#every spring without fail! new beginnings? new OCs more like

[keeps-ache]

so there's this place-

[flowerwrites06]

break my mind’s eye VI — jjk

Plot: Jungkook thinks marriage is the only way to seal a deal.

Pairing(s): Druglord!Jungkook x Fashion Designer!OC (Name: Belle)

Rating: G | PG | M | R 18+

Type: Drabble | Oneshot | Two Parter | Series

Parts: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Special 

Word Count: 7k+

Genre: Mafia | Angst/Smut/Fluff

Tags & Warnings (for entire series): drug dealing, marriage through trickery, explicit smut, drug use, dubious consent, prostitution, miscarriage, lots of manipulation, impregnation through manipulation 

Coffee was not the only thing bitter this morning. An irritating three hours ago, Yoongi had been wrapping the final works of the—at least what he and everyone else in his team considered—a successful raid. Fourteen hours achingly squeezed through the exhaustion in his veins to bust this den and it was a popular one at that. Around ten dealers were arrested that night.

Only two got actual jail time. The only reason was because they both had companions with them that night under the age of eighteen and one of them was the culprit for a former models’ murder.

Other than that, the den was closed down to keep up appearances. Most of the dealers had the infamous phoenix tattoo to symbolize exactly who they were working for. However did they get enough proof to finally expose Jeon Jungkook?

Not a fucking chance.

He dragged himself into the precinct with a heavy head and tar-like coffee in his hand before slouching onto his chair. A sweet pile of files on his right which were happily ignored. Yoongi could also painfully notice that Namjoon was desperately trying not to ask him about the raid even though every twitch in his eye wanted otherwise.

Darkened and deep set eyes shot a slight glare at the younger male. “Go on.” He rasped.

Namjoon looked almost a little innocent with his huge glasses on staring at him like he was not so deathly obvious about his curiosity. “I didn’t say anything.”

“But you want to so get it over with so you can cover for me while I take a fucking nap.” The older male patted the pile of files which was now going to the others’ responsibility solely because Yoongi had information Namjoon could not gain. If he could even call it decent information.

Clearing his throat, he leaned in closer resting his elbows on the table and forgetting whatever he was working at the computer. “What happened?” He whispered more enthusiastically now.

“Everything and nothing.” Yoongi seethed, anger burning through the unwavering heaviness of his body. “We checked all the stages. Did everything we needed to do and got more fucking eye witnesses than any task force has ever done. Except our captain decided it was the perfect time to act like a damn saint by letting most of them go on fucking technicalities.” Fingers curled up into tight fists just retelling the whole story. So much work had been placed to take this den down and for what? Sleepless nights and back to the square one?

His heart leaped a little for once hearing someone else verbalize the captains’ clear goal to ensure that Jungkook was never exposed again. “You know why they do it, right?”

The older male shook his head with a light stammer. Yoongi was the one who trained Namjoon in the field which was the only reason why he was assigned to be his partner over anyone else. He could always keep him in line. But now he worried whether there might be a dark truth laced in all his words. “We can’t get ahead of ourselves.” He muttered under his breath before taking a sip of his coffee.

Namjoon let out a small sigh of defeat glancing over at the precinct around them. It took any person with common sense to notice a few who were drowning their insides with coffee to stay awake after a failed raid. A small part almost felt relieved that others now knew the things he went through after his failed undercover mission. That knowledge something was wrong but you could not do anything about it. The curse of being part of a system which Jungkook already ruled since birth. “What can we do then?” He asked more to himself than the other.

“Yoongi…” Tapping of footsteps broke their conversation for a minute as one of the detectives, Minnie walked to their desks. “I need to talk to you. Both of you.” Her eyes flickered to the two men who stared at her in utter confusion.

The dark haired male peered at the woman through his fringe already noticing Namjoon stiffen at the sight of the detective. “What now? I’m not really in the mood for more disappointment.” Yoongi leaned back and tolerated the little glare the younger male gave him for speaking to Minnie in that manner.

“You’ll want to hear this. It’s a message from the big chair.” She muttered before turning on her heel to walk out of the building.

Namjoon immediately gave Yoongi a pleading look to go follow her, thighs bouncing in place out of his curiosity.

Yoongi kissed his teeth before averting his gaze in annoyance. “I’m too old for this shit.” He got up from the chair with his cooling coffee.

“You’re a year older than me.” His brows furrowed.

“I meant mentally.”

Out in the spring like air of the smoking zone, Minnie hugged a brown envelope as the two men walked out eying her in pure puzzle. Her nose flushed without her jacket but the nerves that built up in her body made it difficult to care. “I don’t know why they gave to me.” She shook her head. “I thought I was let off from this but—” The woman handed them the brown envelope.

Yoongis’ forehead remained permanently knitted as he accepted the envelope as Namjoon took his coffee from him carefully. He pulled out one single piece of paper. A hand-written letter.

‘I am fully aware of Mr. Jeons’ actions under the blanket of extortion and public sympathy. The raid was planned to be a publicity stunt to impress me somehow but I have been observing this world for as long as I can remember. The police force vows on survival. They want to protect their children from being taken, wives from being defiled. It’s every man and woman for themselves in front of this power. Unfortunately this means we must play the same game of deceit and secrecy to truly achieve the victory we all want.

Hence this letter to you. Gather a small team that you can rely your life on for this mission. There will be materials and sources given to you throughout the month and I suggest you find a dispassionate body whom you can trust to slither into the enemy crowds. There we shall begin the first careful steps to our goal.

Burn this letter as soon as it is read.

May God be with you.’

“Fucking Christ.” Yoongi whispered re-reading the letter ten times before finally understanding the sudden weight dropping on his head. The signature did not lie either. He had seen that so many times in recent weeks it was engraved in his mind at this point.

Minnie shook her head again, a mixture of fear and concern reflecting in her eyes. “I didn’t know who else to trust.” Gaze flickered from Yoongi and Namjoon who still were not able to formulate any kind of proper response. “I’ve already been to the rings undercover, I won’t be able to risk it. Namjoon got too close as well.”

Namjoon swallowed the small lump in his throat at the mere memory of his time deep inside the Jeon Cartel. As much as he wanted the glory of walking back to that place to make things right. It was too much risk. This time they were going against all the usual protocol that ever existed.

Only person left was one who had not truly been seen on the inside was—

“You’re shitting me.” Yoongi sighed out the words. He understood the stakes of spreading this information to far too many people. In fact even the man himself could not name anyone who could be more trustworthy than Namjoon and Minnie. Most of the precinct were hell bent on bruising their knees for the captain while some others preferred the older mayor. It was an unbreakable web of lies and unfair distribution.

“Sorry, Yoongi.” Minnie muttered.

“You did the right thing.” Namjoon quickly interjected. “Anyone else would’ve just shown this to the captain.” He nodded towards the letter.

Without another response, Yoongi pulled out his black lighter and flicked to expose the small flame. His eyes fixated on the bright shade of yellow a little dulled out from the daylight before touching the edge of the paper. He kept a hold of it until it was absolutely ensured that the erupting fire devoured every words. Throwing it in the bin, he sighed deeply when he stared at the two youngers. Whatever tired looseness his body adorned a while ago now faded away with a new anxiety. Not really anxiety but a concern. The results of their last raid did not exactly boost his self-esteem in being able to achieve a large feat. Digging his hands into his pockets, cool wind flowed through his black shirt making him shiver a little. “When do they want us to start?”

Minnie looked around for a moment; more a sign of precaution but a lot of the precinct would be stuck inside the building or on patrol. “There is an inside source who’s been working with the mayor for a few years now and they say that he’d be able to get you a pathway into the cartel.” She rubbed her arms to give herself some type of warmth from the air that only seemed get colder.

“What kind of a source?” Yoongi squinted his eyes. The mayor was not wrong in saying they were a regular in Jeons’ exposure to the public since they already had a solid source.

“I couldn’t get everything but you need to cut any outside ties this month onwards.”

He scoffed with a smile. “It’s cute you think I have other ties.”

-

A month had gone by before Belle could even take a few breaths. During work hours, it was easy to forget her personal life for several hours and just focus on seams linking with colours, blending into an assortment of something beautiful. Somehow the more perfect her works were the more she felt in control of the world around her.

Boyoung came in and out of the boutique to give her updates on the things that could be done about the cake, flowers or the general décor. Guest list had pretty much been determined by her save for Taehyung and Saito with a slightly awkward explanation of her parents’ death.

Today in the cool day Belle gazed at all the designs for the Sangria House mixed in with Spring Line. She opted to display all the Sangria House dresses towards the end during the fashion show so it could add a showstopper. The lavender one especially caught her eye already imagining Jimin wearing the get-up with some matching jeweled earrings. Dainty fingers brushed across the silk, a softened smile playing on her lips.

“Your first line.” Saitos’ voice broke her out of her little trance. “How does it feel?”

Belle looked over her shoulder to see the woman adorned in a similar lavender pant suit as she padded closer to the displays. “Terrifying.” She breathed out, the corners of her lips twitching up. “It feels like I’m jumping headfirst into cold water.” More like a vast ocean that was so deep that she might drown if she was not careful. Though she would dive into this pool any day.

“Speaking of diving headfirst.” The older woman smirked before the sound of something swishing touched Belle’s ear.

She fully turned around to see Saito hanging a covered outfit on rack before unzipping it down and pulling a pure white piece. A majestic dress bigger than any of the designs they had for the line, multiple georgette layers with slight elegant frills at the ends, a diamond encrusted waist line with a sweetheart neck. The whole piece was simple without any extra glitz and glamour aside from the waist.

“What do you think?”

Belle breathed out a chuckle, eyes not being able to tear away from the dress despite the simple look. “It’s beautiful. What’s this for?” Wide eyes searched the older womans’ expression who merely laughed at the girl.

“Well what else? It’s your wedding dress. If you want anyway.” She shrugged, her gaze now trailing down the long length before fixing the fabric a little so it displayed perfectly. “It’s a little simple I know but if Boyoung told me earlier when the wedding was going to be, I would’ve worked on it a bit more.” Saito spoke about it in such a casual manner.

Little did she realize the jolt of tears flooding in Belle’s eyes when she heard that the other designed and made this whole dress for her. “You made this for me?” She whispered, a small droplet threatening to fall down her cheek.

No one asked Saito to do so nor was she forced to make one either. But the woman did it anyway without any prize in return. She did not ask for her body or her mind as a way to repay her actions. Just an act of kindness.

“Actually I did it so you could do something for me.” She pouted a little before glancing around the boutique longingly. “I can’t have this boutique forever and I’m not exactly getting younger either.” She chuckled, patting the work table like it was her first born child. “Do you mind taking care of her? After I’m retired?”

Belle’s heart almost sank for a moment knowing there was always a catch. Except Saito once again showed she was nothing like other people in her life. Her chest felt like it lost all room for her overflowing affection. Legs rushed over and Belle said nothing but wrap her arms around the woman, squeezing a little tighter than normal. Now that her senior couldn’t look at her expression, all the tears she desperately tried to keep in now came flowing down her cheeks.

All these walls breaking down, there was one dark truth touching the tip of her tongue. The wedding dress Saito worked so hard on. All for a wedding that wasn’t even real. What Belle wouldn’t do to just blurt it all out right now and let the bleeding wounds heal for once but it can’t be done.

The world was beautiful and cruel at the same time. She never experienced that sentiment so strongly until now.

Saito giggled rubbing her back soothingly as she attempted to give her comfort while also holding a humungous white dress. “I’m not dying, sweetie.”

Belle laughed through her tears, quickly wiping them away when she pulled out of the hug. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright.” She smiled. “Marriage getting you all emotional?”

“You can say that.” One way to describe the hell she got herself into.

-

“Absolutely not.” Jungkook narrowed his gaze at the older male who somehow gained the audacity to disturb him in his office. Fingers stilled around the pen he was holding to sign a few hand-written letters to some associates. A warning to take caution for the coming days due to the raid in one of their biggest dens.

Taehyung scoffed lightly at the blunt response. “Why not?” He folded his arms together in front of his chest. “I spend hours in a day doing absolutely nothing. How long do you expect me just sit idly here?” The man looked and felt sicker by the day which the doctor explained was the body clearing itself out. Not really the most reassuring explanation but he knew at one point where all the sick feelings dissipated because he was properly distracted by something. Someone more like.

He dropped the pen on the table now unable to concentrate on putting the words together especially since this wasn’t exactly Word Document where it could be easily deleted. “I don’t want you in here either.” Jungkook retorted. “But you’re also not the most trusted person to be left alone right now so I’m left with no option other than no.”

“Then a guard can come with me.” Taehyung shrugged. Truth be told the man had no intention of doing what Jungkook had been wary about. Of course it’d be a lie to say there was not a gnawing feeling in his stomach as if something was missing. But right now that was not the goal.

“I suppose you expect me to pay for this outing as well, yes?” He winced.

“You are marrying my sister by force. So yeah you’re paying for both our life insurance as far as this whole fuckery is concerned.”

Jungkook cocked a brow hearing the male’s challenge. Maybe one shot to the leg would have helped him relieve any stress but he hated how much Taehyungs’ eyes resembled Belles’. Sighing in defeat, he grabbed the phone roughly and put it to his ear. “Mr. Kim…I’d like to book a private room in your house this afternoon. Sorry for the late notice.” He glanced over at the male, pressing the phone on his chest. “Who did you want?”

“Angel.”

Of course the fucker had to choose the most expensive angel in the goddamn registry. The crime lord took a deep breath to calm his fury before placing the phone to his ear, an award-winning smile on his lips. “The golden member. Angel…put it in under Kim Taehyung…yes…thank you, Seokjin.” Hanging up the phone, he merely glared at the older male. “They’ll be ready for you in the evening same time as the last one. Look presentable and for the love of god…” His glare sharpened. “…play nice.”

With a detached hum, Taehyung rushed out of the office skipping at every step to finally go outside of this place and to see the beautiful golden lady in the Sangria House.

-

Her heart jumped a little hearing that Kim Taehyung was going to visit the private room again and asked for Angel personally. She tried not to have favourite customers but truthfully the brunette had been the most comfortable to talk to. Most people would ask her questions on her talents in the bedroom or how much each service would cost. To many a golden angel was a literal cash cow for the owner so everyone grew curious as to just how much they were worth.

Months maybe years of training involved to be that perfect inhuman being who could make everyones’ dream come true if they had the right funds.

As any other work night for her anyway, Angel would pad into Seokjins’ office adorned in her signature golden dress which was soon going to be updated by a growing popular designer.

Knocking three times against the dark wood she heard the familiar voice invite her in. Clicking the door open, the girl closed the door behind her and stood in the center of the room like her normal routine. Head bowed, fingers intertwined with one another as she slowly bowed in front of him.

“I’m sure you’ve received the list for today.” Seokjin muttered still looking a few paperwork as the angel raised herself up to her perfect posture.

“Yes, Mr. Kim.” Angel nodded.

“You don’t have to call me that behind closed doors, Angel.” He sighed knowing there was no way the member would listen to him anyway. Keeping up formalities according to her had been a way to ensure she did not take her current state for granted. “There’s a special task I’m giving for your session with Mr. Kim.”

“What is it?” She gained that slight bit of comfort to look him in the eye. Not that it was abnormal but usually Angel was in more sleep appropriate clothes or none at all when they had casual conversations.

Seokjin opened one of the doors in his desk and pulled out a vial with a dark purple shaded powder inside. He swirled the little particles in front of the curious girl. “This is a powder to help Mr. Kim feel more…comfortable during his session.” His voice lowered the slightest as if he was spewing a small secret.

Angel received many unusual requests from customers but rarely from the owner himself. He was always a simple man who found solace in his business. No funny work behind the scenes ever. Except now. Brows furrowed slightly but the woman nodded nonetheless not entirely having any choice but to agree. She gently took the powder before hiding it inside her jeweled hands. “How much do I give him?”

“It’s quite a weak dose so the entire vial should do the trick.” He smiled reassuringly however Angel did not feel quite consoled. “Mix it in his tea so it’s easier to take in.”

The woman felt the vial getting heavier and heavier in her hands as the realization became clear she was about mix a strange substance in a customers’ tea. Something about it felt strange. Angel remembered spending nights inside a club where she would catch bartenders sprinkling things into girls’ drinks but she wasn’t able to say anything to stop them.

Either way the golden lady took a deep breath before giving her husband a large smile and nodded. “Of course.” Angel bowed slightly. “Is there anything else you want me to do, Mr. Kim?”

Seokjin reached out and brushed his long fingers against her softly painted skin. For a moment behind closed doors breaking some of the walls of formality so he could truly show some care for the people he watched over. “Be safe.”

-

The heaviness in her hands now seeped into her chest when she sat inside the private room awaiting Taehyung. Except the vial was still clasped in her clutch while her eyes fixated on the tea pot. Seokjin never showed malice towards anyone let alone someone who barely visited the Sangria House. Maybe it wasn’t harmful at all and the methods just seemed controversial in her own mind.

Angel never lost anything from trusting Seokjin in the past so why should this be any different?

Taking another deep breath, her bangles tinkled as she popped the cork of the vial. A light lilac steam flowed out of it when Angel tipped open the tea pot lid and sprinkled the whole substance into it. Seokjin advised her not to have but one cup to ensure she did not lose her own sense while attempting to entertain the man on whatever he needed.

Whatever he needed.

What did he need?

Their first conversation was mostly soft conversations that merely scratched the surface because they both held dark secrets that neither wanted to admit in the first meeting. At least that was why Angel suspected from the slight emptiness behind his eyes. Like he lost a part of himself once.

Maybe tonight Taehyung grew curious of something more than talking.

It was rare for her to do anything but talk, dance or play the gayageum for whoever she entertained due to the high prices for something else.

Then again Taehyung was Jeon Jungkooks’ brother-in-law. The young man could buy the entire Sangria House if he wanted as Seokjin liked to joke about sometimes.

Pulling her back from her trance in thought, the door clicked open and Angel shot up. All her jewellery and the details in her dress welcomed the familiar customer like tiny little wind chimes. Walking to the center of the room and her composure back to normal the woman bowed with the utmost elegance. “Welcome, Mr. Kim.” She grinned.

Taehyung immediately grew speechless when he walked into the private room. Despite the constant mental conversations he had in his mind that he should be calm and collected, once he saw the golden lady, his heart leaped and his stomach filled with butterflies. Really who could blame him? She literally glowed like a goddess even the sun must be in love with her.

Not that he was too. But he still grew a little obsessed at admiring her every feature.

“Would you like to sit down?” She gestured towards the space reserved for him.

The male stammered a little having mentally slap himself before giving her a nod and a friendly smile as he situated himself at the table. Angel sat next to him to ensure that the experience was as intimate as possible. Except now Taehyung felt the room was way too hot for him to tolerate.

With a slight nagging feeling in the back of her mind, Angel poured the tea for the both of them and offered one to Taehyung which he accepted.

Almost immediately he took a sip to somehow alleviate the initial awkwardness of the session. Unfortunately Taehyung ended up downing the whole drink like some kind of tequila shot.

Angel tried to suppress the light giggle that tried to pass her lips and refilled his cup again. “What did you want to do today, Mr. Kim?” She asked with the most perfect smile, fingers perched carefully on her lap.

A light warmth passed through his body as soon as the first cup settled in. Whatever anxiety he had melted slightly; enough for him to give the girl a smile without feeling like a teenage boy who had never seen a woman before. “I—I actually just wanted to talk again.” Taehyung swallowed thickly wondering how stupid it must sound coming to a place like this only to make conversation.

Belle always tried to make him feel at home but it only made him feel worse. He could see how exhausted she was working all day and night while still attempting to keep a happy smile on her face for everyone else. For him. Not to mention the wedding creeping closer, Taehyung could almost feel the weight she must have on her shoulders.

The golden lady nodded in acknowledgement, loosening her posture just the slightest to ensure more comfort. “I’ve heard the other angels talk about Mr. Jeon and your sisters’ wedding.” Her eyes widened a little. A small tinge of excitement burst inside her at the excitement of it all. “Weddings in the Jeon family have always been so regal, a lot of the juniors were talking about their own ceremonies being that way.”

Taehyungs’ heart sank a little seeing how happy the woman got with the wedding. No part of him had the courage to stop her from talking about it; the way her eyes sparkled and her smile melted into something more genuine rather than calculated. He smiled politely before taking a generous swig of his tea, once again unable to determine just how little tea was actually inside it. “What was your wedding like?” He asked watching her refill his drink at perfect timing.

Now Angel could not escape steering away from the question considering she brought up the topic. “I didn’t have a ceremony.” She smiled. “It was a legal signing and…a few witnesses.” She muttered remembering Jimins’ welcoming grin when he saw firsthand the confirmation of her freedom.

He stared at the woman noticing the little tinge of sadness in her smile. A feature eerily familiar in his younger sisters’ smiles too. Except his heart did not sink too much after he drank up the third cup. In fact nothing much happened. His body seemed to come to a full stop in feeling down to his toes almost seeming non-existent. He had to wiggle them a little to ensue himself they were still there. “Their wedding will be beautiful.” Taehyung had a bitter taste in his tongue speaking of it. “You can come. I’m sure Belle would love to have you.”

The woman stammered a little before chuckling nervously. Angel never really attended events unless Seokjin was invited so she could go as a plus one. Despite their ‘marriage’, she was still to be considered an employee and not Mrs. Kim. “I think I might be working on that day.” She spoke honestly.

“What if I took you with me?” Taehyung asked, the words slipping out of his mouth with more ease now.

Angel quickly refilled his cup again not wanting to be a sub-par hostess before politely smiling at the male again. “I can’t go to outings without my husband.” She muttered.

“Husband…” He scoffed with a smile, shaking his head. “Right…sorry.” Once again Taehyung turned to the comfort of chugging the entire cup of tea. His fingers feeling numb and his ears a little blocked but in a comforting way. Like a warm blanket around him after a walk in the cold day. “Do you ever think about running away?”

“Running away?” She searched his expression which had been growing softer and his body looked more casual.

“Yeah…” Taehyung pushed out a small chuckle. “You know, away from everything. Just…to the country side somewhere and just live there all your life with no troubles.” He threw his head back a little and closed his eyes to relish in the distant dream.

Angel giggled lightly. “What about your sister?”

“I’d take her with me.” He replied without hesitation. “She always told me about wanting to go in the mountains and sewing all her clothes from there. A secret designer hidden deep in the mountains.”

She couldn’t help but smile fondly at the dream. Maybe there were some days where the girl wished to leave all of this behind and live somewhere no one could ever touch her again. Where she could be free. But her current life held far too many responsibilities. Seokjin protected her from a worse fate and that was something Angel could spend the rest of her life repaying him for. “It sounds wonderful.”

Taehyung drawled out a deep hum before chugging down another cup he couldn’t keep count of. At this point his head and body felt like they were floating on a fluffy cloud that kind of smelled like jasmines. While his vision was hazier than ever creating a slight glow onto Angels’ face making her look literally like her namesake. A crooked smile tugged at his lips as his eyes drooped. “You’re so beautiful.” He muttered.

Angel giggled shyly, lowering her head a little. “And you’re very handsome.” She patted the back of his hand.

“It’s just my luck…” He let out a deep sigh of defeat. “The first person I end up liking…turns out to be a married woman.” The male pouted, eyes trailing down her form not being able to hide all corners of his interest as the strange tea now flooded inside him. “If only we could just—close off the real world for a moment.” His finger seemed to gain the same loose mind and traced the back of her soft hand. “And I could show you how much I like you.”

The girl gently pulled her hand away and placed it back on her lap. Smile slowly faltering into something less genuine. “I can do whatever you want, Mr. Kim. But there are still rules.”

“What if what I want is against the rules?” Taehyung whispered, tilting his head as he searched her expression.

“Then we call security.” She chuckled nervously.

He laughed making his throat feel incredibly prickly. Shoulders shook as he coughed knocking the empty cup over accidentally which Angel quickly set up again. “It’s fine.” Taehyung raised a hand before filling up the tea cup himself albeit while shaking.

Her chest rose and fell watching him down another cup.

As soon as the liquid went down, he coughed again while pain settled in his chest. “Think I might be allergic to jasmines.” Taehyung stared at his cup with a small giggle passing his lips. “Anyway what was I saying?”

Angel had to remind herself that it was not fully Taehyung’s fault for the behavior he began to portray. Except that didn’t change the sinking feeling in her gut as the comfortable bubble they had between them now seemed to melt before her. “You were talking about what you wanted to do.” She answered in a small voice to keep her normal composure.

“You said you’d call security.” His voice grew a little raspy before he coughed again. “Does that mean holding your hand is against the rules?”

She nodded. “That rule is more applied to members like me.”

“Married members.” He traced his finger pad around the brim of the small cup. “But do you ever think about breaking the rules? Just a little.” Taehyung smirked shifting a little closer, his hand once again sliding to her part of the table. “

Angel attempted to smile again before shaking her head. “I’d rather not, Mr. Kim. Responsibilities are important to have—so we don’t get out of control.”

“Fuck responsibilities.” He scoffed leaning back. “I tried being responsible. Being the perfect son…always choose the best path, always be the better cause you are better.” Brick walls inside him turned to paper as anger now burned through it with ease. “All the while my little sister tried so hard. She’s perfect. The best person I’ve ever met and they fucking called her worthless.” Tears melted at the brim of his eyes spewing all these unsaid words. “Then they died…” Taehyung chuckled, vision growing blurry. “…leaving their daughter thinking they never loved her. Responsibility killed my family. They had the responsibility to make the perfect son and look what happened. They never taught me to live without them. Responsibility destroyed my baby sisters’ life.” He winced.

Despite the poison in his body, Taehyung still had that truth suppressed unable to word it out. Your sister is this mess because of you. Because you couldn’t be better. The heat burst through his loosened body unable to control or suppress the urge as he knocked the teapot and cup off the table with the back of his hand.

Pot shattered and cup cracked the male was overwhelmed with another coughing fit that stung his chest.

Angels’ eyes now glossy attempted to hold both her hands up to calm him down. “Taehyung, please.” She whispered. The woman dared to touch his shoulder while his head was lowered on the table. Her heart jumped when she saw the light splutter of red falling from his plump lips onto the wooden surface. Letting out a shaky sigh, she cupped both his cheeks to make him face her gaze. “Taehyung?”

His whole face looked like an utter mess, eyes reddened, cheeks stained with tears and his lips trickling with his own blood. His chest was on fire and he couldn’t help but laugh a little again, teeth stained slightly. “This is what happens when you just talk.” Taehyung growled out. “Everything becomes a fucking mess.” He winced and pushed her off of him not wanting to face her while in this state even though his whole body had no energy to truly care.

“Help!” Angel yelled and almost mere seconds passed with the door bursting open, two guards walking inside. Following them was a concerned Seokjin padding into the room to check on her first.

“Did he hurt you?” His hand hovered her cheek.

She shook her head. “He’s sick, something’s wrong.” Angels’ gaze flickered from the blood splutters on the table to the young male being carried on each side by his arm.

“It’s okay.” Seokjin caressed the top of her head. “Take him to the Jeon household immediately. I will call Mr. Jeon to ensure he’s prepared with a treatment for him.” He explained in a much calmer demeanor than Angel was in at the moment.

One of the guards acknowledged his order before Taehyung was dragged less than gently out the door leaving Angel in her pool of anxiety.

“Keep a stiff upper lip, darling.” Fingers tapped on her chin to make her meet his gaze. “We can’t lose our focus, yes?”

Angel shook her head out of habit. The woman let her heart grow too soft for a man she only conversed with twice thus far. It was too dangerous to make herself dwell on the matter when he was—as much as it ached a little so say it—just a customer. She had responsibilities whether Taehyung or even she liked it or not. So Angel merely bowed and continued to get ready for her next session.

-

Afternoon faded into evening and evening faded into night but no sign of Taehyung. Worry creeped up as the hours passed by with Belle’s thoughts only growing darker instead of more optimistic. Of course she did not stop herself from scolding Jungkook for a few minutes about letting him go out to Sangria House.

The man simply reassured her that one of his guards were present outside of the House if something were to go wrong.

Adorned in her nightgown, Belle refused to rest on her bed despite Nana attempting to convince otherwise. She paced around the room with warmth spreading through her palms from the tea cup in her hands. Fingers tapped against the sides and the worry continued to infest throughout her entire body.

Then the door downstairs opened with a thud.

Slamming the cup onto the table the woman rushed out of the bedroom down the stairs, somewhere in the back of her mind hoping to see her brother safe and sound. Unfortunately luck was not a constant in the Kim Family when she saw Jungkooks’ guards carrying Taehyung inside.

Breath caught in her throat Belle took a few quick steps closer and drops of blood staining his chin and shirt like he was punched through his teeth. “What happened?”

“People at the house said he drank something and started acting weird.” One of the guards explained crudely while they moved to Taehyung’s bedroom.

Jungkook appeared from behind them, looking far more exhausted than ever.

Belle tried to clip her tongue from any more backlash on his decision and followed suit to her brother’s bedroom.

The maids pulled over the blankets so he could be plopped onto the soft surface, causing him to grunt a little under his breath. Belle pulled off his shoes and placed them on the floor as the blanket loosely covered his body now.

“Didn’t they tell you what he drank?” She asked, pressing his hand against the male’s forehead but his skin wasn’t any more heated than normal.

“We have someone from our private med coming in tonight.” Jungkook padded into the bedroom after sending the guards out. The male had a slightly casual tone about him despite seeing the worry shaking from his future wife. Maybe he should have made more effort in feeling sorry but he knew this would happen. “He’ll be fine, baby.”

Belle refused to respond, eyes merely focusing on Taehyung who was having trouble keeping himself awake. He needed to be okay. He just had to. The wedding date slowly slithered closer now to a point where she felt like suffocating. Her brother was the only thread of hope she could hold onto to give her strength but now it just felt like they were back to square one all over again. Was this what Jungkook wanted? If Taehyung never got better than the girl would have no chance whatsoever to get away from him. She wouldn’t have any other choice but to stay here.

Taehyung’s eyes flickered every now and then seeing a blurry vision of dark hair and white clothing. For a moment he already confirmed his own death assuming maybe the figure before him was an angel. Except a few seconds he noticed Belle’s familiar features. “’m sorry…” He whispered.

She shook her head brushing his hair away from his forehead. “Don’t apologize.” The last person Belle blamed was Taehyung. He wasn’t the one who made them stay here. He wasn’t the one who made the deal nor did he agree to it on his own accord.

Minutes passed before one of the guards walked in announcing that a medical apprentice arrived to the premise to help them out. A little irritated, Jungkook told them to bring the person in. The downside of private meds was that they always had to protect their own backsides from being seen by prying eyes in mob leaders’ households. They would then send apprentices to do the job for them especially if it’s not a serious case.

Through the door walked in a raven haired male with a white shirt and some pants on looking the complete opposite of what any med should look like.

“Please don’t tell me this is your first day.” Jungkooks’ eyes judged him up and down right through his very core.

The apprentice cleared his throat as he stared down at his outfit. “It wasn’t really my shift tonight, sir. I was told this was an emergency.”

“Mi amor, this isn’t the time find out who the next top model is.” Belle retorted walking over to the entrance as she gave the apprentice a small friendly smile.

Jungkook noticed the guards’ eyes widen a little at the way she spoke to him. Not to mention the little nickname blatantly spewed in front of most of the staff.

“They said he drank something strange—”

The apprentice nodded looking over at the tanned male struggling to sleep peacefully, body jerking as he coughed. “My supervisor said it was a new drug that was sent to him for testing once. Manufacturer didn’t have a name but he called it Shade Terror…” He looked at both Jungkook and Belle. “May I?” He gestured to Taehyung.

Belle saw the apprehension in her fiancées’ expression. Granted the woman would be hesitant to let a trainee try and help her brother but she couldn’t just let him stay in pain until something else was available. Reaching out, she gently held onto his pinky and ring finger as a silent way of pleading that he let the man help Taehyung.

“What’s your name?” Jungkook asked.

“Yoongi…sir.” He bowed once again to enhance a vulnerable state in front of him. His face did not exactly scream ‘meek’ after all.

The young lord nodded and gestured towards Taehyung so he could start with his work. As soon Yoongi situated himself next to the bed, Jungkook turned his head to face Belle for a moment. On any other day a new face trying to do medical work under his roof would have gone through hundreds of investigations and gun to their head while they worked. So why was it Jungkook couldn’t find the courage to do the same now? Especially when Belle met his gaze and gave him a light smile to quietly thank him for agreeing.

Detaching their hands Belle walked back to the other side of the bed and watched Yoongi press his fingers against the side of Taehyungs’ neck. His way of working was definitely a lot more careful than that of a more experienced doctor but it looked far more reassuring. He placed a small wooden box on the nightstand before flicking it open and pulling out a vial filled with a pale blue milky liquid.

“We need to make him sit up.” He spoke in a slightly shy demeanor.

Belle nodded and gently pulled Taehyung up to a sited position as he leaned back against the headboard.

Her older brother whined light under his breath before lulling off to a messy sleep again.

Yoongi pulled the cork off of the vial before forcing the mans’ mouth open by pressing through his cheeks. Without a moment’s hesitation, he poured the liquid down his throat before clamping his mouth and nose shut forcing him to swallow it down.

She wanted to protest for a moment but immediately saw how Taehyung tried to resist the medicine, thrashing about on the bed until the blanket was almost off the bed.

Once the apprentice pulled away her older brother drowned into a coughing fit.

“He might vomit for a while to get the toxins out.” Yoongi spoke as he clapped the small box shut.

After a few more minutes of whining and light thrashing, Taehyung finally breathed out into a calmer state of relaxation before lulling off to sleep again.

The apprentice was about to walk out of the room before Jungkook stepped in front of him, hands pressed firmly against his chest.

“You’re staying here until we know he’s okay.” His glare shot like daggers, distrust practically oozing through his veins at the strange face.

Belle wondered a little to herself how he had so much trust issues for this apprentice but had all the confidence in the world to marry her without any knowledge of how she was. Either way for once she could relate to his suspicion. If the ‘antidote’ somehow made Taehyung worse then she’d want Yoongi in the mansion, accessible for proper punishment.

Yoongi looked over his shoulder to face the young woman who had a much kinder expression but even she grew hardened at the sign of distrust. Not that the man could truly blame her, for all they knew he could have gave the tanned man poison. So he nodded and stood back waiting for a few guards to lead him to a guest room. Weeks of training to just get enough inside information on Jungkook instead he was now literally invited into their home as a guest for the night. Granted on darker circumstances but it deemed to be a strange step forward.

-

Morning rushed in with a light warmth and Belle persisted to stay in Taehyungs’ bedroom the whole night despite everyone else’s attempt at convincing her otherwise. For a few hours she was able to travel back to a simpler time when she would snuggle into her older brothers’ bed whenever the darkness got difficult to deal with alone. Taehyung kept her in his arms all night telling her she was worth so much more than what their parents pushed on the girl.

What he didn’t truly know was that his love was strong enough to be all she needed. At some point Belle stopped longing for her parents’ validation knowing there was one amazing person already treating like she should be.

She wanted to do the same and make sure he knew in all this mess there was one person who always loved him more than anything.

Gold peeked through the curtains when the older male shifted in his position, eyes opening to a silhouette sleeping next to him. A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips seeing the familiar face. For a few moments, Taehyung could pretend they were a normal family again without the real world around them trying to crumble it down or tear them apart. Those few minutes were sacred until he saw the shining ring around her finger. The ring she probably never wanted but took so he could heal. Now as his smile disappeared and his eyes burned, he was painfully reminded of the sacrifice Belle was going to make in a few days.

Taking in a deep breath, Belle slowly moved herself awake widening her eyes a little before she met with Taehyungs’ gaze. “Were you watching me sleep?” She giggled tiredly.

“Just checking if you actually did that.” Taehyung smiled again.

“You look better now.”

“I feel better. Aside from the vomiting, this room stinks.” He winced not wanting to look at a soiled bin on his side of the bed.

Belle shifted to lay on her back with a relaxed sigh. Eyes flickered over to her phone for the time; only a few hours until she had to go to work. But she could risk a few minutes for this rare moment where it was just the two of them. No maids, no guards, no Jungkook. Just a brother and a sister. “What happened, Tae?” She whispered.

“It wasn’t me.” Taehyung answered simply. “Seriously, I went into Sangria House and talked to Angel and…drank jasmine tea. I don’t think I’m allergic to jasmines.”

“The private med that came in said it was the symptoms of a drug.” Belle turned her head to meet his gaze. He had tried to lie about these things before but she could tell he had no idea this would happen to him at all.

“Jungkook probably asked them to slip something in my drink.” He scoffed.

It wouldn’t exactly be the worst thing the man had done in his lifetime especially from the things Belle had seen and heard in this house.

Her silence seemed to trigger a spark inside Taehyung’s body as he searched her expression. “You’re thinking that too, aren’t you?”

Belle swallowed down her words despite how strong they wanted to be sung across her tongue. “He’s a horrible man…but he can’t be that desperate to be married…I think.” Her brows furrowed not sure of anything she spoke out.

“He was desperate enough to put a ring on a stranger.” He retorted.

She hated how closely their thoughts aligned. There were so many things wrong about this situation but if this was true then Jungkook may be worse than he lets on in front of her. “I’m just glad you’re okay. That’s all that matters.” A smile stretched across her slightly chapped lips.

“You matter too.” Taehyung felt that familiar choke in his throat like his grip slipped and he was forced to watch Belle fall into this abyss. “You mean so much to me. How am I supposed to feel better if you’re hurting in the process?”

Belle quickly moved her gaze to the ceiling, letting out a shaky sigh. “I’m not hurting, I promise. It’s going to be okay.” She intertwined her fingers with his trying to give him some form of reassurance.

“Morning…” Jungkook walked through the door of the bedroom, now in a fresh new suit and curled hair with a glass juice in his hand. “How’re you feeling?” He asked albeit not in the most compassionate tone.

“Fine.” Taehyung muttered.

The woman shifted to sit up on the bed, straps of her nightie falling over her shoulder as she stood up. “He only drank the jasmine tea in Sangria House.” Belle spoke simply. “Is there a special recipe that we should have known about?” Her arms folded over her chest, eyes growing a little sharp pointing at Jungkook.

“Jasmines and water?”

She rolled her eyes. “You know drugs more than a lot of people. What do you think that—Shade Terror thing could’ve been?”

“I’ve never heard of it before.” Except Jungkook may have had a small clue on what exactly was mixed into Taehyungs’ tea. The question he did not know the answer to was why. True Seokjin had some less than kind methods for people who might be treating his angels improperly. Maybe Taehyung did something that he was not saying to anyone.

Somehow Jungkooks’ lack of knowledge created more suspicion than there was due between the siblings. Belle padded closer to the male who immediately caressed her forearm. “You didn’t kill the medical apprentice yes?”

“Not yet.”

She looked over her shoulder giving her older brother a small smile. “We’ll see you at lunch, okay?”

For the first time in a while, Taehyung had a more relaxed heart looking at his sister despite the man next to her making his blood boil at the same second.

Belle pulled Jungkook towards the bar gently with a deep sigh.

“There’s something else.” He broke the brief silence immediately.

“What did you and Seokjin talk about that night?” She turned to face him properly.

The curly haired male scoffed lightly, placing his glass on the table. “It was business.”

“Seokjin owns a brothel, you own a cartel. What kind of business would you two be talking about exactly?”

Jungkook had to admit to himself, the woman was more intelligent than she let on and he wondered whether that was useful or more dangerous in this particular situation. “You think I had something to do with your brothers’ problem?”

“Yes.” A deadly silence plunged into the room as the guards and maids now felt far too comfortable to be in the living room. “Now answer my question.”

The male sighed knowing there was no reason to embarrass himself by trying to lie to a woman who had already seen his true colours. “We were discussing a new drug that Seokjin wanted to distribute through our cartel. I suppose he wanted to use it on his customers as a test run.” He shrugged.

“So you knew this might happen to Taehyung?”

“Of course I didn’t know it could happen to him.”

“But you knew the testing was going on and you still let him go to the House.”

“I’m not his father, Belle, it’s not my responsibility to keep him in check.” He gestured roughly towards the room.

Belle scoffed bitterly. “This is the responsibility you got when you decided to stick your fingers into our lives.” She took a step closer. “No one asked you to do all of this. We had the money to make all of this go away.” The heat spread through her so fast, her fingers began trembling and her head grew heavy. “So don’t fucking act like this is some big inconvenience only to you.”

Their conversation broke apart and attentions turned to the raven haired male standing just a few inches away from the bar as he cleared his throat.

“Sorry…I was called.” Yoongi replied simply, pretending he didn’t hear the answer to Namjoons’ burning question about Belle and Jungkooks’ sudden relationship. Hands settled behind his back and a neutral expression plaster across his features, he waited for one of the dual powers to speak up.

Belle faded back into a soft expression before smiling at Yoongi like she had not been incredibly distressed a few seconds ago. “I wanted to say thank you. My brother is all better now.” She walked away from the counter, closer to the raven haired male. “How much do we need to pay you?”

He shook his head with a reassuring smile. “My supervisor told me not to ask for any payment—”

“But you came all this way…” She muttered.

“An invitation to the wedding perhaps.” Jungkook spoke up now, leaning on his hands against the edge of the counter. “Your supervisor could come along as a plus one.”

Yoongis’ lips parted as he met Belle’s gaze who gave him an encouraging nod. An invitation to a stupid wedding did not seem like a prize of any sort but he assumed being a guest to such a prestigious ceremony was a gift. Either way he couldn’t exactly disagree to the offer now that it was on the table so he gave them both a smile that could constitute as grateful. “Thank you so much…I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to come to the event.”

“I’m sure he will.” The other male gave him a forced smile despite being hyper aware of the eyes that were on them when Belle snapped. Everyone would remember now. The girl who walked in here being manipulated slowly grew hardened to her struggles and had every ounce of courage to fight back. It was a red flag shouting at him to pull the trigger…prevent any more problems from arising. Except he loved the anger. The fire in her eyes gave him life and vigor, he couldn’t just take it away. Whether that would be a good decision or bring his downfall was up to fate now.

-

Night fell cloudy as Boyoung entered the Jeon household just two days before her nephews’ big wedding.

Belle sat in her bedroom watching her dress getting steamed by Nana while she sent a few emails confirming the date of the Spring Line fashion show. Since Saito placed her own hand into the line, the venue and date had to be perfect enough for the most important guests to arrive during that time. The show was going in over three months but her anxiety creeped in already.

Last time the woman had a fashion show, she missed it completely on account of getting her brother to a safe place. That was one of the smaller ones though. This one would have designers from far and wide coming in just to see these designs on show, critics, celebrities and a venue so majestic Belle almost got nauseous just looking at the pictures. It was going to be the pivotal moment of her career. If this went well then orders would come in like a waterfall and her name would be solidified in the industry.

She had to force herself to take a deep breath before her whole body exploded in her heavy mixture of anxiety and excitement.

“Belle, dear.” Boyoung knocked twice before peeking through the open door. A smile immediately tugging at her lips when she saw the younger female.

She peered through her glasses before closing her laptop and placing it on her nightstand. As soon as the girl tried to get up the older woman put her hands up.

“Please sit, darling.” She giggled padding over and sitting on the edge of the bed in front of her. “I need to talk to you about something important.” Boyoung placed her purse on the soft surface before pulling out a steel container. “I know you can buy your own but just for tonight.” She removed the lid to show that it was filled almost to the brim with pomegranate seeds shining a little like rubies in the light.

Belle tilted her head before chuckling softly. “What is this for?”

“Eat a lot of pomegranate seeds from now on.” Her eyes widened a little from her own excitement, placing the container in her hands with care. “It’s going to help with bearing a child.”

If the anxiety was strong before, it shot through of her head now making her entire body tremble. Belle hoped her true reaction did not seem too obvious when she forced to smile at the woman. She knew a lot of families vowed to traditional means to help bearing children but that was not what shocked.

Bearing children.

Children.

Making lives.

Bringing more innocent lives into this world.

Into this mess.

It was now more than ever Belle could relate herself to Persephone. Being given pomegranates to make her stay in the Underworld permanently. She was never going to escape this place if she had Jungkooks’ child in her belly. The woman would be bound to this world, etched on it like the phoenix tattoo on her fiancées skin.

Whether Taehyung got better or not. There would be no escaping after that.

“I’ve never seen Jungkook happier than I have now.”

Because he’s getting exactly what he wanted all along.

“You really made a difference.” Boyoung patted her cheek, eyes looking a little glossy as she grinned. “Thank you.”

Belle sighed lightly with a shaking smile still struggling on her face. “Don’t thank me. I wanted to.”

The older woman nodded glancing behind to see the gorgeous dress hanging on the large stand, chuckling. “I’ll leave you to your privacy…while you still have it.” She teased.

Once Boyoung left the room, Nana paused in her work and looked over at Belle with a worried expression. Much to her heartbreak the young girl broke into silent tears as she placed the contained on the nightstand. Placing the steamer down she padded over to her mistress and said nothing but pulled her in for an embrace. “You’ll be okay, dear. You have a strong heart.”

Then why did it feel like it was crumbling to a million pieces from too much pressure?

-

“Her older brother?” Namjoons’ voice spoke through the phone.

Yoongi shook himself slightly to fight away the cold despite the confines of the glass booth around him. “Yeah he’s been living in the Jeon mansion for a while I’m guessing. Belle also said something about her having the money. Her brother might have had a debt of some sort.” He glanced around the darkening streets spotting only a few stumbling groups passing by in a fit giggles. “Jungkook refused the money…”

“Leverage maybe? To marry Belle?”

“Yandere move.” He muttered under his breath. “Whatever’s going on, Jungkook seems a little soft for the girl.”

“That’s never good.” Though Yoongi could hear the slight bounce in Namjoons’ tone.

Soft meant weakness. A word hardly associated with Jungkook under any circumstances but now it might strike a ray of hope. “Belle’s smart though. She was able to fish out information on Seokjin making the new drug…and she wants me to stay in the mansion tonight too.”

Silence plunged between the call for a few minutes before Namjoon spoke again. “You think she’s suspicious?”

“I think she’s careful. After that whole Sangria House drama, she probably wants to keep her brother safe so having a medical apprentice seems the way to go.” He hung his head slightly irritated that these were all assumptions at this point. Yoongi thought Jungkook would be hard to read but now he had to be careful of the new queen about to be crowned in the cartel. “I know it’s not enough—”

“No, you kidding? That’s a lead. Jeon weddings are where the family is going to be most vulnerable. Meaning no executions, no drama, it’s all about the celebration.” Namjoon explained almost in a whisper which meant that the male must have still been in the precinct working. “It’s the perfect time to get on their best side.”

Yoongi nodded quickly moving to hang up before he heard Namjoon make a noise again. “What?”

“Be careful, okay?”

He smirked. “I’m always careful.”

-

Belle got herself adorned in a simple mustard body con dress with some light makeup and her hair done loosely as she walked down the stairs to the entrance of the mansion. Two guards stopped her at the front asking it was too dark for her to be out. It was a spur of the moment decision to just get out of the house on her own accord for once.

Except she knew she had to be smart about it. Going out at night when so many people knew her face and name now was risky. But she didn’t want any of the guards to be stuck to her the whole time.

“Yoongi will come with me.”

The older male barely managed spent a few minutes on his own after the short conversation in the phone booth with Namjoon. He merely walked out of his bedroom for a moment to check on Taehyung before Belle dedicated him to a night out.

“The–the medical apprentice, ma’am?” One of the guards stammered.

“He looks able-bodied and Taehyung’s crashed for the night. It’s only a couple of hours, gentlemen, I’m sure the world won’t end.” A few more minutes of jabbing a sharp expression towards the guards they eventually caved and told her the car was coming in soon.

Yoongi only had his white shirt which was re-washed surprisingly quickly by the maids so he would not smell putrid by the day. It was like living in a house of robots who just did what Jungkook asked. Except for this woman. She looked like the only person moving in real time.

Once the car was pulled in, Belle asked Yoongi to drive since she felt a little too anxious to concentrate.

“Where to?”

“Sangria House.”

Without asking any questions, Yoongi drove on with a heavily engraved memory of where the location was. The car ride itself was deeply silent making the male incredibly aware that he was completely alone with Belle. Would it be too quick to just tell her what’s going on? It didn’t seem like she had any worries defying Jungkook but that could mostly just be so she could act as a balance of power in the cartel.

Best to stay quiet, he told himself.

The car stopped in front of the establishment causing Belle to let out a deep sigh. “Could you wait here?” She asked in a soft tone now. “I’m sorry to pull you into this but I think it’s better if I took someone who wasn’t directly Jungkooks’ guard for this meeting. I promise I’ll explain your absence to him.”

When the woman gave him a reassuring smile, Yoongi felt his heart sink a little. One thing he despised about himself is how easily he could see something broken behind a persons’ eye. He would see it in the seventeen year old school girl who had to explain how her principal called her into his office every week but it was never because she was in trouble. He would see it in the convicted young man who tried to recount the events that led to him murdering his uncle. He saw it here and now. That broken nature all in a smile that meant she tried to survive something that was too much to take. Or was trying to survive. Despite the pressure of thoughts in his mind, he nodded in agreement before Belle walked out of the car.

-

“Ms. Belle!” Seokjin announced as Belle was escorted into his office by one of the white angels. Another junior angel poured them some tea in two cups before bowing and leaving the room. “Please sit.”

Swallowing down, the woman padded over to the table and carefully sat down on one of the chairs feeling a light breeze in the room. She regretted not getting a shawl of some sort but this was meant to be a quick meeting.

“Some tea?” He gestured with that same trained smile he always had for all his customers and business partners.

Belle stared at the filled up and merely smiled. “I’ve grown a little wary of tea at the moment.”

Seokjins’ lips twitched a little almost losing the calculated grin he adorned so gracefully. “I suppose that’s understandable.” He chuckled under his breath. “Though I assure you I don’t drug valued partners.” He nodded to himself. “But we’re not really talking about the tea here. What did you want to talk about?”

“Sangria House has been a pride and joy for tradition and beauty, yes? But you also want to influence the future generation which is why our partnership exists.” She leaned back on her chair. “Have we not made sufficient dresses?”

“Of course not.” He shook his head.

“Does it not look expensive enough?”

“It looks absolutely marvelous.”

“Then why is it, Mr. Kim, that you seem to need another business transaction with my future husband?” Belle tilted her head, searching his expression.

Seokjin chuckled lightly. “I am an active businessman, Ms. Belle.”

“An active businessman who tries to distribute a faulty product.” She continued simply. “I’m not an expert on drugs and do correct me on this but aren’t drugs supposed to make you feel good? At least on the first day, one should not start coughing out blood and losing their mind.”

“It still has its tweaks.” His smile slowly started fading away for a moment.

“Then fix it before you test it on the wrong people.”

“Madam, are you suggesting I stop making this business transaction with your fiancée? Wouldn’t that be unfair to Mr. Jeon? Having this discussion without his approval?”

“I think Mr. Jeon needs a little bit of unfair in his life.” Belle smiled. “All I’m asking is for you to pause any discussions or testing on this transaction until ours is finished. I’m a little possessive like that, I prefer full focus.” She scrunched her nose. “Once we’re done with the Spring Line show and all is successful, you can begin…your experimentation as you please. Does that sound fair enough?”

Silence plunged into the room as Seokjin had to collect himself for a few moments at the proposal thrown at him. “I can see why Mr. Jeon took an interest in you.” He chuckled a little nervously. “Alright…as a way to sincerely apologize for my actions, I will halt any discussions on the new product with your husband. All the focus will be on our line…Madame Belle.”

Jungkook never truly cared about the complete wellbeing for Taehyung. It was all conveniently to keep the deal alive. So if she couldn’t win with him on a personal level then maybe damaging him on a business level might just give her leverage.

Was this going to help her life with Jungkook become more pleasant? No. Not at all.

But this was her only way to take control of something again. Jungkooks’ successes in getting money from this new drug now relied on her milestone, not his power.

A few more formalities and Belle was led into one of the private rooms where she saw Jimin sitting with a bright smile waiting for her.

The lavender adorned male immediately got to his feet, bowing down until he was almost on his knees. “It’s so nice to see you again.”

It was like all the responsibilities and pressures on her shoulders immediately pulled off of her when she walked into the room. Inside these walls the woman could forget the world outside just for an hour.

Belle hated to admit that she had been visiting Jimin in secret for the past month now just after her work so it could be passed off as overtime. It was sneaky behavior and she despised stooping to such a level but she had to. Getting out of that house and being out of the boutique just for a while was exactly the time Belle needed to feel sane. Forgetting ones’ problems never solved them but she wanted the weight off. Jimin knew exactly how to do that.

Once the lavender angel slid the doors close leaving just the two of them.

All responsibilities were gone.

Just peace.

-

Eventually the fantasy hour had to finish. Belle ran her fingers through her hair as she stepped out of the establishment, rain pouring down violently in the dark night. One of the guards from the House gave her an umbrella and led her to the car where Yoongi jumped out of the car to open it for her. A silly move since now he was drenched.

“Sometimes chivalry can die, you know.” Belle chuckled a little watching the poor thing shiver as he started the car.

“Believe me, ma’am I thought the same thing as I walked out.” Yoongi couldn’t hold in a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. God, was this woman a fucking siren or something? “How was your session?”

She nodded before looking out the window at the blurry view outside. “It was nice.” The right corner of his lips twitched a little.

Yoongi hummed.

“What?”

“Nothing, nothing.” He shook his head, glad he had to fully focus on the road and shiver throughout the whole car ride.

Belle chuckled flicking the heater on and directing the vents towards him. “I just talk to them unless you’re thinking otherwise.”

“I’d look like an ass if I assumed something like that, madam.” He spoke before taking a deep breath as he felt the calming heat touch his skin.

“Please call me Belle, I sound like such an aunt when people call me madam.” She briefly held his arm creating more warmth for him.

Yoongi almost felt a little deprived when she pulled her hand away. “Belle…right.” He scoffed out a small breathy laugh.

The mustard adorned woman relaxed into the seat a little with a long sigh, her sweet smile disappearing a little. “I like talking to them…him, it’s just one person. It—it’s the only place I can really talk to someone without…feeling like something’s going to go wrong.” Her brows furrowed as she swallowed. “It might sound a little stupid.”

“No…” He jutted out his bottom lips as he shook his head. “No it’s not stupid at all.”

Belle trailed her gaze to face his expression, raven fringe hovered over his eyes but he seemed to see everything on the road with the way he was driving. “You think so?”

Yoongi shrugged. “In the world you live in…I can’t exactly antagonize you for talking to someone just to relax or feel sane at the very least.” He chuckled. “There’s nothing wrong with getting help where you can.”

“Thank you, Yoongi.” She muttered.

“I should probably thank you for not letting Jungkook kill me that night.” He smirked.

“Well you did dress up like an idol reject.” Belle giggled.

“Point taken.”

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[badwolf-winchester]

Ancient Bloodlines

Pairing: Loki x Emy Nightstar (OC)

OC Summary: Emy is the newest Avenger. She specializes in Magic and close range attacks/ weapons. Her heritage is unknown to her as she was left at an orphanage door step when she was a young girl with only the memory of her name. She goes by her nickname Emy but has never told anyone her full name as its a reminder of her being abandoned. Emy can see through any illusion and Magic no matter how powerful they are or how strong the magic is and is unaware of this. Her powers include Telekinesis, Elemental Control, True Sight (as stated above) Enhanced healing and Shifting (she wont discover this till much later in the story). She loves to read, listen to music, play violin, sing, and draw.

Story Info: Takes place after infinity wars. Tony and Natasha are alive Steven comes back from the future after giving back the infinity stones. Vision is alive and living with Wanda in the tower. Thor and Loki live in the tower with the rest of the Avengers and for the sake of the story Himedall is alive and living with the rest of the Asgardians on earth in New Asgard (you will find out why later)

One last thing: Please do not repost my work on any other site or social media, however reblogging on here is fine. I work hard on all of my fanfics and it’s disappointing when people take my work as their own. I am the creater of all my OCs such as Sora Nightstar, Emy Nightstar, and Lithium Nightstar. My inbox is open for any and all requests as i am a multi fandom writer. Let me know how you like the story and i will do my best to answer any and all questions. As always i encourage any and all feedback as it helps with my writing. I hope you all like it!

The Beginning

They say that your parents are there to teach you the rules of the world, but what happens when you have no parents? Who will teach you then? The world is cruel but people are crueler. Ive learned this first hand when the person i trusted most in this world left me on the door step of the St. Trinity’s Orphanage. I was 9 when my mother told me she didn’t want me anymore and i guess I couldn’t really blame her. I mean who could love someone who couldn’t control the powers that grew with each passing year. Someone who started fires out of thin air when they had nightmares, conjured whirlwinds when startled, unfurled earthquakes when angered, spring forth rain showers when sad, and levitate objects when riddled with anxiety. I will never forget that day for its seared into my mind like its own person brand echoing with every beat of my heart. A monster thats what she called me, her own flesh and blood was a monster in her eyes, and i could see the relief when she ran from the solid oak door finally rid of the burden she had to put up with throughout the years. An abomination she cried as she reached the cobblestone sidewalk eager to be rid of me and by the pace she was going at i could tell she had more spring in her step than on the walk over from the bus we exited from. Unnatural she bellowed as she disappeared around the corner a ghost of a smile springing from her lips as she disappeared. These where the last words i would ever hear from my mother, if thats what you would call her.

Emy’s POV

Tonight was just like any other. Crisp cold air submerged the city in a blanket of dark and silence while it settled into your bones. I never minded the cold in fact I welcomed it, it reminded me of the cabin i found one year after running away from one of the many abusive foster homes i was forced to stay with. I’ll admit it was one of the times I was able to avoid the social workers for longer than a week and the happiest I had ever been in my life up until i was captured by Hydra. When I had a flair up with my powers, which usually ended up being fire, i would immediately get sent back to St. Trinity’s but this time i ran before they had the chance to toss me aside. The staff there used to place bets on how long i would stay with a family, they would joke saying i was cursed or jinxed but i knew the truth, no one wanted me. Once the parents found out about my abilities I was sent packing. I was labeled as a flight risk and a danger to others which only deepened my anti socialism.

Walking through the streets of New York i pull my dark purple jacket on and my dark brown hair in a pony tail as I get closer to my destination. Because i don’t feel the effects of the cold weather Tony, being such the dad figure he is, has made it his priority to make sure i still wear one just incase so here i was walking home in black ripped up jeans, a black v neck T-shirt, black and purple checkered vans and a light weight dark purple jacket. With my headphones in my ears and “I like it heavy” by Halestorm blasting I make my way to the place i call home, Stark Tower. Walking through the front doors i make my way past the receptionist who always greets me with a bright smile. As I walk towards the elevator I give her a small smile back and a head nod. After entering the elevator and pressing the button for the penthouse I start to reflect on how i got here.

By the time i was 15 Hydra found me in that cabin and took me away. I went from hopping from family to family to being used as a science experiment, constantly being poked and prodded just so they could get a reaction out of me. As a child my powers where very unstable mostly flaring up with my emotions, its no wonder that Hydra caught wind of me its not like i was hiding it very well or more so that i couldn’t hide it. They tried to wipe my memory to gain control of me “a blank slate” is what they wanted, but for some reason, they failed as I wasn’t susceptible to their conditioning methods no matter how much time i spent in the chair. However, I could tell they were scared of me I could see it in their eyes. This didn’t last long though as they used what they called their perfect weapon code name Winter Soldier to beat me into submission. After that first meeting that left me with a broken arm and a fractured ankle i started to obey, since then Ive met the Soldier a couple of times but if he remembers me he dosent let on and I dont blame him, he has been in that chair so many times Im genuinely surprised he can even remember how to walk. He is stronger than the others as most of the other test subjects had turned to vegetables after the 4th mind wipe, he was on his 10th the last time i saw him with Hydra.

Another test was done on me and this one was different. They used a teseract? If thats what they called it I can’t be sure nor did I care all I could feel was pain like as if someone injected lava in my veins. After they injected me I started screaming after a while I couldn’t even hear myself anymore, my throat was so sore and horse from the constant roar of my agony I just wanted it to end. How long was I out for? Seconds? Minutes? Hours? Days? Years? They didn’t keep clocks there or at least not in the dungeon like cell they had me in. When the fire faded i was left with this numbness and after further tests I realized that I was immune to fire. I can literally stick my hand in fire and i will be left untouched and unscorched. They did the same test with freezing temperatures to see if they could subdue me at least in some way. I must have been out longer than just a couple of days as during the tests i didn’t recognize any of the Doctors. In that moment I realized something, if they were trying to contain me then something must have happened to the soldier. It was time to plan my escape.

Back in my cell i could hear footsteps approaching me and then stop short. One of the scientists frantically trying to talk some sense into someone just out of my line of sight. “She is immune to anything we throw at her sir. We have done every test we could there is nothing left for us to do.” One of the goons in a lab coat stated to what i assumed is a higher up. “Bolden If her powers keep growing at the rate they are it could be days in which she will be unstoppable and with the soldier gone we dont have anything that can keep her in line. She broke Mandy and Rays arms the last time we tested her. She is getting too strong.” Brining a hand up to his chin the higher up Bolden stepped out of the shadows and looked at me with deep interest before he turned to looked at the man and scoffed. As he walked away i felt a cold chill ran down my back as I anticipated what was to become of me; I knew it was nothing good i had already broken their rules. His next words only confirmed what I feared. “ Its simple. Break her spirit or kill her Doctor. And when i say break her i mean in anyway means necessary.” His sadistic laugh is the last thing i remember before everything went black.

Its been 2 years since i have escaped and now I’m living in the avengers tower. I don’t remember what happened after that night in my cell its all a blur of red, screams, and gunshots. When i woke up next i was in a 6ft crater where I was being held captive without a scratch on me. Trees were uprooted and fallen over as if a bomb went off. Luckily the Avengers showed up not long after me waking up and took me to their base where i met Directer Fury. With his permission and 24/7 surveillance provided by Tony Stark via FRIDAY and training sessions to get my powers under control i was allowed to join the Avengers and fight for good. Little did i know that by agreeing to this I would end up in the path of a certain God or Gods who were also taking residence at the tower.

With the sound of a *ding* the elevator shook me out of my mind and back to the present. As i exited the elevator I pulled my head phones out of my ears and was instantly met with the sound of Tony losing his mind. “Where did she go? She knows she can’t be out this late. She could be taken again! Its 5 minutes past her curfew!” Rolling my eyes I roll my headphones up and shove them in my pocket and round the corner. “Tony it takes 5 minutes to get from the lobby to the penthouse calm down. I bet she will walk through that door anytime now.” Came the sweet voice of reason of none other than Pepper Potts. “I’m Home.” I said in a deadpan voice as i walked by the couple only for Tony to stand up and intercept me by placing a hand on my upper arm. “Where did you go and why didn’t you tell me you were leaving?” I looked at him and raised an eyebrow pushing his hand off me. “Tony its Wednesday. I have training with Strange on Wednesdays and I had Friday alert you as I was leaving but you were in the lab with Bruce.” Not sure what to say next Tony mumbled a small apology. “Sorry I was just worried about you. I know you are grown enough to make your own choices as you are 25 but I just want to make sure you are safe. How was the training with The Wizard?” Sighing and shaking my head just wanting to go the library and read I decided to just let it go. “Strange is a hard ass that much you already know. It wasnt bad actually I think I’m warming up to him. I didn’t spontaneously throw him to the wall when he snuck up behind me as i was going over the ancient texts so i call that improvement.” I said sheepishly while side stepping around him. “I’m gonna go to the library now and grab some light reading before bed you guys have a good night.” With out waiting for a response I quickly made my way towards my new destination only to have Tony saying something about guests in the house but I ignored him.

Pushing open the library door I make my way to the poetry section to grab my usual copy of Edgar Allen Poe that I read before bed. As my had reached for the spot i knew i put the book in i find that its not there. “Wait what? Where is my book? I know I put it back here before I left for training so where did it go?” Frustrated I stomp back over to the entrance and rip open the door ready to go on a murder spree while shouting down the hallway. “CLINT! You better give me back my night time book or I’m breaking all your arrows again! No one reads in this tower but me! How stupid do you think I am!?” Straining my ears I listen for any type of movement but was met with dead silence. After a minute I finally hear movement through the vents coming from the west part of the tower and I take off sprinting. Sliding around a corner I barely miss colliding with Steve and Bucky who look like they were on their way back from a mission. Offering a quick apology before I continue my pursuit I hear Steve yell “Hey! No running in the tower!” Not faltering in my hot pursuit of the Hawk thief I continue to zip through the tower ignoring the Captains words until i was almost to the vent that lead to the 2 level family room. Using the railing for the steps leading down to the family area to give me more height i jumped as close to the vent as possible and conjured my signature Scythe to slice through it while twisting in the air kicking the vent free and off its track. A shocked and terrified scream resonates from the vent as the culprit falls to the ground with a thud and a grunt. I landed in a crouched position and slowly straightened to my full hight. “What the hell Emy?! When did you learn to do that?!” Clint yells as he sits up rubbing his left shoulder that he landed on. I started stalking towards him with the blade of my scythe scrapping across the ground as i went while giving him a death glare. “Give me back my book Barton.” At the mention of his last name his head snapped up to me fear replacing the pain from his fall. “Oh shit last name not good.” Scrambling up on his feet he turns and runs towards the common room that connects to the elevator with me hot on his tail and my scythe trailing behind me in my right hand.

“Shit shit shit shit shit shit SHIT!!” He yells as he makes it fully to the room only to fling forward as i jump and kick his back tired of all the running. Twirling my weapon around I place it at his neck sneering at him. “I will not ask you again.” I said placing pressure on his neck with my blade. Sensing a fast moving object coming from my left from the kitchen I move my head back 3 inches as what looked like a hammer flew by me embedding itself in the wall. Turning my head slowly in the direction of the flying object, I confirmed it was indeed a hammer that was thrown at me. Irritation flared through me as i released Clint from the end of my scythe and turned fully to the kitchen to face my attacker. There stood 2 men that i did not recognize, one tall oak of a man with blond short hair, blue eyes and tan skin in blue jeans, a red T-shirt ,and grey jacket. the other shorter man made me stare at him and faultier for a second as he was so different from anyone i have ever seen, dark blue skin covered his entire body with darker almost black symbols and piercing red eyes, long black hair with black jeans, a green dress shirt and black jacket. Tearing my gaze away from his own curious one i looked between both men before i clenched my jaw letting my irritation settle back in. “Which one of you threw that hammer.” I said venom dripping with every word. “Whoa its ok Emy thats just Thor and Loki they are the asgardian Gods that live here in the tower part time when they are not in Norway.” Clint said standing up quickly. Not moving from my position i narrowed my eyes and flicked them over in Clint’s direction. The ground started to shake as my irritation and annoyance grew to anger remembering what i was doing before being interrupted by the Gods. Throwing his hands up in surrender he then quickly reached into his back pocket and retrieved my book. “Ok ok dont blow a fuse Em.” He said while tossing me my possession stopping me from causing an earthquake. Catching it in the air with my left had I inspected the book to make sure it wasn’t damaged before I let go of my scythe, with a wave of my hand it disappeared back to the pocket dimension I keep it in then looked back at Clint as the tremors stopped. “Touch my things again and i will be wearing your guts like my mom’s pashmina.” I said to the thief before walking out of the room and disappeared down the hallway not giving the Gods a second glance. As I entered my room i could hear a silky voice ring out from the kitchen. “Well isnt she interesting.”

Part 2 coming soon

@nickkie1129

[mayonnaisetoffees]

Mayo's Fic Recs

List of my favourite fics below the cut; this list is a WIP and completely personal taste; a mix of fandom classics and lesser knowns

Please remember to leave comments and kudos for the authors and podficcers!

*shows particular favourites

Fandoms currently included: Spn, Merlin, Les Mis, BatFam

Fics That Changed Me Fundamentally

Loaded March*** by Footloose. Merlin | E | 1.26M(Series)/ 35k (First part) | 188k hits (First part)

The reason SAS Captain Arthur Pendragon can’t keep a communications specialist in Team Excalibur because none of them are good enough. And then Lieutenant Merlin Emrys gets assigned to his squad, and Arthur does everything he can to prove that Merlin isn’t good enough, either. Except he is.

You can read all about my thoughts on Loaded March here, here, and here. Basically this fic series is beautifully written, has absolutely delicious UST, has found family, magic, and high stakes. It’s been part of my life for almost a decade now, I made friends through LM that I still have to this day, and it genuinely changed me as a person. Plus there are 78k of Extras to itch that I Finished Now What scratch. Parts 1-5 have been podficced and you can find them in works inspired by this one in each part.

Down to Agincourt*** by Seperis. Supernatural | E | 1.12M(Series)/ 154k (First part) | 73k hits (First part)

The world’s already over and they’re already dead. All they’re doing now is marking time until the end.

S7!Dean is transported back to the aftermath of where 5x04 The End left off. Much like LM, DtA was one that I avoided for a while. I didn’t think it would be my thing. I’m not usually into End!verse, it sounded so bleak from the summary, and it sounded so long for something I wasn’t sure about. If you’re reading this and nodding along? You are as much a fool as I was. Yes, it’s the end of the world. But it’s not over yet. This is a beautiful journey in what it means to be yourself, how to survive the end of the world, a How-To for Coups, and a study in food as a love language. I only read this fic this year, but like LM, it has genuinely changed me. Map of the World has been podficced.

Supernatural

Let’s start with the current hyperfixation. All of these are at least passively Dean/Cas unless otherwise stated. I've split into ones from my first time around in the SPN fandom and more recent ones because the vibes are actually really different and it took me some time to adjust (Not in a bad way! In a time has passed they have grown as characters way)

Old-School SPN (AKA the Classics my first time around)

Canon-Compliant or Divergent

Home in Motion* by nomdeplume13 M | 232k | 48k hits

Castiel swore he was done with spur of the moment decisions that permanently changed Dean Winchester's life. A year after the angel's most disastrous, his newest may present the largest challenge of dean's life: Fatherhood.

Did someone say kid!fic in canonverse? This is perfect. Canon divergence from the end of S6. Cas saves a baby from a neglectful mother and gives him to Dean to raise. They all move in with Bobby. Great OCs. Bobby considers Cas his son. Listen everything I say here will not be able to begin to encompass how much I love this fic. Just trust me on this one.

Named* by RC_McLachlan M | 95k | 95k hits

Jesus Christ is dead. Somehow, that isn't the worst part of Dean's week.

With a summary like that, need I say more? No but I'm gonna. This is one of the funniest fics I've ever read, but it doesn't take any emotion from the serious moments, if anything it heightens them. There are so many quotes from this I think about all the time. It was written in 2010 and so there's a bit of misogyny/character assassination of Anna in places.

Second Childhood by CloudyJenn (read by exmanhater) G | 16k (1h30) | 10k hits

"Dude, I can't do this whole thing by myself," Dean said with far more desperation leaking into his tone than he liked. It would just be too much to make it through hell and death and Lucifer only to have Castiel bail on him because of a frigging baby.

They beat the Apocalypse (OG-S5) and then Sam gets de-aged by a spell. I've listened to this so many times I know it by heart, it's an ultimate comfort fic to me.

Defy Any and All Expectation* by Tenoko1 (read by Tenoko1) M | 138k (14hrs) | 37k hits

Chuck's newly released books tell of another war between Heaven and Hell. Team Free Will sets out to try to defy prophecy, only to realize there is a lot more at stake and amiss than the not-quite-accurate words of one Prophet of the Lord. Along the way, Dean and Cas' relationship continues to evolve into something neither expected or were prepared for, all of their lives transforming in ways no one could have expected. But with no shortage of cases, monsters, and mayhem, it's going to require the help of new friends and old enemies if they're to have a hope of saving the world one more time. Alternate Season Six.

So this is a re-written version of Tenoko1's The Path We Choose which I don't think is around anymore. By the time I was reading the re-write as each chapter came out, I knew every single line of TPWC and it wasn't all that much shorter. It's such a perfect canon divergence because they are all 100% in-character. If you're into podfic, you already know what an absolute gift 14 hours is, but if you have never tried podfic before, Tenoko1 is a fantastic place to start. Her voice is soothing and energetic and her Cas sometimes comes to mind when I'm reading fic in Misha's place (sorry Misha)

His Fucking Kids 'Verse by 8sword M | 96k(Series)/ 3k (first part) | 26k hits (first part)

Jesus, the school should just have a parking spot labeled, “Reserved for the Novak-Winchesters,” because Dean’s getting sick of having to cruise around the parking lot looking for a spot every time he gets a call from the principal about Emma.

Emma survives and Dean and Cas are raising her and Claire. This fic series will make you laugh, make you cry, and (nowadays) make you wish Emma had survived to be a part of Wayward Sisters.

One Species Too Many by wallmakerrelict E | 22k | 37k hits

While Dean is laid up for a month after breaking his leg on a hunt, Cas decides that it's a perfect time to adopt a litter of kittens. But even though he's gotten better since Purgatory, Cas still isn't quite the same as he was before fixing Sam's head, and being trapped in a cabin with him for weeks on end is making that all the more obvious to Dean. When Sam takes off on a hunt, Dean has to figure out on his own how to navigate his new relationship with Cas while also helping to raise a bunch of fuzzballs that aren't even cute. Not even a little bit. (Well, maybe a little bit.)

Dean breaks his legs, and honey!Cas brings home some kittens to foster. It's achingly sweet and also painful because you know Dean wants to fix Cas but there's nothing to fix. It is tagged for ableism for this.

Tripping* by Hatteress E | 49k | 78k hits

That time the universe decided Dean belonged with Cas and wasn't afraid to pull out the big guns to make it so. Big guns in this case being obsessive fangirls, archangels turned tricksters and overly enthusiastic cupids. Welcome to Dean's life.

Alt!S5 and it is beautiful. Also any fic with Missouri is an automatic win.

Broadway Musical by Grifitings M | 12k | 79k hits

This is the day that marked the Holy and Blessed Union of Dean Winchester and Jo Harvelle. The merging of prominent bloodlines is always a grand occurrence, but breeding pedigree hunter families like Winchester and Harvelle is something to be rejoiced. It is also something to be meticulously planned, which thankfully the Host is very good at. Or, the romantic comedy where Dean Winchester and Jo Harvelle are destined to get married, Castiel is given the task of playing matchmaker and fails terribly, the entire Heavenly Host becomes a sitcom audience, God warns against male pregnancy, and Jimmy Novak is incredibly unimpressed with angels in general.

Jimmy deserves a sainthood and frankly I don't even want to hear about crack if it's not on the level of the Host yelling at Cas not to touch the butt.

Classic AUs (AKA AUs from my first time around)

Try Something Tuesday by almaasi E | 48k | 144k hits

Dean Winchester teaches a third-grade class. He's new to this whole ‘bisexual’ thing - but by pure happenstance, he meets Castiel: a particularly dapper male librarian who moonlights as a substitute teacher. Dean's curious and Castiel is willing, so why the hell not? Except, fate never intended it to be one-time-only...

This was one of the first spn fics to really really stay with me and it never really left.

Rock 'n' Roll Queer Bar by ChasingRabbits E | 127k(Series)/ 8k (Part1) | 29k hits (Part1)

Ellen and Jo Harvelle run Harvelle's Roadhouse, a bar that unintentionally becomes a beacon for wayward queer souls. Her employees: Dean, the smartass runaway with a big heart and bigger mouth; Castiel, the college drop-out turned hippie; his (surprisingly heterosexual) trouble-making brother Gabriel; and Charlie, who has been told several times that the back room is not to be used for after-hours Dungeons & Dragons games. But there's a lot of love in this place, and a new family for anyone who may otherwise be without.

This series. If you've ever felt unsure or out of place or anxious or just really felt like no-one understood you, this fic is for you. I first found this series when I was coming to terms with my queerness and I genuinely think it was invaluable. Also I am a sucker for the go for a dinner at Cas's family and end up storming out trope.

Play It All Night Long by janie_tangerine (read by Tenoko1) NC17 | 43k (4hrs)

The rom-com-ish one where Dean hosts a late night radio show, Castiel is a regular listener of his who starts calling one day and ends up calling more often than not and Dean finds himself liking it. This, until one day Castiel calls for not exactly petty reasons (just before Dean's brother Sam is visiting with his girlfriend for spring break) and things get very, very crowdy at his place. He also doesn't know it's just the beginning of it. Also features Gabriel, Chuck, Andy, the Roadhouse crew and a huge amount of music quoted. Especially Bob Dylan.

Again, this podfic has got me through many a night of insomnia. Cas calls in after a particularly shitty day and it all goes from there.

New-School SPN (AKA post-2014)

Canon-Compliant or Divergent

Tall Grass by aeli_kindara E | 57k | 28k hits

“I think we should have a garden,” Cas says. Dean looks up from his beer. He hasn’t had that much to drink, but Cas still has a vague look of unreality about him, a splash of living color that doesn’t fit in the bunker’s echoing stillness. Dean didn’t hear him coming. A lot of the time, Cas is so unobtrusive it feels like Dean has the bunker to himself, with Sam away. Dean shakes his head to clear it. “A — garden?” he repeats.

There is a reason you will see this recced time and time again. It healed parts of me I didn't know needed healing.

So Says the Sword* by komodobits E | 85k | 73k hits

The briefing was simple: ‘Stand guard over the Michael Sword until the battle is ready to commence. Await further instructions.’ Castiel doesn’t mind working security duty; he was briefed shortly after the initial salvation of the Sword from the pit, and again before taking up his position. He knows what to do. However, it’s easy to forget that the green room isn’t real. Time moves differently there, the space ever-changing to make a prison of mountains, cathedrals, salt flats, orchards, and whatever Castiel was led to believe about Heaven’s greatest weapon—Dean Winchester is something entirely unexpected

I saw ssts mentioned in like every single If you're getting back into the fandom READ THIS rec list. For good reason. It's described as "canon-adjacent in that seasons one to three happened exactly the same, but when Dean goes to Hell, he is not raised by Castiel". It's one of the most interesting concepts I've read and it's one of those fics where the writing style will stick with you. Castiel POV in a way you've never read before.

Aching in the Absence of You* by sobsicles E | 95k | 9k hits (in 5 days)

Brittle and battle-worn, Cas looks at him over coffee one morning and says, "I need to go," and Dean instantly knows that he's not coming back. He's not really sure how he knows it, but he does. It settles into the pit of his stomach, curling hot and tight like something he instinctively wants to tear out with his bare hands. He takes a breath, and it gets stuck in his throat, hitching there. It hurts, hurts, hurts when he finally exhales. "Yeah," Dean says, "of course you do," and he nods jerkily as he looks down at his phone. He doesn't say goodbye. He doesn't look up from the screen when Cas gets up and leaves the room. He doesn't finish his coffee, or move for a long time. By nightfall, Cas is gone.

If you don't already know sobsicles, I am delighted to introduce you to the person who will smash you to pieces with a hammer to put you back together Kintsugi-style. This one is post-finale but without 15x18 (it'll make sense as it goes). Cas says he's going to leave again and again Dean doesn't ask him to stay. Full of lines so beautiful they'd make Shakespeare weep, Sobsicles has this way of writing that is so evocative and paints such a clear picture. Fair warning, if you're Dean-coded, this might be A Lot.

dumbassery, denial, doing (the three d's to the destination)** by sobsicles E | 108k | 25k hits

Freedom is just one adjustment after the next. ~~~ Cas hums again. "I think you already have. It's been months since everything settled. All that's left to do is...get used to it, and perhaps—" His voice stalls out, uncharacteristically, and his gaze roams Dean's face with intensity. When he speaks next, his tone is a little raw. "Perhaps what one does with peace is...whatever they want." "What if I don't even know what that is?" Dean grumbles, arching an eyebrow in challenge. "'Cause I know damn well you don't just mean good food and a good bed and time in Baby, not simple wants like that. You mean—ya know, the big things, the wants we didn't get to have before." "Yes," Cas agrees. "If you're not sure, figure it out." "Easier said than done."

Yes, two sobsicles recs back to back. This one I read first and it still holds such a special place in my heart. A sign of a good fic is being able to picture it perfectly. The sign of an amazing fic is that when reading this I was so in Dean's shoes I could feel a pool cue between my hands and Baby behind my back. And I sobbed like a baby in this. It has probably my favourite ending ever. It's genuinely beautiful. If you don't read another on this list, read this one.

Teaching Poetry to Fish by aeli_kindara M | 52k | 14k hits

In which Castiel teaches poetry to fish. Also, himself. Also, eventually, Dean. (A series-long story, diverging slightly from canon after S14.)

The ultimate Cas character study and interwoven with poetry.

So There It Is, I've Said It All by PorcupineGirl (read by Ceewelsh) G | 4k | 13k hits

"Why, do you have something you need to say to me that you don't think I'll like?" I think I'm in love with you. "Yeah. I guess so."

Dean figures out he's in love with Cas then can't stop thinking it. This is genuinely beautiful and if you've ever had trouble actually saying the thing you're thinking, you'll relate to Dean here. I recently did the podfic for this.

you won't find this place alone by amidsizedfrog G | 9.5k |

When Claire said she was dropping out of college to pursue hunting full time, Dean said, “right,” and left the room. Or, the cross-generation conversation about formal education, choosing your own path and figuring out what it looks like to find a family. Or, in other words: "But what I do have is a GED and a give-'em-hell-attitude, and I'll figure it out." - Dean Winchester

This is a beautiful look at education in the hunter world, and I love anything that looks at Dean and Bobby's relationship and this does it perfectly. Also best cameo ever.

Seek to Know You Better by ahurston E | 33k | 23k hits

Dean and Cas, a long stretch of highway, and 36 questions empirically designed to make two people fall in love. As if they weren't already.

This is perfect. It has a lovely slow pace like it has the vibes of an indie film if that makes sense? Like it's two guys going from place to place talking. It was an instant favourite.

Newer AUs (AKA more recent AUs)

And This, Your Living Kiss* by opal_bullets M | 57k | 69k hits

Only a very few people in the world know that the celebrated and reclusive poet Jack Allen is just Kansas mechanic Dean Winchester, a high school dropout with a few bucks to his name. Not that it matters anymore; life has left him so wrung out he never wants to pick up another pen. Until, that is, a string of coincidences leads Dean to auditing a poetry course with one Dr. Castiel Novak. The professor is wildly intelligent, devastatingly handsome...and just so happens to be academia's foremost expert on the poetry of Jack Allen.

When I asked which fics were absolute must-reads for someone who'd been out of the fandom a few years, this was said repeatedly. But what really got me to read it was everyone actually told me more about what it meant to them than just the summary. It's a study in poetry, a study in learning who you are and who you used to be, and a reminder that it's never too late.

The Graveyard Shift* by riseofthefallenone, PurgatoryJar E | 620k | 175k hits

Dean’s favourite coffee shop, The Graveyard Shift, is only open after the sun goes down. Which is perfect for him, because that’s exactly when he craves coffee the most while doing the overnight at the fire hall. The coffee shop’s owner is pretty perfect too, but it’s kind of a bummer that Dean never gets to see Cas during the day. In a world where the supernatural live more or less in peace with the rest of humanity, it’s a little impolite to ask Cas just what he really is - or what his dark past entails.

A fantastic magical realism fic - magical creatures live and work with humans. Gabe and Cas run a coffee shop, Dean is a fireman, and the burn is slow and delicious and the intrigue kept me reading for like a week every single spare minute.

Painted Angels by WinJennster E | 106k | 162k hits

Author Castiel Novak has finally hit the big time, with a book based on his failed college relationship with a brilliant painter. He's put all his pain behind him, but at a book signing, he comes face to face with Dean Winchester for the first time in twelve years, and the reunion doesn't go like Cas hoped. Dean's a broken man, with a lot of scars and secrets, shoulders weighed down by his demons and self loathing. Cas sees a second chance with the man he's never stopped loving, but Dean's moved on, and is about to get married. Sam launches a "brilliant" plan to reunite his brother and his best friend, but Cas is worried it will all blow up in their faces, and he'll go through the agony of losing Dean a second time.

The first part of this I actually saved back when I was first in the fandom but I never got around to reading it (I had a To Read folder of 100+ fics that I absolutely dove into when I got back into spn) and the rest of the series finished in 2016 so I'm counting it in this section not the other. On the one hand, I wish I'd read this when it first came out. It's beautiful and heartbreaking, and so visual. On the other hand, I think I appreciated it a lot more now than I would have seven years ago. The parallel of me coming back to the old fandom that I loved dearly with Cas coming back to see someone and places he loved so much really hit. (Although coming back to the spn fandom was much easier and much less heartbreak!)

Finale Fix-Its (yeah fuck you Dabb that this has to be a whole category)

The Goldenrod Revisions by aethylas M | 66k | 15k hits

A rewrite of Supernatural’s final two episodes, expanded into a five episode arc - in which Chuck needs to be defeated, Castiel deserves to be saved, and the characters in this story get a very different ending.

Script format re-write of 15x19 and 15x20 into a 5-episode finale fix-it. As far as I'm concerned, this and chocolatecakecas's American Pie fanvid are the Supernatural finale.

break the skin (to break the barriers)* by sobsicles M | 30k | 9k hits

The first time she meets him, he's nothing more than an almost-missed appointment. ~~~ Dean is silent for a long, tense moment, then he gruffly says, "It's not for banishing the angels. It's to summon them. So, it doesn't—it's not to get rid of 'em, but to draw 'em in." Mitzi can't help but glance up at him at that. His voice is so heavy with so much unexplained pain, and she doesn't understand why, or what angels have to do with it. She knows religion can impact people. She's very aware that it can get complicated, and that it can be a huge source of pain for someone, but Dean sounds grievously wronged, somehow, as if it's a truly personal thing. She pushes through, focusing back on her job, clearing her throat before murmuring, "Well, I guess we all want angels to visit us sometimes." "Just the one," Dean mumbles. "Your guardian angel?" Mitzi asks. Dean breathes out, "Something like that. As close to one as an angel will ever get."

Therapy through getting tattoos and telling your life story to someone who obviously doesn't think it's real. Outsider!POV not just done well, but done literally the best.

Kingdom Come by ahurston E | 17k | 10k hits

Cas wakes up on the coast of Maine. He makes his way home.

I don't know if this counts as finale fix-it as it's more fuck the finale we're ignoring that. There's just so much love and care in this fic.

The Family Business by chai_lattes M | 16k | 5.5k hits

It's all over. It's been weeks since Chuck's defeat and Cas' return from the Empty. There are no threats on the horizon, no apocalypses to stop, but there's something that keeps the Winchesters from being happy. Something that's maybe always been there. On their way back from a hunt, they find John Winchester, back from the dead.

If you're anything like me, you start rubbing your grubby little hands together at the tag John Winchester's A+ Parenting like yes let's address this! This is one of the best examples of John coming back and how it jars with the life that they have built. Also Claire and Jack getting to share screentime!

Merlin

If I have a forever fandom, it's Merlin. I've always kept one foot in this fandom, and it introduced me to fandom, and most importantly to podfic which kinda had an impact. All Merthur unless stated.

Canon-Verse

Seven Magpies by syllic (read by lunchee) E | 33k (3hr15) | 58k hits

Arthur opened his eyes a minute later to the sight of seven magpies streaking across the top of the clearing, their shapes dark against the white clouds and the muted grey of the sky. He tried to remember what it was that seven magpies meant—he'd had a nurse who had sung the rhyme to him as a child—but couldn't. Arthur wakes up somewhere he doesn't recognise, but where he clearly belongs.

Okay so this is an AU but it's Canon-AU so it's going here. Fantastic role reversal fic that you will be thinking about for weeks.

and from your grace, i fell by TheDragon (read by Ceewelsh) T | 4.6k (41mins) | 13k hits

“Where’s Merlin?” he asks the maid. “Where’s that idiot of a Court Sorcerer?!” “Begging your pardon, Your Majesty. I thought you knew,” the maid replies, not daring to look him in the eyes. “He’s taken ill.” “And he couldn’t be bothered to tell me himself that he would be unable to attend today’s council meeting?” Arthur questions, voice full of acid. “He hasn’t woken since he collapsed two days ago, Sire,” the maidservant says, blissfully unaware that what she’s saying the power to stop Arthur’s heart in its tracks.

When I first read this, it had me completely transfixed. I could not stop reading. It was so raw and so full of emotion. I was then lucky enough to get TheDragon in our exchange, so I did a podfic for it and it's probably the most proud I've been of one.

Modern AU

The Student Prince* by FayJay (read by FayJay) M | 145k (15hrs) | 696k hits

A Modern day Merlin AU set at the University of St Andrews, featuring teetotal kickboxers, secret wizards, magnificent bodyguards of various genders, irate fairies, imprisoned dragons, crumbling gothic architecture, arrogant princes, adorable engineering students, stolen gold, magical doorways, attempted assassination, drunken students, shaving foam fights, embarrassing mornings after, The Hammer Dance, duty, responsibility, friendship and true love...

A classic is a classic for a reason. I'm also pretty sure this introduced me to podfics so like special place in my heart x2. Did you know if you filter AO3 by hits on Merlin, this has 426k more hits than the second result? Now that is a Fandom Classic.

Drastically Redefining Protocol* by rageprufrock (read by lunchee) E | 46k (5hr30) | 269k hits

In which Prince Arthur meets Merlin and all hell promptly breaks loose.

As I always say, if this can happen to me and I still love the fic, nothing is going to change that. Arthur hides from his duties in a cupboard and gets stuck in there with a chainsmoking med student.

Fundamental Imperfections by Starlingthefool (read by bravenclawsome) M | 12k (1hr35) | 123k hits

In which an argument about Dickens leads to a Twitter scandal, broken bones, midnight conversations, and transatlantic longing. (Or, an AU with Arthur and Merlin as moderately famous authors.)

This fic has everything: Charles Dickens, long distance texting, Morgana choking a Sherlock cosplayer with his own scarf. This is the ultimate comfort fic and I compare all fics to this even when they're incomparable. I never read the sequel because it was WIP and I was waiting for it to complete, it hasn't been updated since 2015 and apparently ends on an unhappy note, so if you're going to read the sequel you have been warned.

Les Mis

Modern!AU

Overzealous Oddities by YassHomo e/R, Courf/Cosette/Marius, Comb/Ép | G | 6.4k | 4k hits

Courfeyrac: Remember when I smashed our tv and we laughed about it? Enjolras: No. Courfeyrac: Let me rephrase Courfeyrac: I've smashed our tv, lets laugh about it.

I love me a text fic and this is in my opinion the best one around. Just look at that summary. I have quoted that so many times.

But Paris was a very old city and we were young* by GingerNinjaAbi E/R, Courf/Jehan | M | 99k | 42k hits

Perhaps somewhere in between all the cups of coffee, shots of tequila, sunny March days, terrible lumpy jumpers, love, cigarettes, drunken nights and the desire to change the world they'll all leave Paris with a degree in something. Or not. Grantaire's money is on no. But he's a pessimist who's hopelessly in love, so perhaps his opinion shouldn't count.

The ULTIMATE modern!AU tbh.

Tagged by Salomonderiel E/R, Courf/Jehan | E | 155k | 28k hits

So there's this artist. He could probably be compared to Banksy, but he's a lot more... cynical. He shares rooms with a poet who braids his hair with flowers, in a flat near Covent Garden they rent from a short-tempered shop keeper with a penchant for fans and who'd do anything if you mentioned Poland. Sometimes, the three of them will go and deface public buildings in London whilst completely smashed off their heads. And then there's this, shall we say, 'revolutionary'. He has a band of other revolutionaries, who all meet at this cafe by Borough Market. He shares rooms with his best mate, a philosophy student, spends too much time with a flirty guy who has a thing for poets, goes boxing with a guy in a red vest, wants to punch the wet sop who drools on the blonde waitress and is getting tired of this guy who keep breaking his laptops through sheer dumb luck. Thank god the hypochondriac's there to keep an (slightly too) attentive eye on their stress levels. The revolutionary thinks the graffiti artist's work is a waste of space. The artist thinks the revolutionary's campaigns are a waste of time. And all the while, the poet and the flirt drool over each other in the background...

This is perfect and it's funny and it's beautiful and it rips my heart out multiple times.

Canon

To Be Free by kjack89 (read by Ceewelsh) Gen, Cosette/Marius | T | 3.8k (32mins) | 375 hits

Three blows from a bayonet had transfixed Combeferre’s breast, followed by a fall from the barricade as he rapidly lost first blood and then consciousness. But neither of these, it seemed, was enough to kill him, as much as later he might perhaps wish that they were.

I read this because it was on a list kjack89 did of their favourite fics which don't necessarily have the same hits traffic. It's nothing I would have usually read (canon era, not e/R, MCD) but I am so glad I gave it a go. It's a study on what if Combeferre had survived the barricades too and the guilt. This stayed with me for days afterwards until I eventually messaged kjack89 to get permission to podfic it.

BatFam

Canonish (I don't know differences between canons but these are all they're superheros fics)

Robins United by laceymcbain (read by reena_jenkins) Gen | T | 49k (6h15)/ 19k (2h25) (First part) | 103k hits

Bullets, knives, a three story fall, even a fucking crowbar hadn't managed to keep Jason down permanently, but Dick Grayson (and the rest of his "family") was going to kill him with kindness.

The ultimate batbros series. Also if you haven't heard reena_jenkins' podfics before, you are welcome. Pre-pandemic I took a lot of public transport and reena_jenkins kept me sane.

batcoons by drakefeathers (read by reena_jenkins) Gen | G | 6k (49mins) | 14k hits

Jason and raccoons have a lot in common. (Additionally: his so-called family are much bigger pests than the stray animals hanging around his safehouse.)

This is funny, it's heartwarming, and it's a really good character study.

AU

Here Comes the Sun by batsy_rocks Clark/Bruce | T | 19k | 20k hits

Clark Kent is a kind-hearted reporter working in the big city. Bruce Wayne is a stressed dad of four with no idea of what he's doing. Then they meet.

Bruce Wayne is a Tired Single Dad™. It's genuinely such a sweet fic.

[kikuism]

mariam!!! okay now that tumblr unearthed that lost ask i also need to know what 3 songs you'd choose for each of your characters!! :'0 🎶

hello jenna!! 🤍🤍🤍 so so so sorry for the late response!! but in this time i've really gotten to think about which songs fit my ocs hghfhf i really had to use my brain cells for this bc you know i .... don't listen to english/lyric songs but at the same time i didn't want to just put instrumental/anime music for them 😔 this is like....new territory for me. so without further ado....

kiku: no introduction needed!! keywords: spring, pining, forbidden love.

reflection — mulan 1998: god. this is the kiku song. is anyone surprised??? Every single lyric just hits. i scream. “can it be i'm not meant to play this part? / now i see that if i were truly to be myself, i would break my family's heart.” SCREAM. “somehow i cannot hide who i am, though i’ve tried” i'm sobbing.

bloom — the paper kites. p i n i n g .... pure sweetness.

renai circulation — kana hanazawa: i haven't watched monogatari but this song is everywhere and everyone knows it. it just sounds so cute and the lyrics are So kiku....about feeling all 'fuwa fuwa' when your crush looks/smiles at you. and there's this lyric: ‘i know that the me that's inside of you isn't as big as the you that inside of me”, like, oh my god.

bonus: i love the way—from the something rotten! musical. kiku is both of the characters here 😌📚💕

and finally, spring by max richter....this is how kou makes kiku's heart feel :")

kou: the hardest one to find songs for. i guess it's just hard to find songs about....[gestures vaguely] gentle wise philosophical souls. kou is like....an ancient, loving olive tree.

constellations — the oh hellos: this is a song about how nothing is set in stone, how we try to find meaning in our experiences, how our perceptions of the word are constantly changing and falling apart, like tectonic plates, like constellations. kou is someone who muses a lot about the world and his experiences with it, especially as a blind person.

while my guitar gently weeps: from what i have read about this song, apparently it is about the universal potential of all of us to love and be kind, and how, for some people, that potential is still sleeping. being the philosophical healer that he is, i like to think kou muses on these things too.

telephone number — junko ohashi: ahhh japanese city pop....i love this song, it's so cheesy and sweet. kou loves loves loves talking to kiku on the phone, even more so since he can't see him,,and he loves his voice so much and he's always waiting for him to call :')) 'don't forget my telephone number, i want you to dial it anytime you're worried' ☎️💕

mull of the mountains: a lovely celtic harp! this piece is just so peaceful and tender and soothing. this is the energy kou gives off 🤍

naomi: overachiever, eldest daughter, no-nonsense. sharp, cold, elegance.

therefore i am — billie eilish.

oh no! — marina and the diamonds: the naomi song....omg. “don’t do love, don't do friends, i'm only after success” hello??? and i love the duality of confidence and anxiety in this song. “i know exactly what i want and who i want to be / i know exactly why i walk and talk like a machine” and “one track mind, one track heart / if i fail i'll fall apart”.

caprice no. 24 — paganini: this is a piece renowned for its difficulty....i always imagine naomi trying to play it. and its sharpness reminds me of her too.

aida: disney princess, wants so much more than this provincial life, adventure in the great wide somewhere....

when will my life begin? — tangled ost: the perfect song for aida! she's bored by the routine in her life and craves something new and exciting. she does make the most out of each day but also she just wants something new, you know?

belle — beauty and the beast ost. aida walking around the village in the early morning to buy ingredients for breakfast...

what the hell — avril lavigne: “all my life I've been good, but now i'm thinking what the hell, all i want is to mess around.” WOW. aida is such a goody two shoes who sets an example of how others should act but sometimes it's like. aren't you tired of being nice? don't you just want to go apeshit? i just think it's really funny. these feelings surface especially after she meets the world's #1 troublemaker, kaname.

kaname: gaslight gatekeep girlboss. eat the rich.

bad guy — billie eilish.

royals — lorde: “i've never seen a diamond in the flesh”, “we aren't caught up in your love affair”, “we’ll never be royals, it don't run in our blood”. kaname also definitely turns up her nose at the lavish decadent lifestyles of the wealthy.

anklebiters — paramore: 'someday you're gonna be the only one you've got' okay! scream.

buddy, ryo — devilman crybaby ost.

shou: gothic, weird, eerie. like a wisp of dark darting between the trees....not really of this world...

control — halsey.

seven devils — florence + the machine.

meet me in the woods — lord huron: this song is delightfully gothic and creepy and otherworldly. just like shou is, constantly straddling the line between this world and the world of the dead.

little dark age — mgmt.

hajime: the knight in the knight-and-prince dynamic. has the unfortunate dilemma of crushing on said prince.

tongue tied — grouplove: something about being in love with your best friend 😳😳

somebody else — the 1975.

king and lionheart — of monsters and men.

zen: extremely bisexual. he's just here for a good time not a long time. he's the complete opposite of kiku in that he revels in his lavish decadent lifestyle and wouldn't have it any other way.

how to be a heartbreaker — marina. this is his anthem tbh....zen doesn't know the meaning of commitment. he loves playing around,,,breaking hearts,,,,but what's going to happen when he actually catches feelings??

young and beautiful — lana del ray. everyone loves zen....but will they still love him even when he's no longer young and beautiful? i like to think it's an insecurity of his. also #doriangray vibes....

god, i hate shakespeare — something rotten! ONE OF MY FAVORITE SONGS EVER JGJDKSJGJ this is scandalous of me to admit as an english major.......anyway this is absolutely zen energy. bizarrely, i like to imagine this is a dialogue between zen and kiku hghfhgj

[angelliev]

Lover Boy - JJ Maybank x OC - Part Ten - He Needs to Know

Word Count: 3.1K

Summary: Rafe Cameron has made a shocking confession to Aria, who stings him with her venomous words, and now she must suffer from the consequences. Meanwhile, JJ shows Aria just who she belongs to.

Warnings: Smut, cursing, fighting, Rafe being Rafe, and I guess public sex?

A/N: Oh my god, I need myself some JJ. Writing this made me weak in the knees.🤤 Hope you guys enjoy and thank you for your support with the following, liking and especially the reblogging. (Not my GIF. Credits to the owner. I don’t own the show or the characters.)

Lover Boy Series Masterlist

The pogues. They are by far better than the kids at kook academy. I let the days pass by as I continue to go on many of their adventures and be with JJ. I feel like I’m on top of the world. I have these amazing friends and loving boyfriend. We’re all excited for Spring break that’ll be coming up in a couple of weeks. None of us know what we want to do yet, but I’m pretty sure we’ll have fun no matter what. Tonight, we’re planning on going to the outdoor movie the county is hosting. I’m waiting for the takeout to finish cooking, as of now. The pogues had all decided on having Chinese food during the movie. That’s when he walked in…

“Takeout for Rafe Cameron.” His voice echoed in my ears. I couldn’t even look at him without anger and hot steam spewing out of my ears. I try to hide myself behind a nearby magazine, not wanting to start an awkward conversation with him.

“Aria?” Satan fuck me in the ass. Why? I huff. “Hello, Rafe.” I mutter. “It’s been a while. How have you been?” He asked taking a seat next to me, much to my dismay. “What do you want Rafe?” I asked not wanting to beat around the bush. “I’ve been meaning to ask how Jennifer is doing.” This bitch.

“Like you care.” I muttered angrily. “Excuse me?” He asked slightly astonished. “I know what you did to her, so don’t act like you still care about her. You abused her and cheated on her with her best friend. She’s been gone for months, and now you want to ask me about her?” I look at him with pure hatred.

“What I did was wrong. It was mistake. I should’ve been a better boyfriend to her. I’m apologizing now. Doesn’t that count?” He slung his arm on the back of my chair, making me grimace. “If you’re only talking to me just to redeem yourself, you came to the wrong person.” I scoffed. “That’s not why I’m talking to you.” He denied. “Then why are you talking to me Rafe? What is so important you have to bother me?” I tap my feet anxiously, hoping the order would be ready soon.

“There’s something I wanted to get off my chest. I did like Jennifer at one point. I really did, but there was just something missing in our relationship, so I looked for that missing thing elsewhere. It then occurred to me that, perhaps I dated the wrong girl, and she was right in front of me all these years.” I can’t believe he has the nerve to be talking about Samantha being the right girl for him. I just roll my eyes and take a sip of my delicious mango coconut Boba tea. Hehe

“It’s always been you Aria.” Dafuq? Before I knew it, I’m choking on my Boba once again. Tapioca pearls in the back of my throat, tea shooting out through my nose, tears in my eyes, the whole nine yards. I gain concerned looks from nearby customers, employees, and Rafe. I grab some tissues from the box before spitting the tapioca pearls into the tissue. I decided to spare the people of having to see me launch tapioca pearls across the room. Why does this shit always happen to me?

“She’s fine. Just choked on her drink. Go back to enjoying your meal everyone.” Rafe smiles as he waves off the peering eyes. “Here you go miss.” The kind woman hands me the bags of food. “Thank you.” I quickly take the food before speed walking out of the restaurant, towards Sarah’s car, both embarrassed and confused. Kie and Sarah looks at me bewildered as I place the food in the passenger’s seat. “Aria! Wait! Talk to me!” He yells. “I have nothing to say to you!” “Will you just stop and listen to me?” He grabs my arm.

I don’t know what came over me when I smacked his hand away. I can hear the girls gasp in the car. “What the hell is wrong with you? You think that just because my sister is gone you can try to make a move on me? Did you really think I’d go out with you? After everything you’ve done to her? You put my sister through hell. Well news flash, I will never love you. And for your information, I’m already taken by someone who loves me more than you ever would.” I spit. I almost felt guilty when I saw the pain in his eyes and heartbreak, but then I remembered how he made Jennifer feel that way every day. It’s time he had a taste of his own medicine.

I slam the car door shut. Sarah shifts between gears, Rafe’s fists slam down on my window. “You’ll fucking regret this slut!” His voice can be heard as we speed off. “What happened in there?” Kie asked astonished. I kind of remain silent for a minute, while the two girls wait for an answer. “Rafe said that dating my sister was a mistake, that he should’ve been dating me all this time. That it’s always been me.” I mutter angrily. Their eyes nearly pop out of their sockets as they process what I just said. “I’m sorry on the behalf of my jackass brother.” Sarah apologizes still fazed.

“It’s fine. I’m not going to let him ruin our evening. Let’s just forget about it.” I continue to look out the window, embarrassed by the whole situation. I still can’t believe he had the nerve to say that, after everything he has done to my sister. I can’t even imagine myself with Rafe. I’d rather take a knife to my stomach, than to choose him over JJ. Do I even tell JJ? He’d go crazy. Probably do something stupid, yet I’d hate to lie to him.

We arrive at the park where they’re about to start the movie. I see the boys set up our stuff near a tree, a little ways from the crowd. I see JJ smile when he sees my presence. I couldn’t help but return it. He approaches ready to say something, but I don’t give the chance when I place my lips on his in a sweet kiss. This seemed to take him by surprise, but that didn’t stop him from returning the kiss.

“Get a room!” John B yelled before tossing a fortune cookie at us. I swear John B is the ultimate cockblocker. JJ pulls back, his cheeks dusted slightly pink. “What was that for?” He asked with a cheeky smile. “I just love you.” I play with the ends of his hair. “Awe, I love you too babe.” He pecks my lips. “Everything okay?” He asked concerned. “Yeah, just Rafe being Rafe.” I roll my eyes. “What the hell did he do to you? I swear to god I’m gonna,” I shut him up with another kiss, after seeing the fire rage in his eyes. “Easy tiger. He just said something stupid and meaningless.”

“What did he say?” His eyes are desperate for an answer. I sigh. “He said he should’ve been dating me instead of my sister this whole time.” JJ’s jaw clenched at the words. “I rejected him, which seemed to really piss him off.” I roll my eyes. “Good. Let him be.” His lips find mine in a more possessive kiss. “Alright lover boy. C’mon the movie’s starting.” I lead him to our blanket against the tree. There he wraps me up in his arms, where I relax as the movie plays.

The movie goes on, still holding everyone’s attention, well except JJ’s. He grows bored by the movie. He begins to trail his lips down my neck seductively, making me giggle, when he starts nibbling on my ticklish spot. “What are you up to?” I asked, trying to concentrate on the movie. “Babygirl I’m cold.” He smiles mischievously against my skin. His hands makes his way under the blanket. “Thought you might warm me up.” His hot breath against my ear makes the warmth in my southern region grow. He unbuttons my jeans, before his hand cups my cloth covered crotch, making me whimper.

“Shh, we don’t want any peering eyes, unless you want to give everyone a show. I bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you dirty girl?” It took everything in me not moan right there for everyone to hear. The whole idea of us being caught at any moment only seemed to turn me on even more. His long fingers easily slip through my warm velvet silky folds. I can feel the coolness of his rings brush against my walls, definitely glistening as he thrusts them in and out of me. Tears pool in my eyes at the immense pleasure I began to experience when he curled his fingers, never failing to brush against my g-spot. “God, you look so sweet with that flushed face, glossy eyes and wet lips. Those pretty lips of yours would look amazing around my cock.” I bite my lip, suppressing a moan.

“I bet Rafe can’t make you feel this good. He wishes he could fuck you like me. He wishes he can be in my place. Maybe I should invite him over one day. That way he can watch as I fuck you hard into the bed. That way he can see the way your pussy grips onto my dick perfectly. I want him to hear you moaning and screaming my name to the top of your lungs. I want him to know your mine when he sees my cum gushing out of you. And I won’t even give him the chance to touch or fuck you the way I do.” I felt the familiar coil in my stomach begin to form. “He needs to know that I’m the one who popped your cherry. He needs to know that your flower only opens up for me. He needs to know that I was your first everything. That I was the first one to kiss your luscious lips, the first one to make love to you, the first one you’ve fallen in love with. He’ll hate the idea knowing that whenever someone asks you about one of your first experiences, you’ll always be thinking of me first. It would kill him to know that you’ll never forget me. That I’m always on your mind. That I’m always in your body. That I’m always a part of your soul. And most importantly, he needs to know that I love you with a burning passion.” His words melt my heart. “That’s right babygirl. Cum for me.” He says in a hushed tone, before placing his hand on my mouth. My eyes roll to the back of my head and I bite my tongue as sinful whimpers escaped pass my lips.

His fingers and rings glisten in the moonlight. He forces my lips to open, before inserting his fingers into my mouth for me to taste myself. He uses him other hand to pull down his pants and boxers, his member springs out poking me. Before I have time to say anything, he sinks myself down on his throbbing erection. I was expecting him to move, but instead he just sat there content with the blissful warm state we were in. “What are you doing?” I asked confused as to why he’s not erratically thrusting into me like usual. “I told you I was cold. Thought you could keep me warm.” He smirks before laying one last kiss on my shoulder, before turning his attention back onto the movie, as if nothing had happened. My body wanted more. “Let’s get out of here.” I suggest. “But we’ll miss the movie.” He says innocently. “Please, I want you.” I plead, earning a smirk from him.

Moments later we’re in the back of John B’s van in the empty parking lot. Kissing ferociously as he pounds into me, bodies rocking together like waves. The van moves with us and our hot breaths fog the windows. Our lustrous moans, skin slapping and sweet whispers are the only things that can be heard.

Lurking in the darkness, were peering eyes full of rage watching their every move. Rafe Cameron had heard everything. A dagger went through his heart with every word that left JJ’s mouth, knowing that everything he had said was true. The angry young adult marched his way back to the Jeep, slamming the door shut on his way in. “Damn, who knew that Aria Prescott had a thing for the notorious pogue king?” Topper commented. “Aria Prescott the pogue slut. Girls like her will open her legs for any dirty pogue. Especially JJ Maybank.” Said Kelce. Rafe was shaking out of anger. “Let’s go Topper. We have a couple more stops to make.” Rafe says sinisterly.

Later…

The cool night air breezes past our bodies, as I sit comfortably on the back of JJ’s motorcycle, my arms wrapped around his body. I’ll never grow tired of these bike rides. He stops by my house, out of sight. I reluctantly get off the bike, before removing the helmet. My hands gently grab a hold of his face as I pull him in for a passionate loving kiss, which he gladly returns, pulling flush against his body. “Goodnight JJ. I love you.” I say after pulling away. “I love you too.” He pecks my cheek. “Sweet dreams babygirl.” He never fails to make me blush. “Drive home safe lover boy.” I blow him a kiss, and he shoots me a wink. He stays there until I reach my doorstep, before driving into the night.

I close the door behind me. I couldn’t find a way to wipe the smile of my blushing face. I was caught in a daydream as I walked towards my room. I hadn’t even noticed my father’s office door was open. “We need to talk.” His voice pulled me out of my dreamy state, startling me. “Sit down.” His tone is serious. I nervously pull out the chair before taking a seat. My father’s serious eyes never left me. His burning gaze begins to intimidate me. “I don’t know what has happened to you Aria. You were always such a good girl. You never disappointed me. You were pure, obedient and respectful. The outer banks have tainted you. Ever since we moved here, I wondered what could have caused you to act out in such rebellious behavior. Now I finally have my answer.” He takes a sip of drink.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, voice laced in fear. He doesn’t answer. He opens his drawer pulling out a yellow envelope before tossing it to me. My shaky hands reach into the envelope, grasping its contents. I pull out a note that says, “Thought you should know who your daughter has been seeing lately.” I pull out the photos. My heart sinks down to my stomach when I see them. Pictures of JJ and I. Naked in the back of a van, completely exposed and connected in every possible way. Our lips crashed together. Eyes full of sinful lust and everlasting love.

I couldn’t find the strength to form any words as I stared at the pornographic photos. For a moment I forgot how to breath. “You disgust me Aria. I’m ashamed to call you my daughter.” His venomous words shoot me. “Please let me explain.” I look up at him with desperate eyes. “Oh, do please explain to me as to why you’re having sex with JJ Maybank, of all fucking people. I can’t believe you fucked someone like him. Do you think I want to see my daughter with a dirty pogue?!” “You don’t even know him!” I protest. “He’s a fucking pogue Aria! I don’t need to know him to know what he is. He’s a troublemaker. A hustler. A thief. A heartbreaker. He’s just like his father!” His words make me angry.

“He is nothing like his father! JJ is so much more than that!” I defend him. “And how would you know that?” My father challenged. “Because I love him!” I confess. My dad shakes his head. “You’re too young to love him Aria! You don’t know what love is!” “Yes I do! We taught each other how to love! You don’t know anything about our love!” “You stupid fucking girl. He’s just playing you! He doesn’t love you; he loves your money and the sex is just a bonus!”

“That’s not true! It’s so much more than sex! We laugh together, cry together, play together and so much more. We’re soulmates!” I declare. My dad scoffs. “So, what was your plan? Get married to him, let him knock you up and have his kids? Is that really the kind of future you want for yourself?” “I’d more than happy to carry his children! He’s the love of my life and I plan on being with him for all eternity!” I yell.

“Well get used to disappointment, because you are never seeing that boy again. Not as long I’m alive! You’ll be cutting him off completely and not even saying goodbye!” He demands. “Like hell I will! I’m not just going to leave him! You can’t make me!” I protest, my heart beats fast. My father grabs me by the arm before dragging me to my room. I thrash and hit with all my might. I throw myself to the floor. “For god’s sake! Stop fighting me!” He yells before throwing me into the wall of my bedroom, earning a painful groan from me. He slams the door shut. The click of the lock echoes through my ears. My fist pound on the door repeatedly as I scream. “Open this fucking door right now! You can’t do this! You can’t hold me hostage!” He ignores my screams and pounding on the door. He ignores the sobs erupting from me.

I sit there in my own pool of tears as I sat there trapped in my room. I pinch myself, hoping that this was all just a nightmare. That I’d be waking up soon, preferably in JJ’s arms. What I give to see him right now. I wish I just stayed on the back of his bike. I wish he could hold me right now and tell me everything’s okay. I wish he was here to kiss my tears away. “JJ…” I softly whisper to myself, clutching onto one of the many pictures of us. In this one, he holds me close in his big arms as he kisses me so lovingly. I let the memory cloud my mind. I let myself imagine that day, instead of remembering where I am now.

[fanfics-await-you]

I never know what to expect from him (Part 4)

Pairing: Poe Dameron/Female OC

Summary: Poe Dameron is your friend, your fellow resistance fighter, but most of all he's a goddamn pain in your ass. And yeah, maybe you're falling for him and well yes, it seems like he's falling for you too, but now REALLY isn't the time.

Tags: angst, a pair of dumbasses unnecessarily complicating things, minor ROS spoilers

notes: Thank you for coming back after so long. It took me far longer than I’d imagined to remember how to write again.

There’s gonna be another part simply because this ended up being so long lol. I’ve written like 80% of the final part so that should be up pretty soon.

Inspired by: @polkanote‘s post & @andhumanslovedstories‘s post

Word Count: 1,913

masterlist

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 5

Everything damn fucking hurts.

It’s my first coherent thought to rise from the white noise. Stars, I simultaneously need to puke and eat a whole battalion’s worth of rations. I don’t move yet, but allow the pain throughout my body to pulse and subside.

Why do I hurt so much?

I backpaddle through the haze. Exegol…Lightning…Crash…

Ah, yes. Breaking a 5-metre fall with your ribs does that.

The rest is a blank.

There’s a shout in the distance. Although it’s distant, the voice is somehow familiar, and I open my eyes. I’m greeted by the sterile whites of a med room and a flicker of fear blossoms in my chest.

Shit, was I captured?

I quickly look to my wrists for restraints but find nothing. The fear begins to dissolve, but I still have no clue where I am. I hear feet outside the room and attempt to sit u-

“Fuck!” The word bites but is barely audible.

I freeze for a second as I allow my body to air its grievances. Slower, I try again and manage to prop myself up against the pillows. The static is starting to clear, thank the Maker, but my memory is not returning. I guess I’ll just have to wait until someone turns up.

A woman speaks just outside the door, “Don’t wake her, Dameron.”

...

…He’s alive.

The door opens far too slowly to reveal a bare-foot and out of breath Poe. The sight of him clears the rest of the haze while a bright feeling bubbles its way through my chest.

We speak at the same time.

“You’re here.” I am elated that we have both survived Exegol, against the odds.

“You’re alive.” Poe’s voice, however, is barely a whisper, and his face is haunted.

He stands motionless in the doorway as I look at him puzzled.

“Of course, I am. You think a little fall could kill me?” I joke.

Poe still doesn’t move but simply repeats himself.

“Kess, you’re alive,” his voice is scratchy, like he’s been crying.

A chord of worry pulls in my chest, and all I want is to spring out of bed and wrap myself around him. Given the radiating pain still lingering in my chest, I go for the next thing.

I slowly reach out my hand towards him. “Poe? What’s wrong?”

He’s suddenly in motion. Poe takes my hand between his palms and sinks into the chair beside the bed all the while never taking his gaze from my face. As we stare at each other for a moment, I realise that he has been crying and my brow scrunches up in concern.

Gingerly, I place my other hand on his cheek and quietly ask, “Poe, tell me. What happened?”

Poe takes a deep breath and leans into my palm before lowering his gaze to our intertwined hands.

“I watched your X-wing explode into a thousand pieces with no sign of a parachute…Kess, we all thought you were dead,” he says quietly.

A metallic taste, like blood, settles in my mouth as the news of my apparent death sinks in. I want to respond but my tongue has gone dead in my mouth. I simply can’t find the words, so I squeeze his clasped hands and wait for him to continue. Multiple breaths pass before Poe’s ready to continue.

“I- I thought you were dead. I thought that after everything, we had won only for me to lose everything…for me to lose you.”

Poe leans forward to set his elbows on the bed and bring his forehead to rest upon our hands, as if in prayer. It’s only as I notice his hot tears trailing down our fingers that I realise that my eyes are stinging.

“And Kess,” his voice cracks at my name, “It was unbearable. I wanted- I wanted to burn down the entire First Order for daring to even touch you.”

I see Poe’s jaw clench and can feel the shiver of his hands against my skin. Again, all I want to do is wrap my arms around him but still, I let him finish.

Poe’s voice shakes, “But afterwards, when we returned in triumph, it became so much worse. Because I had let you go. Because it all meant nothing without you. Because I had failed you.”

We sit in silence for a moment as the weight of his words sink in. My tears finally fall and something like guilt is throbbing against my sternum. Thank the Maker, at least this time I know what to say. I bring the hand that had drifted to Poe’s shoulder up to his chin and make him lift his head to meet my eyes.

“Never,” I say, “in all the time that I have known you, Poe Dameron, have you ever failed me. Never. Do you understand me?”

He just shuts his eyes.

I speak again, more sternly, “Never, Poe, do you hear me?”

Poe doesn’t respond, but nods slightly.

“I’m sorry things turned out the way they did, but look at me, Poe. I’m still here.”

Poe just grasps my hand tighter.

I brush away the few tears that still cling to his face. “Poe.”

He finally opens his eyes and I whisper out the words, “I’m still here.”

Poe smiles slightly and the world feels a little bit more right. We sit in silence for a while, just gazing at each other, before a question arises out of something he’s said.

“Wait, so did we win? Did we take out the fleet?” I say.

Poe looks at me in confusion, “You don’t remember?”

I shrug, “I remember an explosion that blew out my chute, and then hitting the ground hard. The rest is black. I don’t know how I got here.”

He shakes his head in surprise and disbelief for a second. Poe then releases my hand in order to cradle my face between his palms. His face is covered in the hugest grin.

Out of instinct, I smile slightly back, “What? What is it?”

“Yeah, we took out the Exegol fleet. And the whole First Order… Kessandra, we won the war.”

I’m dumbfounded.

I open my mouth, but my lips form silent words and nothing come out. Poe continues to smile but also raises a single finger to the air, asking me to pause. I just stare back at him as he tilts his head slightly towards the door.

“Can you hear the music?” Poe whispers, and I turn my attention beyond the quiet of the med wing.

Faintly, but clearly, the song of strings and the low beating of drums can just be heard. Above them both, a muted chorus of singing, clapping, and laughter finds its way to us. In that second, it truly sinks in.

We won?

I clap a hand to my mouth and Poe excitedly nods in response.

“The war is over, Kess. We won.”

In spite of the pain that still loiters in my chest, I throw my arms around him and bury my face in his neck. He hugs me back and laughs quietly as he holds me. We sit, intertwined, as I try to understand what has happened. The thoughts keep spinning and whirling through my head as I struggle to fully comprehend what they mean. Suddenly, two things become crystal clear to me.

I don’t want to leave Poe’s side ever again.

I need to get out of this room.

“Let’s get out of here.”

Poe pulls back in order to look me in the face.

A snort slips out of his mouth, “You’re serious?”

I roll my eyes. “Of course I am. If we just won the war, then I’m not staying in this room a moment longer.”

A twinge of concern appears on Poe’s face. “Kess, you’re injured. You need to rest.”

I lightly push him back and go to push the blanket back before pausing. Subtly, I check something. Ah yes, I’m wearing pants. Good first step.

Poe places a hand on my shoulder before I can try to move again and looks at me seriously.

I place a hand over his, but don’t back down. “This is a night that will go down in history. I’m not missing it for a few cracked ribs.”

He looks close to relenting but not quite convinced, so I smile and speak softly, “I’ll be alright, Poe. You’ll pick me up if I fall, right?”

I can see the smile in his eyes, and I know that it’s going to be fine. With every passing breath, I feel a little more like myself and so, I do what comes naturally: order Poe around.

“Alright, you go find us some shoes while I get up. Also, don’t let the nurse-bots see you, you remember how that went last time we tried to sneak out.” I laugh as he sits back slightly and rolls his eyes.

Poe stands and gives a mock salute. “Yes, right away, boss.”

I watch with a smile as he disappears out the door. Slowly, I begin the process of pushing back the blankets and placing my feet on the ground. Thankfully, although my whole body is aching, only my ribs are really giving me grief. Sure, everything’s going to hurt like I’ve been run over by a tank tomorrow, but that’s not my problem right now. I lightly stretch as I better survey the extent of the damage.

“You look about ready to run a marathon,” Poe’s voice is gently mocking as he closes the door behind him.

“You know, if there was something in reach, I’d be pegging it at your head right about now.”

“If you’re dealing out threats like that, maybe I should keep the shoes.”

“Would you just shut up and get over here and help me.”

“Anything for my favourite girl.”

I roll my eyes at the endearment, but it blossoms a warm but equally longing glow inside my chest. Poe sits at the chair and gently pulls one of my feet into his lap. I stare at him in comfortable silence as he tenderly puts my shoes on. For a couple of breaths after, we sit like this with his hands resting on my calves before Poe evidently remembers our plan.

With a shake of his head, he slowly places my feet on the ground before standing. “C’mon party animal, isn’t there somewhere we’re supposed to be?”

Poe extends his hands as an anchor, which I use to pull myself to standing. I sway slightly, and quickly one of Poe’s hands goes to my hip to steady me. In one way it works, and the horizon stops moving. On the other hand, my knees feel a little bit weaker, and I might be blushing. Ignoring the heat in my cheeks, I nod my head to signal that I’m ready. Poe releases my hand and steps so that he’s standing beside me. In the process of doing this, the hand steadying me draws a caressing line across the small of my back in order to rest upon the other side of my hip. Shit, I’m definitely blushing now. I glance at Poe and see that he’s grinning back at me. He did that on purpose. Jackass. Nonetheless, the pressures of his hands are more than welcome as Poe drapes my closest arm across his shoulders.

“You comfy, Kess?” His tone is teasing.

I shake my head in joke annoyance. “Shut up, let’s go.”

[aurora-the-kunoichi]

For the Love of Shell- Chapter 38

Here is chapter 38 of my Oc story! 

Full Story here

With winter come and gone, spring and summer came rushing in. The dreary slush and ice melting away to flowers and flowers gave way to hot summer nights. It was hard to believe the year was already half way over with.

They continued to keep the purple dragons check with the police, their mutant presence known within its ranks. They had yet to meet the brains behind the operation, Hun, but it was only a matter of time before he would make himself known and deal with them himself. They looked forward to that meeting maybe that could end this foolishness with his downfall.

The battle nexus championship was a just a week away, and everyone was beside themselves with excitement. Leo looked forward to seeing his friend Usagi again, along with showing what he and his brothers could do in the tournament. He was determined to have at least one of them win the championship, they had been training hard and hoped they deserved to at least make it to the finals.

Master Splinter was going to accompany them to the Battle Nexus but was not going to participate in the tournament, but he was looking forward to seeing his old friend the Daimyo. Leo sat on his bed sharpening his katana when he looked to the side of his bed and rested his eyes on the special bonsai tree that sat proudly on his night stand. Well maintained, green and lush, he took pride keeping the tree alive and well. It had been almost a year since they had seen Aurora last; her last painting had sold in Egypt for a substantial sum. Most of the proceeds were given to a local charity which didn’t surprise him in the slightest.

He hoped she was well and happy. Maybe she had a boyfriend? Maybe she was married? The thought suddenly made his heart drop into his stomach, rolling over on itself at the mere thought of her in someone else’s arms.

Shaking the unpleasant image from his mine he didn’t need to think about that. Besides he was the one to let Aurora go so foolishly, so he needed to stop thinking about her and learn to deal with the consequences. He allowed the tree to remain by his bed side as a reminder of the love they shared, that he had, had a glimpse of happiness for at a moment in time. He never wanted to forget the smell of her, the taste of her lips, the sound of her voice. Each of those precious memories were slowly slipping away as time went by. Vanishing from his senses like dust in a storm. It hurt to lose them like he was losing a part of himself as they faded from his mind. Selfishly he hoped she would attend the Battle Nexus championship, so he could see her once more, maybe refresh the happy memories of her sound and smell but knew she most likely wouldn’t. He imagined she had moved on making a new life for herself and wouldn’t trouble herself with a championship of mutants and aliens.

Leo imagined her lying on a beach in Egypt curled up on someone’s arms nuzzled into their armpit like she once did with him, kissing his lips. Shaking his head of the unpleasant thoughts again he finished sharpening his katana and made his way to the kitchen were Mikey had just finished preparing dinner for the family.

The entire family sat down at the kitchen table as Mikey set the large casserole dish filling with something delicious smelling on the makeshift trivet in the middle of the too small for four mutant turtles kitchen table.

Splinter leaned forward taking a low pull of the pleasant aroma his eyes closing in delight. “My son, your cooking skills have much improved over the past year. What is this dish called?”

“Shrimp and White Bean Cassoulet sensei.” Mikey smiled sitting down next to Raph who was already dishing up a sizable helping for their father.  

The old rat took a spoon full of the helping he was given and took a tentative bite. Mikey watched his father chew the food he made and waited with baited breath to see if he liked it or not. After what seemed like forever his father’s swallowed what was on his mouth and a giant smile broke over his face and took another bit bite. “You have outdone yourself Michelangelo. It is very good.”

After the approval of their father the rest of family eagerly dug in filling their bellies with Mikey’s new talent.

Raphael leaned back rubbing his now fully belly and gave his little brother a thumbs up. He could get used to the home cooked meals; he was beginning to get tired of pizza nearly every night. His eyes wandered over to his eldest brother, their leader. He seemed a little distracted as he played with his fork from across the table.

He was still angry with him but after time passed he begin to understand why he did what he did. Aurora deserved to be happy and if it was without them then he was ok with it. But damn did he miss her. “Penny for your thoughts fearless?” he finally asked tossing his napkin at the distracted turtle.

Raph smiled when his older brother caught the flying projectile without even looking up, his senses had definitely gotten better over the past year. Leo had been training pretty much nonstop most likely to keep his mind off of the forbidden subject in the lair. Aurora’s name had barely been mentioned since last Christmas. Leo took care of that bonsai tree like it was his child, tending to it every day without fail. He would admit he had spent a few times sitting on Leo’s bed staring at the tree imagining Aurora near death laying beside the small fragile sapling fighting with her body to stay awake, to stay alive. He would give the tree a mist of water before running his fingers over the green foliage before returning to his day. He knew Mikey and Donnie did the same, he had caught them both staring at the tree several times as well.

Finally Leo looked up from his fork and locked eyes with his hothead brother.

“Just thinking about the Battle Nexus Championship, trying to mentally prepare for it I guess. Looking forward to seeing Usagi as well, it’s been a year since we’ve seen him.”

“What about little bunny foo foo?” Mikey playfully cooed running his fingers up his older brothers arm. “I’m sure she’s gonna be happy to see you bro!” His eye ridges waged suggestively.

“Yeah she’s gonna be happy to find out your single.” Donnie chimed in taking another bite of casserole directly from the dish still sitting on the table.

Leo grunted in frustration at the nickname Aurora gave Asuna and shook his head letting his fork drop with a clang onto his plate. “Not interested, she’s the one who put doubt in my mind when we were there last.”

“What?” Raph suddenly got irritated eyeing his brother. “What did that fucking rabbit say about Aurora?”

“She asked me how long it would take for Aurora to realize that I couldn’t give her a normal life. I can’t marry her, can’t give her children. I can only offer seclusion and a sewer.”

“That bitch.” Both Raphael and Mikey growled.

“What makes you think you can’t give her a child?” Donnie cut in questioningly.

“Um..I’m a mutant turtle and she’s human.”  

Donnie leaned back in his chair and hummed his disappointment in his brother, “In theory there is no reason we can’t have children with humans. You forget we ourselves are half human with human DNA. I’ve analyzed my semen and found it nearly identical to humans. There’s no guarantee but it’s not impossible.”

“Donnie my boy, I don’t wanna know how you got your hands on human sperm to compare to your own.” Mikey laughed gathering up the remains of dinner before shuffling it off to the sink to soak the dishes.

“Sperm banks Mikey.”

“Ewwww!” the orange banded turtle grunted in disgust from the sink.  

Donnie shook his head pushing himself away from the table and began helping Mikey with putting away dinner. Gently nudging his younger brothers from the sink he took over the duty of washing the dishes.

Leo ignored his brothers, his thoughts lost to the pleasant thought of Aurora’s belly swollen with child…. their child. Lying in his arms her back resting against his plastron as his hands rubbed lightly across the taught flesh of her extended belly feeling their unborn child shift beneath his fingers. A genuine smile tugged at his lips as his fingers splayed across the table rubbing the formica top.

“Leo?” a deep voice broke him from his thoughts.

“Hmm?” Leo looked up to see Raph eyeing him cautiously.

“After we digest all this shrimp you wanna train?”

“Sure Raph.”

~~~~~~~~~

The four brothers sat in the poorly lit alleyway and watched their father draw the mystic symbols across the old bricks of the vacant building with white chalk. Each swipe of the chalk was smooth and calculated as his furry fingers drew the symbols from memory. Finally finished Master Splinter handed the chalk to Donnie who quickly placed it into his duffle bag. Taking a deep breath the old rat pressed his palms together in a praying pose and began to recite the incantation.

Slowly the water that lay in the alleyway rushed towards the symbols rolling up over the chalk outline merging and swirling into what looked like a water door. After a few moments the water congealed into a watery doorway and began to glow with a light blue hue. Splinter wasted no time and passed through the liquid passageway followed shortly by his four sons.

As the white light of the portal faded they found themselves in the bustling city of the Daimyo’s kingdom. The streets were teaming with anthropomorphic animals buying and selling wares seeming unfazed by the sudden appearance of five bodies through a portal.

Hoisting their bags over their shoulders they made their way through the market towards the Daimyo’s palace. They were invited by the Daimyo himself to stay in his home as they attended the battle nexus championship.

As they passed by the carts of goods eyes began to follow them, fingers pointing in their direction followed by excited mumbles. Young females of all species lined up on the street to stare at them eyes bright with enthusiasm.

“What was that about?” Mikey whispered to his older brothers eyeing the eager gazes in the crowd. The young turtle could feel the adrenaline start to race through his veins. This was exciting; it looked like they had been expecting them and thrilled to meet them, his baby blue eyes sparkled with anticipation.

Reaching the gates the large doors opened allowing the passage into the court yard. The main door slide open revealing the large ruler his arms outstretched in welcome as they approached.

“It is good to see you old friend.” The large man rumbled with laughter as his eyes beamed with happiness.

“My old friend it has been too long and for that I apologize, the past few years have been….busy. And I am sorry it wasn’t me that introduced you to my sons last year. How have you been? How is your son?” Master Splinter grinned up at Daimyo his hips tiling as he bowed out of respect.  

“Nonsense Splinter, there is no need for apologize our meeting a year ago was destiny I am sure of it. Ue-Sama is good, healthy and eager to learn. His skill advances everyday and looks forward to his time as Daimyo. Sometimes I think he’s a little too eager to take over. But that is here nor there. Now I’m sure you’d like to see where you’ll be staying for the tournament? I hope you don’t mind sharing a room, it is big enough to accommodate all five of you and has been set up with five beds but rooms this week are scarce in the palace as you might have guessed.” The Daimyo smiled ushering them into the large door of the large palace.

Leo stepped next to his father and spoke up, “We are grateful for your hospitality Daimyo and will take whatever is available to us. We are used to sleeping in the same room so it is no trouble.”

The Daimyo slowed and looked down on the blue leader while he led them through the great hall. His aged eyes flashed with something but quickly returned to his joyful demeanor before answering him. His large came down resting on the top of his carapace, “Leonardo I look forward to seeing you and your brothers competing in the tournament this afternoon. There have been stories of you four and your skill and bravery from last year’s battle. You four have become rather popular with the ladies.” A deep rumbling laugh escaped the ruler’s throat opening a door to what looked like their quarters for their stay.

“Yes we noticed the stares as we passed through the market. We were wondering what that was about.” Donnie said setting his duffle bag on one the farthest bed from the door.

“Yes don’t be surprised if you become very popular very fast. Now if you will excuse me I need to make final preparations for the tournament this afternoon. Please make yourself at home and don’t hesitate to ask Gyoji if you require anything. Please present yourself to the battle arena for registration at 2pm your time. You all must take part in the qualifying round before you enter the tournament. But I have no doubt each of you will succeed. I’ll see you all on the arena. Good luck turtles.” And with that the Daimyo exited their room disappearing down the hallway.    

Leo sat down on the bed he chose and set his bag down next to him. His eyes moved to his brothers as they settled in. “Does anyone want to join me in the market? I’d like to wander around for a bit before we register. I’m hoping we can run into Usagi, would be nice to see him before we go.”

All three of his brothers were happy to go but Sensei wanted to stay behind to attend to a small matter, but promised to meet them at the arena at the given time of registration.

The street loud with conversation they looked over the wears and food for sale. Every once in a while they were stopped and gushed over, random hands brushing up against their shells and fingers lingering on their arms. Most of the admirers were female but they did get a few males come up to them shaking their hands thanking them for their help last year.  

Mikey and Raph soon broke off from the other two wanting to find something warm to eat and Donnie got distracted by some old artifacts.

“I’m gonna be a bit, go ahead and keep going I’ll meet you back at our room in an hour.” Donnie waved his eldest brother on turning an ancient metal tool over in his fingers.

Further down the street Leo was buying a sharpening stone when his name rang out behind him. Turning around after completing his purchase his eyes narrowed in on a familiar female rabbit.

“Asuna.” Leo forced a smile waving to the cheery rabbit as she jogged towards him her arms outstretched for an apparent hug. Bracing himself he let the rabbit practically knock him on his shell wrapping her arms around his carapace.  

“It’s so good to see you Leonardo. It has been too long! Are you and your brothers here for the tournament?” She smiled sweetly up at him her chin placed on the top of his plastron her eyes sparkling with adoration.  

Returning the hug awkwardly he gently pushed her from his body. “It’s good to see you too Asuna. Yes my brothers and I are here to participate. Hey have you seen Usagi? I was hoping to chat with him before everything starts.”

Her fingers remaining touching his forearms and nodded quickly pulling at his arms. “Yes he’s down by the stables talking to Gen. Here I’ll take you to him. He will be very pleased to see you. He has also expressed his excitement in seeing you today.”

Being led by his arm Leo had no choice but to follow the eager rabbit doing his best at keeping the young female from brushing up against him as they weaved through busy streets. He was finding it very difficult to keep her from touching him, her hips brushing up against his, her grasp pulling a little too hard so his arm would brush across her breasts. She was incorrigible.

After a few silent moments being dragged by his arm she finally slowed giving his arm reprieve. Her white furry fingers began dancing across his pebbled skin of his bicep and he could tell she wanted to ask him something. He didn’t have to wait long.

“So is Aurora here? I figured she’d be by your side.” She asked almost in a whisper her eyes training on his looking for any emotional reaction.

Letting out deep sigh he shook his head. “I have no idea, I broke it off with her a year ago and we haven’t seen her since. And that’s all I’ll say about it so I would appreciate the topic not being brought up again.”

Her head turned no doubt keeping the happy grin to herself at the news he was no longer with Aurora. He really didn’t want to see her nor spend any time with the meddlesome rabbit. She was conniving and calculating her mind scheming, she was nice enough but he didn’t trust her. True it was still his fault his relationship with Aurora ended due to his poor judgment but she had planted the poisonous seed of doubt that grew into a snarling demon in his mind.  The sooner they got to Usagi the sooner he’d been free of little bunny foo foo.

As they rounded the corner Asuna’s body tensed and pushed him back around the corner pressing him carapace back against the brick building. Her eyes darted to him and back to the looming corner they had just been.

“What? What’s going on?” He asked feeling annoyed at the close proximity to the female rabbit.  

A smile spread across her face and she struck with a quickness he couldn’t prepare for. Her furry hands cupped his cheeks and leaned forward her lips slanting over his. Her tongue pressed into his mouth catching him off guard he couldn’t even make his mind move fast enough to push her away. Her warm body pressed firmly to his her breasts compressing against his plastron.

His mind began to process what was going on and his hands rested on her shoulders ready to push the conniving rabbit from his body when he saw why the rabbit was kissing him.

In what seemed like slow motion Aurora in all her glory rounded the corner nearly running smack dab into them. His mind still in a confused fog he was unable to react fast enough as her purple eyes focused quickly in on his.

Not quite registering what she was seeing she smiled awkwardly at the kissing duo but realization struck her like a runaway bull hitting her in the stomach. Her eyes widened in shock then pain watching helplessly as the rabbit’s mouth assaulted his. Leo noticed her body go rigid her hands clenching into fists at her side as her breath hitched in her throat. The sorrow that played over her startled features soon was replaced by anger as her purple eyes flashed for a second with their brilliant light.

It all seemed to happen slowly dragging on before his very eyes as he tried to get his body to respond with his minds commands but in all reality it all happened in a matter of a few seconds. Getting his hands to move Leo finally pushed Asuna from his body their mouths popping as their lips parted.

“Aurora.” Leo gasped for breath wiping their mingling saliva from his mouth with the back of his hand. But time began to run at normal speed again and as quick as she was there she disappeared back around the corner leaving his eyesight.

“Asuna, what the shell were you thinking?” Leo growled trying to go after the retreating Aurora but was slammed back against the wall by Asuna who pressed back into him her eye hooded with excitement no doubt pleased with her display.

“Let her go Leonardo. She’s human, your animal, you should be with an animal, you should be with me. I’ll treat you right, I’ll love you, I’ll obey you.” She cooed trying to run her fingers down his cheek but was abruptly stopped by Leonardo crushing grip. A yelp of pain pushed past her lips as her smile faded from her face.

“I can’t believe you did this, your advances are unwarranted. I told you before I was not interested in you Asuna but you still pulled this inappropriate display to blatantly hurt Aurora. Please leave me and my family alone.” Not giving her a chance to object Leo pushed Asuna with force nearly sending her into a cart behind her.

He wiped around the corner fully intent to find Aurora as she retreated but found her gone. As fast his legs would carry him he darted down the street searching the busy crowd for her. How difficult would it to be to find a human in a street filled with animals. Very, apparently, he had no luck locating her doubling back twice to make sure he didn’t miss her.

True to her nature she had vanished into the shadows like the skilled kunoichi she was. At least he knew she was there, no doubt getting ready to take part in the battle nexus championship.

@imthegreenfairy88​ @bluesakurablossom​ @alonia143​ @ravn-87​

[cutegirlmayra]

Ember’s Story (Sonic OC Commission) - All Current ROUGH DRAFTS Example

This is all writings for @marydragneell compiled into a huge post. If you’d like to commission me for your own story, please check out my rules and prices first (We can discuss how much you want to pay depending on how many pages you want the story to be :)b)

This is super long, so please remember that ^^ (This contains several chapters and separate commission purchases.) - and Yes, you can pay again for a continuation of the last story I wrote you. :)b

A Spark of Ember

By: Cutegirlmayra (Assisted Story for Marydragneell)

It was the dark of night.

I guess you could say she had been traveling for hours, or at least, still on the trail of G.U.N.

Man, where had the time flown off too?

She paced the dark night, strung with fireflies and lost in her thoughts. The only thing pulling her forward was the dirt in her nails from digging the children’s graves before swearing she’d seek revenge.

‘It shouldn’t have happened that way.’ Her teeth clenched, gripping an object in her hand, round and with the inscription G.U.N. ‘I won’t lose more to those… those monsters!’

***

Maria ran through the ARK, excitedly racing away from something. She was young, full of energy, and wasn’t afraid to skid her knee on the cold steel of the floating spacecraft.

She laughed and laughed, as two figures followed behind her, open-eyed and seeming rather calm though the girl was obviously elated at the game.

“Tag me! Tag me~” she chimed, giggling some more as she twirled around.

One figure looked to see the other’s eyes fixated on Maria’s youthful beauty, her innocence and charms, and smiled.

“Maria!” the figure called, racing even faster, breathing so much harder now, as she reached forward to tag her.

“STOP!”

Maria and the two figures paused, scared out of their game as a large, round man walked into view. His towering figure had his arms wrapped behind his back, his glasses gleaming in the vast sparkling lights of deep space behind him.

“How many times must I remind you.” He handed Maria a vile, and wearily, she trembled and stepped back.

“But grandfather…” she pleaded, before he shook his head, and bent down to her. His mustache moved with each tender word he spoke.

“Now, Maria. You were coughing up blood last night… you must take your medicine and rest more than play. I know you want to play, and feel exceptionally invincible with Shadow and Ember by your side… but you must remember…”

He then looked with a shaded stare to his creations… less tenderly than he had the child…

“They are still dangerous.”

The figure held her hand… stepping back and looking in the light with widened eyes.

Claws…

The other figure entered the darkness, “We can’t actually play with her, Ember.”

In horror and sorrow, the figure began to cry, and lifted a claw to touch it, unsure of what it was.

She flinched back as it scratched her, unaware of her body or her abilities.

She looked to the other figures hands, and shouted, “Why were you created differently!? You can play with her!”

“…No, Ember.” Shadow stepped into the light, his eyes glaring down at her in all seriousness. “I can’t.” he lifted his head up, pride and protection filling his brilliant red eyes.

“We never will.”

***

Ember had crash landed in a separate pod from Shadow. Gerald had sent her down first, having created her to protect rather than cure humanity, as was Shadow’s true design.

In all honesty, she was created as a companion to assist Shadow… but since she couldn’t find him or even know if he existed anymore, she wandered around the earth in search of anyone who needed help.

Her memory of everything was perfect. As was part of her creation, she was a walking scrapbook of every detail she had ever witnessed in her life.

She had stumbled upon a village, who accepted and welcomed her in.

Every day she would venture out to gather food and supplies for them, beginning to learn more about the world Maria loved so much, and happily did her designed purpose of watching over the earth and keeping its people safe.

Until that one day…

***

“Sing, sing!”

Ember, an immortal wolf with dark grey hair, red streaks much like Shadow’s, who she considered her brother; white tips on her ears, feet, and hands, eyes a deeper purple than amethyst, was given new clothes and a home. It was more than she could ever ask for.

“I… could maybe sing… one song~” she winked and stuck her tongue out to the side. The kids all cheered, as the adults smiled and nodded their heads.

Sweet is the winter,…

Calm is the thunder…

And don’t you cry~

Mother is here now…

To bring in the spring and create the things of life~

Rain, rain, rain…

Do you remember the warm rain?

Be patient, my child, and sing without guile

Bittersweet is the spring, that carries in the breeze…

Calmed by the melting snow…

And don’t~ you~ cry~

Before Maria would go to sleep each night, she would ask Ember to sing to her. And soon after that, Maria would sing it to Shadow before he was placed back in his experimentation pod for further study and… ‘fixing’.

Ember’s tail flicked as her face lit up from the children cheering and begging for her to sing it again, but the adults hurried them to bed.

The orphans… on the other hand, wouldn’t stop pleading.

The orphans were rumored to have parents who funded the ARK project, since the pod she escaped in was programmed to land somewhere ‘safe’ she figured it meant one of the funders.

Then… that horrible night… a night she wished to simply forget.

But such was her curse…

To never… forget.

There was smoke everywhere.

G.U.N had tracked down the children, sent to the village for safe keeping… and performed… a horrible, horrible deed…

“No…” Ember dropped all the supplies she was carrying, seeing the village on fire.

“No…” She dropped to her knees when her feet carried her faster than she thought possible to the orphanage.

Blood.

Crimson blood mingled with ash and smoke.

Her claws gripped into the floorboards.

“NOOO!!!”

She tore into them, as something on her chest burst free from it’s hiding and shined brightly around her.

A dark aura rose.

She had failed her purpose…

She was created to protect humanity…

She had failed.

“We can’t actually play with her, Ember.”

Her eyes jutted open, having not realized what she had done.

“We never will.”

She had taken down the whole building. Shredding the beds, ripping the burning roof and ceiling down.

She cried and cried… staring up at the smoky sky, grey as her fur…

Then, she felt something like a ‘tink!’ hit the ground hard and roll towards her feet.

With her horror-stricken eyes, she slowly gestured her head down to it.

Her eyes flinched in a sharpened focus at the words inscribed on the smoke-grenade.

G.U.N

***

“I’ll kill them.”

She huffed, leaning a bruised arm against a nearby tree, and looking out at the G.U.N headquarters.

“I’ll… urk… make them pay.”

She was tried, weary, and but her silliness never stopped coming. She leaned her head back, “Then I’ll buy ice cream~” she laughed, in a maniacal, broken-spirited way before collapsing to the ground.

“50 years… and you’d think Gerald would have considered putting some healing properties into me too.” She struggled, but quickly lifted herself back up again.

She hadn’t eaten in days.

***

“Sir! There’s been a disturbance in sector B!”

“What in blue blazes is going on here!?”

“General it’s… it’s a girl!”

“A girl!? What the devil… Someone’s Ex?”

“Sir… she’s…”

The Solder froze at the monitors, shaking as his mouth and knees wouldn’t move any further.

“…Crazy Ex?”

The general looked old, his short white beard lifted to the side as did his confusion.

“Give it here!”

He shoved the boy aside and then gawked at the image.

Blurred and with a lot of static, you could make out the tail and ears of a figure moving quickly and jumping around the scene, attacking and knocking men and robots alike down with a single strike.

“…She’s fast!”

“No… teleporting.”

“What?”

The General quickly walked down the stairs of his upper division computer-room, pointing and shouting at people in various desks below them. “Get me a Chaos reading on that girl. I want to know what this thing wants. What’s her power level? Do we have Rouge on standby?”

“Sir! Rouge is currently on route to cracking Project Inferno.” A woman stood perfectly straight, having a head-mic that spiraled in a cord around her neck before curving upon her cheek.

He grabbed his hand and threw it against the railing, leaning on it.

Then… slowly, in his moment of feeling trapped… he turned around. “… Put her image on the big screen.”

The soldier looked to his commanding officer, who nodded. He wearily, with sweat dripping down the side of his forehead and cheek, flicked the switch and hit a button.

Ember’s face came in on a close-up, her teeth rearing open to chomp down on a robot, shaking the disk-like gun from it’s small pole and shaking it till it ripped free.

“…More like a monster than little girl.” The General scoffed… before putting his hat back on, and adjusting it.

“…Bring out…”

“Project Shadow.”

(My thoughts: While writing this first chapter I wanted to get the information the reader needed as soon as possible. When going back for edits, I’d like to organize it to be more compelling, but with so much data on her, I wanted to make sure the essential of ‘need to know’ basis was there. I’ll include more based on the Patron’s wishes, but for now, I really wanted to show Ember as loving, conflicted, protective, wild, and still a goofball as her description made me believe she is. I included some minor details about powers, but I want to expand upon them on the following pages. This is simply my first few chapters in introduction before moving on to ‘rising action’ where she will be reunited with Shadow, who won’t remember her until she triggers a memory, which is part of her job/task. I wanted to stay true to her, but leave her as a mystery the audience still wants to figure out, and learn more about. This was the ‘interest’ and ‘hook’ of the story, something I hope to go back and work with if the Patron has any further comments for. : ) Overall, I deeply enjoyed my first attempt at writing for Ember the Immortal Wolf, and hope many others will enjoy her story as I continue writing it!)

The Ashes of Embers

Ember teleported, feeling the radiating warmth of the lost Chaos Emerald Gerald Robotnik stole from Angel Island long ago…

It was imbedded deep in her chest, peeking out on occasion, though she never fully knew the extent of its power.

During times of hardship, she’d sometimes blackout and awake to see her glowing… but what did it mean?

Chaos Emeralds weren’t common knowledge, even to Gerald.

Ember simply tried to harness or ignore it, worried it may control her more than she let on.

She knocked out more robots and security cameras, before the whole sector started shutting down.

She looked around her, her eyes shifting as the lights cut off and large, metallic doors slammed in her wake.

“…So, we’re playing hide and seek in the dark, eh?” She smiled, but a small bit of sweat trinkled down her spine.

What were they playing at?

She couldn’t trust them. She couldn’t even trust the dark. They would play dirty… they always did.

Suddenly, a green glow shined through in lines above the ceiling, and she cautiously looked up, before jumping back in fright.

“Ah!” she put her hands up over the front of her head, trying to defend herself if something should jump down from the air-conditioning units above.

The barred lining above did get dented and hit, before crashing down, along with some ceiling debris, as a figure leaped down and threw out his arm in the dusty green light.

“Chaos Spear!”

“W-woah!”

Instinctively, she raced on all fours away from the explosion, only seeing the shadows of the spears and carefully tumbling into the side of the adjacent wall to avoid injury.

“Offph!” she landed upside, her butt crashing against the wall and taking most of the damage. “Yyyyyeeee-ooooww…” she groaned in some pain, her eye twitching a bit as she turned herself over on the ground.

Getting to her knees, she heard a gun cock, and frightfully looked up with eyes shrinking in terror.

She saw the dust settle… as the front of the gun pierced her vision and hovered steadily in front of her face.

“Don’t move.”

She obeyed, but her eyes couldn’t help and wander up to the figure as the green light still beamed a beautiful aura around him.

She suddenly recognized the red stripes… the hedgehog quills… the serious frown.

“…Shadow?”

She couldn’t believe her eyes!

He raised an eyebrow to her.

“Shadow! It’s me..! It’s-!”

She moved to her legs.

Then a gunshot.

Her vision went blurry as something warm and wet traveled down her leg…

***

“Ember, come with me!”

“But, Doctor, what about Mari-!”

“Shadow’s taking care of her, you must be preserved! For his and her sake!”

The two traveled desperately down a long corridor, on the opposite wing of what they feared were the other G.U.N solders hunting down Shadow and chasing Maria.

Ember would have never guessed the sound of the gunshot, nor the escape pod was only holding one experiment… and not another human life.

“Doctor…” she saw him panting, and realized he wasn’t going to make it.

She tried to take the initiative, gripping his hand tighter that was holding hers and racing ahead of him. “Come on!”

He looked to her in amazement.

“Why… why are you so determined to..?”

An explosion happened by the right side of their faces, and the Doctor was having a hard time stabilizing himself.

“We have to keep moving!” Ember encouraged, her heart full as she dared not turn around to see him suffering to run any longer.

When just in front of the escape chamber, Gerald collapsed, holding his side.

She spun around and gripped his arm with both her hands this time, being careful to not dig her claws into his fragile, old skin.

“Gerald, please!”

“…Gerald?” He looked up at her, “My dear girl…”

Her eyes began to water.

“You’ve always known… you can call me… Grandpa.”

Her eyes widened.

She thought only Maria could address him as true family.

He always seemed so strict…

She started sniffling as her nose became filled with her emotion as well, and in her embarrassment, she shook her head and tears flew everywhere as she cried out.

“Don’t leave me behind!”

“My creation… how beautiful you’ve grown… but I’m afraid it’s me you’ll be leaving behind.”

Another explosion, and this time, they were both thrown against the wall. Pieces of the ARK crash against them, and when Ember came too, footsteps were already approaching.

“Doc… Granpa…”

She wearily summoned the last of her strength, pushing the metallic pieces off of her and digging ferociously through the pile of debris.

“GRANDPA!!!”

When she found his face, her eyes shone with gratitude for seeing him still alive.

“Grandpa…”

“Y-you must go…”

She clenched her teeth. That shine fading.

She looped an arm over her shoulder and hoisted him up, carrying him fully over her shoulders and racing into the room.

“Coordinates…” she stated.

He didn’t respond, just looking at her blankly…

“Coordinates!” she turned more fiercely to his face, demanding he let her save him.

“… 0.003. 27. The planet Earth.”

She typed such things in, and it looked like a speed-dial for earth.

“…You’ll be safe there?”

“…”

He looked down.

“Gerald?”

She looked worriedly up at him, before shaking her head.

“I mean..! …Grandpa.”

“…Hurh..”

He moved himself up, and she lightly set him down, allowing him to lean on the console.

He rested a hand by his chest, and the other… tenderly upon her cheek.

“If only I had the chance to tell you this…with Shadow by your side, so that he may too know how I truly feel.”

“…W-… what are you saying?”

“Open the door!”

Ember gasped, flinging her tail back as she turned around, squatting on her knees before racing forward to grip a large, angular and pillared machine all the way around.

She grunted, squirmed, but her super strength came into play and she hoisted it up from it’s controls, which sparked around as she threw it at the door, causing a barricade.

“That won’t last long…” she feared, speaking out loud, and racing back to Robotnik.

“We have to put you in the escape pod!” she reached her arms out. “Please!”

“…If only Shadow was here…” His sorrowful voice pierced her fragile heart, and she felt the insult of a thousand needles upon a thousand swords rip into her being.

“…Why… Am I not good enough?” Her hands balled into fist, shaking…

She lowered her head, “Why did Maria always favor Shadow?... cause he could hold her? And I could hurt her?” she looked at her clawed-hands. “Why… why did you make me in the image of a monster!?” she started to cry, before Gerald lifted his hands to her face.

“My dear… I created you to scare away the evil of humanity… you’re more beautiful now than I could have ever imagined your design to take form in.”

She slowly opened her shaking eyes, “Grandpa…”

“We’re moving in! All units standby!”

The door was being budged open by powerful hits, freaking Ember out as she turned around, but Gerald moved forward, pushing her back little by little while he moved on his knees.

“You’re all humanity has left in this time of cruelty and panic. Find Shadow. Protect Maria and all humanity. Don’t let my research die in vain. And with all the love of a father… know that I created you and Shadow with the intent to serve and provide humanity a service for the future! You are its last hope! Do this for me..! Do not fail me! Do not fail Maria!”

Her eyes widened, “Granpa…” he shoved her into the escape pod, and pulled down the lever.

“Heh…” he smirked.

“I..! I love y-!”

The pod dropped, as Ember watched the men storm the room with explosives and gunfire. “Drop to your knees-!”

***

“It was over instantly.”

“That’s our Shadow!”

Ember slowly rotated her head, realizing her since of gravity was off, and looked at her restrains on a tilted countertop.

“W-…Where the heck am I?!”

“Silence.”

Her ears recognized the familiar sound and turned to Shadow. Her eyes trembled with joy. “Shadow!”

He looked at her… but there wasn’t anything in his expression that showed the same familiarity.

“Shadow?” She became confused, had they brainwashed him?

“State your purpose.” A man approached her.

She growled, her tail flicking around in annoyance. “To seek revenge for all those innocent children and families you slaughtered to cover up the ARK incident 50 years ago!”

Shadow’s eyes widened, as he unfolded his arms to grip his head.

He seemed in his own world, trembling slightly as he seemed to have a triggered headache.

“Impossible! How can you say such a thing!?”

“As if you don’t know!” She spat out, hitting a guy in the eye.

“My eye!” he screamed and raced out the window.

“Someone get that sergeant a napkin and a new pair of privates, private.”

“I know what I saw…”

She snarled down, glaring at the man speaking.

“You wimps can’t even admit your wrongs!!!”

She struggled from her binds, “RAhhh…!”

“Secure her soldier!”

“Touch me and I’ll rip your arm off with one fell bite!”

The soldier stepped back as she clamped her mouth down with a nip his way.

“Shadow, teach our ‘guest’ some manners.” The man folded his arms.

“…Shadow?”

He didn’t look at him.

“…Shadow! For pete’s sake!”

“…No.”

Shadow rose his head up, fire in his eyes.

“For Maria’s sake…”

“What?”

Shadow pulled up the gun.

“What on earth are you doing!?”

The men stepped back, all aiming their weapons to Shadow.

“What on earth indeed.”

He smirked and aimed up.

He shot a sprinkler-system, causing the rest to go off and then started fighting the men in the room.

They tried to fire, but the water made their gunpowder moist, leaving the guns useless.

“Darn!” the general cried out, before being knocked down.

Shadow turned to Ember.

She held her breath a second, before waving her tail out as if saying ‘Hello, remember me?’ as he raised his arm across his chest.

“Chaos…”

She started panicking, humorously wiggling and shaking in her now cold restraints.

“Spear!”

He shot out some spears that cut her restrains clear-clean off her skins, and she happily leaped down from the counter.

“You do remember me-!”

She went to hug him, but he slammed a hand in her face, and threw her over his shoulder, carrying her out as he blasted the door down.

“Nooope. I think you don’t.”

She blinked her eyes in silly understanding then.

Maybe he had brain damage?

But with his fast recovery…

She then looked to her side, and realized her injury had been patched up and healed as well.

“Phew…”

She was glad something was done to it before it got infected and polluted her recovery.

“Stop them!”

Shadow raised up the Chaos Emerald, as she noticed it was similar to hers…

There was a huge missile that blasted through the water at them.

“Hang on!” Ember, even stationed on his shoulder, still summoned a bubbled-shield around her and Shadow, her emerald glowing from her concealed chest, and guarded them against the blast.

He looked over to her, “…Hmph.” Then away.

“Ah, don’t tell you weren’t impressed.” She looked cockily over to him, waiting for him to thank her, but it never came.

“Woah! Is it possible you got even more serious with dementia?”

“Chaos Control!” Shadow teleported them away, as G.U.N soldiers blocked their every move.

“Dang it!” The general raced out, holding his disabled gun. “She had to mention Code Blue!”

***

(Author’s note: Although this second chapter carries the amount paid for, I decided to give the Patron more for her money. Enjoy! :D I also really liked giving her a silly side, along with an interesting and compelling backstory!)

Shadow dropped Ember down roughly to the ground, and walked towards a tree upon a hill, before turning back to her, the wind rapidly pressing against the two of them.

His quills moved swiftly in the wind, but his face remained stationary.

“Who are you? And how do you know about ARK?”

Ember rubbed her head, “Ouch… can’t you be easier on me? I’m your sister after all.” She sighed, dropping her head. “You always did play rough.”

“Sister? No such thing.” He raised an eyebrow, before turning fully to face her. “Speak up… I have no time for-“

“As far as I’m concerned, you have time to bake as many cakes as you want and eat them all on different days too.”

He seemed confused, unsure of her riddle, as she waited to see if he would laugh, but then knew he never would.

She got up, holding out her hands. “My name is Ember. I was created with you. To be a aid for you and protect humanity. I’ve failed protecting humanity… but maybe I can still help you.”

She then walked forward, cautiously as he seemed to be looking for any sign of lies.

“It’s hard for me to trust people… I’m sure, with whatever you went through, it’s just as hard. Tell me what happened to you and Maria, and I’ll relay everything.”

His eyes looked down, a deep painful sorrow before back up at her, “...What do you mean… relay?”

“Heh.” She smiled, “The word you should get hooked on is… everything. Thus, why I emphasized it.” She joked a little, before straightened up and stretching a bit. “Alright, alright. Here goes nothing.”

She leaned forward, hands on her hips, looking him straight in the eye as she tipped her boots up slightly, trying to look cute and sister-like. “I have a perfect memory. I can remember everything I’ve ever seen. The joy outweighs the sorrow, the anger… but family triumphant over all my memories… no matter what they are. Or how tragic they appear.”

She took a deep breath, leaning up. “Shadow The Hedgehog.” She out stretched her hand to him again.

There was a long pause…

“I’m your family.”

(This was all that was paid for, plus the tip! I would like to remind you to please send me a link where you post this, and also if you could give me a review of your experience with me and the product, I would be very appreciative! As always, you must keep my name and who made this product for you on the document. If you post it anywhere, I have to be listed with it. And please send me a link cause that’s always fun to show-off something I’m proud of making XD I hope you enjoyed it! I really liked fiddling with Ember and figuring out how to organize her backstory for you. You can always pay for me to continue this story, too. So there’s that option. Thank you and I hope you’re satisfied with your purchase! Ember is so interesting because of her emotions being so complexed. For one, she’s kind and silly, but on the other hand, she’s got a darker tone that can almost match Shadow’s. It’s fun to play with those complicated emotions and I really gravitated towards the emerald in her chest and also her detailed memories. Flashbacks would be so common, in my logic anyway, if you had a perfect memory of everything; mostly cause everything would trigger it! Shadow gets triggered a lot, I figured Ember would get triggered even more so. Thank you and I hope to work with you in the future as well! :D If there’s any concerns or things you want me to elaborate on, I’d be happy to go back and review this rough draft. If you’d like anything edited, I should remind you that this is the time to consult me to do the revisions. There is no refunds, and the rules state that only I can edit this document/product. So make sure it’s everything you want before we shake hands. Thank you and I really do love your amazing Sonic Character: Ember the Immortal Wolf! *Also, thanks for the tip ;Db)

(Friendly reminder to please give me link if you're submitting it anywhere, a review of how your experience with me and how the product was for you, and lastly to mention me wherever the document is submitted or posted to with a link or mention. (This is enforced by the rules you agreed to upon your purchase!) I'd also like to reblog or share wherever you posted it so that many may enjoy the work!

 This is the last look-over. So please let me know what you like or would like edited. There will be no refunds or post-edits after this call, and according to the rules only I can edit this document. So please, remember to tell me if you see any errors or things you'd like mentioned. If there's anything you want elaborated on and such. I'd be more than happy to go over the document/product with you till you are satisfied :) )

Embers and Coals

Shadow stared at the hand, a deeper narrowing of his eyes revealed his skepticism, as he swat the hand away from him.

“Yee!” Ember withdrew the rejected hand and spread her frown down, revealing her teeth as her eyes shook in fright. “You don’t have to be so blunt!”

“Family? Heh. Don’t be ridiculous. Did you think I’d fall for your little games?” He stepped back, angling himself away from her. “I’m not sure how you know about G.U.N, or the ARK… but if you think for a second that this changes anything-“

“It does change everything!” She spread her arms out again, on both sides, leaning forward to convey her sincerity once more.

This caught his eye, as she left herself defenseless to attack.

“I’m a lone wolf, not a cunning fox! I’m from the ARK, just like you! G.U.N took everything away from us! Even that nice village…” She looked down, moving her hands back to her chest as she recalled each of their smiling faces… “But… even so… At least you were with Maria…” She sighed, seeming at ease with that.

Shadow stared at her…

“Please, just tell me! I know she was dying already… Gran- I mean,” she shook her head, growing more tender as she spoke now. Not quieter, but in a tone of respect and love she shifted her tough appearance. “Dr. Robotnik wanted to make her immortal too, you know… it was his last resort though. He wanted you to be her cure, first and foremost.” She looked up at Shadow, before shaking her head and gripping it. “But those stupid humans!!! They feared your power! I was just… like a prototype! Maria loved you from the start… but I was…” she removed her hands and looked at her sharp claws…

Her memory flashed back to the soggy dirt piled in them. Burying all those lifeless bodies…

No more smiles… no more singing.

She fisted her hands and took a deep breath.

“I just want to know if she lived long enough to enjoy the planet she loved so much. The world she dared to call home.”

She turned around, facing her back to Shadow, and looking firmly up at the sky. “This world…” the wind was still harsh, blowing her long hair and tail back. “It’s.. dangerous. Not as dangerous as us… but scary.” She looked down, her eyes falling to shadows.

Shadow kept his comments silent. But closed his eyes for a moment.

“W-well?” fearing his silence as a concern for something being wrong, she turned around, a little cautiously. “Did Maria get to enjoy the earth she loved o-or…” she could barely stomach the next thought. She swallowed hard to keep her emotions at bay.

Shadow remained silent.

***

“That little pest! That maggot! That-!”

“Sir, please stop slamming your fist against the expensive tables…”

“Darn it!!!”

Another hard hit collided with the black, sturdy table. Taking the brunt of the General’s anger, before he turned to the operative that had addressed him.

“I want all forces out looking for Shadow! I want that thing captured! We want Shadow unharmed if possible.”

“…If?”

“Alright. Give him some bruises and let him gush out a little bit. He can heal while I’m giving him the scolding of a century! To betray your own people!” he rose his fist to his face, seeing it grow white with the amount of tension he put on it. He then opened it, seeing the true redness of the pulsing blood and impact areas where he slammed it to the table.

“…She knew about Code Blue…” He lowered his hand, and rubbed the bottom of his chin. He wiped some sweat from the back of his neck and shook it off. “She knew the files… I’ve recently reread them. We were covering up Project Shadow. Probably the worst military mistake of all time. We hit a low. Giving an animal the right to supersede humanity. That’s a crime even in and of itself!” he slammed his fist down again, gritting as the pain finally started to burn and turned his head to the side, cursing.

“…Sir, why let the girl survive?” the operative stepped forward, hands behind his back, perfectly straight as his glasses shone to reflect the light from the huge light above them. It encircled the room like an interrogation unit.

“Heh. She’ll try and take him away from us… from our side, I mean.” He pulled himself away from the table. “She’ll want him to side with her. And with Code Blue so sensitive to the hedgehog as is… I don’t know what he’ll do. He’s now unpredictable. Dang it all. And I thought after all that training and successful missions with Rouge… he might as well have been triggered and gone rogue on us again after all these years…”

“Sir? Your orders were given. Shall I execute them?”

“I don’t want the girl dead…”

He then turned around, “Not yet.”

“…Sir?”

“There’s something I wanted to do first… something she got away from once. But won’t this time around… First secure Shadow. I can’t let an asset like him get taken away from us. He’s too valuable.”

“Two of a kind wouldn’t be so bad. If she is like him-”

“No… she ain’t nothin’ like him.”

“…She could be useful. We could use her to our advantage like Shadow-“

“We can’t hope on two brain-concussions AND forgiveness due to an unbroken promise whisked upon by some little girl to happen twice!”

He flung himself around, leaning his plum-sized self with a hunch forward and a hand on the table, supporting it.

The operative stood silent.

“There, now,… you see?” He gestured to the man. “If all of humanity could learn to keep their mouths shut..! … We wouldn’t need to clean up so many messes now… would we?”

“…Yes, sir.”

“Get me Shadow.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And find out where the devil Rouge is? She’s been missing out on call-ins…” he turned away from the light, his figure suddenly more darker than before, and faced the wall. “This room is pitch black. No windows. Just like how our Corporal likes it…”

The man about-faced, but first, clicked his heels together and bowed forward a little, marching—in a sense—out of the room.

“…Keeps our secrets well enough in.”

***

“I don’t understand why you were with them!” she walked right back to him, not liking his silence and getting annoyed by his obvious avoidance on the subject. She stopped in front of him, seeing his eyes open slightly to warn her not to get closer. “…Brainwashed?”

“….”

“Well, they could have probed you for all I know.”

“How can I be sure you’re telling me the truth?” Shadow raised an eyebrow. “What color were Maria’s eyes?” he shifted his head back to her, a sign of interest maybe? If her story were true… what would that mean for him?

“The same as her dress.”

I’m your family.

He grew defensive, biting his teeth down.

“Her hair! What color?!”

He stepped forward.

“B-blonde…” she grew weary and stepped back, holding up a hand to defend herself if needs be…

But finding him… she didn’t want to fight anymore.

She honestly just wanted to embrace him.

Allow herself to cry.

Okay, maybe she wouldn’t cry.

He used to poke fun at her when she cried too easily.

An eye twitched as he rose a fist up in front of himself.

“Grr… And how do I know you didn’t just see some old achieve picture!?”

“I can show you.” She held out her hand.

He lost all of his anger suddenly, moving back and shaking.

“Gr…erk… eh.” He strained to hold himself back, but was clearly distressed.

“…Shadow?”

“What are you planning to do with that?”

He dipped his head down, growing even more hostile as the topic continued…

“I’m… You’re shaking.” She looked worriedly down at his arms and body. “Shadow…”

“Your hand!”

She flinched back.

“Hey! No fair! That was a jump-scare!” she glared.

“Enough toying with me!”

He shook his head and stepped forward, his whole-body tensing.

“If you have no proof… then were done talking here.”

“No, wait!”

She touched his forehead.

Shadow’s eyes widened as a picture formed in his head.

“What… what is…”

“This…?”

***

Maria peeked around the corner of the room, seeing her Grandfather patching up somethings around the laid chamber-pod of his experiment.

“…He’s quite handsome… isn’t he, Ember?” She looked down, as Ember pouted as she looked at how much time the Doctor was spending with this ‘new’ creation.

“I’m his little sister… he told me that.” She responded, and looked up to Maria. “But I was made first,… right?”

Maria gave her a tender, close-eyed smile.

She giggled and snuck back as the Doctor walked out, looking through some clipboard notes, before scurrying in the room.

“Come on.” She whispered, sticking her hand out and gesturing with her finger for Ember to follow her.

Ember didn’t like the idea… but her tail wagged to show she liked being mischievous with Maria.

“Are we gonna pull his plug?” she asked, “Or draw a funny face on his pod? I call the eyes!” she grinned, her tail wagging faster.

Maria gave her a light scold, looking to her with an eyebrow raising and her head tilting to the side and downward, as if saying ‘really?’.

She then lovingly leaned over the chamber, seeing the creature sleeping, her eyelids fell in a motherly way, and she lightly skimmed her fingers over its surface.

“I can’t wait to meet him…”

“Yeah. Someone to wrestle with.”

“A new friend…”

“H-huh?”

Ember looked to Maria, seeing a shift in her eyes from how she looked at her.

She looked away, her ears bending down.

Then Maria turned back to her, surprised by her sad actions, and smiled in understanding. She moved her other hand to rub the top of her head, and laughed sweetly.

“You’ll always be my friend too, Ember! You protect me… and he…”

She turned back as Shadow lightly opened his eyes, and stared up at her.

He tilted his head up, amazed almost at the sight of her.

She smiled warmly to him, looking excited to see him.

She gave him a shy wave.

“Hello, my little Shadow.”

She cooed, like a mother to a child.

Ember noticed the strange connection the two were having and grew more jealous, tugging on her dress and jumping down to pull her down too.

“Maria! Maria! Let’s play tag!”

“Haha, Ember. Quit it.” She played and tugged the end of her dress back up.

“Offph!” Ember toppled over, and let little tears form on the sides of her eyes as she watched Maria turn back to Shadow.

“We’ll play later… Shadow? Grandfather says your to be my savior… But I want you to always know… you’ll first most and forever be… one of my most treasured friends.”

Shadow blinked his eyes, but couldn’t take his sight off the lovely being in front of him.

She lowered her hand back to the top of the see-through pod, as his hands moved off from being folded across his chest…

He looked to one of them, and then to Maria’s hand.

He gently placed it upon her hand.

She smiled and giggled.

He tried to mimic the expression, and was able to smile back.

“Ah!” she rose up from leaning over and looking at him. “Ember! Ember you have to come up here! He’s… he’s smiling!” she cheered, aweing every second of him being awake and vigilant.

“He placed his hand on mine! I think he understands!”

“…Great.”

Ember had sat down and leaned up against chamber-pod, folding her arms and letting her tail flick around in annoyance.

She lowered her head and hunched up her shoulders… ‘pfft’ing out to the side of her mouth.

Maria continued to giggle…

***

Shadow sight returned to him as Ember removed her hand from his forehead, then placed both hands on the sides of his head and pulled herself closer.

“Sorry about that. I didn’t really like you when you first created. But once I got to know you, I could see what Maria saw in you.”

She then closed her eyes and placed her forehead on his again, as he continued to remain motionless and overwhelmed at the memory he had seen.

“But this… this memory will show you why we can’t let G.U.N go unpunished…”

The memory started with Gerald, then to the village, the ruined orphanage…

Still unable to handle the first image he saw, Shadow broke off and resisted her sight-vision she was relaying back to him.

“Woah!”

Shadow shoved and pulled away, pushing her and once again smacking her hand away. “Enough!” he gripped his head, “What… what was all that?”

“The truth.” Ember’s eyes turned fierce, not taking anymore of his hesitance. “This is what G.U.N really is!” she gestured her hand out to her side. “Shadow… help me destroy them. They can’t go unpunished for imprisoning Gerald and taking Maria from us!”

“…Mind tricks.” Shadow turned away.

“Why… why don’t you understand..?” She stepped back, her eyes in amazement and fury at him rejecting her yet again.

She couldn’t handle it. “I… I searched for you everywhere… I thought maybe… you’d be searching for me b-but…” she looked down, starting to cry, her emotions getting the better of her.

“WHAT WERE YOU DOING ALL THOSE YEARS?!”

“….”

“THE YEARS I NEEDED YOU!”

She collapsed to her knees.

“When Maria finally left this world… did you just not want to find me?”

He remained still, before a crack of thunder revealed an on-coming storm.

The grey clouds rolled quickly over them, showing that the wind was foreshadowing this inevitable conclusion…

“….She’s dead…”

Ember looked crossly up to him.

“Well, no duh! It’s been 50 years! Of course she’s-!”

“She died.”

“Wha-…”

Her eyes suddenly widened.

Shadow looked down to her, stepping up, seeming completely unaffected by what this could mean to her.

“Her last wish was to give humanity a chance. I promised her I’d do anything for her. I even could kill… if necessary.”

Ember couldn’t understand… but her chest grew in warmth and she could feel the raw power slipping into her body.

“I… I can’t trust anymore… not after what humanity has done.”

She looked down as a light rain started to pour.

Shadow dropped to a knee, staring straight into her, as if into her soul.

“Ember… was it?”

She gripped the ground.

“Quit acting like you forgot me too!”

“…G.U.N found signs that your hostile actions were being powered by chaotic influences… they wanted to take the Chaos Power they found in you. I was meant to rip it out.”

Ember shook her head, crying.

“I can’t control it! What happened to Maira!?”

As she shouted out into the night, Shadow remained still and stoic.

The lightning started flashing down and the rain grew heavy, turning the gripped ground beneath her claws into mush and mud.

She sobbed as Shadow leaned his back away from her, looking off into a void of darkness within the forest ahead of them…

“…We should contact Rouge. If that is what I suspect to be a Chaos Emerald… a certain red Echidna may be after you.”

“WHAT. HAPPENED.”

She gripped his white chest fur, pulling him back down to her as he stared expressionlessly back at her.

His attention on her was brief, as he closed his eyes.

“You don’t listen very well.”

“Then tell me a story.”

He hesitated.

A flicker of light. Tiny hands pushed with all their might. A mourning creature lay hysterical, trapped in an escape pod, banging on it’s surface.

A man. A loud blast of gunfire. A shot that pierced more than his heart. His very soul.

She lay in blue and red… she begged in beauty and love… and she used the strength of her fall to send the soul she treasured into the world she cherished.

Into the world… that killed her.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!”

Ember’s Chaos Emerald blasted Shadow away, leaving him to roll and grip to the tree near him.

He used all his strength to hang on and strained against the power surge.

The Chaotic blast revealed that she had shifted. Her whole being animalistic and tearing into the ground, ripping the mud all around her and crying out like a wild beast.

She blamed him, then swore to rip into the hides of G.U.N, and destroy the world that destroyed Maria.

Everything Shadow knew, felt, understood.

None of her words were unfamiliar.

When the blast stopped, he simply got himself up.

And he walked.

The rain crashed down to the side of him, but his eyes never blinked.

The storm roared and was muffled by Ember’s cries, mud looking like blood in her eyes, trying to hurt the earth that hurt her, as he came over to the massacre of dirt. She cried out something like a ‘Chaos Slash’ that rent the earth in twine and split right by him. A rockslide happened far behind him from the continuing strip of power, before the earth shook slightly in aftershock and stopped.

He just kept walking, before pausing in front of her, looking at her with no sign of anger,… no sign of anything at all except-

Empathy.

“That’s enough.”

She kept ripping into ground, screaming her revenge.

“…Vengeance… was Maria anything like how your feeling now!?”

He punched her in the gut.

This stayed her, snapping her out of her frenzy as the pain snapped her momentarily out of it.

She still was in her dark, sinister form… but she refused to strike him.

Even if she did blame him for not protecting her, she couldn’t help but feel she wasn’t alone because of his presence.

She did care about him.

She wanted her family.

But to hear of Maria’s death…

“How…”

She slowly came out of it, collapsing into his arms.

“How did you forgive them..?”

“…I didn’t.”

She looked almost blindly up at him.

She gripped his arm tighter than before.

“Shadow… Why…”

“…I simply spared them.”

She cried into his chest.

“…I…”

He slowly rose his hand to the back of her head, as something about it felt familiar…

Similar…

His eyes shook as he felt the unexpected reaction was more reflex than anything else.

“…I keep my promises…”

He thought suddenly…

“There was a song… you sang it… to Maria..?”

Ember’s head jerked up, her eyes full of tears and rain.

“Shadow?”

He seemed apprehensive, afraid of whatever this was triggering.

“…A song… about…”

“Rain?”

(Author’s notes: This was really fun to do! I already had an idea on how to continue the story, so getting the opportunity to really helped! Finding paths and ways to tie in the first 20 pages with the next chapter was really fun to discover and figure out! I wanted that head-touch with Shadow and Ember. I wanted that symbol of family to resonate, along with being reunited. I didn’t except myself to write Shadow remembering Ember, or anything about her. But now I feel I can continue the story with a flow of that theme more easily now. With Shadow being able to connect to her like no one else, and having that bond with her, I feel like they can strengthen and cling to each other in different ways. Shadow for the emotional support through her achieve of countless memories, and Ember for needed that emotional connection and family tie. She needs to trust SOMEONE, right? And having Shadow back should help :) )

From the Embers Come Past Flames

After passing out from so much stress on not just her body, but all the emotional and mental stress her memory-sharing and breakdown from learning of Maria’s fate brought her through; Ember woke up to find herself on a raft, heading towards a strange floating island.

Instantly having anxiety, she leaped up and began to softly nipple on her tail, looking around.

“…You’re awake.” Shadow was on one knee again, letting the raft follow the current to the dangling green vines of the lush floating island.

“Y-yeah… I had a dream… that you punched me in the gut.” She continued to bite on her tail.

He frowned, and patted her head in a scold, “Stop that.”

She pouted, but swished her tail away from her mouth.

It was like… old times.

That gave her some comfort, at least. She could barely remember everything, only that she knew Maria was dead from G.U.N. Strange… she had these random blackouts… but she only recalled that happening one other time…

“I couldn’t use Chaos Control… Your Emerald kept… shining and cancelling it out.” Shadow held up his emerald, showing that when he moved it towards her, the emerald in her chest flashed and stopped the other Emerald from activating.

“…Huh.” Ember looked down her shirt and tapped her Emerald between her chest. “I didn’t know it could act on its own.”

“It can’t.” Shadow glared, “Clearly, you don’t trust me.”

“I was asleep!” she cried out, “As were you, apparently. For 50 years!” She crossed her arms, upset by learning this.

Shadow suddenly shifted his head to her, as if he had been threatened, “How do you know that?” He looked as though he was growing defensive, but let it go as he tried to regain his calm demeanor. “I never told you that.”

“You’re probably lonely after having no one understand you until now. If that dream was real, then you carried me, and before I passed out, I was able to sense your mind remembering different events in your past. I saw them all, Shadow. Your plot for revenge, Maria… Even that Rouge girl you talked about before. And yeah, a real deep ‘technological’ sleep… By humans, might I add!” She lifted a sharply pointed finger, matter-of-factly. “And all while I was off facing wars, tracking down the killers of innocents, and treading through snow, mud, and the drops of blood from battle… Hey, Where are you taking me?” she folded her arms, leaning away.

“…Don’t do that without my permission again.”

“No promises.” She winked, but grew worried he was truly upset and dropped it.

“Rouge said Knuckles has all the 7 Chaos Emeralds. It’s impossible for you to have one embedded in your chest. He’s doing some research and wants to confirm it’s truly a Chaos Emerald.”

“And how’s he going to do that?” Ember covered her chest, blushing in embarrassment.

Shadow didn’t seem to understand and looked back to her. “What do you mean?”

They climbed up the island, her complaining and trying to explain by beating-around-the-bush what exactly that meant before Shadow looked fixated on a plane that was landed not far from the where the Master Emerald’s shrine lay.

“Not him…” he growled out, and in sheer exasperation, he turned to walk on. “Not now…”

“Whose ‘him’?” Ember dropped the conversation and grew curious, following after Shadow. “And there’s no way I’m letting him look down my-“

“Ah! If it isn’t Shadow! Huh? And company? Say, you’re not getting lonely are you, Shadow? Or maybe it’s a new recruit your training, hmm?”

A blue hedgehog turned around and folded his arms, raising an eyebrow to Ember, and poking fun immediately at Shadow.

Ember clearly saw the annoyed expression on Shadow’s face, but was impressed he didn’t say a word.

He only folded his arms and dipped his head.

She trembled in fury that he wasn’t going to explain, and exploded in rage back at the fur-ball. “FOR YOUR INFORMATION I’M HIS SISTER! AND I EXPECT SOME RESPECT BE SHOWN TO ME AND TO MY BROTHER! AND ON TOP OF THAT I WOULD NEVER JOIN THE LIKES OF THOSE HEARTLESS, MONSTEROUS, MURDERING SAVAGES!”

“W-woah… brother?” Sonic looked to Shadow, holding his hands up in hopes at calming ‘the raging beast’ down. “There’s more of you?”

Shadow looked away, sweat dropping as he grew embarrassed by her outburst. “So she tells me…”

“You know the truth!” she hollered back at him, as Tails stepped forward and bowed himself a little, giving her some respect.

“I’m Miles! Miles Prower! That biplane over there is mine.” He pointed to it. “It’s a later model, but I thought since this wasn’t a fight against Eggman, I could give it a short joy ride! For old times sakes.” He rubbed behind his head, “But you don’t need to worry about calling me Miles. Everyone just calls me by my nickname now, Tails!” he seemed excited to mention that, before stepping to the side of her, looking her over. She covered her exposed midriff, feeling vulnerable to all these people she didn’t know and trying to close herself off, before his sweet voice kinda broke her rude silence. “What’s your name?”

“Eggman?” she seemed confused, but remembered vaguely hearing about him.

Tails laughed, “No, no, no… haha! Your name!” he turned to Sonic, “She’s funny.”

Sonic shrugged, “Man, you must really hate G.U.N…” he smiled in a friendly way though.

“…Ember…” she looked away, unable to refuse him after he kindly did as she asked and showed her respect.

“Wow! That’s a really cool name! Do you have fire abilities?” He curiously wagged his tail and tilted his head. “Or maybe you’re like a phoenix. You rise from hardships and become even stronger!” he puffed up his chest and threw his arms up, trying to look tough.

She couldn’t help but think that cute but had to keep up her tough demeanor. “…Insightful.”

He grinned.

“Wait, wait, wait… hold on.” Sonic walked forward, waving his hands out in disbelief a moment and stood before Ember, making her feel like she had to be ready to attack if necessary.

“…Isn’t Shadow 50 years old… or something or other like that?” he seemed to be always joking around.

She nodded with a huff. “That’s right. I’m immortal, just like Shadow.” She folded her arms and turned away, acting above-it-all.

“Oh, really?” he leaned up, thinking her acting cute and playing along. “Well, then…” he put a hand under his chin and use the other to grip his elbow. “Excuse me for being rude… Granny.” He smirked.

She twitched a lower eyelid.

“WHAT DID YOU SAY!?”

“Enough already. Sheesh. Give a girl a break.” Rouge walked out, or what she figured would be Rouge, and looked a little more distrusting as she saw her confidently walk right up to Shadow.

Being aggressive protective of him, her only real ‘kin’ so to speak, she zipped as quickly as she could behind him, peeking out over his shoulder to her as she placed both hands on them.

“Rouge, where’s Knuckles?”

“Coming soon.” She gave him a flirty look that made Ember growl slightly. “And who’s the kid?” she curiously looked over his shoulder and smiled fondly to Ember, before crooking her neck to the side but holding eye-contact.

She turned her head, “Shy… isn’t she? A younger sibling… perhaps?” She batted her eyes to her, before flapping her wings a little. “Oh yes, I know all about you, little pretty.” She pointed to her then, “I hear you have a gem in your chest. Lucky find, but hard to retrieve.” She moved herself in a feminine way, as if calling Ember out, who looked away and sized her chest-size with hers at once, before giving up and looking away.

“Hmph!”

“Sorry, sweetie. I wasn’t looking for a fight. Besides… competition for gems can be rough for girls like us. We should be friends.”

Ember heard her alluring voice but didn’t accept that as real. She forced herself to believe that everyone around her was instantly and undeniably an enemy…

Until… proven… otherwise…

When an echidna, who she assumed to be Knuckles, came racing down the hill; she unfolded her arms and clung back to Shadow, barking at Sonic and wagging her tail at Tails in a ‘shooing’ fashion.

She only wanted her and Shadow, if you weren’t family, then get out of her circle and space!

(Author’s note: Although I’m not done with this chapter, I wanted to add that I enjoyed placing different facts and things, like shared ideas Marydragneell (the customer and original creator of Ember the Immortal Wolf) sent me so I could include them in my rendering of her story. I didn’t know how to include all of them, but I included as much as I could. I’m stilling looking for places to put things, but I think I got the majority of what I wanted to put in here ;) I think she’ll notice a ton of them! Lol Trying to make sense of Ember in the world of Sonic wasn’t too difficult, however, I did want to give logical reasons for everything she could do or was. Which is why carefully working out her backstory is helpful as I move on. I know Shadow’s reasoning seems a little on the weak side, but that’s because he’s so sure and at his core, strong enough to not care about anything other than his resolve to do what Maria asked of him. He will keep his promise, no matter what Ember’s reasons or logic are. I hope I showed that well! Okay! Back to the show!)

Knuckles saw Rouge leaning to see something behind Shadow’s back and was surprised to see Ember there.

She lightly growled and bent her ears back, looking over to him but Shadow moved away and used the side of his hand to bonk her on the head a bit, scolding her.

“You’ll remain alone if you continue to act like a wild animal.” He spoke very plainly, but you could also tell he was trying to distance himself from her.

She felt bad then, fearing he may not want her around… Did she make him uneasy? Learning about having someone from the past still alive and able to be with him today…

Was it more painful than comforting?

She held her head close to her chest where the emerald lay… he was more worried about that than personalizing her existence to himself.

She looked away, dusting her tail in a swish to cover her. She felt a little… trapped.

“It could just be an emerald made to act like a Chaos Emerald. I’ve made one of those before.” Tails interjected, looking back at Ember with a kind, reassuring smile.

Maybe he noticed she had bundled herself up a little bit in uncertainty.

But she still didn’t think she could trust him…

She turned her head further away.

“Either way, G.U.N’s on the hunt for you too.” Rouge intersected, as Ember’s eyes went wide with fury. “It may be safer if-“

There was a loud whirling in the air then, and suddenly the gang was blocking against a powerful wind and the metallic ring of machinery.

“Is it Eggman?!” Tails called out.

“No!” Sonic exclaimed, looking up to the sky, “We’ve got company!”

Missiles fell from the G.U.N helicopters, as Sonic smirked and dived for the emeralds.

“Knuckles!” He called out, but Knuckles was already protecting the Master Emerald and carrying it away from the shrine, watching the missiles damage it.

“Grr… Those… You hooligans!” his mouth fully opened to shout above the sound of the spinning turbines before a voice boomed from within one of the copters.

“SHADOW. THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING. SURRENDER THE GIRL AND RETURN TO YOUR POSITION.”

Shadow scowled, moving a hand out over Ember.

Seeing that gesture… Ember’s eyes shook, being extremely touched that he still wanted to protect her, even if he was uncomfortable with her existence being made known to him again.

Her eyes grew a bit glossy, missing the feeling of having someone there for you… someone to protect you… just as much…

As you wanted to protect and serve them.

She felt her emerald glow and suddenly her eyes flash black, covering the whole of her eye sockets, and then her body blaze with white.

She flew up to the helicopters, actually feeling she had control over this form, and shot out a powerful move, “Chaos Slash!”

A helicopter was perfectly split in two, and the pressure kept the two parts moving away from the other, before the pilot ejected along with his gunners. While they parachuted down, the copter exploded, and the Chaos Emeralds shone brightly once again.

“Hey!”

Ember turned around.

She wasn’t expecting the former blue hedgehog to turn a golden gleam, even less expecting that he’d charge into her.

“Ah!”

“You can’t hurt people!”

“W-woah! HEY! Geeeeettt offff!!”

He was pushing her far away from the island, but she threw him behind her, turning around to fight him if needs be.

“Ember!”

She widened her eyes again to the familiar tone of voice, but when seeing Shadow’s colors change and him charge her too, she felt almost betrayed.

“Enough!”

He spun a kick at her, plummeting her through the sky and straight for the ocean.

She began to cry as the wind whipped past her on her decent…

… Why… would he attack me?

Why… did he care so much over that filth’s lives?

G.U.N was a monster.

Why did these two… how did they transform? How did she get this power? It wasn’t like when her emerald overacted the last few times…

Shadow…

Did he love murderers more than…

Than his family?

…Maria…

She gritted her teeth and shut her eyes as she hit the ocean’s floor.

She allowed herself to sink.

Maybe she could just… slip away.

That would make Shadow happy…

Wouldn’t it?

The last of Gerald Robotnik’s creations… he would live out the rest of his days being the last.

Wouldn’t that ease her pain.

Knowing she wasn’t causing pain or discomfort to anybody else.

Then there was a bright light.

Her body faded back to it’s original form before a huge claw, below an even larger net, broke the water’s surface and came in after her.

* * *

“Her name is Ember. For she is the beginnings of my experimentation into immortality for all humankind! Go on, she’s not perfectly harmless but…”

Ember slowly blinked her eyes open, the world was blurry… and she couldn’t decipher all the images around her.

She shook her head back and forth slowly, feeling each muscle and tension squeeze or release in them.

Life was strange… existence was memorizing.

She looked up to see a pair of blue eyes, the first color she noticed in waking up for the first time.

“…Gentle now. She’s unused to her surroundings.”

“She’s… Beautiful.”

That voice… was soft and loving.

She gravitated to it at once.

Ember lifted her a moment.

“Careful!”

A hand quickly strapped it down, and she could feel the added weight and limitation.

She didn’t know what she did wrong, or even what ‘wrong’ was.

She moved and she was restrained, so she felt that was life. For what was normal?

“Grandpa!” Maria exclaimed, still holding Ember’s head and positioning her and her upper back on her lap. “She didn’t do anything wrong! She was just trying to explore!”

“Her claws were given her for your protection, Maria! I won’t allow her to unknowingly harm you. You’re frail as it is and—“

“Grandpa… please… Give her a chance to say hello.”

Ember closed her eyes, feeling weary suddenly, before feeling the strap loosen from her arm.

“…You’re far too kind and trusting, Maria… I would warn you… but I fear you’ll only reprehend me back.” There was a small noise, a chuckle? Was he happy? Content?

She twitched out a finger, testing her limits, before turning her sleepy head back to the form of the girl.

“…Hello, Ember.” Maria smiled, like a loving mother or angel over her head.

Ember wouldn’t know it, but when the time came for Maria to smile to Shadow like that, she would be insanely jealous, wishing to have Maria never cease to smile to her like that.

She would love to remember that that smile never did leave her side.

But when Shadow first woke, that smile was for him and him alone.

Maria claimed to never have favorites.

But Ember always knew… She was the puppy,… and Shadow…

Shadow was her favorite.

Shadow was hers.

* * *

“Subject contained, wearing a red cloak, heavy dark boots with straps, and fingerless gloves. Subject appears to be waking up, standby for quarantine.”

“Emm… huh?”

Opening her eyes, Ember was in some sort of cargo-transport. She could feel it shifting in the air, as though she was being pulled away by helicopter.

Where was Shadow? The others? Though she didn’t really care about the others, but all she could remember was the sinking of falling into a vast ocean…

She touched her head, shaking it before sharpening her claws, looking at the metal around her.

“Pfft. If they think I’m going through isolation again…” she spat out to herself, leaning back and relaxing a minute. She usually sharpened her claws when she was bored… but this… was for a purpose.

Shreek.

Shreek.

Shreek.

“Subject appears to be sharpening long claws on her fingernails.”

Tip, tip, tip.

“Subject is flicking thumb and index finger against the surface of those nails. Small sparks are being created… wait a minute—”

She smirked.

“Dumb human.”

When the crate was about to land, there was a sudden hold up from the helicopter.

The crate was suddenly thrust into by large claws, shredding their way down the sides and frightening all who were ready to engage out on the landing dock.

It was inside the G.U.N, heavily-guarded artillery base. Retrieving her hand back, Ember continued to shred from the inside out the metal surrounding her imprisonment, before crying out another Chaos Slash and exploding the remaining container.

She dropped with the floor of the crate down as lights flashed on and sirens roared to life.

She bent her knees, holding her hands out to defend herself whichever way anything was about to come.

“Subject loose! Repeat! Subject not contained!”

“Who’s first?”

As the bullets and other such explosives rose around her, she covered her face and laughed.

“Child’s play!”

She jumped up and slashed through launchers and other canon fire, the machine gun getting knocked out by the repercussion.

“I’ve been wanting to slaughter your sorry butts for a long time now!” Ember was having a field day, destroying all their machines with agile accurately, although it looked like she was just quickly racing around on all fours and being unpredictable.

She was actually bidding her time… waiting…

“General!”

“I know! I know!”

Cocking his pistol, the General swiftly moved down the stairs and sternly walked through the demolition of his forces, having a handful of men protecting him before he fired a shot and hit her arm.

“Ack!”

She spun around, her tail quickly lifting up behind her as she hunched over and held it.

“You…” Her cape swiped back to her side as an explosion went off to the side of her.

He slowly lowered his gun.

“You know I can’t let you live with the knowledge you possess about Code Blue.”

“...”

Ember just kept a small look of resentment. Her eyes slightly honed in on him… and the revolver in his hand.

“A pistol?” she laughed, shaking her head. “You guys were all about hiding your mistakes… but if Code Blue stands for what you did to Maria and Gerald Robotnik…”

“He was a mad man. She was an unfortunate causality in a list of-“

Ember’s head shot straight up to silence him.

“…I know… I saw that list… I saw their cold bodies being warmed by the fresh blood on their faces… I saw how you ‘clean up’ your messes… and I’ll dish out the same justice.”

She got up, beginning to walk towards him.

He staggered back.

“You don’t want to do this!”

He cried out, remaining in his place as many more men went to cover him, aiming red dots all along her body…

Rage filled her eyes, she wasn’t going to stop now.

“I knew them by name… you didn’t even look twice.”

She positioned herself for a Chaos Slash, but a noise stopped her.

Something crashed through the ceiling and landed straight between her and the General’s gap apart.

“…Shadow?”

Super Shadow slowly rose up from his knee, glaring in all seriousness at her.

“I’ve got G.U.N.” Super Sonic was behind him, facing the general, but looking over his shoulder to Shadow.

For the first time, she saw seriousness in his face too.

“What’s going on? Why are you protecting them again!?” Ember roared, feeling the emerald in her chest begin to feed a dark power into her…

She didn’t want to lose control in front of Shadow… not again.

Sonic smirked and waved to her, before charging into the fray with the rest of G.U.N.

“Hey! Let’s not disrupt the family reunion!”

“Sonic!? Cease this instant!”

“Not likely! You’re willing to hurt another little girl? Shame on you!”

He spun through their tanks and other machines they were wheeling out into the open indoor area, as the general was rushed away from the scene.

“No!” Ember saw him being forced to retreat and quickly leaped to follow, but Shadow jumped to speedily grab her by the waist and throw her down.

“I didn’t mean to knock you out.”

“Wait!? Let me go!”

“I… I can’t do that.”

“You..! You’re the real reason why they’re able to get away with all these killings! It’s you! It’s you, it’s you, it’s you!”

She struggled, fighting him as he kept her pinned down.

“…You fight like a child.”

“I’m your little sister! But I was made first! Why is that!? Why did Maria choose to be protected by you!? I was made to defend her! I had the claws! I was supposed to be with her and you were supposed to be for Gerald’s experiments! Why!? Why did she pick you!?”

Ember began to cry, shaking her head as Shadow’s professional uncaring look suddenly bent into one of passionate sorrow.

“You’re… You’re just… letting her killers go.”

He looked to her hands,… seeing the sharp, long claws on the ends of them.

“You… You’re failing her. Cause you weren’t designed to protect her! You were designed to cure her! Make her immortal! All humans—Evil, stinkin’ humans—Immortal! Only Maria should have been like us! Only Maria should have been spared!”

She kicked and squirmed again.

“If Maria knew what they were like-RAUGH! Then… Then she would approve of-!”

“No. She wouldn’t have. She knew.”

Shadow pulled her hand to his head, as she gripped it and pierced her claws down into his skull.

He twitched at the pain, before the anger in Ember suddenly died down… and she leaned up.

“Shadow… what are you-?”

“Look… into… my mind.”

He squinted through the pain, barely able to speak through it as her claws were crushing into his head.

“…See… Maria’s… Last wish…”

She couldn’t look away… what was he thinking?

She gulped and closed her eyes, loosening her hold on his head as she breathed faintly to try and stop herself from crying any further.

* * *

Sirens.

Panting.

Shadow awoke to being inside a containment pod.

He cried out her name.

Standing at a distance, near the ejection switch, she held her chest where a bullet had recently pierced…

“Shadow… I beg of you… Please do it for me. For a better future.”

“MARIA!”

“For all the people… on that planet…”

She softly let out a faint breath, trying to breathe.

“My planet…”

“No! Stop! Maria!”

The doors were about to be crushed off their hinges, and soon, a swarm of G.U.N soldiers were about to appear…

“…give them a chance to be happy. Let them live for their dreams… Shadow, I know you can do it.” She slightly fell to her knees, before willing herself back up, hearing the doors being to budge, and looking back at them.

She looked to Shadow with fear.

“Maria!!!”

He wanted to throw her in the capsule, not him! He wanted to die in her place, not her!

ANYTHING BUT HER!

“That’s… the reason you why… you were brought into this world.” She leaned on the control panel, coughing.

Everything in him loved her, and wanted nothing more than for her to not suffer. He threw back his fists and pounded them into the capsule, but the pod never even shook, only toned out a mellow sound to show the impact had landed.

He was… useless to stop her.

“Sayonara… Shadow The Hedgehog.”

“Maria… I…”

Shadow reached a hand out to her.

Just like upon his awakening… she rose her hand, and smiled.

Just before the capsule took off, her body leaned and he saw her fall on the switch, her eyes losing the radiant shine of her life.

He never saw the body hit the floor… as the capsule was launched away.

“MAAAARRRRIIIIAAA!!!”

* * *

“I promised her. You need to do the same.”

“Dreams..? Happy..? What about our happiness!? Our dream!? We wanted to be on earth with her! We wanted… we wanted her to live…”

Ember pulled and tugged her claws out from his head, as he reeled back in pain and gripped it.

“Shadow…”

Her eyes watered again, seeing the pain she gave him.

“I’m… I’m a monster…”

“No… If Maria loved you…”

Through the pain and blood she couldn’t see through his quills, he squinted his eyes to look back at her.

“Then you were worth the whole of the world to her. You were not a monster!”

It was as if he was also addressing himself, pulling Ember up by her arms and shaking her.

“You are part of her family!”

“Shadow!”

Sonic called, flying into view and looking back behind him.

“They’ve taken the whole place into a shutdown! They said something about being compromised? Whatever that is. We probably should head out though.” He looked to Ember. “Yikes, she looks shook.”

“Enough games.” Shadow glared up to him, “Take my sister and get out of here.”

“What about you!?” She ripped his arms right back, that look of not wanting to lose anything precious to her again still apparent in their fear…

He tenderly looked back, but then closed his eyes to open them in a return of his old stoic ways.

But something had changed in his tone of voice, and she knew he was accepting her now.

“Make that promise to Maria… I’ll be back.” He lightly placed a hand on her own, holding his arm before slowly moving it away, and then getting up.

“Trust Sonic… He may be a clown at times… but…” he looked up to Sonic, who was slowly coming down to stand before the two.

He smiled and put a hand to his hip, waiting to hear how Shadow would finish that last comment.

“…He’s still a hero to this world.” He smiled, a mutual respect as Sonic nodded.

“Geez, Shadow. That’s the first kind thing you’ve said to me.”

“Don’t let it get to your head, Hedgehog.”

“Save me the sentiment. I’ll only say that you’re not half bad yourself. Although mostly an angsty brooder.”

He looked annoyed with an unamused face to Sonic, who only grinned widely and then offered Ember his hand.

“Shall we? It’s nice to see Shadow finally found himself a little sister. I think every dude wishes he had one just as cute.” He tilted his head and closed his eyes, showing some trust and kindness to her.

She pouted, “… I’m… I’m not a child!” she took his hand, and Sonic helped get her into a bridal position in his arms before looking to Shadow.

The two nodded, and Shadow raced off further into G.U.N.

“Why won’t he let me go with him?”

“…Because you haven’t made that promise to Maria in your heart yet.”

Sonic looked back at her.

“Before, we lost track of which helicopter you were in. So Shadow took down, single-handedly, each copter they flew in the sky.”

Sonic relayed the story as he flew out, while Ember clung to him as she listened carefully… cautious as to not dig her sharpened claws into his hide…

She pressed her head against his chest and listened… much like a child.

“He interrogated the crews. Tied them up and shouted in their faces. Heh. We were all pretty surprised he cared so much. It was if Maria had reappeared to him, and now, he wasn’t going to lose her twice.”

Ember’s face shifted into pure shock and love. She had no idea… maybe he wasn’t as uncomfortable with her as she had supposed.

“He was… protective?”

“Huh? Oh… hmm… I think he was just worried about ya.”

Sonic continued to fly off, as Ember felt her body losing its power, slowly slipping off into sleep.

“But I could tell something had changed in Shadow. It was like he had a purpose again. Someone to protect. He found out where they were taking you and what tactic they used to get away from us. He felt horrible about using so much power and force on you. He thought, if you were like him, then he needed to be aggressive and strong. After all, it wasn’t easy changing Shadow’s heart. He was a real power-house. But… I guess you are slightly different. Since you are Shadow’s sister, you must equal his power, and maybe he was a bit too much…”

“…It didn’t hurt that badly…”

Ember looked away.

“I just… I gave up.”

Sonic looked down at her, and then smiled.

“Well, I know you’re both siblings but… can’t you stop fighting enough to realize that you two care a lot about finding the other?”

She smiled and let out a sigh, falling to sleep.

“Thanks… Hero.”

“Heh, don’t mention it!”

Sonic winked down to her, before seeing her close her eyes.

“Oh? You’re not falling asleep now are ya? Aww… and I wanted to talk more.” He acted bummed out, but she peeked an eye open to see him smiling and flying faster now.

“Don’t worry… I don’t think Shadow’s gonna leave you behind anytime soon.”

When she woke up the next morning, Shadow was standing a little ways away from her.

He turned and smiled to her.

“…I promise.”

She gave him the same smile back.

(This was a really fun adventure! I think it was important to relive Maria over and over again to establish how much the character meant to Ember just as much as she meant to Shadow. I wanted to nail the feels, lol xD But another thing is that Ember needed to let go of the past just like Shadow did. He understood that, and by giving her a memory she never had before, I felt like did the trick. This was fun and Ember was always a delight to write! Thanks for everything and I hope you enjoyed your commission! ^^ Please remember to give me a review of the experience and also please look through and tell me if there’s anything you wish to edit as well! This is the end of the story, hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!!!)

Fires from Embers

(Bonus Chapter)

By: Cutegirlmayra (For Mary! :D)

“I don’t understand.” Ember held her arm and lightly scratched at it with her sharp nails, being careful not to damage herself, but still looking antsy.

“You’ve given me your memories, although you have a mutual respect for Sonic, you yourself aren’t very close to him. So then… why do you think it’s a good idea for me to spend time with his team?” she raised an eyebrow and held her hand up in a light shrug of curiosity. “I want to spend more time with you-“

“Enough.” Shadow stopped walking as she abruptly halted from behind and to the side of him. He tilted his head back to her, over his shoulder, as he addressed her again, “You have a lot to learn. All that anger for humanity… you need something Sonic and his friends have reminded and taught me further of…. You need to learn the significance of this planet.” He then looked forward. “Of humans… and their dreams.”

“Dreams?”

It was an odd thing to her. Usually, her dreams would consist of nightmares from past, perfect memories.

She looked down, saddened that Shadow still saw her as something needing correction. All she wanted to feel like she had some of her family again.

Then again, his rough exterior wasn’t much compared to his melancholy nature when she last saw him 50 years ago.

He’s lost a lot… so has she… yet she can still smile and joke around at times. He seems to only smile when it’s appropriate or acceptable too.

He’s so choosy with these things…

As they approached Sonic’s best friend’s house, Tails the Fox, she worriedly fixed her attire and tried to look presentable.

‘This was the fox that was nice to her… or, relatively kind back at the floating island.’ She reminded herself.

She sucked her lips in and tried not to breathe as the door opened, and Tails looked puzzled to see her.

“Oh, hello.” He looked to Shadow, then smiled weakly. “W-what can I do for you?”

“I need Ember to spend time with your ideologies.” Shadow placed a hand on Ember’s back…

…And pushed her into Tails’s home.

“W-woah!” she fell, landing on the poor fox and having dizzy eyes as Shadow lowered his seemingly uncaring eyelids and looked down with authority over Ember.

“Learn all you can. I’ll be back before the month has passed.” He then turned around and called out, “Chaos Control!”

“He had that this whole time?!”

He vanished with a brilliant flash of green.

Tails held his head, still a bit dizzy himself before shaking his head to balance himself. He looked around and then to Ember, seeming apologetic and also a little frantically worried.

“W-wai-wait! I can’t just-! You can’t-!” he flew up and looked out the door, seeming concerned. “Shadow!!! She’s your sister! Don’t just…” he slowly turned to look back at Ember.

She had curled herself up with her tail cutely wrapping around her legs in front of her, whimpering and tearing up with big, chibi-anime eyes as her ears flopped down on the side of her face.

“He abandoned me…” she whined out, clearly upset by his dismissal of her into unknown company.

Sweat-dropping in clear awkwardness, Tails hung his head down and sighed, closing the door. “Want some ice cream?” he smiled.

Later that day, Tails turned on a record and played some music, heading to the garage and offering her any of the books on his shelves to read while he worked.

After a few hours, he turned the drill off and sighed, wiping some gunk from his face and rubbing the oil-stained cloth all over his face before breathing in that tainted air and sighing in relief.

“Done~” he looked satisfied, before realizing something was echoing from inside the house.

“H-Huh?” his ears perked and twisted a little back to try and hear better.

It was so faint, so he quietly spun his tails and slowly made his way to the door, creaking it open with a soft turn of the handle. He was being careful not to make too much sound to startle her, but also to hear more clearly what she was singing…

Sweet is the winter,… Calm is the thunder… And don’t you cry~ Mother is here now… To bring in the spring and create the things of life~ Rain, rain, rain… Do you remember the warm rain? Be patient, my child, and sing without guile. Bittersweet is the spring, that carries in the breeze… Calmed by the melting snow… And don’t~ you~ cry~

“Wow.” Tails smiled and flew into the room, spooking Ember who was sitting on an armrest near the record which kept spinning but didn’t make any more sound.

Frazzled, she jumped up and blinked her eyes, blocking with her arms before swiping her index-claws together up and down. “S-so-sorry… I… It stopped singing so I…”

“Is that your favorite song?” Tails glided down then, and walked over to the record player, taking the tonearm and placing it off the record.

“I…” she looked down and away, being strangely shy, and not knowing how much information to tell him.

But… what could be the harm in talking about music? She had a deep passion for it… although… music meant something entirely different to her.

“…I only know one song…” She admitted, and again, embarrassedly clicked her two claws together as she blushed shyly and looked away.

She clicked them right near her nose,… making some faint sparks by her eyes and pretending to not be afraid of getting burned…

“O-oh.” Tails crooked his neck to the side, thinking it odd she hadn’t heard other songs before. “Have you ever thought about listening to them? Or making your own?”

“My… own?”

“Tails!”

“Sonic!”

Suddenly, a gust of wind blasted Tails’s door open, shocking her out of her thoughts and having Tails look ecstatic to see his friend.

He flew up to him and to two high fived.

“What’s up?” Tails greeted, chuckling a little before Sonic nodded to him.

“This.” He held up a letter. “My folks found me. I’m not sure how to respond, but they’re coming down in hopes of hanging out and catching up. I’m not much of a talker but…” He scratched his head, looking at the letter.

Tails scoffed, “Sonic? Not being able to brag and boast about his many epic adventures?” he folded his arms, landing by the door as Sonic smirked to him and then looked over to Ember, losing the smile.

“Woah, you have company!”

“How unobservant of you,” Tails smiled, teasing and closing the door. “That’s really why you should knock before barging into people’s houses, Sonic. At least call first.”

Sonic made a face, before walking happily over to Ember and offering her his hand. “Sonic. But we’ve met.” He winked, trying to be charming.

“H-hello.” She looked away, not sure how to feel about him.

“H-huh?” He blinked his eyes, not sure why she didn’t take his hand. He looked back to Tails, a playful smile on his face, “Looks like I’m not the only guest who doesn’t talk much.” He snickered to himself as Tails rolled his eyes, used to Sonic’s joking and smiling along with him.

“She’s a singer.” Tails pointed out, as Ember flinched with him so willingly giving such personal information out like that.

Maybe she should have been more careful…

“Really?” Sonic cocked an eyebrow up, getting an idea… “My folks are musical. Hey, that’s it!” he snapped his fingers, “We can play in a band again! That’s how I’ll avoid conversation!”

“You’re really funny, you know that, Sonic?” Tails looked slightly amused at seeing Sonic struggle for ‘activities’ to do with his family, but figured Sonic just wasn’t very social about these things.

“So, when are they coming?”

“Soon. Hey, Ember… right?” Sonic scooted his foot closer to her, making her nervous before he bent his head down to match her lowered gaze.

This also startled her, and she regrettably felt a reflex to stab at his stomach.

“You wouldn’t mind singing with us, would you? I mean, if you don’t mind.” He rubbed the back of his head.

She didn’t even have time to speak and say ‘NO!’ before another Pink Hedgehog raced in.

“SONIC!!!”

“Ah! Gotta run! See you in a couple of weeks!” Sonic quickly dashed out the back window and took off lickety-split.

“Huh? See….” She stopped herself, taken aback before shifting her eyes slowly to Ember. “YOU!?” she pointed dramatically to Ember, “Who are you!? And what are you to my Sonic!?”

Her Sonic?

Ember lowered her eyelids in annoyance.

They seem made for each other… what, with all their assumptions and what not.

“Amy, wait! This is Shadow’s sister-“

“Shadow has a sister?” Amy withdrew her finger, which Ember was strangely tempted to chomp at, but withheld herself as Amy did take it away…

“Well… this is kinda recent news. It happened a while back…” Tails also seemed to pull back and withdraw into himself, blinking a little more and sweating harder.

What was this girl’s deal?

Amy placed her hands on her hips, and turned to give a scrutinizing eye up and down Ember’s body.

“Hmm… Well, then. Let’s make one thing very clear then.” She straightened herself up and gave a pleasing smile, offering her hand. “I’m Amy Rose! Official Girlfriend of Sonic The Hedgehog.” She closed her eyes and said this proudly, as if she had worked all her life for that title.

“…Self-proclaimed.” Tails coughed into his hand, “Sorry, cold.” He made an excuse when she glared over her shoulder to him, but then snickered silently and pointed to his throat for only Ember to see, then pretended to strangle himself, as if stating Amy was a bit much for him.

Ember pfft’d, but tried to hold it in.

“What? You think it’s funny?” Amy furrowed her eyebrows, pouting a minute as Ember put her tongue to the side of her cheek.

“Nnnnothing.” She responded, and then smirked slyly back to her. “I just think it’s funny your boyfriend left on such short-notice.”

She blushed in embarrassment, as Tails covered his mouth in shock before slapping his knee and holding in his snickering.

“Shut up, Tails!” Amy turned around, growing upset.

“Hey! Don’t bark at me!” Tails held up his hands defensively. “You saw where he went…”

“Hmph!” Amy started for the door. “I saw him coming here, I just wanted to say hi!”

“Some ‘hi’.” Tails looked sarcastically to Ember, who continued to hold in her laughter.

“OOOOooooOOOhhhhHHH.” Amy whined out, her signature cry, before racing off. “I’ll be back!!!”

“That’s her way of saying, ‘nice to meet you’.” Tails informed, “She was just riled up from seeing Sonic. He did leave pretty fast, and in an extreme fashion…” Tails looked awkwardly back to his window. He sighed, “You’ll have to excuse them. This is kinda a normal occurrence with those two.” He twisted to turn back and look to her before gesturing an arm out in apology.

“Is she always this… um…” Ember didn’t know how to put it, sucking her lower lip in, and trying to think of a ‘polite’ way to say it.

“Proud?”

“No.”

“Direct?”

“Nu-huh.”

“Entitled?” Tails kept going, as if none of these words were new to him.

Ember laughed.

“Hey! I finally got you to laugh!” Tails looked thrilled, but his enthusiasm bothered Ember and she quickly quieted down again.

“I was just gonna say much… Ehem.” She continued, “I guess ‘dramatic’ would be a good way to put it.”

Tails noticed her shift, and pulled back, bending his ears to try and give her some space. “R-right. That is a good word.” He smiled again and gestured to the couch. “Uhh… I know it’s not usually right but… Amy kinda left before I could ask you to bunk with her. I’ll make a call, and until then, you can room on the couch for now if you like.” He tried to be hospitable, and Ember appreciated it.

“Sure.” She nodded, and went to take a small nap.

---

Not too long after that, Ember was working on lyrics, not sure how to do music quite yet until Amy came in with breakfast.

“So, you said Shadow wanted you to learn the importance of something found here on earth?” She dusted off her hands on her apron, as Ember began to touch and test the food, seeing it didn’t look disgusting, and began to eat it. “Did he mention why? Or what?”

“Dreams.” She responded, not caring about being secretive anymore. Besides, Shadow would pick her up eventually. She was assured by his parting words.

If he was just abandoning her, he wouldn’t have given her a set amount of time.

She slurped up her eggs and began devouring her ham sandwich, then started to sip at the milk.

“Wow, you sure eat a lot.” Amy giggled, “That’s good! I once heard something from a show or… was it an article? Men like women with a big appetite!”

“I don’t think I care much about those things.” She took the napkin and happily began to shred it, liking the noise and fiddling with something her claws could do, as Amy looked a bit horrified by the image.

She looked straight at Amy.

Amy looked straight at her, then the napkin.

Lifting another napkin up, Ember never broke her creepy smile or eye contact as she raised her nail to the paper napkin… and gently stripped it down to cut the napkin in two.

She placed it by her side and then entangled her fingers together, politely leaning over her empty plate.

“That was delicious!”

“Emm…hmm…” Amy shivered in fright, before quickly pointing to the plate.

“Yes, I’d love some more.”

Amy took the plate and quickly stopped talking to her, giving Ember a rather quiet day, which was kinda what she wanted.

Lifting her feet up on the table, Ember flipped through channels, leaving scratch and jabbed marks on the buttons and device, but finding something she enjoyed and watched as people sang on t.v.

Amy was doing dishes, before hearing the channels finally rest on something and sticking her head out.

“…You like music?”

Turning a little defensive, Ember decided she had scared Amy enough today with intimidation and just remained silent. She lifted a leg over the other and kept them off the ground still.

She tried to relax, but Amy made her nervous for some reason… maybe it was because she was so… so… open about her life? Herself? Maybe she slightly envied that in her.

“…Well.” Amy walked over the T.V, turning it off and looking sternly to Ember.

This new direction made her lower her feet from the table.

“Oh, thank you.” Amy saw the unpredictable movement of her taking her feet off her lovely table and was a little surprised by it, but continued as she folded her arms. “I’ve been nothing but kind to you! The least you can do is let me help you out!”

“…Huh?” Ember was under the impression she had been helping her this whole time…

“My dream. Let me tell you about my dream.”

“I’d… rather not.” Ember sunk into the couch, before Amy came over and excitedly sat next to her.

Was that intimidation not enough?

Ember was hoping to wait out the time and just get back with Shadow, pretending to have learned something and spout out general things just to continue traveling with him.

But no…

No, there was Sonic and his friends…

They seemed determined to get her to open and liven up around them.

She sighed as Amy continued, “I want more than anything to marry Sonic The Hedgehog!”

Ember thought that odd, and put a hand to her cheek, leaning on the couch.

“Okay.”

“But that means more than just being with Sonic.”

“…?”

“My dream can only be realized if Sonic understands how much we both need each other.”

Amy looked up above the fire place at many photos of her friends and her with Sonic.

“Sonic wants a carefree life, and I want more than anything to be with him. In order for both of us to have what we dream of, we need to find ways that we both can be happy living and being the way we are.”

She closed her eyes and smiled, as Ember wasn’t sure if she understood that… but seeing Amy’s sudden passion and drive…

It slightly… moved her.

“One day, you’ll meet someone that you want to share your dreams with, too.” Amy opened her eyes and rose her head to once again give Ember an incredibly unselfish smile, full of grace and unconditional love. “I hope you’ll find ways to be happy too. Living both your lives the way you wish too. The way you dream it to be.”

“The way I… dream it… to be.” Ember looked down and daydreamed about her and Shadow, living peacefully as a family, and taking care of one another.

A sudden understanding rose in her like a wave upon the shore, and she nodded with a new found energy inside of her. “I think I get it!” she picked up her notepad that Tails had given her and wrote some lyrics down.

“Hmm?” Amy peeked over to see her notes.

Twisting and falling in a sea of oceans, I find my memories~ Threaded and woven into shreds that bleed my anxiety~ I long for your dream. Whatever it is, I’ll seize it through any means~ I want a dream~ I want you!~

Amy’s eyebrow twitched, thinking the lyrics a little punk rock or dark.

---

Back with Tails, it was getting close to the time that Sonic’s friends would show up.

Ember watched the clock, still unsure if Sonic still thought she’d sing in his family’s band.

She looked over at Tails, deciding the time would go faster if she spoke with him.

He was cleaning some dishes at the open kitchen and cleared her throat, getting his attention as he looked up.

“Hmm? Did you need something?”

She placed the book she was pretending to read down and tried her best to not look scary, “…What’s your dream?”

He froze up a moment, startled she supposed, before dropping a plate into the sink and quivering in nerves.

“W-w-wha-what brought that out… all of a sudden..?”

“May I know?”

She tried to look innocently inquiring, but she wasn’t sure why she felt she needed too. Were dreams meant to be secretive?

“…My dream? Hmm..” Tails thought about it. He looked up and absentmindedly began to speak out loud, rubbing a plate he had picked up from the dirty, soapy dishes below in his sink. “I guess… to be of use to my friends and Sonic! I used to be bullied a lot as a kid… so…” he nodded and smiled kindly over to her. “Definitely to be an asset to the team!”

“…To not be lonely again?”

“Ah!”

He dropped another plate, having it splatter into the water and wet his face. Luckily, it didn’t break, but he rubbed the water off his fur and looked a little nervous to reply to her.

“I… Um… p-perhaps? Haha…”

Maybe that was too direct or personal.

“Hmm…” she took out her notepad and began to write.

“Oh! My notepad!” Excitedly, Tails flew up a little and looked over her head from in front of her. “I’m glad you found it useful! … huh?”

Am I just a burden, to your living nightmares? Tell me where I need to go? Tell me where I need to be? There’s only one hope left for me. I must survive~ I must thrive~ To keep your sacred dreams alive. Tell me what’s your dream? Whatever it is, I’ll seize it through any means~ I want a dream~ I want you!~ And I want to be of use~ To you~

Tails shook a little in the air, clearly spooked a little but happy she was writing something. “S..Song.. lyrics?”

“Hmm.” She nodded, sucking her lips in.

Do or die, you will survive. I’ll never give up, even through countless lies. These dreams we carry, it’s much to heavy, but I’ll push you through, till the battle’s, murders, are done and over!

“This sounds good.” She smiled, seeming to really connect to it all, but Tails slowly shied away, unable to handle words like ‘murder’ and ‘die’.

---

Finally, the hour came and Sonic joked and laughed, seeming at ease with talking although Ember silently knew the truth of his comfortability with seeing them all again.

She kept mostly away from them, until food was served, and helped Tails and Amy pass out food.

She was looking for one last plate to hand out, not sure where the guest was, considering Sonic said he had a brother who was hiding out somewhere in the other rooms.

The garage was fashioned into a ‘concert’ of sorts, and she decided it was best to check there.

Opening the door, she heard the tapping of some metal and closed the door behind her, seeing a green hedgehog making a rhythm on the constructed band set.

He was playing drums, or rather, was in front of the drums and tapping a stick to the most annoying part of it; the cymbal.

Her ears hooked back at each ‘ting’ or ‘clank’ it made before clearing her throat and handing him the plate.

“Here.”

“Oh? My bad, miss.” He certainly looked like someone was a past era, the way he dressed and held himself.

He took the plate but flinched back.

“Y’ouch! Plate scratched me, man!” he looked at his hands, a cut had noticeably formed and was bleeding as Ember put the plate down and quickly looked at her claw.

She had accidentally scratched him while trying to hand him the plate!

“I’m sorry.” She held her finger, not sure what to do but quickly turned to get help.

“Woah! Hold your horses, cowgirl.” He pulled her back, and the sudden touch of someone’s hand on her arm unwillingly froze in her in mid-step.

No one had touched her for a long time… she was living on her own, after all… all those years…

Even this time with the Sonic gang… them laughing and smiling with her… They never really approached or touched her either.

She wanted to yank her arm back, but something about the way he held her arm left her completely in the blank, and she just stared at his hand, listening…

“It’s only a scratch. Those are some rad, long nails you got there! Freaky~” he snickered, only trying to compliment.

She grew self-conscious and looked away. “Sorry.”

“Nah, dudette. You’re alright. Battle scars are cool.” He licked his finger and then pulled out something to wrap it in. “It’s not very deep. Man, you must sharpen them like blades! How long you’ve had them?”

“What?” she didn’t understand, and lifted one hand up to show him her claws. “I was… created with them.”

“No, no, man! Haha! I mean the length. Do you trim’em?”

She didn’t know why she laughed, but the two of them started bursting out laughing.

He put a hand to his forehead, “Haha! You must be Sonic’s friend. I’m Manic. Lil Sis in there is Sonia. Though she’s not really lil, we’re all triplets. Spooky, right?” he twiddled his fingers in front of himself, then snickered to himself again, putting his hands to his sides. “Man. You’re chill. What’s your name?”

“..Ember.”

“Epic band name. Sick.” He gave her the finger guns, and she thought that so weird but strangely cool when he did it.

“Do you play, my dudette?”

“Your?” she raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, my bad… uh… Ems. Do you play?” he gestured to the instruments. “I prefer drums, here!” he raced to the seat as she thought over his strange, and quickly inspired nickname for her.

“Listen to this!” He lifted up his sticks, tapping them three times before playing a fast-paced drum beat.

It was… loud… but wonderfully rhythmatic.

She smiled as he finished it off and then tossed his stick, grabbing it backwards and handing her the front of it.

“Here you go.”

She only stared at it a moment.

“Don’t worry, just try it out for size! It’s amazing what one little tap of this baby can do.”

She carefully took the stick in two fingers, pulling it out delicately as to not scratch him again, and then started tapping the cymbal.

“Yeah… real nice beat.” He nodded.

“Hehe, thanks.” She couldn’t help but find him charming.

He leaned forward a bit, “I guess your instrument isn’t drums?”

“Nah.” She smiled, then tapped his nose with the stick, “Guess.”

He looked completely smitten by that action, and immediately started listed a ton of instruments. “You don’t look like a violin kind of girl… Guitar? Bass? Tell me it’s… Oh, not the triangle.” He covered his head as she shook hers, giggling and leaning over the drums.

After a moment, he was officially stumped, and she pointed to her throat.

“Woah, Ems, hang on… you’re…” he pointed to her. “…A yodeler?”

She laughed, “What!? No! I sing!”

He smiled, seeing she liked his little joke. “Right. I should have guessed! The instrument of the soul, man.” He tapped his forehead and then gestured out to her.

She thought that funny, “Soul?”

“Yo, Ems. Got any music for your soul-song?”

She looked down, almost saddened, “I barely have a dream to give it.”

“Woah, deep.” He placed a hand on his heart. “You know, dreams are meant to be played through and learned from. It sometimes takes a band to play your soul-music, Ember. Allow me.” He spun his one drumstick, and offered her his hand to take the other. “To demonstrate~” he winked to her, with as much charm as his brother usually showed off as well.

Creating a phenomenal beat, Ember tossed the notebook and sang the last part with all her might, grabbing the mic as Sonic and the others came down into the garage, picking an instrument up and picking up where they left off.

Tell me what it’s supposed to mean? The meaning of a soul? The loneliness frightens me, I need your dream to breathe! Ohh-ooohh-oh-oh! ohoh~ Gather family and friends, loves ones- come and see! I’ve found, at long last a dream. Now that I know what it is, I’ll seize it through any means~ I want this dream~ I want to be, with, you!~ Ohh-oooh-oh-oh! Ohoh~

“Girl got some lungs!” Manic praised, as Sonia nodded in agreement.

“She would be fantastic as a career girl!” Sonia clapped for her as Amy drooled over Sonic, who tried to ignore her and turn his attentions to Ember.

“Want to go again?” he offered her his hand.

With a new resolve, Ember nodded confidentially, and took his hand.

I want to make more dreams with you!

Songs:

- Sweet is the winter,… Calm is the thunder… And don’t you cry~ Mother is here now… To bring in the spring and create the things of life~ Rain, rain, rain… Do you remember the warm rain? Be patient, my child, and sing without guile. Bittersweet is the spring, that carries in the breeze… Calmed by the melting snow… And don’t~ you~ cry~

- Twisting and falling in a sea of oceans, I find my memories~ Threaded and woven into shreds that bleed my anxiety~ I long for your dream. Whatever it is, I’ll seize it through any means~ I want a dream~ I want you!~ Am I just a burden, to your living nightmares? Tell me where I need to go? Tell me where I need to be? There’s only one hope left for me. I must survive~ I must thrive~ To keep your sacred dreams alive. Tell me what’s your dream? Whatever it is, I’ll seize it through any means~ I want a dream~ I want you!~ And I want to be of use~ To you~ Do or die, you will survive. I’ll never give up, even through countless lies. These dreams we carry, it’s much to heavy, but I’ll push you through, till the battle’s, murders, are done and over! Tell me what it’s supposed to mean? The meaning of a soul? The loneliness frightens me, I need your dream to breathe! Ohh-ooohh-oh-oh! ohoh~ Gather family and friends, loves ones- come and see! I’ve found, at long last a dream. Now that I know what it is, I’ll seize it through any means~ I want this dream~ I want to be, with, you!~ Ohh-oooh-oh-oh! Ohoh~ I want to make more dreams with you!

 The Crackling Embers

By: Cutegirlmayra (Thanks for the commission! Here’s something sweet! 😉 )

Ember was rotated backwards on a steel stretcher, strapped with leather, she laughed and figured she could tear easily through them.

Except… she couldn’t move.

The electric steel receptor would zap her even on slightest movement, but that didn’t stop her from wiggling her tail when the door slid open and she saw Shadow.

“Shad-! AHHHHEEEEEOOOO…ouch.” The electricity immediately turned on, shocking her into a stillness again as her tail flopped down over her.

“Hello.” She smiled sweetly to him. “You gonna bust me outta here?”

“…We need you for something.” Shadow stopped in front of her, folding his arms.

“Ohh~ A mission?”

“For G.U.N.”

“Pass.”

She frowned.

“…For Sonic… and his friends.” He glared a warning, showing his need for her to reconsider.

“Ehmm… we’re buddies, but… favors?” she was only stalling now, playing around.

She hadn’t seen Shadow in a while, so she was hoping-

“…For me?” he looked agitated.

“Sure, anything for family!”

He nodded to a camera and she was rotated back into a straight position as he untied the straps.

“This is serious… Sonic team requested backup.”

“Little Hedgehog got his foot struck in a drain?” she teased, smirking.

“… Eggman has taken over 20 percent of the world… And Sonic couldn’t stop him.”

He seemed to grimace at that fact before helping her down.

“Thanks.” She took his hands and hopped off the steel, “One sec.” she lifted a sharp claw…

She shred through the steel with a few quick and precise swipes.

Sparks flickered everywhere and she cockily placed her claws up to her mouth, blowing on them.

“Alright, continue.” She grinned, looking over her shoulder to him.

“But I warn you… I will never work for G.U.N…”

“Hmph, then work for me.”

He looked annoyed, and she wagged her tail.

“There’s never a ‘good side’ to you, is there?”

She followed him through the sliding door of G.U.N’s base, looking around and pretending to be amazed at the technology, but mostly there for Shadow.

“As family, it’s almost like my job to try and find that good side to ya, bro.”

“…Bro?” he seemed confused, turning around. “You were created as my prototype, a companion to me and have restored more memories of Maria than I can count. I owe you that much… but no. We are not ‘family’.” He glared, holding a hand up to her as she went to take it, but winced back when he said such a cruel thing.

She puckered her lips and side-commented over her shoulder, “Grumpy quills…”

They continued to walk and she didn’t take his hand, seeing as he was only gesturing, but she didn’t quite understand the socialisms…

She was still living alone… sometimes running into Sonic and his friends, but not much.

“Who’s Eggman?” she asked, walking into an elevator with him.

Shadow turned around and clicked a button, which fascinated her when it turned bright from the touch.

“He’s Gerald’s evil grandson.”

Her finger went to spike into the next buttons, hoping to see them light up, but her shock at hearing that made her miss and stab the side through instead. “WHAT?!”

Shadow saw the fizzing of the area as she struggled to try and pull her finger out, sighing in disappointment at her childish ways and rubbing the bridge between his eyes with his fingers…

They arrived at an upper level, and Ember looked very confused, finally seeming to take some things seriously.

Her eyebrows furrowed and she followed Shadow out of the elevator, “You mean… Gerald had other family we didn’t know about?” She made a face, showing some sorrow. “Shouldn’t we try and reform him? I mean,… he’s kin!” she ran after him, but Shadow pivoted and continued his cruel stare at her.

“Reform Eggman?” He scoffed, “He’s bent on taking over the world. He’ll robotize every living thing till there’s nothing left to conquer. Then he’ll build a ridiculous theme park!” he swiped a hand out, making Ember step back and look down in greater sadness. “He’s insane… and once again, we have no kin… we’re experiments. Remember your place.” He went to continue walking, but a voice from above suddenly spoke out, making him look around.

“My, my… you’re so cruel to her, Shadow… I’m glad I’m used to it.”

“Show yourself, Rouge!” he almost demanded, making her pout as she was sitting on a beam in the shadows.

Her wings flexed out, making a sound that spooked Ember as she dove down and landed quite gracefully.

“Remember me?” she batted her eyes and then winked to Ember, who swiped a claw at her and growled.

Her ears drew back, not liking this bat girl…

As Rouge flew up again and circled Shadow, she grew even more tense, shaking as she raced to grab Shadow’s back quill. It was instinctive, she just didn’t like other people around Shadow… especially those she didn’t know really well.

She poked her head over Shadow’s shoulder and stuck her tongue slightly out at Rouge.

Rouge smiled back to her before landing by the control panel, revealing monitors as she typed in certain things.

“Eggman has conquered a continent, but he’s not done there. According to Tails, he’s spreading out. We’ve let sleeping eggs lie for too long… it’s about time we stop underestimating Eggman’s potentials.” Rouge turned to them again after typing, “My guess is you’re taking the rocket?”

“Yes.” Shadow turned and grabbed the back of Ember’s red cloak, pulling her back to follow him.

“Whhaa-a-a!” she was startled, tip-toeing back before pouting and turning around. “Yeah, yeah… I’m coming, I’m coming…”

“G.U.N only protect certain areas… we’ll have to infiltrate his base and take him down at the core of his invasion…” Shadow grabbed a large rocket, then gripped her hand.

This made her look down and smile, thinking he was going to help her into the rocket.

But… his grip was really… really strong.

“You should brace yourself…” he mentioned.

“Wait,… What do you meeeeeeAAAANNNNNN!!!” she was shot into the air as he held her hand while the rocket shot up and arched through the skies, a direct route to the continent.

Her gums flapped everywhere, making a silly expression as they finally began to move swiftly through the open skies towards their destination.

“This is gonna take time to get used too!” she screamed through the disturbance in the air, but Shadow kept his eyes fixated on the direction of the rocket.

She frowned again, arching her eyebrows back. “Shadow…”

Her purpose… if he didn’t need her, what was it? She hated the fact that she was just a companion. A prototype… the second favorite…

She looked down at the ground, gripping her arm and starting to feel some pain from dangling behind him.

She looked back at him.

No pain? Or was he masking it under that cold exterior?

She wanted to believe there was kindness in him… and she was sure there was! But…

Will he ever show it to her?

She squinted her eyes shut, biting her jaw down. ‘We’re family! Yet… he says we’re not!’

Once again, she went to inquire, “Shadow!”

His eyes shifted frighteningly fast down to look at her, but his head never moved.

She gulped, “Uh… shouldn’t we be serving Eggman? If he’s Gerald’s grandson…”

“What part of ‘evil’ and ‘taking over the world’ did you not understand?” he scolded.

She looked away.

Suddenly, Shadow’s face shifted, and he looked back at the rocket…

“Hhhmm…” he seemed to disagree with his tone and spoke out again. “I understand that Gerald means a lot to you… perhaps how Maria meant to me…”

She looked back up at him, hearing his voice turn a little more empathic.

“…But Eggman’s not like Gerald. He’s eccentric. Maniacal. There is some good in him but only when the odds are against his favor… then he helps us to defeat a foe that challenges himself.” He glared forward. “He’s selfish and has no care for nature. Life or not, he’ll stomp on anything just to seize power over it…”

“…Sounds unforgivable.” Her mind raced to the children…

“….Ember.” he looked down to her, less angry now.

“Yes?” innocently, she looked up.

“…Stay close. I…” he looked away, being vunerable for a moment. “…I don’t want to lose you.” He stared off into the smoky distance yonder… there, in the grey and brownish hue of cloud cover, or was it smoke..? There came a few robots with jetpacks on, holding guns as their arms, and a large—oversized and ugly—megabot that’s eyes glowed red through it all.

“…Get ready.” He took on a serious look, pulling out a gun.

Ember, seeing the amount of foes waiting for them in the skies, narrowed her brow and swiped her cloak away, revealing her black emerald imbedded in her chest.

“Bring it on!” she cried out.

He protected the rocket as long as he could, but then released his hold and pulled Ember towards him as it exploded from being fired at.

He didn’t even glance at her, just kept shooting, but she used her Chaos attacks to knock out the littler robots flying after them.

“We’re heavily out maneuvered!” she cried out, looking around and noticing they were dodging a lot of their hits. Her chaos moves weren’t necessarily fast enough to get the targets right away, and Shadow’s gun was running out of ammo.

Click, click, click!

Shadow glanced down at his gun.

“Shoot.”

He threw the gun and a robot’s jet spiraled out of control.

“Ember!”

“Right!”

She exposed the spot on her chest and he gripped the outer, slightly protruding part of the emerald.

She closed her eyes.

“CHAOS CONTROL!”

They were teleported before a huge beam of light from the giant robot was able to melt them out of their immortally…

They were flashed back into existence as Ember fell into his arms, exhausted from the dark, prototype power that dwelt within her.

She breathed heavily as Shadow removed his hand and hoisted her up. “Are you alright?” he looped her hand over his shoulders, another hand to help lift her waist up.

“I just… need a moment to breath.” She admitted, but they heard a strange noise…

“What was that?”

Water noises and engines were heard in the distance…

Then, quickly, Metal Sonic and Chaos swerved around the corner of some ruined buildings. A red light flashed and Shadow looked up.

“Darn!” he threw her up into a bridal style hold, and raced on his skate shoes away while the two of them chased them down.

“Find Eggman!” Shadow shouted.

“What!? I won’t leave you!” she gripped his chest fur…

He glared down, “You want to be of use to me?”

Did… Did he know?

“Then stay alive! And get your job done!”

“B-…But what about-!”

What about you?

He threw her into another alley way, flinging her quickly through the air as she flailed a moment and landed in a garbage disposal.

The two raced by her, focusing on Shadow and not noticing the difference.

She shifted around a moment, before coming up with a banana peel on her head, looking upset.

“…Hmph!” she gripped it and threw it down.

“Yuck! Now,…”

She turned around with a glare, bearing her fangs.

“WHERE’S EGGMAN!?”

Pacing around his base, Eggman looked at the blips on his monitors. “Where’d he go…” he gripped his floating chair… “I’ve only conquered this continent… no big deal! Why send him of all things!?” Eggman shoved the chair away as it swiveled in the air and spun rapidly away.

It regained a neutral hover as Orbot and Cubot continued to cower away from it.

“M-may I suggest… we also call in our own backup?” Orbot lifted a finger up, and then placed his hands together. “There are some lovely mercenaries who would be happy to dispose of-“

Eggman’s rage got the better of him. He soared his fist up into the air, and it came crashing down with a terrifying power against the control board.

It dented the area and he lifted his hand, now quivering from the pain and rubbed his other thumb inside the palm of the hurt hand. “Grr… I’d rather deal with this pest myself…”

“Gosh, that looked painful!” Cubot chirped.

“To what? His hand or his ego..?” Orbot muttered, but the two scattered in fear as a wrench was thrown at them.

“You’ll see… I’ll destroy Shadow, and then next-!” he stomped towards them, making a big scene before something rattled above them.

“…What the-?”

Ember smacked a air vent’s entrance down as it slammed against Eggman’s raised head.

“OFFPH!” he fell backwards as she dropped down, landing on his stomach. “IIIEEEE!!!” he arched forward, hovering his arms up as he stared at the unfamiliar face, but Ember didn’t seem to notice him.

She flicked her tail and hit him down, not feeling anything really and looked around.

“Huh? I thought I heard an evil monologue?”

“T-the… The Boss!” Orbot shivered, his hands quaking up by his mouthpiece.

“Boss..? OH!” she looked under herself. “It was so round! I thought it was just a rug or something!” she jumped up and down.

“OFFPH! OFFPH! OOOOO!” Eggman was like a squishy trampoline, every time she jumped up, she stomped both feet down, smiling giddily.

Finally, she jumped off on the third hop and he gripped his stomach, turning away with tears starting up from under his glasses… only on the far edges could you see a trace of them bundled up by his eyes corners.

“That hurt… you little…” he whimpered out while she dusted herself off.

“You know, those air vents really need some dusting.” She then struck an animalistic pose, showing off her claws as she scraped them against each other in long swipes.

Sparks flew off of them and Cubot ‘ooh’d and ‘aw’d as she did so.

She smirked, “So… you’re robotnik’s grandson? You look a little like him, I’ll give you-“ her smile faded, seeing him rise up and shake his head, then turn around to loom over her.

Her perfect memory triggered and before her wasn’t Eggman anymore… it was Gerald.

“And how do you know my grandfather..?”

Her eyes shook, unable to break out of the vivid memory.

She stepped back.

He looked too much like her former master… how could she ever battle him now?

“Who are you?”

He cocked an eyebrow up.

“I… I’m Ember…” she felt her whole body wanting to obey, falling slowly to her knees, catching herself before she did so.

‘Why… Why am I acting this way? My fidelity… is it this strong?’ she twitched violently every few seconds, unable to figure herself out for a moment.

“Ember..? Ah!” His glasses shone a moment across before he put a finger up to his chin.

“Ember Wolf? The immortal prototype. Yes… I remember reading something about that…”

She suddenly looked up, amazed he knew about her.

But how..?

“I… I thought all records were-?”

“Born as one of the first experiments. First to live, however. You’re embedded with a cursed Emerald, one my great Grandfather found and tried to erase from history… It produces a dark energy from time to time… corrupted and unpure, it’s said to completely envelop you in utter chaos...” He looked up, nodding to himself. “Yesss… I think I understand now. It described you as a companion to Shadow. Someone designed to protect, unless Shadow. You’re primary purpose was to-“

He paused, looking down at her and smiling.

“Say… you would be a fine asset to my cause!”

“What cause?” she glared, almost growling out the words as she bent her head down, trying to will her body out of submission. “To rule and ruin the known world!?”

“…What has the known world done for you?”

Her shook and she felt something sink within her heart.

“Join me… Ember~” he spread his arms out, “You’re… family…”

“My what!?”

Now she was able to push herself off the ground, stepping back as Eggman moved forward, snickering…

“Hohoho… Yes, indeed. Ember. For burning passion and everlasting flames that never burn out of loyal love! This is what your name means… I could teach you about yourself… the many things you possess… the many things you can do…”

He lifted his pointer finger up, winking beneath the glasses before moving closer to her.

Shadows of their silhouettes loomed behind Cubot and Orbot as the two watched the scene. Scarily enough, as Eggman grew closer, his shadow turned more diabolical, and Ember’s began to decrease in size…

“We could make this world anew… the way dear old Grandfather Gerald hoped it would be…”

“S-…Stop talking. You don’t even know him!” she struck her foot hard to the metal floor, a vibration came off of it that stopped Eggman’s eager approach. Her tail swished behind her, readying for a counter…

“Oh? Do I?” he leaned back, his smile growing and curving up across his face. “No sick. No afflictions of any kind. A world without sorrow and hunger… an immortal realm of perfection.” He spread his arms out, stating his grandfather’s ideals as though it were poetry.

“You… weren’t you designed to sustain these ideals?” he raised an pronounced eyebrow up, looking back to her. “I mean… you were designed to protect Shadow, and all other experiments. To keep them doing their jobs… After all…” He put his hands behind his back, leaning forward with an all-knowing look and losing his smile. “Shadow was the cure. You were to deliver the package safe and sound…”

“I…” she gulped, unsure if that really was the meaning behind her life. “I’m a delivery girl?”

“Hmm?” He blinked his eyes, surprised by that. He then leaned his head back and let out a mighty laughter, making her flustered and embarrassed as she growled.

“What’s so funny!?”

“Hoho! I meant that figuratively, my dear. This… wonderland that I’m proposing… it’s what you and the doctor always wanted. Even Maria would have been satisfied…” he outstretched a hand to her. “Join me… it’ll be fun.”

She stared at the hand… remembering how Shadow’s hand outstretched to her but she chose not to take it.

She looked away.

“Come… now… be a good little guard dog.” He smirked wider now, his eyebrows coming down slightly as Cubot and Orbot rushed over to her.

“It is rather fun.” Orbot admitted.

“Well, when you stay on his good side.” Cubot countered.

“Ember…”

She froze.

“What would dear old Grandpappy want..?”

Her shoulders fell slightly…

“My Ember…”

She looked up, eyes filled with purpose and determination.

Shadow races through the barren streets, looking to see Chaos and Metal Sonic have disappeared. “Where is she..?” he mutters to himself, whispering it as a quiet plea it seemed to find her. His head shifted back and forth, “She couldn’t have gone far…” worry seemed almost apparent in his voice as though he wasn’t trying to hide it.

“HYAH!”

“What!?”

He spun around, getting taken down by an unknown enemy.

He tossed and fought through the fog…

Gripping their hands, he held the enemy in a lock in front of him. “Show yourself, you coward!” he spoke through gritted teeth.

As the fog cleared, Ember breathed heavily, matching his power…

His eyes widened, “What..? Ember..?”

“WHOHOHOHO!” Eggman’s eggmobile floated down from the smoke above. “HOHOH-ACK! HOFF, HOGH, HAR!” he coughed from the smog and lifted a foot up, standing in his carrier to hack out the dust that entered his lungs, among other unwanted chemicals…

He wiped his mouth and then sneered down to Shadow. “At least one of you is proving useful! Behold! My great grandfather’s experiments do still remember their purposes!!! To serve me!”

“Ember…” he glared at her, but his eyes looked torn between fighting her or not. “What’s going on? What did he bribe you with?”

“No bribe, simply loyalties.” Eggman took out a handkerchief, blowing into it. “Poor little dear…” he faked sobbing, “All she ever wanted to serve her delightful creators. And now that she has one again, she’s putting everything else aside to serve her dear family~”

“Ember, no!” At the word ‘family’, Shadow’s eyes widened in horror. “He’s lying to you!”

“I’m more of a father than you are a brother. After all, tossing her to the side? Tsk, tsk, tsk.” He shook his head, waving his finger as a scold. “You should know better. Well, Ember knows her place now. Best to serve real family than those who refuse to be so!”

“Ember… you’re better than this!” he pushed back against her power, but she stepped forward and challenged it.

“…I…” he looked a little shaken up, something she wasn’t used to seeing. “I don’t want to hurt you…”

“Heeeeh… too late for that. Ember! Dispose of him! He’s not upholding the measure of his creation!” Eggman rose up again, swiping out his hand in a dictator fashion.

“Roger.” Ember cried out and swung Shadow over herself, causing him to crash down.

“Erk!” he sweated profusely against the new outcome… he rolled into a ball to avoid most of the damage, hitting her away by rushing into her gut in a spin-dash, then uncurling away. “Ember, what is this madness?! Your purpose is to be my companion!”

She turned around, smiling. “No…” She swiped a Chaos attack back at him, but he dodged the air slash…

Still looking torn, his eyes shook as he narrowed his stare at her, unable to bear a glare…

“I was designed to keep you in check. Just in case you failed your purpose and went on the unbeaten path.” She rose her head up.

“And looks like you did…”

“Destroy him!”

“Is this about G.U.N?!”

He dodged another attack as she raced up to swipe her deadly claws at him.

Jumping from building to building, the two began a chase, which Eggman followed willingly, enjoying the spectacle.

“Ember! Don’t do this..!” he cried back, “Chaos Spears!” he swiped his arm and yellow spears of energy mass were created, hovering for a second in the air, remaining still until shooting forth after her.

She raced between them, jumping from left to right, before crossing her arms and then slashing them out to cut the beam in half.

His eyes twitched again, her power was much like his.

Since he was startled and in the air, Ember used this chance to leap up, slamming him down.

“WHOHOHOHO!” Eggman stuck up his nose and showed his mouth creating an ‘o’ as he laughed. “Splendid! She’s proving more useful then you ever were, Shadow!”

As they crashed through old, half-burnt buildings, they finally hit a floor that wasn’t just loose debris, but sturdy enough that it could catch their fall.

She held him down by his neck as he looked up to her, reaching for his power limiters…

“Ember…” He wearily spoke out, straining against her hold. “You leave me no choice… I… I didn’t want to lose you… but …” he began slipping one off, “I can’t lose the world… Maria… I promised to give the world she loved a chance… she… she loved it so much…” he was about to get it off before a dainty and gentle hand was placed over his own.

“What?” he looked up, amazed.

Ember smiled lovingly down to him.

“No need…” she stated.

“Brother.”

“Ember..?”

His eyes shook in awe, but she slowly leaned up and off of him.

“I know how to stop Eggman. I gained his trust long enough to at least secure that.”

She winked, flicking her tail.

“Honestly, did you really think I’d get so butt hurt over one little toss?”

She rotated her shoulder, feeling it a bit hurt from the fall and then extended her hand to him, leaning down.

“Let’s defeat him… Together, Shadow.”

He stared for some time, leaning up and then smiling down as he closed his eyes and put his limiters back on.

“I should have known… a double-agent.”

He then looked up with a much kinder expression.

“See? I know my purpose.”

He lifts his hand.

“And what’s that?”

His smile is contagious, and she smiles bigger as well.

“Taking care of my little brother.”

“…Excuse me?���

He looks unamused by that phrase.

“Alright, alright.” She giggles, “Being your helping hand…”

He smiles again, taking her hand with as he’s hoisted up from his spot.

“Then let’s take him down… Sister.”

She squees in delight, crunching her body up tightly and lifting a leg up, glad he finally said it!

“It’s about time!” she exclaimed.

As they came out, they both targeted Eggman’s eggmoblie, holding one another’s hand and remaining close in their leap skyward.

“H-huh!?!?!?” He rears back, moving out of their way. “What’s this!?”

She looks over to see him smiling again, ‘I’m so glad…’ she thinks to herself.

‘He seemed so shaken up when he thought he had to stop me… I’m glad I know my true purpose.’

She then turned back to Eggman, a look of fierce conviction on her face.

‘…To never break his heart…’

After a huge explosion and Shadow and Ember taking down some of Eggman’s forces… Eggman flies home on a half-broken Eggmobile, smoky from hits and his head all crisped up from their Chaos attacks.

He falls onto the floor and starts bashing his huge fists into it. “It’s not fair! It’s not fair! Everything was looking up so well…” Eggman sprayed chibi-tears, whining about his mishap of trusting Ember.

“Sir… if I may…” Orbot hovers over, typing some things into the monitor as Eggman throws his tantrum, kicking and crying, before looking over to the screen.

“Hmm?”

Cubot wipes his tear with a handerchief, “Here, blow.” He instructs lovingly as Eggman turns back, broken down and defeated, and blows his nose into it.

“Yuck! This blows!” Cubot didn’t like the snot on his hand and ended up making a pun as the handerchief stuck to him. He waved his robotic hand frantically around in disgust, “Ahh..ahhh!!!” flying around in despaired distraught before Orbot showed the mercenary group he mentioned beforehand.

“There. Now these are some of our finest allies! You should hire them.” Orbot scanned the screen closer in on the face of their leader…

“Oddly enough, he’s never known defeat. Sound promising, boss?” Orbot turned to look back at him as the screen kept closing in on the main leader…

Eggman sees them,…

Then the leader.

He smirks with a shine in his glasses…

“They’re perfect. Hehehe…hohoho…WHAHAHAHA!”

End

EMBERS OF SOULS

 By:Cutegirlmayra

 “Hyah! Rah! Take that! Have some more! Stupid rocks and trees! Taste my fury!” A grey wolf spun and tumbled away, hitting and kicking trees and rocks as she trained herself.

She scratched her nails in a wild swipe against a large, mostly flat-sided boulder and left sparks trailing in its wake. She breathed hard a moment, smiling as her white teeth showed her satisfaction at the mark left on the rock.

She wagged her tail a moment in sharp swishes before putting a hand behind her back, using the other’s pointer finger to carve her name into the rock.

EMBER – THE LAST OF GERALD ROBOTNIK’S CREATIONS

And underneath that she wrote:

SHADOW – THE LAST OF US ALL.

She smiled at the oddity, wondering what some passerby would think of her little, funny inscription. But she began to wonder about it. Life and death… but then she got a call.

 “Huh?” She pulled the communicator out of her red cloak’s pocket and place it up by her ear, careful to not stab the buttons in with her newly sharpened claws. “Is this Shadow? If not, I’m not talking.” She stated firmly, but a sigh was heard on the other end and she excitedly perked up. “Hey, Big Brother!”

 “…I have a mission for you.”

 “Oh! This is a first. You didn’t even backlash about the ‘Big Brother’ comment.” She lightly itched her nose, not sure what he wanted but glad he was finally accepting her as part of his ‘forged’ family.

“Sonic and the others have a bit of a crisis. Eggman’s attack left one of their friend’s house decimated in the crash. Luckily, there were no serious injuries except for a young girl needing a cast on her arm.”

Ember heard the line and closed her mouth. A deep sorrow stung at her heart. A little girl..?

“I was hoping I could send you to watch over them and help fix their home. Sonic and the gang still need to track down the other parts of Eggman’s machine that scattered when Super Sonic destroyed it. It could have caused more damage. Stay there until further instruction.”

 “So… you’re sending me on clean-up duty.” Ember arched her eyebrows, pouting childishly at that remark. “Hey… when can we ever… you know… hang out again or something?” she was started to feel lonely. She hated the mission assignments Shadow gave her from G.U.N, mostly because they were always apart and never had time to reminisce together.

She knew he was a loner… but still.

She hated being alone…

“Enough chatter. I’ll entrust you to this matter.” The phone clicked on the other end and she held it away from her ear, swallowing her feelings down and just looking off into the sky.

“…He’s always so busy… I guess that kinda makes me happy though.” She put the phone away, carefully, since she knew she could barely control her strength after a training session. “It means he can keep his mind occupied on other things… instead of that thing.” She was referring to Maria and the incident that happened over 50 years ago.

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Ember followed the coordinates and came across a crash site. Seeing the debris of wood and home appliances everywhere, she figured she was in the right place.

She grimaced at a burnt oven with its door agape and scratched her neck lightly. “Man, this looks rough… poor kid.” She thought, “Poor family…” but she spoke aloud, which gained the attention of a older woman, a bunny whose ears perked up at the sight of the stranger coming by.

 “Are you the friend Sonic spoke about, young lady?” she was removing things from the mess her house was now in, rubbing her hands to clean them on an old dish towel. “With everything going up in an array of chaos, I was very pleased to hear that Sonic and his friends would send some help to clean up the awful mess Eggman made.”

 Ember immediately felt herself tense up at the stranger. She seemed polite and kind, warm and friendly in her face, but the tenderness was swiftly ignored as Ember braced herself.

She pulled her shoulders up and clenched her fists, sadly, a case of having learned to distrust others flooded her memories and kept her from speaking right away.

“I guess we’re friends.” She slightly spat out, not liking to admit it. “But Shadow asked me to… attend… so here I am.” She put her hands to her hips and tried to relax herself, but her attitude was rude and she knew it.

She looked away, ‘Why am I being this way? I should have outgrown this behavior by now…’ she mentally scolded herself, but the bunny lady just blinked her eyes in surprise at her passive comeback.

She giggled sweetly, throwing Ember off guard and causing her to falter on her stance just a moment. She wiggled in the imbalance that suddenly came from her feet and looked back at the woman, her arms flailing about, “W-w-why are you laughing at me!?” she didn’t mean to make it sound so demanding, it was more a curious question out of shock and less from anger.

“You remind me a bit of him.” She cooed, and it left Ember with a faint red on her cheeks.

“R-really… you really think so? Me?” She put her finger up to her face, pointing at herself in disbelief.

She didn’t know why the comment made her so happy, but she gleefully smiled and pounced up to the lady. “The name’s Ember.” ‘I like her.’ She stated, finding the woman much more approachable now.

“I’m Vanilla.” Vanilla offered her hand and Ember stared at it a moment. She leaned forward, sniffing it, finding only wood and burnt smells on it and lightly placed her finger and thumb on her fingers.

“Pleasure.” She ‘attempted’ to shake her hand, but it was just awkward.

Vanilla giggled again, “You’re so funny! May I?” she gestured to Ember’s hand. “You don’t seem used to our ways… are you not from around here?” she took Ember’s hand and lightly placed it in her own, letting Ember feel the soft but tight embrace of the hand wrapping around her own and then shaking it gently with light jumps.

“…Fascinating…” Ember twitched a moment, but then watched with fixated wonder as she allowed the stranger to take her hand and intimately hold her hand with it.

It was like…

Maria…

“Are you alright, deary?”

Vanilla blinked again in confusion at her silence, but Ember shook that thought and continued, smiling and waving her other—free hand—to show Vanilla she shouldn’t be concerned for her.

“O-oh! Just a memory! Nothing to worry about!” when Vanilla released the hand… however…

-flashback-

“Hold my hand, Ember. That’s it! No need to fear. Grandfather is hard into his study, let’s just enjoy this time together being he ruins all our fun!” Maria took her hand lovingly, careful to avoid the tips of the fingers where her claws lay in wait.

“That’s it… like so.” She bounced the hands up and down together, then more quickly as she noticed Ember’s hold stick more and more.

“This is dangerous…” Ember nervously allowed the girl to do whatever she wanted too with her hand, but the thought of Shadow or her creator charging in and scolding them worried her.

“Nonsense! This is how people on earth communicate with one another.”

Ember looked up into Maria’s beautiful eyes.

“With hands?”

“Sometimes. It’s a form of greeting. How do you do?” Maria nodded her head and shook the hand again.

“…How… do you do?” Ember repeated, but barely copied the motion back.

Maria delightedly laughed and praised her, “That’s it! You’re a refined woman now.”

“Refined..? Like metal?”

“Uhh… like a well-rounded human being with manners.” She corrected, but very lovingly as she took her other hand and held Ember’s again.

“…Promise me you’ll always remember your manners, for when you go to earth someday… promise?” She leaned forward, and Ember was slightly taken aback.

“G-go?” she leaned back, holding up her other hand in a flinch of fear over her herself, her arm crooked to show that emotion very clearly. “To earth?”

“It will be wonderful! We’ll be a proper family then.” She nodded again and released Ember’s hand, leaning up, and kissing her forehead.

“Be good, Ember. I’ll try and sneak some treats from the kitchen!” she winked and scurried off, being careful to check down the corridor before charging to find some goodies for themselves.

Ember continued to kneel on her legs, looking up from the floor to the door that Maria just exited from.

She looked down at her hands, longing for the warmth and comfort the sweet touch had given her moments before.

“People… greeting one another… just like Maria and me.”

She imagined that, and smiled.

-End of flashback-

“W-wait!” Ember was cautious as she reached forward to take the woman’s hand again, making sure that this time, she would keep her promise to Maria.

Slowly, she formed the proper handshake with Vanilla, leaving her slightly speechless at the sudden touch from Ember reaching for her out of nowhere.

“…How… do you do.” She shook the hand, then tenderly smiled down to it. “Sorry… I shouldn’t forget my manners.”

Vanilla stared a moment… before nodding with a kind and understanding smile.

“That’s alright. You don’t know me very well, and I just met you. I can understand if you’re nervous.”

Ember smiled up at her, “You’re very kind. And could you not call me ‘Deary’ please? I know you meant well, but it makes me slightly uneasy…” she bent her ears back in apology, she just didn’t like the loving pet-names right now. It wasn’t a good time.

“Alright, forgive me then.” Vanilla also looked apologetic. “Ember.” She stated. “What a beautiful and true name.”

 “True name?” Ember cocked her head to the side. “What do you mean by that?”

“A true name. As in, it matches you very well.” Vanilla smiled gleefully, releasing her hand after the awkward moment of Ember forgetting it was even there.

“Ah! Sorry!” Ember apologized again, scratching the back of her head. “Ow!” she accidentally spiked herself with her claw, and pulled it out to stick it in her mouth.

“My,… you really are just bursting with life! That’s why I think Ember is a great name.” she looked back into the burned and torn apart house. “Cream, darling? Would you please introduce yourself to our new friend, Ember?”

‘Cream..? And Vanilla?’ Ember raised an eyebrow, ‘What a weird ‘true’ name they have. But both must be sweet.’ She silently thought with a cheery smile.

But when Cream walked out with her cast on, Cheese hovering in the air after her, and the burned down house around her…

Ember’s eyes changed…

“Hello!” Cream stated, but then a flash changed the setting. A dark sky, a miserable sack for a dress and a little girl beaming her big, innocent eyes up at Ember.

“Pleasure to meet you!”

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Back at G.U.N, Rouge was typing some things into a computer when Shadow walked in, removing his limiters and placing them down on a table.

“Oh? You look pretty banged up.” Rouge turned around, smiling as he groaned and rubbed his arms.

“Eggman give you and the gang a hard time?”

“Sonic was being careless and reckless again… but we finished the job.” He commented, “What news on Ember..?” He looked behind his shoulder at Rouge, as she smiled and kicked her leg up onto the other, tapping it in the air a moment.

“These days it’s never about ‘Hi, Rouge. How are you doing?’ but always, and I mean, quite frequently about your little sister’s well-being.” She smirked and looked back to him from the corner of her eye. “Makes a girl slightly jealous sometimes…”

“Hmph. Quit playing around, Rouge.” He began to stride towards some water, picking it up and cupping of it in his hands. He dumped it over his face and looked as though he was trying to relax. “I don’t know her well, but I do know that there’s some sort of… connection between us two. I only ask because she knows my past perfectly. I owe her for the memories she has granted me.” He shifted himself back to Rouge, letting the water drip off his quills and over his muzzle. “Now… what news of her dealings with Vanilla and Cream the Rabbit?” he asked very directly, not taking any more funny busy.

Rouge frowned, but then shrugged, “If you must know, she apparently went through an episode and nearly scared the two half to death.” She clicked on the computer and showed a white figure screaming up and tearing more of the house apart, her eyes black—blinded by rage.

“She fell unconscious soon after. Vanilla and Cream made it out alright but were unsure why she suddenly started attacking the house. They’re caring for her on their torn sofa and waiting for a reply-“ before Rouge could finish, Shadow had grabbed his limiters, his eyes wide in horror and shock, and was charging out the sliding steel door.

“I won’t be back till late!” he called out, just before the doors behind him slammed.

“Heh, knew you cared.” She closed her eyes. Even if he never outright stated it, Rouge could tell he cared for the girl and went back to her boring work… she tilted her head, “Aw man… now I’m stuck here again…” she continued to type up her reports.

Ember went rogue again. Requested Shadow’s Assistance. Project Shadow went to secure her. End of Update.

“These reports on her behavior are starting to look grimer and grimer by the minute.” Rouge didn’t like writing it, but knew she was under contract too. “Pfft, since when did I ever listen to rules?” she back-spaced and typed again.

The unit known as Ember is still under mission. Requested backup by Project Shadow. End of Report.

She smiled.

“Go save your family, Shadow… I’ll help from this end. Just…

—Be careful.”

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Shadow skidded to a halt near Amy’s home, since Rouge had sent him coordinates stating they left the ruined home and came there instead.

He breathed a bit heavily, worry striped over his face like a paintbrush. He immediately composed himself and knocked on the door.

When Amy opened the door, he glared, “Where is she?”

“Don’t be too hard on her, Mr. Shadow!” Cream’s voice rang from inside, causing the two to turn and look to her.

“She honestly seemed to be having a PTSD moment… She was screaming something about G.U.N…” Vanilla also piped up, her hand daintily coming up towards her face.

Cream nodded and took her bundled fists up near her cheeks as well, “Please don’t be angry at her, Mr. Shadow! She didn’t hurt us, honest!”

“Chao, Chao!” Cheese waved his hands about in a pleading manner too, his face showing the love and concern of his family’s desires within them as well.

“We moved her from the scene, thinking this might trigger her less. She’s inside.” Amy turned to reply to Shadow, looking sorrowful at the situation but allowing Shadow the right to make his own decisions based on what he heard. She opened the door more and stepped aside, letting him enter.

“She didn’t harm any of you?” He repeated the information, checking to ensure this was correct.

The girls nodded, “Not one of us were harmed. Even while moving her.” Vanilla stated. “I reached out and soothed her to calm down, she fell right into my arms and let me carry her about.”

“…Let me see her.” He moved past the girls, clearly calm but inside, he was shaken up at the news.

“Did she injure herself?” he knelt by the couch, seeing Ember breathing with her mouth open and looking fairly passed out.

“I don’t think so, she just lashed out and started destroying the already crumbling house.” Amy was only stating what she had heard from Vanilla and Cream, and then looked to them kindly, “I’ll get us something to drink.” She smiled, trying to reassure them it was all alright. “Now that’s Shadow’s here, I’m sure Ember will come around and tell us what happened.” Her positive attitude did in fact calm Cream and she smiled with a nod.

“Thank you, Miss Amy.” She stated as Cheese leaped in the air towards the kitchen after Amy, wanting to help.

“You should go help Amy, Cream.” Vanilla turned to Cream, lovingly. “She may need help with carrying the trays in.”

“Yes, Mama.” Cream got up and caressed her cast, looking to Ember one last time before bounding off after Amy.

“Thank you.” Vanilla nod, “Please be careful not to trip with your cast!” she cried out as she noticed Cream’s fast pace.

Cream stopped and turned around, waving and then nodding apologetically. She used her ears and flew carefully after Amy.

Vanilla turned to Shadow, a look of worry again she didn’t want Cream to see. “What do you think could have caused her to snap like that? All Cream did was say hello. Did she had a past with children in it before?”

“It wasn’t just the child.” Shadow had his eyes fixated on her stressed body, seeing it heaving for air and her head slightly tossing at irregular intervals. “I believe it was the sight of an injured child.” He reached out, lightly preparing himself as his hand hovered over Ember’s head.

“What are you doing to her..?” Vanilla asked, raising her head up to see what he was going to do.

 “Ember has the unique ability to share her memories with others through mostly touch.” Shadow explained, a strand of wary sweat fell from the side of his head as he readied to dive into her thoughts. “She’s so engrossed in her mind right now… she’s not even aware of the physical world around her. I believe if I touch her, she may feel my presence and let me enter her thoughts.” He was about to do so, but Vanilla asked another question.

“Is it dangerous? She won’t lash out again, will she? I mean… how will she know the touch is by your hand?” Vanilla’s worry was deeply appropriate, considering Ember could tare into Amy’s house like she did Vanilla’s. Or worse… what if she attacked him?

 “…I hold chaos power within me.” Shadow stated. “But perhaps you’re right.” He removed his hand, “Out of the slim chance she may retaliate, it’s best to drop us in the middle of the woods somewhere where you’ll all be safe.” He looked back at Vanilla. “I was hoping to clear her record of her mischievous actions since she’s joined G.U.N. They’re still hesitant to trust her, and for good cause, but… this didn’t end well.” He looked back to Ember. “I’ll take her out and leave you three be. Sonic and the others should be informed that you still need help with your property. Forgive her… she’s…” he looked back up at Vanilla, seeing a mother’s care in her face, and took a bit of mercy into his consideration. “Deeply disturbed by the pains of her past.”

 “If I’m not mistaken, when we first encountered you, you were the same.” She smiled in the understanding that Shadow figured she would have concerning this event. He nodded and smiled lightly up to her. “You’ve taken her under your wing, haven’t you, Shadow?” her inquiry was more suited for a statement, but Shadow just bent his head and closed his eyes.

A light chuckle escaped his lips.

“She’s certainly a handful.”

“Like a child.”

“But children must grow up.” He opened his eyes and the sweet moment was lost. He picked up Ember, careful not to disturb her restlessness and trigger her again.

“I’ll take my leave now, tell Amy I won’t be around for the drinks.” He continued to look to Ember, cradled in his arms as he then nodded to Vanilla and departed.

She bowed respectfully to a guest leaving, and then worriedly looked out the window. “Please be safe… Shadow… Ember…”

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Deep in the woods, where owls hooted with frightful, intimidating cries—Shadow lay a tossing Ember down on the cold, grassy ground with slight mud patches here and there.

“Alright… now let me in.” He held his hand up by her head again, “And this time… don’t try to break my limps.” He slowly lowered it down to her head.

Nothing happened…

“Tsk.” In disappointment, he rubbed her head and tried to stimulate her to feel his presence.

She made slight noises of discomfort, shaking her head left and right, still out of it.

“Ember… let me in.” His words were more gentle this time, but still firm with command. “You have to let me see… let me help you…”

He rubbed his thumb between the bridge of her eyes, then patted her head to try and again alert her of his presence.

Her tossing fit stopped and she continued to breathe hard, but then…

There was a flash of light.

Shadow’s consciousness slipped and he fell beside her, his hand still on her head as the vision of a burning village was now before his dream-like appearance.

“Am I… a ghost?” he looked himself over, “No… I’m not supposed to be here. That’s why I’m like this.” He noticed his hand was see-through, and looked around the dream. It had never been this strong before, her memories… and seeing them so vividly disturbed him.

The air was silent except for the roars of the flames, and he searched for any other sound that could indicate people in the village, but there was nothing but silence…

“Where are the screaming? What has happened to the people?”

He then heard a loud cry, “NOOOOO!!!”

“Ember!” he turned himself around and started skating towards her. He saw her fall to her knees on a hill, seeing the destruction, then racing up and charging towards the fires.

“She’ll get herself killed…” he bit down on his words, glaring as she wobbled into a house and burst into her super form.

“That foolish girl… she’ll get burned in the flames.” He watched, knowing he couldn’t do anything.

After the destruction, he witnessed her digging the ground, “What is she doing..?” He came behind her and folded his arms. “…She’s been at this all day…” he looked up to the sky, watching the memory speed by and slow only when she carried a limp body in her arms.

Suddenly, Shadow’s eyes trembled at the sight of the burnt child’s body… it’s face hidden from view as the shadows of the following night came into view.

“She… no…” She had to bury the bodies… all by herself.

He watched in sudden agony as she placed each child in a grave, each adult that was also found into separate and larger piles.

In her hands… was a piece of metal with the G.U.N insignia.

“No… They couldn’t have…” He didn’t understand, and something within him didn’t want to know.

“They..!” he turned around, a hand over his face as he was overcome with emotion, but dared not to let it out.

“I’m through with this memory! Take me out of the vision! Now!” he swiped his hand and a flash of light returned him to his body, laying on the ground, blinking his eyes open.

He watched as Ember rose up, no more harsh gasps for breath and walking away from him.

The wind lashed against her on the cliff side as she staggered, then took on a firm stance.

“You serve a people of murderers!” she cried out, tears breaking the barriers of her eyes. She sharply swiped her head to the side, “You… You work for them… the people that killed any and all survivors that could retell our story… Gerald Robotnik’s story… Maria’s… story…” she clenched her fist.

He rose up, “Gerald Robotnik was a lunatic.” Shadow stated with no sound of remorse, causing a spike of anger in Ember as her eyes burst open and a flood of spraying tears leaped from her eyes.

“HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?!” she flung her cloak behind her, holding her twitching and enraged hand out in front of her. Her claws were drawn… but she was trying to hold back. “HE’S OUR CREATOR! He wanted a better world than this!”

“He was willing to kill an entire planet upon the death of his research!” Shadow opposed, stepping boldly to her and swiping out his own hand. “I loved Maria just as much as you and he did..! Maybe even more than the two of you combined!” he declared with a somber but heroic tone. “I had to place her wishes above my own… she never wanted us to revenge the mistakes of her grandfather. She wanted us to help the world! G.U.N has many crimes under their belt, but they’ve paid for their misdeeds! They’re a new order now!”

“NOOOO!!!!” Ember charged forward, swiping her hands at him as he skillfully dodged and lurched back. “They’ve deceived you! You’re becoming one of them!” she tightened her fist and pulled back the claws, finding an opening and punching him back across the face.

He stumbled but then swiftly replied with a punch in her gut, causing some spit to fly out of her mouth and get pushed back and off of him.

He wiped his cheek, not seeming too phased by her as she gripped her stomach. An open frown revealed her clenched teeth, her eyes shaking at him attacking her back.

“I had to master my own demons.” Shadow continued, “What have you done to forgive?!”

“Maria… You want me to believe that Maria would forgive murderers..?!” Ember shook her head. “Why does everything revolve around what she would want and what she would do!? As though she was an angel!” Ember shut her eyes tightly, as Shadow’s anger now spiked.

“Because she was-!” he threw a kick forward, but Ember caught it and used her arm to push it back.

She stumbled back, “I don’t want to fight!”

“Then what do you want!?” Shadow crouched down, ready for anything.

…Ember’s shoulders bounced.

Sounds of crying ensued.

Shadow held himself back, leaning up as he saw the tears but not her eyes, hidden by having her head held straight down in misery.

“Maria wanted me to save them… to properly greet the world with a kind and warm handshake…” she began, before shouting out at Shadow. “You haven’t cured anything! You want your purpose to be about pleasing Maria’s memory. You don’t even have every memory that you spent with her unless I was there to witness it! You don’t even know who you were back then! You can’t know… you just see it through my eyes and are content. Who are you, anyway!?” she fell to her knees, sobbing.

He lowered his fists… walking slowly up to her.

“You want me to just put thousands of lives behind me!? Act like they never existed just because their one wish was to live a life free of strife and panic!? You want me to-… to…”

 “It’s never easier just because it was one life or more.” Shadow bent down, placing his hand on her shoulder and kneeling in front of her. “What makes us so powerful, Ember… is that we craft our own purposes. This is something I had to learn. Something you’ll have to discover for yourself.”

 She continued to listen to cry. Overcome by her own memories she couldn’t shut out.

“It’s difficult to bury the past… I’m sorry you had to do so alone… but you’re not the only one who’s lost loved ones. Who’s witnessed injustice go unpunished. We must consider the welfare of all over the few. We must try and save those few. We must try and redeem ourselves and see the world for all that is good within it. We shouldn’t ignore the bad, but we should protect what is right and pure.”

 Ember shook her head, “You’re not making sense… murderers should die. They should.”

 “…You’ve killed before… haven’t you?”

 She suddenly jerked violently, unable to speak.

 “…So have I.” Shadow moved a bit away, “But those days… I’ve tried to rectify through many more good deeds… knowing they can’t outweigh what I’ve done… or tried to do.” He looked back to her, lifting a hand and placing it on her cheek.

The sudden touch filled her with that same warmth from the handshake, and she looked up weakly into his eyes.

 “…Do we deserve the same fate? To die?”

 She bit her lower lip.

 “After all the good we’ve done since… do not even we deserve a second chance at redemption?”

 “…I love you… brother.” She lowered her head, shaking his hand off of her. “But… I will need time to answer that.”

 “Then give yourself time. I don’t blame you for anything, Ember. The house will be repaired, so can a soul, so can the past…” he stood up, offering her his hand. “And I… Care about your wellbeing too.”

 She looked up, a strange, childish and open smile coming across her face.

 He lightly smiled for a moment too, but when it became too odd or sentimental, he turned to look behind him and away from her.

 “You’ll discover your truth… I just want to prevent you from thinking and feeling as I did… so long ago.”

 “Don’t worry.” She took his hand, careful of her claws and feeling secure in his touch. He helped hoist her up, “I don’t feel like blowing up the whole planet over a few people’s misdeeds.” She sighed, “But… I can’t say I’ll just agree to everything G.U.N says or does willy-nilly… I’m only doing this for you. To be close… to you.” She looked away again.

“…Well, we have eternity.” He ruffled her head in a sign of comradely, which made her giggle and wipe the remaining tears from her eyes. “Let’s not waste it on tears.”

 She nodded.

 “Is… is that little girl, okay?” She looked down, “I tried to control myself… tried not to hurt them…” she seemed disturbed by this fact.

 Shadow smiled again, “Actually… she was more worried about you.”

 Ember turned to Shadow, hearing him repeat Cream’s pleas for him not to be angry with her, and carried Ember back to the G.U.N headquarters.

 Ember heard how Rouge covered for her, but didn’t thank her, still uneasy with the bat.

 The next day, Ember did come by Vanilla and Cream’s home, helping them pick up the pieces of their broken home and even helped with repairs.

 Rouge was relieved to write a good, honestly decent report about Ember for once.

 Success never felt so sweet… especially with delicious treats at the end of their hard days work provided by Vanilla and Cream themselves! Oh… and of course, Cheese too. “Chao, Chao!”

  https://marydragneell.tumblr.com/post/155863341779/oc-mobian

 From the Embers

By: Cutegirlmayra

Commission for Marydraneell

Ember sharpened her claws by striking at a tree, then turning around to rapidly spin and slash a bolder. She was training, having decided to travel some ways away from G.U.N and where Shadow occupied his time. He was gone on a mission and told her to stay put. She pouted, remembering how stern he had been.

“He never lets me play with him…” She mumbled, practicing some techniques like kicking her legs up in the air to stretch and full force strike the air.

When she had done everything she knew, she lightly skimmed the emerald on her chest, feeling it’s stony hide and wondering if she should practice her chaos powers.

She looked it away… it was pretty risky. If she lost herself, she could turn insane. But she had always wondered about that archived data of Sonic and Shadow turning super to save the Arch. Shadow had asked Rouge to show her the data and read some documents, which would have been cooler if they were written like a story and not a government conspiracy.

Still, she missed Shadow… Maria… Gerald…

She sighed and sat down, still tracing the smooth surface of the emerald. “Why would I be given a cursed emerald, and Shadow tainted blood?” she wondered what Gerald was thinking, her beloved doctor who saw her more as a prototype and dangerous than he did Shadow. He let Shadow and Maria interact because Shadow knew to keep his distance and not play too much with her. Ember didn’t have that kind of self-control… she wanted to play with Maria, but even just one nick and Gerald would have scolded her. Shadow might have even punished her.

It was a hard-knock life…

She laid fully down, letting the shimmering light bounce off of the emerald as she pulled her shirt a little down to let it soak in the sun.

…Wouldn’t it be nice to just be a normal wolf?

She thought maybe that was going too far.

Her eyes watched the sky… What’s so great about chaos anyway?

She just wanted to be with Shadow…

“Now!” A voice billowed out the command as Ember’s ears twitched, leaning up and looking around.

Robots flew everywhere, swarming in different sizes and all sorts of different designs as they fell around her.

They grounded themselves with a loud stomp as wind picked up around them, a huge airship suddenly dropped its invisible camouflage and she gasped.

“Eggman!” she saw the symbol on the side of the airship and powered herself up with chaos power. “I thought I trashed you a year ago!”

“I got better.” She could imagine Eggman smirking behind the speakers. “I hate to make our reunion so uncharacteristically short but I’m on a tight schedule and I have no time to dawdle!”

“But I like dawdling…” Ember smiled, looking at the robots surrounding her from the ground to the air.

“Chaos-!” she withdrew her hands in, feeling the power begin to soar through her.

“Not so fast!” Eggman’s voice rang through the skies as Robots began to put up a forcefield of some kind.

“Control!” She spread her arms out to create a huge explosion, but somehow, the reflective shields caught it and pushed it outward, barely touching the airship.

“H-huh?!” Ember was flabbergasted. “That… usually works.” She sweat dropped, but it was almost humorous how surprised she was.

‘This doesn’t look good.’ She thought, ‘I could take them all out one by one but… I’d only be climbing up to the ship…’ she looked around her, swishing her tail for balance at the powerful wind gust from the chaos explosion.

“Maybe I could teleport away using the cursed chaos emerald…” she gripped it, but something told her it was no use.

“Nice try! Whohoho! But I’ve taken extra precautions this time!” a hook dropped from the air ship, and then millions of them started to dangle down and reach out for her, zipping down through the air with loose chains that held them to the ship.

“Wahhh!!!” Like a crazy crane game, Ember jumped and dodged as many falling claws as she could, but with the surrounding robots it wasn’t easy.

She was trapped!

“Grab her, you fools!” Eggman cried out as the robots began to maneuver around the bungy-jumping claws and keep her tightly in place within a small area.

She growled, slashing and striking down a few, missing others in her frenzy to get away.

There was too much action going on now, her mind was racing just as fast as her eyes could follow movement.

If she didn’t get away…

She ran on all fours, trying to increase her speed as she slashed Chaos strikes through the air and managed to damage one of the claws chains, having it crash to the ground.

“Grrrrahhh!” she picked the broken chain up and swung it around, using it to knock down other on-coming robots and tie other claws together, leaving them uselessly opening and closing while tied and spiraled together.

“Vermin!” Eggman insulted, “I was hoping to use this new strategy on Sonic after testing it out on you! But clearly you’ve found a few kinks in the matrix!”

“Heh, you flatter yourself too much, Eggman.” Ember smiled, though panting at the exertion of keeping the robots back. She began to power up her swings, having her emerald glow as she used abnormal strength to bring the chain and claw she was swinging up over her head.

“Hmmmm????” Eggman’s voice seemed enraged but also curious as to what she was trying to pull off.

“You’re not smart enough to form a matrix with anything!” she threw the claw up to his ship.

“Eeeeee!!!” Eggman’s airship started pulling up. It’s long, blimp-like nose diving upwards towards the sky in hopes of dodging her attack.

The claw gripped the airship, driving its sharpened talon trio into the metal like paper against scissors.

“You little-! What’s this!?”

Hanging by the chain, Ember used her upper body strength to grip onto the chain and pulled up along its side. ‘There was no way out of there besides up! I didn’t want to board the ship… but I’m gonna have to!’

“…heheheh….hohohoho!” A laugh came from Eggman’s mic. “Welcome aboard!” The ship suddenly began to spiral, turning as it twisted upwards like a rocket, causing Ember to have to hold on for dear life.

“Whaaa!” she couldn’t climb while the wind pressure flung her back so heavily. She ducked her head, hoping to breathe but it was difficult too with all the wind smashing into her face.

“We’re experiencing some minor wind turbulence, but nothing a failed experiment can’t handle, right?” Eggman mocked, flying the ship horizontal again and having the robots all surround it. “Fire!”

They shot at her as she found her breath and grip again, climbing towards the claw as the other dangling ones were withdrawn up into the ship.

She saw a hole opening, and though her back was being fired by gunfire, she jumped and managed to get air-sucked into it.

When it closed, she crashed on her back and winced in pain.

“Great… now I’m in the ship.” She wondered if that was what Eggman wanted in the first place.

She felt fire suddenly and gripped her emerald. “Awh… Ow! Why?” it was burning in her chest, something it didn’t usually do.

“What’s happening?” she turned to look at something glowing green in the center of the large metallic area.

She walked towards it, hearing a slight hum that continued to flare up her emerald.

She blew down towards her chest, not sure how else to stabilize its sudden rapid temperature spike.

Then she saw it.

“The… Master Emerald?”

It was hooked up to the core of the ship, and Ember thought it might be convenient to destroy the ship from here.

There were large tubed wires hooked up to the Master Emerald, and flicked her claws together, creating sparks.

“I could start a fire… but then at this height, the smoke could really choke me.” She was trying to strategize, something Shadow had taught her on missions to stop and do.

She hated thinking too much, since her nature was naturally to just go and have at it, but she wanted to do this right.

Without Shadow to come and save her, she wanted to make sure she did this job proper, maybe get a praise or two from her figurative brother.

She smiled and closed her eyes, wagging her tail at imagining Shadow patting her head in approval.

“Here I go~” She began to swipe at the tubes, easily cutting their rubber skins and having gas fly out everywhere.

“Huh? No electricity?” she was shocked she wasn’t zapped a little. “What was this? A ruse?” the lights suddenly turned off as red eyes turned on all around her.

“Look at what you’ve done!” Eggman’s voice came back on the radio throughout the airship. “You’ve ruined my stage!”

“It’s a fake!” Ember exclaimed.

“Not the Master Emerald, how else would I get Sonic into my perfectly disguised trap?”

“So, I’m just a guinea pig to you…” insulted, she formed a tight fist with her hands, but was careful to keep her claws out of her palms. “Don’t you know you shouldn’t cry wolf?”

As the robots charged their blasts, a yellow light in the dark, it illuminated just enough to show her cocky grin.

“Chaos control!” she blasted the area, sending the robots flying.

“Hahaha! Do you know why your emerald is cursed?!” Eggman suddenly blurted out.

“H-huh?” Ember felt her whole body on fire, falling to her knees to grip her chest. “It burns, it burns!” she cried out, tears falling from her eyes as the emerald felt like it would melt her from the inside.

“My grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, found that emerald in the rubble of the Ancient ruins! Thoughts turn to power with Chaos’s abilities, but all their evil thoughts, including his own, were given to that emerald… It became so polluted with their selfish and dark desires, that the Master Emerald has rejected its power! Shadow can control chaos, while you… you are cursed with it.”

“I already knew it couldn’t be purified.” Ember strained to move her legs, still hunching over and gripping the emerald with her arms intercrossed to do so.

She turned to the speaker, enraged but too hurt to do anything. “W-why am I even here? What’s your game? Your trap failed.”

“On the contrary,” Eggman’s voice sunk into a wicked state, like a submarine turning into position to strike. “You’ve become the trap!”

Electricity suddenly zapped around her feet. She cried out in pain as the electric bolts scaled the surface under her and danced about in jagged forms.

She collapsed.

When she woke up, she ached everywhere. It was dead silent, with only a few lights above her. Bright white, dulled by a blanket of dust in the air.

It was a stuffy room, but she could feel she was restrained and looked down.

More tables with straps to keep her in place?

She would have struggled more but just flopped her head down. After all, she was exhausted from the effects of the cursed emerald being repelled by the Master Emerald.

“Stupid thing.” She growled, closing her eyes.

“Powerful thing…”

She immediately was startled into lurching up, eyes wide open. The strap caught her though, stopping the motion as she looked in front of her.

In the back, a faint form stood, until he walked into the light with a big white smile on his face.

His glasses glowed a devious shine before he rubbed his hands together from the side. “Allow me to remove that burden for you, dear…”

“R-remove it?” she started growing nervous, seeing him jerk down some analog sticks. The action followed with surgical equipment slowly, like sentient vines, wiggle and sharply turn as they fell down above her.

“N…No,” her eyes shook in horror.

“Oh yes…” Eggman beamed.

“No!” she tried to kick her legs, but she just couldn’t summon enough power to break free of the restraints!

“Yes…” He leaned forward, clicking a red button on the top of one of the sticks and having the saw turn on and slash around the air.

“Stop it!” she screamed, trying to use her tail to some use but it just flailed around and knocked over a few cans on the ground. They were full of cotton swabs and bandages.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Eggman pulled the machinery up, and for a second, she stopped struggling and breathed hard.

Giving her some time to rest wasn’t wise, but she was thankful for his ego as he started to ramble. “I haven’t told you why I want your emerald yet.”

In her mind, she wondered why it mattered. But it could give her just enough time to recover… she better keep him rambling. “Yes…” she swallowed hard, trying to calm herself down. “Do tell.”

“Hahaha! Well, it all started with… eh, why stall? Hahaha!!!” he turned the devices back on, toying with her as she started to freak out again.

She tried desperately to move around, break free, but it was no use.

The machines encircled around the emerald, a beam of red laser light began to slowly make its way towards her like a surgeon’s blade.

With hysteria at feeling the heat of the small laser touching the surface of the emerald, it immediately retaliated.

The device was meant to give a small incision, not really do much damage to Ember, but as soon as it scaled the side of the emerald to get to removing it, her whole body shone with a dark aura.

She was lost in the shock and fear, and her body was fully possessed by the 8th cursed emerald. It looked like she had fainted, but her eyes shot open to reveal black, then stripes that shone a black light and her body flaring up into white.

“What!?” Eggman pulled the weapons back. “I thought she couldn’t control it?!” he was growing panicky.

“This looks an awful lot like…” Orbot was manning the grids, checking out her power levels and seeing them begin to rise. “Super form.”

“That’s impossible.” Eggman swiped a hand back to him, “Cubot, get the backup machine ready. I don’t want her blowing my place up in unbridled fury!”

“Right away, doctor!” He saluted, but rammed into a wall and had to readjust himself, rubbing his square head.

However, the intensity of the insanity lead to her almost growling or roaring in slight, agitated aggressions. She continued to fight to be free, but the straps were holding tight.

They transferred her to a machine, locking her in by her arms and legs, holding her up as the power flared around her, like a misty glow that warned danger.

“She hasn’t tried to attack yet.” Orbot stated.

“That’s obvious. The Emerald’s only concerned with defending itself. She’s too absorbed in the madness to figure out how to summon enough power to fight back. She’s not even really there, so it seems.” He snapped his fingers, but there was no response from Ember.

“Hmm… Start draining her, like the aliens on those planets.”

“But sir! That technology is out dated! Wouldn’t you rather use the world sucking life-“ Orbot tried to suggest an alternative but Eggman just gave him a look and he quickly retreated from the idea. “Eep! Right away, Doctor Eggman!”

“Bumbling bots…” Eggman grumbled under his breath. “Metal!”

Just then, Metal Sonic emerged from the shadows.

He looked to Ember’s insane head shaking and slamming herself against the machine’s back to try and escape. He then turned to Eggman, ready for an order.

“She’s delirious and weak from the Master Emerald’s influence right now. But soon… she won’t be. Guard her and make sure Sonic doesn’t wander in here by mistake. And if he does…” Eggman leaned down, raising an eyebrow to see if Metal Sonic had understood his implications.

Metal Sonic immediately slashed into a defective body of a robot beside him and ripped it out.

“Excellent.” Eggman grinned, patting Metal Sonic’s head and storming off. “Cubot! Orbot! To the main ship!”

Metal Sonic looked over to Ember, he walked up to her and began to shake his head, mocking her for her illogical movements.

After several minutes, and the insanity still present, Metal was alerted to Sonic and his friends having infiltrated the trap area. He wondered if he would even be needed… Infuriated at the thought that he would only play guard here while Sonic was running around the rest of the decoy ship.

Her grunting and snarls picked up pace, continuing her savage look and actions.

He simply tapped his finger on his folded arms, waiting for something exciting to happen… like for her to really lose her mind.

He lifted a claw up, suddenly getting an idea.

How easy it would be to just…

He started to move his hand towards the emerald radiating its light from her chest…

He was bored, so why not give it a try?

But as he began to try, the pressure around his arm began to crunch it inwards, and he quickly pulled it away.

Studying what the emerald’s power had done to it, he glared her way.

Then there was an explosion at the door.

Metal Sonic turned his attention away from her and she let out a cry, the pressure causing the machine and its electrical circuits to malfunction and begin shorting.

Sonic rolled into the area, uncurling with a hand up behind him and one knee pressed firmly to the ground.

“Miss me?” Sonic cockily smirked up to Metal Sonic.

His engine flared in response, a spark of rivalry and endless loathing as the two began to duke it out.

“H-huh?” Tails looked around the corner to see Ember, “Ah! It’s Shadow’s friend!” he hollered out.

“What, Ember’s here too?” Knuckles charged in, “Darn! What’d he do to her?!” Knuckles began to pound his fists. “You turn off the machine, I’ll punch her out of there!”

What they didn’t know, was once the electricity stopped shocking her, and the machine’s hold on her released, that she was just getting enough power to really wreck havoc again.

And they were in her way…

“Ember?” Amy raced in, hitting away some following robots and dodging Sonic and Metal Sonic’s fighting to successfully catch her from her slight fall.

Knuckles nodded.

 “But why here?” She continued to ask, but Ember was still far from everyone as her body was still being possessed.

Her head rolled back, hands twitching, like a panther readying to pounce and storing energy inside itself for the kill.

“What made her so weak..?” Amy noticed she didn’t have a scratch on her, but the power also made her concerned.

“No time for any more questions.” Tails pressed a button and the side of the ship exploded, creating an opening to the outside where they were. “Let’s get her on the X-Tornado!”

“Not without my emerald we’re not!” Knuckles protested, stepping forward.

Sonic and Metal Sonic still fiercely battled behind them.

“I’ve already got the Master Emerald when we first broke out of his trap!” Tails explained, “But we don’t have time to talk about this right now!”

The wind rushed by everyone, and immediately, Ember’s head shot up and a blast burst from her.

“AHHH!!” Everyone took cover but Amy was shot to the side.

Sonic grabbed Metal Sonic’s foot, seeing Amy get flung back, he threw Metal Sonic’s body in front of her to stop the blast from spreading past him.

It gave him just enough time to grab Amy and roll to safety.

The blast grew over the entire ship…

Their bodies were being singed, so Knuckles quickly grabbed Tails, throwing him out the opening and fought through the burns to run past Ember and get Sonic and Amy.

Metal was slowly boiling, but he got up, resisting it enough to still fight.

“My eyes… ahh!” Knuckles had kept one eye open, but the blast had stung them so badly that he was forced to close them. “It’s like their melting out of my sockets!”

With the two under his armpits, he raced out of opening and fell through the sky.

“What about Ember! Ah!” Amy felt her tongue burn as though they were too close to the sun.

Then…

The entire ship turned to ashes…

A second power, lighter in color, overlapped the first ball of chaos power and took everything in its wake.

Metal Sonic was just about to strike her, when he became nothing but soot through the air.

Tails called the X-Tornado over, and the gang was quickly caught but…

“Were we too late?” Sonic commented, looking through the skies before Tails pointed to something falling.

“There!”

Fully having spent her power, the emerald had withdrawn and Ember was returned to her fainted state of consciousness. She fell through the sky, free but very much in danger.

“She’ll lose oxygen way too quickly.” Knuckles tsk’ed.

“Hang on!!!” Tails maneuvered the ship to bank hard and then point straight down. “Amy! You’re hammer!”

Amy was straining against the wind pressure, but nodded. Sonic held onto her as she held her hammer out to ‘hook’ Ember’s limp body and pull her into the seat.

“We got her!” Sonic called, squinting an eye open to see Amy hold her upside down into the plane.

“Pull uppppp!!!” Knuckles cried back, seeing the ground steadily approaching at a rapid speed.

Tails used all his might to bring the plane from its freefall into a spiraling recovery, showing off amazing piloting skills as Knuckles looked back to see the Master Emerald had broken lose from its ropes and began falling down to the small amount of space between the ground and their aircraft.

“My Emerald!” Knuckles’s eyes turned white in rage, his mouth huge with rage. He jumped off and glided through the air.

“Knuckles!” Everyone called.

They figured he’d be okay, he was just gonna chase down the emerald after all, but that’s when Eggman’s main fleet showed up, firing at the Master Emerald to try and break it into pieces.

You know, just to be annoying.

“Should we go back and help him?” Tails asked, but that’s when Ember—head turned on the ground and legs up by Amy’s face—began to slowly come too.

“H-huh..?”

“Let Amy take care of Ember! Knuckles can rough it out for a little while.” Sonic seemed to be suggesting it, but Tails took it as the plan.

“Right!” he nodded in all seriousness to him and began to land the plane.

Ember slowly woke up laying on the ground, Amy attending her with bandages. It spooked her out at once so she flung back and pulled her arm away, “Wh-wha…?”

“It’s okay… Calm down…” Amy gently bobbed her hands up and down in a rhythmic motion, like waves upon the ocean.

Ember breathed heavily, scared but also unsure.

She then saw the burns on Amy’s arm, and although distrusting of Amy, realized that she’s seen those burns before and drew closer.

As she crawled closer, she spoke, “I know these burns… They’re from my cursed emerald.” She touched her emerald gem and then looked up at Amy. “Why are you helping me?”

Amy giggles, throwing Ember off as she flinched back, surprised.

“Because we’re friends! All of us.” She nods, confidently and then looks over her shoulder. “Sonic and the others are finishing off Eggman’s fleet right about now.” The air was littered with blasts and sounds, smoke and raids. She figured it was just a storm coming, but when she squinted her eyes and leaned up a bit, she noticed the small dots of robots targeting a plane.

“This was my fight, I should-“ she was about to get up, but Amy lightly touched her arm and she sat down, flinching at the pain.

She groaned with a hiss at the obvious state she was in, as Amy continued to try and bandage her up. “It’s alright. I told you, I’m here to help. You’re in no condition to fight so let me just-“

She swung her arm away from her.

“Hey!” Amy protested, pouting at her defiance.

“Hmph.” Ember attempted to fold her injured arm into her other but had to keep it loose to stay comfortable.

“Ohhh… You’re just gonna make yourself worse like that. But I can see the resemblance between you and Shadow, haha!” Amy laughed into her hand, but Ember took that as a slight compliment.

“You think so?” She looked back at the girl, surprised she wasn’t scared of her.

“Absolutely! You two are truly made from the same element.” She teased, but Ember smiled with a blush.

She decided to let Amy heal her, after all, it was the least she could do after… “Sorry.” She looked away, seeing the burns on Amy’s body again.

“Oh, this?” Amy followed her eyes before she looked away and smiled. “You really helped us back there. You completely disintegrated Metal Sonic though!”

Ember’s ears flicked, “Good.” She grumbled. “He was a jerk.”

“So you remember?” Amy tilted her head to her.

“…A little.” Ember looked away again, nervous around this girl. “Could you tell me everything? From your side of the story?”

Amy went on to explain the story from her side, speaking about Sonic and the gang along the way and what they saw when they found Ember.

“We all saved you, every one of us!” Amy concluded, and turned back kindly to Ember, who was sinking more and more to the ground in embarrassment at almost ending everyone’s lives. Amy must have not realized it or didn’t care to bring it up, but Ember’s power could have easily done the same thing to them as it did to Metal Sonic…

“But I don’t understand…” Ember swallowed some spit, sitting up and taking some courage to bring it up. “Why did you all save me? I mean nothing to any of you...”

Amy gasped, “Who told you that!?”

“But… you-you don’t know me! At all! I’m dangerous-!”

“Anyone can be dangerous, that doesn’t mean they can’t be our friend.”

“Amy!”

Amy turned to see Sonic waving from the X-Tornado. Knuckles had his Master Emerald strapped to its back and the ruins of what was left of Metal Sonic.

Tails landed and Sonic jumped out, bending down to stare at Ember with a pleasant look of curiosity in his eyes.

She pulled away into Amy, not liking the sudden attention from the man.

“Looks like sleeping beauty’s awake.” He teased.

“Sleeping ‘death bomb’ if you ask me.” Knuckles chucked the remains of Metal Sonic and Ember watched as the burnt steel slammed to the ground in front of her. “Hmph. Did a number on Eggman’s ship too…” Knuckles put his hands to his hips.

Why was everyone treating this like it wasn’t a big deal?

“I-…” Before she could say anything back, Tails just strode up to her and sat down, startling her terribly.

“What’s wrong?” He noticed her flinch away from him and depart further into Amy’s hold, but didn’t understand why she was so afraid of their reactions.

“You… You should be afraid of me.” She admitted, and hugged Amy, finding this whole situation unreal and unsettling.

Tails just smiled and pulled out his MilesElectric. “I hate to tell ya this… but we’ve befriended bigger threats than you.” He chuckled to himself, “One of them being your big brother.”

“Little…” she muttered, but realized the truth of their words. “Wait… are you friends with Shadow?”

“Sure!” Sonic chimed in, “Whether he wants to admit it or not, we’re all on the same side.”

“Can I check your vital signs? I need to make sure that chaos explosion you did back there didn’t hurt you too badly.”

Why… Why were they being so friendly and kind to her?

The Echidna was right, she was a death machine! So then… did they just not care about their own lives?!

She hesitated, thinking them all insane for helping her, but let go of Amy and let Tails take her hand.

“Honestly, she’s a little… jittery, isn’t she?” Sonic looked to Knuckles.

Knuckles just shrugged.

“I’m right here, you know…” Ember pouted, not liking how chill they were. But more so than that, she was uncomfortable with them playing her off as something ‘shy’ rather than ‘dangerous’.

“Hey,” Sonic squatted down beside her as Tails started to record and measure her breathing and heartbeat. “You feeling alright? You know, we’re pretty easy to get along with. No need to play up anything. We’re not afraid, just worried about you, okay?”

…Worried?

She thought only Shadow could feel that way about her…

She saw how they all had singed markings on their fur arms, … she looked to Tails and felt the need to cry but held it back.

She just squinted her eyes shut, not daring to look up at Sonic’s sweet face again.

Sonic arches his eyebrows back, seeing how emotional she’s getting.

“Well, come on. I think you’re alright. Let’s get you back to Shadow, where I’m sure you’d like to be.” He gently coaxed her eyes open, lightly rubbing with some tender care her arm so she would.

When she looked back at him, he took her hand and pulled her up, helping her to her feet.

“Well, Tails?” he looked to him.

“All signs point normal.” Tails winked, and then got up as well, helping Amy to stand.

She watched in silence for a moment at everyone just… acting like comrades and remembered her small village of children.

She looked down and thought about Shadow, if he really was a ‘friend’ to them more than just an ‘ally’ who helped saved the world with them.

She never saw him hanging out with them…

But this feeling… she liked being liked. She liked being worried about.

She remembered Amy talk of heroism in her re-telling of the story and saw the friendship she mentioned all around her.

“Alright, I’ll go back with you on some conditions.” She began, and the team all turned to her after hearing the serious note take hold in her voice.

“What’s that?” Knuckles inquired, as Amy giggled.

“She’s trying to cover up her silliness with a new found powerful tone now.” Amy put her hands behind her back, and embarrassed at her words, Ember blushed and shushed her.

“T-that’s not true!”

The gang all laughed, seeing her ‘tough girl’ attitude suddenly break from her face.

“Hey!”

“Oh yeah, that reminds me. Powerful.” Knuckles turned to her then, stopping mid-way into laughing.

His eyes blinked as he processed what to say, then walked directly face to face with her, “Where’d you get that emerald in your chest from, anyway? I thought I had the only seven left?”

“G…Gerald imbedded it into me.” She sweat-dropped. Maybe if they knew what a real monster she was, they wouldn’t be so carefree around her… She ducked her head down, “The echidnas used to it to try and conquer the world and chaos, directly. When Tikal died, they used this emerald to try and bring her back.” She touched the emerald, as the team’s faces lit up with the name.

“You know Tikal?” Tails questioned.

“…I used to see her in my dreams.” She admitted, “But not anymore… They failed to revive her because of their wickedness. Chaos’s power is of destruction, not life.”

They all looked a little sad to hear that but understood her logic.

“So… how’d it become cursed?” Amy’s sorrow was apparent in her voice, but she was also trying to be delicate about the matter.

“…” Ember took a deep breath, “The Master Emerald is connected to the seven servers. When thoughts are powerful enough, enriched by the heart, they take form and become power. However, the echidna’s thoughts were evil, and because their hearts couldn’t enrich the power, they polluted the emerald. This caused the Master Emerald to reject it. Thus, there was only seven pure Chaos Emeralds, and one Cursed.”

She skimmed the emerald and then lowered her shirt a little to reveal its full look.

The team gasped.

“Filled to the brim with negative chaos energy, it’s only destructive, and not healing.”

The team remained silent for a moment… before Sonic chuckled and turned on the charm.

“That must be annoying. Bet when you feel a scratch, you can’t just turn it to it’s side or whatever to get it, can you?”

She looked up with a blank stare before laughing at his joke. “My nails would scratch me if I tried!”

They goofily laughed and caused the atmosphere to revert into one of playfulness.

She boarded the plane and continued to combat Sonic with joke after joke, her tail wagging as she got her to forget about her problematic nature and turn to something more engaging… a friendly game of ‘unlimited jokes’ instead of ‘deadly power’.

As they flew through the skies, Amy also talked with her, happy to have a female friend to talk to for a change and Ember slightly agreed on that.

Trust formed slowly, but Ember noticed more and more how accepting she became of them, because they accepted her and all her faults first.

Once arriving at Tails’s place, they held a small celebration when Ember announced she felt she had fully healed from going berserk. There was food and drinks, and when candy was announced Ember grew excited and grabbed two large handfuls of it, almost breaking the bowl in her rushed frenzy to get some.

“Thanks! You guys rock- ICE CREAM!” Ember’s gratitude was cut off when Amy and Tails brought out more desert and treats, causing her to once again stuff her face with sugary treats.

Before anything else could commence, the door was suddenly flung open with a powerful kick, and a dark figure briskly walked into the room. “Where is she?!” He declared.

“Sh-Shadow?” Ember ducked, her ears bent back as she saw how seriously ticked off he looked…

He saw her and immediately came at her, “You fool!” he hit away her food as she stumbled back.

“G-wah!”

“You fought an Eggman Airship!?”

“It… it turned to dust?” she shrugged her arms out, making Sonic and the gang feel bad for Shadow scolding her.

“Don’t play dumb with me…” his eyebrow twitched at her innocent reply. He grabbed her coat and pulled her towards him. “You were reckless and you know it! I told you to lay low but you deliberate got yourself into danger! What if Sonic wasn’t there!? What would you have done if-!”

“H-hey! Relax, we got her out.” Sonic tried to distill the situation, but Shadow just glared at him from the corner of his eye.

“Stay out of this, hedgehog. This is between me and Ember. Not any of you.”

“But Ember’s our friend!” Amy announced, standing up to him with her hands bravely on her hips, taking control over the situation to help Sonic. “She didn’t do anything wrong! She said Eggman was after her emerald and she went berserk. She could have escaped on her own to be fair…”

“What?” He looked back to Ember. “You mean… you didn’t pick a fight with Eggman?”

“No, he came to her!” Tails spoke up, “At least, that’s what Ember told us.”

Ember scratched the back of her head, not used to having a team of ‘friends’ help her out and side with her on anything before…

“Hmm… Is that true?”

She remained silent and looked down, clicking her pointer finger’s nails together in sheepish peace.

“…Hrrm.” He let her go, “Guess I haven’t heard the full story yet. Only that an Eggman Air fleet was annihilated by a huge chaos surge. I knew it was you, but I didn’t realize you were only defending yourself.”

They… defended her?

She looked to the team, who smiled and nodded for her to tell the truth.

She took some candy and held it up to Shadow, nervously. “Hehe… He basically had me surrounded.”

Shadow stared at the candy, and put a hand up to it, turning away. “Then I’m at fault, forgive me for rough-housing you like that. Continue with your little celebrations. I have work to do.”

She cut him off, grabbing his arm, “Wait! Just one… piece of candy?” she continued to wave it around. “As a true apology to me?”

“I’m not one for sweets.” He growled, not liking her stopping him.

“Aw, instead of outright refusing, try at least a chilidog?” Sonic held up the food in front of Shadow.

“Eat it, eat it, eat it!” The team and even Ember joined in on the peer pressure.

Shadow looked around, before swiping the food out of Sonic’s hand and closing his eyes. “Hmph, if it’ll get you to let me leave faster… I suppose I can tolerate some kind of meal…” He took a bite.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up and the team all gasped.

“I… I think he likes it.” Amy stated.

“I think he loves it.” Tails exclaimed.

Ember, like a proud sister, held her hands up to her mouth in pure joy. “I think he really, really loves it!”

The rest of the night, Shadow ate and the team partied all together. Ember could finally say… she felt she had friends and a family again.

-The Fire’s Scourge.-

The Fire’s Scourge.

Commission for the lovely Marydragneell

By: Cutegirlmayra

Dear Manic,

Your song lyrics are so funny, not everything has to rhyme or sound like a poem. But I appreciate it, it’s great to read. I’d rather hear it though! Or at least sing it! When do you plan to visit me? It’s gets boring here sometimes… especially when Shadow bosses me around about being all ‘responsible’ and ‘acting my age’. I’m the same age as him! I was even created before him! I’m practically the oldest… anyway, I’m grumbling on paper, haha! Send me a mix-tape sometime and don’t be afraid to write back. I enjoy these letters.

I enjoy scrapping my claws against the thin paper as I write to you.

Sincerely, The most epic wolf you’ll ever know! Ember

P.S: Ember is easy to make songs out of, try and be more creative next time!

It was the last letter she had written Manic… before the letters stopped coming.

Ember lightly made sure her claws wouldn’t crease too much of the paper, deciding to write another letter in hopes he may respond this time. Like he used too…

The letter folded neatly into an envelop as Ember sealed it with a lick. She held it close to her face, letting it touch her nose as she excitedly withheld herself from getting her hopes too high.

Again…

She had been pen-paling Manic The Hedgehog, Sonic’s brother, for a little while now. Ever since Rouge gifted her a writing kit, trying to make peace with her since they sometimes had to work together, she’d been writing him back and forth like this.

She hopped down from the G.U.N HQ’s desk she was at and went to put it in the mail chute when Shadow stormed up to her.

“Where were you?”

His voice sounded annoyed, not like his normal, causal brooding…

“I was… um…” she hadn’t told Shadow about her little crush…

He looked at the letter in her hands, but she quickly stuck it in her tail and smiled nervously to him, “I’m just writing Santa!”

“Hmph.” He shot air out of his nose at her humor. “When are you going to start-“

“Acting my age?” Ember rolled her eyes, “Get to work? Be nice to Rouge? Hang out with people? I thought we were passed this already, I’m a grown woman! Let me live my life!” she folded her arms before exaggerating her independence, “I do jobs for G.U.N, don’t I?”

“Speaking of which, there’s been a portal breach near where you’re supposed to be patrolling.” He glared her down, seeing her trying to wiggle the letter out of her fluffy tail and get it in the mail chute.

When she saw him staring, she pretended she was just wagging her tail in excitement.

He pinched the middle bridge of his nose, “What am I to do with you?”

“Love me?” She moved back a bit, not sure if he’d find that funny.

His look certainly showed he didn’t.

“If you’re not going to take this mission seriously, I’ll go myself.” He grabbed what looked like a brown, dirtied cloak with rips all throughout it, but Ember immediately reached forward, grabbing a bit of it.

“No!”

“No?” he pivoted, “What do you mean, no? I thought you were ‘enjoying your life’?” he seemed to be spitting the same wording she had used in previous discussions right back at her.

Ember sweated a bit, seeing how angry he really was at her, but realized he was trying to cut her some slack. “You’re a good brother, Shadow. Whether you want to be or not.”

He raised an eyebrow, but she slowly began to tug the cloak off of him.

“And you do make a valid point… I need to prove I can handle this. You’re always worried about me-“

“-And for good reason.” He fully faced her, his tone full of distain.

She gulped, folding the cloak in her arms and continuing as she draped it over her arm. “B-but that’s why I’m going to show you I can do it! I’ve done big missions before, I can do some recon too.” She stood confidently, placing the cloak back on the hanger and tugging her own tighter onto her back, flexing it forward. “Trust me a little, I won’t let Eggman kidnap me again!”

Shadow’s eyes turned softer then, his shoulders going limp.

“Sonic said you passed out, turned insane again… how can I-?”

“I do reckless things, but most of the time, I’m only trying to make you proud.” She took his hand, shaking it lightly. “And do what’s right.”

“…Do you even comprehend what’s right?” He muttered the sentence out, but worried about her maturity level…

It was more tender a question than she had realized, and she quickly was caught off-guard.

Not wanting to continue the topic further, feeling a bit of hurt by those untrusting words, she let his hands go and tried to look chirpy.

“Well, brother. I promise to at least try and not get into trouble… of my own accord… if I can… deal?” her inputs made it all the more unbelievable.

He shook his head but conceded with a shake.

“I just don’t want you getting hurt…”

“I won’t!” She embraced him, knowing he wouldn’t embrace her back but still.

Shadow flinched at the touch, but relaxes after a moment, knowing this is just how Ember shows her affections.

She only gave hugs like this to him, anyway.

He was about to put a hand up to her head, attempting to reciprocate some family love before Rouge intervened, flying down with a sweet smile on her face.

She stretched her wings out a moment before retracting them back behind her. “Aww… look at the cute little siblings… finally getting along?” she teased.

Shadow quickly turned his head and hand away. “Ugh…”

Ember released him and glared at Rouge, sticking her tongue out. “You ruined our moment!”

“Oh? Did I?” Acting innocently, Rouge placed a finger up to her mouth. “Hadn’t noticed.” She winked, being playful. “Shadow, command wants to know about that portal…”

“Ember’s on it.” Shadow looked over his shoulder at her, and then back to Ember. “I hope.”

“Hope is enough!” she waved him off and dug through her tail, getting the letter she stashed out and dumping it in as quick as lightning.

“What was-?” Shadow peered down the mail chute but Ember was already booking it away.

“Bye, bro!”

“Wait! Ember!” He called after her, but she had already raced out.

“Wild one. How ever are you going to tame her to be a good little soldier like ourselves?” Rouge put her hands together and struck a very fake pose, she was clearly mocking the fact that Shadow was in charge of Ember’s training.

He sighed, still watching where she had run off too. “Sometimes… I worry I don’t know her full strength… as well as I pretend too.”

“You of all people should know her best. She doesn’t hide anything from you.” She walked up next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder, showing more comradery than teasing now. “To her, you’re family.”

“…She is the only thing I have to an actual family.” He muttered out, as though admitting it aloud for the first time.

“Oh my! What a declaration.” Rouge took her hand off him and covered her mouth, but smiled at his tender comment. “Such a softy under all those quills…”

“Hmph.” He moved away from her, trying to signal he was done talking but she flew off after him anyway.

“Do you know who she’s writing with my little present?”

He froze, looking back at her.

“Someone who may be close… but differently, compared to you.” She fluttered her wings and took off, giving him just enough to drive him crazy with questions.

He openly showed his teeth, frowning deeply. “At least she has a friend… that’s what she meant… wasn’t it?”

However…

Below where the letters are delivered, a few shadowy figures lurked. One suddenly caught the falling mail and tapped it against his shoulder, opening it up and pretending to barf. He shredded the letter and snickered, writing his own back with a click of a pen.

“Hehehehe… Dear Manic… Get lost.”

The other shadowy figures snickered a moment.

The mailman came and the new letter was sent, as the old one’s remains drifted down in steady, shredded pieces…

“And now, boys… let’s go catch a spark of flame~” A devious voice spoke through the darkness, and the gang all raced out to follow Ember’s figure disappearing into the woods…

----

Ember couldn’t remember much, which she wasn’t used to with such a profound memory. She could only recollect something hard had struck from behind, knocking her out pretty hard and leaving her mostly unconscious. Now, as she woke up, she noticed the jerking of a brown, dirtied bag squishing and bobbing her between mysterious footfalls that carried her in the bag.

“She’ll probably have portal-lag. Might as well set her down here till she wakes up.” The voice wasn’t familiar to her. It wasn’t from Sonic or from his gang, so she figured she was just kidnapped.

‘Kidnapped!?’ she plugged her mouth immediately after thinking that awful thought. ‘No, no, no! I just told Shadow I wouldn’t be kidnapped! Ohhh! Now I’m mad!’ She squirmed a bit in the tight space, her tail taking up most of the free space. ‘I’ll thump’em! I’ll trounce them! I’ll- I’ll-!’

“Are you mad?” Suddenly, she did pick up on a voice. Her bag was gently lowered and she could feel the swinging weight of her body finally rest upon cold ground.

Was that… Sonic?

Was this a joke!?

“We have a powerful entity on our hands… I just want the fiery babe to feel comfortable enough to not burn the whole place down to smithereens!” His sudden tone change,… that sarcasm,… the joke about the portal-lag…

Was she in another dimension?

“Tsk. I don’t see why you’re so fixated on chaos power again.” Another voice spoke out a grumbly tone, feminine this time. But…

Could she maybe..?

She tried to wiggle her finger around the opening of the bag, seeing if her claw could get the band on the bag a few more inches loose.

“…You don’t get it?” Sonic’s voice turned dark again, and she flinched a minute as her ears tried to adjust to the strange rhythm it had. Sonic was always full of life, vigor, and general velocity in his actions and words to match his quick feet. This… couldn’t be Sonic.

She felt a shift and the bag toppled over. Ember had to keep silent but could feel a breathy ‘yelp!’ escape her lips just barely. She instinctively plugged her mouth again, and quickly.

“What do you think I’m running here, Fi? You worthless Destructixs are in this for me. Got it? We broke out of jail for the sole purpose of lighting this world on fire with my iron fist pounding it into submission! To light the world… we need a match.” Ember could hear a fist pound into something, probably the other hand, but felt the shift in atmosphere… as though eyes were on her.

‘Light the world on fire..?’ She thought a moment, ‘Destructixs? Where have I heard… Ah!’ Ember suddenly recognized this speech pattern wasn’t Sonic’s at all! She remembered perfectly the name, where she had heard it too. Immediately, she decided she couldn’t—No, wouldn’t stay quiet and hide forever!

She had faked her unconsciousness to get information, but now, she was getting impatient.

‘Gerald Robotnik created me for good! To defend! I know who these guys are now…’ She flexed her claws, getting ready...

It only took a moment of further silence before the bag was shredded in seconds, and Ember rose up with a quick swipe toward where Sonic’s voice had previously come from.

“Scourge!” she cried out, “You rascal!”

“Woah. The kitty’s awake.” He smirked, stepping back to dodge her assult before tugging on his black, flaming jacket. “Boys?” he gestured to the gang as Ember’s arms were thrown behind her.

“Pfft. Who thinks they can hold me down—Ohhhhh…” She struggled a moment before turning her head around to look up at a large, imposing figure. “A big boy.”

The extremely large and tall giant growled down at her, at least, that’s how she saw him.

“Simian, make sure our guest knows her place.” He began to walk toward what looked like a stone throne. Around Ember was a large, black and blue stoned castle, or the remains of what looked like one.

She was able to fight a bit back and get her arms almost away from her back, but Sgt. Simian’s strength was certainly a match for her.

“Okay… Not so easy to break out of.” She grumbled, disliking the change in the situation.

“Stone, babe.” Scourge tapped the stone beneath them, looking at her over his shoulder. “Want to have a go at making this place light up?” he teased, moving over to his throne and sitting rather reclined in it. “Welcome to my realm. Not much. But all mine.” He put a hand up to his chin to rest his head on, “Well… anymore.” He snickered as the rest of the team seemed to chuckle back.

He motioned for the rest of the gang to come forward. “You know how hard it is to track down a little firefly like you?”

Ember spat on the ground, “Call me a firefly one more time…” she tried to resist being dragged forward from behind, her feet scuffing at the stones below her, but there was no traction strong enough to withstand Sgt. Simian’s brute strength. He basically dragged her towards Scourge at his request like a vacuum cleaner across a rug.

“Tsk. Like I care!” Scourge responded, watching as she was pushed forward towards him.

In protest at being man-handled, her feet began to spark against the stone, but no fire was produced.

‘Shoot!’ she thought to herself, ‘I’m surrounded! And on top of that? I’m not even in my own realm! Guess back-up’s out of the question…’

“You think we have time for a new carpet? This place is fireproof, baby! Hahaha!” He leaned his head back and laughed and laughed.

“Whoo… I have to hand it to ya. You’re one hard dame to find…” he clapped a little with his hands, as though congratulating her and rubbing some ‘tears’ out of his eyes after his such a good laugh. “Had to send every mercenary I could intimidate on the hunt for you. Glad you remember me though.” He winked.

“So… I was kidnapped, I’m in a different world, and you’ve sent spies to figure out where I was. Am I missing anything?” Ember raised an eyebrow, being rather composed as she relaxed. She was hoping it would make Sgt. Simian’s grip on her arms loosen, at least let his guard down, but that didn’t seem to be the case…

A red fox walked up to Scourge, turning around to face Ember and folding her arms, clearly not liking the other girl’s presence. Ember assumed this was the girl he called ‘Fi’, simply because she was the only girl in the group. So? Deduction stands that she must be the feminine voice she had heard previously...

“Show some manners and don’t directly talk to the king.”

“Wow. You even got her playing pretend.” Ember snapped a quick line back as the girl tensed up, her tail flicking in rage but Scourge just raised a hand.

“Feisty, feisty, feisty… I like it. But you’d do well to remember what situation you’re in.” he took his raised hand and leaned forward, snapping. “Snap!”

Suddenly, there was a harsh spark of pain in her arms. Ember was lifted up in a painful hold as Sgt. Simian held her suspended in the air.

Her eyes flinched, but she kept any grunt or utterance of pain at a minimum.

“Aaaaannnddd… Hold for dramatic effect… Snap!”  Scourge reclined again and snapped, having Sgt. Simian put her down again.

Her arms twitched under the uncomfortable position, and she swore a few jerks would have had her shoulders pop out of their sockets.

“Do I have your attention now, little spark?”

“It’s Ember.” Ember gritted her teeth. “And when Shadow finds out what you’ve done-!”

He suddenly rose to his feet, “I’ve defeated Shadow! And Sonic! At the exact same time!” he swiped his arms out, growing annoyed. “Don’t you dare think you can threaten me!!!”

“Tsk.” Ember emoted, not seeming to have known that before. She sweatdropped, nervous now if Shadow could even jump realms… ‘Maybe I should have laid low a little longer…’

“Scourge.” A hawk stepped forward, as though gently reminding his leader of his purpose.

“Hmph. I know!” Scourge dismissed the comment, swiping a hand at him, “In my own due time!”

He turned back to his throne, “As you recall, I was trying to lure out Sonic through a staged ‘setup’ if you will…”

----

It was a vivid memory—though Ember’s memory never failed her anyway. No matter… how hard she would try and forget.

Scourge had run into her vigilante G.U.N attire, not having fully recognized her as she continued to foil his criminal activities of trying to seize control over the world. Sonic and his friend would naturally call upon the Freedom Fighters to put a stop to his plans, but this time was different.

G.U.N had actually assigned her to stop a village fire,…

Little did she know it was a trap.

The citizen’s screamed in terror as wood and falling debris littered the skies, their homes and city collapsed around them in the flames.

Their city was deep within a crater formed in the earth, with sharp, jagged cliffs encircling them. There seemed to be a drainage system in place for floods, but for some reason, the drains had been clogged and the fire had no where to escape too. If they tried using water to put out the massive fires, which started up sporadically in different locations, then they would be trapped within the crater.

What made matters worse is that the fires had burnt the electrical powers, so even their way out was blocked besides long, carved stairwells which would be too dangerous for a mass of panicked people to scale in an efficient manner.

So what was Ember to do..?

“Help! Someone!” A woman cried from within a building as Ember quickly leaped up and scaled the tall skyscraper with her claws.

“Haaannnggg ooonnn!!!” she ripped through the flaming surroundings and grabbed the woman, rushing down and helping her to safety. “Does anyone know who started this?” Ember set her down lightly as the woman frantically turned around, wanting to aid as much as possible now that she was out of harm’s way.

“They called themselves ‘Destructix’. They said-“ as the woman began to cough and mutter, a voice suddenly rose from the flames atop a hill.

“Too bad! Looks like Blue didn’t have time to save any of you. Guess you’ll just burn straight to the underworld then!!!” A figure stood looming above on a cliff. He looked like a light green hedgehog with bright sunglasses, having the city’s flames dance in their shades, tugging on his jacket. He flicked his wrist as a few other figures came up: a monkey, red fox, frog, dog, hawk, and wolf. They stepped ahead of him and poured what looked to be gallons of gasoline down onto the streets below.

Like a skillet having oil poured on it, firing up everything for a split second of pure horror. The flash blinded the citizens as the heat swept their breaths up and burst the rest of their hope they had at survival.

People shrieked as he smirked, turning away before Ember’s rage couldn’t contain itself anymore.

Her fingers twitched, head pulsed with trauma as she saw children rushing away from the quickly moving flames…

“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

She couldn’t control it. It was too much on her heart.

The cursed emerald pulsed, cloaking her in a bright white as her eyes covered in pitch black smoke that rippled along her eye sockets. In this hysterical super form, she covered herself in chaos energy and burst through the trailing gasoline.

It was like an arrow through water, she would thrust one hand out and burning gasoline would splash out of her way onto the buildings and away from the cowering citizens. One hand at a time, she propelled herself through the streets. Her power turned the flames into nothing more than burnt oil stains against the city’s skyscrapers, extinguishing them as fire swarmed her being. With enough force, she had spared the majority of the city while they continued to evacuate. Some had burns, but it looked as though no one had died, miraculously.

“B-Boss!” The shaking hand of the Wolf gestured behind him towards the powerful streak of Ember’s power charging like a swift beam of light towards them.

“…Hmm?” Scourge turned around, his glasses suddenly shining with the light she was emitting as he strode back up to the edge and peered down at her. He smirked, his eyes completely consumed in the image of her magnificent flaming display of power and skill.

She scaled the ledge, climbing in a ferocious tantrum towards them. Below, people cheered and huddled close to their loved ones, scaling the escape route out from their precious homes now destroyed to mere ash.

Some of Scourge’s men got ready to fight, but he rose a hand up to stop them. “Wait!” His sharp teeth glistened when his tongue licked over their dry frames. The chaos energy and the flames left a streak of dry wind, smoky to the smell, and excited Scourge for a moment.

“Well, well… I think I remember you.” He backed off, “We’ll meet again, little spark!” he then escaped in the nick of time, just before Ember ripped through the skyscraper in her way, leaping straight through it, and landing off into the mountain’s cliffside. She attempted to pursue him in her fury, but his buddies and him had portal capabilities, and were gone without a trace.

Ember huffed and puffed, standing away from the fires still licking at the lightly fuming city before she collapsed and gripped her head. “How could… How could people like that still exist..? I thought… G.U.N was the only organization capable of being so cruel… I’ll find them. I’ll stop them no matter what it takes!!!” Ember’s oath was never forgotten, but she hadn’t found a rumor about the mysterious Destructix’s since.

----

So while Scourge finished his recollection of the story, Ember was still locked inside her own perfect memory of the event. The smoke that rose from that black pit… the reports of missing individuals that some witnesses say they saw escaping up the stairs… the families being left with nothing but soot on their faces and half-burnt clothes on their backs…

Scourge didn’t seem to notice her shaking pupils, but did see how quiet she was, staring off at the ground as she began to realize what a mad man he really was.

He took off his sunglasses, his eyes widening in glee. “That power was something else, babe. Mind telling me why you’re not summoning it now?”

She flicked her nose up, ‘Is that what he’s after?!’ and looked away. ‘At first it was to find Sonic… but now he might do something horrible like that… to find me.’ She couldn’t bare to think about it, biting her jaw tightly shut as she tried to hold in her rage. ‘What… what awful things did he do while he searched for her instead of Sonic..? Was it her fault..? That more people were hurt by his crazy, terrorist attacks?’

“Playing coy?” He teased, jumping down from his throne and walking over to her, standing by her side and checking her out. “That power’s not asleep, is it? Hate to wake it up…”

His threats fell on deaf ears, which she twitched to show her ignorance of his roaming eyes…

Her tail maneuvered itself between Sgt. Simian’s legs… waiting for a good opportunity…

“I remember how you looked, sweetheart. Covered in the light of flames and spouting oil this way and that.” He gestured with his hands, flinging them out left and right to show a live demonstration of her feat. “You almost made me think you cared for all those people down there…”

She growled.

After seeing his eyes light up at her reaction to him, she forcing her mouth shut again, but she refused to let him taunt her.

He wanted a fight, but she wouldn’t give it to him.

He put his glasses back down over his eyes, his smirk fading slightly. “You’re not one to talk back or pick fights, are you? Caution is the most annoying trait, babe.”

Ember sighed, “You want my power. That’s annoying in and of itself too.” She lowered her head, playing into the ‘I give up’ motive and waiting for Simian to drop his guard.

She felt his hands loosen with her bending body and knew the moment wouldn’t be too far off now.

Just a little longer…

“Well, yeah. I find it hot.” He suddenly lurched forward, straight at her face. It startled her, but he reached directly at her chest and grabbed her emerald, sticking just slightly above her shirt as she felt the Master Emerald’s power suddenly rejecting it, inflicting Ember’s essence with its powerful, pure chaos energy.

“AHHHH!!!” she flung her head back as he poured some of his chaos energy into her, causing immense pain as the cursed emerald seemed to be repelled when it wanted to fight back and defend itself.

“Hahaha! So it is cursed!” Scourge kept his grip tight, laughing as the fox girl saw where his hands were and quickly grew defensive.

“That’s enough, Scourge!”

Her jealous burst made him stop laughing, turning to look at her with a frustrated expression as his hand released Ember.

She fell to her knees, taking a moment to recover from that torture before she felt Sgt. Simian’s hand let go of her, now holding her with one. He did so to avoid falling with her, since he was much larger than her anyway.

Now was the time, she just needed her strength first.

“Fiona, baby, I’m working here.” Scourge began to walk up to her, seeming calm but Fiona knew his act all too well.

She stepped away a moment, seeing him immediately grow hostile and grab her neck.

He screamed in her face, dipping her down and gripping her to him, hollering down her throat. “Don’t interfere!”

When he let her go, she fell and coughed, clutching her sore neck before pointing towards Ember, “She’s nothing! You’ve seen me take down stronger foes than her! Let me fight her! I’ll prove how useful I can be-!”

“Pfft. Save it, toots. You and I both know little spark’s far more devastating than some freaky kung fu moves.” He waved her off, making Fiona look down and slam her fist to the ground.

“She’s the freak with the moves… I can do it. I can beat her if you’ll let me just-“

“Quiet!” He swiped an arm out, silencing her again. “You’re getting on my nerves. Take a chill pill and walk, Fi!” Immediately, as though understanding the context of his words, some of his men came up behind Fiona. She looked behind her, getting upset as she struggled and glared to Ember.

Ember didn’t have anything against the girl, besides that she followed a lunatic, but the look she gave her made Ember feel even more irritated.

Fiona shook off the men’s arms and got up, silently walking away with the men, clearly having some resolves.

“Hmph. Women, am I right?” he folded his arms and then looked back to Ember with a joking, sinister smile.

Now!

Ember tripped up Sgt. Simian, wrapping her strong tail around a leg and pulling him back to fall down behind her. He was already bending over to keep one hand on her, it was his own fault for thinking she couldn’t recover fast enough.

She got her arms back and pounced towards Scourge, raising a clawed hand up. “HAAA!!!”

“Oh! Something interesting!” he chimed, jumping back and out of her way as her claws dug into the concrete of the old castle, near his throne.

The stone bricks flew out of place and crashed all around, tink, tink, tinking onto the ground as rubble and chalky dirt launched everywhere into the open air.

Scourge wiped his mouth of the grey dirt and readied himself, looking thrilled at some violence. “Finally… I was thinking you were just gonna lay down for me, sparkz.”

“Ember.” She growled.

“Right, right. Well, you either have two options. As far as I see? It’s join me-“ he flicked off some rubble that was sticking to his shoulder, “Or death.”

Ember also got into a fighting position, summoning all her strength she had regained from resting a moment to her hands and feet.

“And it’s not really a request…”

Ember felt her power soar through her being, the cursed emerald still pumping chaos through her in a means to recover after that last attack.

She flung her arm out again, but it was a feint. Soon as he tried to dodge, she gripped the ground and swung a foot into his stomach.

“Offph!” She watched him recline back from the pain, his lips pushing forward at the intensity of the hit.

“Heh.” She had the advantage and wouldn’t let it slip away! “Here’s a taste of my power you want so badly! Have itttttt!” she roundhouse kicked, knocking his head back but he lifted an arm up to grab her other leg as she circled for another blow and threw her down.

Quickly getting back up, she saw his hands come together and slam down on the concrete where she had just rolled away from.

‘This is gonna take more than strength…’ she recognized that his strength was equal to that of her powered cursed emerald. He must have been powered by the Master Emerald too… but how?!

She didn’t have time to dwell on that. She wanted to prove, not just to herself but to Shadow too, that she could complete a mission on her own!

She summoned some power to her chest and filled her claws with chaos energy, making them grow out like beams of light. “Try dodging this, don’t underestimate me!” She leaped up and feinted a swipe as though about to cast Shadow’s Chaos Spears.

It worked. Scourge recognized the familiar motion and went to dodge what he thought was the onslaught of chaos energy spears, but she pushed off the wall nearest to her, her eyes twitching, ‘There! An opening!’

She kicked off the wall and threw herself fully at him, “Haaaa!!!!” she slashed his already permanent scar with fresh new claw marks across his chest.

“Agh!” he was blasted back, the pulse from her Chaos Claws sending the cursed emerald’s power through his body and having it repel his own stolen Master Emerald power.

The two didn’t mix well, the power kept blasting the other back, but at least she knew she could push him back if she summoned her power faster than he could counter it.

He still had that advantage… but for that moment, he wasn’t using it at its full potential. Even Ember could see that…

She landed a bit away from him, watching him grip at his chest. He seemed surprised to see no blood. “The damage was more to your energy.” She slowly rose up, the power in her claws fading as she returned to her usual twitch of sharpening her nails. “But I still got’cha…”

Indeed, she saw the wounds reopen on his chest, only a little blood oozed out but just enough for Scourge to look down and see the delayed reaction.

His face shifted to lines of anger stretched up from the dip in his narrowed eyebrows.

As though refusing to let loose his full power just yet, his energy subsided and he just looked back up at Ember, fixated on her form.

“Interesting…” he licked his lips, getting up. “Very interesting…” he still held his chest, some blood on his glove now, but the bleeding would stop momentarily as the chaos energy began to reform again.

She disengaged and stepped away, feeling the power in her claws slowly dwindle. “Tsk.” She kept sharpening them as sparks flew around her. ‘His attack on me from before weakened the cursed emerald… I can’t do what I normally can now… is that why he so directly attached the Master Emerald’s power to it? By doing so, he probably knew it would cripple me somewhat… I’ll have to play a bit of a waiting game to get my lost power back.’

She smirked.

‘Perfect. I’ll keep him talking…’

“So? You really think you’re going to somehow get me to join your little uprising?” She decided to play along, swishing her tail and moving back as to lure him up and think she wasn’t going to strike anymore.

“Heh… do you really think me that stupid?” He growled. She could feel his own chaos power recharging, and knew he was probably adopting the same strategy.

“You’re lucky, you know… I haven’t even begun to fight!” he suddenly let loose a Chaos Blast, shattering the ground and exploding outward as Ember couldn’t react fast enough to block against it.

She was blown into the wall, crashing hard against it and getting a headache when she landed back to the ground with a hard thump!

She groaned, trying to sense her surroundings again when a foot was pressed on her back, keeping her down.

Then… she felt a hand move through the back of her hair, gripping some strangled strings as smoothly as moving through water. But then her head was ripped back, forcing her to turn toward him.

“Erk!” it hurt like none other, but she could hear him shifting his muzzle through her hair, pulling her head back to lean and press against it.

“My, my… Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?” he mocked with an alluring pleasure to his voice. “I’m not.”

“Back off!” she threatened, flailing a moment but his touch never wavered.

“You’re so enticing, Ember… like a warm fire that burns anyone who dares to touch it.” His words hissed in a pleasure-seeking tone that made her uncomfortable. What was that? Some sort of intimidating praise or actual flirting?

From back in the front of the castle, the gang watched on, having all scattered back after that fight.

They knew when not to intervene with Scourge, but Fiona couldn’t contain herself.

She lurched forward, only to have a hand grip her shoulder and the frog shake his head. This time she gritted her teeth, seeing how they all weren’t keen on Ember, but wouldn’t dare disobey Scourge again.

She held silent reservations, but looked on and held herself back. “I hate her…” she mumbled.

The rest of the team sighed in tense pockets of air, letting them go gradually. They seemed to be silently agreeing with her.

Maybe this girl was more a problem than a useful pawn…

“You know what’s crazy good about you, Toots?” Scourge smelled her hair in a deep, creepy whiff. Ember reached her hands back to get him off her hair but he gripped her wrists and spun her around, pinning her on the ground.

“Ack!” she felt the cruel stone scrape against her back. Her clothes survived the Chaos Blast, but some of it had ripped somewhat.

“You know what..?” He moved close to her face, his fangs skimming her forehead as his tongue taunted her eye.

It was disgusting, she twitched her eye and finally turned away, giving into some fear deep inside herself.

“After I broke out of jail for the hundredth time… I decided, hey, wonder how my dear emotionally distraught castaway was doing.” He pulled back and winked. “Found you again… a dog to those goody-two-shoes, and it’s been sparkz ever since, Cinder~”

“Ember.” She growled, as though cursing loudly, she tried to push against his strength.

For a moment, it was working. She could feel her power returning to her, inching him off little by little and getting her hands to lock in his own and steadily push him away.

But he only smiled, watching her struggle must have looked like a game to him.

“Whatever. Still on fire.”

“Ugh, What is?”

“My heart and your body, babe.”

She rolled her eyes, “I’ll make a fire in you, alright… one that burns you to a crisp!” she started to summon her own Chaos Blast, struggling under him.

However… his head jerked down and his fangs gripped her emerald.

“Ack!” she blushed before another huge wave of the Master Emerald’s power shot through her and electrified her body. “AHHH!!!”

Again, Fiona could not remain still, so as she went to leap forward, about to call out his name when the rest of the Anti-gang grabbed her and pulled her back, covering her mouth.

“Tolerate it.” the Lynx threatened. “He’s only getting what he wants.”

Her eyes were green with jealousy, but her face was red with anger and revenge.

Scourge let go and Ember collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily as it felt her entire insides had been fried.

“Ever since you raged from that burning town,” He wiped the spit off his mouth, letting her go and looming over her. “I’ve always had the hots for ya.”

She coughed and breathed heavily, sliding herself out from under him and leaning against the stony wall. She gripped it for support, rubbing her imbedded cursed emerald before gathering enough strength to speak again. “Me? Or my power?” she turned back to him, playfully folding her arms, faking that she was fine.

“Boo, it’s all in the same body.” He lowered his sunglasses down to get a better look at her. “What’s the difference?”

He must have called her bluff, because he moved right back where he was, pinning her against the stone and letting his nose skim her muzzle. He whispered, “What to do… what to do…” As though taunting her feeble state. “What ever should I do to you first..?” he smirked, looking back at her.

Ember ignored the power-plays, quickly changing the subject and trying to restore her strength back, struggling to push him away again. “My power isn’t me. I-I mean… I’m more than my abilities!” Her head rolled a moment, feeling nauseated from the two chaos powers conflicting each other.

“Sure, sure. But my abilities could send you to a whole new world…” He gave her a suggestive eyebrow movement.

Ember couldn’t let him just toss her around like a ragdoll! No matter how much his chaos power repulsed and diffused her own… she would have to fight!

Ember chuckled, trying to still play cocky as best as she could, even if she was stuck against a wall and a madman. “I’m already in another dimension.”

“I know, right? Exciting, isn’t it?”

He suddenly let her go.

It was then that Ember felt her body fall back to the ground. Was she unable to keep going?

She tried to slide her feet under her, but they skid back to being weakly shaken upon the ground.

She began to panic. ‘No… No-no-no, get up! You can’t let him win!’ She was growing more and more anxious and worried, but he just watched her face as her internal struggle grew more and more dire.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Someone can’t admit when she’s beat.” He chuckled right back, turning his head a bit upside down to get a better look at her. She hid her face and he gripped it with his hand, forcing it back into view and up to look at him.

He stroked with his pinkie the side of her cheek, still humming a bit of gleeful victory before flicking his head, flirtatiously. “Join me and we can have a bonfire later tonight~”

He moved dangerously close to her lips, “You and me… no sounds but the constant cries of you wanting more…”

She gagged. “Do you honestly think girl’s fall for that?”

Fiona had been taken away, pushed against another wall by her comrades, her fierce rage rising with each sentence she heard from the other room. She gripped at her captors backs and threatened to scratch and peel their skin off, but for her sake, they didn’t let go. “Sorry, not into ‘green’ fads.” Ember spat out.

“Ouch.” Scourge’s smirk was replaced quickly with a frown. “Touchy, touchy.”

“You seem to be.” Ember tried to bite at his wandering hands, but he pulled them back, apparently turned on her by actions as his eyes widen with intrigue.

His head perked up, and he mimicked a cat’s ‘rawr’.

“Ohhh… look who’s talking back. I like you.”

“Clearly…”

“Only… my love’s a little conditional. Pricey as it seems, I’m a man of material desire.” As he slipped a hand around her waist, she punched him back, summoning everything into that blow that forced him away.

“Grrk!” he gripped his eye, where she had punched.

Ember rose up and began to deal more hits, taking him off-guard as she spun and whacked him with her foot, leaving him prone before diving onto him with her knee, continuing the onslaught.

As though summoned by the sudden shift, the Anti-gang pounced and let Fiona go.

“W-what!?” Ember was tackled down, fighting for her life again as the Anti-gang began to beat down on her, protecting their so-called, ‘king’.

When they moved away, Ember was left utterly beaten and weak. Bruises forming along her muzzle and arms now… The only visible ones, anyway.

“Y… You cheated.” Ember stated, gritting through the pain as she crawled to try and get back up again, but was failing miserably. “I overpowered you… overcame… I would have won if-!” she was kicked across the room by Fiona, leaving her rolling along the cobble floor. “You… played fair.” She finished her sentence, but at what cost? She gripped her stomach and got up to her knees, panting as Fiona’s face looked like seconds away from murder. The Anti-gang turned to Scourge, who was getting up with a wobble in his step, gripping a hand over his eye.

“I’m starting to lose patience with you…” he muttered under his breath. “You say you don’t like green… but I know a certain hippie drummer boy you tend to write through G.U.N’s mail delivery service..! Too bad most of those letters don’t always end up in his hands…”

Ember was confused at first, not understanding before her eyes widened. “Are you talking about..?”

He didn’t let her finish, “I’m not one to be jealous, honestly. Only possessive. Which brings me back to my earlier demand…”

Suddenly, the Chaos Emeralds floated out from behind Scourge’s flowing jacket, revealing themselves as they gently swayed in a circle around his body. He approached his throne but stopped, turning his head back to her with another evil look of desire and pre-victory gloating.

“I want you… but all of you.” He turned back around and spread his arms out, the emeralds stopping their turning and remaining still… his presence was extremely intimidating, and Ember could feel she wasn’t at full power yet… The healing would need more time!

‘He knew about Manic? What else did he know!?’ She couldn’t continue on like this. Her panic was reaching its maximum capacity. She could feel the Cursed Emerald wanting to retaliate with the dark madness she knew all too well. ‘He knew how to reverse the Cursed Emerald’s power onto me… He knew about G.U.N, Shadow… what else is he hiding up his sleeve?!’ she felt the world caving in on her. ‘Shadow… Sonic… Manic…’ she closed her eyes, remembering her dear friends she had collected along the way. ‘What if they can’t save me..? He clearly gathered and stole all the Chaos Emeralds from our world… he’s… so powerful now. He can trump me at every turn!’

She looked to his team, slowly withdrawing with a sick sense of gloating in their boss’s power, staring at her and waiting for him to deal a finishing blow. ‘I… I can’t do this, can I? Shadow was right…’

Then… a letter returned to Ember’s memory.

Those words…

“Won’t happen.” She suddenly felt a courage spark in her.

“I won’t let you win.” She felt her fist tighten. The words her friend wrote her sang in her ears now, the last letter she had read from Manic…

Dear Ember,

What’s up? Sorry I haven’t written in a while! I hear it’s been pretty rough for you. Shadow sounds a bit like a downer, man. In all honesty, you gotta keep your head up. No matter what rain falls in the summer, it just turns to snow in the winter, and then a pleasant shower in the spring. I guess that’s super poetic, heh. But you like that kinda stuff, right? Anyway, what I mean is, don’t let things that seem hard keep you down. You have a really unique spirit, Ember. Kinda like your name, you’re a spark to the flame. Riding and gliding, you’ll always be the same, but evolve toward your name. Ember, Ember. Spark and shine. Embers and cinders, lighting the night! It’s hard not to write lyrics for ya, I know you laugh at me when I do, but it’s so easy for me to get inspired off of ya. You must be some kind of muse to me. Is that okay? Whatever, I’m not a very good letter writer, but I hope you know…

You aren’t just the embers, but the spark to the flame.

- Manic The Hedgehog

Her head reared up, his lyrics giving her strength as her heart pumped rapidly and her power swiftly returned to her.

“You want to see fire and brimstone?” She blasted her energy out, her super form taking effect again. It would cost her this time… but for once, she felt her mind just a little more clearer—it peeked through the haze of crazy power, and gave her the confidence to remain calm.

“We’ll see about that.” Scourge’s evil, scheming smirk reappeared. He lowered his eyes, attracted to her rebelliousness but also trying to not get frustrated again. “I’m not very patient.”

“I’m not very outspoken, and yet, here we are.” She smirked back, unwilling to be intimidated by his confidence. She proved she could beat him once. Time to do it again…

“This time, I’m going to push you around!” She took a few steps forward, her power sucking away at her now, like one last shot of adrenaline to end it all or be ended herself. “I’m speaking out against your bad fashion sense.” She egged him on.

“That’s it! I’ve put up enough with this! I’ll just take you here and now!” he blasted a deep purple, much like her Cursed Emerald’s power. His chaos had turned negatively charged and dangerously unstable.

At least she had some practice with being an uncontrollable mass of destruction.

“Bite me.” She threw her hand out, spiking out artificial chaos claws a few inches ahead, glowing purple in radiance once again. Her white form and black eye-sockets fanned like a raging fire, waiting for him to come at her.

“I’ll try!” his smile turned devilishly crazy, as though it was blood-hungry now.

The two clashed in what looked like an array of lights, flashing and blinding the other Anti-gang members as they held their arms out to shield themselves from the aftermath. The force tossed them back and around, skidding on their feet to avoid falling back.

“They’re gonna kill each other!” One of them shouted out, but it was hard to tell who with the constantly clashing lights that blinded their sights, and the rapid whipping of force pounding them in different directions as Ember and Scourge duked it out with everything they had.

“Dang it, Scourge! He’s going to take the whole fort down with him!” That one sounded as though it was Fiona, but before anyone could say anything more…

There was a large explosion, blasting the stone walls as Scourge shoved stones off of himself. He looked enraged, huffing and puffing a moment, wiping some blood off his chin.

“Heh… heh… Okay, doll. You’ve got my attention.” He breathed as though exhausted, bruised up and singed in different locations on his fur. “That power has a kick to it. Mind if I take a bit of it?” He shot up through the air, “Or how about all of it!?”

He rocketed down to Ember who had let her super form take over her actions. Though she was conscious and aware of herself, her reflex was stronger than her mind could keep up with. It was the ultimate instinct, a great offense to his aggressive—and unconcentrated—attack style.

She was battered and bruised though, but countered most of Scourge’s hits. This wasn’t looking good for either of them. They had different ways of utilizing chaos energy, both in dangerous ways, but with grave consequences on both of them. Especially mentally…

“Urk!” Under his sunglasses, which had fallen with the swing of his head down to his eyes, he suddenly winced in a bit of fear. “W…What-what gives you all this power!? Why won’t you just give in to me!?” It was almost pathetic, his sudden realization of how far Ember’s power could take her, but Ember liked to hear she was getting the advantage again.

She strained against his energy, him charging at her again, her pushing him back and holding her own as she tried to summon enough strength and sanity to speak again.

“It’s… because…”

Shadow… Sonic… Rouge.

“I have…”

Cream, Amy, Knuckles, Tails…

“P-people…”

Her memories, Maria… Dr. Gerald Robotnik.

All of her experiences.

All of her strife and happiness, pain and sorrows.

…Manic…

“I want… to protect!”

She sent a large energy wave out of her, rippling through the air as he remained stunned at the intensity of her Cursed Emerald’s power.

It was almost as though her very chest was shaking, the Cursed Emerald looking as though it was being rocked from her very core. Her soul taking full swing at him, him locked in her grip as she refused to let go.

“How’s that possible!?” he cried out, but it was too late now…

“I have all 7 Chaos Emeralds! You have only one!”

“Guess you didn’t do your research, but this little emerald was cursed for a reason!” She formed a beam at the tip of her protruding emerald, Scourge’s eyes glazed over with its wild radiance as he pulled his head back, whincing as he knew…This was gonna hurt. A lot.

“HAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

She spread a beam of dark purple energy out from her chest, propelling it into him as she held his fighting hands in place. A direct shot. A finishing blow. All she had left to give.

 She left him with nowhere to dodge.

 She had grappled him, causing his flimsy form to fly out in front of her, being forced to remain in the shock-blast of her immense power.

To keep from having the power push her back against the wall, she dug her feet into the ground of the cobble floor.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!” the hit finally died down and caused Scourge to fall flat down on his face when she released him and backed away.

She gripped her arm, feeling the fatigue as her form disappeared and she fell down too. “You may be ticked… hah… hah… but no amount of fighting… hah… will keep me from forgetting… hah… hah… my friends.”

That was all. The last of everything. At least, she thought it was. Her vision so blurry and her body so numb.

The Cursed Emerald faded… as though Ember was left only to her mortal capabilities now.

“Grr…” he gripped the ground beneath him, “…Ow.” feeling the Chaos Emeralds shoot out from him, he forced his crisp self to get up, still steaming from the hit.

 “YOU LITTLE-!” he reached out to her. “Whether you join or not, I’ll just kill you and dance on your corpse!”

While the two were distracted, they didn’t notice a portal open and his Anti-gang getting beaten in their attempt to block out their powerful and heated light energy.

“You can’t win! Ahh! Ow! Hot! You can’t burn me! I’m raw to the core, babe! I’m-… I’m not done,… I’m well done! Haha! Ouch… Get over here…” he began to crawl to her, and it was pretty impressive that he had even survived her attack.

‘How?’ Ember��s eyes were too exhausted to shake in fear, her body too tried to fully react to his advances toward her. ‘He’s totally beaten… He can barely move… the Chaos Emeralds… He must have used them to block some of the attack… but they’re drained too. How… How powerful is this guy?’

“I won.” She countered.

He fidgeted in his painful crawl towards her.

His face and belly were scraping against the floor, his knees skidded with fresh burns that only made the stone sting further against the cold, rough touch. The surface was like sandpaper on his blackened hide, but he kept moving, he kept crawling… his gloves ripped and his sunglasses blasted like a comic book page’s BAM. He kept coming. He wouldn’t back down.

“I’m not just gonna lie down and die! I’ll take you with me!” he raised a crazy eye and gripped her head.

She was powerless to stop him, she could barely move her body, let alone keep her eyes open.

“You… cheated.” She muttered again as he attempted to use her head to push him off the ground, but she didn’t have enough strain and just toppled with him.

“Dang it…” he finally let out what sounded like his own acceptance of his defeat. “You and I… we’re too alike.” He just managed a smirk. “You and I… we’re bad to the bone.”

“No…” Ember breathed out and managed to look him in the eye.

“I’m nothing like you.”

Then…

“Scourge!”

Scourge stopped in his pursuit, still gripping Ember’s head. She was so close to fainting that she couldn’t move out of his grasp.

He turned to the sound and noticed his gang tied up and on their knees, looking ticked at three figures who walked into the shadows of the room.

Scourge quickly removed his hand and grabbed Ember by her neck, forcing himself up while pulling her with him.

He wobbled to his feet, clearly annoyed and struggling to find a joke in the situation. “So much interference… Can’t a man feed his ambitions first?” he licks his lips. “What is this, the Calvary?”

The figures halted.

“Heh. Might as well make a lasting impression, hmm? Fire girl’s mine! You’re too late to save anyone!” He was fibbing. It was all a fake show to mask the fact that he knew he was beat. He couldn’t do anything and neither could Ember now. His strength to rise to his legs was nothing but a mortal attempt to look like a god. He was really just a rag-doll with his stitches coming undone, the fluff of powerlessness inches from snapping out of him and spreading like dandelion fuzz around the air.

For a last kick, a final punch, icing on the cake of trying to reclaim an authoritative stance, he leaned in to kiss her…

“I… won’t… lose…” his façade was failing him, he was about to collapse. He pushed his thumb up to get her chin to rise…

A moment away from some petty form of victory… not willing to admit defeat…

But a noble drumstick hit the side of his cranium.

His eyes blinked, dazed and confused.

One figure stuck a hand out into the light where Ember and Scourge had made the ceiling fall apart, but some of it dared to stay intact.

One pointer finger rose up and wagged itself in broad daylight. “No, no, no… that’s no way to treat a lady, dude.”

Scourge squinted his eyes as Ember slowly began to go limp in his hold.

She was too exhausted to try and look and see who it is, but ever ounce of her felt it knew that voice. Like a steady drum beat… like a rhythmic pound within the sound of the man’s voice.

“And you are?”

“When Ember’s letters started turning sour, I figured something wasn’t right.”

That voice… She knew that voice…

“Sonia said they were forged when we compared handwriting with previous other letters she had written me.”

It couldn’t be… but Ember’s eyes struggled to force themselves open just a little longer…

Hoping for a glance of him…

Of…

“I went to Sonic for some answers. Turns out Shadow was looking for her too and well,” he shrugged, but his voice was immediately recognizable to Ember.

 “M-…Man...ic?”

 “Well, now we’re saving my luscious lady from your filthy little hands!” Manic, Sonic, and Shadow both stepped out of the shadows, revealing their forms as Shadow narrowed his eyes, a deep glare upon his broad brow as he noticed the state Ember was in. Sonic was also acting a bit more serious than Ember had ever seen him look before, but that soon changed to a proud smile when he noticed Scourge was thoroughly beat-up by her before they had even gotten there.

“L…Luscious?” she could barely get any air to escape her throat and respond to him, but he seemed to be proceeding with caution, noticing her frail state. Still, it made her want to chuckle, bringing a corner of her lips up to a smile at hearing his ridiculously outdated talk start-up again. It wasn’t nearly as annoying as Scourge calling her ‘spark’ or ‘baby’. She’d rather hear Manic say it than him.

“It means you’re rocking!” Manic drummed the air, hearing her faintly whispered reply to his shenanigans. “But in a- ‘pretty and wonderful personality’ kinda way.”

“This is annoying.” Scourge lowered his eyelids, tilting and trying to regain his lost balance again. It was clear he wasn’t ready for a round 16… as he had previously already taken Ember on a good number of times.

“This is the bozo I have to rival with?” he looked comically to Ember, as if not understanding her taste. He pulled on her hair again to get her to look up at him, and through the pain, she laughed a moment.

“He’s the right… shade of green.”

Scourge showed his fangs on that comment, not liking it one bit.

“I can still take him.” Ember protested, but weakly pawed her claws at him. This only made the scene funnier and more desperate.

“Right. Don’t mean to steal your thunder, babe, but let me and my bros handle this.” Manic turned back to the Anti-Gang as Sonic and Shadow leaped forward.

Scourge’s eyes widened, not ready for this new encounter at all.

With that last comment, Shadow darted up and launched a Chaos Spear, which forced Scourge to jump back. He released Ember, leaving her to drop like dead-weight on the ground, flopping a bit and not even trying to stop the fall… even just a little bit.

She wouldn’t call out for help though, she just tried to keep breathing and keep her eyes from fully shutting. She wanted to see this. Shadow kick some butt, Sonic do his thing, and Manic… she just wanted to stare at him as long as she possibly could.

It was good to see him again. So, he didn’t hate her? All those sent letters never reached him? What awful things was Scourge writing to him, under her name?

Scourge was injured and woozy, so when Shadow’s feet hit the ground, he was still unsteady.

Shadow dealt a number of powerful blows, causing more noticeable blood to spit out from Scourge’s mouth, revealing the internal injuries were getting just as bad as his outer appearance…

The Chaos Emeralds were flung from his being— Pik, pik, pik!

They bounced against the ground, tumbling, and finally rolling through a half-demolished wall’s jagged holes where stones had been hit out of place.

Sonic watched the emeralds scatter and raced along the still remaining walls, letting his hand skim their grainy exterior before rolling into a ball and ducking into the holes of the same wall after them.

“I’ve got Scourge, you get Ember!”

Sonic’s voice rang out as he sped through the barely hanging walls of the destroyed castle, revealing his super from as he blasted the remaining structure away. With that wall gone, the whole place started to shake and loosened stones began to fall around them.

The Anti-Gang looked up, realizing the whole place was about to go down.

Scourge’s super form immediately faded with a knee to the face as Sonic easily began to pummel him down while Shadow turned his attention back to Ember.

Right before she fainted, she felt Shadow quickly scoop her up. A tight, firm grasp upon her sides made her flinch a bit in pain, but his words made her happy in their weird way. “Stupid girl, what did I tell you about making enemies!?”

“Only twice a day?” she joked, and then her eyes rolled and she fell unconscious.

She only vaguely remembered voices. Shouting from Scourge, mostly. She did hear Manic and figured he must have been the one who rushed over, skidded to his knees, and felt her face…

But she could have imagined it…

The next morning, she admitted what she had done was reckless, and should have tried to escape instead of fight.

Manic had tended to her wounds with Rouge and other G.U.N officers, but Sonia was the one who helped create the portal to get her out of that mess.

She personally thanked her before Sonia had to return and govern her own kingdom that Sonic and Manic willingly gave off to her. Neither wanted to rule, but Sonia was a natural leader who was born for the role, quite literally.

Laying on the gurney, she slowly blinked her eyes to adjust to the light, having taken a long rest since then. Shadow, Sonic, and Manic had stayed at different times to check on her as she dozed off repeatedly back to her deep, recovery slumber. However, this time, they all seemed to be in the room.

She immediately opened the conversation, weakly and groggy at first, with a gentle explanation of her behavior for why she didn’t try to run but fought instead.

“I just wanted to see how far our little ‘game’ would go.” She withdrew herself back from Shadow’s glare as she rose from the gurney. “Who defeated him in the end… might I ask?”

In her heart, she still believed she succeeded. “Cause honestly,” she began, unable to keep it to herself. “He cheated.”

The men had different reactions to that. Sonic chuckled while Manic rolled his eyes with a smile on his face, and Shadow just grumbled something under his breath… probably a curse she was glad she didn’t hear. Maybe he was holding back..? Due to her condition?

Shadow turned to Sonic, who looked back at him and then over to Manic. They seemed to be thinking the same response…

“We all kinda chipped in.” Sonic stated, before Shadow shook his head and sighed.

“Far to modest… I completely obliterated him.” Shadow immediately bit back at Sonic’s rather ‘humble’ comment.

“What!?” humbleness went out the door as Sonic suddenly spun to confront Shadow’s claim, “We all fought him! And besides, I beat him up waaaaaay before you or Manic stepped in!”

“I believe you have failed to recall how I dealt with him swiftly first. You’re the one who called me off to get your own share of the action.” Shadow folded his arms, turning at an angle away from Sonic’s childish behavior. “Honestly, you’re no better than her at claiming all the glory…”

“You’re the one making a fuss!” Sonic pointed an accusing finger before looking over to Manic, “Well? Am I right? Or am I right!”

“I’m a peacemaker, yo. A pacifist at heart.” Manic drummed the side of the gurney, refusing to be apart of the contention. “But for you, I couldn’t help but summon my old drum set. Sent beats of righteous justice his way.” He winked to Ember, admitting that he did join a little bit in the fight, even if it was indirectly and through the power of his sick, twisted beats.

“You were ranged, but still effective.” Shadow still didn’t know how to address the fact that his so-called ‘Sister’ was writing a complete stranger. To him, anyway, he didn’t know anything about this ‘Manic’ fellow but trusted him after all he’d done to find and save Ember. “However, you have yet to explain your side of the story…” Shadow turned to Ember again, “How exactly do you two know each other?“

“It’s been a while since you’ve fought, Manic.” Sonic smirked, turning his attention away from Shadow’s stubborn crossed-arms, not willing to admit it as a team effort, but also avoiding his brother and his possible girlfriend from having to admit anything.

“I did most of the work, though…” Sonic muttered through the side of his mouth, pulling up a hand to side-mouth the statement towards Ember, grinning widely as he winked to her.

This only made Ember smile, seeing them all try to lighten the mood for her.

“You merely distracted him as I got Ember to safety and defeated him only after I had stepped in.”

“I had to let you have a few blows, you were acting like the angry big brother all the way there! And what? Are you trying to look ‘cool’ in front of your sister now or something?” Sonic teased, calling Shadow out with a hint of casual backstabbing.

He leaned towards Shadow, lowering his eyelids with a wicked sense of pleasure on his face, waiting to see Shadow’s reaction to his words.

“Why?” Shadow closed both his eyes, refusing to give Sonic what he wanted. “I have no need for that. She already looks up to me far more than she should.”

“Yeesh, what a double-edged sword.” Sonic sweat dropped a bit, flinching back at how arrogant Shadow could be when provoked.

But… Ember noticed that he didn’t protest Sonic’s words too severely… It made her heart lighter than air… hearing him accept her being called his little sister without too much of a complaint.

“We searched a few realms before finding the right one. Sorry for being a tad late—not so fashionably—But it was far out and about, man.” Manic twirled his drumsticks into a holster and walked over to Ember, subtly reminding the other men in the room that it was about Ember, not them.

He leaned on her bedside, “Just glad you’re alright.”

His smile melted her worries away, and she tilted her head towards him, wishing to be closer to that positive aura his smile gave off. She tilted her chin down with a faint blush…

Then something crossed her mind, just as quick as her blush disappeared.

“T-those letters, though… the fake ones. W-wha-what did they say?” Worriedly, Ember’s face turned sorrowfully up to him with regret. “If I had known…”

“Don’t worry about it.” He flicked a finger under her chin, tapping it playfully but remaining at a distance. Especially with Shadow around… she took a quick glance at him before pulling a bit away from Manic, respecting that he was just as nervous with being affectionate around her with Shadow in the room as she was towards him. “I’m just glad we were able to nab that bad dude. He should be in prison now, right?”

“Him and his goonies.” Sonic nodded as Shadow took a few more turns looking back and forth between Manic and Ember.

‘Just what the heck are you two, anyway!?’ was the expression on his face, leaving Ember to awkwardly look away and wag her tail as Manic scratched behind his head and nervously laugh the constant double-glances Shadow gave him away.

----

Far away, and in a dusty jail cell, Scourge and his team were separated.

He was thrown into quarantine with a ripped-up jacket that freed his arms from their insanity hold around his waist, gripping the bars. “I vow to never rest till Ember’s blood is burning on my hands, or at least something of hers..! I will have my REVENGE!”

“Keep it down over there!”,

“Ahhh, shut up!”,

“Is that..? Ah, man. Why’s he back with us?”

The other inmates could hear his ranting cries clear across the courtyard, where Fiona and the gang pop some bubble gum. She stuck it to a nail file and threw it up over the wall. Quickly moving through the bars of his small, rectangular window, it flipped a few times before descending and clinging its gummy, pink, and spit covered substance against the wall.

It stuck to the inside of his cell, slowly being pulled down by the weight of the nail file and stretched towards him. Finally, with Scourge leaning up against the wall, grinding his teeth together in frustration, he heard it tink just above him.

He stopped scowling and looked up, seeing the metal gleam in his eyes, his sunglasses upon his head also reflecting their bright, silver exterior.

“First freedom.” he smiled with evil glee.

“And then, that day… will come soon.”

Laughter echoed the walls of the isolation unit.

End.

[msu82]

The Artist and the Mechanic

Tagging: @markwatnae and @prfury I FINALLY WROTE SOMETHING!

Guess whose OC is meeting Anakin, you two? *throws glitter*

I can't believe the Council is having me teach a class of padawans! Anakin paused in the middle of his fuming, eyes wide as he blinked a few times. ...I can't believe the Council is trusting me to teach a class of padawans. Trust. Huh. well, now that young man couldn't decide if the reason they were filling up one of his days with teaching a mechanics course was because, a, they wanted to punish him for some unknown reason or, b, they were showing respect to his positions as a Jedi Knight, an army general, and as a teacher to his own individual padawan.

...I can't believe they're making me over think this! He released a grown before flopping down in a chair in a little nook of a room connected off of the flight hanger, rubbing a hand down his face as he awaited what was going to be his second class of a total of four throughout the day. The first class had been absolutely horrible! No one could blame him for his hesitance and annoyance at having to endure another three. A bunch of snot-nosed teenagers who think that 'I am only a year away from being a legal adult in the galaxy!' means they know more than someone whose been alive longer and seen more in life than they ever have yet. ….Anakin knew it probably game as some sort of territory-pecking considering her was barely half a decade older than that class of students, but he was still a Jedi Knigth and a General in the war. Didn't that earn him any respect?!

The blonde stopped abruptly in his angered pacing, closed his eyes while his arms cross over his chest, and bowed his head. Breathe, Ani. Just breathe. This next class is around Ahsoka's age—he totally didn't sulk over the fact he wasn't be allowed to teach classes his padawan was actively in, and instead the age groups directly above and bellow her age—so that should mean they'll, in the least, be decent kids. Doesn't it? He didn't have much time to fret over his thoughts, for before he knew it a group of thirteen year olds were entering into what had become his little domane for the entirety of the day.

Now usually when this particular Jedi has doubtful thoughts like that, they come to bite him in the ass.

For once, they seemed not to.

He actually had a group of kids who seemed eager to learn mechanics! From him specifically! Oh, he'd have to tell Padme about this—she had teased mericlessly that he'd probably want to cry by the end of the day from the children driving him insane or not paying attention to him at all. I knew kids love me! The blonde thought, a bit giddy.

Knight Skywalker went about officially introducing himself (“Just call me Anakin or Skywalker, I'm not all for the title business”) with a grin on his face to his newest class of students, and after that began demonstrating and explaining that day's lesson.

These kids hated him.

They despised him.

They must have litereally wanted him to die in agony and horror and–

SPLAT-TA-TA-TAAA-PLOOP-PLOOP-PLOOP!

“Sith-spit!” A youthful, perhaps male voice cursed from across the room. “Language....” Anakin mumble out from his temporary desk, face-down in the sweet sanctuary of his arms as another sound of a failed machine met his ears. He had heard the same splatter-plopping sound a dozen times already. The last one to do it marked the thirteen. There was still another nine others in the-

SPLAT-TA-PLOOP-PLOOP-TA-TAAA-PLOOP!

There as still another eight students with machines in the class.

Padme is never gonna let me live this down. He wasn't whining. He was not whining. Anakin Skywalker did not whine; not even in in the depths of his brain!

SPLAT-TA-TA-TA-TAAAAA-PLOOP-PLOOP-PLOOP-PLOOP!

Anakin groaned in the safe haven that was his pillowing arms. Why me? The young adult whined in his brain. It was taking all he had not to pull out his hair.

Honestly, how could now fifteen out of twenty-two Junior Padawan's in war time not understand the most basic set of instructions? Couldn't fix a simple machine? The entire machine was there for each of them at their desks!

All they had to do was re-attach two parts.

He had provided a hands-on demonstration, text directions, and photo directions. He had explained that it was a delicate little system and, as long as they had steady hands and took their time, they'd be fine! He just couldn't understand why they weren't understanding it.

SPLAT-TALOOP-PLOOP-PLOOSTA-TATA-SPLAT!

He groaned into his arms again, fingers of his non-mechanical hand tugging at his hair. “Someone. Jam. A lightsaber. Into. My brain.”

“I don't think that would be healthy. And, you know.... It would kinda be murder.”

A voice piping up was not expected, especially in such a sassy little way, and Anakin nearly startled out of his chair as he came face-to-face with a rather short being. The female padawan, who looked younger than the rest of her peers, seemed to smile in an apologetic way.

“I'm sorry to startle you, Mister Skywalker—” Huh, never been called 'Mister' before, Anakin thought to himself— “But I finished my machine. I just wanted your opinion on it before I started it up.” The girl finished.

“Why do you want me to do that? None of your agemates had me do that.” The Jedi Knight prodded, curious as he sat up straighter in his seat.

The girl was silent while looking contemplative, and Anakin was expecting some sort of long, droned out, logical answer.

“Because I'm pale as all hell and don't want to be oil-stained for weeks.”

“Psh-!” He snapped a hand over his mouth to muffle of a snicker. He hadn't been expecting that. The young adult cleared his throat, composing himself as he said as he replied, “Language, little one, and I will come look at your machine. Lead the way...?”

It took moments to get to the table and start examining the device the young padawan had been charged with fixing, the same as her classmates, but... even with another sound of exploding oil filtering to his ears as background noise, his focus was on the work to this particular device. One that look near exactly like his if it wasn't for the few tiny, oily fingerprints littering the pieces that had needed reattaching.

Finally. The young adult thought to himself, and gave the short brunette a beaming smile. “Padawans, gather around! It's time to show you what this device does. I believe your classmate here—”

“Gensen.” The girl supplied helpfully.

“—that your classmate, Gensen, has successfully repaired her machine.”

A few moments later there was a chorus of nearly two-dozen awes as, after he brought out a canvas he'd stashed behind his temporary desk and flipped the switch for the machine, that it would begin spraying a picture into existence. The awes turned to laughter and amusement as the picture created was that of Grandmaster Yoda piggy-backing on Master Windu.

It wasn't long after that when it would be the time for the padawans to head off to their lunch period (each with their own copy of the painted oil-pictures after using the Force for some hand speed drying),  but as they left the young knighted-general  couldn't help but stop the girl who had actually done the entire thing right.

“So your name is Gensen, yeah? You mind me asking how you knew asking me first was the answer?” Anakin asked, and after a moment added appreciatively, “Not that you needed it in the end, technically speaking. The picture could have gotten sprayed on the table.”

“Well,” The girl paused, hitching her backpack over her shoulders. “You didn't tell us what the machine  would do beyond that it sprays oil. And I wanted to make sure I had every piece exactly right, and there's no better way in assuring that than asking the teacher.” The girl shrugged her shoulders on her pudgy frame, hugging her souvenir of this class against her chest.

Anakin nodded with her words, “Good reasoning, little padawan. You're quite the mechanic.”

“...Eh.”

That made him arch an eyebrow. “Eh?” He parroted, disbelief and bemusement starting to spring to his face.

“Yeah, eh. I'm not a mechanic. I'm an artist.”

“Oh, really now?” He crossed his mixture of flesh-and-mechanical arms. “And what's so great about being an artist?”

The girl cocked a hip, raising an eyebrow of her own. “What's so great about being a mechanic, Mister Skywalker?”

“Creating things, making things work one way or another, and the mess of it all.” He replied without missing a beat.

Gensen grinned before saying, “Same with art. The only difference is I don't have to worry about something exploding in my face if I mess up and need to fix something—I'm not all for chemical burns and sparks and flames.” She held out her arm, rolling up her robe sleeves. “I did say I was pale as all hell, Mister Skywalker. Patches of red wouldn't look any better on me than patches of black.”

This time he couldn't stop the startled laughter even if he tried, sharing a grin with the spunky little padawan before giving her shoulder a nudge. “Go on to lunch, young one. I have to prepare for another class. And watch that language of yours, alright?.”

“Uh huh. Of course I will!” Anakin didn't believe her words for a second. She just seemed endless sass even if her personality was so genuine.

Soon enough the blonde was by himself, cleaning up for the next class as his mind wandered to who could be Gensen's Master if she managed to have such a personality as that at her age. He knew not all were strict, but he also knew that most schooled their padawans into perfect properness outside of private situations.

He was pulled from his wandering thoughts (and temptation to look up the girl's personal record out of sheer curiosity) by his commlink beeping. Pulling it out of his pocket and answering it, he grinned as his former teacher's voice filled in from the other end.

Obi-Wan would be back in just a week, and the day after that was hoping Anakin would be free to finally meet the ginger's new padawan.

Anakin grinned, having heard so much about the kid. He immediately agreed, said he'd bring Ahsoka along, and wished his former-Master well on the rest of his journey home.

When Anakin Skywalker met his sister-padawan a little over the week—an 11-year old girl with brown hair, brown eyes, pale skin, and a form that wasn't bone skinny—the Knight felt a sense of deja vu. He had been run busy all week training students in general education classes, so his mind was a bit scattered.

He could have sworn he'd seen her before, and shrugged it off as it being in passing before smiling and shaking the girl's hand. “Welcome to the lineage, Edie.” The blonde said, and then shared a grin with his Obi-Wan Kenobi as Ahsoka swept in with making the younger girl feel welcomed.

While happiness happened for the Jedi adults and the padawan-children, none were aware that the very same night another innocent, bright young padawan would face the extreme opposite of the word 'joy.'

[thecrazydragonlady]

The Golden Dragon- OC Miraculous Story

Synopsis: Jay lives an ordinary life (except for the fact that she's really invisible) until her mother gives her a family antique- a locket that hasn't been opened since her great-grandmother's time. Curious, the young girl opens it to release Cassiopia, a rare golden dragon kwami. When an evil presence makes itself known, just how will Jay handle the miraculous changes in her life?

Author’s Notes:  Here is the 300 Follower prize for Musical Miraculous Holder on Amino! She came in first and got a drawing of Cassiopeia and this story which were supposed to be about my miraculous life but..... Yeah, it came out rough. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys! 

Jay stared at the box in her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. It felt warm under her touch. Never had she experienced something like this before and it caused her heart to begin pounding like crazy. A soft, spring wind pushed some stray hair into her face. She pushed it back behind her ear.

The young woman was walking slowly to her high school one nice, Winter morning; despite it being the middle of winter, the temperature was closer to eighty and felt more like Spring than actual Winter, leaving the residents to wonder if Winter had even come at all that year. It was close to her birthday. She was soon to turn fifteen. The box she held was an early gift from her mother who had witnessed a... darkness hanging over her daughter's head in the last couple of days.

You see, Jay was as plain as plain got.

Her hair was pin straight, blonde-brown. Her skin was white but not a beautiful porcelain white, but more of a splotchy red from some skin condition she had yet to research, and her eyes were regular brown (not even the cool, demon-looking color of her younger sister). In a crowd, she was easily forgotten. Her words were often drowned out by the world around her. So, she found comfort in books and manga more than she did in other humans; she was unwanted, undesired, and kept to herself as a result. Plus, it didn't help that her parents, both working long hours to make ends meet for three growing children, decided that it would be her sole responsibility to maintain every chore in the house by herself, help take care of her siblings, and maintain an all "A" average in her honors classes.

Honestly, she felt like she was losing her mind.

The reason her mother had given her the gift early was this: Jay's father had come home early the previous night and immediately started yelling and lecturing her for not doing the dishes while doing the laundry. It was ridiculous. She sat there, clenching and unclenching her fists, waiting for him to be done before she'd run into her room to flop down on her bed.

When she woke up, the gift was on her desk with a note that only read, "Happy early birthday! This is a special gift. The eldest girl in our family has always gotten this box on their fifteenth birthday. It will be up to you if you will open it or not. Love, Mom."

Jay had smiled. While the two of them often went at it themselves, her mother was far more sympathetic than her father.

Hence how the young woman ended up walking to school, holding a box that felt alive in a sense, and giving her some strength to get through the day. She breathed in deeps as the smell of drugs, paper, and cleaner hit her nose. The school had around two thousand students and the halls were already crowded by people. She slipped the box into her front pocket, hoisted her bag higher on her shoulder, and began navigating her way to her locker, which was inconveniently next to the locker of Elizabeth Barton. Lizzie, as her friends were allowed to call her, Jay recalled bitterly, used to be her friend but some stupid argument she couldn't even remember caused Lizzie to send her a "Dear Jane" letter, leaving her completely alone to navigate the waters of her high school career with no friends at all.

It made her angry and lonely but she wasn't sure how to escape it.

Just as she feared, Lizzie was there. She leaned against her locker, smirking at the girls next to her. Jay ignored them. Quickly, she opened the locker and started replacing books. She didn't miss how the more popular girl's eyes darted to her then back to her friends, her smile growing painfully larger as she made sure to say loudly enough, "Yeah, so, my part is Saturday. I’m going to invite the whole school." She turned then. Jay didn't look at her. "Except for certain people of course," she practically hissed. Her friends didn't miss the tone or the direction; they snickered. The young girl breathed in depp, trying to keep her emotions in check, as she placed the last book in the locker and slammed the door, grabbing her bag and running away, followed closely by the sound of laughter.

****

She wanted to punch the wall.

She wanted to kick and scream.

Instead, she cried.

Hiding in one of the girl's bathrooms, she sat on the closed toilet, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket. She didn't let anyone hear her though. After a few moments, she calmed enough to start breathing normally again and in desperate need to feel some relief, she reached for the box in her pocket. It was still warm against her skin. Her shoulders relaxed. Pulling it out, she stared at the ornate cover like she'd done the night before. IT was oriental in design. Primarily black, it was decorated in what she could only assume were Chinese symbols and it didn't seem to be locked, but when she'd asked her mom later that morning about it, she'd only shrugged and told her that the box would let her know if she should open it. Her aunt, the eldest girl, had never felt the need. Neither had her grandmother. But apparently, her great-great-grandmother had opened it. That was the last anyone knew of it being opened. For over fifty years, it had been sealed.

Now, Jay felt the need.

Slowly, she opened the top. A bright, glowing gold light emerged, causing her to jerk and drop it, shielding her eyes from the brightness as it finished opening on its own.

Jay's jaw dropped. Floating in front of her was a tiny, golden creature. It opened its eyes quickly, revealing red irises. There were long pieces of what looked like hair protruding from both cheeks and back from the forehead. There were also horns, spikes, and a tail that swung gently back and forth as it gave her a sharp-tooth grin, flying closer to get a better look at her.

"I was wondering when you were going to open it," the creature cheered, "I'm Cassiopia, the golden dragon kwami!"

The young girl blinked. "The... what?"

"The golden dragon kwami! I' the kwami of purity."

She flew around, nodding her head before stopping front of her once more. "Yep. You're the one!"

"The one what? You're not making any sense," Jay hissed. Cassiopia flew down then and rested on her knees.

"The chosen hero. I give you the power of Purity to transform into a superhero." Her eyes narrowed then. "And from what I sense, your town is going to need it. I sense a darkness approaching."

"Wait a second! I'm not a superhero. I'm not wanted by anyone! Why would someone like me be the one to save anyone?"

The little dragon cocked her head to the side.

"You're an odd person aren't you?" Jay sighed.

"Yeah, I get that a lot but it's exactly why I...."

"Should be the holder," she smirked. Jay blinked. The kwami directed the smile up at her this time. "You're not perfect, and you have a lot of stress, but you have a heart of gold and that's what matters. Besides, there is someone that wants you around. Me. I'd like to work with you Jay." She moved then grab, surprisingly, a locket which she had come from, placing it around the girl's neck and the smile remaining as bright and happy as she could make it.

She started to reply but stopped when the door opened and a new group of girls walked in. The first bell was already ringing. Instead, she sighed and grabbed her bag, motioning for her to hide inside. She did so without complaint. Jay gathered her things and left while avoiding eye contact with the other girls.

****

The two people stood on top of a large building just across from the school. One was female. She wore a skin tight suit with white going down the middle, a diamond pattern of brown and dark brown crossing along her back. Her suit also had heels that were black, and gloves that pointed off of her arms to match. Her mask was pointed up at the brows. Her kwami was a horned-viper.

The other was male. Like his partner, he eyed the school below. His outfit was different. For one thing, it was pure black with n eared-hood on his head. Lighter spots appeared every now and then on him but didn't touch the tail that extended out from his suit. His eyes were yellow, teeth and claws sharp, and he had what looked like a club with raised areas on his back. She had two daggers on either hip in contrast. His kwami was a jaguar.

The female cocked her hip. "It's here of all places?"

The male shrugged. "I don't argue with the master. He sensed its presence awaken here."

"And how are we supposed to get it? You said this was going to be an easy job."

He turned, his eyes narrowing on her. "If you would shut-up for two seconds, I'll tell you what's going to happen." She waited then, crossing her arms as her partner rose to meet her at eye level.

"The plan is simple: I'll go in disguised as one of them and just steal it." She baulked.

"What? That's no fun. Can't I blow anything up?" He shook his head.

"The master specifically...."

"And since when do you listen to every word he says," she hissed. He raised an eyebrow at her but didn't contest the point. When neither of them looked to back down on the point, she finally conceded, "Fine. We'll do it your way first. But, if you fail after two hours, I'm going to start blowing the place up. That'll get that stupid little kwami out of hiding." He nodded.

"Fine." He turned then, walking back on the roof before jumping down to a hidden alley below, transforming back and ushering his kwami into hiding, before strolling to the front of the school with a back bag in tow, all while she watched from above.

****

Math was pure hell. Jay sat in the back of the room, trying her best to keep up but the numbers seemed to fly by so quickly and, when the teacher refused to acknowledge her hand, she finally sat back with a humph and decided the class was overrated. She reached for the computer paper she always had in her bag. Doodling helped to ease her mind.

Cassiopia poked her head out at one point. "You should be paying attention," she scolded. A couple of heads turned towards her and Jay only blushed, waving them off, before glaring at the bag and writing a tiny note that she slipped inside. The dragon read it: Why should I? I didn't understand a thing from day one and this b- (She found a pen and scratched out the word) won't even answer my questions. I've tried going for help but all she does is call me dumb. I'm done. I have credits. I'll repeat the d- (Another scribble) class. The kwami looked out of the bag concerned, taking a good look at the person who was now her partner. Their meeting had been abrupt, yes, but now, really looking at her, she saw a deep sadness in the young girl, a bit of darkness resting on her heart, and anger, lots of anger, radiating off of her. She baulked a bit. Her heart was golden, that was true, but the little kwami was resigned that she had her work cut out for her with this chosen.

Suddenly, she felt a shiver run up her spine and her eyes immediately glued on the door. A moustached person opened  a it and motioned for her briefly. She smiled, quickly told the class to attempt the next problem, and went with him. Everyone started mumbling. When she returned, it wasn't alone. There were two boys in tow with her and she beamed at the class.

"I know this is unusual but we actually have two new transfer students today. This is Christian Reams," she motioned to the blonde haired boy who smiled sheepishly and waved, "And Brandon Wright."  The other boy, a taller, stockier, and blacked haired version of the boy. He merely nodded his head. "Boys, you can take a seat in the two empty seats there." Jay blinked. The only empty seats available were in front of her and to her right. She slumped further. Cripes. She didn't want seat mates of any kind near her. Mentally, she swore as the blonde, Christian, sat in front  and the black haired dude, Brandon, sat to her right. Both smiled at her politely. The teacher began her lesson again and Brandon raised his hand, which she acknowledged in a moment.

"Pardon me but would it be alright for her," he motioned to Jay, "to re-explain to me what's going on? I think I'm a bit lost." The teacher shrugged.

"Yes, that's fine but keep the talking down."

Jay groaned as he slid his desk closer. He held out a hand once he was done. "Hi. I'm Brandon." She eyed it but didn't take it.

"Jay."

His smile never dimmed but he did drop his hand. "Jay then." He paused, eyeing the locket. "That's a neat locket you have there." She blinked and absently grabbed for it, remembering that Cassi- she should start calling her that- had placed it on her in the bathroom.

"Uh... thanks. Family heirloom." He nodded, sliding her book over to take a look at it.

"So. Where do we start friend?" Now it was she would eyed him.

"I'm not your friend," she warned. "And you start by finding someone else. I don't know what's going on." "But you've been here all year...."

Yeah but I'm absolute sh...." She felt a pinch from the bag and she rubbed the spot, "crap at math." Man, that'd actually hurt. She made a mental note to scold Cassi later for it. Brandon blinked.

"But this is...." She covered her ears.

"Don't fuuuuu-ing say it. I get it. I'm in the honors class and I can't do the simplest forms of math." He smiled and then pulled her book completely away from her. "Hey!"

"I'll help you," he replied confidently. She blinked, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry. I think you've lost your mind or I have but did you just say...."

"I'll help you."

Her eyes turned hard then as she coldly responded with, "No thanks."

He turned to her. "You're going to get my help one way or the other," he responded.

"I didn't ask for it!"

"But you did. By even telling me you were crap." She paused. Then she saw red.

"That wasn't me asking!"

"Jay Diggins, if you would kindly stop disrupting my class." She glared at the teacher. The whole time they'd been talking not one word of course.... Jay grabbed her bag then. Without another word to the teacher, she left, heading straight for the front office because she already knew that that's where she'd have to go anyway.

Meanwhile, two sets of cold eyes watched her leave.

****

An hour lecture later with detention on her roster for the next two weeks, Jay left the office. She sighed defeated as she realized that it was now right before lunch. Instead of heading to her second period, she went straight to the cafeteria where a few skippers were already hanging out; the cafeteria crew were too busy readying themselves for the oncoming onslaught to worry about a handful of kids skipping class to push them out of the place. Jay found her usual seat. It was hidden behind a pillar that no one ever came around. She was safe there. Sitting out of sight, she sighed again and Cassi flew up to hide behind her lunch bag as she pulled out her food. She stared up at her chosen.

"Jay," she asked slowly, "Will you talk to me?" She shrugged.

"What's there to talk about? You saw how today went. It's the same song and dance every day. I come to school, people say sh-stuff," she corrected at a glare, "but I'm the one who gets left in the dust."

"I see that," she assured,"but there are better ways of handling the situations you're in that doesn't result in anger or getting sent to the office." Jay bit into her sandwich. When her mouth was clear, she slowly replied, "I know but it never gets me anything but more rejection." She slumped in her seat. "I'm literally the only mistake God ever made." The little dragon baulked this time. She stared up sadly at her chosen but when the bell rang, she slipped back down into the bag. Jay sniffled but wiped the corners of her eyes, clearing them of the tears that threatened, before returning to the stony expression she normally wore around the school.

The flood of students came instantly. It was loud suddenly and she flinched under it; just like she'd expected though, once most of the foot traffic had died down, she was left alone behind her pillar and a sigh of relief escaped her lips.

Until a shadow crossed her view.

She looked up started and there stood Brandon, the last person she didn't want to see of course. She glared. "haven't you done enough damage today? What do you want?" He returned the expression while reaching into his bag to pull out her calculus book. He tossed it onto the table in front of her.

"I'm just returning that. Lose the attitude alright."

"Stay away from me and I might consider it," she gritted.

He crossed his arms. Man, if his arms weren't toned. "I'll consider it once you tell me why." She shrugged.

"There's nothing to say. I just don't want you around."

"There's more to it," he asserted. "It's not that simple and I know it. I'm going to find out so you might as well tell me." She snorted, closing her lunch box and packing up the remains of her lunch. She wasn't feeling hungry anymore. Standing, she slung her bag over her shoulder and, surprisingly, had to glare up at him still. For years, kids made fun of her for being abnormally tall for a girl so it was odd to find herself having to look up at someone. It was rare and in between.

"Get used to disappointment," she retorted, starting to walk off. He grabbed for her then. She spun, disbelief etched on her face as he gently squeezed her arm. His face was softer now.

"I just want to help," he soothed. She hesitated for a second but then returned to her normal demeanor, tugging her arm to try and remove it from his grasp. "Why are you running away?"

"I'm not running yet. Let me go!"

"Not until you talk to me."

"You just started today. Why do you care?"

"What can I say? I'm a sentimental guy."

"Then take your sentiments elsewhere! Let me go!"

"I'm not...."

"What are you doing? She's already told you to let her go," a new voice interjected. Jay blinked as Brandon's hand was violently ripped off of her arm and he was shoved violently backwards. He stumbled but didn't fall. Standing in front of her, was surprisingly, the other new kid Christian. His eyes, a brilliant blue color sparkled defensively for her as he guarded her from him again. Brandon growled.

"This is none of your business Chris."

"I think it is brother," he assured him. "Especially when I see you being a complete jerk to a girl at our new school. You promised mom you'd behave this time. I'm tired of moving schools." He motioned to the double doors leading out of the cafeteria. "leave. Go get your head screwed on right and try again later." The taller, dark haired boy glared but did as ordered, leaving the two of them behind. Jay sighed in relief. Christian turned with a smile and softly soothed, "Sorry about that. Brandon has a lot of anger issues. I'm sure he means well but he doesn't know his boundaries." He held out a hand. "I'm Christian by the way. Friends call me Chris." She hesitated but gently took his hand. They shook. He smiled. "I heard what happened between you and him in class today and well... I want to apologize. Example of him meaning well but not knowing his boundaries."

"It's... it's alright," Jay managed. She bit her tongue, not sure how to remain civil especially since she was still running on adrenaline from the previous spat. "I'm not good with handling people oso it probably got worse than it needed to be."

Christ looked around. "I've noticed. Would you mind if I asked why you're eating lunch alone?"

She shrugged. "No one likes me. You'll usually find me alone anyway." A soft smile crossed his lips.

"That's not true. I happen to like you and we just met so that's saying something." Jay blinked, confused but before she could respond, he asked, "Would you mind if I sit with you for the remainder of lunch?  I haven't made any friends yet so I'm just kind of on my own." She nodded dumbly. Lunch was pleasant from that point on. Chris made small talk to which she replied with short answers; after all, she wasn't used to anyone really wanting to talk to her so it felt... odd to talk so much. The final bell rang and they gathered up their things. Just as they were leaving, continuing their small talk, Jay was jerked into his arms as an explosion suddenly rocked the school to its foundation. The students in the hall screamed, grabbing onto the walls as best as they could. Teachers came running, ordering student to evacuate to the rear of the school. Cassi poked her head out of the bag, her eyes narrowed and slitted like a snake's, a low growl escaping from her throat.

"It's here," she informed her chosen. "The darkness I told you about. We have to go handle it." Jay nodded and ran forward, tearing herself out of Chris' hold.

"Jay," he called. She looked back long enough to see him swept away by the crowd of people. She pushed her way up stream, shoving past teachers and students alike until she came out on a deserted staircase. Cassi flew out of her bag.

"There's not much time for me to explain everything," Cassi quickly stated, "but you need to know, you'll have a weapon you can use at your disposal as well as the ability 'Golden Purity." It'll cleanse any area of darkness that has it."

"Great but...," Jay swallowed, "I don't know how ready I am for this."

"We don't have time to debate whether you're ready or not. I believe in you. You're going to be amazing. Now, to transform, just say 'Armor up!'" Jay nodded. She ripped the locket in her hand before saying, "Cassi, armor up!"

Cassiopia gave her one last smile before a bright light dragged her into the locket. Jay felt the magic take hold, spiraling up and over her head first, placing a golden colored mask over her eyes, two horns and two long pieces of hair over her own slicked back hair. Her clothing changed as well. From the neck down, she was given a skin tight suit that was accented white in the front, but gold over her shoulders, arms, and legs, ending in knee high black boots. A tail appeared on her back. Four heavy balls ended up on her hip kind of like a belt and a staff emerged from her split hands. She gave it a twirl and knew that it was only natural for her to have it. When everything was done, Jay blinked and quickly surveyed herself.

"Okay, that was weird," she said to the air. Another blast rocked the school. She staggered but caught herself against the railing of the staircase and as soon as she was able to stand again, she ran up said stairs, finding a classroom window to fling herself out of and up to the roof. She ran to the front where the blasts came from.

What she found was startling. Another person, dressed kind of like her, was holding up two daggers that glowed yellow before spitting out another blast. The woman laughed.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," she sing-songed, "Come and play little dragon. I'm going to take your miraculous for myself!"

Jay gritted her teeth. She jumped, raising the staff over her head and slinging it down towards her head. She saw though and dodged, flipping back out of the way. The new hero landed, standing quickly, and raising her staff in defense. The woman hissed.

"So, you've finally come to play Dragon." She suddenly disappeared. Jay blinked and grunted as she was kicked from behind. The woman laughed. "Oh my. You're still new to being a holder. How sad for you." She gritted her teeth and jumped up, ready to defend herself again.

"I- I may be new but that doesn't mean I'm going to let you win!" She ran forward, swinging her staff wide. The woman blocked and cackled as she pushed said weapon back out and kicked its holder in the middle. She slid back for some feet. A gasp escaped her lips and she gripped at her mid-section. Another laugh.

"Oh youngling. When are you going to figure out that you'll never be able to touch this Viper?" She spun her daggers, walking towards the downed girl. Jay panted, trying her hardest to regain her breath. Viper continued to smirk. Her weapons glowed menacingly as she continued approaching. Her mind raced. What was she to do?

Tough was only an act.

She had no idea how to actually do anything.

Cassi had put her faith in the wrong person after all.

She dropped her staff. Her stomach really hurt and her vision was swimming. Some hero she turned out to be. Not even one for thirty minutes into being a hero and it was about to be over.

The villain snickered, pointing her daggers, ready to blast.

She squeezed her eyes shut, ready.

The blast happened but it didn't hit its target. The asphalt shattered. She hissed again and turned. Jay blinked, realizing that she'd been scooped up and whisked out of the path of danger. The person held her close. Looking up, she blushed.

He was wearing an all white suit. Over his head was a matching color hood with round ears and fur around the edge. Up to his eyes was covered by what she could only describe as a ninja's mask. He had a tail that swished back and forth. She didn't miss how the suit hugged his curves and muscles nicely; to say she was smitten at sight was an understatement. She turned redder than normal. Blue eyes met red.

"Are you alright," he asked softly. She nodded dumbly. He sat her on her feet and she could tell he was smiling under the mask. "Good. I'm going to need your help getting rid of her." He motioned to Viper. Jay took her staff back, which he'd scooped up with her, swallowing hard.

"But I... I don't know how to fight," she shook. He took both of her hands and gripped them softly. "Have faith," he assured her. "Your kwami will guide your actions."

"Ugh. How cheesy," Viper snickered. "But even you won't be enough to save her Leo." She raised a hand, summoning a mist of purple. Several of the cars in the parking lot glowed and morphed, changing into odd blob shaped creatures. She pointed. "Get them Poisons!" They groaned and surged forward. Leo swore and jumped away, pulling the tail off of his hips, revealing that it was a whip as well. He slung it round, cutting some of the creatures in half. They divided. Falling, they oozed away, causing everything they touched to rust or die. Jay swung her staff. The same thing happened to her Poisons; it didn't help that she also had to contend with Viper's attacks both at a distance and up close.

Viper got close and swiped with her right dagger. Jay bent away but fell back, bumping into Leo's back. He looked back at her.

"Now what," she panicked.

Leo flung his whip again. "You're going to have to purify the area."

She jabbed at the head of another Poison. "I don't know how!"

"Do you trust me?" She grunted as she blocked another blast.

"I don't really have a choice do I?"

"Good. I'll keep you safe. Close your eyes and reach deep within yourself. You'll find the answer there." She eyed him like he was crazy but eventually nodded, deciding that she had no other choice. She straightened. Closing her eyes, the world went dark but she could still hear the battle. At one point, she heard, "Royal Roar" and felt a blast of intense energy. It ruffled her hair.

She swallowed. 'Alright Cassi,' she begged, 'now would be the time to guide me. What am I looking for exactly?'

Jay swore she heard Cassi giggle. It appeared in her mind as a soft golden glow at her feet that grew stronger and stronger until it shot out some distance to capture what looked like the symbol of a spider. The glow held the panicking image in place. It was like second nature. She knew what to do. The staff went over her head where she concentrated her power. When it was done, she threw it. The staff struck and remained upright. It sounded like the spider screamed as it was hit. "Golden Purity," she ordered. The energy of the staff left, radiating out in golden circles. The spider faded. Viper hissed, blocking her eyes from the energy. The Poisons groaned but faded, returning to their original places, everything damaged was fixed. When she opened her eyes, everything was normal again. Her staff flew back to her open hand. She sighed. "Did it work?"

Her partner nodded. "Yes, Viper's gone. The area's clean. You did it." Excitement rose in her heart. So much so, that she jumped up and down cheering, before offering him a high five that he took with a smile.

There was a cheer from behind them. Turning, the two heroes found the school population returned. Jay flushed. Suddenly, Lizzie and one of her friends ran up to them, holding a mic and camera from the school broadcasting club.

"Excuse me," she said into the mic, "Lizzie Barton, Callum High News. Who are you exactly and will you be protecting us from that villain from now on?" She pushed said device into her face. Jay floundered. Suddenly, Leo was there, placing a protective hand on her shoulder. Two loud beeps rang out from her locket and a thick bracelet on his wrist.

"We're flattered you want to interview us," he charmed, "but our time is short." He started to pull her away but Jay reached for the mic.

"I'm the Golden Dragon," she announced, "and I'll be protecting everyone from now on. Promise!" The newswoman blinked as she gave it back to her and the two heroes took off. Once out of sight, they ducked into an alley where he started to leave. She grabbed his hand. He paused. "Wait! Who are you really," she pleaded. Another beep. He smiled and turned, pulling her hand up to place a gentle kiss on the back. She blushed.

"As much as I would like to tell you, it's not safe. We can't reveal ourselves to anyone- even each other." He released her, turning again. "You won't be seen here. I'll go find somewhere else to transform." His smile grew more pronounced. "I'll see you next time, Dragon." He took off before she could stop him. She flushed, placing her hands on her cheeks, willing her heart to slow down without success.

****

"You did wonderful today Jay," Cassi cheered as they returned to the school. She retrieved her bag which thankfully hadn't been stolen.

"I love it," she admitted, "All my life, I dream of magic. I never thought it would happen to someone like me!" She paused. "Though, I probably should get some practice in soon so I don't mess up like I did this time."

The kwami nodded. "Yes but this is only the beginning. There will be plenty of time to learn." Jay smirked, tossing said bag over her shoulder.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

****

Viper hissed as she was struck across the face. She didn't dare raise her eyes. He was angry. Rightfully so. Dark Claw leaned against a nearby wall, arms crossed as he watched.

"You fool," the older man spat. "The next time, you will follow orders. I would have had the golden dragon by now if you hadn't acted recklessly!"

"Yes... my lord." He struck her again. She remained silent this time as he turned towards the other servant.

"Dark Claw," he ordered. The black clad villain got off the wall and bowed. "Return. Resume the plan until you get that dragon." He bowed once more.

"Of course my lord." He turned, ignoring the hiss of Viper as he left, transforming back with a maniacal grin across his lips.