#baby is mad his fur is changing to orange someone save him

[blu-ish]

8 year old Sonic "raised by crabs and chao" hedgehog thinks taking care of a few months old fox kit is easy.

[themadsamurai]

Town of Phoenix Concet

A new series I’ll be writing soon.

<Town of the Phoenix>

In the country of Easifa (storm), there’s a tale of a peaceful town that worshipped a fire bird as their goddess. Thanks to their worship, the goddess bestowed the power of flames upon their bloodline. The elder of this town knew that the royal families would not approve of this revelation and implored his citizens to keep it a secret. But the younger generation disagreed, it’s not like they were doing anything wrong with these powers. They could protect Easifa from foreign threats. The elder was right and the royal families were afraid of these powers. The country was a place of mysticism but never have they ever been able to use the powers of a goddess. What if one of these citizen defect and an enemy country obtains these powers?

The royal families sent thousands upon thousands of soldiers to this city to slaughter all of its residents. The goddess, distraught by the death of her followers blamed herself for bestowing them these powers, went into a state of depression and disappeared. The royal families proclaimed that should any survive resident of this town be discovered, they will be labeled children of evil and slaughtered.

300 years later and easifa is now a country with immense wealth and riches but looks to make up for their sins of the past. Unfortunately they are plagued by Creatures such as jinn (ghosts) and Raeb (blood suckers). A young farm hand named Cain discovers that he can summon the Phoenix Goddess Fire. Cain becoming curious about his past starts looking for answers when a near death experience causes him to meet the goddess herself Homura. She asks him to find her destroyed home and return her spirit to her temple. After some reluctance, he accepts. He journeys throughout Easifa with his Best friend and jinn hunter in training Dalia (A charming girl with a hidden bloodlust), her tiger cub pet Amyr and a man who says he collects souls named Mahaz. His powers capture the attention of the Militia. Who send two of his old friends, Lt. Rekka and his younger sister Rubina… (the also have a pet lemur named Sparx) who are determined to figure out of their old friend is a danger or a hero to Easifa that they were looking for. Along the journey the Trio will learn secrets about the country, becoming stronger as individuals and maybe even save Easifa from its misfortune on the way.

Main Characters

Cain Ishihara - Was a farm hand who discovered he had the ability to summon fire. Formally gave up during the middle of Militia physical. While he is a passive individual looking to do right he can get selfish and stubborn when his curiosity takes over. While he is looking to get Homura’s spirit home, his interest in his home hometown takes president. He has blond hair that reaches the back of his neck and long bangs that fall in front of his face; black eyes. Average height but slim fit build. Long black boots, White linen pants. Black male Kimono flaming cloud design top with red edges. He has a red katana that’s sheathed in a red scabbard that has the same flaming clouds on it.

Magic Focus: Flame

Dalia Volkov - a Jinn Hunter (in training). Cain’s best friend and self professed “wing man”. A bubbly optimistic that also has a darker side when she gets into battle. She put her jinn hunter training to the side in order to journey with Cain. Very long Auburn hair kept in a long long tail to the side; Blue eyes. Tall, slightly shorter than Cain. Well endowed but fit figure. Brown boots, cream color harem pants. Cream colored sleeveless blouse with brown leather corset. White bangle wrapped wrist bands. Two scimitars with black hilts and white scabbards with black flowers that rest on her lower back.

Magic Focus: Spiritual/Split Mind

Amyr the tiger - Dalia’s pet sabertooth tiger cub. Always by her side. With the power transfer magic, he can turn into an adult and assist in battle. As a baby he has light orange fur and black stripes. Also a noticeable scar on his forehead. As an adult he tripled in size and gets two extra curved tusk fangs.

Magic Focus: Transfer

Mahaz Abad -A Traveling mercenary, Mahaz has seen some shit. Despite his appearance, mahaz is a chill dude that always plans ahead. He got the nickname Soul Taker From being accused of a massive murdering spree. long messy black hair, black bandanna on his head with red swirl designs, brown eyes. Very tall, muscular individual with light brown skin. Black heavy flip flop sandals, red sirwal pants, a sleeveless collared black vest with red swirl designs and red bracelet. He has a long black pole staff. With blood magic it becomes a scythe.

Magic Focus: Repulsion/Blood

Homura the Goddess - the phoenix goddess herself. She yearns to return to her home and task Cain to do so whom she met when he nearly died. Homura is elegant and kind but as a goddess has a slight temper. Especially when Cain ignores her. She has saidto have feelings for Cain to Dalia but doesn’t pursue because she’s a goddess. She’s a giant flaming firebird. Her humanoid appearance has long red hair that reaches her back, red eyes and a golden headband. She is curvaceous and beautiful. But wears a large white kimono with red flames on it.

Magic Focus: Flame/Healing

Rubina Nazar - a low ranking captain of the Easifa militia, Rubi as her friends call her, is stoic and calm on the outside but is actually kind and sweet. A brilliant fighter, she is known as the piercer thanks to her rapier. Cain and her have had an intimate relationship in the past. She had short black hair in a bob cut and emerald eyes. A fit figure with ample curves. The Easifa uniform is simple blue getup. As a captain she has two stars on the right breast pocket of her uniform. Casually, she usually wears beige bootcut pants and pink medieval style blouse with black boots. She has a blue hilted rapier with a handguard that extends past the hilt. She also has a silver revolver with her at all times.

Magic Focus: Boost step

Lt. Rekka Nazar - the newest lieutenant of Easifa militia and the older brother of Rubi. Rekka is still getting accustomed to the responsibilities that fall on his shoulders. Rekka is considered a prodigy but new school ideas cause him to but heads with the general constantly. Rekka is hot tempered but cunning. His previous nickname given to him by Cain was Buckshot cause of his obsession with guns. He has short black hair but also a mullet in the back and emerald eyes. A y’all individual, He wears a similar uniform to Rubi but it has 3 stars in the breast pocket and red line going down the left arm. Casually he wears black boots. Brown straight pants and a white shirt. He always has two sawed off shotguns on him. Tends to carry a rifle and combat knife on him too.

Magic Focus: Ice/wind

Sparx the lemur - Sparx is the nazar family pet and sidekick. Usually seen resting on Rekka’s shoulder. Sparx is protective of his family and will jump at anything that hurt Rekka and Rubi. He has white fur and a patch of red fur in the shape of a triangle on his chest.

Magic Focus: Boost step

Akeem Chai - Rekka’s right hand man. He’s not the brightest but excitable and always looking to prove his strength. Akeem is a rarity in the militia as he prefers to use his fist, feet and magic to fight instead of an abundance of weapons. He is also the estranged son of Dr Chao Xhen but only Rekka and Rubi know that. His hair is a brown quiff that almost goes into pompadour territory. Blue eyes, blackrim glasses. He is fit and thick. There is only one star on his uniform pocket because he is yet to be a captain. Casually he wears blue ripped harem pants and a black shirt. He usually is not wearing shoes.

Magic Focus: Equivalent Dmage

Dr. Chao Xhen - the traveling Doctor of Easifa. The Doc can be found in his giant carriage working on his potions and tending to all the citizens, mostly the militia. Even then he can be found once in a while in his 3 offices. But the chances of you being there on a day he is quite rare. The Doc is called mad by the people, some wonder if he actually studied but none can argue he gives results. The older man has wild grey hair that is never combed and blue eyes. He has a rough beard and moustache and enjoyed the feeling of scratching it. Normally he’s wearing brown overalls and boots with a gray shirt and sometimes a white coat but honestly he usually just throws stuff together. Chao is always flipping a quarter. He enjoys the sound.

Magic Focus: Luck

Tae Kagawa - the quiet, almost antisocial assistant of Doctor Chao. Tae was sold to the black market as a young child but saved by the Doctor. He’s one of the people she genuinely cares for, calling him father. Although he doesn’t want her to call him that. She is the person usually managing his schedule and getting him to places when someone actually needs help. She has blue dyed hair with bangs that falls long on the right side of her face and brown eyes. She has a petite frame and tends to wear a white or black dress.

Magic Focus: Study Eye

General Mashru Rafiq - the commander general of the Easifa militia. He’s in the twilight of his career much to his own dismay. He’s not a fan of the changes that Easifa is going through and butts heads with Rekka because of it. His goal is ultimately eliminate all the creatures infesting Easifa. One way or another. He is an older man with slick bald white hair, yellow eyes and a very long beard. His uniform is black and has 5 stars on the breast pocket. He always carries 6 revolvers in his jacket and a long scimitar at his waste.

Magic Focus: Earth

Villains

Lucian Alexander - the 499th King of the Raebs. He is a legendary hero to his people after defeating and exterminating the Raebs long rival species the Mayit (dead walkers) in his youth. Lucian is a terrifying and ruthless individual but also is clinically depressed in his age. Looking for the last bit of excitement in his life, he seeks to plunge his home country of Easifa into an all lit war with the humans. Once the creatures rule the country, he will step down and name his son Stefan as the 500th king. Lucian is very secretive, it is said those who stumble into his castle without invitation is never heard from again. He is a tall man with long flowing black hair and red highlights. Goatee and handlebar mustache. His left eye is white, right is red. Fangs and three scars on his cheek. He wears a suit with black, white and red colors. And white handkerchief in his breast pocket. He carries a stylized sword with a red hilt, gold handguard and broad black blade.

Magic Focus: Varied/Blood

Ramona Alexander - the wife of Lucian and current Queen of Raebs. She is a born succubus but became half raeb after her passionate relationship with Lucian. Ramona is a yandere… madly in love with Lucian to this day and will do anything to seek his attention. In his depressed state he tends to ignore her which leads her to scheming up ways to catch his eye, even staging an affair in front of him. Some say she is more ruthless than Lucian, desmating any woman who looks at him lustfully. Ramona is also protective of her son who she deems will be a greater king then her husband. Ramona is beautiful, curvaceous and thanks to having a mix of succubus and raeb blood, youthful looking. She has long purple hair that reaches her calves; a bang always covers her left eye (which are both dark blue). Her fangs are smaller than most. She wears a long black dress with red on the end and white flowers covering the dress. Black heels as well.

Magic Focus: Arousal/Blood

Stefan Alexander - prince of the Raebs, he is half raeb and half incubus. Stefan can’t wait to be king. He’s brash, arrogant, a playboy and smart. Even though he has so much respect for his parents, he is aware that soon they will have to settle down or die in battle. Stefan always is at the front lines looking for a fight. Much like his parents, he is easily bored. His solution is to go out to the human world, have some fun and cause destruction. Some feel that half raeb should not be king, he always changes that person's mind by leaving them close to deaths door. He has short black hair and purple highlights, two red eyes and small fangs like his mother. He wears a white medieval style dress shirt, black shoes and black pants. He has a sword similar to his father but also has a scimitar with a broken blade which he uses to toy with weaker opponents.

Magic Focus: Arousal/Blood/Ice

Rosawld Rosario Rodini - the mad clown, Roswald has a strange connection to Jinn. Jinn normally have no ruler and tend to run on instinct, but roswald can manipulate them, making him a huge asset to Lucian. No one is sure if he’s a jinn himself, raeb, or even human. While he is an ally to Lucian, he prefers to be called a subordinate. Never taking credit for large scale plans. Roswald is a master of disguise and violent jokester. Always looking to see if anyone can handle his madness. He is a skinny man with messy green hair and yellow eyes. He has clown makeup, white painted face, red x’s across his eyes and a red lines along his mouth that make it look stitched up. He wears candy cane looking pants, white with red stripes. Magician shoes. White shirt, blue vest and red jacket. He also carries Bayard model hand gun on him.

Magic Focus: Transfer/Luck/Study Eye

Dizarah - She is the last of the Mayit. Once a slave to the Mayit king, She is now Lucians vanguard captain. She is entrusted with protecting the prince much to her dismay as he tends to prefer to wander alone. Dizarah enjoys killing humans because they were the ones who created and became the Mayit. Her own people who tortured her before Lucian saved her. She is tall but skinny girl with short black hair and red eyes. 90 percent of her body is wrapped in bandages, including her face, leveling only her hair, eyes and mouth free. The bandages tend to hang off her body and can extend and be controlled by her. She doesn’t wear anything over her bandages at the top but wears a blue ripped skirt and black boots.

Magic Focus: Undead/Repulsion

Xavier Scalebound - the lizard man and leader of Lucian’s Sahalia (lizard people) army. They are the most defensive specialist species in all of Easifa. Lucian recruited there people who were being oppressed by the Mayit and fed to Jinn. Xavier is cunning milterist. He almost never has to jump into battle as his planning and strategies of his army overwhelm his opponents. Xavier personally trained Dizarah in combat and oversees the protection of Prince Stefan. His body is covered in red scales. His stomach has some missing in an x shape which is said to be a scar that Stefan gave him. He has wild red hair flowing from his head and messy short black cloth pants. His weapons of choice are a battle axe, mace and curved scimitar.

Magic Focus: Water/Lightning

[jolienjoyswriting]

Sonic CD - Shake the Planets, Ch. I

Chapter 1 of "Shake the Planets," a Sonic the Hedgehog CD fan fiction story.

I'm not sure what did it, but for some reason, I was thinking about "classic" Amy and how much I like her, and that got me thinking… "I should write a story about her."  But, what kind of story?  Well, something romantic, obviously. (Yes, really.  Don't judge.) As I thought about it, I wondered who else should be in the story…  I don't really "ship" Sonic with Amy, and no one else really makes a lot of sense…  Then, inspiration hit me!  Why not write a story… based on the 2011 Mobile/Steam re-release of Sonic the Hedgehog CD?  The one where Sonic isn't the only playable character!

So, with my idea in place, I started writing up a story about Amy going to the Miracle Planet to meet Sonic… only to end up meeting someone else, instead.  Things kind of went from there. And, of course… what I ended up with wasn't what I was aiming for, but I was super-satisfied with it, anyway~

Word count: 4,594 – Character count: 26,004 Originally written: October 5th, 2019

Guided by her tarot cards, an adventurous, young girl heads to a magical planet to meet her hero.

Amy Rose/Rosy the Rascal created by Naoto Ohshima and touched-up by Kazuyuki Hoshino Miles "Tails" Prower created by Yasushi Yamaguchi, Dr. Robotnik created by Naoto Ohshima Pata-Bata, Mosqui, and related characters and properties created by Kazuyuki Hoshino "Sonic the Hedgehog," "Sonic the Hedgehog CD," and aforementioned/related characters and concepts © Sega Games Co., Ltd.

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    “Every year… something miraculous happens high over Never Lake…”

    The sun was shining bright as a girl drove a little car through the rugged wastelands in a remote location of the planet.

    “Once-a-year, a small planet appears out of thin air…  Covered in trees and shining like a crystal ball, this little planet stays stationary over the lake for exactly three days.”     The girl came to a stop as she arrived at the edge of a massive body-of-water.     “Legends say that if you see the planet, you’ll be blessed with good luck and great fortune…  For this reason, people started calling it the ‘Miracle Planet.’”     She hopped out of her vehicle, retrieving a small bindle of items.     “I’ve come to this place… on this day… not just to see the planet, but to go to it.”     The girl pounded her right into her left fist.     “‘cause, it’s there that I’ll meet the man of my dreams…”

    With that proclamation, she began running up a gigantic, metal chain stretching out from the land and high into the planet hovering overhead.  She probably should have wondered why it was there, considering the legends never said anything about it, but…     “Wait for me, Mister Sonic!  Rosy the Rascal is coming for you…!”     She didn’t really care.  All she knew was that it was her destiny to be there.  To meet Sonic.  And, absolutely nothing would stop her. ––––-

    “Boy, it sure is boring around here!”

    A day after arriving on the Miracle Planet, a young girl by the name of Amy Rose – “Rosy the Rascal,” to her friends – found herself sitting on an emerald-hued slope, impatiently waiting for the arrival of the “man of her dreams.”

    “It's boring…”  She paused…  “But, it’s pretty…”

    The nearby palm trees held some pretty, pink fruit that she didn’t recognize.  Near those were some star-shaped bushes that sparkled with morning dew.  In the distance, however, she could see a lush forest with thousands of hills and thousands of waterfalls.  It looked kind of cool.     She looked a bit closer to her right, taking a moment to admire the nearby lake as it shimmered a pleasant crystal-blue.  In it flashed a reflection of the bright sun, the sky and its peppering of clouds, and even her home planet far above.  That reminded her of just how far she’d come…     “I’m so proud of me,” she commented.  “I made it all the way here all by myself!  Still…”     She kicked her feet and leaned back.     “It’s rude of Sonic to keep a pretty girl waiting!”     Her eyes glazed over and she fondly sighed…     “Oh, Mister Sonic…  I can’t wait to meet you and smother you with my love!”     Then, she giggled and wiggled with excitement at the very idea.     “Just you wait, Mister Sonic!  You’ll be mine!”

    The sun moved from early morning to mid-afternoon as Amy waited for the fast, blue hedgehog to arrive.  As she waited, she continued to curiously look around…

    High above her on a tall hill, she could see what looked like… some sort of metal thing?  She had no idea what it was, but she wondered what it was for…  Before long, however, her attention turned elsewhere and she noticed something else, overhead.  She brought a gloved hand over her head, squinting her eyes as she looked on…     “Are those… butterflies…?”     A trio of small creatures with pink bodies and yellow wings were flying above her.     “How pretty!” she said with a bright smile.  “Yoo-hoo, butterflies…!”     She waved to the group, hoping to get their attention.  Unfortunately… she did.

    The formation changed course, heading down toward Amy at a leisurely pace.  Naturally, she welcomed them with a big smile and further waving.  As they drew closer, though, she noticed something…  They were shining in the sunlight.  It was almost like…     “Are… are those robots…?”     The idea sent a chill down her spine.  She’d heard the news… news of “evil robots” attacking people.  But, as she felt her heart get caught in her throat, she suddenly realized…     “Th-that’s it…!  That’s what I’ve been waiting for!!”     All-at-once, she loudly called to the butterfly-bots, jumping up-and-down and frantically flailing her arms.  Had she got mad?  No… she had a plan.

    “When those butter-bots come down to catch me,” she told herself with a grin, “my hero… my Mister Sonic… will come to my rescue!  Then, we’ll fall madly in love!  Oh, we’ll get married and have a million babies in our little house on South Island…  Then, we’ll–”     “Look out!!”

    Amy screamed in surprise as something knocked her to the ground.  She winced, shivered, and kept her eyes closed as her little, pointy ears caught many noises she didn’t like.  Metallic twangs… explosions… hissing and whirring noises…  It was all quite scary to her.

    Silence fell over the area, prompting her to peek an eye open…     “You okay?”     And, go red-in-the-face.  Someone was standing over her and holding a hand out.  She couldn’t see who, since the sun was in her eyes, but even so…     “My hero…!”     That didn’t stop her from leaping up and tackling him with all of her love.

    “I love you, Mister Sonic!” she cried with a brilliant smile and closed eyes.  As she rubbed her cheek to his plush, warm fur, though, she paused…     “Mister Sonic… you’re so… soft!” she noticed.  “Really soft!  L-like a doll…”     She curiously rubbed her face against her savior’s body, again… then, she gently rubbed a hand over it.  But, after hearing him speak, again…     “I-I’m not Sonic…!  S-stop it, please…!”     She finally leaned back, stood, and looked at the person… before going wide-eyed.

    Standing– well, sitting there was a figure she’d never seen.  He had orange fur all over his body, though his belly and face were white and very plush.  He also had a tail– no, two tails, each tipped with white fur.  His little, black nose twitched and his big, pointy ears flicked.  As she looked into his blue eyes… she suddenly realized something.     “Y-y-you’re not Mister Sonic…!”

    “N-no, I’m not…!” the creature – a fox, she thought – told her with a blush and a scowl.  “Wh-wh-what’d you go and hug me for…?!”     “I…”     She paused.  A second later, her face turned angry.     “Where’s Mister Sonic?!” she shouted as she threw her hands down and stomped one high-top sneaker.  “Mister Sonic was supposed to save me from… from…”     It was only then that she noticed…     “Oh, gosh…  What… happened here?”     There was a lot of broken machinery around them.

    Red-and-white chunks of metal lay scattered, some with pointy bits that stuck out of the ground and some with semi-transparent… wings, maybe?  There were some slightly-more-familiar pink-and-yellow bits were near those, but they were nowhere near as numerous.  Quite a few gears, servos, and other metallic parts were amidst the rubble, too…  When she looked back at the two-tailed fox who was getting to his feet, she noticed…     “Oh, are you hurt…?”     His orange fur was scuffed with black marks.  Oil?  Singe?  She wasn’t sure.  Whatever it was, though, he was covered in it.     “I-I’m fine…!” he snapped as she reached out to him.  “Just…  Who are you?  What are you even doing here…?  This planet’s supposed to be empty except for some plants…”     “I’m Amy Rose!” the perky, pink hedgehog told him with one of her trademark smiles.  “I’m here waiting for Mister Sonic the Hedgehog!  We’re gonna fall madly in love, and get married, and–”     “Sonic isn’t here, Miss Rose.”     She stopped in mid-sentence, blinking her emerald eyes.  “What?”     “It’s just me,” he said, rubbing the back of his head and grinning as his twin tails wagged.  “I saw Robotnik sneaking around, but Sonic was sleeping.  I didn’t wanna bother him, so–”     “Wait…  Are you saying…”     The girl’s eyes lit up and she leaned in, making the fox flinch.     “You know Mister Sonic…?!”     “W… a little…?” he nervously answered.  “Um…  We met on West Island, and–”     “Well, then!”     He blinked, again, as she walked around behind him.     “If I stick with you, Mister Sonic’s sure to see me!”     “W-wait, I told you, Sonic–”     “C’mon, Mister Fox!  Let’s go find Mister Sonic!”     He grimaced as the girl suddenly ran ahead.  With a labored sigh, he called out for her to wait before he wound up following as she took the lead.  What was it with him and hedgehogs leading him around, anyway…? –––––

    “H-hang on tight, Miss Rose…!”

    The ground quaked underneath the feet of the brave fox who had faced off against Doctor Ivo Robotnik.  In the end, he had defeated the evil roboticist and destroyed not only his war machines, but the entire facility!  It was there, in the crumbling production plant, that he’d found the pink hedgehog girl who had, apparently, followed him all the way from the futuristic speedways and into that extremely dangerous and confusing place.

    The fox struggled to carry his passenger as she loudly cried into her hands, terrified beyond anything and paralyzed with fear.  The whole area was coming down around them!  Columns fell, the floor broke apart and opened wide, explosions rang out all ‘round…  It was a huge mess.  But, somehow… that heroic vulpine managed to find his way out of the chaos and back to the chain that bound the satellite planet to their home.

    “Miss Rose?”     “Waaaaah…!!”     “Miss– Miss Rose?  I– grrr…”  He sighed, getting annoyed with being ignored.  “Listen, just stay here.  I need to go check on something, okay?”     He backed away from the wailing figure, closely watching her for any signs of change.  After a few seconds, he figured she would just keep crying and, more-than-likely, stay put… so, he spun his tails up and flew off.

    “Waaaaah…!!  Waaaaah– huh?”     Amy suddenly calmed down.  As she sniffled and peeked out from behind her gloves, she noticed… she wasn’t surrounded by destruction, anymore.  In fact… everything seemed very calm and very peaceful, wherever she was.  At least…     “Eeekk…!!”     Until she heard a massive explosion go off in the distance.

    The girl stumbled over, landing on her rump.  As she sat there, blinking her wet eyes, she noticed… that massive chain stretching from one planet to the other was breaking apart.  As she looked on, she also noticed… the other planet was getting smaller!  Was it flying away?     She gasped, her eyes going wide as she watched the planet suddenly shake and shudder.  Then, before she knew it… it was raining stars!  She got to her feet, looking around in confusion…  When she looked back up, she saw something that made her heart skip a beat.     “Mister Sonic…!”     A dazzling display of sparks decorated the sky between Earth and the Miracle Planet.  There, she saw a picture of Sonic’s head, smiling and winking.  Not long after… the planet completely vanished in a flash of light, leaving her standing there, completely baffled.

    She was just starting to calm back down when, out-of-nowhere, another explosion drew her eyes skyward!  She stared as she noticed a huge, dark cloud form and, for a moment, she thought it looked like Doctor Robotnik’s face…  However, she ultimately decided she was just tired and seeing things.  A moment later, she sighed and hugged herself…     “This whole thing was a big, fat waste of time…” she sniffled, her eyes starting to water, again.  “I-I’m going home…!”

    Amy started wandering the area, trying to find anything that looked familiar.  Without the planet in the sky or the giant chain tethering it, though, she was as lost as lost could be…     “W-where’s my car…?” she whimpered as she walked along the rocky ground.     Scared, lonely, and a little hungry, her mind started to replay the events of the day…

    She was supposed to be saved by Sonic, then live happily-ever-after.  Instead, she wound up being saved by some fox she didn’t know the name of, then got kidnaped by someone she thought was Sonic who turned out to be a robot…  Then, she was saved by the fox, again, in some brightly-lit highway or something, and wound up following him into an absolutely frightening place where she got trapped in a maze, only finding her way back out to get rescued for a third time by that fox boy!

    “This wasn’t how it was s’posed to go…” she said as she desperately tried to find her car.  “This wasn’t– ah…!”     The girl tripped over something, crashing to the ground face-first.  She started to push herself off the ground… only to let herself collapse.     “I wanna go home…” she quietly murmured.  “I… I wanna go hooooome…!!”     Then… she fell into despair, loudly weeping as the situation overwhelmed her.  She felt hopelessly lost, that fox had abandoned her, and she couldn’t find her car.  In her mind, things couldn’t possibly get any worse…

    “Huh…?”     The girl’s crying was interrupted by a loud rumble.  When she looked up… she noticed that the sky was getting cloudy.     “N… no…” she quietly whimpered.  “Th-that’s not fair…!”     Then, as a drop of water hit her nose…     “That’s not faaaaair…!!”     She went right back to bawling. –––––

    “Oh, man… where’d that girl run off to…?”

    The two-tailed fox who had saved the Miracle Planet gritted his teeth.  He was flying low to the ground, his tail throwing water every-which-way as they spun.  The weather had turned really nasty after he threw that rock at the escaping Doctor Robotnik…  Was it karma?  Should he have just let the evil man escape?  He didn’t know.  All he knew was that it was getting wet, and somewhere, out in that wasteland, there was a little girl who needed him.

    “Aaaaahh–!!”     A crack of lightning flashed against the sky, scaring the fox half-to-death.  He hated lightning…  He hated it more than anything…!     “Amy Rose…!!” he cried, trying to hide the fear in his voice.  “Amy Rose…!!  Where are you…?!  W-we need to get outta this storm…!”     As another bolt presented itself, he zipped behind a rock spire.     “Oh, please stop hiding…!!” he pleaded.  “Where are you…?”

    When the storm broke for a moment, the fox continued his search.  To his thinking, Amy couldn’t have gone too far…  Then, he remembered that the girl had not only led him through that green, palm tree-covered paradise and even and beaten him to the pink-colored plaza beyond, but she’d somehow followed him through Robotnik’s base-of-operation, into the ruined future, and watched him defeat the bad man only to freak out as everything started falling apart!     “That girl’s pretty brave…” he thought aloud as he flew around.  “And to think, she did all that just to meet Sonic… not that I blame her…”     He blushed as he smiled, thinking about how cool Sonic was.     “I love Mister Sonic, too…  He’s my hero!  I wanna be just like him…”     He fondly sighed… then, he blinked.  His keen ears had caught something.     “That noise…  Could it be…?”     He looked around.  Not long after, he spotted something on the ground.  Something green… something yellow-orange…  Something… pink!     “Amy!”     With that, he dove down and landed beside the girl.

    “Miss Rose!” he called as he knelt beside her.  “I–”     His eyes widened.  Amy leaped up and immediately clung to him!     “H-how could you abandon a defenseless, little girl like that…?!” she scolded with a horrible frown and cracked red eyes.  “I was so scared…!”     “I-I’m sorry, Miss Rose…!” he said as he tried to squirm out of her grasp.  “I-I had to make sure Doctor Robotnik didn’t escape!  But… I think he got away, anyway…  I–”     “I don’t care about that!” she yelled.     She stood back, hiding her face with both hands and crying a little more.     “I wanna go hooome…!” was the next thing she said.  “Where’s my car…?”     “Your… what?”     “Car…!” she snapped, throwing her hands down and getting into his face.     “I… uh…”     His ears fell and his waterlogged tails drooped.  He’d seen a car, alright, but…     “L-listen…  Can we get out of this storm before it picks up, again?”  He uncomfortably squirmed.  “I don’t like storms…”     He took a deep breath as she sniffled and calmly nodded.  The next thing she did, however, made him blink…  She was holding one of her hands out to him while her other hand stayed balled under her chin.  Was she suggesting what he thought she was…?

    The fox stared at the hand… then, he looked at Amy, herself.  There was a look of uncertainty to her eyes… one that utterly broke his heart.  She’d faced dangerous machines, deadly traps, and watched him fight Robotnik’s powerful combat vehicle… but, something was different…  In the time he’d been gone from her, she’d lost that spark of hers…  The brave, inspired look she’d worn throughout the Miracle Planet adventure was gone… and it had been replaced by a look of absolute defeat.  She looked like she’d given up on just about everything…     “C’mon…”     He wasn’t about to let that happen.

    Amy softly blinked as the fox took her hand.  She was quick to squeeze his, then just as quick to follow him as he walked with her, looking around for something…     “Ah– there!”     She blinked, again, as he pointed to something in the distance…  The tired girl squinted her sore eyes as she tried to figure out what it was…     “That hole…?” she asked.     “We can stay in that cave ‘til the storm passes.”     The girl whimpered…  “I… I don’t wanna stay in some creepy, dark cave, Mister Fox…”     “It won’t be so bad,” was his response.  “I’ll make a fire and we can get nice-and-warm!  Then, when the storm’s over, we can get you home!”     She hesitated… but, she softly nodded.  “O-okay…”

    After a short trek, the two arrived at a cave dug into a large, rocky hill.  The fox immediately walked inside, but…     “Miss Rose?”     The girl didn’t seem too interested…     “I-it’s dark… a-and scary…” she whined, her knees knocking as she covered her mouth with her both hands.  “I-I don’t wanna…!”     “Wait, wait… let me… ah, here it is!”     The girl tilted her head as the fox withdrew something from his tails.  A second later…     “Eep…!”     She flinched.  When she looked back, though… she noticed that he was holding a small piece of wood that was on fire, in his other hand.     “See?” he said as he gently waved the makeshift torch.  “It’s not so bad.  Ya just gotta be brave, Miss Rose, like I know you can be.”     But, she didn’t feel like being brave, anymore…  She just wanted to go home.     “Anyway, I need your help.  This one piece of wood isn’t gonna last long, so–”     “O-okay.”     He blinked.  Amy had started into the cave.     “Good girl…” he said with a warm smile.  “Let’s find some burnables.”

    The two searched around the cave for a while, gathering anything that looked even remotely flammable.  Before too long, they’d gathered just enough material to make a nice-sized campfire that lit the cave, making it feel warmer even before the heat radiated outward.

    “It’s not as good as a heater,” the fox said as he removed his gloves and warmed his bare hands, “but it’ll do!”     “Y… yeah…”     He over to Amy, still smiling.  She was sitting on the opposite side of the fire, hugging her legs and looking as sad as ever.     “Hey… instead of taking you home,” he said, getting her attention, “why don’t I just take you to see Sonic?  He should still be relaxing on Angel Island…”     He thought that might cheer her up, but…     “Amy?” he called.  “What’s–”     She’d turned away and closed her eyes.

    “My cards lied to me…”     The fox tilted his head.  As Amy curled into herself a little tighter, he asked, “Cards?”     “My tarot cards,” she said through her arms and legs.  “They… they told me I’d… I’d meet Mister Sonic if I went to the Miracle Planet…  They… they lied…!”     When she started to shudder and whimper, again, the fox stood up and walked her way.     “You’re into tarot cards?” he asked.  “Cool!”     For some reason, hearing that seemed to snap her out of her funk.     “You…” she sniffled, “you really think so?”     “Uh-huh!”  He nodded with a bright smile.     The girl didn’t know what to say to that… so, she ended up asking him something.     “Do you… want me to give you a reading?”     When the fox went starry-eyed, she felt herself smile.  A moment later, she drew her lucky deck of cards and began…

    “What’s this card mean?”

    Amy and the fox sat on their knees near the fire, both looking at the cavern floor as the former drew a trio of cards for the latter.  When she flipped the first over, the boy asked his question… one she was more-than-happy to answer.

    “According to this card,” she said with a smile, “you’re really creative!”     She paused…     “I bet you draw!”     “Huh?”  He blinked as she looked at him.  “Wh-what?  N-no, I don’t–”     “Draw me something!” she requested.  “Lemme see!”     He wanted to say “no.”  But, seeing Amy finally smile, again, made him reconsider…     The girl watched with excitement as her new friend grabbed a small stick and began drawing circles in the dirt floor.  When he’d finished, though…     “That’s… creative?”     She was pretty disappointed by what she saw.

    “I-I’m not a very good drawer…” the fox confessed as they looked at the stick figure doodle he’d made.     “It’s a… it’s…”     Amy wanted to say something nice.  But…     “It’s really bad!”     When she started giggling, the fox puffed his cheeks and gave an angry look.     “Y-you wanted me to draw you something…!” he huffed.     “I thought you’d be better at it!” she laughed.     “Well, I’m not, so… nyeh!”     He stuck his tongue out at the girl, making her laugh a little more.     “Besides…” he said after a second.  “I’m better with machines…”     “Machines?”     He blinked.  Amy was looking at him, again.     “Y… yeah…” he said, faintly blushing.  “Do you… wanna see?”     She smiled.  “Okay!”

    Amy watched with renewed excitement as the fox rummaged through his tails.  Her head tilted when he withdrew… something.  She didn’t know what.  It kind of looked like a Flicky or Cucky… though, it had a head that looked a more like his own.

    “What’s that?” she asked.     “It’s… a little something I’ve been working on,” he said.  “It’s an early-prototype, right now, but… watch what it can do!”     The fox turned a little key on the metallic figure’s back.  When he let it go…     “Oh…!”     The robot started to move around and play a little tune.

    Amy brightly smiled, clapping in-time with the robot’s song as he bounced back-and-forth in a crude, but charming, sort of “dance.”     “It’s so cute!” she said as she watched.     “I have big plans for this little guy,” the fox told her.     When the girl looked up, she saw him smiling at her.     “I plan to put a camera on it so it can go into small spaces I can’t.  I also plan to make it remote controlled!  I’m… not sure what I’ll use it for, otherwise… but I’m sure it’ll come in handy for something!”     She nodded a couple of times.  A second later, she found her attention drawn back to the small robot.  It was winding down.     “I really like your little friend, Mister Fox,” the girl mused.  “He’s so cute…”     “‘Tails.’”     “Huh?”     When she looked back at the fox, he was looking right at her.     “‘Tails,’” he repeated with a soft smile.  “That’s my name.”     “Did your mom name you that ‘cause you have two tails?” she asked with a grin.     “My real name is ‘Miles.’  ‘Miles Prower,’”  He scowled as he added, “I don’t like it.”     “Well, I think it’s a handsome name, Miles!”     He blinked, then.  For some reason… the smile Amy gave made his face warm.

    “So, that’s that card,” she suddenly said, bringing him back to reality.  “Now, let’s see what this second card tells us!”     Tails swallowed, feeling anxious about the next card.  When Amy turned it over, though…     “Uh… what’s that?”     Amy softly giggled…  “It says… you’re a follower!”     “A what?” he asked.     “It means you let other people lead you around.”  She looked back up and a smile.  “I like it when other people lead me around, too.  That way, I don’t get as lost!  Usually…”     He wasn’t sure if that reading was right… but, he couldn’t help but give an uncertain smile of his own.     “Now, for the last card…”     The girl placed her hand on the final one.  When she turned it over… she was surprised at which one it was.

    “What’s that mean?” Tails curiously asked.     “This last card…” she said, her voice turning quiet, “tells us that you’re brave.”     “I-I’m not…” he shyly replied.  “I just like doing what’s right!  That’s all!”     “Well… I think you’re brave!”     He tilted his head as she looked his way, again.     “You saved me from that mean Mister Sonic copy and that grumpy ol’ Doctor Robotnik!  Plus, you saved Miracle Planet!  That’s like something the real Mister Sonic would do!  I was kind of scared when I saw that chain fall apart and the planet fly off, though…”     “H… heh… yeah…”  He rubbed his arm.  Suddenly, he perked.  “H-hey, Miss Rose…?”     “You can call me ‘Amy,’” she told him with another smile.  “Or even ‘Rosy,’ if you want!  ‘Rosy the Rascal!’  Some people called me a ‘rosy rascal,’ but I’m not sure why… hee.”     “O-okay…”     He smiled, as well… though it wasn’t quite as bright as hers.     “Anyway, Miss Ro– ah, Amy…?  That thing with the chain reminded me…”     He had the girl’s full attention… which just made what he had to say even harder.

    “Wh… whaddaya mean, ‘I don’t have a car, anymore…?!’”

    Tails cringed in the corner of the cave, hiding behind his tails as his new friend yelled at him and threw some small rocks his way.  She was mad… but with good reason.     “O-o-o-one of those giant ch-chain links smashed your car to pieces…!” he explained despite his newfound fear of the girl.  “I-I’m sorry…!  I–”     “Some hero you are…!” Amy spat.  “You owe me a new car…!”     “Wh-what…?”  He peeked out from behind his tails.  “Wait, how’s that fair?”     “You broke the chain, didn’t you?”  She narrowed her eyes and leveled a scowl at him.  “The chain fell on my car, so you owe me a new one!”     “I can… I can probably fix it?  But–”     “My poor baby…” she whimpered, her eyes tearing up.  “I-I’m so sorry I left you in the middle of nowhere…  If I knew some dumb fox would break you, I’d–”     “I didn’t do it on purpose!” he suddenly shouted.     “Doesn’t matter.  You still did it!”  She crossed her arms, sticking her tongue out.  “So, you owe me a car, Miles Prower!”     “O-okay, okay…!  Just… please, stop yelling…?”  He shrunk down before telling her, “You’re really scary when you’re mad…”     “Gimme a car and I’ll stop yelling!”     “Give you a…”  He blinked in confusion.  “D… do you think I just have one on me…?”     “Dunno!”  She grinned, stepping his way.  “Do you?”     “What are you– wait.  Amy, no!”     “Amy, yes…”     The girl laughed in a weird, unsettling way… right before telling him to hold still.

    Tails audibly whimpered as she approached.  In the shadow of the fire, that girl… didn’t look quite so friendly.  There was a frightening glint in her eye and a malicious grin on her face.  He didn’t know what she had in mind for him…

    He just knew he wasn’t going to like it.