#The desperation of the end

[indigo-ghost-girl]

Spoilers for parts of Sonic Frontiers...

Part 1

Part 8 WIP

The air of the morning was soft, gentle. Rays of warm sunlight warming the two friends as they lay knelt among the grass. On any other day, these friends would think this a perfect opportunity for a picnic. To an outsider looking in, they would think it foolhardy not to. However, the tense, hollow atmosphere suffocating this lonely island made such thoughts impossible.

Amy’s arms felt numb. Her everything felt numb. All except her heart. It ached. The pink hedgehog knew how much Sonic hated to be trapped. But... he was strong and he would last… because it wasn’t permanent. It wasn’t, permanent.

Tails’s fingers ached. The muscles in his arms and hands worn thin. He wiggled his fingers as they lay among the grass, trying to relieve the stiffness in them. The corners of his eyes burned, having zeroed in his attention on the screen, racing against time. He shut his eyes, counting to twenty, trying to ignore the nonsense jumble of code that tumbled behind his eyelids.

The sound of huffing and hurried footsteps filled the silence.

“So… is he in?” Knuckles asked, stumbling to a stop next to them.

Tails opened his eyes, staring blankly at the space in front of him. “Yeah…” He confirmed, swallowing.

The fox shook his head sharply, snapping himself out of his daze. “If Sage was correct, we have anywhere from two minutes to five, we need to hurry.”

Tails stumbled his way to the keyboard, he frowned. The barrel of tech had begun smoking and Tails picked up the distinct smell of liquid metal and burnt rubber, the chemicals irritating the back of his throat. By the looks of things, that eldritch creature had used its last few seconds in this reality; to fry the computer. His shoulders slumped, there went the chance of salvaging any code.

The fox stiffened, a horrible vulnerability piercing right through his heart, like a cold, sharp metal needle. ‘When that thing gets out, it’ll make a beeline for me.’

He took in a deep breath and released it to the count of seven. ‘We have to focus on the now.’

Knuckles offered a hand to Amy, she silently took it, letting him pull her to her feet. She felt lighter without her rings and rose a little faster than she expected, wobbling a little when she settled on her feet.

Tails picked up the radio tentatively, carefully checking the temperature first to see if, it too, had been fried. It was cool however and he shakily brought it to his ear.

“Eggman, you still…?” the radio continued to buzz. The fox gulped, exchanging a worried glance with Amy.

Tails tapped the side of the radio with his finger, the static dissolved. The young fox fought to hear the radio over his throbbing head, beating in sync with his heartbeat. “E-Eggman?”

“My Leg! He tore off my leg!” Screamed the voice from the speaker. “Med-egg-bots, I require medical attention, get over here NOW!” He commanded.

The fox pulled the receiver from his ear for a moment, taking a short, deep breath.

“Of course,” Knuckles sighed in frustration. Amy relaxed, much to her petty dismay.

“I’ve trapped them in cyberspace, we only have a few minutes.” Tails reported, “What’s the status on Sage?”

“I don’t know!- Med-eggs get over here!”

“Remember what she said, We need to get to angel island together, fly down here so we can-” Tails reminded.

“He tore my leg off!”

Knuckles snarled, snatching the radio from Tails, “We know! Eggman, fly that thing down here before I knock it out of the sky for you!” barked the echidna.

“In a few minutes,” Eggman waved off.

“WE DONT HAVE A FEW MINUTES!” Knuckles roared. The red echidna shoved the radio back into the fox’s hands, almost pushing him over in the process.

Amy reached out, supporting his back before he fell. “Knuckles,” Amy scolded.

“Sorry,” Knuckles mumbled, stomping a few metres away, eyes fixed on a large fragment of stone, once part of the now ex- giant structure.

Tails peered up at the floating battleship, then to the red echidna winding up for a punch.

“Knuckles, aim for the red engine,” he advised.

“Right.”

With one swift punch, Knuckles sent the ancient chunk flying. The chunk tore through the protruding metal engine like cold butter through bread. With the main engine down, the smaller engines struggled to keep the others afloat. The ships autopilot went into emergency landing mode, floating down to settle on the small cluster of young trees nearby, crushing them into splinters. Amy cringed as she saw the panicked seagulls zoom out from under the trees, seconds before being crushed.

The three hopped into the hole in the side of the ship, metal bent outward as you would expect from paper pierced through by a pencil, presumably created when Metal Sonic tackled the red hedgehog into the ocean.

“Where is your Eggmobile?” Tails enquired as they approached.

Eggman was laid back in a small metal bed that seemed to have been folded out. Around him fussed two egg-shaped robots, each with their own little white hat, Eggmans eyes and signature grin plastered on their faces. They had a red cross painted on their chests. The white robots were focused on wrapping the stump of his leg in bandages.

“You just crashed my ship after I helped you! And I just lost my leg; I would have thought you of all creatures would feel some pity!” He exclaimed.

“You and your stupid machines are the reason we are in this mess in the first place!” Knuckles growled, stomping over.

One of the medical bots stopped its task and rolled over to Knuckles on its singular wheel. “Do not distress the patient,” it said flatly, voice static, raising its pincer arms. Knuckles promptly bashed its face in, flinging it into the opposite wall.

“You don’t deserve any pity.” The echidna growled, spinning on the doctor, cracking his knuckles.

“Knuckles stop,” Amy reached out a hand between the pair, “We don’t have time for this.” Amy pulled out her hammer, sliding herself between the fuming echidna and the wining doctor. “Show us where your eggmobile is.”

Amy’s gaze flickered to his right leg; her green eyes caught the light leaking in from one of the many holes in the wall. She loomed over the human, the shadow of her hammer falling over his face, “Unless you want to lose the other one.”

Eggman’s head retreated into his coat collar, suddenly the pain in his leg wasn’t at the forefront of his mind.

…

Sonic hurt. No matter where it was, his heart, his mind, his body: it didn’t matter. He just hurt.

But one thought broke through it all, the one wish of simply, “Get away,” had been repeating in his head. Over and over, that determined mantra, driving him to separate from that thing, ever since he had lost control of his limbs. To get as far away as possible.

Yet nothing he had tried had worked. No amount of screaming or struggling or fighting back did anything.

And it hurt.

His skin was on fire as a new ring reattached itself around his neck. That thing was furious. Sonic could feel its anger smouldering his insides as if it were his own. A desperate struggle for freedom.

Burning agony, that stopped so abruptly he lost all consciousness.

Then he came too, he became acutely aware of how numb he now felt. Physically at least.

…Everything was black.

He felt a strange ethereal push. It was like a rubber band, pulled so far it was ready to snap. That snap meant freedom. The ethereal feeling continued to push him, like a million hands on his back, all working together to break him through a tight, silicone wall that bent and warped.

Snap!

Light flooded Sonics vision. He gasped.

Sonic found himself crawling away. Finally, finally able to move of his own free will. Sonic staggered to his feet, stumbling forward. After a few clumsy steps he tripped on his own shoes, collapsing beside something black in the corner of his vision.

He heaved, nothing leaving his throat but a strangled wheeze. His fingers grasped at nothing, phasing through the lush holographic grass under him.

Sonic knew he wasn’t completely him when he caught sight of the translucent, light blue state of his quills. But that wasn’t at the forefront of his mind as he pulled his arms out from under him and began half crawling, half dragging himself away from the black shape.

The air around him shifted, a hot buzzing static began to grow. The heat fiercely licking away at the air.

“They... returned us here,” came a voice. Sonic jumped, spines spiking outward dangerously, head snapping back.

What met his eyes was a strange, morphed thing, a collection of deep red and purple shapes. It bubbled and span, morphed and moulded. It took shape, gaining arms and legs. Sonic squinted his eyes, something of an annoyed jab pierced his chest as the blob began to seem eerily familiar. Glowing neon rings formed themselves around the blob’s wrists, small strings of broken chains dangling loosely from them. It took the form of that of a silhouette of super sonic. Two neon purple lights pierced through the void of the blob, so intense they were white. The white lights settled on him.

Sonic pressed down hard on his fear. “Course, they did,” he smirked hopping to his feet. Sonic made a show of dusting himself off casually.

Its feet shaped void, rose from the digital ground. It stared at him. The lack of any facial features on the him shaped blob, challenged his brief composure. Sonic couldn’t tell if it was staring at him or staring at the place he just so happened to be. The blue hedgehog clenched his fists, suppressing a shiver.

A faint rumbling noise began to make itself known and Sonics uneasiness developed into mild panic. Sonic gave the imitation an apprehensive stare, taking a few steps backwards. Its neon dots followed his movements.

“No matter,” It said soullessly, “They will know their error soon enough.”

It leapt for him; hands outstretched for his face.

Sonic disappeared in a boom, speeding away into the landscape.

As he ran, Sonic slowly began to realise what his friends had meant by, “dreamlike,” now. He was floaty, his shoes were touching the grass of this mock green hill but it didn’t feel like it. The blades didn’t rustle under him. The legs under him felt much of the same, almost as if he were a digital ghost.

It was disorienting, like his brain was struggling to tell up from down. He had his vision but that was it. It was reminiscent of the effects of the phantom ruby; sending his sense of gravity spiralling.

Sonic scowled, he despised it, it made the nauseous feeling he kept pushing down into his stomach harder to contain. It rose and wavered, higher and higher as it threatened to overwhelm him. Sonic brought a gloved hand to his mouth.

Come on Sonic pull yourself together! He scolded himself.

Sonic took a small detour, dashing into the cover of a small tunnel in the wall. He slid to a stop in the cool shadows.

The hedgehog took a moment to breathe. He was... detached but still so incredibly nauseous.

Sonic gulped: he felt sick. This whole situation was sick. That ancient eldritch thing, was sick. It had sat by and made him watch as it had tormented his friends. Threatening them with his voice. Burning them with his hands. Throwing them around like ragdolls with his powers. Like it was all some kind of- sick game.

He fell to his knees. His mouth forced itself open, his digital stomach bubbling and slushing around inside him. It suddenly clenched tightly. The hedgehog dry-heaved, being that there was nothing to come out.

But that just made it worse. There was no end. No relief. No aftermath.

He knew that thing had been playing with his friends. Toying with them! He had felt it holding itself back. Even now he couldn’t help but feel he was being watched.

Sonic found himself having to fight against his body’s confused instincts. Cyberspace was meant to store memories, having the accidental aftereffect of storing souls. It wasn’t made to be lived in by sentient creatures. He wasn’t built for this dimension. His soul was still reacting as if he were alive and in his own body, copying what it had come to expect.

His stomach clenched about four times before Sonic managed to swallow, cutting off the reaction.

Rage and terror puddled itself in his gut as his skin crawled, head spinning.

Crack!

He leapt up at the sudden noise, hairs and spines on end. The crack had been quiet but it had sent the hedgehog into a small frenzy.

In his panic he stumbled backwards, something crunched under his left foot. His blue quills flung around as his head span around. Nothing was behind him other than the checkered wall of rock. His cloudy green eyes flickered around frantically, before they zeroed in on the broken remains of two white claws on the grassy floor.

“Oh... heh heh,” Sonic awkwardly laughed.

A blue bullet shot from the cave.

His left leg fell out from under him, something rolling under his foot. Only just managing to catch himself before he fell, the hedgehog stumbled to a stop. He tossed his head back to see what had tripped him up.

A leg.

A leg still wrapped in the shiny black leather boot, decorated with silver buckles. It sat in a small puddle of crimson, slowly leaking into the distorted grass.

Sonic gulped, eyes glued to the disembodied leg. He couldn’t look away. No matter how much his stomach squirmed. A sick satisfaction niggled in the back of his mind. He felt a warm something dripping from the corner of his mouth.

That sickly feeling was back, dangerously close to locking him into another dry heaving cycle. Sonic shook his head, tearing his eyes away. He violently wiped his mouth, refusing to look at his gloves.

“I require your assistance.” came a calm, yet still somehow demanding voice.

Sonic startled. Spines raised. He span in a blue of blur.

The black silhouette lowered down before him. Sonic’s body tensed, lowering, fingers splayed in preparation to fight.

“Mortal, return to your body,” It stated. “We cannot leave separated as we are.”

Sonic rose his fists. Perhaps he could keep them both here long enough for Tails to prepare whatever plan they had been talking about.

“Make me!”

[ruporas]

dragon meat, you, and me

[noodles-and-tea]

Little Stan getting manipulated by Bill has excellent angst potential but consider.

Stanley just, keeps tricking Bill. Because Bill would definitely massively underestimate Stanley and how far he’ll go to protect Ford (like in the actual show). We also know Stanley has the street smarts between the twins and could absolutely tell Bill is full of it.

And because Bill would absolutely loose his mind if he kept getting foiled by a snot nosed eight year old that isn’t even supposed to be here

I like to think that he doesn’t even try that hard he just does not even care about bill

[lotus-pear]

mourning black and the death of ideals

[benevolenterrancy]

I absolutely love just how many time-travel fix-it fics there are in this fandom

[humans-are-tasty]

[wormsdyke]

hey have you guys heard of that movie. yeah the obliterating masterpiece on trans identity

[ironinkpen]

The dynamic in Rise between the rest of the team and Leo is. so fucking funny. Because like you've got these three extremely talented individuals who all seem like perfectly reasonable people at first glance, right, but then if you squint hard enough you realize they're actually all batshit insane (affectionate) and the clown boy standing behind them is secretly their common sense.

Clown boy will occasionally put himself and the others in danger to Prove Himself or Prove Someone Wrong (see Minotaur Maze and the movie) but like otherwise... i think people forget Leo's overwhelmingly the voice of reason in most situations?

Raph, Mikey, and Donnie are all incredibly powerful boys with very specific skill sets. They are also, as a direct result of this, the WORST decision-makers on god's green earth lmao. When presented with a problem, Raph will smash, Donnie will blow shit up, and Mikey will razzmatazz. They will all run straight toward death with the same oblivious enthusiasm of a dog about to run straight into a screen door. None of them realize this and all of them think they are Extremely Good At Problem-Solving.

And the guy cursed with the common sense to realize this is literally the LAST person anyone would expect.

When you look closely, the entirety of Rise is actually a chronicle of Leo trying to find new and creative ways to keep this team of superpowered fools alive while simultaneously white-knuckling his Cool Fun Guy persona so the others don't realize he's secretly the Boring Responsible One. Haha, you know what would be Cool and Fun, guys? Not going after the Spine Breaking Bandit lol. Getting home before the sun goes up lol. Evacuating that civilian lol. Not telling the guy dangling me off a roof "you won't, no balls" lol.

The sacred struggle of every iteration of Leonardo is thanklessly wrangling the most trigger-happy siblings in the world, and Rise Leo has not escaped it. He just does an occasional shenanigan to avoid detection and his brothers fall for it every time.

[heph]

Unstoppable Force VS Immovable Object

[softchouli]

Coin being frustrated that she didn't get her wanted prize at the claw machine, as if the plushie with the bread wouldn't successfully gaslight her entire district on day one just to rescue his pregnant wife

[captain-flint]

Kevin died, Eli. And Tommy didn't.. because of you.

[indigo-ghost-girl]

Spoilers for parts of Sonic Frontiers...

Part 1

Part 7

Eggman howled with victorious laughter as he flew into the relative safety of his fleet.

However, it wasn’t long before he started to notice the explosions. He also noticed the two concentrated beams of red energy burning through the air, like the world’s most dangerous beam lights.

The doctor’s laughter faded into a concerned whine as he steeled a cautious glance behind him. He caught a brief glimpse of his possessed nemesis zipping around at his usual speed.

Eggman couldn’t deny it made him almost nostalgic. It was like he was in space again, leading Super Sonic through the rest of his fleet into a trap designed specifically to capture him and retrieve the emeralds. Only this time, the comforting blanket of a plan wasn’t a safety net he could fall back on.

The bolt of red stopped for a split second.

With an instinctual jerk, Eggman swerved the eggmobile to his left. Two lazers of humming, neon purple energy buzzed past him. The narwal themed airship in front of him took the hit and erupted in a great ball of flames. The human gulped.

“Eggman, keep him distracted, I have a plan,” came in Tails static voice from Eggman’s earpiece. It was a miracle it was even heard at all.

“What does it look like I’m doing!” Eggman squawked, swerving his eggmoble hard right to avoid another electric blast. The doctor nervously eyed the singed side of his eggmobile for a split second, “Whatever you plan on doing, do it faster!”

…

On the ground, the other two were helping Tails rummage through the stack of metal crates of Eggman technology and supplies. They had begun to set up an impromptu computer, something neither the red or pink creatures could really wrap their head around.

“So, what’s the new plan?” Knuckles asked, eyeing the lightshow in the upper atmosphere with the appropriate caution and slight awe. He flinched when three giant fish like battleships exploded in quick succession. The sudden judder in his muscles made Knuckles painfully aware of how much he ached.

“The ancients thought ahead, they had a backup plan for if the three titans somehow got destroyed, in the form of the towers,” Tails explained, sliding the metal tongs of two clumps of wires into the ports of a giant keyboard. The keyboard was sitting in a foldable metal table, its thin legs standing surprisingly strong as more and more pressure was piled on top of it.

“Alright?” Knuckles asked, eyes still fixed on the sky.

“Which means that, if we’re lucky, they might have made some type of backup program encase it did get out.”

“Wait, I thought… Sage told us sealing him in cyberspace wouldn’t work?” Amy questioned, pulling out a folded swivel chair that looked big enough to hold ten large bags of potato’s. She took a moment to look at it questioningly, wondering whether Eggman really needed a chair that big or if he just wanted to sit on throne sized seats.

The fox connected another clump of wires into the cyberspace portal, the custom gear shaped metal plug slotting perfectly into its base.

“Not… permanently no but it should buy us some time.” Tails flicked three switches and pressed a big black button. The machine whirred to life, two holographic screens flickering on above the keyboard.

Amy unfolded the chair and pushed it in front of the computer.

Tails fell into the chair, flexing his fingers. “And If not, I’m going to have to program one from scratch.”

...

Eggman beelined it to the tankiest ship in his fleet, weaving in and around the ships moving in to shield him against the lazers zapping mercilessly through the air. The ship in question was a humongous whale shark inspired vessel, wider than most skyscrapers and heavier too, only kept afloat by an ungodly amount of fossil fuel that would make any environmentalist pull their hair out.

The metal sphere narrowly dodged another pair of lazers. He pressed on, resisting the urge to pound his console in fearful frustration. The great Doctor Eggman, fleeing like a coward, again! He simmered furiously. He couldn’t even…

An alarm blared a loud “wahh”, on his console. Eggmans head snapped to the side. One of his airships was hurtling towards him, smouldering with red flames.

He let out a very unsophisticated “Gahhh!” pressing south hard on his controls. The metal egg pod dipped suddenly.

A grating scraping tore across the top of his glass dome. One of the smouldering wings had caught the top of the egg mobile. Its legacy left behind by the charred scratch now engraved into the glass. The sound may have deafened him, were it not for his metal headphones that automatically did their best to cancel out much of the screech.

A metal docking hatch opened on the whale shark ship and Eggman shot for it. His momentum wabbled as he dodged yet another lazer blast. He made it in, side of the Eggmobile clipping the side of the docks entrance, a chunk of metal peeling off. The man dove from the craft, hitting the ground with an undignified groan. He flinched away at the loud crunch that echoed from the far side of the dock seconds later. Eggman didn’t spare a glance at the broken hunk of metal that might have been his resting place had he not ejected himself, instead focusing on dashing to the exit, slamming his fist on a big black button outlined in yellow and black strips. The ship suddenly lit up in blaring alarms, red lights flashing, as he booked it through the door. It closed with a heavy clonk behind him.

Something loud cracked behind him as he ran through yet more doors, each one closing with a heavier thunk. The Docters brain was running a mile a minute, desperately recalling the safest route to another dock and a spare eggmobile. The further away he got, the quieter it became. It made the hairs on his mustache stand on end.

The man slowed to a stop, leaning on his knees and panting. The sound of his gasping breaths echoing off the soulless metal walls of the tunnel. The longer there was no sound, the more the doctors skin began to crawl.

He lifted a shaking hand up to the radio in his headset, missing the button his first attempt at pressing it. “Tails,” he called into his radio, “Just what are you up to?” he demanded, his voice came out much feebler than he preferred and he cleared his throat sharply.

“Just keep it busy,” came the hurried, reedy voice of the fox.

“It’s gone quiet up here,” Eggman admitted with a cautious mumble, “has it…”

“He’s not returned to the island, if that’s what you’re asking,” came the reply.

Eggman hummed in nervous acknowledgement, releasing the speaker button. Eggman pulled out a wire from his back pocket, plugging it into an open space in the wall. He attached the lead into a small tablet like device he pulled from his coat. The screen of the device flittered to life. The top view of the room he was in popping up; the feed relayed from the camara on the wall, showing his bald head and bristled mustache. Eggman took a moment to smooth down his facial hair before tapping the screen. The feed flickered to the room he knew was the dock he had entered. The view of the room flashed red every few seconds: lighting up the space. It took a few seconds to make out but there was a giant hole in the wall, great cracks leading from the hole and into the runways.

Eggman clenched his fist.

He swiped the screen to the right, turning the camara, the door he had entered through was intact, much to his surprise. Had it not followed him?

“Tails are you sure?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Tails responded, bordering on curt.

“What’s going on up there Eggman?” Came the distant voice of Knuckles. “The explosions stopped…”

“I don’t know,” Eggman grumbled, flickering through more camaras, the control centre, the engine, the massive spare robot part room.

“Come out come out wherever you are,” came a whispery call from above him. Eggman jolted, stumbling backwards and snapping his head around. His eyes fell on the metal bars that led into the darkness of a tunnel.

“What?” called the confused voice of Knuckles.

“The blasted thing is in the ventilation shaft,” he quickly yanked the cable from the port, shoving both bits of equipment into his coat and starting up his panicked sprint again. Seconds after he took off, the distinctive sound of tearing metal screeched behind him.

“All robots, report to storage chamber B10. NOW!” Eggman commanded. He burst into the next room, running past the broken robot parts and the line of mass produced soldier bots that had began filing into the room from three different entrances. Robots, armed to the literal teeth with guns, lazer cannons and various other deadly metal barrels. The door slammed behind him as he entered. The impact shook the ground under his feet and his arms flailed as he regained his balance.

“Robots! He demanded hoarsely, gasping for breath, “Attack!” A metal explosion went off behind him. Eggman saw tiny bullet sized metal shrapnel go flying past his face. He was still mid run when something lodged itself in the back of his left heel. It threw him off completely. The man fell flat on his face, sliding over the threshold of the exit with his gained momentum.

The door slammed shut behind him, just centremetres away from his boots.

“This had better be worth it, Fox.” he spat into the radio, unplanting his red face from the metal floors. The man tried to stand, jolting forwards when he tried to put pressure on his left ankle. He caught himself on his hands before he could face plant a second time. He had made it to the control room. A large white control panel sat at the centre of the ovular space, propped up on a purposely tall platform with five steps on either side.

Eggman sighed, suddenly regretting his architecture choices.

Eggman heard a seething hissing. He flipped onto his back. A chunk of the metal door fizzled and glowed a hot burning red. It formed the unmistakable silhouette of Super Sonic.

The human scrambled backwards on his back like a three legged spider, his immobile left leg dragging a streak of bright crimson across the spotless white floor.

In walked an unfettered red hedgehog, molten metal dripping off it like hot butter. Its fur and quills hissed, steam and smoke rising off it in thin spirals. Small, charred patches of purple fur fell out, floating to the floor in black, scattered clumps. The skin underneath, only visible for a moment as the fur almost immediately grew back. It took a moment to brush off a small clump of charred fur on its shoulder before turning its attention back to its target.

The hedgehog observed the cowering human for a moment. It chuckled.

Sonic’s face lit up, mouth spreading into a cocky grin, “What is wrong eggface, frightened of a little rodent?” called the thing, its voice warping into a Sonic like snark.

Eggman began to feel thick sweat crawling down the back of his neck. What he would give to have the real Sonic approaching him. He, at least, could be talked down.

“Sonic, you stubborn rodent,” he barked, dragging his tense and ragged limbs across the floor away from it, “I’ve fought you for years, your persistence is maddening. You refused to be commanded by anything before, not even by my brilliance. Why is this thing an exception?”

It paused, then smiled. “The ‘rodent’ doesn’t care doctor.”

“Get back!” he demanded, shuffling back on his bottom. He hit the opposite wall.

Eggmans hand finally reached the compartment behind him, yanking open the hatch and grabbing the lazer gun. The bowel expanded like a Venus flytrap. Eggman spammed the trigger, red shots of light rapidly shooting from the centre of the jaws.

The red hedgehog continued its walk, unfettered. Each shot that hit its target smouldering out like a doused flame, the rest flying uselessly by, melting little holes through the wall, beams of blue sky shining through.

…

Tails jittering fingers jabbed at the keyboard.

Amy tapped the tip of her boot against the ground nervously, hands clasped tightly to her heart. Her eyes followed along to the strings of code appearing across the screen in a vain attempt to understand anything.

Knuckles was pacing, agitated, back and forth through the grass. “Arg,” Knuckles growled, kicking up a clump of grass, “I should be doing something.”

A square panel the size of a thick, A5 book slid back on the metal cylinder, attached to the keyboard with trailing yellow wires. “Amy, I need one of your rings,” Tails told her, lifting his left hand from the keyboard to point at the hole while his right continued to type away.

“Of course,” Amy twisted a ring off her left wrist.

“I said stay back!” Shouted the radio. Tails flinched back, unhooking the radio from his ear, gently tossing it down next to the keypad.

Something on the other end crunched, a static howl erupted from the speaker.

All three creatures cringed. Amy’s face twisted in hesitant worry. The hedgehog quickly slid the ring into the hole, only half of it fitting inside.

“Foreign item, except? Y/N”

Tails quickly clicked a popup that appeared on the second, smaller hologram.

A loading bar appeared under the box.

“Good, now don’t touch it,” Tails turned his attention to the second screen, his hands became a blur on the keyboard, eyes flickering across the lines of blue lettered code as they appeared on screen.

The second voice spoke up from the radio, “This incarnation can only speculate the sentiment of mortal empathy.”

Knuckles found himself gritting his teeth.

“Natheless, Comprehension of imposed imprisonment is a shared abhorrence.”

“Come on...” mumbled The Fox, frantically hitting the back button ten times.

“And compensation is long since overdue.”

A tearing sound, like a knife scoring through leather, followed. The radio crackled and buzzed, struggling to receive the volume on the other side. Small moments of broken roaring cries occasionally snapping through the static.

Amy covered her mouth with a hand, reeling backwards. Her head turned to Knuckles.

“Tails!” He snapped.

Tails lent into the holographic screen, his nose a pennies width from it, “I need more time!” he hissed desperately.

A high whistling cut through the air. Knuckles head snapped towards the sound. A red something broke through the side of an airship, zipping through the air like a comet.

“I’ll keep it busy,” Knuckles shot off in the comet’s direction, tracking its fall.

Amy went to follow; Tails grabbed her by the arm. “No, I need you here.”

Knuckles shoes stopped dangerously close to the edge of the cliff face, skidding to a stop just in time.

The comet crashed into the ocean, knocking up a towering pillar of water that drenched the cliffside. It drenched Knuckles along with it. A slimy something smacked him in the face. He yelped and spluttered in surprise, batting away the silvery distressed fish. It gasped and flailed on the grass next to him. Knuckles wiped the saltwater from his face, his eyes staining with a red frame. He blinked hard, trying to clear the buzzing pain assaulting his eyeballs.

He got back enough of his vision to notice the fish. Knuckles frowned sadly. Still blinking frantically, he nudged it gently back into the water with the side of his foot. It landed back in the water with an unheard plop among the roaring of the waves.

A boom shook the ground. Through Knuckles’ blurred vision he saw a dim scarlet light illuminate the darkness below the waters surface. A few seconds passed and a slew of black shapes bobbed to the surface. Knuckles shook his head before squinting his eyes.

Fish. Dead eyed sea creatures, black charcoal burned to their scales.

Knuckles shoulders tensed. He growled, watching the corpses get tossed around in the waves. He made a fist, slamming it furiously into his other hand. He examined the water, eyes twitching, fiercely watching the waves, waiting for that thing to dare show its face.

Something else bobbed to the surface, small bits of something. He couldn’t see what.

Another rumbling caught his attention, it felt like someone burrowing in the rocks beneath him.

Crackle!

Knuckles leapt back, narrowly missing the shooting red ball of electricity as it shot from the earth beneath his heels.

The Echidna raised his fists, halting when he saw something in its hand: The glistening blue head of metal Sonic, dangling; loose wires fizzling from its base.

“Meddlesome machine,” it tutted lightly, flicking it away with its index finger. The metal ball shot horizontally over the cliff. It soon became a dot in the distance before it lost momentum and dropped like a rock.

The red hedgehog opened its mouth casually, letting loose a waterfall of seawater that cascaded out in one go. Knuckles grimaced in disgust.

“Your friend detests the ocean,” it commented, mouth still dribbling.

Knuckles leapt, aiming a punch. It grinned softly, disappearing just before the fist could contact. A blast of pain exploded in the back of his skull. Another strike to the chest sent him plummeting into the ground, creating a small chasm in the stone cliff face under him.

“You disappoint me, last of the echidnas, your friend believes you to be more capable than that pathetic display.”

Knuckles strained to open his eyes, a pounding headache beating at the back of his brain like a drum. Something caught the corner of his vision. The echidna smiled. With a grunt, Knuckles pushed himself from the rubble onto his knees, “Of course I am,” he chuckled, voice cracking. He heaved in a few breaths, quelling his headache, “But I’m just the distraction,”

A bright yellow ring descended over the head of the red hedgehog, closing in on its arms in a millisecond and swiftly yanking the hedgehog away.

“…What is this?” it questioned dully as it was quickly dragged across the island.

It turned its head, following the yellow rope dragging the ring, noticing the keyhole shaped structure ploughing towards it, the circle atop alit with a glitchy blue flame. The neon purple lights in its eyes spasmed.

“NO!” An eldritch screech boomed, its face twisting and stretching vertically like rubber. “We will not return to that accursed prison.” It screeched in desperation, legs flailing, thousands of voices morphing into one.

It burst to life with red electricity. Just as it entered the circle, the yellow ring binding it shattered.

The red hedgehog glowered down at the fox, neon purple slicing through icey blue. “YOU.DARE-”

But Amy had already ripped off her second ring, jamming it into the hole, Tails quickly slammed down his hand on a blue button. A second ring formed. It ensnared its neck, yanking it back.

The air fizzed to life with red sparks for a split second but was immediately quelled as a bright golden light engulphed the portal.

Tails and Amy shielded their eyes from the bright golden glow, stumbling backwards. The blinding light flickered, fading completely as the humming ancient technology quieted. The only sound left was the exhausted panting of the two friends, standing before the deactivated portal.

“Sorry Amy…” Tails breathed “I don’t think you’ll be getting your rings back,”. Tails shook from head to tails, his arms and fingers throbbing and sore from all the typing.  

“Tails…” Amy wheezed, “That, is the least of my worries right now.”

A silent relief washed over the two. Both fell to their knees.

[zu-is-here]

(y)our personal hell

[11/9] Blueberror & ["11/10"] Error by loverofpiggies

Underswap by popcornpr1nce

[roxirinart]

Baa baa

[trustyalt]

back at pokemon kofi donos at last + a visitor c:

[bet-on-me-13]

Ghostly Host AU

So! Ghosts need a physical Anchor in the living world, or they are liable to fall apart and fade away if they stay for too long.

In Amity Park, this usually isn't too much of a problem. Sure most Ghosts can't stay for a week without a Host, but the ambient Ecto-Levels in Amity Park are enough that they can stay for a few days or so at a time with little worry.

This changes however, during Reign Storm.

When Pariah Dark awakens, Tens of Thousands of Ghosts use the Fenton Portal to escape the Rule of Pariah Dark, running away into the Human Realm.

If Amity Park had stayed where it was, this would have been fine. They could have stayed in the Living Realm for a few days, and maybe the Weaker ones would need to find a temporary Host, but that was fine since Amity was filled with thousands of Liminals.

Unfortunately, Pariah Darks first move was to suck Amity Park into the Ghost Zone, alongside all of the Ecto-Energy that had accumulated there.

Now left trapped in the Living Realm with no way back to the Zone, thousands of Ghosts suddenly needed Hosts or they would start dying off by the Hundreds. In a Panic, they spread out across the Planet in search of viable Hosts.

Any normal Person wouldn't do, they needed a Living Being that could actually handle their Power, or someone who matched their Soul. Preferably both. Liminals were the best since they had a durable Body and a Malleable Soul, so any Ghost could use any of them as a Host.

But outside of Amity Liminals were very rare, and finding someone who matched their Soul was time-consuming and hard. Thankfully, in recent years the population of Aliens, Metahumans, Enhanced Soldiers, and even extra durable baseline Humans had spiked across the world.

All across the planet, People suddenly found themselves stuck with a new Passenger in their Bodies.

Those new passengers thankfully weren't malicious, for the most part, but it was still annoying. The only good thing was that they now had new Powers, which neat.

They could summon the Ghosts in their Body outwardly, and then command the Ghost to use their Powers in whatever way they wanted. Only other Hosts could see another person's Ghost, which meant they looked very awkward to normal people when they fought. Generally, Hosts seemed to act more strangely after getting a Ghost, as if they lost a few of their Inhibitions.

Why did they feel the sudden need to strike a flamboyant Pose? Or over dramatically scream?