#Yes this does take place after Phantom Planet

[radiance1]

@puppetmaster13u You called Danny a space whale in the tags of one of this post.

Now what if that was literal?

Hear me out, Danny outlives his friends, parents, sister. Danny becomes a literal whale.

Well, not a literal one because he's a ghost, but he takes the shape one of at the very least. He's just a giant, glowing white whale that looks pretty divine not going to lie.

Danny leaves earth. It wasn't safe for him anymore, what with the GIW and all that as even the ghosts found it not even worth anymore to visit the mortal world.

Except for Desiree and Spectra, but that's besides the point.

But Danny doesn't retreat to the zone, he's always longed for space, but because of his new half humanness he doesn't get believe he could've ever gone because, well. Yea.

But Danny goes fuck it and goes anyway. His form shifts from human to that of a giant whale, and he swims out into the vastness of space.

Years pass, and Danny does start getting bigger as he aged. He explored the vastness of space, marveling at many things, the different planets, the stars, the formations of rock and other things.

Then he encounters someone he never though he would've.

Vlad.

Well, he knew Vlad was left behind in space by his father but he didn't think he would find him again and Vlad seemed... different, from what he remembered.

For one thing, he didn't even know where Vlad began and space ended. He got only see those red eyes that even hinted at it being the man. His body was void black and filled with stars upon stars, all glittering from his body and Vlad barely even seemed to notice him, or if he did, he didn't seem to care at all.

So, Danny took him.

He was both curious and felt a bit bad about what happened to Vlad, even if he didn't know exactly what happened, and he couldn't just leave him there either.

So on his back Vlad went, and his travels continued.

It seemed to be the correct decision, really, because slowly overtime Vlad seemed to be regaining his awareness. Then slowly, tentatively, started to speak with him through ghost speak.

Vlad only seemed to vaguely remember what he was before space. He remembered hating a man, loving a woman, wanting a son, loneliness and a boy with white hair and toxic green eyes.

Even though Vlad was his former enemy, his nemesis, and someone who took the world hostage.

He couldn't help but feel pity for him.

Then their travels continued.

Years pass unnoticed, when in space, with Danny slowly getting bigger and bigger as the two travel throughout. They've come into contact with various civilizations, some hostile, some peaceful, some neutral.

The hostile ones never lasted long, even if Danny never lifted a flipper to do anything most of the time, Vlad made sure of it.

They came at went as they pleased, and Danny believes that they've gained a bit of a reputations over their adventures, but neither he nor Vlad knew exactly what they said. It did prove useful in some cases, however.

A few more years, and Danny feels that this system is vaguely familiar. Which happens sometimes, considering he's been travelling for so long. He then finds out why it was so familiar.

He came across Earth and, oh. When was the Earth so small?

Well, not small really, but when was he just only a bit smaller than it?

Did it shrink when he was away? Or did he just grow?

That doesn't matter though. What does, is the fact that currently seemed to be an invasion going on, on his home planet thank you very much. He did not like the fact that there was a massive fleet parked right outside his home.

So he spoke to Vlad, expressed his displeasure, Vlad responded back knowingly and went off to make the source of his displeasure disappear. That doesn't Danny was idle either, the fleet was big and, well.

It's been a while since he's stretched himself in a fight.

[gffa]

One thing that caught my attention while watching The Phantom Menace in the theater, a movie I didn't expect to find anything new with after how many times I've seen it and analyzed it, was that Sidious mentions multiple times that he has to change his plans to fit the new circumstances. It got me to thinking about how Palpatine gets credit for his carefully crafted plans, but often times not for how flexible he is in changing them on the fly, especially in time travel fics where someone destroys one of his plans and that's the end of it. Which, I'm not advocating against, I love a good Take That Wrinkled Walnut The Fuck Down However You Gotta Do It fic and I don't want them to change! But in canon Palpatine makes note of things he's not expecting, like:

When Valorum sends the Jedi as ambassadors, it's not part of Sidious' plan: DAULTAY DOFINE: This scheme of yours has failed, Lord Sidious. The blockade is finished. We dare not go against the Jedi. DARTH SIDIOUS: Viceroy, I don't want this stunted slime in my sight again! This turn of events is unfortunate. We must accelerate our plans. Begin landing your troops. NUTE GUNRAY: My lord, is that… legal? DARTH SIDIOUS: I will make it legal. NUTE GUNRAY: And the Jedi? DARTH SIDIOUS: The Chancellor should never have brought them into this. Kill them immediately!

On the Trade Federation ship, after Queen Amidala has disappeared from Naboo, Palpatine originally planned that she would be forced to sign the treaty, and then brings in Maul to deal with this. DARTH SIDIOUS: And Queen Amidala, has she signed the treaty? NUTE GUNRAY: She has disappeared, My Lord. One Naboo cruiser got pat the blockade. DARTH SIDIOUS: I want that treaty signed. NUTE GUNRAY: My Lord, it's impossible to locate the ship. It's out of our range. DARTH SIDIOUS: Not for a Sith. This is my apprentice. Darth Maul. He will find your lost ship.

On Naboo, after Padme allies with the Gungans: NUTE GUNRAY: We've sent out patrols. We've already located their starship in the swamp....It won't be long, My Lord. DARTH SIDIOUS: This is an unexpected move for her. It's too aggressive. Lord Maul, be mindful. MAUL: Yes, my Master. DARTH SIDIOUS: Be patient... Let them make the first move.

Palpatine's plans aren't static, they adapt and change with the events that happen, just as the other characters react to new information and head in new directions for it, so too does Palpatine and I think it's interesting to note that part of what makes him such a good villain is that he has an outline for what he wants to do, he sets up the dominoes of what he needs, but even when they don't fall precisely into place, he generally gets what he wants. He originally intended that Padme would sign the treaty, the Jedi wouldn't be involved, and that would lead to a vote of No Confidence to oust Valorum, using the sympathy for Naboo as a way to boost himself into the position. But he didn't really need her to sign it and still managed to use the sympathy for Naboo to get elected, it ultimately didn't matter what happened to the planet, so long as it was in danger while he needed it to be, he could use it either way. Nor, honestly, do I think he ever planned for Anakin Skywalker's existence, he had no idea they would find such a boy on Tatooine or how useful he was going to be, that was another way he changed his plans once the opportunity arose. Or a lot of his plots in TCW--he has Cad Bane steal the list of Force-sensitive children and kidnap them, bringing them to Mustafar for some sort of program to use them probably not too unlike how he uses the Inquisitors later. That plan is foiled by the Jedi, the babies are returned to their families, and Sidious' plans fall through, but that doesn't really change the outcome. tl:dr: I don't think Palpatine gets enough credit as a villain whose plans shift and change along with the new events that happen, just as much as the heroes' plans shift and change when new things happen. Yeah, he's a great villain because he creates an impossible trap for people, but also because the thing about him is that he's incredibly charming and charismatic and he knows an opportunity when he sees one, that any one given plan might fall through, but it's not necessary to his overall plot.

[vladdyissues]

thinking about hurt/comfort, there's a musical that made me kinda. remember. an old AU idea i had that i keep revisiting and only keep putting off because there's some research i gotta do for allusion's sake

-Danny Phantom style Descent of Orpheus (before anyone says it, yes, the musical was Hadestown)

-Vlad dies during Phantom Planet and ends up in his ghost lair, against all expectation. rather than return to his life, which he thoroughly fucked up, he holes up there and begins making it the kind of world where he has no regrets

-meanwhile, in the living world, Danny inherited all his remaining possessions and cat. he is not impressed by this. he is even less impressed when, a few years later, he discovers the VAULT OF STOLEN ARTIFACTS that are FREAKING OUT because the will wasn't enough to actually transfer ownership to Danny and now they're triggering some Poltergeist shit in Vlad's old home. it would only work if Vlad was fully dead

-well... what the fuck? he's not fully dead?! where IS he then?!

-cue Danny tracking down Vlad's lair with Clockwork's help so he can pry the man out of there

that part is about as far as i usually got consistently (lots of ideas, nothing firm) before hearing Hadestown and realizing where i could go from there. once I did, Vlad became a combo of Eurydice and Hades, and Danny a combo of Orpheus and Persephone. at which point:

-Plasmius basically made himself an anachronistic mish mash of everything he associates with power and glory. including a lot of roman empire, because clearly he was having fun there before Danny showed up.

-lots of little indicators he's still full of regrets, familiar faces on background characters, familiar motifs, lots of sad

-Plasmius reveals he can still become human. there's just nothing left for him up there. he is a king here, there he will be the most hated man on Earth. his life is over, just like it will be for Danny one day, and he will not force himself outside of his refuge just to be discarded once again

-that actually does get to Danny. sure, it's because of Vlad's own actions but... there really isn't anything in this for Vlad. and he had been planning to just offer a simple out, in, back to being sad in his lair forever and holy shit that does not feel right

-so he... stays. until he can find something to offer Vlad on the outside

-he fails. he leaves. he returns. more than once. he has to get Vlad to finally transfer those artifacts, but his need to protect is telling him he needs to give Vlad something that's worth leaving

-still have a lot of the third act to plan, but Danny eventually becomes that thing worth leaving for after a lot of getting to know Vlad's many wounds and regrets. and Vlad decides rather than be king of his personal underworld, he'd rather be a kingmaker. it's why he stole the crown of fire and ring of rage without using them in the first place

-and he's sure he knows who he wants to have them some day

-(there would also be a lot of implications that would roll into a possible AGIT based sequel that the half-ghost status is a lot more mystically significant than just an ability to change back and forth)

-featuring a lot of hot king Vlad and a Danny who's so stubborn he doesn't even realize he's catching feelings until it sneaks up on him

I love this I love this. It's extremely cinematic and has so many great visuals (like Hot King Vlad). When do tickets go on sale? I want to book the entire theater, please. ∠( ᐛ 」∠)_

Also, feel free to ignore this if you're not taking suggestions, but that third act? The impetus that finally gets Vlad to return to the human world?

Danny gets captured. And the only person who can save him is Vlad.

Maybe Danny's newly-acquired wealth attracted attention from some unsavory people (GIW, whoever), and because he was so preoccupied visiting Vlad and trying to figure out how to get him to come back to the living world, he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. (Of course he wasn't; he's young and inexperienced and there are things he doesn't know to watch out for. Vlad obviously did, which was how he managed to be such a high-profile individual and yet keep his ghost identity a secret for 20+ years.)

And maybe Vlad began to bond with Danny through his regular visits. Nothing could get him to return to the human world, but he was beginning to enjoy Danny's company. And then suddenly Frostbite or another ghost bursts into Vlad's lair and utters three words: "They got Danny."

Oh shit.

Cue an epic rescue. King Vlad at his hottest and deadliest. Michael Bay explosions. John Williams score. Blood, fire, vengeance, the artifacts firing up at their master's presence, the boss of all boss battles, Duel of the Fates cranked to 11—

[kyberblade]

I Can Help With That (Din x Reader) - A Back To You Drabble

A/N: This is part of my Phantom 1k Celebration. It’s a combination of three requests, which can be found here, here, and here. It takes place after Part 19 of Back To You, sometime after they get Grogu back in TBoBF, and is the closest thing to smut I’ve really written. (Thanks a lot, you know who you are.) It’s really actually just spice and domestic intimacy more than anything with an implied fade to black, but…. So I’m just gonna drop this here and run. 😬 Have a nice day! (There will be a few more, less spicy, here.)

I do not own Star Wars or it’s characters. Sadly. But I carry them in my heart. Does that count for something? My soul says yes.

Summary: After a messy bounty leaves your clan of three staying overnight in a dingy room on Daiyu, feelings come bubbling up that have been otherwise too scared to see the light of day.

Warnings: Tooth rotting fluff, Grogu being the cutest thing you ever did see, and Din is once again a warning in and of himself in this one. Swearing. Space swearing. Arguing? Spoilers? (But if you’re here, you know how this works.) Lots of angst. Tears. Brief mention of injury. Reader is having a Tough Time™️ mentally, but it’s discussed and processed. As mentioned above, some spice and alluded to Fun Times. (They are in the shower together, per the request, so nudity? But it’s not discussed? Not really?) Helmetless Din. What? Who said that?

Word count: 4,913

Thank you to @fordo-kixed-rex for reading this over a bazillion times and not strangling me when I stressed over five words not being exactly what I wanted.

(Tagging @grippingbeskar and @darkroastjoel, these are yours.)

Xxx

It hadn’t taken long for you to find out that Din enjoyed lingering touches.

He always found an excuse for his hand to be on your lower back, guiding you through crowded markets, wooded planets; curling around your waist and holding you tight to his side to keep you warm when the temperature dropped lower.

His fingers found their practiced patterns quickly, tracing laps around your upper arm, your hip. Racing up and down your forearm until goosebumps rose along every surface he’d dared to trace.

He wasn’t satisfied until you’d shudder from the lightest touches, groan into his cowl as his fingers kneaded into a sore muscle in your neck, or your breath would hitch as his hand closed around your own. 

Though the Crest was small, he made it smaller still, crowding into your space whenever he deemed you had too much of it. 

Whenever you worked on a panel, digging through wires, you’d feel him hovering just behind you, a breath away from sealing his chest along your spine.

If you laid on the floor to work in the cramped space under the console, a mess of wires hanging in your face, you’d sense his presence looming near your feet, the toes of his boots resting against the heels of your own.

Sometimes when you’d tucked the kid in at night, watching his eyes droop more and more slowly as you gently rocked his hammock back and forth, humming a soft tune, you’d feel the temperature of the hull rise as his shadow crossed over you soundlessly, cutting out the little light the Crest had to offer. A smirk would twist its way up your face as you felt him hovering nearer.

Tonight was one of those nights.

So it was no surprise when he let out a hum of amusement as you turned into his chest after closing the door to the cot and a sleeping Grogu.

You both played the game, still, like this wasn’t the easiest thing either of you had ever fallen into. Still tiptoeing around the other as if nothing had been said, no secrets had been shared, no Creeds broken. That last thought sobered you up every time it crossed your mind, making your breath catch in your chest.

Pushing away thoughts of Creeds and Mandalore, you grinned up at him, resting your chin against his chest plate to keep your gaze steady. 

“What’s this?” He mumbled as your arms circled around his back, disengaging his jet pack.

“Love and affection.” The pack swung your arm down, pulling an oomph out of you. Setting it down to the side with a thump, you smirked up at him, circling your arms back around his waist slowly, chin once again perched on his beskar. “Deal with it.”

“Mesh’la, you don’t want to do that….” He groaned, melting into your embrace, but also trying to lean back at the same time.

You hummed, face scrunched in mock displeasure. “You should know by now you shouldn’t tell me what to do. It doesn’t work….”

Din snorted. “No, mesh’la, I mean….” He extricated himself from your grip, delicately pushing your arms away as he pulled the rest of his body back with a small twisting maneuver. “I need to shower. That last bounty wasn’t a, er….” He hesitated, his voice going tight. “A clean kill.”

Narrowing your brows at him, you lifted your eyes to study him from head to toe, finding no trace of anything on his beskar. “You don’t look dirty.” Closing the distance once again with a single step forward, you lifted his arms up to peer under them as if that would reveal the dirt and grime in question, bending forward slightly to get a better look. Next was his cape. You tilted to the side dramatically to see underneath.

He snapped it out of your hands, spinning out of your hold and took several steps away before turning to face you again. “You wouldn’t see anything. The blood is bioluminescent. You’d need to kick on the-”

“Oh! The special work lights, yeah.” You were already moving toward the ladder up to the cockpit. “They are in my tool box, I’ll go get the-”

“No!” You stopped at his abrupt protest, one hand on a ladder rung by your head, one foot already about to push up a rung, but it slipped off with a soft thunk when you turned to look at him with raised brows. “No,” he offered again, this time softer. “You’re not gonna want to do that.” His voice lowered. “Trust me.”

You hesitated. Despite him trying to keep away, you took a step closer, brows knit together in confusion. “Why?”

He shifted his weight from side to side, voice tight in apprehension. “‘Cause now it’s on you, too.”

Holding your arms out to the sides, slowly, you looked down at your body that looked the same as it did five minutes ago, only now, it felt like you were caked in filth. Looking back up into his visor, you ignored his hands held up to try and placate you, voice raising with each word. “You could have warned me!”

“I tried!” Din almost whined, exasperated, taking a step back to maintain the distance he had tried to create. “I really did,” he added softly.

Eyes fluttering shut, you took a deep breath before letting it out through your nose. Your voice had lowered back to something closer to normal when you spoke again; hands gesturing smally, still out at your sides as you did. “Let’s just go to the room and get a shower. You go first, leave your armor outside the fresher door and I’ll clean it while you’re in there-”

“We don’t need to go all the way back to the room. I can use the sink here on the ship-” Din stopped short when your eyes flew open, landing on him with a hard stare. He sighed, the sound resigned. “Let’s get going, then. It’s at least half a mile to get there….”

You nodded, small smirk working its way up one side of your face. “Thank you.” After you began to gather a few things, you mused to him proudly, “Aren’t you glad I convinced you to get a room?” He grunted, making you scoff softly and roll your eyes before turning back to the satchel you were packing. “I mean, it’s not every day we’re on….” Your hand froze midway into the bag, the other clutching the strap of it tightly. Keeping your eyes on the bag, you didn’t dare to lift them back up as you studied its weave hoping it held your answers.

With a sigh, you lifted your head and shut your eyes briefly before cutting your gaze Din’s way, making sure to narrow your eyes preemptively. 

He slowly swiveled his visor up to level you with a look. “You don’t even know where we are?” His tone was incredulous. One hip popped out to the side, his head tilting to the side as he stared at you. 

“I know,” you defended, inclining your chin to peer down your nose at him before turning your attention back to the bag.

Arms crossed over his chest, he stood up straight, keeping the glare of his visor squarely on you. “You should. You picked it out.”

Making your way over to the bunk, satchel across your chest, you jumped in to correct him. “No, technically the bounty did.” You hesitated. “I only picked the puck. Which was all you. You said I was lucky or something. So this is technically on you.”

Tossing his head with a groan, Din turned away from you, grabbing the essentials while you grabbed the kid.

“Daiyu!”

Din spun around to see the kid blinking bleary eyes up at you as you looked down at him apologetically, one finger held up beside your head for emphasis.

Lifting your eyes back up to meet the T of Din’s visor, you shrugged one shoulder sheepishly, mumbling. “Daiyu, I remembered.”

Xxx

Once you got into the room, the kid had promptly fallen back asleep, allowing you to seal him safely away in his floating cradle for the night.

Turning to face Din, hands on your hips, you watched him set the bags of supplies down on a small table in the corner. “Want any help taking the armor off?”

“No, I’ll manage,” he spoke softly, not looking up at you once. His gaze stayed down toward the table, his visor angled toward the smooth surface. With a quiet groan, he walked to the other side of the room and began removing the armor piece by piece. It collected against the wall beside the fresher door in a small pile, a soft thunk with each new piece as the tower of beskar grew.

You watched in silence from across the room, sorting mindlessly through the bag of rations. He moved so stiffly once he began to set the armor down, his movements stilted and slow, like every breath was an effort. Din twisted to the side, puffing up his chest to try and keep it from you, but you noticed. The quarry must have gotten him somehow. The closer you looked, the more you saw; he had a slight hitch in his step and favored his left side more than his right, bracing on the door frame as he passed through to start the water in the shower.

Since he’d removed his helmet for Grogu and you’d seen his face, he’d been a lot less careful about taking it off in front of you. He still kept it on most of the time, it was after all what he was used to, and you didn’t mind that at all. But the few times he removed it, like right now, you found your eyes straying away from his face, unable to look without an obvious invitation. It still felt like something forbidden.

That’s why when his bare forehead pressed against yours, it caught you off guard and made you jump.

He chuckled. “Sorry.” In nothing but his flight suit, sleeves pushed up his forearms, he crowded into your space like he always did, bringing his right hand up to cup your cheek. His left arm wound around your waist to pull you tight, as his breath fanned across your face.

“No, you’re not.”

“No, I’m not,” he agreed, words overlapping your own eagerly as he shook his head against yours, his nose brushing against your own. The smile pulling up the side of his face was contagious, and it tugged up your cheek under the soft ministrations of his thumb.

You expected him to back you into a wall like he usually did, but the two of you stood quietly in the middle of the room, simply being. It was nice to have a moment to just breathe.

Your arms made their way up to wrap around his neck, nearly all the way around when he hissed, sucking air in through his teeth as he flinched away from you. Cradling both cheeks in your hands, you held his face firmly as your eyes scanned over every part of him you could see for any obvious injury.

“Din? What is it? What hurts?”

His eyes stayed downcast, almost in shame, his chin tucked down toward his chest.

“Din?”

“Nothing,” he mumbled. You’d grown used to his unmodulated voice recently, but you weren’t used to this tone. Dejected. Broken. Subdued.

You simply blinked a few times, scanning his face for any sign of what was wrong, besides the obvious, while he leaned to his left just slightly, enough that you noticed. “Din…. What?”

“Nothing, it’s nothing.” He cleared his throat, bringing his hands up to thread his fingers through yours and lift them off his face. He gave you a gentle squeeze before he let go. His movements were soft and kind, but left no room for question.

Eyes never pulling up from the floor, Din rubbed the back of his neck in something that looked like nerves, then turned toward the fresher, disappearing behind the door as it hissed shut behind him.

Xxx

You waited a few minutes before you followed him, the soft drone of running water filling the room with a constant hum. Leaving your vambraces with his pile of armor by the fresher door, you smiled softly as you surveyed the large pile of beskar. We’ll clean them in the morning.

After you made sure the room was secure, the kid tucked away in his cradle fast asleep, you stripped down the rest of the way, before wrapping yourself in a towel provided by the room. The fresher door opened with a wave of your hand, a wall of steam curling out like you’d relieved some sort of exhaust pressure. 

Walking silently into the room like Din had taught you, you closed the door behind you with a wave of your hand, the unseen force causing the steam to swirl in fascinating tendrils in the process.

Your Mandalorian was tucked away in the shower, his back to you, oblivious to your presence as you watched him, studying him from head to toe with more than just your eyes to make sure he was okay. You reached out through the Force to try and read him, something he always made so easy for you, he was an open book, but right now, he was closed off. 

Furrowing your brow, you set your towel off to the side and walked closer toward the shower stall.

Din was leaning on his hands against the wall, his silhouette behind the glass dividing the shower from the rest of the room obscured from the steam already billowing around the edges.

His breathing looked labored, every breath an effort as he stood deep in thought.

He obviously hadn’t wanted you to see him like this. Battered, probably bruised. You knew it all amounted to one thing in his eyes. He felt broken.

Stepping under the spray, you blinked twice as stray droplets hit your lashes.

Din was so distracted he still didn’t even know you were here, leaning forward against the opposite wall of the shower, hands braced against the cool wall, head hung low between rounded shoulders.

Reaching out slowly, you lightly traced your fingertips up his left side, pausing when he went stiff. “It’s just me,” you muttered quietly, your right hand coming up to race against your left along his ribs. 

Spreading your fingers out so your whole hand could dance along his skin, gliding along with the water droplets cascading down his sides, you pressed more firmly into him, stepping closer.

In the dim light of the shower stall you could see bruises blooming along his rib cage, contrasting brilliantly under your fingertips and against his warm skin tone.

“These are new.” Keeping your voice quiet, you let your eyes find the rest without your hands having to trace their paths.

He only grunted in acknowledgment.

“I can help with that, you know.”

“No,” he said instantly. After shifting his weight back and forth for a moment, he turned his head just slightly to look at you over his shoulder before looking back forward, and lowered his voice. “No.” Din shook his head for emphasis, his fingers flexing against the wall.

Resting your chin against his spine, careful to avoid the bruises, you wrapped your arms around to rest on his chest, bending over to drape yourself over him like a blanket. “How come?”

“That always tires you out so much.” His hands flexed again. “Plus….”

After waiting for him to go on, you pushed gently. “Yeah?”

“Plus…. When you do too much of that stuff…. Sometimes it…. Changes you….”

“How so?”

He took a deep breath, pushing off the wall to stand up straighter, unable to straighten all the way as one of the bruises pulled his spine forward slightly. You kept your arms around him, your body pressed tightly to his as you felt his heartbeat pick up under your palm.

Closing your eyes, you reached out through the Force, offering him some of your light to mend his darkness, the battered and broken skin along his sides mending back to a warm shade of health. 

His pulse rose even more under your fingers, and he sighed in frustration. “Mesh’la….”

“What’s one more time,” you mumbled into his shoulder blade, tucking your face into his spine whether to hide away or simply because it made you feel safer, you didn’t know. “I don’t like seeing you hurt, Din. I’m not going to break from healing the ones I love.” You turned so just your forehead was resting against his back. “At least I don’t think.” Your voice was barely a whisper.

Din only nodded after a moment. He understood. He didn’t like it, but he understood. Another sigh passed his lips as he brought one hand up to pat yours over his heart lightly, pulling it up to kiss your palm before placing it back on his chest. Then he put his hand back on the wall in front of him. Almost like a reflex. You were there, so he had to reach out and touch you somehow. It made the corner of your mouth quirk up if only for a second before it fell once again.

A long moment of silence stretched between you two until you finally ventured again, “You never explained. How? What is it that changes in me?”

Din kept staring at the wall in front of him, his voice echoing off the shower stall when he finally spoke again, but barely loud enough to be heard over the quiet drone of the running water.

“Sometimes…. Sometimes there’s a darkness to you. I don’t think you’re aware of it, it’s definitely not a conscious decision, but this…. Thing takes over, and your eyes…. They look cold.”

“When?” Your hands moved back to his rib cage. “When was the last time you saw it?”

“With Gideon. At first I thought it was just some sort of fierce protectiveness. But when you held your saber at his throat, I could feel it.” His hands came up over yours and squeezed softly, pulling them back around his chest to place them over his heart again. “The room shifted. You went somewhere dark.”

Resting your forehead against his shoulder blade, you took a deep, shuddering breath, before bringing your mouth to simply rest against his skin. Breathing as slowly as you could through your nose, your eyes screwed tightly shut, you focused on the things around you.

The smell of the soap from the room. The smell that was undeniably him that no amount of scrubbing could remove. The heat from the water. The warmth of his hold on your hands. The comfort of his body pressed into yours.

“Mesh’la?” He asked quietly after a moment, gently squeezing your hands still held in his. 

“I’m fine,” you whispered. “That’s…. It’s…. I’m not….” Your breath caught in your throat, another sharp inhale coming to a sudden stop making your eyes screw even more tightly shut. You couldn’t tell if it was from the shower or if you were crying, but droplets were cascading down your cheeks.

Din wasted no time, turning in your hold and gently pressing you into the wall, his forehead resting against yours as your spine sealed against the cold tile, making you gasp. 

“I’m sorry,” you finally managed on a broken whisper.

“That’s not-”

“No, it is,” you cut him off, opening your eyes to stare blankly forward, catching a glimpse of his facial hair but not daring to look any higher. Not brave enough to see what you’d find there. “It means I am not in as much control as I thought. And…. That’s not safe. For any of us. I need to do better.”

“Then I’ll help you,” Din mumbled, leaning further into you, his arms circling around your waist to pull you tighter as he simultaneously pressed you further into the cold tile wall. It was a sharp contrast, his warm skin at your front, the cold wall at your back, and somewhere in the middle the warm water of the shower melding it all together in a sea of steam. It was hard to tell where he ended and you began. Every bit of him a part of every bit of you. “We both will.”

“No, Din. No.” You shook your head, rocking it back and forth against the wall, only stopping when Din pressed his forehead more firmly into yours. Swallowing roughly, you let your eyes close tightly once again. “That’s not…. It’s not the kid’s place. Or yours.” Swallowing again to try and keep the emotions down and away from your steadily wobbling voice, you sniffled before going on. “This is something I need to do on my own.”

“Dank farrik, mesh’la!” Din hissed, one hand leaving your waist to hit the wall beside your head in frustration, making you jump. You shushed him, shaking your head slightly as he mumbled gentle apologies, his hand coming back to snake around your waist where it belonged. “Don’t you see? That’s why this is a problem!”

Opening your eyes, you still hadn’t quite found the strength to look up, but you did it anyway, deciding you’d rather just see whatever was waiting for you and face it straight on than let it torment you in the back of your mind from quiet shadows.

Warm brown eyes were waiting for you, relief washing over them as they crinkled at the sides from the tentative smile crawling up his face.

No judgment, no disappointment, no fear, only something that resembled hope as they traced the lines of your face in search of something you weren’t quite sure.

“That’s why,” he reiterated, arms squeezing you gently for emphasis. “You’ve been trying to do all of this alone, and you can’t.”

Your eyes fell down to his chest and you sighed, pulling your head away from his and leaning away slightly. “Din-”

“I’m not saying you can’t, I’m saying it can’t.” Lifting your eyes back up to his, you found him tilting his head slightly to try and catch your gaze again. He smirked slightly when he did. “This is something that’s meant to be shared. From what I’ve seen, Jedi aren’t solitary creatures. At least they aren’t supposed to be. The ones that are left have adapted after years of training.”

You couldn’t help the grin that was working its way up your face. “A Mandalorian and a Jedi…. What could go wrong?”

“You're forgetting the fifty year old Jedi baby.”

“Ah yes, and the fifty year old Jedi baby,” you chuckled.

“And the answer is, I’m sure, absolutely everything.” You huffed, rolling your eyes as he reached for the shampoo. “But until then, we’re still covered in bioluminescent blood, so….” Squeezing some of the liquid onto his palm, he pulled your hand from where it rested on his waist to in between you and put some in your waiting palm as well. “….for now, I’ll help you if you’ll help me?”

You hummed in amusement. “Oh, poor Mandalorian. I think I finally found the one thing your armor can’t do.”

“Nah.” He shook his head, scrunching his face up. “I’m sure I could find a way to figure it out. It’s just….” He groaned as your fingers started to massage the shampoo into his damp hair, making your grin grow.

“It’s just….” You repeated, teasingly.

“You do it so much better,” he finished on a sigh, his forehead coming to rest on your shoulder with a thump, giving you easier access to continue working it into his curls.

“What about me? I thought this was a you help me if I help you thing? You even have shampoo in your ha-” You’re cut short when his hand comes up and plops the glob of soap on your hair, making your jaw drop. 

“I���ll do it after. There’s a whole bottle. Just…. Please?” He was almost whining by the end, leaning further into you. His head turned so his lips were pressed into the crook of your neck. “Please, please, please….”

Suddenly you felt him drifting, the scruff of his facial hair prickling the skin near your clavicle as he chased it with soft kisses. Working his way across toward your other shoulder, your fingers stalled in his hair as you sighed.

“If you keep doing that, I’m not gonna be able to keep going.”

Din hummed into the crook of your neck, the vibrations tickling the skin as he began his climb upward toward your ear. His words were mumbled into your skin, causing goosebumps to spring up all over despite the still hot water. “Won’t be able to keep doing what?”

“This,” you said through gritted teeth, tugging on his hair to pull him away from your neck and send him a playful glare.

Din smirked as he leaned further back into the spray of the shower to rinse the suds from his hair, shaking his head and tossing droplets everywhere before he was back at your side. You could feel his lips turning up into a smile as they brushed against the shell of your ear, his nose tucked into your hair. “Then don’t.”

His unmodulated voice was something you’d never quite get used to, no matter what you told yourself, particularly so close to you and so quiet.

“Turn around,” he murmured, his hands smoothing down your sides to land on your hips. Gently applying pressure to reorient you with your back to him, he nudged you under the spray of the shower.

“This better be the part when you wash my hair, Tin Can,” you teased playfully.

“We’re getting there,” he rumbled quietly. “But first….” His hands left your hips, his body following after them, and despite the warmth of the water, you found yourself already missing the heat that always radiated off of him in waves.

You began to realize all the times you leaned into his quiet touches, while you told yourself it was just to appease him, to speak his language, it was every bit for yourself as well. It made you feel safe. Every time his arms silently wound around you, he lingered at your back, hovered at your side, or you felt his eyes quietly watching from across the room…. It was the safety you’d never felt anywhere else that you craved. 

The warmth that encased you, that trailed over your skin with just a look, a brush of a hand in passing. You craved it. He was your addiction. And you were longing for a hit.

Taking a step back toward him in search of his warmth, you only made it half a stride before bumping into him, both of you chuckling as his hands came out to steady you on your upper arms.

“Can I help you?” He drawled.

“Uh,” you eloquently said, staring straight forward as you searched for the words, any words. “Was just looking for the soap.”

Din chuckled knowingly. “I’ve got it, mesh’la.” He dropped his chin down to rest on your shoulder. “But you knew that.”

Tilting your head back to look down your nose at the wall of the shower in front of you, you huffed. “I can neither confirm nor deny.”

The Mandalorian turned his face down into your skin, circling his arms around your waist to hold you close. As he peppered gentle kisses across your left shoulder blade, he offered a compromise between each one. “Well. You know…. The kid’s gonna wake up soon. And I already used the soap. Haven’t rinsed it off yet. We could…. Share.”

The slide of his skin against yours sent a shiver down your spine, his huff of amusement next to your ear making you grin. 

“We should do this more often.”

You groaned as his fingers began to massage shampoo into your hair.

“You won’t hear me complaining,” his voice was soft, tucked into your neck as he massaged the soap into your roots.

“That means getting a room more often,” you mused, leaning further back into him, your grin of amusement growing at his grumble of annoyance. “Less bumbling around the Crest, camping on backwater planets, hiding out on-”

“If I told you,” he cut in, his voice conspiratorial, “that I know all the good spots-”

“Spots?”

He pinched your hip before continuing pointedly. “Yes, all the spots, on all the backwater planets, as you so nicely called them. Some beautiful waterfalls…. Hot springs…. They’re no dingy Daiyu room shower, but-”

You turned in his grip, arms coming up around his neck as you leaned your forehead against his. “They sound wonderful, Din.”

He grinned. “Then it’s settled. Next place we stop, I’ll take you on a tour of all my favorite places.” He leaned forward, brushing his nose against yours. “Well, they used to be my favorite. Now I have a new one.”

Slowly rolling up onto the balls of your feet, cinching your arms around him tighter, you huffed out a quiet laugh. “Oh yeah? And where’s that?”

The sneaky smile turning up his face continued to grow as he leaned closer to you, his lips ghosting over yours as he whispered, “I’ll just let you take a wild guess,” before they pressed firmly to yours.

Xxx

Tags to come!

[raaorqtpbpdy]

Don't Crack Under Pressure

Written for the Phic Phight Prompt: (Not phantom planet compliant) Danny's finally an astronaut! He's somehow got through college, after barely managing to pull through high school. But after he manages to make it into a NASA rocket and travel to the final frontier, his helmet cracks. So how does he explain how he got through the entire day to the rest of the crew with a cracked helmet? (from @shadowpixel)

Chapter 1: Let's Take a Rocketship to Space (I hear it's a real swinging place)

AO3 Link

[Warnings for deep space and assumed character death]

Despite the nightmare that was high school, and just barely getting his diploma, Danny managed to get into college. By some miracle he got his engineering degree, and now he was achieving his lifelong dream of becoming an astronaut. His first mission was with a crew of mostly veterans to investigate a NASA probe that had been sent to Psyche, an asteroid in the Main Asteroid Belt which traveled between Mars and Jupiter.

The probe had sent signals indicating that it had collected samples and was processing data, but due to unknown circumstances, it had suddenly stopped transmitting information about Psyche's surface, even though it was still responding to the deep space optical communication signals. All efforts to repair or reprogram it remotely had failed. That was why NASA had decided to send the Eros mission.

Captain Simon Lao, copilot Denali North, engineer Danny Fenton, and geo-chemist Dr. Ivy Grace Carson were selected for the approximately 2 year mission. Their ship would use the same advanced communications system as the Psyche probe to communicate with Earth using optical signals transmitted via lasers, which traveled faster than radio waves, so they wouldn't be completely cut off from their friends and family, despite traveling farther than any manned spacecraft had ever gone before. 

Just five years ago, it would have been a six year mission there and back, if not longer, but using improved ionic propulsion with a little ectoplasmic boost, partially designed by Danny, the speed at which they could reach the asteroid increased dramatically. Once the mission was green-lit, it still took months of testing and training and preparing before the Eros spacecraft could finally launch, but this was it. Today was the day.

"Communications test," Simon said into their headset. "Mission control, do you read me?"

"Loud and clear Lao," came the voice of Miranda in the mission control room. "Check ignition and prepare for liftoff."

Danny felt like he might vibrate right out of his skin in his excitement. He'd been to space once before, that time Technus took over a satellite, but this was different. This was an actual, real life, NASA mission, on a real NASA spaceship with a real space suit and everything. He'd finally made it big. He'd gotten to the place he'd wanted to be since he was two years old and watched the Endeavor launch on TV.

The time leading up to the final takeoff passed agonizingly slowly but at last the countdown commenced. The engines roared to life.

"Nervous, Fenton?" Ivy Grace asked with a smirk. Everyone else in the cockpit had gone on missions for NASA before, making Danny the only newbie, but he was the furthest thing from nervous.

"Not on your life, Doc," Danny responded with a grin. "I've been waiting for this moment as long as I can remember."

The thing about space was that it really wasn't all that far away. Hard to get to, yes, because straight up, and up, and up was not an easy direction to go, but it wasn't necessarily far. The ship took off, and less than ten minutes later it had escaped Earth's atmosphere. Danny stared out the window in awe at the planet Earth growing farther and farther away.

"Go ahead and unbuckle your seat-belts, and you are now free to move about the cabin," Simon said once the autopilot confirmed course and they were on their way.

Danny immediately got out of his seat, almost phasing though his seat-belt by accident in his frenzy, instead of unbuckling it. Long since used to zero gravity from his time in the Ghost Zone, Danny easily flew to the rearmost window to watch his home planet shrink into a speck in the distance while his crew-mates shook their heads fondly. And thus began the ten month journey to the asteroid Psyche. 

The beauty of space was something Danny could never get tired of, even if this mission were to last a million years. Even after months in space, his crew-mates often found him floating by the window, just watching the stars outside for hours on end. Of course, Danny had plenty of other things to do, and he did them, but there were also stars. And they were breathtaking. The rest of the crew preferred to pass their time in different ways.

Ivy Grace spent most of her time isolating herself in her bunk to work on her manuscript with headphones blaring the playlists she'd downloaded for the journey. She was the type who never seemed to get lonely. No matter how many times they asked her, she completely refused to tell any of them what her manuscript was about, which led the rest of them to the obvious conclusion that she was writing hardcore erotica, probably involving tentacles.

Their captain Simon, on the other hand, took great joy in dragging the rest of them into social past-times together. Somehow, they knew a ludicrous number of party games and had packed a two terabyte hard-drive full of movies for the crew to watch during the trip. Simon couldn't seem to stand being alone for ten minutes if they were awake. At least they didn't mind quiet though, and sometimes they would sit in silence with Danny, just watching out the windows.

Lastly there was Denali. She'd been an air force pilot before applying at NASA, but only to pay for college. Originally, she had wanted to go to art school, but after discovering a genuine love for flying, she'd decided to go to NASA instead. For the Eros mission, she'd brought along six, cheap, empty sketchbooks, and requested as many pressurized ink capsules for her pen as she could get away with, since regular pens couldn't write without gravity. She was determined to improve her art skills while she was in space for months at a time, and often asked the rest of them to pose for her drawings.

Once a day, they'd receive communication from Earth. Mission control would call to confirm that they were still on course, and there were no problems on the Eros craft, and they'd get messages from their loved ones back home. Denali got to read her mother's updates on what was happening in the tight-knit community she'd grown up in. Ivy-Grace messaged back and forth with her girlfriend. Simon threw a full on party on the Eros when they got the news that their sister was pregnant and they were going to be an auncle.

Danny got to spend an hour and a half once a week decoding his sister's overly long ghost activity reports from Amity Park. Sam and Tucker kept him updated on how life was back on Earth and added vague statements at the end of their messages that told him things were fine in the Ghost Zone too, even though "all quiet under the green sky" looked like utter nonsense to mission control and the rest of the crew. Danny's parents managed to work in how proud they were of him in every single message they sent.

Ten months passed by slowly but surely. The four of them were already used to each other after their time spent in training, and they knew the importance of getting along with people you were stuck with for two years without escape, so no arguments or bad blood ever developed among them.

After a lengthy travel period, the Psyche asteroid finally came within sight, and the crew assumed landing positions.

"Alright, Denali, prep for landing," Simon ordered, slipping seamlessly into their serious captain mode. Denali flipped the appropriate switches to activate the automatic landing system, and prepared to take over manual control if something went wrong.

"Ready to go," she confirmed.

"Then take us down." It was a pretty smooth landing, with only slight jostling and no malfunctions or unexpected obstacles. Once they touched down on Psyche's surface, Simon sent a communication to Earth. "Mission control, this is Eros, we have safely landed on the asteroid's surface and are preparing to track down the Psyche probe for diagnostic, over."

Even at light speed, communication between Earth and the Main Asteroid Belt took several minutes. Eventually, the response came back. "Confirmed, Eros, keep us posted and let us know if anything happens. Good luck, and stay safe, over and out."

"You heard her, finish suiting up and lets go," Danny urged enthusiastically. He was already in his suit, fully ready to step out onto the asteroid, and just waiting on the other three. The plan was to get the Psyche probe and take it back to the ship to repair or reprogram it as needed, and to download the data it had collected on the asteroid so far.

The Psyche probe was a ways away from the ship, but that wasn't too much of a problem. Denali dropped their buggy onto the surface, and she and Danny headed out to pick up the probe while Ivy Grace collected her samples and Simon made sure that anything that might be needed to deal with the probe was ready to go by the time it got back. As the engineer, Danny would be the one doing most of the repairs, although Ivy Grace was on standby with some chemical tests to run, in case something like that was the problem.

As they drove toward the probe, Danny's feet tapped on the floor of the buggy with excited energy.

"Careful there, Fenton," Denali teased. "Looks like you're about to shake right out of your suit."

"Sorry, it's just... I'm happy," Danny told her. "If I were to call up five-year-old Danny and tell him I was driving on an actual asteroid right now, I think he'd be so thrilled his brain would explode and he would drop dead on the spot."

"I dunno, it kinda seems like I'm looking at a five-year-old Danny right now," she ribbed, and he laughed. "I guess it's a good thing you can't make calls to the past then, or else you'd never get here."

Danny laughed harder. "If you think a little thing like death would stop me from getting here, you're dead wrong." It wouldn't, and in fact, it hadn't.

The two of them talked a little more until the probe was in sight, then got out to give it a look. A preliminary once-over didn't reveal any obvious problems, like exposed wiring from a panel that had shaken loose, or significant exterior damage. They hitched it to the buggy, ready to tow it back to the ship.

So far, the mission had gone off without a single snag, and the crew had high hopes that it would stay smooth sailing the rest of the way. However, everyone knows the moment you start to think everything's going your way is the moment everything starts to go horribly wrong. It was at this moment, that things went horribly, horribly wrong.

The latch on the tow cable broke as Denali and Danny were headed back to the buggy. That alone wouldn't be a problem, because there were spare latches, and it was easily replaced. The problem arose when the cable retracted, and the broken latch slammed into Danny's helmet with a horrible crack that resonated through the headset in Danny's helmet and broadcasted directly into Denali's ears.

She gasped in horror and skipped to Danny's side as fast as the asteroid's low gravity allowed. "Oh my God!" she shouted. "Mayday! Simon, Doc, something happened, the tow-latch broke and hit Danny. His visor is cracked. Oh my God, oh my God."

"Denali, breathe," Simon ordered, their voice level but stern. "Assess the damage. If it's not too bad, he could still make it."

"Right!" Denali turned Danny over to get a cleared look at his visor. "Oh no..." she breathed out, eyes stinging with tears. "It's... it's broken, all the way through. There's a hole the size of my fist, oh my God, Simon there's no... there's no way he could've survived. He's... he's gone." Emotion made her words catch on her tongue, and she blinked rapidly to keep from crying. If she was going to drive back to the ship, she had to see clearly.

There was nothing to be heard in their headsets for a long time.

"Well, bring him back and we'll—" Ivy Grace started to say, but Simon cut her off.

"No," they said. "There's nothing we can do for him if his helmet is fully breached. We can't have his corpse decaying on the Eros during the return trip, and we can't bury him on a metal asteroid." No one had anything to say to that. Simon was right, of course, but they didn't have to like it. "Just... leave him where he is and bring back the Psyche probe. We should get to work if we're gonna have to figure out how to fix her without our engineer.

"At least... you know Danny," Ivy Grace said brokenly, "he'd probably be over the moon to die out in space and not on boring, old planet Earth."

"Y-yeah," Denali agreed, and they all politely ignored the way her voice cracked. "I'm pretty... I'm pretty sure I've heard him say something like that before."

"Yeah, me too," Simon said. "I thought it was morbid then, and I still think so. I'll make the report to mission control. They'll probably bring in an engineer to walk us through a diagnostic and repair."

"Right." Denali tried to swallow the lump in her throat as she changed the latch on the tow line and hooked the probe up again. Then she returned to the buggy to drive back all by herself. "I'm on my way back with the Psyche probe... alone."

Next Chapter

[midnightshard06]

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.

[saroko-still-draws]

Oh, one PL fan who gave me the excuse to info dump, let me share my vision for a Descole-Janet spinoff game/story.

(Spoilers for Azran Legacy below)

The story would take place roughly after Unwound Future. Maybe even during NWOS. Descole has sort of remade himself into a Robin Hood-esque anti-hero targeting people illegally selling or collecting ancient artifacts, some of whom are even dangerous. One day, he hears about the stories' McGuffin is going to go on display as part of a massive event being hosted by some rich bastard. This guy isn't too important to the story past this, but for now let's just call him 'Strater V. Illian.'

Cue Janet. After the events of Diva she's continued her career as a famous singer and was invited by Mr. Illian at the event in question. But in the middle of the performance, the McGuffin is stolen.

But not by Descole.

It turns out, a third party had their eye on the McGuffin and swooped in before Desole had the chance. I sadly don't have a brilliant name or design for them, but they're basically the most over exagerated phantom thief you could imagine. He doesn't even know what the McGuffin's significance is; just that stealing it will give them fame and fortune.

Both Descole and Janice chase after them, but only manage to each get a part of the artifact while the thief makes off with the third. And here in lies how Des and Janice are forced to work together. See, the McGuffin is actually part of a three piece set: two act as a pair of magical (or sufficiently advanced scientific) handcuffs and the last is the key. And guess which part the thief got away with~~~

Yeah, I went the whole 'handcuffed together' plot, but there was no other way I could think of that would get Janice to work with Descole. She would have the cops on his ass if she so much as caught him working in the local Tesco. So, handcuff plot.

It is, thankfully, more forgiving than most. They work out that the 'cuffs' have a pretty long 'chain' of about two miles, so they don't need to be glued to the hip all the time. Because I'm a very nice, forgiving person.

Hah. No, I'm a bastard. The two miles gives them both some false hope, but it quickly turns out to be much tougher to navigate through than if they were actually handcuffed. Yes, they can work apart, but they still need to coordinate where they're going and what they're looking for to avoid accidents which requires much more foresight in my opinion. If they get too far, they start yanking each other around, and for a pair of globe trotters who treat the planet itself like their own backyard that leads to a lot of problems.

They also work out that they can't go the cops even if Des didn't have a criminal record. If they did, their pieces would likely be locked away never to see the light again, and there was no chance of the key being used to free them. Plus, I'm tempted to add a fourth group who are also after the McGuffin. (I'm a little tempted to make it a Targent holdover group led by Bloom, but I don't know what his final fate was beyond getting arrested.)

So, they work together, desperately trying to catch up to the Phantom Thief, mostly trying to work out his targets and elaborate plans in order to head him off and get the key back. Sometimes even keeping him alive when the Targent wannabes get a little trigger happy.

But the real adventure is watching the two not kill themselves. Janice has every right in the world to be mad at Des, and Descole is very Regretscole but makes no effort to ask for forgiveness. So for the first few chapters Janice would investigate by herself while Descole did the same in disguies. Leading to some rather hilarious bits.

But, Janice does eventually learn about Descole, his motivations, his past, his relation to her old professor. And both of his sacrifices back at the Azran Temple. She still doesn't forgive him for ED but it's a very sobering moment to realize that the person you once considered 'soulless' has more soul than most decent people you know.

(And when she learns more about Targent and what happened to Des' family. Suddenly realizing that the man who put you and others through a Squid Game and went on a temper tantrum with a giant mecha was actually the lesser evil you could've dealt with must be terrifying.)

Descole, for his part, gets a pretty fair share of grief from Janice, but having her along actually helps him put his actions into perspective. He's just running from himself and his past at this point. He was already under a mental strain prior to story, but Janice is a physical representation of his actions come back to haunt him. It's slow and under slight duress at first (her confronting him over small things that triggered him and make him act off), but he does trusting her as his assistant. When they start working together for real, he even decides to go out under his true identity.

It doesn't start so well, but it's something.

I will cap off by admitting that I don't think this story would end with the two becoming friends, and Layton would not be making an appearance aside from passing comments. I just think there's too much bad blood between Janice and Descole for the two to develop a good friendship at this point, but mutual respect is attainable. As for Layton, he'd steal the spotlight too easily, and as much as I want to see the Bronev bros reconcile, Des needs to get his shit together first.

That's pretty much all I've got for this idea. Anyone is free to make suggestions.

[imekitty]

Jekyll & Phantom!!! (& also Phantomlust)

Oh--oh, someone actually sent an ask, I really didn't think anyone would lol. What were the rules again...

A snippet or something about it, all right!

Jekyll & Phantom

Basically Danny in his senior year is forced to play the lead role in the Casper High production of Jekyll & Hyde because he is failing English and Lancer agrees to give him extra credit to play the part so he can graduate on time. It's set after Phantom Planet so the catch is that he plays Jekyll in his human form and must transform into Phantom for Hyde. The news spreads through Amity Park and the school board is extremely excited about the money they are going to make off the ticket sales for this show. Danny is very opposed to the idea because he does not like the implication that Phantom is his evil half, but he feels cornered because he does not want the whole town to think Danny Phantom is a loser that can't even get a high school diploma.

Phantomlust

This title is a little bit of a joke, I actually don't really know what to call this fic yet lol. I originally called it Art of Seduction after the book I was referencing for it.

Basically, Maddie hires Valerie to seduce Danny Phantom so he'll be easier to take down and capture. But Valerie sucks at seduction and flirting so Maddie, an expert seductress herself, tutors her in the art of seduction. And she expressly directs Valerie to practice on her own son because Maddie is the absolute worst parent ever in all of my fics.

Here's a snippet:

“I’ll see you Wednesday, then,” said Maddie as she started leading the way out of the observatory. She stopped right at the door and turned around. “You know, if Danny’s out in the living room, you could go ahead and try being a coquette with him.”

“Wha—” Valerie balked. “What do you mean? Like try a seduction technique on your son? Here in your own house?”

“Well, why not? You’re going to need to practice.”

Valerie opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. “You don’t think that’d be weird?”

“Not at all,” said Maddie. “Plus it’ll allow me to gauge how well you’re absorbing the lessons. Much more convenient for me than if you practiced on some boy I don’t know.”

Valerie looked down at her shoes and rubbed her fingertips. “Well, what… What do I do exactly?”

“Just keep it simple since you’re just starting out,” said Maddie. “You were warm and inviting when you first showed up at the door and he greeted you, right?”

“Yes, of course. He’s my friend.”

“So now when you leave, act cold. When he says bye, give him just a nod or maybe don’t even respond at all, just walk by.”

Valerie felt frozen in place. “But… But I don’t want to do that to Danny! What if I hurt his feelings?”

“That’s the hot-and-cold coquette’s angle,” said Maddie. “You’re going to have to put your conscience aside for this plan to work, you know. You must always think of the ones you’re seducing as victims to be manipulated to your advantage.”

“Okay, I can do that with Phantom, but I don’t want to manipulate Danny,” said Valerie. “I like Danny.”

“Well, I like Danny too, of course. I wouldn’t let you try anything on him that I thought would actually really hurt him.”

Valerie blinked a couple times, too perplexed to speak. She knew Danny’s mother was a bit eccentric but she would’ve never guessed she’d be anything like this.

[five-oh-thirst]

*runs* hi hi hi!! Could I please ask for more about Bound (wolfpack whump)👀👀🫦🥺

Thankyou!!! They ALL have me making*BIG GRABBY HANDS* (I maybe might please ask for more on Phantoms In the Night (jessix omegaverse) if no one else does 👉🏻👈🏻

Hi, hi, hi! Yes, you may 🥰

Bound was actually a WIP I created on my other blog, but I never posted anything about it on Tumblr, so I've decided to repurpose into a poly-wolfpack cloneship fic.

It takes place a little ways after Order 66, when the Republic has been reorganized into the Empire. During this time, a type of inventory was done on assets (including clones) as well as the Empire's current financial standing. With the addition of the storm troopers, they deemed that not all clones assets needed to be kept and some could be sold for financial gain.

Well, unbeknownst to Wolffe, Sinker, Boost, and Comet were all on that short list and were removed from the 104th battalion with the explanation of "reassigning assets." Wolffe is devastated when he finds out. He never even got the chance to say goodbye. But he believes what the officer tells him, and there's nothing he can do to change it.

Meanwhile, Boost, Sinker, and Comet find themselves standing on an auction block somewhere in the galaxy ready to be sold. When a buyer puts in a bid, they only bid for two. Boost fights with Sinker about who should go, but Boost ends up convincing the buyer to take Sinker and Comet, much to Sinker's avid protest. Sinker and Comet get sold to a farmer on some planet somewhere, and Boost gets sold to someone else.

They all react to this in different ways. Comet goes full Stockholm Syndrome and submits to his owners without a fight. Sinker fights his owners the whole way, but they never try to break him, at least, not in a harsh way. Boost, however, he fights his owners and gets beaten into submission.

Anyway, Wolffe ends up learning that his lovers weren't reassigned but sold and deserts the Empire to go find them. He ends up finding Sinker and Comet first, but Comet takes a lot of convincing to leave. Then they set out to find Boost, but he's been conditioned so badly that he's afraid to leave [think Theon Greyjoy but still intact].

And then they all went to therapy. The end.

Sorry, I don't have an excerpt for this one! It's still at the conceptual phase.

[randomrabbidramblings]

Overanalyzing the Tower of Doooom trailer!

Because they can't give us a 15 seconds trailer with no explanation without expecting me to tear it apart!

Let's start with the fact we seem to have already seen the Tower of Doooom... It's here in the first poster!

Madame Bwahstrella says it's her Tower and the advertisements we had for this DLC told us she needs the Heroes to clean it. This makes me think it's only a fun challenge for the Heroes who want to prove their strenght. But we have also been told Spawny is in danger somewhere inside. Why is Spawny there? Did he try the challenge and failed? Did he sneak in because he's a dear dumb child and got in trouble?

Did Bowser Jr. dare him to go inside? If this is the case your dad will hear of it, Jr.!

There seems to be a "main hub" where Bwahstrella resides. Behind her seat there's that thingy that points at what floor you're on and there seems to be ten of them. Ten floors? Ten challenges for each portal?

The Three portals seem to be all connected to the "main hub" so... I don't seem to grasp how the floors of the Tower work? Is all of the hub the "lift" and it's that that goes up? What's the point of floors if the portals are all already there?

Here are the three portals, same as the ones Bwhastrella summons in the main game, they probably have three difficulties. Possibly different sceneries as well?

The symbols are an half moon, a star (?) and an eye. The eye symbol is exactly the same we see on the back of the tarot cards scattered around Spooky Trails in Kingdom Battle.

Here we can see a wooden platform around the portal where there wasn't before as well as decorations and a different colored tent. In the previous shot the tent is blue with dark stripes, while here it has white stripes as well as a red horizontal parts. So I guess the hub does move like a lift and here we're on a different floor. [I can't help but notice a certain color palette here... *cough* Phantom *cough* the portal even has a star on it... but this is just me being desperate, lmao]

Not much to say about this "arena". I guess the challenges will take place in similar areas even if I hope there will be some variations between floors and portals.

In this scene there's a Darkmess stained Magnafowl, so all of this probably takes place during Sparks of Hope events with the Darkmess still around. Yes, there could have been some enemies that escaped into the Tower and stayed there even after Cursa's defeat, but I doubt it. The Tower is meant to be a "challenge mode" and it would make no sense to be able to play it only after defeating the main game. Unless there's more they didn't tell us, but again, I doubt it.

Something about Madame Bwahstrella:

The one in the Tower is apparently not the "original" Bwahstrella as some thought. The "original" in Spooky Trails is bigger than her replicas around the planets in Sparks of Hope.

[Off topic, but I can't help but point out the absurd level up in graphics especially colors and shading.]

And finally something about the music: I noticed the little motif when the title screen shows up sounds really similar to the ones used in Kingdom Battle for the bosses' splash screens. Probably means nothing, but I immediately tought of that when I heard it. Also there's a brief ticking sound behind it. Time challenges?

[reconstructwriter]

Had Another Breakdown and Watched Attack of the Clones

And wow, what a B-Movie title but I’m already committed to this terrible life decision so I might as well continue. Got through the Phantom Menace so how much worse can this be?

Warning! Another long post! Also tw for Attack of the Clones shit including genocide and slavery.

The Watto scene: Not only does it double down on Watto as a Jewish stereotype – seriously, WHY?!? – but a scene where a former slave meets their enslaver after ten years of growing up and mystic training with a laser sword? I expected a lot more. Watto should’ve voided his bowels because this has to be Worst Case Scenario for a slaver! At best he was a little ‘nervous friendly’. And Anakin is already well-established as ‘man-child who Loses His Shit at the drop of a hat’. Like dude, where’s your angst and teenage fits now cause boy does this situation fit the bill! But nope, NPC fulfills their NPC duty and off they go.

Fanon Anakin vs Canon Anakin: I was introduced to the former and slowly learned what he’s really like and oh wow is he such a terrible mess of a human being no wonder Mace Windu noped his training. His Fascist statement is extra YIKES for Padme since she’s one of those Senators who’d be forced to agree. The first temper tantrum alone sounded way out of line given the relatively professional setting, let alone the creepy boundary-breaking stare. The ‘I’ve been dreaming about you for ten years’, the ‘my feelings are suffering’ speech – also taking place with him in shadow for extra broody effect. And his first genocide (I can’t believe we’re already keeping track here!) And he KNOWS BETTER is the worst thing. He admits, out loud, that he knows better and still does the thing Padme why did you say yes to this mess?

Padme being mind controlled: a fairly common fan theory to answer the above question, but in-movie Padme straight up asks Anakin if he will use a mind-trick on her (in the context of a 20 questions game so not serious). Anakin’s response is ‘mind tricks only work on the weak minded’. On the one hand, implies Padme is too strong-willed for Anakin to influence through the Force – but on the other hand this also suggests to me that he would if he could!?!?

Though Anakin was the one to suggest keeping the relationship a secret, which did surprise me so no guilting Padme about ‘wanting a marriage like a free man’ like I thought. Padme is the one who says she won’t live a lie. Good to know for future reference.

Are droids sentient or not? Dex outright says droids can’t think but I honestly don’t know if this is in-universe how droids work or if Dex is having a Cleigg-on-Tusken-People moment.

Jedi are Arrogant? Lots of people have cited Madame Nu’s confidence in her archive’s integrity as evidence the Jedi are arrogant and horrible justification of Sith crimes follows. But Obi Wan thinks there’s something more going on and Yoda encourages everyone to help find his lost planet in one of the only nods to ‘funny trickster teacher Yoda’ we get in the movie. To me this seems a hint that the Jedi are unprepared for betrayal from within. Which Dooku’s, Anakin’s and the Clones’ mind-controlled betrayals all blindside the Jedi Order.

Jango: I’ve been torn about him since I learned about him. On the one hand, understandable vengeance motive (per legends anyway), on the other hand selling his own kids into slavery and probably knowing something about the chips and genocide order because I can’t otherwise imagine the legends version assisting the Jedi.

Jango does state in-movie ‘they’ll do their job well’ in a way that sounds just a bit ominous but I don’t know if he’s being accidentally vague or deliberately giving a subtle hint he knows about the Jedi betrayal plan. If this version is just in it for Boba and the money and doesn’t have the motive of his Legends counterpart, why would the Sith ever need to tell him? Dunno, but I was surprised to not hear him say anything derogatory about his clones. I mean he’s still selling his children into slavery in a way George Lucas doesn’t grok but he doesn’t actively deride them like I’ve read in fanfic. It’s a low bar but not as low as Anakin’s.

Made for the Jedi? So the Kaminoians confirm the clone army is specifically made for the Republic but commissioned by Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas. Glad the movies cleared that up.

Scene Contrast: Kamino is Dark and Stormy with creepy sterile whiteness everywhere in complete contrast to Naboo’s sunny and lush green paradise. The clone army is grown and trained in creepy white lab while the robotic army built in a dark but organic underground hive. Obi Wan sneaks onto Geonosis through the light of day to investigate galactic concerns. Anakin on Tattooine stalks the Tusken people in the dark of night for personal stakes.

The (Other) Horribly Racist Cliché: Speaking of which, I get we’re supposed to assume Shmi was abducted but, um, Cleigg isn’t even a witness – like I initially thought – but is guessing abduction based on tracks in the desert sand and his incredibly racist bias. Are we supposed to doubt every word out of his mouth? If Shmi had been in a bed (even tied) I’d have assumed patient before prisoner.

Anakin’s Genocide: He goes off to save Shmi as ominous music plays and the suns go down, at which point he doesn’t just walk the fascist talk and do baby-Vader’s first genocide but also foreshadows his betrayal and genocide of the Jedi! Which really reinforces the Sith/Nazi and Jedi/Jewish parallel here – Hitler and the Nazis got their Holocaust ideas from White America’s treatment of our native and PoC counterparts. So too does Anakin the future Sith start his genocidal tendencies with the Native people of Tattooine.

But nobody in-universe seems to get that?!? Blorbo!Anakin authors recognize that thar was some FUCKED UP SHIT!!! (Usually by pretending it didn’t happen or re-writing the scene into something less Moral Event Horizon.) Padme’s response would fit better Anakin murdering the literally disarmed Dooku – morally wrong, against the Jedi Code but somewhat understandable but genocide? Cleigg is narratively supposed to be kind and sympathetic but he practically sent a demon after people who’s land and water he’s stealing! The person acting most realistically is the perpetrator and all Anakin admits (again) is he’s a Jedi and therefore should be better. But this still feels like he should have come back to Padme yellow-eyed and Dark Sided!

Once again, George Lucas’ racism screws up the story he’s trying to tell. Ugh. Okay, enough movie time for now. Sorry I’m a hopeless binger despite my friends and kitties’ best efforts.

[fantastic-nonsense]

#yes Finn got screwed #but JJ put pieces on the board because he HAD to have that cliffhanger of an ending #TLJ is forced to take place the SAME DAY as TFA #I have a lot of thought on this subject#(I liked TFA and TLJ) (TROS could have been made better) (@apathyneverlandedonthemoon)

just saw these tags and wanted to make a quick response. No one "forced" TLJ to start less than 3 days after TFA ended. TFA ends with the following post-movie status quo:

Rey training with Luke on Ahch-To for an indeterminate amount of time

Finn in a coma after being gravely wounded by Kylo

Kylo being picked up by Snoke and Hux to "finish his training" after fully committing to the Dark Side via killing Han

The Resistance (led by Leia and Poe) having scored a meaningful but costly blow against the First Order's ability to oppress and kill people

The First Order having lost their planet-killing weapon and quite a lot of their forces

a vacuum of political power due to the combined blows of "the New Republic's capitol planet got blown up" and "The First Order does not have the resources to restore the Empire due to the aforementioned successful attack on Starkiller Base"

None of that necessitated Rian writing a story that picked up 2 days later. In fact, Rian deciding to start TLJ less than 2 days after TFA ended is the root of many of TLJ's problems! He didn't have to do that at all!

It went against Star Wars tradition (it's the only movie that doesn't have at minimum a one year timegap between them), was utterly illogical (How does "The First Order reign!" less than 3 days after Starkiller got blown up? how does the First Order have enough resources to come after the Resistance less than 72 hours after they were soundly defeated at Starkiller? Why is Snoke's priority to "finish Kylo's training" at the end of TFA and it suddenly doesn't matter at all in TLJ? Why does Rey entertain the "temptation" of Kylo less than a week after being kidnapped/tortured by him and then watching him kill Han?), and directly hurts the narrative direction of the plot!

Kylo's potential redemption holds more weight if he's spent some time fully committed to the Dark Side. Rey and Luke's conflict feels more real if they have an actual relationship with each other. Rey being called "The Last Jedi" would make more sense if she'd had more than 2.5 lessons of Jedi training over a span of a week. The First Order's sudden inexplicable ability to track people through hyperspace 3 days after that wasn't an available option to track down BB-8 makes more sense if they spent time after Starkiller developing it. The lack of support the Resistance recieves from their supposed allies is more understandable if the political and financial vacuum left by the New Republic's destruction has made them a true bootstrap effort relying on faith rather than knowledge. It makes far more sense for Kylo to kill his master and take his place, setting him up as IX's "Big Bad" villain, if he has actually finished his training and considers himeslf to have 'outgrown' Snoke. I could go on.

The timeframe for TLJ had absolutely nothing to do with anything J.J. Abrams left for Rian in TFA and everything to do with creative decisions Rian purposefully and deliberately made of his own accord.

The Force Awakens was no more a cliffhanger than Empire Strikes Back was when it left us with Han captured, frozen in carbonite, and on his way to Jabba as Luke, Leia, and Lando planned to rescue him. It was no more a cliffhanger than The Phantom Menace was when it left off with Anakin as a brand-new padawan to Obi-Wan while the threat of the Sith loomed in the background. It was no more a cliffhanger than Revenge of the Sith was when it ended with Obi-Wan delivering Luke to Owen and Beru as the Empire rose and the Jedi who survived Order 66 were being hunted down. And yet the movies following those cliffhangers always had a sizeable time gap between them.

Unresolved threads don't necessitate an immediate aftermath follow-up, nor do they need a wholly illogical immediate follow-up that directly contradicts the narrative threads the previous story left off on. Rian chose to do that, and it was to the detriment of the movie's story/characters and fucked over the overall plot of the trilogy to the point where TROS had few avenues to be a satisfying conclusion even if it hadn't been one of the messiest movies in existence.

reylos crying on twitter because Adam Driver explicitly confirmed that Bendemption was never originally in the plans for Kylo....this is justice for the last 8 years, actually

[justageneralsimpindeed]

Kurapika headcannons:

Kurapika with an S/O that looks like they're dancing when they're actually fighting and is bat shit 💥crazy💥NSFW included

He is extremely cautious around you when you two first meet. He knows your need for fighting is at the level where it beyond the point of Hisoka.

You meet in an alleyway.He was taking a shortcut, you were about to off a man.

Kurapika being the person he is tried to help him and you beat him badly.

Yes he did just get his ass beat but he is oddly fascinated on how you fight(think of ruby roundhouse).

You were fascinated because any normal person would have ran.

You asked him if he would like to get lunch with you and he is flabbergasted.

One second you beat him then your asking him on a date basically!

The man who you were about to off he is as confused as kurapika but then he starts calling you names and you finish the job.

After that he does get lunch to find out what the hell was going only to find out you an acquaintance to the phantom troupe and not on good terms.

You help him track down the scarlet eyes as well as help find them through underground ties.

He grows attached to you the longer your together because he realise your actually a sweet person driven mad by trauma like him.

Also doesn't want to in fear of losing you but your a badass so he give into the fact he might like you more that friends.

And he is devastated when he sees you in a state proving to be fatal.

He is begging and crying for you not to leave him and that when he confesses.

He used to unconsciously see you as an invincible being from heaven, now he realises your human and is overly protective.

He still thinks your a badass though.

His protection protocol is literally turning into your ungrateful asshole of a cat with a self destruct nuke for anyone who is within arms length of you.

However he knows not to mess with your food or whole planet is doomed.

Dates are often because a date to you both is movie night, walk in the park or the classic restaurant cafe.

NSFW:

Boobs,ass or thighs he's all of them.

Wearing a deep cut shirt while watching movies on the couch he will suck on your tits like a baby.Depending on how horny he is he might continue he might not(the latter isn't the most likely. 😏

I stand by this till my grave he will call you mommy whether or not he's the one in control or you are.

If your the dom suck his nips and he will be flustered you don't even need to tell him to beg he's already the face of the ahego searches .

He prefers it if you use yourself in him rather that an strap because he has a breeding kink .

However he will go crazy if you ride his cock while having a vibrator in him pull his hair while your at it.

He likes being manhandled because that's one of the things that remind him of when you first met.

If you were lingere he is in love again, put him in it and you will fuck yourself stupid on him and even then you will fuck like rabbits until you pass out.

Dom kurapika is gentle because he doesn't want to hurt you...

UNTIL HE GETS IN THE MOMENT

You are wearing makeup,hair gel or anything that you think will make you beautiful he will fuck you so hard infront of the mirror that if it wasn't there you would of thought he was a horse.

He will tell you how beautiful you are while your crying and your hair is all over the place.

praise he adores it.

Your walking around in the kitchen making him dinner because he's had a rough day.

And he gets a boner from the sight of you in one of his shirts strutting around with those cute panties of yours that cling so deliciously to your ass.

The house almost burned down because he decided to lie you down on the counter and make you scream with out the s.

Tight Jeans and your ass will be smacked.

His ass though...

You admitted to him the first thought that came to you when you became a couple was ' is he peggable'.

He is.

At times when he feels down and feels like hes going to waste away,you overstimulate him.

Peg him with a vibrating cock ring on his dick while pulling his hair and making him suck on your fingers.

Moans like a god who am I kidding this man will get you horny be anything he does but when he moans especially as the sub you cum evertime he moans and fuck him till he has problems walking the next day.

You both love leaving hickeys on each others thighs.

Suffocate him he will bite you and moan while eating you out or giving you head.

Hair pulling yet again.

You look at him only to find him staring back at you, tears in his eyes, makeup ruined,lingere ripped in diffeent places with his cock peeking out the top of the waistband.

When you give him head he acts as if you just fucked him with a strap the size of an elephants.

He's that sensitive.

He isn't pulling your hair because he's busy trying to keep quiet in the bath room stall of the cafe.

Kurapika will make you gag when he's pissed.Eventhough he doesn't intend to take it out on you,he does and you love it.

I mean I imagine he has a pretty red head with quite a thick shaft but in length it's average.

His cum is more sweet than bitter and your starting to wonder if it's because it's sticky and slightly thick like honey

[into-daylight-hope]

Qui-Gon Jinn: Certified Hypocrite, Fascinating Failure, Mass of Contradictions

For starters, I am just going to let direct quotes from the man speak for itself.

Some excerpts from Master & Apprentice

Wise words.

Wait a minute...

😯😯 What the hell is happening here? All quotes are from the same man in one book.

Qui-Gon Jinn doesn't have an ounce of self-awareness and it is so hilariously terrible.

What is even better (or worse), this is perfectly in line with The Phantom Menace characterization .

I mean,

Remember when he said all this than spent the rest of the movie obsessing over prophecies, the chosen one and literally the future?

"He still has so much to learn of the living force." Qui-Gon Jinn about Obi-Wan in the council scene

After that scene

"The boy is dangerous. They all sense it why can't you?" Obi-Wan Kenobi about Anakin Skywalker to Qui-Gon Jinn

You see Obi-Wan, Master Jinn here has completely lost any sense of "here and now" between his crusade against darkness and divine mission to save the Galaxy.

This in turn, unsurprisingly blinds him to the fact Anakin is not suitable to become a Jedi. Or at least not ready to directly move on to becoming a padawan.

Anakin himself would suffer in a road that is not meant for him. But he is not planning for Anakin the child. He is thinking about The Glorious Chose One.

He is the chosen one. You all must, see it.

And yet from Qui-Gon's perspective it is Obi-Wan who doesn't understand the Living Force.

I have to say if he is truly a student of the living force as many fans claim he has been failing the class for at least 8 years.

Let's move on to another set of entertaining and horrifyingly oblivious quotes from M&A.

If you look upward you can observe Mr. Here and Now in his natural habitat.

He really acts like future is set in stone than thinks he is the right person to talk about about concentrating in the moment. Unbelievable.

Let's look at this dialogue again. In contrast with the excerpt from above.

He is all about the future when it suits him. But when Obi-Wan makes a remark on it he obviously should just focus on the moment. This is actually the third time in this post where he contradicts himself while specifically chastising or criticizing Obi-Wan for something Qui-Gon actually does.

Now I don't think Qui-Gon acts with malice. But it is important to point out his obliviousness has become a way of ensuring he is never in the wrong.

He suffers from an immense hubris. And a man obsessed with prophecies and chosen ones definitely has some kind of savior complex.

But notably Jinn doesn't actually want to put any effort into enacting real change with his limited yet existent capabilities.

He turns down a council seat in M&A because he thinks it would hold him down. From what? Dear God, the reason they offered him a seat was for different opinions. Qui-Gon can complain all he wants but one time he actually had a chance to make his opinions a reality he freaking bailed.

Why? He doesn't want to face his own limits. He can't bare to try and fail. It is much easier to sustain a superiority complex when you are complaining from the sidewalk.

So he fixates all this belief onto prophecies, visions that will magically cure the Galaxy. And of course his place to help fulfill them. To the point where it is the one thing that keeps him standing.

He has binded meaning of his life and belief for goodness dangerously close to his supposed importance in the Galaxy. (You can feel the influences of his former master)

His absolute refusal to engage with reality turns him into mass of contradictions. Cause he doesn't know what he will find or become if he is mistaken in his belief of himself.

He can't face reinvention on the event of defeat.

But this situation was different. It had to be, because the only thing Qui-Gon knew to be absolutely true was that his vision was real.

Oh by the way, it turned out he misunderstood the vision. But when does being wrong ever stopped Qui-Gon Jinn?

No words.

Only Qui-Gon could have come near declaring himself a prophet after making a mistake. Maybe stop and reflect man? Just stop and think about your actions.

Obi-Wan Kenobi: I have a bad feeling about this.

Qui-Gon Jinn: I don't sense anything.

Of course you don't.

Honestly he doesn't have much to speak for in the cosmic force department either.

(There is the whole force ghost thing I guess. But I have no idea if that is more connected with living or cosmic force. It seems to be more about spiritual enlightenment. Which is ridiculous when you consider Yoda had go through so many trials, face his darkside, learn to truly let go just for Force priestesses to deem him worthy enough to study immortality. Yes Qui-Gon never became a force ghost but he had started his training before he died. And much of Yoda's tests on TCW was about self-awareness. It is not just about being a good person. How did Force Priestesses approve Qui-Gon "I was meant to misinterpret this vision." Jinn? I would understand if he became wiser after death and faced his flaws and all but he never was on that level before he died. You might say even Anakin became a force ghost. But I would remind you, Anakin in the end broke out of denial, acknowledged the wrong of his ways and took that leap to the light side. Self-awareness seems such an important key to becoming a force ghost. Right there with selflessness. Personally it doesn't quite feel right for a character whose biggest flaws are their lack of introspection and hubris which we never see him rise above to be the one that discovers immortality again. It feels more like a rushed plot point to explain how we get from A to B.)

This post got out of control 😂. I honestly just wanted to point out lack of communication might be one of the reasons Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon have trouble understanding each other but it is sometimes even harder to understand Qui-Gon when he actually says something. Cause ration is not what drives him.

Qui-Gon is such a complex character. He is undeniably good especially compared to other SW characters. Yet for all fandom's deifying he might be the most flawed Jedi we see on the franchise. (The ones that fell to the dark side not included.)

It is a shame wider fandom completely write off his flaws to the degree I can't even recognize the character when they talk about Jinn. Cause that Qui-Gon is so hard to feel empathy for.

When people constantly make statements like "He is The Wisest sw character." his hypocrisy stops being amusing. It doesn't end on screen or page instead often used to bash other characters.

An unbelievable analysis from Wookiepedia:

When Jinn saved the Gungan exile Jar Jar Binks, who in turn swore a life-debt to him, his compassionate nature was such that Jinn took the hapless Gungan under his wing, much to Kenobi's dismay. His empathy toward all life forms, including the most pitiful and unfortunate, was Jinn's greatest strength. Additionally, he remained understanding and patient with Queen Padmé Amidala. During the short time they knew each other, he never asked for her to do more than she was willing to.

You know out of the two, Qui-Gon was the one who insulted Jar Jar to his face. And he didn't took Jar Jar under his wing. They forced him to take them to a city where Jar Jar could have been punished for entering. Now it was the pragmatic thing to do. For all three's survival not for their own gain. Understandable. But compassion is just pushing it.

Also he never asked Padme to do more than she was willing to do?

Padmé : Are you sure about this? Trusting our fate to a boy we hardly know? The Queen will not approve.

Qui-Gon Jinn : The Queen does not need to know.

Padmé : Well, I don't approve.

And he is aware she is the queen, herself. Padme was nearly tearing out her because of this man in TPM.

What is weird, Jinn in his bewildering hypocrisy probably thinks he is being admirably compassionate with Jar Jar, highly understanding and patient with Padme. We clearly see he is not.

Out of universe he has been a force ghost for decades now but fandom is nowhere near acknowledging his flaws than he is.

And honestly SW doesn't have that many major morally complex characters. People like Maul, Palpatine, Anakin,Ventress don't think they are serving a higher purpose or oblivious to the evils they commit.

Emotionally complicated, yes. Going through moral dilemmas, no.

Three major characters come to mind who make huge mistakes, condone or commit atrocities while thinking they are in the right/with good intentions/for a greater cause. With varying degrees of culpability.

Qui-Gon. Padme. Dooku.

In that order.

Let these characters be interesting instead of demonizing nearly inhumanly selfless Jedi characters. (They make mistakes too but funnily enough they are still way better beings than most people on our planet.)

By the way I found the epitaph "Fascinating Failure" from the article here. Especially the last paragraphs make some interesting points. ⬇️

👀

This post might seem harsh but that is expected since it focuses on Qui-Gon's flaws.

"People are more than their worst act,” Quote from Qui-Gon Jinn in Master & Apprentice

[dream-a-little-bigger-x]

Don’t Go Breaking My Heart | Charlie Gillespie

Requested by anonymous: Hi! Could you possibly do a Charlie x reader fic where they are filming season 2 & there is a new character (fashion expert/can see ghost/a little bit of enemies with Luke at first) but off screen they are very close (always hanging out/on ig posts & stories/dance partners/they sing karaoke/adventure) & the whole cast likes to tease them about it but they deny any feelings however they are about to film a very important scene that involves their characters & might change everything between them.

Pairing: Charlie Gillespie x reader

Warnings: fluff

Words: 2,789

Season 2. Finally Season 2. Everyone had been hoping, wishing, praying for a season 2 of Julie and The Phantoms, and after months of waiting, Netflix finally picked it up for a second season. After those months, the actors had just to wait a little while longer while the crew wrote up the first drafts of scripts and made it perfectly save for the actors to do their work. Once all of that’s ready and they’re good to go, the cast finally reunite again in Vancouver. They even meet some new cast members. Like you. You had auditioned for the role of Daniela Ramos, Julie’s cousin and Victoria’s daughter, and got it pretty much straight away. Daniela is a fashion student at a High School in Melrose Hill and Julie asks her for some help with costumes for her next gig with her band. To Julie’s surprise, Daniela can actually see the boys, even when they’re not playing, which causes for a lot of trouble in the band and family, especially between Julie and Luke. This is your first big role on the small screen and you’re the most excited you’ve ever been. You met the other cast members at the summer bootcamp before the filming process would start, and though almost everything had to be done with a face mask covering half of everyone’s face, it still was a lot of fun getting to meet everyone and spend the most fun summer ever. Every day, you grew closer and closer to everyone on set, and soon became best friends with Madi, Jadah, Savannah and Tori, doing plenty of sleepovers. Besides the girls, you also grew closer to Charlie, Owen and Jeremy, but mostly Charlie. For some reason, the two of you just clicked instantly. You have the same humor, the same taste of adventure, the same passions and dreams. You, Charlie and Owen even rented a place together to live in for the time being in Vancouver. You got even closer during filming, especially since you and Charlie have a lot of scenes together. “Oh my God, Luke, you’re so annoying!” you yell at him when the two of you are in the garage, taping a scene. It had taken you about ten takes and you still couldn’t help but giggle at the shocked face he pulled every time. “If I’m so annoying, Dani, why do you keep coming back?!” The angry face he pulls resembles that of an angry kitten, which just makes you crack up again. “God dammit, Y/N!” Charlie laughs now too as Kenny yells “Cut!” “Sorry! Sorry, guys! I promise I’m a real actor!” You hold your hands up in defense, then cough to get ready for another take. This time around, you could finally manage to get through it without laughing. “Yes!” Charlie exclaims when Kenny yells “Cut!” again. He holds his hand up for a high five, which you giddily give him. “Do you need any more takes, Kenny?” he asks the man himself. “Nope, you’re good! You can go on your break now!” he pats Charlie’s shoulder. “Nice job, guys!” “Thanks, Kenny,” you say, the smile growing on your face. “I need food, Gillespie,” you tell your best friend, linking your arm with his. “Let’s go get food!” The two of you head down to catering and sit down at a table with a plate full of food. “What are we doing tonight?” he then asks before taking a bite of food. You swallow your bite of food and take a sip from your drink. “Don’t you have a night shoot tonight?” you ask, remembering him saying something about a late call. “No, that’s tomorrow, after our dance rehearsal,” he replies after swallowing the food. “Oh! Okay!” You start thinking of things to do, “We could go to karaoke? Bring the others maybe?” He raises his eyebrows, looking at you questionably. “I’ve always loved karaoke,” you shrug with a giggle. “Yeah, okay!” Charlie nods his head agreeingly. “Karaoke it is!” The two of you smile up at each other, teeth showing, both of you glowing. “What are you love birds discussing?” Owen asks when he joins them, his voice muffled from the mask covering his face. He pulls it down to under his chin as he and Jeremy join the two at the table. “We’re thinking about going to karaoke tonight with the whole team!” you tell them, completely ignoring the ‘love birds’. “Ooh, fun!” Owen exclaims with a smile that nearly reaches his ears. “Yeah, we’ll leave after shooting the last scene tonight,” Charlie suggests, looking at you for confirmation. You nod your head agreeingly. That night, you and the rest of the cast head to the nearest karaoke place you know. You’ve linked arms with Savannah and Tori, giggling through the night, trying to keep your balance on your heeled boots. Meanwhile, without you realizing, Charlie has been keeping his eyes on you the whole way there. He finds it adorable how your giggle floats through the night air and your hips bump against the other girls’. He couldn’t lie, you had easily become the light in his life. “So, what song shall we begin with?” you ask the gang as you settle into the booth. “Pick the first one on the list,” Jeremy replies when no one else does. You nod your head curtly and press play on the first song, which is Living on a Prayer by Bon Jovi. You can already tell after that first song; tonight is going to be a fun night. You sing a couple of songs with the girls, there are many group numbers, and you even sing one with your roommates. After singing with Owen and Charlie, the latter points at you. “We’re going to sing together now!” he exclaims excitedly before turning around and picking a song for you to sing. When he’s picked one, he grabs your hand to pull you closer towards him. You blink a couple of times, unable to process what’s happening right now. The opening notes to Don’t Go Breaking My Heart by Elton John and Kiki Dee chime through the booth. You glance over at Savannah and Tori, who offer you an encouraging smile. Then you look at Jadah and Madison, but they’re too busy giggling and whispering, and it makes you wonder if that’s about you and Charlie. Your eyes dart over to the boys – Jeremy, Owen and Sacha – who just offer you suggestive smiles and eyebrow-wiggles. Charlie’s voice captures your attention again, and you turn to him. “I couldn’t if I tried,” you sing back to him. The encouraging smile on Charlie’s face calms you down a little up to the point where it almost seems like the two of you are the only people in the room. You have no clue what is happening or why it’s happening. All you know is that you’ve wanted it to happen sooner. Though you wouldn’t ever admit that to anyone. It’s the way he looks at you and the way he makes you feel like you’re the only person on this planet that matters. It’s been the way he’d looked at you since that first day of meeting him. “I won't go breaking your heart,” you sing the very last line to him ever so softly, not even looking at the screen anymore, but instead, looking into his eyes. “Don't go breaking my heart,” he sings back. The song ends and you both lower your microphones, staring into each other’s eyes. If it wasn’t for the rest of the cast breaking out into cheers and applause, you would’ve kissed him then and there. But it startles you, and you step away from him upon realizing how close you are and how that must look to the others. “So, when’s the wedding?” Madison asks teasingly, which makes the others laugh, and you blush. After that night at karaoke, the two of you had silently agreed to forget anything ever happened. Savannah said you were in denial, but you believed you weren’t. You told her it was just the atmosphere in the air that night, the both of you had consumed a little bit of alcohol and it might’ve just been that. No one stopped teasing you though. On every possible occasion, they’d ask you if you’d kissed him yet, or when your next date it, or started singing Don’t Go Breaking My Heart randomly. You just shook it off every time, finding it amusing how consumed the cast was with this ‘relationship’ you had with Charlie. There was nothing more going on than just a really, really tight friendship. Until the dance scene happened. Your character, Dani, was supposed to go to a school dance with her crush, but she was nervous because she had never slow danced with anyone before. When she tells Luke, he insisted on teaching her, saying he’d gone to plenty of school dances back in ’94 and ’95 before he died. You and Charlie know this choreography by heart, you’ve been doing it for weeks on end at bootcamp and during rehearsals. It had always just been fun and games, the two of you being immaculate dancers and bouncing off of each other so well because of your tight friendship. “I could teach you?” Charlie says as Luke, stepping closer to you. You raise your eyebrows at him. “I’ve gone to numerous dances in my days, Dani…” One corner of his mouth curls up into a teasing smirk. “Unless you want to embarrass yourself in front of… Jake.” He emphasizes the name of your fictional crush, to which you react with wide eyes and a blush spreading on your cheeks. “Come on, Dani!” He reaches out for your hand, which you place hesitantly in his. Dani being able to see ghosts, is also able to make them corporeal. The lights on set dim a little, except for one spot on the pair in the middle of the studio, and then the music starts playing through the speakers. Charlie starts singing the song they’d learned at bootcamp, one the cast wrote together during the quarantine. The atmosphere in the studio has suddenly become really intense. You can feel the butterflies erupting in your stomach as the man in front of you sings to you, mere inches away from each other as he leads you in this beautiful dance Paul Becker and Tori Caro choreographed for you. Just like at the karaoke booth, it feels like the two of you are the only people on set. Just you and him. You and Charlie. You and your best friend. There’s no denying you have feeling for him anymore. You knew you did, you just told yourself it wasn’t a good idea and suppressed those feelings, pushing them down. It worked for a while. Until now. “Cut!” Kenny yells after your scene. You step away from Charlie, glancing down at the floor as you try your hardest to hide your flustered face. “That was perfect, guys! It really looks like the two of you were in love!” he claps his hands in excitement, then tells them to do it again. After four takes of the dance, Kenny tells you to go and take a break. Without saying another word to Charlie, you rush off set and towards your trailer where you sit down on a chair, trying to calm your breathing. Charlie might not like you the way you like him. Admitting to these feelings might just ruin everything the two of you have. With this in mind, you grab your phone and text Savannah, asking her to come over to your trailer. Maybe she could help you. “Are you okay?” she asks when she enters and finds you staring at the ceiling. “No…” you reply and take a deep breath, “I think I’m in love with my best friend?” “Oh, sweetie…” Savannah sighs, and pulls you up to take you in a hug, “I know…” You pull her away again to face her properly. “What do you mean ‘you know’?” “Everybody knows,” she starts, “The two of you have been inseparable since the day you met, and everyone can see the way you look at each other. Plus, your duet the other night was a little intense for it to be a platonic one.” She chuckles, and you can’t help but chuckle too. She then grabs her phone from her back pocket, opening Instagram. “You know fans have caught on too, right?” She shows you the comments on some of Charlie’s pictures on his account. One picture is of the two of you, napping in Julie’s bed on set, cuddled up. He even posted pictures from your hikes on your days off. All of them are bombarded with comments from fans saying, ‘I ship it!’ or ‘Y/S/N’. Sav then opens her dm’s which are flooded with fans asking if you and Charlie are dating yet, and how the two of them are so in love with each other. “Charlie isn’t in love with me?” you deny, not believing one bit about it. “He is, though…” This does not come from Savannah’s mouth. Your eyes widen when you recognize the voice, and peek behind Savannah to find your best friend standing at your open trailer door. “Sav, can you give us a minute?” he asks the younger girl. “More than a minute,” she chirps, offering you a wink before leaving the trailer. Charlie steps in completely and moves until he’s in front of you. He takes your hands in his, and chuckles at your overwhelmed and confused expression. “Are you okay?” he asks, that beautiful smile of his persistent on his face. “Y—yeah? No? I’m not sure?” you sigh, trying to get your thoughts in order. “Charlie, wha—?” “Can I talk? I’ve been going over this conversation in my mind a billion times, and if I don’t say it now, I think I’m going to forget what I’m supposed to say…” You nod your head in response. “Y/N, I’ve been in love with you since the very first time I saw you walking in at bootcamp. You looked adorable with your little nervous smile and your polite hellos to everybody. I knew from that moment on that I wanted to get to know you better, and that I wanted to become more than just friends…I didn’t think you’d feel the same way, so I told myself that it was okay if we’d just stay friends. Especially since your character kind of hates mine and you bring Dani to life so convincingly, that I was almost sure you hated me too,” you chuckle at that, “But I can’t hide it anymore, Y/N. I am so embarrassingly in love with you that I could’ve kissed you after that scene we just did and that I could kiss you right now even though I’m—” before he can finish his sentence, you lean up and crash your lips onto his, your hands flying into his hair. He’s a little startled at first, but quickly melts into the kiss and presses you closer to him. “I am so embarrassingly in love with you too, Charlie,” you whisper when you pull away, pressing your forehead against his. “They’re going to be so relieved,” you tell him with a chuckle. He frowns his eyebrows at you. “Who?” he asks. You take his hand in yours and lead him towards the door of your trailer, pushing it open and making it bump against whoever was closest to the door. All of your cast mates scramble, trying to act natural while Owen rubs his forehead since he was the one that got a door in his face. “Ah, them!” Charlie chuckles. “Thanks for the door in my face, guys,” Owen says disgruntled. “That’s on you, buddy,” you tell him with a grin. “Don’t you guys have a scene to shoot or something?” Their eyes widen at the realization and, after yelling at the two how happy they are for them, rush to set in a hurry. “So, where were we?” Charlie turns back to you when everyone’s gone. “Don’t you have a scene with them?” “Shit!” he grumbles and jumps off the small steps in front of the trailer. He starts running towards set but turns around almost immediately to you and kisses your lips quickly, but sweetly, and then runs off. You watch him with an amused smile on your face. There was nothing to be afraid about after all and nothing changed between you two. You were still the best of friends, just friends that kiss and are in love with each other. But both of you happy.

Taglist: @hannahhistorian92​ @marinettepotterandplagg​ @thequirkybookaholic​ @parkeret​​ @lukeys-giggle​ @gingerxarmy​ @lovesanimals​

[the-era-of-shadow]

Phantom of an Unobtainable Fantasy

Written by Ash Rose

Cover by Ash Rose

THIS STORY CONTAINS: Swearing, minor character death, depiction of derealization, massive amounts of angst

Original publish date:

(Amino & AO3) September 9th 2021

Shadow had been overhearing rumors of what had become of them after they left GUN for a while now. Those rumors were always quite off from the truth, but this one in particular offended it quite a bit, and what was worse was that there was "evidence".

 

"What bullshit…" It groaned, holding something in their hand. "As if I'd ever work for the doctor!" 

 

"The doctor?" Shadow heard Relic question from behind them. 

 

"Doctor Ivo Robotnik, often otherwise known as Dr Eggman…" It explained, flattening out the picture in their hand from it's previously crumpled state.

 

The photo showed what appeared to be Shadow alongside Metal Sonic and Chaos, the water deity, standing in front an army of Giant Egg Pawns.

 

"Ah yes! The one trying to take over the world right now, right?" Relic said, taking a close look at the photo. She looked up and saw Shadow nod in response. "Bloody hell… I know he's Gerald’s grandson, but he has no rights to you!" 

 

"You've hit it right on the nail, Relic. I'll never serve the doctor as long as he's in the way of our conquest!" Shadow declared.

 

"Gods, I should have killed that guy back when he destroyed Little Planet!" Black Widow lamented. 

 

"Oh yeah, wasn't that one of the Black Arms colonies before the doctor destroyed it?" Shadow asked, curious.

 

"It sure was! There were so many natural hybrids living there by the time Eggfucker or whoever came around!" Widow said. Shadow couldn't help but snicker at the nickname Widow gave the doctor, but cleared it's throat to speak in response. 

 

"And yet, the only one left doesn't even know she's a hybrid…" Shadow added. "I ought to go in and tell her myself! Though Sonic might try to stop me… I know he knows." 

 

"And start unnecessary drama? Let her come to us when the time is right. I for one have been very thankful that this takeover that doctor is attempting has put the hunt for me on hold, and I'd like for you to not get GUN's attention back on us, Shadow!" Eclipse sneared.

 

"Oh I'm SO sorry for daring to possibly interrupt your precious free time!" Shadow snapped back sarcastically.

 

"Knock it off, both of you!" Relic pouted, which made Shadow feel bad. They hadn't realized how hostile it's tone was, when in all reality they just wanted to playfully tease Eclipse.

 

"Seriously… though, Eclipse does have a point, Shadow. It isn't really that good of an idea to make your new alignment publicly known when it isn't necessary right now to do so… I remember you saying you were on thin ice a lot back at GUN… Only your father would know the things they'd do to you if they found out you've joined us again." Widow said to Shadow.

 

"Yeah… but the longer we let the doctor's plans go on, the bigger of a threat he becomes to us! We have to stop him now!" Shadow argued.

 

"That I can agree on… Just don't do anything stupid." Eclipse said to them.

 

"Oh please! I'd-" 

 

"I'm serious, Shadow. Don't do anything that might cause what's left of us to go down in flames… And don't do anything that'll end up with you being out of commission either, we need everyone to be able to do their part more than ever before. Taking down this opposing empire is essential for us to go forward, but you need to make sure we'll be even able to go forward in the first place, we all do. So promise me that you won't do anything stupid." Eclipse said again, much more sternly than they had before, looking Shadow in the eyes, practically begging it to listen to each and every word they spoke, and to remember them in the exact way they said them.

 

"... I understand." Shadow responded, trying to hide the tears welling up in it's eyes before walking off to go find their impersonator.

 

Eclipse tried to chase after Shadow, feeling bad for possibly overwhelming it, but they couldn't keep up, feeling the ripple of the door closing in front of them like a shockwave.

 

"Are you feeling alright, Eclipse?" Widow asked, feeling the heaviness of Eclipse’s aura.

"It's my destiny to save them! My purpose for being!" 

"I'll guide Shadow into leadership, I'll help bring a new order to the Black Arms!"

"You guys are like… my family to me… I d-don't want anything to happen to the few bits of family I have left…" They admitted, their voice breaking slightly.

"I must protect my brethren! Every single one of them!" 

"Don't you see?! Shadow is our brethren too!!"

"Oh.. oh dear…" Widow brought Eclipse into an embrace, trying her best to comfort them, knowing how they feel.

 

"I'll be in my laboratory if you need me…" Eclipse mumbled as they slipped out of the hug. Widow tried to follow them, but Relic stopped her.

 

"It's best to let them have some alone time in moments like this." She told her. 

As Shadow got closer to Dr Robotnik's headquarters, it heard the soft ramblings of someone close by.

 

"Things seem to be going great so far… I have them shaking in their boots from my tricks!" 

 

The voice seemed to be coming from a black and white jackal, who was pacing around the area. 

 

"That must be the one who's been impersonating me!" Shadow thought to themself, already disgusted with this man.

 

"Shadow, Metal Sonic, Chaos even!! I've brought all their greatest adversaries before them! They tremble in fear before me! Truly, I am the best the Robotnik Empire has to offer! Except for the Doctor himself, of course~..." The jackal carried on. "Wait… no, not all… there is one that I'm forgetting!!" 

 

Shadow quietly followed him, keeping a close eye on the jackal, as to not miss the perfect opportunity to take him down.

 

"If I truly want to paralyze Dr Robotnik's enemies with fear, then I should bring them the essence of fear itself, the one they call the lord of nightmares himself, Black Doom!!" 

 

"That's…. The "lord of nightmares" is Dark Gaia, you stupid fucking-" 

 

"Who said that???" The jackal jumped at the sudden voice, unintentionally showing his foe his weakness.

 

"You impersonate me, and then dare to claim ignorance when the mirror you created stares back at you??" Shadow stood before the jackal, who had to be sixteen at the oldest.

 

"Shadow the Hedgehog?? But I thought you went missing after you left GUN!" 

 

"My personal affairs are of no importance to you, Aerthling scum!" Shadow hissed, approaching closer to the terrified young jackal. 

 

"I'm sorry for making people think you were of the Robotnik Empire-! I-It was what Doctor Ivo ordered!" 

 

"As much as I'm offended by your mockery of me, I could see myself letting you go alive… I'm sure that Auntie Chaos would've taken your life instead." Shadow explained, only about an inch from the jackal's face.

 

"So I'm free to go then-?"

 

"But I refuse to let you have such mercy for impersonating the Dark Lord Black Doom." 

 

The jackal's eyes widened, and he hurriedly pulled a phone-like device out of his pocket.

 

"A-agent Infinite here-! I need back up, p-pronto! Call in the Jackal Squad, o-or the Robo-Pawns! Please! Somebody!!" He yelled desperately. Looking up, Infinite saw dozens upon dozens of chaos spears heading towards him, every second felt like a minute, he could see his short life flash before his eyes. "Can anybody hear me??? Mimic?? Starline?? Breezie?? Stone??? Neo??? Doctor Robotnik???? Please!! Somebody help-!!" 

 

But before he could even finish his cries for assistance, the chaos spears pierced Infinite's body, splattering blood all over the surrounding area. His body fell limp on the ground as the spears dissipated. The mockery had been put to an end, but it wasn't enough of a punishment in Shadow’s eyes. Looking down at the body in disdain, they raised it's foot and crushed Infinite's head beneath it.

 

"How pathetic… barely put up a fight!" Shadow scoffed. "Was his "tricks" all he had?" Shadow looked down at the body underneath them, and saw a strange red gem embedded in it's chest. Curious, Shadow got closer and inspected the gemstone. They knew from the look and make that it couldn't have been a Chaos Emerald, besides, they would've felt the energy from it much sooner if it was a Chaos Emerald, so what was it? While it gave some resistance, Shadow eventually managed to pull the gemstone from the jackal's body. "How curious…" 

 

Before Shadow had the time to think further, it felt a wave of Chaos Energy wash over them -- but not just any old Chaos Energy, a very specific type of Chaos Energy. They looked out into the horizon, seeing a figure running towards the scene. Shadow caught a glimpse of the figure's eyes -- the color of chaos itself, shimmering in the faded light masked by the thick clouds of smoke, and instantly knew who it was.

 

"Amy Rose?" 

 

Shadow hadn't seen Amy in about a year's time, and she had changed a good bit since then. The most notable changes being that her quills were quite a bit longer, and she was a few inches taller than she was the last time Shadow had seen her. 

 

“My my, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you, Amy~!” Shadow turned around as it greeted the pink hedgehog. Amy backed away in concern, frightened by the splashes of blood that was still on Shadow’s face and the look of instability in their eyes.

 

“Sh-Shadow..? Is that… Is that you?” Amy asked, her voice trembling with fear.

 

“You must be so surprised, seeing me again after all this time.” Shadow said with a slight chuckle. “I’ve missed you dearly.”

 

“Where… Where have you been??” Amy blurted suddenly. “I mean, I know that you had quit GUN but.. Where did you go after that? We’ve been so worried about you, I’ve been so worried about you! And Rouge won’t tell us anything!” She added, tears quelling in her eyes. Seeing Amy so distressed made Shadow quite upset as well, the two were rather close before Shadow rejoined the Black Arms; they were practically like siblings to each other! 

 

“Oh Amy…” Shadow pulled her into a hug, which made Amy relax a bit. “I’m so sorry for abandoning you… It was for my own safety!”

 

“... That explains then why Rouge has been refusing to tell us where you’ve been..”

 

“Exactly… I could show you where I’ve been though… If you just… follow me?” Shadow asked, looking up at Amy. She could tell that Shadow genuinely wanted to get back on track with her, that they felt bad for leaving her without a single word. But as Shadow said those words to her, Amy could tell that something was terribly wrong. She could feel a horrifically sinister energy creep up around her, calling for her with the same pleading tone that Shadow spoke in.

 

“... Sorry Shadow, but I… I should be heading back to the Freedom Fighters’ base… Knuckles is probably pretty worried about me, ya know?” Amy said, trying her best to formulate an excuse.

 

“Hey, I get that… It’s.. It’s your birthday today, isn’t it?” 

 

“Yeah…” Amy chuckled slightly, her tone a bit pained. “I don’t blame you for just remembering right now… Things have been nothing short of hellish since Sonic was captured by Eggman, so it’s hard to remember little things like that..” Her eyes darted off slightly as she spoke, eventually noticing the jackal corpse that was lying motionless only a few feet away from her and Shadow. Her eyes widened, looking back at Shadow in shock. “You… Did you.. Kill Infinite?” She asked them.

 

“Yes.” Shadow admitted. “I caught wind that he was impersonating me -- making it look like I was working for the Doctor!” It scowled. 

 

“Heh… Yeah, he had everyone pretty convinced… Not me though. I know this sounds weird but I can just… tell when you’re around.” Amy explained. Shadow understood exactly what she meant by that, they wanted to tell her the reason behind such a thing so badly. But they stopped themself, not wanting to frighten the girl, despite how saddened it was by her ignorance.

 

“Heh… weird how that happens sometimes.” Shadow responded.

 

“Anyway.. Thank you so much, Shadow!” Amy said, hugging it tightly. “With Infinite gone, Dr Robotnik’s reign of tyranny is practically over!” Shadow chuckled and agreed, hugging back. “This is… the best birthday gift I could’ve asked for, honestly.” Amy added.

 

“I’m glad.”

 

“I have to tell the others!!” Amy said as she ran off. Shadow tried to catch up with her, but it wasn’t able to, and thus gave up their hopes of recruiting Amy for today.

“My… I’m terribly sorry that things went that way… I only met Amy once while I was still stayin’ with Knuckles, but I can tell you care a whole lot ‘bout her..” Relic said, trying her best to comfort Shadow after they had told her what had happened.

 

“Eh.. It wasn’t all bad… Besides, with the Doctor’s champion gone, I can be certain that it won’t be long before his empire crumbles, and we can take control of Aerth for ourselves!” Shadow declared with pride, unintentionally revealing the gemstone they held in it's hand.

 

“A phantom ruby?!” Relic asked excitedly. Shadow jumped slightly in surprise, but then quickly recuperated themself.

 

“Ah! So that’s what this gemstone is!”

 

“Indeed! While no one really knows where it originated from, we are aware of it’s power!” Relic explained.

 

“Which is?” Shadow asked.

 

“It grants whoever uses it to create illusions of anything they want! Objects, places, people, you name it!” Relic answered.

 

“I see… You said that no one knows where it came from?”

 

“Yep. It just showed up on South Island one day! Many believe though that it came from one of the many dimensions that were destroyed during the-”

 

“Shadow! You’re back-!” Widow interrupted Relic as she came up from the basement, carrying a basket of clothes.

 

“Ooooh!! What cha’ got there Shad??” Garrick excitedly asked as he gawked at the phantom ruby still in his older sibling’s hand. Shadow explained to him what Relic had told them, and was delighted to see Garrick only become more excited as it talked. With wanting to put its past behind them, Shadow wanted their new present self to be seen as someone to look up to, especially by Garrick.

 

“It can make visions of people..?” Widow asked as it came back into the living room.

 

“Indeed! I have to assume that’s how that er… “Infinite” fellow made it look like Shadow was working for Doctor Robotnik!” Relic answered.

 

“I heard him say that he was planning to do what he did to me to dad as well, I knew then and there that I couldn’t let him live.” Shadow added.

 

“I know how you feel, truly, I do. A mere mortal like that jackal doesn’t deserve to act like he is our ally!!” Widow snapped, enraged. “I already hate those who refuse the great words of my Doomie with a burning passion!! But someone who refuses to join us and then uses our image to their own benefit?? ARRRGGHHH WHY DO I NEVER GET TO BE THE ONE WHO PUNISHES THE ONES I HATE THE MOOOOST??!!” Widow whined angrily, gripping her trusty sword tightly in it’s hands and she swayed from side to side, which admittedly made both of her children look at each other awkwardly in embarrassment.

 

“Though... with that being said, I wonder how we could use that power to our benefit?” 

 

“OH! My- Hello Eclipse!” Relic said, frightened a bit by the darkling’s sudden appearance.

 

“Feel free to study it… I could use a rest…” Shadow groaned, tossing the gem to Eclipse before walking off. Garrick then yawned and followed Shadow’s lead.

 

“I assume Eclipse and I will be in the lab if you need us, Widow!” Relic said. Eclipse nodded and made their way to their lab, with Relic following right behind them, leaving Widow all alone.

The next morning, Eclipse had everyone gather in the living room just as the sun was rising. They had a very annoyed look on their face, looking like they were ready for a fight.

 

“Guys, Where is the ruby?” 

 

“When we woke up, the phantom ruby was gone from the lab! Just like that!” Relic explained.

 

“I already checked Relic and the Dark Arms for the ruby, so the rest of you should start talking.” Eclipse sneered.

 

“I didn't do anything to it! I went to bed right after Shad got home, remember?” Garrick spoke earnestly.

 

“And I went to sleep right with him, and neither of us had woken up until you woke us up for this meeting!” Shadow added.

 

“And Queen Widow?” Eclipse asked.

 

“... I do not know where she is.” Shadow answered.

 

“Nonsense!! She shares the largest bedroom with you and Garrick! You must have seen her!”

 

“I think I remember seeing the closet door closed when I woke up…” Garrick admitted.

 

“There-!” Shadow blurted out before going to the bedroom, with the others following close behind. As they all got inside the room, they could hear a voice coming from within the closet, a soft, sweet, but raspy voice that they knew to be Widow’s. Shadow went ahead of the rest, slowly opening the closet door, unveiling little by little the bittersweet scene before it. 

Shadow found themself unable to speak a single word, seeing their mother embracing an illusion of her late beloved. It would’ve been so sweet if only Shadow didn’t carry the knowledge that it was a mere illusion, but there was no way it couldn’t know, for it was the one who killed them, on that dreadful day that felt like it had happened decades ago. The surreal dream-like vision and the guilt it carried manifested into a thick cloud of melancholic dread above Shadow’s head. They could see the phantom ruby grasped tightly in Widow’s hand, and they weren't the only one who did. Shadow withstood a hardy shove to their shoulder, bounding right back to chase down its temporary adversary, pulling them back with a forceful tug at their elongated tail.

 

“Shadow! What do you think you’re doing??” Eclipse snapped as they fell to the ground.

 

“Please… let her have it. At least for now.” Shadow begged, tears starting to form in their eyes.

 

Relic looked over and saw that Garrick was clearly feeling overwhelmed by the situation, which motivated her to speak up.

 

“We haven’t even fully developed our plans for the ruby, Eclipse! We should let Widow hold onto it for now!” She said boldly.

 

“Fine then… Have it that way, let’s see where that gets us.” Eclipse scowled, walking off to their lab without another word. 

 

"I-I.." 

 

"Don't worry about it, Shadow… I'm sure they just woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning… I'll talk to them." Relic said, before leaving with Garrick, hoping to comfort the young child. 

 

Shadow however, didn’t leave the room, but instead went inside the closet, looking upon the vision of their father. They could tell that it was quite comforting for Widow, but for whatever reason, it couldn’t feel that same comfort.

 

Shadow soon left the room too, giving its mother a wave before they left.

A week had passed since then, and things were far from better than before.

 

Widow never left the closet in which the others found her, not for food or water, not for anything at all, it completely refused to leave the illusion she had created, which left it up to Shadow and Relic to take care of Garrick.

 

A few times each day, Eclipse would leave from their lab to grab food for themself and their loyal Dark Arms, who had stayed by their side throughout this entire situation. But any time that anyone else tried to talk to them, usually Relic, they merely gave a growl and an unapproving glare in response, making it clear that they still were angry with the others for letting Widow have the ruby, abusing its powers, as they see it.

 

This left the remaining three Black Arms members with a drastically low morale and a constant feeling of immense dread, which was most apparent when looking at the youngest of them, the merely five year old Black Garrick, whose eyes were noticeably reddened from the repeated spouts of crying he endured multiple times a day.

 

Who could blame him? He was incredibly overwhelmed by it all, too young to fully comprehend what was going on, and was missing his mother a lot, constantly wishing that she would come out from her fantasy and fix everything.

 

On this particular morning, Shadow saw that it was about time they put this all to an end. It was hesitant to do so, not wanting to have to go through taking Doom away from Widow once again, but it knew they were the one who had to do it. Garrick was too young to even make an attempt, Relic being a Mobian would surely be a big factor in Widow ignoring her, and Eclipse… they’d be far too harsh with Widow in the state they’re in at the moment, which could cause a permanent rift in the Black Arms that could cause their eternal end. 

 

“Don’t do anything stupid” 

 

Those words echoed in Shadow’s mind like a broken record, they knew that it had to approach this in just the perfect way; not too harsh, but not too forgiving, just the right amount of understanding to get Widow to listen to them, and just enough encouragement to pull her out.

 

It just hoped that it could pull it off.

 

Shadow stepped into the bedroom that once belonged to their entire immediate family, the room that had only been inhabited by their mother for the past week. The closet door was still ajar, opened ever so slightly, just the way Shadow left it when they last were there. It could see through the crack between the door and the door frame; Widow was snuggled up with the illusion of Doom, and an illusion of a woman that Shadow didn’t know. They chose to put aside the confusion the sight brought and walked forward, opening the closet door fully as a single word exited from its mouth.

 

“Mom.”

 

Widow’s head tilted towards Shadow, revealing her glassy eyes to it. The woman looked as if she was in a trance of some sort.

 

“I was wondering when you’d come by…” It spoke to them. “I would’ve thought you’d be overjoyed to see that your father has returned to us…!”

 

She thinks that the illusions are real… That was the piece that Shadow was missing. They realized immediately what its next step should be.

 

“You’re right -- I would be… But that’s not what’s happening here.” They responded softly.

 

“It’s… it’s not..?”

 

“It’s all illusions… Don’t you remember? You’re the one who created them, with that phantom ruby you still hold in your hand…” Shadow uplifted Widow’s hand to her, still gripped tightly to the gem. 

 

“Phantom… Ruby…” 

In that instant, the illusions disappeared, and Widow hugged Shadow close.

 

“Right, of course… How silly of me to forget…” 

 

“No no… I get it… I envy you, in a way.” Shadow said sadly.

 

“Envy me..? Why?” Widow asked.

 

“If I could just get sucked into a self made fantasy like that… If I could just… escape to a different time… A time when Maria was still with me… A time before GUN executed Gerald… A time before… Before I… I…” Shadow fell into Widow’s arms and started sobbing heavily. “I’d do anything to get my family back! I’d do anything to reverse every stupid thing I’ve ever done!! But I can’t! I just can’t!!” They cried out painfully.

 

“Shadow?”

 

Shadow looked up from Widow’s embrace to see Garrick standing at the entrance of the bedroom, with Relic right behind him. 

 

“Garrick!!” Shadow shouted as it ran to their little brother and hugged him tightly. Garrick hugged them back, just wanting it to be happy. Widow transformed into her Mobian disguise and joined the hug.

 

“You’ve lost a chunk of your family… I have too, but we still have some family left that are still here…” Widow said to Shadow “I’m sorry for forgetting about that..” She added.

 

“I forgive you, mom. I know that I’m… the reason behind… all that, but I’m still here for you, whenever you need me. We’re family after all..” Shadow responded.

 

“And I’ll be here for you too, Mommy!” Garrick added.

 

“I know we aren’t family in the same way you, Shadow and Garrick are but… I assure you that you can rely on me, Widow.” Relic added in.

 

“... And me..” 

 

The others turned their direction to the interjection made by that familiar voice. There, right outside their laboratory, stood Eclipse, looking back at them as they held a collection of papers in their hand. 

 

“I'm… t-terribly sorry for my behavior… I've been incredibly immature during this whole week-" 

 

"Eclipse, it's okay that you were immature, it happens to us all-." Widow tried to say to them.

 

"I promise that I’ll do the best I can to be someone you can depend on… for all of you!” They spoke again as they gripped the papers they were holding.

 

"I appreciate that dear… but you should know that you can talk to us anytime you need help with something." Widow continued her attempt to comfort Eclipse.

 

Eclipse paused, looking like they might just break down at any moment. But instead, they spoke once more. "Let us be rid of this phantom ruby. It's done nothing but tear us apart." They then ripped the papers apart, and let them fall to the ground.

 

“What?? But what about-?” Relic began to protest.

 

“Let's be rid of it!" Eclipse blurted out loudly, shouting in frustration as they started to cry.

 

".... I'm sorry, I-" Relic tried to apologize, which made Eclipse run back into their laboratory, but Shadow stopped them from closing it.

 

"Hey, I get wanting to close yourself off from the world, wanting to seem impenetrable… But it's not healthy. We all have emotions, and sometimes they're messy and chaotic and don't quite make sense… but you have to embrace those feelings… I learned as much from you and everyone else when I was first rejoining the Black Arms." They said to Eclipse.

 

"As you said… We're your family. You can tell us anything…" Widow added.

 

Eclipse stood in the doorway, their body shaking slightly.

 

"Thank you… all of you… I'm terribly sorry…." They muttered before going into their laboratory, closing the door behind them.

 

"...I'll wait for when they're ready…" Shadow said quietly. "But they're right about the ruby."

 

“Alright… if you say so.” Relic replied, admitting that the others were right. 

 

A few hours later, when Eclipse was able to attend, all of the Black Arms went outside together, even the Dark Arms, to properly dispose of the phantom ruby once and for all. As a symbol that they would not let it separate them, nor would they ever let anyone else do so either.

 

“As the eldest child of our Dark Lord Black Doom, I declare on this day, that no matter what trails or tribulations we endure, we will not let anything tear us Black Arms apart, that no force will defeat us, whether natural or supernatural. I declare that no matter the number of members the Black Arms have at any given time, we will not disappear, that in some way, some shape or form, the Black Arms will live on for eternity and beyond.” Shadow preached boldly. It looked out into the distance as they spoke, seeing a familiar figure hidden in the clouds, noticing the twinkle of chaos energy. “May the chaos within each and everyone of us prosper and grow… May us Black Arms forever live on… spreading that chaos wherever we go…” They added, watching the figure go by, hoping that the chaos within her will one day spark… and that they’ll see the Black Arms grow with the addition of a new member. A hope, a fantasy perhaps, that it prayed was one that was obtainable.