#I’d prefer to just vanish off the face of the planet or if anything just start over and be done with masking | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

midnightshard06 · 3 months

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My birthday is upon us, which means it's time for my au crossover fic! It was a blast writing all these guy's interactions. Hope you all enjoy my little self indulgent fic.

You can check it out on ao3 here if you prefer.

Summary: Due to the whims of an odd jackal, a group of people who were never meant to meet cross paths. Heroes from the worlds of Chaos Uncontrolled, Bound by Fate, Heart of a Hero, and Lost and Found are all dragged into a brief adventure where they have to work together to get home. They'll stumble a little along the way, but they'll get the hang of it.

Word Count: ~13,000 words

"Well… this could be fun." A black figure cradles a magenta gem in their hands. The creature carefully turned the gem to inspect it. “The Phantom Ruby, what an interesting artifact. But what to do with it…” They tapped the gem as they hummed. Their ears perked up as blue eyes narrowed. “Oh well that could certainly prove interesting, and perhaps the resulting confusion will give me time to figure out just how this works…” They chuckled. “Yes. That’s what I’ll do.” They gripped at what seemed to be a tear in the air. “Time to get to work.” With that they vanished through the tear.

Chaos Uncontrolled (Pre “I’m With You”)

“Why did we have to come to some place this cold? There’s just a bunch of snow and ice everywhere.” Super huffed from within Sonic’s head.

Sonic just rolled his eyes, fond smile on his face. “Hey Holoska’s a pretty… cool place you know?” He barely held back a laugh.

There was dead silence for a moment before Super let out an exaggerated groan. “Don’t.” He said sharply. “Don’t do that.”

“What? Gonna give me the cold shoulder?” Sonic finally let himself laugh as Super groaned even louder. “To actually answer your question though… we’re taking a trip around the world. Holoska just so happened to be part of the world.”

“I guess.” Super mumbled.

“Plus it’s not like you’re the one dealing with the cold right now.” Sonic gestured to the snow. “You bailed the moment we landed.”

“Look, I can enjoy all this perfectly fine from where I am.” Super hummed. “Plus I’d been in control on the way over. It was only fair that you get control back for a while.” His voice was dripping with sarcasm.

“You’ve just never had to deal with cold before, and you’re being a baby about it.” Sonic ignored Super’s indignant shout. “But it’s fine, because I’m a good friend who’s still gonna show you around.”

“Oh, how nice of you.” Super sounded annoyed now, but it was all in good fun. Sonic could tell there wasn’t any real anger behind it. This sort of back and forth was pretty normal for them after all.

The two slipped into a comfortable back and forth as Sonic pointed out the sights there were to see in Holoska. Super slowly warmed up to the place as they went around, so he’d count that as a win. On top of getting to show Super around it was nice to see some of the locals again. They all greeted him fondly and a few even made jokes about the planet being broken again. Jokes that confused Super, but Sonic assured him he’d explain later.

As the sun started to set Sonic stretched. “Guess we should head back to meet up with Tails huh?”

“Hmmm guess so.” Super sounded distracted.

“Something up?” Sonic was instantly alert, eyes subtly darting around.

Super was silent for a moment and Sonic thought he might not answer. “Does anything feel… off to you?”

If Sonic focused he could feel… something. He wasn’t sure if it was the same thing Super was feeling but it definitely wasn’t normal. “I think I’m feeling it, yeah.” There didn’t seem to be anything off that he could see, but he knew Super’s senses were usually pretty accurate. “Any idea what it is?” He asked, this time keeping the comment purely mental. It felt safer to continue the conversation that way until they knew what was going on.

“Not sure.” Super was definitely on edge. “Feels almost like… we’re being watched.”

Sonic cast a subtle glance around the area. “It’s not any of the locals?” He asked, despite not seeing any of them looking back at him.

“No.” Super answered quickly, sounding certain. “It’s definitely not.” Sonic could feel restless energy coming off Super and did his best to keep the other calm.

“Well well.” Sonic snapped his head around at the sound of the unfamiliar male voice. A black jackal, not Infinite though they did seem similar, stared back at him. Sonic had to suck in a deep breath as Super got defensive. “You two will do quite well…” The jackal grinned, showing off sharp teeth.

“This guy’s dangerous.” Super hissed.

“Yeah, figured that.” Sonic answered mentally, eying the all too familiar gem in the jackal’s hand. “So, what are you then?” Sonic turned his full attention to the jackal. “Some… relative of Infinite’s looking for revenge? Didn’t think the guy had anyone who would go as far as somehow finding the Phantom Ruby and then me in the name of revenge.”

“Oh no! You misunderstand my intentions.” The jackal chuckled, it wasn’t a pleasant sound. “I only wish to have a little fun. I have no care for your fallen foe. This-” They held up the Phantom Ruby. “-was simply a serendipitous find. One I intend to make great use of. Enjoy the trip.” Before Sonic could react things flashed red, and then everything went black.

Bound by Fate (Post chap 7)

Sonic took a deep breath as he stretched. Another new day meant another day of tracking down the Gaia Temples. He glanced over at Knuckles who was, predictably, already up. “Morning. Ready to head out?” Sonic grinned

“Been waiting on you to get up.” Knuckles huffed as he adjusted his hat.

“Glad to know you won’t just leave me behind.” Sonic chuckled as he glanced out at the horizon. It was still pretty early in the morning so it wasn’t like he could have kept Knuckles waiting that long.

In case you’ve somehow forgotten we’re literally stuck together.” Knuckles came up to his side. “You’re not going anywhere without me, and I’m not going anywhere without you.”

“Makes it sound like a chore to spend time with me when you put it like that.” Sonic sighed dramatically.

“Keep acting like this and it will be.” Knuckles crossed his arms. “It’s already bad enough you insist on manhandling me at night.”

“Look who am I to deny anyone werehog cuddles? Tails says they’re some of the best around.” Sonic smirked. “Plus you don’t exactly try that hard to stop me.”

Knuckles pulled his hat down to hide his face. “I do try. You’re just annoyingly stronger than me like that.”

“Oh? Admitting I’m stronger than you? Guess if I didn’t know the world was ending I’d know now.” Sonic put a hand on his chest. “Perhaps we just weren’t fast enough to stop Dark Gaia.”

After a moment of Sonic trying to hold in his laughter, Knuckles righted his hat. “Whatever, mutt. Let’s just get moving.” He narrowed his eyes. “And remember…”

“No dropping you.” Sonic waved off the comment. “I know. I know.” He sighed. “Accidentally drop a guy one time…” Before he could pick Knuckles up though he froze. Knuckles gave him an odd look, but he held up a hand. Something felt… weird. Sonic glanced around. Nothing was out of the ordinary that he could see, but there was a definite feeling of wrongness. It felt… almost a little familiar honestly but he could quite place why. For now though he was on edge, with his fur and quills raised.

“What’s going on?” Knuckles asked quietly, glancing around. Sonic shook his head. He didn’t know. Whatever this was though he was certain it was nothing to do with Dark Gaia. He knew the feeling of something related to the god. This wasn’t it.

Unfortunately though he wasn’t able to find the source of it before things went red, then black.

Heart of a Hero (Between chap 11 and 12)

“Hey Metal? You ok?” Tails walked up to where Metal was looking out over the edge of Angel Island.

Metal turned to him and shrugged. ‘Just thinking I guess’ He signed.

“There is a lot to think about huh?” Tails hummed. The two were quiet for a while. Metal wished he could feel the wind that gently blew through the area. At least he could vividly imagine it… “Are you… alright?” Tails looked at him with barely hidden concern.

If Metal could frown he would. Honestly he hated worrying any of his friends, but it just seemed to keep happening despite his best efforts. ‘I’m-’ Metal let his hands hang motionless for a moment as he gathered his thoughts. ‘-I will be ok’ He settled on. No point in trying to lie if Tails already knew he was not doing great. ‘Right now I just want to focus on getting those emeralds and maybe stopping Eggman with them’ He nodded.

“Right.” Tails sounded like he wanted to press, but he ultimately didn’t. “Do you think we’ll be able to find them all?”

‘For sure’ Metal nodded, wishing he could give Tails a reassuring smile. He pat the green scarf around his neck. ‘Already got one remember?’

Tails chuckled. “How can I forget? Knuckles trying to keep it away from you was some of the best entertainment I’ve had in a while.” The two lapsed into comfortable silence again. The emerald stashed in Metal’s scarf sent a jolt of chaos energy his way, perhaps in an attempt at reassurance. He appreciated the effort. “I’m just… worried about you.” Tails eventually broke the silence. “I think I speak for Silver, and even Shadow too when I say that.”

‘I know buddy. I know’ Metal signed slowly. ‘Things will work out. Just you wait and see’

“I… believe you.” Tails sounded unsure. “I’m just worried about what we’ll have to go through to get there.” He added, much more quiet. It wasn’t an unreasonable fear to have, especially with Eggman in control of most of the planet, but Metal hated seeing Tails like this.

As he went to put a reassuring hand on Tails' shoulder he got a sudden alert. On instinct he grabbed Tails and rushed forward. He narrowly managed to save the two of them from falling into an odd tear in the floor. Tails seemed shaken up but his full attention was on the tear. Metal did a quick scan of it. Small traces of chaos energy… but nothing else he recognized. The emerald moved around in his scarf. Maybe it was uneasy? “What is that?” Tails asked as he pulled out the Miles Electric.

Metal just shook his head. He had no idea what it was. Whatever it was though, it was giving him a lot of warnings. Clearly even his systems thought this was a major threat. While he didn’t love being super reliant on his systems for things like this, he felt inclined to head the warnings this time. “I’m… not sure what I’m looking at here.” Tails briefly glanced at Metal. “Whatever it is though… it’s not natural.” His tails flickted behind him.

‘Agreed’ Metal nodded. As he was trying to figure out what they should do he got another alert before things flashed red and he was shoved forward. Right towards the tear. He just hoped Tails was ok as things went black.

Lost and Found (Pre “Another Step on the Path”)

“Just stick close to me ok?” Sonic held out a hand as he gave Shadow a reassuring smile. “It’ll be fine, promise.”

Shadow looked unsure, tail flicking nervously behind him. His hand started to reach out but he hesitated. That was fine though, for once Sonic was alright with being patient. That’s just how working with Shadow had to be. Something he’d learned the hard way when first trying. He had several past scratches and bites to prove it. That was fine though, Sonic could take those. Plus Shadow had almost always looked… well dare he say scared after he’d realized he’d hurt Sonic. He hated seeing Shadow look like that, especially after finding out what happened to him.

Finally Shadow nodded, standing up a bit straighter. He didn’t take Sonic’s offered hand but he moved up to his side. That was good enough. Sonic really enjoyed the moments where Shadow’s true personality started to shine through. Those moments only really came when he was comfortable though, and it was hard to get him there sometimes. Now, with Sonic leading them through some of the less busy parts of Station Square, wasn’t exactly one of those times but it was close. Hopefully eventually Shadow would feel comfortable to be himself all the time. Baby steps for now though.

All things considered Shadow did well. Of course he didn’t say anything and was more or less glued to Sonic’s side the whole time, but he seemed mostly calm. It was a big improvement over the first couple times he’d tried to bring Shadow out. Those had been… a bit chaotic but nothing he couldn’t handle. To be fair Sonic had been trying to move things a bit fast. Honestly he’d seriously underestimated how slowly he needed to introduce Shadow to most things. He probably should have listened to Tails a bit more in the beginning, but hey he’d figured it out eventually.

“Alright.” Sonic nodded. “I think that’s enough excitement for today. Let’s head back huh?” He gestured over his shoulder. Shadow silently sighed in relief and Sonic pretended not to notice. “What about a race back?” It hadn’t taken long for Sonic to realize how competitive Shadow could get. Something made all the more fun when he’d found out the other hedgehog could keep up with him in a race.

Shadow’s eyes narrowed, and the start of a confident grin slipped onto his face. That was challenge accepted then. “End point is Tails’ lab.” Sonic let a confident grin of his own slip onto his face. “Three, two, one-” Both of them tensed. “-go!”

The two were off like a shot. Sonic reveled in the feeling of someone being able to challenge him speed wise. Sure there was Metal Sonic, but while those races were fun they more often than not turned into fights. Plus as competitive as Metal was, it was way different when it was strictly friendly.

Sonic was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't notice Shadow dive at him and send both of them crashing into the ground. He was about to say something when he noticed what looked like some sort of tear in the air. If Shadow hadn't stopped them they both would have run right into it. Shadow was up on all fours glaring at the tear with teeth bared. Not a great sign, but Sonic didn't need much information to figure the thing was dangerous. "Guess we're due for a bit more excitement today huh?" Sonic carefully stood up, but stayed where he was.

"Oh so very right!" A black jackal emerged from the tear.

Sonic immediately knew the guy was bad news, and Shadow was less than pleased based on how he started growling. "Settle down Shadow." Sonic kept his voice calm. "So what's your deal then?" He crossed his arms.

"I'm simply putting together something… interesting." The jackal pulled out something Sonic never thought he'd see again. The Phantom Ruby. "You two just happen to be the final pieces." The ruby glowed in their hands. "Enjoy the trip." Sonic felt Shadow's tail wrap around his leg before he felt himself falling. He could feel himself slipping into unconsciousness as things went red, then black.

Shadow jolted awake. His eyes darted around to find Sonic. Thankfully his tail was still wrapped around the blue hedgehog’s leg. He allowed himself to relax marginally when he saw the steady rise and fall of his chest. Once he was satisfied with Sonic's condition he turned his attention to their surroundings. A sort of sparse wooded area with some rocks strewn about. He froze when he noticed there were others here, some were familiar. Mostly because there were two other Sonics. They looked different, but they were unmistakable.

He shuffled slightly closer to… his Sonic. What was this? This had something to do with that person who had shown up out of nowhere no doubt. Sonic had shown some sort of familiarity so maybe he’d have a better idea of what was going on.

As he tried to subtly rouse Sonic he noticed “Tails” beginning to stir. Although this fox shared many features with the Tails he was familiar with, most notably the two tails, there were plenty of differences that tipped him off it was not the same person. They blinked wearily before they locked eyes with Shadow. “Shadow..?” They asked, clearly confused. Shadow just narrowed his eyes at the imposter. Suddenly the imposter’s eyes were clearer. Their head swiveled around until their eyes landed on the robot next to them. They relaxed marginally, but were clearly still worried.

Thankfully Shadow was spared trying to figure out what was going on alone when Sonic groaned at his side. “Shadow?” Sonic turned to him, his grogginess apparently evaporating at the sight of Shadow. Understandable, he was on edge and Sonic had been getting very good at reading his moods. “What happened?” Sonic was alert, ready to move at a moment’s notice. Good.

Shadow pinned his ears back and gestured to the only other person that was awake. ‘That is not Tails’ He signed quickly.

Sonic glanced over at the imposter and frowned. Shadow would guess he was cataloging the differences between them and the real Tails. “Sure looks a lot like him… but I think you’re right.” He hummed. “I wonder if this is a book type of situation…” He muttered to himself. Shadow had no idea what that meant. “Well, only one way to find out huh?” Carefully he removed Shadow’s tail from around his leg. “Yo!” He called as he stood up. Shadow reluctantly stood up beside him. He still didn’t like this, but he’d trust Sonic… for now.

Tails jolted at the sudden address and looked over where the call came from. He tried not to outwardly react as he caught sight of the blue hedgehog that had waved at him. It couldn’t be… could it? Had this whole situation just turned out to be a good thing? Whatever this situation even was. He glanced down at Metal. It would be good if the robot was online. If anyone could confirm the hedgehog’s identity it would be him. “Sonic..?” He tentatively asked.

The blue hedgehog didn’t seem too surprised at the name. “That’s the name.” Sonic grinned. “You are?” He tilted his head.

“Oh! Uh Miles… but people just call me Tails.” Tails wrung his hands.

“Tails huh?” Sonic’s expression changed slightly, but Tails couldn’t quite place it. Next to him the hedgehog that looked a lot like Shadow narrowed their eyes more. Something was off.

“Interesting.” Sonic mumbled to himself. “I think I might know what’s going on here.” His expression hardened. “That creep had the Phantom Ruby, so all of this probably isn’t real. The guy thought making copies of me and some of my friends would throw me off. Looks like he at least got a little creative about it though…”

Tails felt panic spike through him. He had no idea what this Phantom Ruby was, but if Sonic didn’t think he was real he wasn’t sure he wanted to find out what the hedgehog would do. If Metal was awake he might feel a bit safer since the robot should be able to match Sonic in terms of power, but as it stood Tails didn’t feel like he stood a chance. Especially if the Shadow look-a-like was anything like the Shadow he knew.

He was pulled from his panic by a hand on his shoulder. A familiar, metallic hand. Metal stared down the duo menacingly. “Metal are you..?” Tails glanced at him.

Metal nodded and shot him a thumbs up with his free hand. “Working with Metal Sonic huh?” Sonic looked between the two of them before giving Tails a disapproving look.

Tails pinned his ears down. “He’s my friend.” He steeled his nerves. “Don’t you dare judge him or me when you don’t know what either of us have been through.” He sounded angry by the end. Wasn’t Sonic supposed to be a hero? Someone who was supposed to help them stop Eggman?

Sonic’s expression faltered a bit. Maybe Tails could get him to listen after all. That would be better than the fight that was clearly threatening to break out. As he tried to figure out the best way to do that another passed out figure suddenly jolted awake. “I’m up!” The… other blue hedgehog, this one wearing a brown scarf and moon shaped pendant, rose a hand. He blinked as he took in the tense scene. “Huh.”

Behind him someone who looked just like Knuckles got up, holding his head. “What happened..?” He glanced out at the scene as well, brow furrowing. Tails took a deep breath. Just what was going on?

Knuckles frowned in confusion as he took in everything in front of him. Sonic had taken to staring at the others, who looked about ready to fight, in a mix of interest and confusion. “What is this?” Knuckles straightened his back. If a fight was about to break out he wasn’t going to be caught unaware.

Sonic hummed. “I might have an idea.” He tapped his foot. “I feel like… this is sort of familiar in a way.

“Well? What’s happening then?” Knuckles urged Sonic to explain.

“Just hang back. I’ve got this.” Sonic winked at him as he walked up to be between the others. Knuckles stared in mild disbelief at Sonic’s blatant disregard for his own safety. “Alright why don’t we all just calm down?”

“One of the fake mes is up huh?” The Sonic look-a-like hummed.

Sonic held up a finger as he frowned at the blue hedgehog. “First, rude.” He held up a second finger. “Second, no one here is fake. Probably.”

“Really?” The fox spoke up. “How do you know?”

“Wonderful question buddy.” Sonic cleared his throat. “I’ve… experienced something like this before. I had a nice chill chat with another me. Can’t really remember the conversation but I know it happened.” He crossed his arms. “This could be that, but uh more people.” He shrugged.

“You never told me that.” Knuckles crossed his arms. It was hard to shut Sonic up sometimes, there was no way the hedgehog wouldn’t have shared that with him.

“That's because I didn’t remember it before right now.” Sonic sighed. “I don’t think I was supposed to remember it at all to be honest.”

The other Sonic actually relaxed at that. “You know I guess that’s not too far-fetched. I have met up with my past self a couple times.” He frowned and turned to the fox and robot. “Sorry about threatening you guys. Me and Shadow were attacked before waking up here so I was kinda on edge. That wasn’t cool of me though.”

“It’s uh… alright.” The fox nodded, relaxing as well. At the fox’s side the robot rose their hands and started to make deliberate motions with them. “Metal says apology accepted… as long as you don’t threaten me again.” The fox rubbed the back of his head.

The other Sonic let out a short chuckle. “I can do that.”

The black hedgehog looked at Metal with interest and started moving their hands as well. The two went back and forth for a bit before Knuckles lost interest in trying to figure out what they were trying to say. “Shouldn’t we be trying to figure out a way back rather than… this?” Knuckles gestured at the group. “Some of us have things we need to get back to.”

“We just had to sort things out first, Knucklehead.” The other Sonic grinned. “We’ll figure this out.”

“We should share any information we have first.” The fox spoke up. “That way we have a better shot at figuring out what happened.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Sonic nodded at the fox in approval.

As the group started to share information Knuckles glanced at the last person who’d yet to wake up. From the looks of it, they were another Sonic. Wonderful. One was already a handful but three? He’d just have to deal with it though. At least until they figured out a way to get back. For now though he should go pay attention to the information the group was sharing. The faster he could get him and Sonic back the better.

Super was not panicking. Thank you. He was just… keeping himself alert in a less than ideal situation. Yeah. “Sonic you better get up right now or I swear to Chaos…” Super growled. There was no response. Which was just great. He could hear things, voices, but couldn’t really make out what they were saying. It was possible that the Holoska locals had found them but… Super found that unlikely. That weird jackal had confronted them before all this and he doubted they would have just left them there.

This all left him with only one thing he really could do. It wouldn’t be good to let Sonic keep being a sitting duck. Not when he could do something about it. He flexed his hands. Even if he was doubtful about his ability to keep himself under control right now. With no resistance he pushed Sonic out of control and took over.

Sounds snapped into sharp focus now that the “body” was awake. Though of course the talking abruptly stopped the moment he moved to get up. Clearly whoever was there had noticed him. He opened his eyes to take in the group, and almost wished he hadn’t. Of all the things he’d been expecting this was not it. Two other Sonics stared back at him; along with Tails, Knuckles, Metal Sonic, and… what looked like Shadow.

Super blinked. The other Sonics blinked back. After several moments of tense silence one of the Sonics, the one with the red scarf, walked forward. “Hey there.” He spoke gently. “You are probably pretty confused, but don’t worry. We’ve worked out we’re all cool. Apparently we’re all from different worlds but we’re working together to figure out how to get us all back.” He smiled.

That seemed… just outlandish enough to not be a lie. Super slowly stood up, willing himself to stay as calm as possible. If this Sonic was telling the truth, attacking them wouldn’t help anything. “We’re trying to figure out how to get back so just come over and join us when you’re ready.” He stayed back as the Sonic rejoined the group and they continued whatever conversation they were having. This was all a lot, but he could handle it. He had to. For now though maybe he should work on waking up Sonic. His Sonic that is. The fact he was still passed out had Super on edge.

As he mentally prodded at Sonic he noticed his vision shift, the edges going red for a moment. His eyes narrowed at what was once a group of somewhat familiar faces. Standing there now was a group of robots and the last person Super wanted to see right now. Eggman. Things slowly clicked into place. Whatever happened must have been Eggman’s fault. That jackal must be working with the doctor.

He growled and Eggman turned to face him. The doctor grinned, and Super could feel chaos energy beginning to spark around his body. The robots all stood at attention, and Metal Sonic moved up to his creator’s side. That was it. No way Super was going to let Eggman make the first move. He sprung forward intending to attack the doctor directly. Maybe if he took out their leader this fight would be over quick.

A couple minutes earlier…

Sonic watched as the other him walked back over to the group. Leaving the now golden furred hedgehog on their own for the time being. “I think they’ll be ok.” The other Sonic said as he rejoined them.

“Good to hear.” Tails smiled. “Will they be coming over soon?”

The other Sonic glanced back. “I’d give them a minute. They seem kind of shaken up.”

“Well for now, back to business!” Sonic clapped his hands together. “First though we need to slow down and figure out what we’re all calling each other. Particularly those of us with the same names.” He pointed to himself with his thumb. “You can call me Fate. I think that’s the name I used the last time this happened.”

“Hmmm I guess you can call me… Blur then.” The newly dubbed Blur shrugged.

“Kinda boring but it works.” Fate nodded. “We’ll figure out what to call them when they come over.” He gestured to the golden hedgehog, who seemed to be lost in thought. “As for everyone else… I guess just your names are fine since there’s no other repeats!” He gestured to the group. “So just introduce yourselves in case someone doesn’t know a version of you.”

No one spoke up for a bit, that was until Tails stepped forward. “Well uh, like I said before I’m Miles, but just call me Tails.” He smiled before gesturing at the robot that was with him. “And this is Metal Sonic. We usually just call him Metal though.” Metal waved at the group.

When no one else spoke up Fate pushed Knuckles forward. The echidna gave him an annoyed look. “I’m Knuckles.” He said, crossing his arms. Fate nodded in approval.

Blur looked over at the black hedgehog, at least Fate was pretty sure they were a hedgehog, and gestured to the group. He tilted his head in silent question. The black hedgehog sighed before putting a hand on their chest. “Shadow.”

“Now that we’re all acquainted…” Blur looked back at the group after giving Shadow an approving smile. “Do we have any ideas on how we can get back?”

“Based on the limited information we have I’d say our best bet would be to try and find that jackal.” Tails hummed.

“We need to be careful though since they have the Phantom Ruby.” Blur frowned as he crossed his arms. “That thing can be pretty dangerous as long as that guy knows how to use it.”

“Does it have any weaknesses?” Knuckles asked as he let his arms hang at his sides.

“The thing does need a powersource to function.” Blur perked up. “If we can find that and take it out the thing should be near useless.”

“That’s as good a place as any to start things.” Fate grinned. “Plus if we go poking around for this powersource the guy might show his face to try and stop us.”

Blur snapped his fingers and nodded. “Bingo. If they try to stop us we’ll know we’re getting closer too.”

Metal was suddenly alert, his hands moving in what Fate had recently learned was sign language. Shadow looked concerned as well and glanced back where Metal was looking. Slowly everyone in the group turned to look at what the duo was looking at. Fate suppressed an involuntary shudder as he took in the golden hedgehog. They had energy sparking around their body and a dark look in their odd, spiral eyes.

His fur was standing up and he fought the urge to give into his fight or flight instincts. This guy might as well have a big, neon sign pointing to them right now that said “DANGER” the way Fate’s instincts were going haywire.

Metal moved up to Blur’s side; the robot looked ready to fight. It occurred then to Fate that he should probably prepare himself too. Blur had been trying in vain to calm down the golden hedgehog with words, so things were probably going to come to a fight. The tension kept building until the golden hedgehog leapt forward. They were fast, but thankfully so was Blur. The other hedgehog barely managed to dodge a quick swipe from the golden hedgehog’s claws.

With that first attack everyone jumped in. Him, Blur, and Metal kept the golden hedgehog’s attention on them by running literal circles around them. Fate would really love to focus on the fact that there wasn’t only one other person who could keep up with him but three; unfortunately he needed to focus on not getting slashed by one of the golden hedgehog’s unpredictable attacks.

“Keep on your toes guys!” Blur leapt out of the way of a sudden dive. “If this guy is super like I think he is then we’re kinda outmatched here. Unless you two have some sort of secret power I don’t know about that can damage someone who’s invulnerable.”

Fate bit his tongue. He nearly blurted out something about the werehog. There really wasn’t a need to bring that up right now. It was good for fighting those Dark Gaia creatures not… this. Plus it wasn’t even nighttime so it didn’t matter anyway. If he could help it, these guys would never have to know about it. “Fraid not.” Fate quickly curled into a ball to avoid another attack before uncurling.

“Worth asking.” Blur shrugged before being pushed out of the way of an attack by Metal. “Thanks dude.” He nodded at Metal. The robot gave him a nod and thumbs up.

The golden hedgehog growled in frustration. “Enough messing around.” His eyes landed on Blur. “I’m going to rip your stupid toys to shreds, and then it’s your turn doctor.”

Blur furrowed his brow for a moment before realization passed over his face. “Shadow!” He suddenly turned to face the black hedgehog who’d been hanging back watching the fight. “That jackal is around here somewhere! I think this guy is under the effects of the ruby!” Without a word Shadow was gone, presumably to look for the jackal.

Unfortunately they’d all failed to notice that during that exchange that the golden hedgehog had been building up energy. “Been practicing this one. Consider yourself lucky you’re the first one I’m properly using it on!” The golden hedgehog snarled.

Metal seemed concerned and Blur’s eyes widened. “Everyone get clear!” Blur rushed back and grabbed Tails with Metal hot on his trail. Fate was only a moment behind them. He snatched up a slightly stunned Knuckles on his way. It wasn’t a moment too soon as there was an explosion of energy behind them. Once Fate stopped his eyes widened as he took in the aftermath. The air was charged with what he could now properly recognize as chaos energy and most of what had been in the radius was gone.

“That was chaos blast.” Blur explained as the golden hedgehog touched down on the slightly charred earth. He was panting slightly and his eyes were squeezed shut. Looks like they might have a couple minutes to breathe. “I’ve never seen anyone but Shadow do that…” He added, quieter.

“No need to explain how dangerous it is.” Fate cringed. That would have been devastating if they’d been caught in that. “So you seem to know what’s going on more than us.” He turned to look at Blur. “Any way to stop him?”

“Well if it works anything like my own transformation outlasting him would work but…” Blur trailed off.

“But?” Knuckles jumped in.

“But he seemed to transform without the emeralds at all. I’m not sure if the rules of my own super form apply to him.” Blur continued, frowning.

“So… chaos energy powers the transformation?” Tails asked, sounding contemplative.

“Yeah.” Blur nodded.

Tails bit his lip. “If we could somehow drain him of enough chaos energy do you think the transformation would become unstable?

Blur grinned. “Looks like you being the smartest guy in the room is a multiversal constant.”

Tails looked away in embarrassment. “It was a pretty simple deduction. Anyone could have put that together.” Metal gave him what felt like an unimpressed look.

“Don’t put yourself down like that kid. You’re smart. Own it.” Blur pat him on the shoulder. “Plus I feel like you have a plan for doing that.”

“I-” Tails looked back up. “Yeah I do.” He cleared his throat and pointed at Metal. “I think Metal can do it.” Metal tilted his head. “You can run off chaos energy. You’ve been since we found that emerald.” Tails turned to Metal and the robot nodded. “If you’re able to take in chaos energy like that then maybe you can siphon it from him.” He gestured to where the golden hedgehog was still standing. It looked like he had almost recovered from the attack.

“That’s risky if you’re not positive he can do it.” Knuckles grunted.

“We don’t really have time for a safer plan Knux.” Fate gently elbowed him. “I’m all for risky over no plan right now.”

“I wish I had more time to think about it but…” Tails trailed off. Metal got his attention and signed something to him. A small smile made its way onto Tails’ muzzle. “Thanks Metal.” He looked up at the group. “I need everyone but Metal to be the best distraction they can. Really catch his attention. We need him to forget Metal even exists.” He looked at Blur. “I think you’ll have the best chance at keeping his attention on you based on what I noticed watching the fight.”

“He called me doctor.” Blur hummed. “If he’s under the effects of the Phantom Ruby like I think he is, I think he’s seeing me as Eggman. If that’s the case I’m not surprised he’s focused on me more.”

“Use it to your advantage.” Tails nodded.

“Time’s up everyone.” Fate took a deep breath as he noticed the golden hedgehog’s eyes were open again. “Showtime.”

Fate, Blur, and Knuckles all rushed forward immediately gaining the golden hedgehog’s full attention. “Survived that huh?” Chaos energy crackled around him.

Blur cleared his throat. “That’s right you annoying rodent.” He said in an exaggerated voice. The golden hedgehog’s eye twitched. “Did you really think that would end me?” He rose a brow. “Hardly. You two?” He looked at Fate and Knuckles briefly. “Destroy him!”

Both of them hesitated. Fate realized he should probably listen since Blur was clearly putting on some sort of act. Probably acting more like this Eggman guy to sell the whole thing more. He rushed forward and collided with the golden hedgehog’s chest with a spin dash. He stumbled back but didn’t look hurt in the slightest. He rushed forward with some of the crackling chaos energy gathering in his hand before it was released as some sort of projectile. Fate didn’t have time to react and got hit dead on with it. It stung more than anything he’d felt before as he was flung backwards due to the impact. He hissed in pain as his back collided with the ground.

Well that could have gone better, but he was alive at least. “Still in one piece huh? I can fix that.” The golden hedgehog growled as he walked forward, chaos energy once again starting to collect in his hand.

“Back off!” Knuckles rushed forward and punched him square in the face. “I need that idiot alive!” Fate wasn’t sure if he should be insulted or flattered by that. Either way Knuckles was there to lend him a hand to get up. He took the offered hand without a thought. Before the golden hedgehog could attack again Blur rushed forward with a spin dash of his own, effectively putting all the attention on him. “You ok?” Knuckles asked, watching the fight with mild worry in his eyes.

“Been better, been worse.” Fate groaned as he tried to ignore the sting where the attack had connected. It was fading, but it was slow.

“Chaos energy when wielded properly can be extremely dangerous.” Knuckles glanced at the spot where Fate had been hit.

“I noticed.” Fate stretched. “All the more reason we should get back in there and help him out.” Knuckles grunted in agreement and the two ran in to rejoin the fight. Blur looked a little worse for wear but seemed happy to see the two of them back in the fight.

It was a dangerous game they were playing but at the moment they didn’t have much of a choice. Each time they failed they got a painful reminder why they needed to be on their a game. Thankfully they were saved from the inevitable conclusion of this game by the appearance of Metal.

The robot rushed apparently unnoticed at the golden hedgehog until he was wrapping his metallic arms around the other. “What the!?” The gold hedgehog shouted in confusion and anger. “Get the hell off me Scrap! Before I make you live up to that nickname!”

Much to Fate’s relief some of the sparking chaos energy around the golden hedgehog started to fade. The golden hedgehog’s eyes widened as he realized what was happening. He tried to pry Metall off of him, but the robot refused to let go. Even when claws left deep scrapes in his arms. Fate had to pin his ears against his head to block out the sound of those claws screeching against metal.

Finally though it all stopped as the golden hedgehog collapsed to his knees, suddenly looking tired. He squinted at the group in front of him, a confused look on his face before gold gave way to blue. In front of them was now a very tired looking Sonic, no longer in super form. Metal let go and inspected the damage to his arms. Tails came rushing out of whatever hiding spot he’d been in to run to Metal’s side.

“You good now?” Blur cautiously walked forward.

Sonic frowned. “I… think? What’s going on? Last thing I remember I was in Holoska when this jackal showed up.” He looked at the three of them again. “And now there’s…”

“Two more versions of you?” Fate smiled. “Yeah it’s been a weird day for all of us.” He walked forward and offered a hand. After a moment Sonic took it.

“Ugh, I feel like I got hit by a truck.” Sonic rubbed his face.

“Actually you got hit by Knuckles.” Fate gestured over his shoulder at the echidna. “Plus a few spin dashes.”

“Sounds about right.” Sonic sighed.

“So, weird super form?” Blur asked.

Sonic tilted his head in confusion. “Weird super form..? Oh!” His eyes widened. “You mean Super!” He felt his chest, looking down for a moment. After several oddly quiet seconds he sighed, a small concerned frown on his face. “Super is… uh another person.”

“You both share the same body?” Tails asked, an interested look in his eyes.

“Yeah, exactly.” Sonic nodded, faltering slightly as his eyes landed on the fox.

Before any further questions could be asked Shadow reappeared at Blur’s side. “There.” He pointed.

Where Shadow was pointing there was a rock, but more importantly there was a mostly black jackal that sat on the rock. There was an amused look on their face and a magenta gem of some sort in their hands. “How very amusing.” They purred. “You’re all quite clever hm?”

“You’re the one that sent us here right?” Blur stepped forward. “Why?”

The jackal perked up. “As I told you before. I was putting together something interesting.” They gestured to the group. “And interesting it has been so far. I was disappointed at first when you were able to diffuse things.” They pointed to Fate. “But I was given another wonderful opportunity in him being left unattended.” They gestured to Sonic.

“What did you do to Super?” Sonic narrowed his eyes and stepped forward with a couple unsteady steps.

“Simply nudged him over the edge where he was already teetering.” The jackal smiled widely. “Don’t worry about him. The others managed to take care of him before he could do too much damage.” They stood up. “Enough of that now though. That game is over. It’s time for something new.” They glanced up at the sky. “Ah what good timing. Night approaches. Have fun.” A tear in the air opened up behind them and they disappeared through it.

Fate sucked in a breath. Almost night already? He hadn’t even noticed with everything that had been going on. Knuckles looked over at him and the two locked eyes. This might be about to get rough.

Metal sat patiently as he let Tails repair his arms as best he could at the moment. Now that things had temporarily settled down there was time for it to sink in just how crazy this whole situation was. He already had enough to worry about between his own issues and trying to take down Eggman. Something like this was the last thing he needed. Things were made worse by the fact that there were three separate Sonics there. None of which were even the one they were trying to find. It was frustrating that the first time they’d find Sonic it wasn’t even their own. The emerald in his scarf sent him a consoling jolt of energy; he mentally thanked it.

“We need to figure out what they were implying when they pointed out that night was coming.” Blur paced back and forth.

“You think he’s planning on making another move then?” Sonic spoke up. The group had decided to just call the third Sonic by his name after everything that happened with Super, or as he’d explained it the whole other person who shared a body with him. Metal honestly wasn’t sure how to feel about that information, but Sonic had assured them that Super was typically not like that.

“I’d say so.” Blur nodded.

“They might target one of us again.” Tails looked up from his work. “I feel like if they wanted to fight us head on they would have done it during the whole fight with Super.”

“The ruby is strong…” Sonic hummed. “But if they don’t know how to use it too well they might not be confident in fighting us head on. Infinite had time to learn to use the ruby and Eggman to guide him. As far as we know this guy hasn’t had it long and no one’s taught him how to use it.”

“If we can corner them then we might be able to get the advantage.” Blur hummed, pausing in his pacing.

“We need to find the powersource.” Shadow spoke up. It was quiet and sort of tentative but it was there.

Blur nodded in agreement. “Yeah. Disabling the ruby should be our top priority. Gaia forbid they learn how to use it properly before we can do that.”

Metal’s attention drifted to the only ones, besides himself, that hadn’t contributed to the conversation yet. Fate and Knuckles. The hedgehog looked nervous, subtly glancing at the sky as he tapped his foot at high speeds. Meanwhile Knuckles was harder to read, but he seemed tense. Those two knew something, and for whatever reason they weren’t saying anything. Unfortunately Metal couldn’t say anything right now either thanks to his arms being worked on. Hopefully someone else would notice.

“We should go looking for it then rather than sitting around here then.” Sonic hummed. “If we stay here we’re just playing into their plans.”

“As long as everyone’s up for it.” Blur nodded. “How’s everyone feeling?” He cast a glance around the group.

“Oh, good good. Just fine.” Fate chuckled nervously. “Feeling… great.” Knuckles put his head in his hands and groaned as Fate put his hands behind his head, trying and failing to act casual.

“Are you… ok?” Tails looked up at him, concerned frown on his face.

“Yeah! Heh. Like I said just fine.” Fate did not look in him in the eyes.

“Do you really think you can lie like that… to two of yourself?” Sonic gestured between himself and Blur.

Fate looked anywhere but at them. “Iiiiii have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Look we all wanna help each other here.” Blur took a step forward. “That means just for a little bit we need to tell each other stuff.”

Metal watched as Fate glanced around nervously before looking up at the sky. The moon was just starting to rise. “Ah yes. Totally. I’ll just… tell you… now…” His eyes darted around before he bolted.

Everyone stood there in mildly shocked silence. Well everyone except Knuckles, who was just glaring in the direction Fate had left in. “I’ll go get him.” He sighed and walked off.

“So I guess we’re waiting then?” Sonic glanced back at the group.

“Guess so.” Blur looked concerned. “I wanna help but I don’t know what his deal was. There’s too much of a risk of just making things worse.”

“Huh.” Sonic hummed. “That’s pretty mature of you. I probably would have gone and tried anyway if Knuckles hadn’t.”

“Benefit of age I guess.” Blur shrugged.

“Wait…” Sonic looked him over. “How old are you? I thought you’d be the same age as me and him.”

Blur smiled knowingly. “Older than you.”

“That’s not a number.” Sonic pointed at him, frowning.

“Sure isn’t.” Blur chuckled.

The two stared at each other for a moment before Sonic shrugged. “Fair enough.”

Metal mentally sighed. Well guess all there was to do was wait. With any luck Knuckles would be able to bring Fate back before that jackal made their next move.

Once Fate felt like he was far enough away he braced himself for his transformation. As it happened every night dark energy enveloped him before receding away, leaving him in his werehog form. He sighed. Running off probably wasn’t his best move, there were plenty of people who could actually keep up with him around, but he just didn’t wanna risk it.

He took a couple deep breaths to calm himself down. Realistically he wouldn’t be able to avoid them all night, so he really should just head back and rip off the bandaid. Yet he still hesitated. “Ok Sonic.” Fate took another deep breath. “You just need to go back and explain to them why you ran off. Two of them are literally you, they should understand.”

He started to pace, but stopped when he heard the sound of footsteps. Tensing he prepared to… well he wasn’t sure what but he was prepared to do something. He relaxed though as Knuckles came into view. “So you really thought just running off would solve the problem?” The echidna crossed his arms and gave Fate an unimpressed look.

“I… panicked.” Fate sighed. “Running was the first thing I thought of.”

“Well get it together.” Knuckles huffed. “We need to get back there and explain before something happens.”

“Yeah.” Fate nodded. “Yeah you’re right.” Knuckles grunted in agreement before walking back the way he came. After a moment Fate followed him. It was a quiet walk but honestly he’d expected that. It gave him time to figure out how he was going to explain. Once the others were in sight it really sunk in. This would be the first time he’d chosen to explain it to someone. With Tails and Knuckles he’d been forced to explain due to circumstance. He let his eyes wander in an attempt to distract himself from that thought. He stopped dead in his tracks though as he spotted a familiar sight. “Knuckles!” He whisper yelled.

The echidna stopped as well and turned around, quickly following Fate’s line of sight. “Dark Gaia creatures here? How?” Knuckles growled.

“No idea…” Fate growled as the monsters moved closer. “I couldn’t even feel that they were here. That’s never happened before.” He flexed his claws. “Go back and warn the others. I’ll hold them off.”

Knuckles looked reluctant to leave Fate on his own but eventually gave in. “Don’t you dare die on me while I have my eyes off you!”

“And disappoint you? I wouldn’t dream of it.” Fate chuckled. As Knuckles ran off to the others, Fate turned his full attention to the Dark Gaia creatures. “Well looks like it’s your unlucky day.” He smirked. “I just so happen to be just the guy made to pound you into the ground.” He slid into a fighting stance as they continued to approach. “Let’s dance.”

“We have a problem!” Knuckles ran towards the group, skidding to a stop.

Sonic was immediately alert. Even Super perked up in mild alarm despite still being groggy from before. “What happened?” Sonic was at Knuckles’ side quickly, checking him for any injuries or anything else.

“Not much time to explain, but there are monsters.” Knuckles pointed back in the direction he’d come from. “You all probably won’t be able to hurt them but me and So-” He shook his head. “-Fate can. We’ll take care of them. Just stay clear.”

“A little late for that.” Blur gestured to the familiar monsters that were now in line of sight. Shadow’s quills stood up as he narrowed his eyes at the monsters.

“Oh.” Sonic perked up. “Dark Gaia huh? That’s what you two are dealing with at the moment?” He looked back at Knuckles.

The echidna seemed confused but nodded. “Yeah. That’s… how did you know?”

It was Blur that actually answered. “Been there and done that.” He cracked his knuckles as he eyed the approaching monsters. “Did Fate run off because of the whole werehog thing? If so, no need to worry. Been through that all before too.” Shadow gave him an odd look. One that Blur answered by simply shrugging.

“Same here.” Sonic nodded.

“Were… what?” Super asked.

“I’ll tell you later, after we work all this out.” Sonic answered mentally. “For now just rest.”

“Ugh, fine. Just don’t get yourself killed.” Super sighed.

“I’ll try my best not to.” Sonic chuckled.

Metal signed something as he took in the monsters. “Metal says you all have some weird adventures.” Tails translated. “I can’t help but agree with him on that.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve heard that.” Blur rolled his shoulders back. “Knuckles you can go tell Fate we won’t judge him. For now we’ll see if we can do anything about these guys.”

Knuckles shook his head. “Alright. Fine. I’ll be back.” He ran back in the direction he’d come from.

“Been a while since I’ve fought these guys.” Sonic pounded a fist into his open palm. “Wonder how different it’ll be fighting them like this.”

“Just be careful everyone.” Tails’ namesakes twitched nervously. “Knuckles did say he wasn’t sure if we could fight them.”

“Only one way to find out.” Sonic dove at the monsters and collided with them using a spin dash. The weaker ones vanished as they were hit. “Well, question answered.”

“And what would have happened if that didn’t work?” Super asked as Sonic dashed back to where the others had started fighting.

“Eh, I would have figured it out.” Sonic jumped over the swipe of one of the larger ones. “Doesn’t matter now since it worked.”

“I understand why Tails calls you reckless now.” Super scoffed.

“Don’t act like you wouldn’t have done the same thing in this situation.” Sonic pulled Metal out of the way of a monster he didn’t see and got a thankful nod from the robot before he jumped back into the fight.

“The difference there is I’m invulnerable. You’re not.” Super answered. “On your left.” He added, sounding almost bored.

Sonic used a quick homing attack on the flying monster on his left. “Thanks.”

“Someone has to make sure you’re ok since Tails isn’t here.” Super hummed.

“Guess so, but I can take care of myself you know. Kinda literally right now.” Sonic laughed to himself.

“Just focus, hedgehog.” Super sounded unamused.

“Big guy coming up.” Blur pointed to a larger monster that looked distinct from the others. Knuckles was running in front of it while it gave chase. Shadow and Tails rushed forward; Tails grabbing Knuckles and pulling him out of harm’s way and Shadow colliding with the monster chasing him.

“The hell are you doing!?” Knuckles glared at Tails once the fox put him down.

Tails shrunk in on himself. “I was… saving you?” He sounded unsure.

“From what?” Knuckles’ voice sounded strained.

“From big ugly over there.” Sonic ran over and gestured to the monster Shadow was now engaging.

Knuckles looked over there, brow furrowed. “What..?” His eyes widened. “Oh for the love of… not again.” He looked back at Sonic and Tails. “That’s not one of them! That’s Sonic! My Sonic!”

“Oh.” Was all Sonic could manage. Ok maybe it made a bit more sense as to why Fate ran off. “Oh I need to go stop Shadow from hurting him then. Let the others know while I break that up. It looks like we’re almost wrapped up here anyway.” Without waiting for a response he dashed towards where Shadow and the recently identified Fate were fighting. “Yo Shads! Back off dude he’s not our enemy!” Sonic slid to a stop between the two of them.

Shadow growled at him, like a literal growl which was kinda weird but Sonic didn’t dwell on that. “Move.” Shadow huffed.

“Not gonna happen dude.” Sonic stood his ground. This was more familiar, but this Shadow was clearly different from his own. Maybe he should have sent Blur over here to deal with this. Oh well, too late now. “This is Fate, one of the other people who got stuck here. I know he looks… well really different but Knuckles said it was him and I believe Knuckles.”

Shadow glanced up at Fate, and Fate nervously glanced back. “Fine.” Shadow eventually said.

Sonic relaxed as the tension dissipated. Yesh what was it with this group and wanting to fight each other? “Maybe something about you just annoys people enough that they want to fight you.” Super proposed innocently.

“You’ve been spending way too much time around Shadow.” Sonic mentally answered as he sighed. Thankfully it looked like things had been finished up. At the very least he couldn’t spot any more of the Dark Gaia creatures around. “Sorry about all that.” He gave Fate an apologetic smile. “We all got kinda caught up in things and just assumed.”

Fate blinked. “It’s uh fine.” He cleared his throat. “You… don’t care though?”

Sonic waved off the concern. “Nah. Had to deal with something similar before so I get how it is.”

“Oh yeah?” Fate smiled, looking relieved. “That’s… good to hear. Not uh that you had to deal with that but…”

“I knew what you meant.” Sonic chuckled. “Now c’mon, we should go head back to the others.” He gestured for Fate and Shadow to follow him. Thankfully after a moment they both did.

Blur waved as they walked over. “Glad to see everyone’s in one piece.”

Metal nodded before signing something. Shadow nodded back at him. “He says that we probably shouldn’t stick around here and wait for the next thing to happen.” Tails translated. “We need to hunt down the power source. I know we’re probably all tired but…”

Fate waved it off. “I’m used to working on little to no sleep. Plus I’m still feeling energized.”

Knuckles hummed. “Usually after you fight those things you get tired. How are you still ok?”

“I’m… not sure.” Fate tilted his head, narrowing his eyes in thought. “It’s… possible those guys weren’t even real. I didn’t feel them before they showed up like I usually do.”

“And everyone was able to fight them.” Knuckles added, frowning in thought.

“Might have been the ruby then.” Blur suggested. “It could have easily been used to do something like that.”

“All the more reason for us to hunt down the powersource.” Tails sounded more confident.

“I’d be willing to bet that guy is using some sort of chaos energy to power the ruby.” Blur put a hand on his chin. “It takes a lot of energy to keep the ruby at full power and that would be the most effective powersource around.”

“If it’s chaos energy…” Fate spoke up. “Knuckles probably can help.” He put a lange hand on the echidna’s head. “He can sense it. Been using that to help us find the Gaia Temples.”

“Shadow can help too.” Blur smiled and pointed a thumb in Shadow’s direction. “He’s real sensitive to it.”

“And if that isn’t enough.” Tails spoke up. “Metal can help too.”

“Well, looks like this shouldn’t be a problem then.” Blur nodded. “Let’s show this guy that he messed with the wrong people.”

It was an oddly calm walk. Maybe it was due to the general tiredness of the group or maybe it was because everyone was slowly getting more comfortable with each other. Blur honestly wasn’t sure, but it was nice. Sure they hadn’t been here long, but a lot had already happened. They all needed the break. Shadow was sticking close to his side, but that was to be expected. This was a lot for him and Blur really had no way to ease him into something like this. He was doing pretty well, at least outwardly. “How are you holding up Shadow?”

The black hedgehog glanced at him before raising his hands. ‘This is all overwhelming’ He admitted.

“Yeah, I figured.” Blur sighed. “Sorry you got dragged into this mess.”

‘This was not your fault’ Shadow reassured him. ‘Having you here has made this tolerable’

“Happy to hear I’ve helped.” Sonic hesitantly put a hand on Shadow’s shoulder. “You gonna be ok to last a little longer?”

‘I do not have much choice, but I will be fine’ Shadow sighed. “Thank you.” He added quietly.

The rest of the walk was just as uneventful. The only mildly exciting thing being the occasional disagreement between Knuckles, Metal, and Shadow on which way was the right way to go. Nothing that escalated beyond slightly annoyed voices though. ‘It’s just up ahead’ Metal pointed while Tails translated for those who didn’t understand sign.

Said fox frowned as he caught sight of what Metal was pointing at. It was a machine of some sort, it’s powersource an emerald. The machine itself looked hastily put together. Honestly it was a miracle it worked at all with the way it looked. “I’m surprised this thing hasn’t blown itself up yet…” Tails commented as he pulled out his Miles Electric. “This thing is so unstable I’m not sure how safely I can disable it.” He hummed as he tapped away at the tablet. “I’ll do my best though. It might take me a while.”

“Can’t we just break it?” Fate asked, eying the machine.

“Unless you want to feel what it’s like to get hit by an attack that’s about ten times more powerful than that chaos blast we saw earlier I wouldn’t.” Blur hummed. “When the emeralds are improperly used like this they can get real dangerous.”

“Noted.” Fate nodded as he more cautiously eyed the machine.

‘Guess we’ll just have to hang back and let Tails do his thing’ Metal turned to the group. Since Tails was busy Blur made sure to translate for him.

“Guess so.” Sonic hummed. “Been meaning to ask you something actually Metal.” He pointed at the robot. Metal gestured for him to go ahead. “How’d you end up with Tails and not working with Eggman?”

Metal flexed his fingers before answering. ‘He could never control me. Eventually he left me deactivated somewhere and Tails found me. Fixed me up. In return I stuck with him and joined the resistance to help take down Eggman’

"Solid reasoning." Sonic nodded. "Nice to know it's possible for Metal Sonic to have a change of heart." He tapped his foot. "Super says he doesn't believe our Metal can change but I'll stay optimistic."

"I won't hold my breath for mine." Blur shrugged.

"I've never even met a Metal Sonic so…" Fate shrugged.

"And I hope we never do." Knuckles added.

"Oh, and Super asked what was up with Shadow too. Since he looks different from the one we know." Sonic gestured to the black hedgehog.

"Different huh?" Blur glanced at Shadow in concern. He wasn't sure if Shadow would really want to talk about or have his past talked about right now. "Well how about you tell me how you met yours and we'll go from there." Hopefully that was safe enough.

"Mmmm it was when Eggman woke him up intending to work with him to take over the world." Sonic nodded to himself. "Shadow actually played the doctor and tried to destroy the planet but hey." He shrugged. "He ended up helping me stop the Ark from crashing into the planet in the end."

'I found the Shadow I know in a pod in an old abandoned G.U.N. base. He was really confused but I managed to talk him into staying with the resistance. At least for a while' Metal jumped in before looking over at Sonic. 'Yours tried to destroy the planet?'

"Heh heh… yeah…" Sonic rubbed the back of his head. "And now Super is chewing me out for never telling him that story."

"And I've never met my Shadow either." Fate huffed and crossed his arms. "Why do all the other versions of me have a bunch of cool adventures?"

"You're on one right now." Knuckled glared at Fate. "Stop complaining."

"That's not the same." Fate looked away.

"The… Ark?" Shadow suddenly spoke up and looked at Sonic.

Blur took a deep breath and prepared to possibly diffuse a bad situation. "Yeah." Sonic nodded, oblivious to Blur's concern.

Shadow looked down. "Was he… happy there?" It was an oddly vulnerable question for Shadow. It had taken Blur a long time to get him to even approach talking about his feelings or at least addressing them. Something he rarely wanted to talk about was his past though. Life on the Ark for him hadn't been… great. Blur knew that even with the very surface level information Shadow had shared.

Sonic looked surprised by the question. "Well…" He hummed. "He hasn't told me much but I think in some ways he was. He's done his best to move on from everything that happened though. Forge his own path in life; which I can respect."

Shadow was silent for a while, maybe thinking over Sonic's words. Blur was just about to step in when Shadow nodded. "Good." Even Blur couldn't read Shadow right now. He just hoped this was a good thing for the black hedgehog.

"I've nearly got it!" Tails spoke up. At some point during his work he'd sat down on the ground. "I just need someone who can safely remove the emerald when I shut everything down. But uh…" He rubbed the back of his head. "The timing needs to be perfect or…"

"It goes boom?" Fate asked.

"Yeah." Tails pinned his ears down.

"Well, step one is figuring out who should remove the emerald." Blur tapped his fingers on his arm. "Based on what I know I'd say Shadow or Metal would be the best to do it."

"I have an alternate suggestion." Sonic rose a hand. "Super. He's pure chaos energy so…"

“How does that even work?” Knuckles looked at Sonic in confusion.

“Eh some weird thing with the emeralds.” Sonic shrugged.

“As long as he’s feeling up to it that probably is our safest bet.” Blur nodded.

Sonic shot him a thumbs up before his fur and quills started to change to a golden color. Super shook himself out once the change was over. “Ugh. I hate feeling this drained.” He frowned.

‘Sorry about that’ Metal quickly apologized.

“Eh it’s whatever. I was out of control so it’s fine.” Super shrugged. “Let’s do this. You ready for me Tails?”

“Just give me a few moments…” Tails went back to tapping away at his tablet. “I’ll let you know when. You can stand over there and get ready though.”

“You got it.” Super walked over, stumbling once but glaring at anyone who tried to open their mouth to ask if he was ok. “Just say when.” He eyed the machine wearily.

“Not so fast.” An unfortunately familiar voice said. A little ways away the jackal that had caused this whole mess stood. They looked… much less calm and collected than they had before. “Did you all really think I’d let you end things prematurely?” They stood up a bit taller, maybe trying to regain some of their former persona.

“Well kinda.” Fate narrowed his eyes. “You don’t like to fight yourself clearly. Don’t think you can take us in a fair fight?” He taunted.

Blur glanced over at Fate. Was he trying to goad the jackal on intentionally? It was very possible it wasn’t on purpose but they could use that to their advantage. The jackal growled, their form flickering briefly. That was… odd. “I’m more than a match for you all.” They barred their teeth.

“Then why not show us then?” Knuckles joined in the taunting. “Cause the way I see it you’re all talk.”

Metal gestured with a hand for the jackal to come at him. Well guess they were all in on this now. “If you’re really so high and mighty…” Blur stepped forward. “... then take us out yourself. Not with some cheap tricks.”

The jackal gripped the ruby tightly. “Very well. If you all crave your destruction so much, I simply must oblige.” Their eye twitched.

“So quick question.” Fate glanced at the group as the area around the jackal flashed red. “Do we actually have a plan if they turn out to be more than talk?”

Blur shrugged. “We win like we always do.”

“Reassuring.” Knuckles mumbled as he fell into a fighting stance.

“Keep him off me and Super if you can.” Tails looked up at them in worry. “If we can cut the power mid-fight, that should make things easier for everyone.”

“Go kick that guy’s butt.” Super growled. “Make them wish they never dragged us all here.”

Shadow nodded in silent approval. “Alright guys.” Blur smacked his fist into his open palm. “Let’s do this.”

How had things gone so off the rails so quickly? They dogged out of the way as the “heroes” began their assault. They would show those fools. How dare they deviate so drastically from their plans! There were so many more interesting things they could do. All that planning, waisted! They looked past the group which had engaged them. The fox and golden hedgehog needed to be stopped. If they managed to destroy the ruby’s power source…

They lunged past their attackers, putting up barriers of red cubes. If only they’d taken the time to learn to use the gem properly! Their hubris had come back to bite them after all. Next time they’d have to be much more careful… They got some mild satisfaction out of the versions of Sonic slamming into the erected walls.

There. A clear shot at the fox. They lunged only to be intercepted by the golden hedgehog. “Hands off creep.” He growled before tossing them back. The air left their lungs as they collided with the ground. They got up in time to see two spin dashes heading right towards them. One hurt with the pain of super sharp quills, the other hard metal. They were once again sent flying back.

Perhaps they had… underestimated the strength of their foes. This whole experience could have benefitted from much more planning than the cursory glances into their respective universes. They narrowly dodged under the punch of the echidna. Would it be better to cut their losses now and prevent further harm to themself?

Suddenly there was a very angry black hedgehog pinning them down. Sharp claws dug into their arms. Ah so this was truly what pain felt like. What a foreign concept. This was the first time they’d experienced anything like it. They barely managed to kick the hedgehog off of themself and roll away.

If only they could think faster. Decide what to make with the ruby faster. Then they could gain the upper hand. They shouldn’t have been foolish enough to have let these fools goad them into a fight! They snarled and felt their form flicker. Somehow the form they’d made to suit this universe was beginning to unravel as well. Perhaps it was because it had been rushed. They’d need time to perfect it. For now though…

They caught the attack of the more monstrous looking member of their group and pushed him back, causing him to stumble but not fall. Their arms stung. A glance down at them showed the wounds inflicted by the black hedgehog were releasing a black liquid. No doubt the damage they received was hastening this form’s destruction.

One last ditch effort then. They held the ruby in front of them. “I’ll destroy you all.” They snarled. “Enjoy your last pathetic moments!”

Super did his best to restrain himself from jumping into the fight. The others were fine. This guy was an absolute pushover in a direct fight. “How are we looking?” Super glanced at Tails.

The fox was slightly shaken up from the attack Super had saved him from, but was otherwise fine. “Just about there.” He looked up at Super. “Ready?”

“Like I said, just give me the word.” Super let his hand hover over the exposed emerald.

“Ok.” Tails took a deep breath. “Three.” Super tensed. “Two.” Super could feel Sonic sending calming thoughts his way. “One.” Super could hear that stupid jackal yell something but didn’t listen to the words. “Now!”

Super grabbed the emerald the moment the world left Tails’ mouth. Just in case he dove for the fox, intending to get him to safety if the machine did explode. Thankfully no explosion came.

“No!” The jackal yelled. Super glanced over at them. The others were relaxing from guarded positions. “Fine then.” They spat as they tossed the ruby onto the ground. “You’ve won.” One of those tears opened up behind the jackal. “Enjoy your victory.” With that they were gone.

“I guess that guy was just as much of a sore loser as Infinite was.” Sonic commented.

“Good riddance.” Super huffed.

“Is that it then?” Knuckles looked at the spot where the jackal had disappeared.

“I think so.” Fate flexed his claws.

Blur walked up to the Phantom Ruby and carefully picked it up. “I’ll take care of this. I’m not sure where he got it from originally so I won’t destroy it but… I’ll make sure no one can get their hands on it.”

Tails stood up and nodded. “Sounds good.” He locked eyes with Metal and ran over to him. Much to Super’s surprise the fox wrapped his arms around the robot. “I’m glad you’re ok Metal.” Metal patted his back comfortingly.

“Don’t think I’m ever gonna get over seeing that.” Sonic hummed. “Makes me wonder where the Sonic of their world is…”

Shadow grabbed at Blur’s arm. “What’s up Shadow?” Blur looked at the hand around his arm.

“You’re disappearing.” Shadow looked concerned.

Blur blinked and looked at his arm more closely. “Huh… kinda like when mini me left after the war…” He looked up at the group. “Looks like I’m not the only one either.” Everyone looked at themselves in mild panic. “Don’t worry!” Blur got everyone’s attention again. “I think this is just the universe getting us back to where we’re supposed to be. Guess it’s realized something is wrong and is correcting things.”

“This is not how it ended the last time for me.” Fate shivered as he took in his transparent arm.

“Guess this is goodbye then?” Tails had stopped hugging Metal and was looking at the group.

“Guess so kid.” Blur smiled. “But hey, it all worked out in the end huh?”

“I guess.” Super shrugged. “Since we sent that idiot packing.”

“Hopefully they don’t get any ideas about trying this again.” Knuckles crossed his arms, glancing nervously at his disappearing arms.

“Even if this was all… well not the best experience…” Tails smiled sadly. “I’m glad to have met you all. It really gives me hope for our future.” Metal nudged Tails and signed something. “Metal says he’s happy he got to meet you all too and he’s glad to know that it seems like all Sonics are good people.”

“Let them know it was great to meet them all for me Super.” Sonic asked.

Super sighed but nodded. “Sonic says it was great to meet you all.”

“This was… interesting.” Shadow hummed. “I wish you all well.”

“Hate to be the bearer of bad news but…” Fate cleared his throat. “We’re probably not going to remember any of this. Last time this happened to me I didn’t really remember anything. Maybe vague things like feelings but…”

“Well that’s just how things have to be then.” Blur shrugged. “Nothing we can do about it.”

Tails’ ears drooped sadly. “I wish we didn’t have to forget but… it’s alright.” A small smile twitched onto his face. “I still think somewhere deep down I’ll know.”

“You’re all… alright I guess.” Super figured he should say something too. “Particularly you.” He pointed at Metal. “You’re a fighter, don’t give up on whatever you’re fighting for.”

“That was… oddly encouraging Super.” Sonic sounded surprised. “You ok?”

“I guess I’ll sort of miss these idiots too.” Super answered mentally. Metal tilted his head before nodding at Super.

By now the bottom half of everyone had vanished and the process seemed to be speeding up. “Well sayonara everyone.” Blur gave a two finger salute.

“Goodbye.” Shadow nodded at the group.

“See you all around!” Fate waved. “Or er… probably not.” He chuckled. Knuckles simply waved.

“Good luck everyone!” Tails smiled. Metal quickly signed something with disappearing hands. “Metal says he hopes your lives are great.”

“This was certainly an experience.” Super started. “And I’m sure Sonic will want me to properly say goodbye for the both of us so… bye I guess.”

Some of them waved until they were gone while others just stood and waited. Eventually though, all of them vanished leaving the area clear once more. The only proof this happened at all as vague memories and feelings of those that were never meant to meet.

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic fandom #sonic au #ao3 link #fanfiction #miles tails prower #knuckles the echidna #shadow the hedgehog #metal sonic #chaos uncontrolled au #bound by fate au #heart of a hero au #lost and found au

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jasontoddiefor · 3 years

Text

A gift for @thenegoteator :D

It took a Temple to raise a child, and Mace Windu was very much aware of this. However, it did not explain what Ahsoka Tano was doing at his door in the middle of the night. Ahsoka had deep bags under her eyes, which wasn’t too much of a surprise considering the current living arrangements of her lineage. While little Luke and Leia were relatively well-behaved newborns, they were still only a few weeks old. If their human caretakers didn’t wake up at every single little whimper, then the togruta with the superior hearing certainly would.

“Do you want to come inside?” Mace asked, not letting his confusion show. He was used to people coming to his door at the oddest hours.

“If—if I can?” Ahsoka replied as if only now becoming aware of her actions. In this, she reminded Mace of her Grandmaster and the many nights Mace had found Obi-Wan coming to his doorstep during the first months of Anakin’s stay at the Temple.

“My door is always open, Padawan,” Mace said – and watched her wince.

Ah.

So there was the problem.

“Caleb is currently sleeping in my bed as Depa is away,” Mace explained. “So please keep your voice down. I don’t want to wake him unnecessarily.”

The boy had already had a hellish enough month behind him, he needed all the rest he could get. Even though the war was officially over, enough planets refused to surrender, drawing out the battles until they had nothing but children left to sacrifice. It weighed on Mace’s shoulders, making him wonder whether he wasn’t too old to carry such burdens still.

Ahsoka nodded and followed Mace inside. He couldn’t recall whether Ahsoka had been in his room before, but from the way she eagerly looked around his quarters, taking in the sight of old instruments, books, and holos, he guessed she hadn’t. Well, at one point in their life, every Jedi had set a foot inside Mace’s quarters, so this was bound to happen sooner or later.

“Do you want a cup of tea?”

Ahsoka tore herself away from the sight and looked at him with surprise. “I—yes? That would be nice.”

“Then I will make a cup. Do you have any preferences? I believe I even have Obi-Wan’s favorite blend here.”

Mace had no idea whether he had bought it or if Obi-Wan had just left it here from himself when he came over. Knowing the other man, it was likely that the latter was the case. For a man claiming to be so very polite, Obi-Wan could be a right brat.

Mace’s kitchen was small, with only a few cabinets and one shelf, two cooking tiles, and an oven. He wasn’t much of a cook himself and preferred to eat in the cafeteria with everyone, frequently taste-tasting what the Initiates had prepared. He selected two uneven cups Depa had made for him when she’d been young from the shelf. Why she had decided to pick up pottery of all hobbies was beside him, but he supposed that she found the motion soothing. Devan did enjoy parkouring through the lower levels and Echuu was quite content playing the guitar to calm himself.

Perhaps Mace should focus less on why all three of his Padawans had decided they wouldn’t follow him into theatre so they could continue to make fun of him. Setting the water to boil, Mace searched through his cabinets until he found Obi-Wan’s favorite blend. The fruity tea was far from the blend he preferred, but Mace prided himself on being a good host. While he waited for the tea to finish steeping, Mace enjoyed the quiet of the night. For all that there were few sounds as dear to him as that of people walking, or in the case of some younglings and few selected Knights, running, down their large hallways, Mace could appreciate the quiet when the world came to rest.

With two finished cups in hand, he returned to the living room, where he found Ahsoka curled up on the sofa, no longer studying his quarters for any hidden secrets.

“Thank you,” she said when she accepted the cup from him. She held it in her hands as if to warm them, letting the steam hit her face. She breathed in once, twice, finding her rhythm again. Mace waited until she’d calmed enough to speak up.

“What brings you to my door, Padawan Tano?”

Ahsoka flinched and appeared to make herself even smaller as if attempting to vanish. When it became apparent that it didn’t work, that silence hadn’t been what she had sought him out for, she let out a sigh. “You keep calling that.”

“Calling you what?” Mace asked, his brow raised, playing oblivious.

“… Padawan.”

“Are you not? I was under the impression that you had returned to the Temple.”

“I did, but I still left,” Ahsoka replied. “I left and I was convinced that I had to leave and that it was good that I did. I still think I had to leave the Temple behind.”

“Then why are you torn?”

Ahsoka’s hold on her cup tightened and so, perhaps in wise anticipation, she set it on the table and buried her hands in her robes instead, hiding their twitching from view. Mace could trace all her mannerisms to her teachers and couldn’t imagine what it must be like to purposefully rip all those pieces from yourself when they had become so ingrained in your very being. Even Dooku, who’d fallen so far from their beliefs, had been unable to fully rid himself of Yoda’s lessons. Maybe it was for the best. Hope had become a scarce commodity during the war, yet Mace considered the possibility that in a decade, they wouldn’t be imprisoning a Sith anymore.

“But am I still a Padawan? A member of this Order?” Ahsoka asked. Her voice was barely above a whisper, and she shook like the leaves on the trees in the courtyard.

“Has your Master told you anything different?”

Ahsoka paused. “…. No.”

Seeing that realization was settling within her, Mace nodded. “Then you should not doubt him. You are a Jedi, Ahsoka Tano, and you will remain one as long as you live by our tenets.”

That teased a startled laugh from her. “Compassion for all except people who cheat at push-n-pull?”

As if transported back ten years, hearing Anakin say the same, Mace snorted. “The similarities between you and your Master astonish me every time. Yes, Padawan Tano, compassion for all.”

This seemed to calm the youth as she reached for her cup again and emptied it slowly. “It’s good.”

Mace smiled into his own cup. “I’d be insulted if it wasn’t. Obi-Wan forced me to memorize all the steps for making it.”

The then young Knight had been frazzled, and Mace honestly couldn’t tell what it had been about and had forced Mace to learn how to make this tea until he’d more or less collapsed on Mace’s sofa, completely knocked out until morning when Anakin had picked him up.

“He does do that,” Ahsoka agreed. “I think this is the only thing anyone can make reliably now.”

“Sleep-deprived much?” Mace inquired.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. “Like you wouldn’t believe. I love Luke and Leia dearly, but they are demanding and need a lot of attention.”

That was honestly kinder than Mace would have described newborns at her age.

“There is a reason why we usually don’t have children this young in the Temple,” Mace said. “They are very handful. Do you get enlisted to help very often?”

Ahsoka shook her head. “No, Obi-Wan, Skyguy, and Padmé got it covered, and I’m mostly just helping out somewhere else.”

She trailed off a little. This, perhaps, was another issue, but one that could be equally easily dealt with.

“Thank you then for going where you are needed,” Mace told her.

Ahsoka blinked. “Huh?”

“You will grow into a specific role someday, Ahsoka, and that needs time. Do not feel as if you need to earn back your place in the Temple. You don’t need to earn yourself a home you have always had. For now, trust me when I say that everyone you’ve helped is glad that you were there. It is an admirable quality to have a sense of where you are needed. Do not see it as being the odd one out.”

This was the hardest lesson to teach and learn, the fact that there was a path out there for you, but that it took time to see where it would lead. Too many of their Padawans now felt utterly lost without the structure the war had provided them with.

“Oh. I guess if you say so.”

“Yes, I do say so,” Mace agreed. Then, eyeing Ahsoka’s empty cup, he added on, “do you want another?”

“No.” Ahsoka yawned. “I think I might best head back.”

“You can also sleep here if you want, and don’t mind Caleb hogging the blanket. I won’t go to bed tonight anyway.”

Ahsoka squinted at him as if attempting to discern whether he was lying. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Really—”

“Ahsoka, go to bed.”

Clearly feeling better already, she saluted and, after Mace showed her his bedroom, made herself comfortable in it. She took off her shoes and tossed her robe over a chair before climbing into the bed. Ahsoka had barely laid down when Caleb already turned around to curl around her, clinging like a little monkey. After a moment’s apprehension, she relaxed and was fast asleep. Stealing one last glance at the two Padawan, Mace returned to his living room, looking through the incoming reports.

Hectic as the aftermath of the war was, as much effort as caring for their children was, Mace wouldn’t trade it for a single thing in the world.

#star wars #mace windu #ahsoka tano #jedi #light fix it verse #fanfic

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like-rain-or-confetti · 2 years

Text

Even Little Moments Cannot Be Taken For Granted. (The Master x Reader)

WARNING: Talk about war. Sad times and Death.

You found yourself having a rather deep conversation about life with Graham. The two of you had very different experiences but his shorter life span in comparison to your longer one made for quite the discussion. "One day, you'll look back on your life and some catastrophes were tiny in the end. You'll remember the good and the bad but in hindsight you'll be so thankful and happy for the memories. Maybe your older, your body is failing you one year at a time but you were so lucky because you got to exist and experience the wonders and pain of living. No matter how unhappy you were at the time of living in those moments, you'll appreciate them because that's what life is about. Until the end, just be happy to be alive." You said softly. "Is that what you did?" Graham asked. "Every day. No matter when I die, not for one second will I ever not be happy to have lived, to have existed at all- even if I have no impact on anything." Graham was quick to correct you. "Everyone has an impact on everything. No one more than your dad. No matter what he does, anytime or place, you impacted his life. It sounds like he loves you more than you think. Take it from me." You smiled sadly. "I'd like that." Graham stared at you for a moment. "You really think so little of yourself even after so much time?" You hummed in amusement. "I'm just here." You smiled slightly. Graham hummed with a smile of his own. "Sounds like a common trait with you timelords. Here one minute and gone the next." "Oh on so many levels." Your smile widened. Graham paused. "...oh I didn't mean-" "I know you didn't. I just love a little bit of dark humour." You chuckled. "I don't really remember much about back then it was...a terrible time to grow up." Graham nodded. "You've done good though. You're good and you don't let anything get you down." "Thanks, Graham." You paused. "I don't really remember much of it in all honesty. What I do remember is horrific. The screams and cries of kids around me. The fear and panic everyone tried to hide. Those of us that left and never came back." Your eyes stared off momentarily, recalling the fragments of the memories. "I don't remember much of my parents. I see my dad and its like trying to remember a dream. He seems pretty glad about that. I think he prefers I don't remember. The Doctor seems to think the same."

There was a whoosh just out of sight and the two of you were met with the Master. Graham was about to get the Doctor, immediately concerned as to why would be in the TARDIS. Yet the two of you noticed of upset the Master looked. Fresh tears rimmed his wet eyes. The Master's gaze locked upon yours and he moved towards you quickly. "Dad...?" You asked, worried immediately. Nothing ever made your dad upset. Enraged yes, but not in tears. You weren't even sure you had seen your dad cry ever. It seemed almost ridiculous to think he was incapable of it but now that you were faced with his tears, it seemed like the most ridiculous assumption you could have ever made.

Silently, the Master pulled you into a tight hug. He squeezed you tightly, like you could vanish any moment. "You okay?" You asked. He didn't answer, hiding his face into your shoulder. It didn't feel enough to simply hug him back, yet he didn't utter a word. After a moment of silence he raised his head, kissed the top of your head and stepped away from you. Before anything else could be said, he was gone. You looked at Graham with slight confusion. "See? Here one minute and then gone the next." You cracked a smile despite the concern in your eyes. "Excuse me, I better find the Doctor and see if she knows anything about just happened." Graham nodded in agreement as you walked away. The Doctor sounded just as clueless as you were. To her knowledge, nothing was wrong with the Master. Although it wasn't like he'd turn to her for anything.

A few hours later, by pure luck, you stumbled across him on a planet that Yaz had randomly chosen. You wasted no time confronting him. "Hey, what was that all about a while back in the TARDIS?" You asked him. "What are you talking about?" He said rather distracted from you. "You looked upset and you hugged me." You said and the Master let out a quick laugh. "Sure I did." He didn't seem to believe you. You looked at him with confusion. "Yeah, you did." You said flatly. "I don't have time for this right now. Very busy. Why don't you run along and I'll see you later?" You exhaled with a slight shake of your head. "Right, whatever." You mumbled as you walked away.

The next time the Master saw the Doctor again, she had approached alone. She had clearly went through an awful lot of trouble to find him. He sent her a narrow gaze. "What do you want?" He asked. "I need to talk to you." She said. "Not really up for a chit chat, love. A little busy with my 'evil schemes'." The Master made quotation marks with his fingers and turned away. "It's about (Y/N)." The Doctor said louder and that made the Master freeze mid-step. He turned. "What about (Y/N)?" The Master suddenly got very serious given the Doctors expression. "I'm sorry, something has happened."

At first, the Master was silent. "Something happened." He mumbled. "Sorry?" The Doctor asked. "You said something had happened. You said it like this didn't happen to them." The Master's gaze snapped to the Doctor accusingly. "You let them die." "No." The Doctor shook her head. "No, I didn’t. They-they decided on their own." "Yeah, you told me that..." The Master said icily. "... but I trusted them to you because I trusted you and now you're telling me that my child is dead!?" Fury burned in the Masters eyes. "I wouldn't never have let them...I couldn't stop them. I told you everything." The Doctor said quickly. "Sure but maybe you liked your little pets on Earth more." The Master glowered at the Doctor with nothing but fire hatred. "They saved us." The Doctor said quietly. That made the Master snap. "They died! They're dead! For that stupid meaningless rock!" The Master bellowed. "There are seven billion people on that planet. They saved seven billion people!" The Doctor exclaimed. "Humans are nothing! Nothing and you let my child die for nothing! They were better than that planet! They were better than any planet! They were better than me!" The Master swallowed hard. "They were the best thing I had ever created." "I understand your anger but-" The Doctor was cut off by a rage fueled scream. "You don't understand my anger!" The Master roared before going silent, rage and tears brimmed his eyes. "If you did, you wouldn't be try to stop me for what comes next." The Doctor looked at him with a remorseful gaze. "You and I know loss more than anyone in the universe." She began gently. "But this was (Y/N)'s decision. Would you really let their sacrifice be in vain? This is what they wanted." "No...this is what you wanted! You filled their head with all your little pets and morals and it cost them their life." The Master recoiled with fury from the Doctor before he stormed off. The Master left to cool down.

Sitting on a desert ground and watching the sunset. It wasn't anything special to the Master but it was quiet and peaceful. Not to mention he could remember watching you running around in the red grass of Gallifrey just as he had done with the Doctor when he was young. Recalling life before the Time War was difficult. Not for him but for you. He was glad you had little memory of it as you were too young to understand. He missed the life he built for you before the War. You gave him reason. There was suddenly a point to existence. He could faintly remember your twinkling laugh. Only your waist upwards visible through the long grass, the wind ruffling your hair. His whole life devoted to your smile.

Things changed after the war. When you were presumed dead, he changed too. That brooch the Doctor gave him long ago after that reminding him of the pain he felt when he thought he had lost you. That searing hot pain that seemed never ending. After many many years, hundreds of lifetimes passing, when he found you again, the grief had left an impact upon the Master. He loved you but almost couldn't show it. He knew it seemed like he barely noticed your return. He knew he should have taken you with him rather than entrusting you to the Doctor. Now you were gone for good and he couldn't make that right. He couldn't change it. He was filled with regrets. The Master’s broken expression quivered as he could no longer fight the tears. He let out a sob and put his face in his hands. He sobbed harder, uncontrollably. This kind of pain was always much too raw. Unbearable and no matter how many times it was felt, it was always like the first time. This pain might actually kill him. Losing you once was excruciating enough but losing you twice? No. He wasn't sure he could survive that. The Master glowered at the sunset in the distance and wiped his eyes. Suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head to see the Doctor crouching beside him. Her hand on his shoulder as the breeze ran through her hair. "I'm sorry." She said softly. She took it as a good sign when the Master didn't push her away. "I was thinking..." with her free hand she dug into her pocket dug out a had held device. "This was just going to be a collectors piece." She smiled slightly. "Came across it in a Judoon market. No where near as high tech as our stuff but...it can handle a trip or two." The Master furrowed his brow and the Doctor held it out to him. "Go and see them, somewhere peaceful. One more time, eh?" Teary-eyed, the Master looked at the device momentarily before taking it.

The Master recognised fairly quickly that he was facing the TARDIS' console room doors. He heard the voice he needed to hear the most. "The Doctor seems to think the same." His breath hitched. Even as he moved closer and closer, he wasn't ready, he wasn't prepared to face what awaited beyond those doors. His eyes fell on you in a heartbeat and he couldn't speak. He couldn't breathe.

Somehow, seeing you again made saying goodbye all that much more difficult. The human looked at him warily before back at you and then him once more. However, the Master couldn't care about anything in that moment that wasn't you. Even in the most simple of moments, you were beautiful and seeing you before him, there was no hiding how proud of you he truly was. Even if you didn’t agree, he was so proud of your resilience, your strength, your intelligence and having an ability to love stronger than anything he ever could. Your hearts were strong and pure and he was so proud. He wouldn't have changed you for anything. You could argue with him to your hearts content if you wished and he would have let you. He'd do anything for more time with you. He'd give his own life it meant you would be alive.

Despite his differences with the Doctor, deep down he knew he could trust her with you. After all, he practically left you in her care recently. It pained him but was necessary. It only hurt more now that you were gone. Time he should have had with you and that was his biggest failure in his eyes. If only he had realised it sooner.

The master took you into his arms as you spoke. "Dad...?" He tightened his hold upon you. He fought the urge to weep just at the sound of your voice. "Are you okay?" He only held you tighter. He knew he couldn't speak to you. He couldn't change this as much as he wanted to and he couldn't do anything that would alter your decisions. It was then that he recalled the day you approached him asking what had him so upset and hugging you. The Master didn't know what you were talking about and had brushed you off that day but now...now it made sense. He swallowed hard wishing he could change that. If only he knew how little time he had with you. He wasn't sure if he could let go now that you were in his arms and safe where nothing could hurt you, knowing he'd have to and what would follow. The moment he saw you, his anger with you washed away. Earth did not deserve his child nor their sacrifice. However that was just who you were. Good. He buried his head into your shoulder, committing this moment to memory. He couldn't say anything nor will you to know through a connection but he could tell you in his mind and at least pretend that you could hear him. That you knew and always knew. 'I love you so very much.' After a second he kissed the top of your head. His own way of saying goodbye. A moment that would be trivial and forgotten to you but everything to him. He stepped back, looking at you one last time.

You were gone and he was back, he fell to his knees as he finally let out a pained sob. This was not how it was supposed to end. You had so many more years, so much more to see. It was a cruel possibility of life indeed to make a parent outlive their child. It just wasn't how things were supposed to be. His mind was brought back to the brooch the Doctor had given him the first time he had lost you. Neither of the two knew if he'd ever see you again and the universe was on his side enough to decide that would be the case. That brooch always brought you to mind not matter which regeneration. He kept it with him always. He gripped it tightly, an idea coming to mind. That led to him contacting his former selves.

All in holograms, stood in a circular formation. Missy was the first to catch sight of the Brooch in the Masters hand. She kept it out of sight and mind despite how precious it was to her. This was a terrible decision but the Master never did play by the rules. That was true in all of them. "Well this is an...unexpected reunion." The Master with blonde hair and a black hoodie looked around at his former selves and who he figured were his future selves given the woman beside him and the Master who had contacted him and grinned. "Yes, it is." The Master has yet to meet any of his former selves gaze's but he was clearly bubbling with rage under a thin calm demeanor that was only skin deep. He held up the brooch. "Most of us know what this is and I ask for your help. Damn the risks. Damn the universe because we have just lost the most important person of all." Missy's mouth gaped momentarily as she sucked in a breath feeling tears well up in her eyes. The grin fell from the Blonde Master's face. Meanwhile others seemed to find glowered with a newfound purpose. "How?" One of them asked. "You've went this far, so you've altered the time line. That's only for those of us who discovered they weren't dead the first time." "As if we care." The Master seethed, gripping the brooch in his fist. "I will make time bend to my will and destroy everything in my way. The question I extend to you is if you would like to give this universe hell before we burn it to nothing for taking our (Y/N) from us again. I want every planet falling to their knees in terror before I eradicate them. I want Earth to fear what is coming to them and I won't stop until it is nothing but dust!" The Master looked at his former selves. "So?" The blonde Master smirked and Missy straightened, eyes cool and calculating. All in unanimous agreement.

#dr who #doctor who #the master #dhawan!master #missy!master #gomez!master #sims!master #reader #thirteenth doctor #whittaker!doctor #one shot #oneshot

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fanficshiddles · 4 years

Text

Trust, Chapter 9

Clint was half asleep as he made his way to the kitchen to get a glass of water. He got his glass and was heading back to his room when he passed by the lounge. But he noticed a light was on.

He slowly walked in, confused at the sight he saw. He wasn’t even sure if he was dreaming or not.

Loki and Darcy were sitting on bean bags at the coffee table, playing chess. And it was one in the morning.

‘Hey Clint.’ Darcy waved over at him.

Clint raised his hand and frowned, not sure what to make of the situation. He decided his best bet was to just go back to bed. Get back to sleep… Yeah. Surely he was dreaming.

Darcy and Loki laughed as he strolled off, muttering to himself.

‘You didn’t tell me there were zombies here.’ Loki grinned.

‘You get all sorts here.’ Darcy shrugged, eyeing up the board to decide on her next move.

They couldn’t sleep, hence why they were up so late. Being on another planet had messed up Darcy’s sleeping pattern. Loki didn’t really have a sleeping pattern in the first place, he just slept whenever he wanted. Day or night.

But when he’d found Darcy lounging around, he had sweet talked her into playing a game of chess. He was secretly pleased when she didn’t put up much of an argument.

‘So what do you think of your new home?’ Darcy asked after she made her move.

Loki pursed his lips for a moment before answering. ‘Well, it’s no palace. But it will do for now. The company is alright, I suppose.’ He smirked, knocking one of her pieces out.

‘The company is alright? You’re such an ass!’ Darcy huffed, quickly making her next move too.

‘You’re getting better at this. Thinking faster.’ Loki commented.

‘I just want to get it over with.’ Darcy leaned back and put her arms over her chest.

‘Of course you do.’ Loki chuckled.

They finally went to their rooms and got some sleep at three in the morning.

When Darcy eventually made her way out of her room the following day, it was after lunch time and she was on the hunt for food.

Clint, Natasha and Bruce were in the kitchen.

‘Finally, she rises!’ Natasha said with a slight smirk.

‘What? Nobody usually complains when I sleep in.’ Darcy said as she filled a bowl full of cereal.

‘Well, you have a job now. Loki has been stuck with Thor and Jane all morning, I don’t think they’re too pleased.’ Bruce said.

‘Loki’s up already?’ Darcy looked at them, surprised.

‘Yep. Seems he can work on lack of sleep.’ Clint chuckled. ‘Why on earth were you up that late with him, playing chess?’ He frowned.

Darcy shrugged and poured milk into her cereal, it overflowed a little and spilled onto the counter. She ignored it and went to sit down to eat. ‘I dunno. My sleep pattern is a bit messed up, there was nothing else to do.’

‘Who won?’ Bruce asked.

‘Loki did.’ Darcy said reluctantly.

‘Are you going to clean that up?’ Natasha asked, folding her arms over her chest.

‘I will after.’ Darcy dismissed with a wave of her hand.

‘Have you ever beaten Loki at a game of chess?’ Clint asked.

‘Not yet… I’m still learning though.’

‘He probably cheats.’ Natasha remarked.

‘I may be the God of mischief but I do not cheat at chess.’ Loki said as he strolled in, Jane and Thor were following him, exasperated at having to keep an eye on him. They looked so relieved when they saw Darcy was finally awake.

‘Thank god you’re up, Darcy.’ Jane huffed.

‘Why?’

‘Because we’ve had to babysit Loki all morning.’ Jane glared at said God, who was rummaging in the fridge for a drink.

‘Does that mean it’s Darcy who will be showing me around the training grounds now?’ Loki asked, leaning against the fridge.

Darcy noticed that Loki was in mortal clothes. But totally didn’t look right for hanging around base. He was wearing an all-black suit. Kind of typical though, Darcy thought. Still wanting to look smart.

‘Are you going to a funeral?’ She quipped.

Loki narrowed his eyes at her. ��I will be if people keep mocking my choice of clothing.’

‘Yes, Darcy will be taking you.’ Jane interrupted.

‘She has to clean up first.’ Natasha hissed, heading out of the room.

Loki noted the mess Natasha was referring to and had it simply disappear. Darcy’s eyes lit up. ‘Awesome! Yep, I’ll take you.’ She wolfed down the last of her cereal and before she picked the bowl up, Loki had it disappear into the dishwasher as he walked over to her.

‘You know, I really could get used to having you around.’ She grinned up at him and patted his chest. He narrowed his eyes at her hand touching him, she paid no attention to the glare as he followed her out anyway.

‘Thor and Jane didn’t seem too happy. What did you do?’

‘I didn’t do anything.’ Loki said, mockingly hurt that she would think such a thing.

But Darcy stopped and put her arms over her chest, glaring up at him.

Loki sighed. ‘I was just merely proving that Jane’s work was wrong. And she knows it, she’s just too stubborn to admit that I’m right.’

Darcy grinned. ‘Yeah that sounds like Jane.’

She showed him around the training grounds. He was looking forward to working on his skills again, to get stronger. The indoor training hall would be perfect for practising his Seidr in.

‘So is magic your go to way of fighting?’ Darcy asked while Loki checked out some of the fighting dummies.

‘Seidr.’ Loki corrected. ‘Yes, usually that and use of my daggers.’

‘Doesn’t that mean you have to get up close to your enemies?’ Darcy frowned.

‘It does. But I prefer it that way. Makes it more… intimate.’ He winked at her.

Darcy shook her head. ‘Trust you to say something like that.’

‘Do you fight?’ Loki asked, though he knew the answer anyway.

‘Nope. My coordination isn’t great, I’d end up punching myself in the face.’ Darcy sat down on the bench at the side while Loki was still checking out some of the gear.

He chuckled at the thought. ‘There must be some form of combat you could do.’

‘Nah, trust me it’s for the best I stay put.’ Darcy dismissed him.

Darcy showed Loki around outside, telling him where the edge of the boundary was by the driveway.

‘Stark has set up an alarm system, so if you step across the boundary it will set off some kind of alarm. Unless you’re allowed out with someone.’ She explained.

‘Oh he has, has he?’ Loki asked mischievously as he strolled over towards the boundary.

‘Uh oh.’ Darcy ran to catch up with him.

Loki stopped at the edge of the boundary, he looked at Darcy and winked as he suddenly vanished right on front of her eyes. Then he appeared a few feet away out with the boundary. He put his arms out to his side when there was no alarm. ‘Ta da!’

Darcy face-palmed and shook her head. ‘Seems he still has some kinks to work out.’

#Loki #fan fiction #tom hiddleston #tasertricks #trust #darcy lewis

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imagine-loki · 4 years

Text

Trust, Chapter 9

TITLE: Trust CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 9 AUTHOR: fanficshiddles ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki kidnaps Darcy Lewis, in hopes of getting the tesseract in return for her. Imagine his surprise when he grows rather fond of the mortal, finding that she understands him better than anyone else ever has. RATING: M

Clint was half asleep as he made his way to the kitchen to get a glass of water. He got his glass and was heading back to his room when he passed by the lounge. But he noticed a light was on.

He slowly walked in, confused at the sight he saw. He wasn’t even sure if he was dreaming or not.

Loki and Darcy were sitting on bean bags at the coffee table, playing chess. And it was one in the morning.

‘Hey Clint.’ Darcy waved over at him.

Clint raised his hand and frowned, not sure what to make of the situation. He decided his best bet was to just go back to bed. Get back to sleep… Yeah. Surely he was dreaming.

Darcy and Loki laughed as he strolled off, muttering to himself.

‘You didn’t tell me there were zombies here.’ Loki grinned.

‘You get all sorts here.’ Darcy shrugged, eyeing up the board to decide on her next move.

But when he’d found Darcy lounging around, he had sweet talked her into playing a game of chess. He was secretly pleased when she didn’t put up much of an argument.

‘So what do you think of your new home?’ Darcy asked after she made her move.

Loki pursed his lips for a moment before answering. ‘Well, it’s no palace. But it will do for now. The company is alright, I suppose.’ He smirked, knocking one of her pieces out.

‘The company is alright? You’re such an ass!’ Darcy huffed, quickly making her next move too.

‘You’re getting better at this. Thinking faster.’ Loki commented.

‘I just want to get it over with.’ Darcy leaned back and put her arms over her chest.

‘Of course you do.’ Loki chuckled.

They finally went to their rooms and got some sleep at three in the morning.

When Darcy eventually made her way out of her room the following day, it was after lunch time and she was on the hunt for food.

Clint, Natasha and Bruce were in the kitchen.

‘Finally, she rises!’ Natasha said with a slight smirk.

‘What? Nobody usually complains when I sleep in.’ Darcy said as she filled a bowl full of cereal.

‘Well, you have a job now. Loki has been stuck with Thor and Jane all morning, I don’t think they’re too pleased.’ Bruce said.

‘Loki’s up already?’ Darcy looked at them, surprised.

‘Yep. Seems he can work on lack of sleep.’ Clint chuckled. ‘Why on earth were you up that late with him, playing chess?’ He frowned.

‘Who won?’ Bruce asked.

‘Loki did.’ Darcy said reluctantly.

‘Are you going to clean that up?’ Natasha asked, folding her arms over her chest.

‘I will after.’ Darcy dismissed with a wave of her hand.

‘Have you ever beaten Loki at a game of chess?’ Clint asked.

‘Not yet… I’m still learning though.’

‘He probably cheats.’ Natasha remarked.

‘Thank god you’re up, Darcy.’ Jane huffed.

‘Why?’

‘Because we’ve had to babysit Loki all morning.’ Jane glared at said God, who was rummaging in the fridge for a drink.

‘Does that mean it’s Darcy who will be showing me around the training grounds now?’ Loki asked, leaning against the fridge.

‘Are you going to a funeral?’ She quipped.

Loki narrowed his eyes at her. ‘I will be if people keep mocking my choice of clothing.’