breathless laugh as her free hand gripped onto Perri’s. “And thanks, P, for being so small and light.”

Perri managed a tight squeeze before Laplace’s head peeked over the edge. “Alright, throw me it!”

“Hold on, P.”, Amy put her whole body into the swing of the roll of whip, managing to get at least one of the ends up for Laplace to catch.

After a few seconds, Laplace called out again, this time out of sight. “OK! Here it comes!”

An end of the whip fell over the edge, the tip ending just about a foot above the reach of Amy’s arms.

“Oh, come on!”

“Wait!, shouted Perri, shifting her weight up her back, stretching out and grabbing at the whip, rolling a length into her hands. “Grab my hips!”

Amy did a 180, Perri left hanging on to the whip-turned-rope. Amy wrapped her arms around Perri’s hips, clasping on tight.

And then she noticed the orange blobs exiting the bush.

“PULL US UP! PULL US UP!”

Amy felt her feet leave the ground, just as Perri cried out in pain. Amy normally felt fine about her weight, but Perri probably didn’t feel good about the weight of two people going through her spine, arms and hands.

The tigers were only a few feet away as they really began to start getting lifted. Amy swung up her legs, in preparation for a tiger jump.

Fortunately, blessedly, they reached the edge of the wall, and she felt people pull her and Perri back onto the surface.

The concrete surface was nearly the most beautiful thing she saw that day. 

“Me and my fucking great ideas!”, screamed Laplace, which Amy looked up to see the face of. She was overflowing with tears, hair frazzled and jaw clenched, as inelegant as she ever saw her before. “I nearly got you two killed!”

Amy and Perri looked at her, then at eachother, and began to laugh.

“What, what’s so funny?!”, Laplace shouted, “You were nearly eaten by fucking tigers! Do you understand how much danger you were in?!”

As one, they tackled Laplace to the ground with a hug.

“I’m being serious! I nearly killed you two with that idiotic id--”

“Shut up and hug us, Blue.”, Amy commanded.

Sighing, Laplace gave in, and wrapped an arm each around Perri and Amy.

---

Wednesday morning. Laplace was at her desk, an arm lying on the desk to form a little hamper for Pumpkin to sit in and stay warm. With her other hand, she held up a bottle for Pumpkin to drink milk from, which they were getting through voraciously.

Perri walked in through the main entrance, only slightly limping.

“Hello!”, greeted Laplace, looking up from the tiny Pumpkin. “You’ve been let off quickly!”

“Yeah.”, replied Perri, “It was just a sprain. Still not something to run on, but not too bad. I see you’re bonding with Pumpkin.”

Laplace gave a grin that was downright cheeky. “Yeah, I’ve moved them to my desk. I thought you and Amy could do with being away from cats for a while.”

Perri grimaced. “I’ll be at my desk. You can get the coffee.”