#just to move her at a rapid velocity

[nevert-the-guy]

Oh wait, did Tumblr hear about Hex Normal yet?

[targaryenrealnessdarling]

See You At Sunset - a Lost Without You Drabble

Summary: You and Billy get lost on the way to Polzeath for a holiday, and decide to kill time by 'watching the sunset' | Word Count: 2.4k~ | Warnings below the cut!

Links to my Taglists: General Taglist | Billy W Taglist

A/N: Can be read as a standalone or as part of the Lost Without You story as a prequel 💕

Warnings: semi-public sex, sex in a car, p in v, praise

Billy remembered the last holiday they went on together, in the late spring. They'd driven to Cornwall with a hired minivan. And before arriving into Port Isaac, they'd stopped on a country road in the late afternoon when the sun touched the sea. He'd made love to her in the driver's seat and admired the way the orange sunset kissed the colour of her hair. She looked gorgeous then, face flushed and legs astride him.

"Billy, I'm telling you for free, we are lost"

She says for what feels like the hundredth time.

Billy sighs, one hand clasped on the steering wheel and the other resting on the side, his fingers anxiously running through his sandy, blonde hair.

"We are not lost. The satnav is just on the piss" he grumbles, leaning forward to fiddle with the settings on it. Trying to type in 'Polzeath' again with one shaky finger while concentrating on the road with the other.

"Billy!"

"Shit!"

He slams on the brakes, seatbelts tugging at their chests, about to go straight through a level crossing as the gates are going down. The velocity of it makes her pull forwards in her seat, ripping the map she'd been looking at right in two.

Once he's caught his breath a bit and calmed the rapid beating of his heart, she snorts a laugh.

Billy looks over unamused.

"Didn't we do this whole 'having a holiday in the UK thing' because it was less stressful?" he asks, half-annoyed.

She hums, "Yeah it was supposed to be" she smiles, leaning over to put her hand on his leg, soothing his knee with her thumb.

He spares her a boyish smile, covering her hand with his and giving a loving squeeze, before moving it to the gearstick to move off again.

It's not such a bad place to be lost. The sun is slowly starting to set, the pink and orange sky beginning to bloom at the horizon. He drives quietly, the minivan a little clunkier than his usual Vauxhall, shifting between the gears clumsily, not used to the stiffness between them.

The sign to Port Isaac zips by quickly and when she looked over the windscreen, she could see how the sea reflected the warmth of the imminent sunset. The air was warm and cosy, with a slight nip to the skin as the evening approached. But all the same, it was tranquil and almost painfully serene.

The country roads were narrow and quiet. A weekday meaning there wasn't a soul about, and with the school holidays months away, it was pleasantly calm.

She looked over when Billy sighed and rubbed his eyes, just wanting to be in the Airbnb they'd booked to be in bed as soon as possible. His clutch foot was starting to kill and she could tell he was getting irritated, having driven for hours before this point.

She pressed her lips together, eyes glimmering with mischief.

"Pull over there" she said, pointing over the dashboard to a passing point.

Billy tapped the brakes, looking over, "Here?"

"Yeah, pull over"

The only sound was the click of his indicator as Billy pulled in, tugging the handbrake up.

Through the windscreen, the view of the sea was visible, stretching out past the greenery of the nearby empty fields. The blades of grass swayed gently in the breeze of the late afternoon.

She clicked off her seatbelt and sat forwards, leaning over to see the view better, "nice, isn't it?"

Billy looked confused at her, wondering why she'd asked him to park up just for a glance at the view they'd be seeing for the next few days anyway.

He shrugged, "Yeah, it's…nice"

She bit her lip lightly and shuffled over, flinging her leg over his lap to straddle him. For a moment, Billy didn't know what to do with his hands, as they hung in the air. But once she sat atop him, his hands rested at her hips, looking up at her questioningly.

Fairly quickly though, as her inner thighs brushed his bulge, his face lit up with a smile, tugging her hips down to circle against his pelvis.

"I like this view better though" he added, barely above a gruff whisper. She swatted his shoulder playfully to draw attention away from the way her cheeks were warming, earning a half-hearted chuckle from him.

Their relationship had always felt so natural. At the beginning, Billy had been a bit reserved, not wanting to take things any further than he felt she was comfortable with. He’d never classed himself as particularly good with women, nor at being able to tell what they wanted or were thinking.

He was one of those guys who thought that growing up, women somehow knew more about him than he did, and that when he met women of a similar age to him, that they were more mature than he was, knew more about the world, and were already so wise beyond their years.

She never held that against him.

In fact, she found it endearing that Billy would think of her so deeply in this way. That he took it slow, for himself as well as her, as neither of them had felt so close to a person like this romantically. And both of them didn’t want to ruin that by hurtling themselves headlong into it without thinking.

In the last few months though? Something just…happened.

When she held him, Billy felt as if she were holding his heart in her hands, cradling it like it was precious.

And it hurt in the most beautiful way.

Nobody had ever treated him with such sincerity and care. But she did.

He never wanted to let that go.

Their love was languid, like they had all the time in the world and felt they didn’t need to rush, allowing things to develop naturally.

He loved that about her.

She leaned forward to kiss him tenderly, the setting sun glowing on the right side of his face, illuminating the stubble that gathered at his jaw in blonde little wisps. As she smoothed her hands along it, the blunt, not-so-freshly shaven hair rubbed comfortingly along her palms. She watched his baby blue eyes slip shut, joining her efforts and pressing his mouth to hers, his tongue dipping against hers to slip into her mouth, tilting his head opposite to her.

His thumbs pressed into her hips, moving her in slow, careful motions on top of him as he kissed her like he wanted to devour her entirely. Every now and then, with the wet smack of their lips parting for air, his hands wandered to her bare thighs, beneath the thin material of her skirt. And when he gripped the flesh there hard, he reveled in her short, airy gasps into his mouth, and moaned lowly as she pressed herself harder onto his growing erection.

His large hands wandered up, and he pulled away for a second, his cheeks pink with both shock and excitement.

“Have you not been wearing knickers this whole time?”

She only smiled in reply, dipping her head to his jaw in little micro-kisses, “Maybe. Why? Is that a problem?”

A shuddered breath was the only thing that managed to slip from his lips, as one of her hands traced the hard length constrained within his jeans.

Somehow he managed to say something, “ - fuck - no, no, not a problem at all, baby -”

His hips began to chase her touch as she stroked him teasingly through the denim. She leaned back a little, having left a little love-bite on the sensitive skin of his neck, to watch his reaction to what little she was doing to him.

His eyes fluttered halfway open when he re-doubled her efforts to unzip his jeans, undoing the button and pulling the fabric apart, his mouth doing something similar, only half-open with a whisper of breaths pouring out.

He looked at her, the sunset casting warm rays either side of her, like she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

It wasn’t quick, but there was hunger. And the longer either of them stretched it out, the more each of them wanted it, but daren’t not do anything fast or rash to ruin the precious moment they’d made together.

"Please babe, don't tease me -"

Billy's stomach muscles tense when she circles her hand around him, already half hard, and pulls his length free from his boxers, shuffling forward to straddle his lap a little closer.

He doesn't know what he prefers more, the way her hand pumps him, squeezing slightly at the tip where he's most sensitive, or the way her features and skin are illuminated by the soft sun, casting a soft gleam against the sea.

"So needy" she coos, stroking him entirely to full hardness.

She takes him in with her eyes like a meal, watching the way his skin reacts to her touch. The way his cockhead pokes out from her grip, red and alert, sweeping the arousal that leaks from it with her thumb, which serves to send a full body shiver through Billy's body.

"But I suppose you've been good" she smiles at him, her breath hot against his cheek. He tries to chase her lips with his, desperate for any contact, but he groans in disapproval when she keeps moving away.

She hovers over him, his length in her hand and guiding him to her centre, where she's been entirely ready for him since the moment they got in the car. Mischievously having had this idea the entire journey here.

She sighs in delight when his length disappears inside her, the stretch a welcome one, enveloping him completely in her wet warmth. His mouth hangs open, no sound coming out, his hands rising upwards to her waist and then her breasts in desperation to do something, anything to her as well.

Her breath hitches when his hips move and his cock throbs inside her when he bottoms out, briefly touching her cervix in what she can only describe is surprise. He's much longer than any partner she's had before, and whenever they fuck it's always paramount she's prepared, so that they don't have to hold back.

But she's been ready for hours.

"Billy-"

"Oh my god - babe - you're fucking perfect -"

It's all he's able to say.

Praising her. It just comes so naturally.

Because that's what she is to him.

Absolutely entirely perfect.

His hand grabs her bare hip beneath her skirt for leverage, using it to move her hips on top of him. The slightest fit of friction has both of them moan softly into their open mouths.

The sheer sound of her sex being thrusted into slowly is enough to fill the silence.

"Christ, you're so wet, baby -"

Any notion of dominance she felt over him is completely dissipating now with the micro-movements of his cock spearing her apart.

He feels dirty looking down and watching the way he disappears inside her, but it's just too tempting. Billy watches, pride rolling in his stomach as he breathes, as each time he pulls out of her she glazes him with her arousal, coating the inside of her thighs only slightly.

The inside of the car is hot, and with one of her hands on the window for stability, it's starting to fog up as well, her steady moans rising in volume with each snap of her buttocks against his thighs.

It's a good job it's a weekday, and the roads are quiet, so that nobody can see the erratic movement of the rented minivan.

"Fuck - Billy-"

He grins. He doesn't know if he will ever get tired of hearing her moan his name.

" - you need to stop saying my name like that, I'll cum too quickly, baby -" he whispers.

Her misty eyes meet his, her face contorted in pleasure as the coil winds impossibly tight in her belly.

Billy leans forward, briefly slipping deeper inside her, making her moan helplessly. He tightens his hold on her hips, moving her backwards and forwards as well as up and down on his length, watching as she tilts her head back and a melody of gasps and sighs slip from her mouth.

" - yeah, right there, baby? -" he whispers, "- fuck, you look so gorgeous like this - want to cum in you-"

"Yes, yes - Billy, fuck - please don't stop-"

His shuffling of her hips back and forth has the head of his cock bully that sweet spot inside, quickly fucking up into her with a wet smack that only seem to increase in speed and volume.

He can tell she's close, so his thumb trails down over her belly to rub her clit in tight, small circles, now slick with her arousal. She tightens around him, holding him inside her, until she falls off the edge with a strangled cry of his name.

True to his word, he doesn't stop, even as her pussy is fluttering around him in the throes of her intense orgasm. He fucks her through it, searching for his but also loving the way her face twists in sheer pleasure at the overstimulation.

Her heartbeat thrums through her, all to her bud, which Billy hasn't given up on, and he swears he can feel every beat through her as he fucks her.

Billy thrusts shallowly as he finishes deep inside her with a long, strained groan. She moans loudly feeling his warmth inside the deepest parts of her, moving her hips on him to gain that last bit of friction before he softens within her.

After he's caught his breath, feeling a sheen of sweat covering his skin, he looks up and feels that all he can do is smile at her.

The sun is barely visible above the sea anymore, and the pinkish tint of the days passed illuminates her form with a glow that seems almost heavenly. If his cock weren't deep inside her, he'd think she were a saint or an angel.

Looking down through hooded eyes, she smiles back at him lovingly, her breasts moving steadily as she calms the erratic beating of her heart.

"Think we'll get the deposit back?..." she laughs exhaustedly, earning the same reaction from Billy.

She was always funny.

Billy sighs, his palms now soothing where he'd gripped her so hard earlier.

"Not sure if I saw the clause about shagging in the hire van" he jokes back, happy that he got the same reaction.

Their foreheads, tacky from the effort, press together.

Her fingers run through his sandy hair, thumbs stroking his cheeks appreciatively.

Her mouth a whisper away from his.

"I quite like Port Isaac" he smiles boyishly against her lips.

"But, Christ, I fucking love you"

dividers by @saradika

General Taglist: @aemondsfavouritebastard | @blairfox04 | @hb8301 | @jamespotterismydaddy | @nenelysian | @natty2017 | @randomdragonfires | @risefallrise | @theoneeyedprince | @thelittleswanao3 | @tsujifreya | @urmomsgirlfriend1 | @valeskafics | @watercolorskyy

Billy W Taglist: @fan-goddess @assortedseaglass @chainsawsangel

[firewalkzwit]

peace of mind // miguel o'hara x reader (6)

Masterlist

AO3 parallel

summary: In the eve of 2050, Spider-Woman is New York’s vigilante trying to maintain order in a revolting society, soon to collapse. The only reason to keep going is the hope for change, as the darkest hour is just before the dawn, but an unexpected turn of events will result in more than just New York to watch over.

(Contains some elements and references I gathered off other pieces of media to inspire the universe and, vaguely, the character.)

word count: 2.5k

Chapter 6

Cold rain poured on her back as she walked, cold she was used to. The moist, frigid climate of her dimension made this universe feel very dry and warm in comparison, making her tongue constantly swipe around her lips to moisturize. Her eyes narrowed and her sharpened senses stayed alert, not leaving room for failure in her first mission. Her fists clenched and swinged back and forth beside her hips as she maintained a sigilous rythm, they were in the hunt for an anomaly. What was briefly described by Lyla as a Green Goblin from a distant future to the current dimension's timeline, which made it highly dangerous. The aproximate year of origin for the Goblin was roughly 2060, which was slightly intimidating. She had to fight in foreign territory; a dimension which was set thirty years before her's, against an enemy from a dimension a decade more advanced than her's, nothing she felt she was equipped for, although she masked her insecurity behind a confident pace and a fixed grimace. The suburbs of this Earth's Manhattan trembled at the lurking threat, as Miguel ordered Lyla to track the anomaly. Soon they were both mapped through their gizmos towards the growing rumble of the agitation. It was much easier to fight in the open space this version of Manhattan had in proportion to her own. She crawled up a building as Miguel followed her track from the ground, finally allowing her to catch a glimpse of the anomaly. The Green Goblin and Spider-Woman met once again, but this Goblin did not know that, and it was not her Green Goblin, as much as he resembled it. 

The sharp roaring of the Goblin's board itched her hearing, as she tried to maintain focus on the swift movements between and accross the smoke of it's bombs. A pinch of pity at his sheer confusion soon was shaped into strange amusement, yearning to make a move. Her newly coded AI gave her an imput on distance and jump risk percentage, finally getting close enough for her to pound on her target unanounced. Her speed was hardly matched, whatever she lacked in strength she excelled in her velocity and fast reflexive response, which allowed her to jump and grip herself on the Goblin's back, jolting him. The Goblin groaned, swiftly swerving in the air as her sharp nails made useless attempts of securing her grip. She repeatedly punched his head with the objective of causing him to loose balance. After an attempt at a fourth strike, she was stopped by the cold grip of the Goblin's hand on her fist, pulling her away from his back and leaving her thighs which clenched onto his torso stuck beneath his arms. The Goblin shifted his board downwards, turning her on her back and instinctively grabbing onto one of his arms. "No matter where I go I will always have you, won't I, Spider-Man?" The Green Goblin spat with disdain as he punched her posterior elbow enough times for her to loose her grip. "None of you will ever seize to misgender me, will you?" She retorted, vexed. While falling, her web launched towards his board, disrupting his balance as the board progressively lost it's boost, causing them to both fall at a rapid pace. Concerned in regaining his balance, the Goblin failed to restart his engine, and what was beginning to become a concern was rapidly interrupted by the sudden pain of a ram against her body, a tight grip securing around her arms and torso. It was only once she reached the ground that she realized what had gotten ahold of her. 

"Those claws of yours, you gotta' put them away." Miguel's eyes were focused on her hands, as his own held the same biceps she had held onto for dear life seconds earlier. His other hand hung still, and what seemed to be authentic claws protruded underneath the suit that drew the silhouette of his hands. "I see you have some of your own." She grinned to the side as her head tilted slightly, her hand hesitantly aproximating to his wrist. Miguel reflectively pulled his hand away slightly, before allowing her hand to gently wrap around his wrist. "They're not claws, they're talons and they're retractable." His voice boasted over her head as her fingers delicately touched what soon disappeared into his fingers before her eyes. "Impressive." She simply muttered under her breath before holding out her hands in front of his face. "These are my nails, not claws, harmless." Her tone was only slightly provocative, but enough to be irritating once combined with the way her eyes pointed at Miguel's bicep, which he quickly let go of with an irritated sigh. Her senses tingled suddenly and intensely, before realising the once collapsed Green Goblin had recomposed and hurled one of his bombs at them. Miguel seemed shockingly unfazed, to which she reacted by rapidly jumping on him, throwing him to the ground as the bomb flew over her head by only a milimetrical distance of safety. Once on the ground, she unconveniently propelled on Miguel's chest, where her hands were previously placed, to backflip and kick the Goblin's upper body and down from his Board, falling hardly on his back. Before he could recompose his posture, her webs trapped his body against itself, limiting his movements. "Spider-Man, don't be foolish. Your webs are useless, I long ago freed myself from the limitations of your attacks." The Goblin growled proudly, as sharp razor edges jutted from his suit, cutting off all her webs like paper. Her face contorted into a concerned scowl, meditating her next move once she was proven practically defenseless. Before the Green Goblin could strike an offensive, his body was once again surrounded, yet this time by the seemingly impenetrable laser webbing she had earlier seen back at her dimension. Miguel had gotten back up and approached the now tied up Goblin, holding him down before striking a painfully deafening punch on his immobilized head, sending him into an immediate faint.

Under Miguel's arm hung the body of the Goblin, as they walked the roof of the building she had jumped off of earlier, she stopped on her track to get a final glimpse of what seemed to be a beautifully clear night sky, and a city free of the visual litter of the holograms that illuminated any dark space. The streets that merged into eachother and opened into avenues could be seen further than what the visibility in her dimension could ever allow, even with strong senses like her's and the amplified view of a supersuit, the dense smog was impossible to get accross. She could tell the portal had opened behind them once the illumination of the shots of light it ejected erratically lit the ground beneath her, but she stood still, hearing Miguel grunt as he tossed the Goblin into the oblivion of his gizmo like a sack of potatoes. "You coming?" Miguel asked impatiently, to which she stood unfazed, completely dazzled at the sight of a city she could never have. No matter how hard she'd work, some damage had become irreparably cultural, and she could only try to keep order, but the tendency for destruction of all things beautiful seemed to be engrained in the citizens. Before she could turn, she felt the presence of Miguel beside her, standing firmly and as tall and straight as his height allowed him to. "It's gorgeous out here, wish I could stay..." She spoke almost under her breath as she pulled off her mask to witness the landscape of the concrete jungle with her naked gaze. Miguel's suit retracted only enough to unmask him, allowing his eyes to meet her's. She pierced him with her gaze, hoping someone from even a further future like himself would understand her. "You'll get a lot of views like this in the job, let's get going." His hand rested on her for a second like a strange pity pat in the back before jumping into the interdimensional gateway. It was only stupid of her to expect someone who got the utopic end of technological development to understand the disappointments of postmodernity, when societies like the one in front of her had existed not so long ago. To her this was the best version of a society, to Miguel it was probably nothing but an earlier prototype of what Nueva York was. 

Seated alone at a retracted sector of the Spider-Society she had spent a lengthy stretch searching for, she had settled to try and heal her wounds with the reduced elements she was equipped with. The digits on her suit ejected a small amount of medicinal alcohol that disinfected the harsh scratches on her arms, product of the piercing edges the knuckles on the Goblin's suit used to weaken her grip with every punch. "That seemed like an edgy Goblin." Gwen attempted to joke with an awkward grin that followed the silence that ruled their surroundings. "What are you doing here?" Gwen asked as she sat down beside her. "I like lonely spots when I have to heal, especially because sometimes I have to get half naked just to get my arm out of the suit." Spider-Woman spoke with an added scoff as she re-introduced her arm in the suit. "I get it, I come here a lot when I need a break from all this" Gwen's hands gestured the large glass window that allowed them an ample view of the Spider-Society as her expression mimicked exhaustion. "But you do know there's always the medical station to go to when you're hurt right?" Spider-Woman brushed her comment off with a grin as she looked away, nodding softly. In reality, she hated hospitals and most care centers, the stench of iodoform and strong white lights that dulled everything in them into cold colors took her back to memories she'd rather keep burried, especially if a visit to the doctor wasn't strictly compulsory. "Anyway, I overheard Miguel wants you at HQ, heard it was your first mission so congrats!" Gwen gave her a pat on the back, similar to the one Miguel had given her earlier, only that it felt warmer and motivated by kindness. As she walked, she lingered on the thought of her new bonds, and how she had to be cautious with her attachment. Being Spider-Man is a risky job, and you had to be prepared for it's collaterals, so the idea of befriending and becoming attached to Spider-People seemed progressively worse as she thought about it. As she entered headquarters, she settled with herself the promise to make no bonds with anyone in the Spider-Society. Having friends was okay, and necessary, but forming connections was off-limits.

As she walked into Miguel's offices, she felt the usual unease of the negative energy the place had, that made her shoulders feel heavier and her limbs drag a little closer to the floor, reminding her of home. "I've been looking for you." Miguel's voice was be overheard from over her head, where the shade of his silhouette contrasted with the lights of the screens on his floating platform. "Come up here, I need you to see this."  With no further exchange of words, her webs aided her in getting up to his secluded spot. As she got there, she was met with Miguel eyeing her from the corner of his eye, before turning towards the multiple screens in front of him. The images projected different dimensions, along with images of hers. "We continue to be on the hunt for Spot, but he's becoming hard to catch. Every dimension he crashes makes him more powerful, and I was checking yours..." His hands swiped away the images of what seemed to vaguely project unraveling dimensions, amplifying a projection of hers. "Your dimension owns a powerful collider, highly developed and with more capacities than the one's from his dimension." Her head turned to look at him in a frown. "You mean he comes from a specific universe and he's not just a flawed byproduct of dimensional warping?" Miguel nodded softly before turning his head back at the screen, showing images of their battle with Spot and what was left of Alchemax's offices after the initiation of the collider. "Your dimension has some advances on dimensional gaps like the ones he creates, and Alchemax seems to have drifted it's attention of interdimensional travelling into creating something like Spot's holes. It's not something we should be afraid of yet, but their information has caught his attention, and according to Lyla he payed your dimension a visit while we were away, and has stolen very valuable data that could be dangerous in his hands." The images of the city that was home to her showed chaos and destruction, nothing she wasn't used to seeing, but it particularly freaked her out to know the cause of it. She never had pictured the idea of New York disappearing, being obliterated and erased from the lot, wiping everything and everyone in it from existence like dirt splits and disappears in the air. To her, there wasn't more than Brooklyn, New York, 2049 until not too long ago, and it remained her main priority was to protect it from crumbling into oblivion.

Her tired eyes followed his hands without listening to his words, only to abruptly interrupt him with a tone deaf question. "How's it like? To loose a dimension." He held her gaze for a second as his features contorted into a frown, but she remained inexpressive, staring intensely as she waited for an answer. Miguel struggled to find the words to answer her question, being extremely cautious with the choice of words he'd use to describe the feeling of loosing something that wasn't even his to begin with. "It's important to focus on not finding out." He finally replied with severity, breaking eye contact abruptly. He was washed up with the disgusting guilt that often creeped on his mind, trying to mask his sensitivity in his expression, but she was catching on to his soft spot as she meticulously analyzed his body language, leaving the answer he'd never give her to the depths of her imagination. She couldn't understand him, his pain wasn't like that of those who had trully lost it all, he had lost only what he had stolen, and for that she did not pity him. He could feel her gaze still nailed on him despite having looked away long seconds ago, building up a tense awkwardness that was too strong to intrude on with words, and he struggled to find the strength to finally dismiss her. Spider-Woman found the compassion to do that herself, jumping down as her gizmo opened up a portal back to her dimension. "If he returns, I'll be there to catch him." It didn't take her long to realize it wasn't necessary to win Miguel over to have the situation under her control, as he was just as desperate as her to finally stop him, meaning she had already succeeded. 

i finally got around to writing something longer, i rlly wanted to make some interactions to start cooking up something between them :>

[kleenex-tissues]

Yours Truly (4)

AO3 version here

Ch. 4 - Sometimes, Annoyance is the Best Policy

Marinette spends the better part of a week pretending she never sent an email to this ‘Redbird’ fellow. Growing up in the bakery, her parents had always told her that everything cooks slower when you watch it, and she tried to apply this theory to all aspects of her life.

Long checkout queue? Scroll through twitter.

Fabric store out of your favorite silk? Set a reminder to check back in a few days and go about your shopping.

Pen pal hasn’t responded to your email yet? Throw yourself into being the most helpful and positive person you can possibly be to make time go faster.

And that was exactly what Marinette did.

Every akumatized villain was met with a smile and a polite greeting, no matter how many cars they threw at her. Victims were given hugs and pep talks. Not even Chat Noir could keep up with the amount of compliments she was spewing his way. Citizens remarked that the lights throughout Paris glittered just a little bit brighter whenever Ladybug smiled.

The kwamis, which were now in her care as the officially appointed guardian of the miraculi, were feeding off of her happy smiles and care gladly. A new corner dedicated to cushions and snacks became their designated hangout when freed from their places in the miracle box. When Marinette was happy, they all seemed to have more energy, and they would never complain about that.

This also translated into her civilian life, her sunny smile bringing lots of attention to the bakery whenever she manned the register. Her classmates were treated to a new baked good every day, whether they spoke to each other or not. Orders for her designs were being sent out at rapid rates, and nobody could deny the feeling of warmth whenever they donned the clothes she had meticulously hand-sewn. If she was unconsciously imbuing some of Tikki’s power into the fabric, that was between her and the clothing.

Every day was accompanied by the cheerful light Marinette seemed to radiate, but every day ended with a storm cloud above her as she opened her empty inbox. After the fifth day of checking her email and seeing no reply, Marinette threw her head back in exasperation.

“Maybe the email just didn’t go through,” chimed TIkki, rather unhelpfully, from her place in Marinette’s jacket hood. The girl tried her best to be upbeat, but it seemed impossible to ever reach the level of optimism that the kwami exuded. Marinette thought it must be tiring for Tikki to be so happy all the time. She knew first hand how exhausting it was.

She was supposed to be the happy, carefree girl in her everyday life and an otherworldly protector surrounded by an air of confidence as Ladybug. All of Paris relied on her to be the best, to keep them safe, to keep them whole. But she was tired of having to do everything just right.

Marinette sighed. “I don’t know, Tikki. Maybe I’m just not meant to learn English.”

She moved Tikki from her shoulder to the desk and began spinning in her chair. A soft calming motion, around and around. It had become her favorite way to get rid of any negative thoughts. She let her mind shift to blank for a minute or two, a quick reset in the midst of her hectic day to day life.

“It’s not like you to give up so easily,” Tikki countered. “He probably just missed the email. You can always try sending another one!”

Her smile was infectious, breaking through Marinette’s empty stare and bringing her back to the waking world. The chair’s velocity slowed, and Tikki flew up to look her chosen in the eyes. “I’m sure it will work out for you.”

The way she formed her words so sweetly was enough to give anyone cavities. Marinette’s mind began to stir once more, and unfocused eyes moved towards the monitor with intent. She forced a smile onto her face, albeit a little reluctantly.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Let’s try it again.”

To: d.w.redbird@xxxxx.net From: maridesigns@xxxxx.net Subject: Hello again :)

Good evening, Redbird!

Oh, but you’re not from Paris, so it’s probably not evening for you. Good whatever time of day it is!

I wasn’t sure if you missed my last email, so I figured I should send you another one just in case. As a recap, my name is Marinette (but you can call me Mari, almost all my friends do), I live in Paris, I’m the class president, a fashion designer in the making, and just one year away from University.

Feel free to let me know if there’s anything you would like designed (clothing, album covers, accessories). I could probably get you a pretty good ‘friend’ discount! ;)

I look forward to your reply. Afterall, why would you have signed up for a pen pal in the first place! XD

Au Revior, Mari

–

Marinette, concluding that the best course of action was always to “kill with kindness,” or in this case annoyance, decided to send an email to her unresponsive pen pal every single day for the next two weeks. She refused to be ghosted by a complete stranger, and Tikki was right – Marinette didn’t know what it meant to give up. Her entire life relied on not giving up on, and kwamis be damned, she would be fluent in English!

This ‘Redbird’ guy was going to be her friend, whether he liked it or not. At the very least, bombarding his inbox with emails was still helping her learn the ins and outs of English grammar rules, so she could thank him in that regard.

Alya laughed as she watched her friend type out another email during their lunch break.

“You’re really enjoying this whole ‘pen pal’ idea, huh?”

This comment brought the attention of Nino and Adrien, who slid around the lunch table to see what all the fuss was about. Adrien placed his head on Marinette’s shoulder to get a better look, a friendly gesture he had recently begun doing with her.

Although Marinette had slowly grown out of her crush on her classmate, the things he did still tended to make the butterflies in her stomach dance around. As their friendship developed, Adrien became more touchy – a side-effect of living with a cold and distant father. He looked for physical touch where he could, and she always had plenty to offer. Besides, he was still ignorant to the crush she had harbored for him for so long, so she would hate to ruin this experience for him. Above all, Adrien needed a support system, not for his best friend to start chasing him around like the obsessive fans his model career had already warranted.

Marinette scrunched her face up in annoyance. “Sort of. I’ve just kinda been sending him emails. He hasn’t exactly responded to any of them.”

Alya looked at her in horror, throwing her arms around Marinette’s head and tucking it into her chest. She yelled, “Who does this guy think he is? No one has the right to ghost our Mari like this!”

“I second that,” commented Nino. Marinette felt a hand pat the top of her back, and she assumed it belonged to him. “Our Mari is too good for a guy like that.”

While Alya and Nino continued shouting about Marinette’s ‘honor,’ Adrien leaned into her further to whisper in her ear, “Are you alright?”

She blushed a little but replied, muffled by Alya’s arm over her mouth, “Yeah, it’s just a little annoying. I’m just using it as grammar practice in the meantime.”

Alya’s arms began tightening around Marinette further, and Nino joined in, both wailing together. The girl in question couldn’t help but to laugh. She was glad to have the reminder of how much her friends cared for her. It was easy for her to get lost in the image of ‘perfect’ Marinette and ‘godlike’ Ladybug, but these moments were what reminded her she was allowed to be just her – no expectations required.

She reached up to poke Alya’s arm.

“Alright, I tap out! I tap out!”

Alya stood, placing her right leg and the table and flexing her arms like a bodybuilder. Nino met her enthusiasm with an imaginary microphone in his hands, while Adrien held up a pretend camera, supported by obnoxiously fake clicking noises.

“Miss Césaire, Miss Césaire! Would you care to comment on your take down of THE Marinette Dupain-Cheng, six-time Mixed Martial Arts Champion,” said Nino, shoving his hand in Alya’s face. Marinette only laughed harder.

With a smug grin, Alya replied, looking directly in Adrien’s fake camera, “To all my beautiful losers out there, you can beat that champion. Overcome the mountain standing before you and check out the Ladyblog while you do!”

They all dissolved into giggles, and the tables around them did, as well. Marinette felt like she was home.

DING!

“What was that?”

Marinette looked at Alya, not sure of the answer.

“Mari, it's your email,” Adrien gasped. “Redbird finally messaged you back!”

[ancestorsalive]

The chinook salmon fishing season on Mabel Lake and the Shuswap River opens Friday and runs Aug. 16-Sept. 12…

Orval Hobbs and Austin Blackburn holding their fishing bounty circa 1940s. [edms 8627]

Here is some information on salmon spawning…

Salmon return to the river they were born in to spawn. The greater the distance to the spawning ground, the earlier the fish return. Migratory movement is affected by temperature; spawners enter a cooler stream earlier to give eggs more time to incubate. Waterfalls, high velocity barriers, rapids and low water all inhibit upstream passage of salmon.

Females make their way to their spawning grounds first, followed by the males. Spawning is generally done at the head of a riffle. The female tests the gravel with males swimming up beside her. She tries to select a dominant male. When ready to dig, she rolls on her side and wags her tail from side to side, thus removing the gravel with the suction of her tail and depositing it downstream. She stays in one spot by opening her mouth and protruding her pelvic fins. Digging a nest takes several hours. Thirty minutes before spawning, she increases her digging frequency and the male swims to her and begins quivering. Other males will also attempt to spawn with the female and some will succeed but they must fight off her chosen mate. During spawning, the male releases his milt while the female releases her eggs a little at a time. Once complete, the female moves to the front of the nest and covers it with gravel. She will start another nest 30-40 minutes later, usually just upstream from the last. A series of nests or the region disturbed by the female for spawning is called a redd. The female remains at the redd for a couple of days before dying.

Source: Enderby & District Museum & Archives

[phillippadgettwrites]

Unbidden, Part Four

Rated X / 1635 words / Posted on AO3

He had watched her peel her pantyhose off not thirty minutes prior. Doing so in front of him was an uncharacteristic lapse in decorum not typical of her, but with the temperature pushing ninety-five degrees, he figured that desperate times called for desperate measures. She lifted her hips off the passenger seat, snaked her hands up under her skirt, and fished around until she returned with a fistful of bunched up nylon the color of wheat. She tucked it into her purse and cast him a sideways glance, but he kept his eyes trained straight ahead. 

Now she’s perched primly in an armchair, wagging a pen between her thumb and forefinger, while he sits directly across from her on his motel bed. She’s lost in thought, no doubt with images of faces frozen in horror dancing behind her eyelids. 

“We could try the shopkeeper again,” he offers, sensing her unrest.

She makes a small sound that could be agreement or disinterest, then uncrosses and re-crosses her legs. The pen continues to bounce, making little ticking sounds as it strikes one of her fingernails rhythmically. He remembers those fingernails digging into his thighs and the little half-moons he found on his skin in the shower, and blood rushes to his groin. She sighs, and the pen tap tap taps, and her legs uncross and cross again. Her skirt rides up a little, exposing her lily white knee caps, and he thinks about those pantyhose and what she has on underneath that skirt. 

The pen bounces off her nail with too much velocity and she loses her grip on it, sending it clattering to the floor by her foot. She heaves another sigh and uncrosses her legs, bending forward to retrieve it. Mulder jumps off the bed, snatching the pen up before she can get to it, and she gives him a quizzical look. He’s on his knees on the dingy carpet at her feet, his tie discarded and his shirt untucked, sleeves rolled to his elbows. And she is perfect, always. Even when she’s a mess, she’s somehow the most perfect human he’s ever encountered.  

She quirks an eyebrow at him in question and he knows he’s staring, her pen wrapped tightly in his fist. Her chest expands with each breath, tightening the silk on her blouse where it stretches across her breasts, and his mouth waters. 

“Mulder?” she asks, and it’s a question and a statement and a warning all at once. But it’s too late; he’s already made up his mind. 

He drops the pen, scooting forward until her knees brush against his belly. He watches her face, the way her lips part slightly and her pupils bloom. He watches the rise and fall of her chest as her breaths grow more rapid, buttons threatening to pop. Keeping his eyes on hers, he lifts his hands and places them gently on the sides of her thighs, just above the curve of her knee. 

“Mulder,” she says again, breathy and low. 

He leans into her slightly, his fingers creeping up her ivory skin. He can feel the brush of downy hairs against his palms, and rough tweed catching against his wrists as he pushes her skirt higher. Her hands are stationed on the arm rests of the chair, fingers curled and gripping tightly. His torso is now leaning slightly over her legs as he ventures higher, high enough to encounter the edge of her panties where they stretch across her ass cheeks. He slips his thumb underneath, rubbing the fabric against his forefinger experimentally. Silky. He’d like to find out what color they are: his current guess is blue. 

His face is now within striking distance of hers, and she removes her hands from the armrests and places them on his jaw. They stay locked there for a moment, him fingering her panties and her looking at his mouth. When she kisses him, it’s with a slow, purposeful approach. Like a setting sun moving diligently towards the horizon, she brings her mouth to his and moans with relief. 

He pushes his hands under her ass cheeks and she parts her thighs, allowing him to pull her forward greedily. He holds her like that, fingers digging into the firm flesh of her glutes, while he kisses her. She tastes like stale coffee and burnt sugar, and she laps at him hungrily. Involuntary brushes of her vocal chords make the sweetest little contented sounds and he tugs her close enough to feel the stiff ridge of his erection press against her vulva. For that, he is rewarded with a breathy little whimper that makes him stupid and piqued. 

His hands sail higher, finding the elastic waist of those panties, and he pulls. They slip easily under her ass, and he breaks the kiss to move her thighs together so he can pull the silky scrap of fabric free of her feet, which are still adorned with navy blue pumps. Before he tosses the undergarment aside, he notes that it is black, and recalls hearing once that women only wear black underwear if they think someone might see them. 

He turns back to her and she reaches for him, her mouth open and ready to return to his, but he sends his hands back up under her skirt and around her ass cheeks, and pulls her forward before he folds himself in half and presses his face into her naked cunt. She gasps, her hands flying to his hair and fisting it painfully. He drapes each of her legs over his shoulders and settles in, humming against her. 

He explores her with his tongue, teasing along the creases of her thighs where she’s salty and velutinous. The heart of her is syrupy slick, a shiny penny on his taste buds as he dips inside and feels her flutter around him. He works his way slowly up towards her clit, letting anticipation build with errant kisses to her thighs and mons, everywhere but the very best place as she mews and writhes against his palms. He digs his fingers into her ass, trying to pull her closer, but short of being inside her he’s as close as he can get. 

His tongue dances around her hood, grazing past and barely missing, and he can hear her panting at the promise of his eventual attention, her fingers playing at the backs of his ears as she resists taking control. He removes one hand from her ass, slipping it just beneath his chin and swirling around her opening with barely-there touch. She flexes her hips and lets out a little frustrated groan. 

“Mulder,” she says again, her tone pleading and raspy. 

He pushes his finger in and simultaneously sucks her clit between his lips. She pulls in a huge breath and holds it, her head dropping back against the chair as he finds the rough, spongy patch on her front wall and strokes it firmly. All her muscles tense and she holds so perfectly still, quiet as midnight until her cunt wraps him up tight and holds on. 

“Mulder,” she repeats, but this time it’s pure rhapsody. 

She flexes her hips against his face, her pussy spasmodic around his finger and her voice a dulcet melody in his ears. He presses his tongue against her clit to feel it throb and retreat with decreasing intensity, slowly withdrawing his drenched finger and stroking her thighs comfortingly. He pulls his face away to get a look at her, a swollen pink gash slick with his saliva and her cum. He flashes his eyes up to hers and finds her docile, soft, affectionate. 

She reaches for him, pulling him down to rest against her dewy cleft so she can kiss his mouth. She sucks at his salty lips while her fingers skirt down his chest and belly, finding the fly of his pants and popping the button. While his erection had abated as he focused on her, it roars back to life and is happily cradled against her palm within seconds. He shamelessly flexes his hips, pumping himself in and out of her fist as he reaches down to push his pants off, and they puddle around his knees. She’s tugging on him softly, making clear where he is meant to go, and he rises up and slips into her with his weight uncomfortably balanced on his toes. 

She sucks in a breath and clenches around him, making him groan. 

“Can you go again?” he asks, unsure whether he should try to wait for her. 

She shakes her head, her tongue brushing over his bottom lip, and he reaches one hand up to hold on to the back of the chair for leverage. Fuck, but she’s wet. And tight, and still quivering in little aftershocks. He kisses her, and flicks the buttons on her blouse open so he can see her breasts bouncing on each thrust. His toes ache and his knees threaten to buckle, so he increases his pace until it’s too feverish to keep kissing, their foreheads pressed together as he fucks her hard and fast. Her legs wrap around his waist, her fingernails scrape against the nape of his neck, and he is flying, flying, flying. 

She says things to him, sweet, encouraging things, as he comes inside her. She pets his hair and kisses his cheeks, she loves him with words and touch, and he feels so very cared for in every way. He wishes he could play this moment on a loop for eternity. 

Finally he slumps against her, his face buried in her shoulder, and begins to wonder how they will extricate themselves this time. 

“Will you stay?” he asks, his voice muffled by silk and her fiery hair. 

She doesn’t answer, and that is the answer itself. 

Tagging @today-in-fic

[austarus]

Harrison Wells (Eobard Thawne) x Reader x Harry Wells: Six Crows -Chapter 3

Chapter 3:  The Black Queen Falls

*A/N: This moodboard was created by my bestest friend and greatest Wells Trash Trio writer @darlingpetao3.

**Please don’t forget to comment, like, and reblog. It means a lot to content creators of all kinds!

***I’d also like to thank @grimtamlain-writes​ for being my beta reader.

Harrison Wells (Eobard Thawne) x Reader x Harry Wells: Six Crows 

MASTERLIST

Word Count: 3194

It’s time…

“Are we ready?” The villain did a once-over on all three of you. Jesse and Thaddeus were sporting their black running gear; speedster-proof as to not have their clothing and shoes erupt in static flames at their rapid velocities. The young speedsters nodded. You inhaled a shaky breath, nodding as well when those turquoise eyes landed on you. You were wearing your respective suit, your hands pulling at the gloves you wore. “Anything happens, you two know what to do.” Eobard indicated to Jesse and Thaddeus.

“We’ll be on comms with you guys,” Thaddeus grinned boyishly, tapping his ear.

“Oh, please if anything, I’ll be the one to get to them before you,” Jesse nudged her half-brother with a teasing smirk. He nudged her back, meeting the fire and playfulness within her eyes. Friendly competition between siblings.

“You’re on.” The two speedsters were already off, running around the track in order for a Time Breach to form when Eobard’s speed is added to the equation.

Eobard can’t deny the gentle smile that made its way to his face, turning his head to you. You saw right through it when he brought his fingers to his lips to mask it. He had gotten closer to Jesse, a good sign for what’s to come later. Your fiancé extended a hand towards you, gracefully you placed it into his open palm. Blue eyes ran over you once more to affirm that you were ready. You tilted your head in response, a subtle nod made in affirmation. Swallowing thickly, you placed a sincere kiss to Eobard’s lips that he returned with just as much passion. The dark-haired genius scooped you up in his strong arms and ran with the other speedsters. Time around you slowed while Eobard and Jesse and Thaddeus ran. It amazed you how their powers worked. After a few seconds, the Time Breach formed gallantly, allowing you and Eobard to careen right through the wormhole. You hid your face in the material of Eobard’s suit as his past, present, and future flew past him. Eobard focused on Harrison, focused on where he’d been located, focused on the time point after the Wells had used his Timeless powers to return to his dead lover’s time.

A noise whistled past your ear and all that your mind could register was the split second of being airborne, your eyes popping open as the world spun before you collided with the concrete sign. A hiss escaped your lips as your back screamed in agony. You tried with shaky hands to get up, your eyes landing on Eobard, who groaned as he moved upright from laying on his back.

“You didn’t think we were just going to let you go, were you?” Snapping you gaze to the source of the voice, those familiar hazel-green eyes that masqueraded anger and hate for you and your lover. Barry Allen. “Couldn’t stay away, could you?” You fell into place beside Eobard, sending an annoyed glare at the hero. Neither of you answered him as you and Eobard stood defiantly against Barry. “What are you after this time?” Iris trained her rifle at you, a hardened look on her face. “Another person to kill? Going back to finish the job you failed 22 years ago?”

“That’s none of your concern, Allen.”

“Oh no, but it is.” Barry shook his head, the dignified look on his face. Eobard narrowed his eyes bitterly. “See, you’re always up to something Thawne. Always scheming, always hurting someone else. Not this time.”

“Walk away, Flash. If you know what’s best for you, our business isn’t with you.”

“Not on your life, Thawne.”

Barry’s suit activated the microtech to place his cowl on, Eobard did the same – both speedsters channeled their respective Speedforces and zipped towards one another. Red and yellow lightning trailed before colliding dangerously. Torrents of energy whizzed past as sparks flew. Eobard would land a hit, so would Barry. They were evenly matched – reading each other’s movement expertly. It didn’t take long for the lightning sabers to come out. Barry’s movements and hits were more forceful, they weren’t as calculated as Eobard’s – methodically, blocking each hit with ease. Those months of training had come in handy, the villain hummed to himself as he created a bit of distance between him and his rival. If Barry wants a show, then I’ll give him one. With ease, a Speed Mirage was made; both versions of Eobard launched straight at Barry. One was to keep an eye on you and Iris, the other was to keep Barry 100% overwhelmed – after all, Eobard had gotten faster since they had last met.

Iris struggled to move; her feet held down in place by your ‘shadows’. “I’m sorry, Iris. I can’t let you interfere.” You pocketed your hands moving away from the speedster battle to give the two men more space. You were still a good distance away from Iris, keeping your eyes on the weapon she held. “This is their fight, not ours.” You had harnessed your ‘darkness’ to ensnare Iris in place once you had spotted her. Such technique took little effort from you as long as you eyed and felt the person you were holding with your ‘umbra’.

“It’s my fight as much as yours.”

“I don’t mean you any harm.” You shook your head as you raised your hands in mock defeat. “Fate has already decided that it would be them two alone. No one else. Remember your future article?”

“Crisis has passed – things have been re-written because of it. There is no final battle.”

“Iris there are certain things that can’t change – their fight is one of them whether it’s written or not. Neither speedster will stop, you know that.”

“Isn’t that what you two are doing? Trying to change time?”

You sent her a cold look, “I don’t owe you any explanation.”

Your eye caught a yellow flicker – a stray bolt gliding away from the circling speedsters. What… ?! Going opposite to your direction. Towards Iris. You didn’t think, you just ran – surging forward with your powers to intercept it. You had meant what you said, you weren’t meant to harm Iris. All your grievances were towards her entitled husband. Barry’s charged lightning throw shot you square in the chest, the electricity consumed your heart and mind. Your body convulsed as you stood before you crashed backwards to the ground, tasting blood. The smell of burnt flesh exuded in the air – patches of skin charred on your body. A deafening ring noise shot through your ears. Iris screamed at the sight, dropping her rifle and running towards you as your ‘shadow’ restraint weakened – you had saved her, at the cost of your life. You faintly heard your fiancé scream your name through the ringing, but… everything seemed so foggy. So unclear. Eobard had beat the reporter to where your body had slowly crumbled to the ground. His arms encasing you tightly, clinging onto you for dear life. A shaky hand rose to brush his cheek. 

“Eo?” You twitched in his arms, your muscles ached in pain – ached for release. Blood bubbled out of your mouth. The jolting, excruciating pain never ceased. “Tired.” His fingers went right to your neck, finding your heartbeat was becoming rapidly irregular. You shut your eyes, your hands numbing and your legs feeling increasingly… “Cold,” you rasped, coughing blood before losing consciousness. Your nervous system started shutting down even with your slight regenerative abilities trying to counteract them. The dark-haired Wells imposter saw your body convulse rapidly, the seizure increasing. You were going into cardiac arrest – he felt panic eat away at his mind. Barry had used his powers to stand in front of his wife defensively, his eyes scanning the scene. The hero pursed his lips as Iris started to cry – you were still her friend, through and through.

“No! Stay with me!” Eobard laid you on the ground and scooted away slightly. He rubbed his gloved hands – charging it to the correct jewels for resuscitation. “Clear,” he yelled to himself, latching his hands to your chest. He checked your heartbeat one more time, it was still too fast… “Please, I can’t lose you.” Once more, he charged up his hands and pushed it into your chest, trying to reset your heart. You remained unresponsive. It’s not working. He tried once more then resolved to do basic CPR, his tears blurring his visions of you, his breathing was erratic. “Stay with me! Don’t go to… Don’t you dare leave me!” Tears left Eobard’s icy eyes as soft murmurs escaped him. “No, please don’t leave. Please don’t leave me. I can’t…” The world had gone silent at the lightning strike.  A cracking noise reached his ears – he had cracked your ribs while trying to resuscitate you. HIs arms were tired, they protested in pain. “I can’t do this without you.” Only the villain's broken strained voice can be heard. “I can’t live without you.” Barry and Iris watched a distance away, he held Iris from reaching you both. Eobard brushed your hair to the side as his tears fell on your pale face, dull and drained. Blood trickled from the corner of your mouth and eyes. “Please, what about-”

“Dad!” Eobard gaze darted towards Thaddeus and Jesse, who had jumped out of the Time Breach, stumbling onto the scene. Bile rose in Thaddeus’ throat, his eyes welling up with tears as he fell to his knees beside his parents. One dead, the other shattered. Jesse let out a choked yell following her brother. Your son gripped your cold and charred hand tightly, feeling the remnants of Barry’s lightning still circulating your corpse. “Mom, what happened-” A tingling, numbing sensation was felt in Thaddeus’ legs. Thaddeus’ eyes dropped to his legs. “Dad! Dad, what’s-” Eobard felt frozen at Thaddeus' shouts, his eyes widening in horror as his sons’ body began to disintegrate. He couldn’t move to him. The time paradox had already caught up to him. You were dead in his arms and now Thaddeus…

“Oh my god,” Jesse stuttered in shock, her arms holding Thaddeus tightly. Her mind realized that this was what happened to Jackson. This is how Jackson was lost. “You’re- you’re being-”

“-No,” the villainous speedster whispered helplessly as he cradled you. “No, please. I can’t lose you too!” Eobard extended an arm to Thaddeus. “Thaddeus, look at me. Just keep looking at me.” His precious son cried, the pain becoming excruciating as he clung to his father. The type of pain that Eobard had felt many times over. “It’s going to be ok.”

Barry whispered to Iris before speeding her home, they didn’t need to stay to see what would happen next. The hero had gone through that pain with Nora’s erasure the first time – thinking that what goes around does indeed come around. Bitterly and gruesomely. While he did feel a tinge of sadness at your lost life, Barry didn’t really care all that much. You had made your choice. It was absolute to the hero. It was fate.

“Dad, I don’t want to go!”

“Don’t let go, Thaddeus. Don’t let go, Thaddeus. I-I’m right here. We’re right here.” Eobard pressed Thaddeus close to his body while you lay limp across his lap. Jesse’s heart wrenched at his broken voice – the agony that had sounded so similar to her fathers. Only Thaddeus’ arms and upper body remained, burying his face in Eobard’s shoulder, what’s left of his body shaking. 

“I don’t want to go. Please don’t let me go. Please! Do something!”

I can’t.

Eobard’s hand registered nothing, but the air. Thaddeus was gone-

***

-Eobard woke with a start, his heart hammering away in his chest as adrenaline coursed in his veins. His mind registered the cold sweat on his body. Blue eyes darted to where your body laid as the speedster attempted to calm his breathing. Two fingers gently pressed to the side of your neck, checking your heartrate. He counted the beats, counted the seconds before retracting his hand. Pushing the bile down, Eobard gingerly left the bed. He grabbed a change of clothes and left the room with a slight ‘tick’ of the door shutting. Eobard’s speed carried him to Thaddeus’ room, where he found his son snoring peacefully with the bed covers haphazardly thrown off the bed. Rubbing his face, Eobard’s feet carried him outside. The drizzle falling down to the earth. It was still dark out, but Eobard wasn’t afraid of the dark for he was darkness himself at times. The speedster slowed his breathing then pushed forward; his speed carried him through the city of Keystone. Lights blinked past him, soft noises here and there reached his ears. Eobard let the tears flow, his mind playing the scene over and over again. Your lifeless body, Thaddeus being erased – because of Barry. Always because of Barry Allen – the so called ‘hero’ that caused pain and suffering to those around him. It was just him and Jesse. He gritted his teeth, pushing himself more – channeling his Negative Speedforce.

Anger is… misconceived. It isn’t a ‘bad’ or ‘negative’ feeling. Instead, it is information. It shows us how to set better boundaries. The impact of the rain increased, no longer drizzle, but a downpour. The clouds hung maliciously in the night sky as white lightning flickered in and out. He paid no mind to it as he continued running lap after lap after lap. It shows us how to grieve. It shows us how to process the emotion itself. Sometimes people experience difficult and terrible circumstances – it’s ok to be upset, it’s ok to be angry. Anger empowers us humans to process and express it differently. Only a person can choose a destructive means for their anger. I made that choice to avoid feeling the pain – this constant pain in my chest. That hollowing feeling.

“You know,” Eobard’s ears perked up at the voice as he shut the front door, locking it; it was your voice. His eyes made contact with your shaded silhouette in the darkness. Rainwater dripped from his dark locks, running down the back of his neck. “Not being able to sleep is more my thing.” You stood up from where you sat on the wooden stairs, stepping towards him with the towel and a change of clothes. Lightning continued to grace the skies outside, illuminating the earth as thunder rumbled deeply soon after. Light does travel faster than the speed of sound.

“Guess I’m full of surprises,” the speedster mumbled, taking the towel to dry his hair. With gentle eyes, you examined him. He hadn’t been meeting your gaze since you had gotten this close to him. You chewed on the inside of your cheek for a moment.

“What’s troubling you?”

Before responding, Eobard dried himself using his speed and changing into the dry set of clothes while he was at it. He took your hand, tugging you to the couch to sit beside him. He maneuvered his body to face you while you got comfortable. The genius took your hand once more with both of his, placing a kiss on the palm of your hand. His silence was causing your anxiety to start flourishing. Eobard licked his lips. “I watched you die,” he kept his eyes on your hand, holding it near his mouth. “I watched you die in my arms, caught in the crossfire because of Barry’s lightning bolt.” Icy blue eyes reluctantly looked up into yours. “You protected Iris, but I lost you.”

You swallowed thickly, goosebumps littering your skin. “… Eo.”

“I watched you die and Thaddeus… I saw him being erased from existence. The timeline catching up to him, ripping him molecule by molecule until he was nothing. Until he was gone. Right before my eyes, right from my hand.”

A tormented silence fell over you and Eobard, the puffy bags in his eyes were relentless. “We won’t let that happen; we’ll mend our broken family. We have to try, for our sanity and for their sake.” You pushed the words out of your mouth.

“I…” But words failed the dark-haired speedster.

“Eo, I’m here,” you pulled your hand from his grasp, scooting your body closer to his to cup his face. “It was a warning, that nightmare.” You understood nightmares, they were a constant part of your life because of the trauma you had endured from being around Team Flash. No doubt the others struggled with theirs as well, but pushed off to the side for Barry and Iris. “It was a warning for us to be cautious and meticulous. And we will be, we always are. You always are with your planning.”

“I want to be able to hold our sons,” Eobard laid his head onto your chest, his arms wrapping around your waist. You felt the words break you, the innocent desire ever-present in his voice. “I want that, and yes, even if it is with Harry Wells. I want Jesse to be around to watch the boys when we can’t. If that’s how fate has intended it for the three of us, then so be it.”

“I want that too.”

You placed a kiss on his forehead, asking him to move a bit so the two of you can lay on the couch. Your arms wrapped around his arms, a hand stroking his back while he tightened his grip around you. His head remained on your chest, listening intently to your heart beat. Eobard kissed the skin above your vital organ. A sigh left his lips as you started playing with his hair, still slightly damp from his run.

“Do you have feelings for Harry?”

Your eyes fell to see his. “I…” You only nodded in response to his simple question. “When you got erased, I felt that… that was it for me. That was the end of things, you know? I… I thought you were gone and then you show up three years later with the Earth-Xers. I-we didn’t,” you stumbled over your words, trying to phrase things correctly. “When I first met him, I told myself that he wasn’t you. He could never be you. Harry is Harry; he is his own person. A dark instinct to him, yes, but he wasn’t you. There were some similarities, but… He made a name for himself with Barry and the others. It started small, I tried to ignore it, especially after he left when the Zoom incident was over. But… he kept coming back. His home was here, his friends were here. My feelings grew, but I couldn’t say anything. I didn’t want to say anything. I was content with being friends because I was scared that he’d get taken away from me. And with Devoe, I was partially right. But Jesse fixed him and then…”

“Crisis happened.”

“Yeah…”

Eobard’s hand rubbed your cheek. “We’ll figure things out – we’ll make things work as we go, my queen.”

“I hope so, Eo.”

I won’t let that nightmare become my reality.

[cerastes]

I like to try and figure out what sort of characterization went into the skills. Lappie's is pretty simple. She likes fighting. She is obsessive. She keeps fighting harder and harder. SHE FIGHTS HARDER TILL EVERYONE IS DEAD Flamebringer doesn't bother to draw his sword either mostly or till he really feels like the battle is getting him going. But what sort of reasoning went into making the schwing schwing so powerful? A secret clan technicue he is now using for you bc you are THAT WORTH IT?

Lappland’s Skills all being Auto is also pretty cool since it represents her wild nature and unwillingness to take orders beyond what’s necessary (she will fight the way she deems proper, thank you very much).

Flamebringer, yeah, pretty much, once he is finally convinced the fight is worth it, only THEN he tries. You could consider his S2 stats to be his ‘real’ stats.

By Schwing Schwing I assume you mean SilverAsh, and I think it’s simpler than you’d think: Truesilver Slash is SilverAsh completely abandoning defense to focus on hit as well and hard as possible. Compared to his safer S1 and S2 options, S3 is like that, in my opinion, because regardless of your dealings with him now, you two are more or less business rivals (SilverAsh and Kal’tsit are in agreement with this), and after the Reunion matter is sealed, who knows what will happen between the two companies. S3 is SilverAsh trusting you sufficiently, to the point that he can count on you not getting him killed when he completely drops his defense. With that certainty in his mind, then he doesn’t mind utilizing the Truesilver Slash, because he trusts you to give him the cover he needs (and, you know, not setting him up for his death).

Others I like plenty are:

Ptilopsis S2 being basically Ptilopsis overclocking herself to crank that Disk and CPU usage to 100% to expand her healing range and to deliver healing Arts at lightning fast velocity. The long cooldown between uses indicates she can’t quite force her mental faculties to do that in rapid succession.

Specter S2 can be interpreted as Specter pushing her ill, Oripathy-ravaged body to its very limit, bringing forth her strength and endurance from when she was at her prime for a brief moment, hence the immense stat boost and straight up immortality... But the candle that burns twice as bright, lasts half as long, so when her time is up, she has to rest for some seconds because she becomes unable to move from pushing herself that hard.

Angelina’s are all applications of her gravity powers, which I enjoy greatly: S1 is simply heavier Arts blasts, S2 is focusing her Arts not on hitting hard, but on weighting down, hence her stream of individually light hits that completely cripple an enemy she focuses on, and S3 is wide area heavy gravity hits, trying to tie down as many people as possible instead of just one person. Gravity as a power is very flexible, so with more time, she presumably could do a million more things, her only limit right now being her inexperience.

Gravel is a case I particularly like! The fact that she wears almost no armor besides her chest plate, and her choice of weaponry being two short swords all suggest that her immense defensive capabilities are all based around parrying and deflecting blows rather than either taking them or dodging them. Her Files fail to mention any sort of Arts, and her Profile show all of her parameters as “Standard” with the exception of Combat Skill, which is at Excellent. Just based on her weaponry, she probably meets every attack head-on with a deflection, a parry, a swipe to the enemy’s vulnerable spot, everything to safely stall them, given that is her main job. I like to consider her HP bar as a sort of “Stamina bar”; you can only parry so many attacks before your arms go numb and your stamina depletes. The fact that she’s a Fast Redeploy also implies that she catches her breath incredibly quickly. Just a few seconds of downtime and in she goes again.

[vannahfanfics]

Welcome to Naruhata!

Category: Action, Drama

Fandom: My Hero Academia, My Hero Academia Illegals: Vigilantes

Characters: Izuku Midoriya, Koichi Haimawari, Kazuho Haneyama

Hey guys! Today I’m presenting the second piece I wrote for the @ambiguityzine​about Izuku and our favorite duo from the Vigilantes universe!

Izuku’s body jostled left and right with the bumping of the overcrowded city bus. Most people would focus on the uncomfortable position he was in, crammed between a sweaty jock and an elderly woman who smelled potently of mothballs, but Izuku’s mind was far away from the humdrum of city commuting. As one hand grasped the silver handlebar above his head, the other held his cell phone sideways, full-screening the grainy video dramatically titled ‘Naruhata Vigilante Thwarts a Kidnapping Attempt!’

Izuku’s emerald eyes sparkled. A giddy smile brightened his freckled face as he rapturously watched the hoodie-donned vigilante zoom across the concrete and puncture the tires of a getaway vehicle with high-velocity discharges of his Quirk. 

“Wow! His Quirk is so simple, but he refined his skills to create a unique ultimate move! Simply extraordinary!” he whispered admiringly. 

High-pitched squeaks of elation bubbled out of Izuku’s mouth, despite his best efforts to suppress them by worrying his bottom lip with his teeth. Aided by another local vigilante, a pink-haired girl in a pop-star styled costume, the masked man managed to subdue the villain and safely deliver the frightened teenage girl to helpful bystanders. They disappeared into the alleyways right as the police and the professional heroes rolled on the scene. 

“Ah!” Izuku exclaimed aloud as the video ended. “So cool! I hope I can find him— The Crawler!” 

Most people idolized heroes like All Might or Endeavor, but for the last five years, Izuku’s devotion belonged to a local vigilante known as the Crawler. Vigilantism was criminalized in the current hero society, but Izuku just couldn’t help but admire him. The man pursued hero work without a license or agreement with the government, simply because he wanted to do good. 

It gave Izuku hope that he could do that too, even without a Quirk. 

The bus slowly trundled to a stop. As the driver loudly called that they’d arrived at Naruhata, Izuku squeaked and nearly dropped his phone in alarm. As the spastic boy bundled up his bookbag and scurried down the packed aisle with high-pitched excuse mes and sorrys, he grinned breathlessly. 

This is it!

Izuku’s breaths came in little pants as he hopped down the bus steps and onto the sidewalk. He clutched the straps of his book bag tightly as he surveyed the surrounding area. He’d studied a city map and the many videos of The Crawler’s stomping grounds to nauseating detail, but the guy had evaded law enforcement for years now. Izuku wasn’t gonna find him just meandering around. Still, Izuku wasn’t one to be deterred. He sucked in a breath and stomped off, the tongues of his bright red sneakers flapping with every determined step. 

Finding a man who didn’t want to be found proved easier said than done. Izuku slunk through the backstreets of Naruhata, eyes peeled for any sign of his hero. Izuku found plenty of silver trash bins, skinny gray strays, and unconscious drunkards, but there was no sign of the Crawler. As the hunt dragged on, Izuku’s hopes began to dwindle bit by bit. 

“Come on, Izuku!” he encouraged himself quietly and squeezed the straps of his backpack. “I just have to keep looking!” He tried his best to keep the pep in his step as he rounded the corner to another alleyway. He brightened when he spotted humanoid shadows dancing in its depths. 

Could it be? 

“H-hello?” he called as he pushed himself up on his tip-toes to peer above the grimy surface of an olive green dumpster. Izuku’s smile dissolved as a hulking form rose over the rim of the trash receptacle. The muscle-bound man glowering angrily at him definitely was not the vigilante he’d been searching for. Based on the plastic bag of bright white powder swinging from the stranger’s calloused hands, Izuku had interrupted a meeting of quite the unsavory type. 

“S-s-s-sorry, fellas!” Izuku stammered as he took a tentative step backward. His knuckles wrapped around the backpack straps glared ghostly white in the gloom to match the paling shade of his face. “I, um, sorry to interrupt— I’ll just be going now!” 

As he whirled on his heels, Izuku felt the cold shadow of the gigantic man descend over him. He squeaked as all of his hair stood on end. Before he could run, a large hand latched onto his backpack. Izuku whimpered as he was dragged backward, the soles of his shoes scraping against the pavement. 

Izuku shrunk into himself as he was lifted off the ground, dangling from his backpack as the large drug dealer inspected him critically. 

“Takin’ a field trip, shrimp?” the man guffawed, punctuating the question by shaking Izuku’s bookbag back and forth. Izuku released a stream of sniffles and whimpers as his body jostled roughly.

Stay calm! I gotta stay calm! I can’t ever be a hero if I panic like this! Yet, it was nearly impossible to think clearly when he was being suspended six feet in the air by a hulking monstrosity of a villain. Izuku gulped loudly as the man sneered to reveal several silver and gold teeth. 

Izuku’s emerald eyes rolled in their sockets as he frantically searched for something, anything, that he could use to save himself. When nothing useful appeared in the vicinity, Izuku resorted to the first instinct that came to mind— flailing his feet and fists against the man’s chest. 

The villain’s eyes darkened. Wrong move! Very wrong move!

With a frightened gasp, Izuku ceased thrashing about and gawked at the man helplessly. A sickeningly gleeful smile spread across the man’s face, distorting his visage with bloodlust. As the villain curled his fist in preparation to crush Izuku’s skull in, the young boy flinched and wrapped his arms around his head.

The expected blow never came. Instead, Izuku heard the man exclaim breathily and felt his grip loosen from his book bag. Izuku squealed and flapped his limbs as he suddenly dropped into the open air. He cracked his eyes open to see the grimy cobblestone rushing up to meet him. 

Before he could prepare himself for a rough landing, he plopped down into two arms covered with a soft cotton blue, red, and gold-patterned hoodie. Izuku reflexively gripped onto the shoulders of his savior as they zipped him speedily to the back end of the alley to safely deposit him among some mildewy newspapers. 

“Phew! Now that’s what I call a close one,” grinned the jacket-clad man. Izuku just gaped senselessly as the man flicked his dark bangs out of his sapphire-blue eyes to pout at the disgruntled villain. “Haven’t ya ever heard the saying ‘pick on someone your own size’?” Izuku said nothing, vibrating with the aftershocks of fear blending into excitement. 

It’s him! It’s really him— The Crawler! 

As Izuku struggled to form a coherent thought, the villain began lumbering towards them. The alley floor quaked with each of his thundering steps, and his shadow stretched long to envelop Izuku and the crouching vigilante. 

“Whoops. You look angry,” the Crawler chortled nervously. Izuku squeaked as he was unceremoniously bundled into his arms again. “Gotta fly!” Izuku latched onto his hoodie’s fabric as the man abruptly zipped up the nearby wall using his Quirk. Over the rushing of the wind in his ears, Izuku heard the man violently swear that it wasn’t over. 

They zig-zagged across the roofs of a few buildings, with the vigilante occasionally using boosts of his Quirk to vault them across the wide gaps. When they landed on the flat top of a doctor’s office, the underground hero finally slowed and gently set Izuku down. Izuku’s knees, still knocking together, failed to hold his weight, so he just bonelessly slid down onto the tarred roofing. As the Crawler pulled down the mask eclipsing the bottom half of his face, he flashed Izuku a piteous smile.

“I’m sure that wasn’t the warm welcome you were expecting, huh, kid?” 

Izuku blinked stupidly. His frazzled brain was still struggling to piece together the rapid series of events that had landed him here, right in front of his hero. The vigilante ignored him to turn to the edge of the building, where a pink-haired girl in a sparkly outfit hopped into view. 

“Koichi! Why’d you run away? We totally coulda taken that guy!” She gave a disdainful sniff and dug her fists into her hips. Koichi… Izuku echoed, starstruck. 

Koichi gave the girl a bashful smile. 

“C’mon, Pop. I didn’t want the kid to get hurt, okay?” 

Pop☆Step narrowed her magenta eyebrows suspiciously at Izuku.

“Sure,” she huffed with a shake of her head. “You okay, kid? You look pretty spooked.” 

No! Izuku refuted. He bit down on his lip hard enough for blood to bead beneath his canine, and the stimulation of pain finally managed to snap his brain out of overdrive. I can’t look weak now! If I do, then he’ll never…!

“I’m just fine!” Izuku insisted. To emphasize, he pushed himself to his feet. Though his knees still trembled, they managed to bear his weight this time. Slightly elated with himself, he whirled around to face Koichi, whose eyes widened in surprise. “Never mind that! You’re him! You’re The Crawler!” 

An ecstatic grin split Koichi’s face. 

“Pop! Pop, didja hear that? He knows who I am! And he’s not callin’ me somethin’ dumb like the Cruller!” 

“Of course not!” Izuku said. His emerald eyes sparkled with delight as he stepped closer to Koichi, rapidly finding his confidence. “I’m a huge fan of yours! I’ve been following your exploits ever since you debuted!” 

“Really? Oh wow, I’ve never had an avid fan like you before!” Koichi gushed while rubbing the back of his neck. Pop☆Step, who had come to stand beside the taller man, rolled her eyes with a sniff and propped her elbow on Koichi’s shoulder. 

“Please! Mr. Crawler, sir! Please make me your sidekick!” 

“What?” Koichi and Pop☆Step exclaimed simultaneously, mouths gaping. 

“Please! I respect you so much, Mr. Crawler, sir! You’re everything I could ever want to be as a hero! You do what you think is right, and I think that’s so honorable, sir! Please! I want to be just like you! I’m Quirkless, I’ll admit, but I’ll work really hard to make up for that! Please, sir, I know I can-” 

Izuku was interrupted by Koichi slapping his palm over his mouth. It took him a moment to register that it had even happened, his continued babbling muffled by the vigilante’s glove. Koichi watched him calm down with a stony expression. 

“You done?” he asked when Izuku had finally stopped talking. Izuku nodded slowly with wide eyes. He kept his lips pressed shut as Koichi slowly dropped his hand from his mouth, though the temptation to resume prattling was oh so very strong. Koichi released a deep sigh, a complicated look appearing on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck again. 

“A sidekick, huh?” he whispered thoughtfully. Pop☆Step gasped and rounded on him indignantly. 

“Koichi! You can’t possibly be considering this! He’s just a kid, and on top of that, he’s Quirkless.” 

Though they were all oppositions he knew he’d hear, her adamant tone still made Izuku shrink in on himself. Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes, and his bottom lip quivered as he struggled to keep them from rolling down his freckled cheeks. Koichi’s blue eyes slid to him, widening with concern. 

“Oh, come on, Pop,” Koichi frowned with a nod towards Izuku. She looked in his direction and then hung her head with a groan. Izuku brightened slightly, hoping her reaction meant she would cease opposition. 

“I don’t know, Koichi,” she said uncertainly. “He’s just a kid.” 

“Pop, we were just kids when we started out,” Koichi argued with raised eyebrows. Her cheeks flushed as she was dealt a stunning rebuttal. She crossed her arms with a huff. 

“Okay! But we have Quirks. This kid doesn’t.” 

“So? Who says you need a Quirk to do the right thing, Pop? Train him to fight and maybe find him some good Support items, and he could be something! You don’t have the right to deny his potential just because he’s Quirkless,” Koichi argued vehemently. Pop☆Step and Izuku both flinched at the scowl disfiguring his otherwise amicable person. 

The tears spilled over the brim of Izuku’s eyes because, for the first time in his life, someone still took him seriously even though he was Quirkless. 

Izuku sunk down into a crouch with a small groan. He sniffed, rubbing furiously at his eyes, trying to stop the steady flow of tears. Though he was mortified to cry in front of Koichi, Izuku just couldn’t help it. It felt so damn good to be told he had potential. 

“I-I-I’m sorry,” he stammered between sobs. “I-I just… No one’s… Ever since I was told I was Quirkless, everyone g-g-gave up on me… To hear you say… I c-c-c-can be a h-h-h-hero… it means so much to me!” 

Through his tears, Izuku could see Koichi smile kindly. Pop☆Step still looked a little unsure, but she elected to stay silent as Koichi kneeled to lay a hand on Izuku’s shoulder. 

“Hey, kid. What’s your name?” 

“I-I-Izuku,” he sniffed while sucking in breaths to try and quiet his sobs. “Izuku Midoriya.” Koichi’s smile widened, and he patted Izuku’s shoulders a couple times. 

“Well, Izuku-” 

“There you are!” 

They sprang apart as a voice thundered from the rooftop door. A white table came flying across the roof. Izuku gasped as it plowed right into Koichi and Pop☆Step, sending them hurtling backward. Koichi took the brunt of the blow; the table splintered as it slammed into him, and Izuku could only watch in horror as he was launched right over the edge of the building. 

Pop☆Step landed roughly against the bricks rimming the roof, teetering precariously close to the edge with a gaping gash in her forehead. She remained motionless; she’d been knocked unconscious by the assault. 

“Hehehe,” the villain cackled as he approached, cracking his knuckles. Each snap of his joints sent shivers down Izuku’s spine. “No wonder you ran away. That’s all it takes? And they call you the heroes of Naruhata.” The man stopped a few paces in front of the stunned Izuku. “Oh, look. It’s the little punk.” 

What do I do? What do I do? Izuku panicked, wild-eyed and sweating bullets in the face of such malice. His eyes slid behind him to Pop☆Step. I gotta protect her! His eyes snapped around for something of use, eventually landing on a thin piece of metal. It was a leg of the table that had bent and snapped off at the end. Hurriedly, Izuku scrambled over and snatched it up. 

“Stay back! I’m warning you! I won’t let you hurt her!” Izuku growled as he jumped up and brandished the sharp piece of metal. The villain looked at him amusedly. 

“Oh-ho-ho, the punk’s getting brave now, huh?” he sneered. Izuku balked as the man cracked his neck before stalking towards him. “Let’s see how brave you are when I show you this.” 

Izuku paled as dark, coarse hair sprouted from the man’s skin, which stretched over bulging muscles. Bone tusks sprang from his mouth as his face morphed into a rendition of a boar’s head. When the man opened his mouth, a high-pitched, squeal-like roar bellowed forth, spraying thick globs of spittle across the tar. Izuku gulped loudly but stood his ground. 

Now’s my chance. I can do this. I can be strong! 

As the man lunged at him with lightning speed, Izuku just barely managed to stumble to the side. Relying on adrenaline and his reflexes, Izuku twirled the iron spear in his hand and jabbed it into the meat of the man’s thigh. Another piggish squeal erupted from the villain’s mouth, this time laced with agony. Blood spurted from the wound as Izuku yanked the sharp metal out. As the villain pressed his hands into the puncture, trying to suppress the blood gushing from his leg, Izuku scurried over to Pop☆Step and picked her up. 

“Koichi…” she murmured groggily. Izuku supported her weight with his body as he dragged her towards the exit, still brandishing the stick at the boar villain. 

“I’m gonna kill you, you little runt!” Though he was slipping in his own blood, rage had blinded the villain, making him charge Izuku again. The loss of blood had slowed him significantly, however. Izuku allowed Pop☆Step to slither to the ground so he could grip the iron in both hands. As the villain bore down upon him, Izuku did not shy away; with a yowl, he swung the iron with all his might to clock the villain in the side of the head. 

The force of the blow sent him lurching sideways. A low groan bubbled from his lips as he wobbled, then slumped to the ground. “You… little…” His words trailed off as he landed face-down against the roof. Chest heaving, Izuku held the iron aloft for a few seconds just in case the villain roused. 

He didn’t move. Izuku slowly lowered the bar. He then loosened his fingers, letting the metal drop. It clattered at his feet, splattering blood over his already crimson shoes. 

“I did it… I actually did it…” 

“Izuku! Pop!” 

Izuku looked up to see the Koichi limping over with bits of trash sticking to his clothes and a big ugly purple-black bruise decorating a swollen eye. When he noticed the unconscious villain slumped at Izuku’s feet, he stopped and pointed with wide eyes. 

“Did you do that?” 

“I did…” Izuku whispered, looking down at his hands. Rust from the pipe dusted his palms with orange flakes. He flexed his fingers, closing his hands into fists as a giddy smile spread over his face. “I did!” 

The vigilante smiled amusedly and resumed limping over so he could affectionately tousle Izuku’s pine-green hair. 

“Not bad. Though, he’s bleeding a lot…” 

“Oh my gosh! Did I kill him? I’m not supposed to do that! Oh my gosh! I’m too young to go to jail!” Izuku panicked, slapping his hands to his cheeks as his irises shrunk into the white sea of his eyes. Koichi laughed heartily.

“I’m kidding; I’m kidding. He’ll be alright. Pop, are you okay?” Koichi asked as Pop☆Step used Izuku’s shoulder to drag herself into a standing position. 

“Urgh… I have a headache…” Pop☆Step groaned, pressing her hand to her bleeding forehead. Koichi shuffled over to give her a thorough once-over before turning back to Izuku, who was still staring fearfully at the subdued villain. 

“That took guts, Izuku.” 

When Izuku turned, Koichi was smiling warmly at him. “You protected Pop and took down that guy all by yourself. I’m impressed.” As Koichi’s smile widened, hope fluttered in Izuku’s chest. 

“Do… Do you mean...?” 

“Yep!” Koichi grinned. “Welcome to the gang, kid! Wow, my first ever sidekick. I’m so excited.” 

Izuku was excited, too, and he showed it by jumping forward to envelop Koichi in a crushing hug. 

“Thank you so much, Mr. Crawler, sir! I’ll do my best! I promise!” 

“Ack! First, just call me Koichi. Second, not so tight, I think I broke a rib or two,” Koichi coughed. With a gasp, Izuku jerked away, watching as Koichi sagged and clutched his side with a weak smile. 

“Hey!” 

“Oh, what now?” Pop☆Step whined and whirled on her heel just in time to see a black-clad, disheveled-looking man using some strange tape to swing onto the roof. Koichi’s face split into a cheesy grin again. 

“Oh, hey, Eraser!” 

“You’re friends with Eraserhead?” Izuku whispered, gawking shamelessly at the professional hero as he strode over with a disinterested look. He planted his boot on the villain’s back with a displeased grunt. 

“Causing trouble again, I see. Hold on. This one’s new.” Eraserhead frowned with a point at Izuku. While the green-haired boy cringed, Koichi snickered satisfactorily and jerked Izuku into his side. 

“Yup! This is my new sidekick.” 

“Oh, no. I already turn a blind eye to all your nonsense. Now you’re corrupting kids? I’m taking you in for real this time.” 

“What’s that? Someone calling for help? Sorry, Eraser, gotta run! I trust you’ll take care of this for us, yeah?” Koichi sniggered. Before Eraserhead could react, he grabbed onto Izuku’s school uniform and dropped down to zoom off, with Pop springing along behind him with airy giggles. 

“Hey! Get back here — oh, forget it.” Izuku heard Eraserhead grumble as he was whisked away. A breathless feeling overtook him, but not because the wind had stolen it away. 

This is it! I’m gonna be training under my idol as a hero! 

No… as a vigilante! 

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

[perriewinklenerdie]

Rescue me (Ethan Ramsey x MC)

Open Heart, Ethan Ramsey x MC

Author’s note:  Hello, hello, hello! Open Heart continues to wreck me, thank you very much. I tried to write fluff, I swear I did, but PB makes is so damn difficult. Maybe next one...

Anyway, this one is the rewrite of the scene in chapter 3 of book 2. It’s definitely not how it happened in the chapter, but angst took over, so I’m going to blame it on that :D

AO3 link:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23160526

Tag list:   @paleweasels , @lilyofchoices , @hopelessromantic1352, @kittykatchoices, @valiantlychaoticbarbarian , @radlovedreamer , @usuallyamazinglyaverage, @palestazure, @cordoniaqueensworld, @universallypizzataco, @princess-geek, @faithhasnowords, @mightyfangirlofthefandoms, @drakewalkerfantasy, @timmagicktoad, @laceandlula, @greywitchyshots, @llamasgrl, @gingerjane15, @bucket-harrington , @marywrites-things , @ethanplaysfavorites , @mfackenthal , @betelgeusebee , @simsvetements,  @i-only-signed-up-for-fanfiction, @buzz-bee-buzz, @owleyes374, @cora-nova, @aworldoffandoms, @l822, @cream-ray, @ughhhxjazzy, @silverlitskies, @justendlesssummerfeels, @togetherwearerapture, @desmaranj, @edgiestwinter, @friedherringclodthing, @daisy-ashton, @waytooattuned, @choicesgremlin , @lapisreviewsstuff, @the-soot-sprite, @writerapprentice, @chasingrobbie, @choicesobsessedd, @cassiusownsmyass, @x-kyne-x, @thisperfectmemory, @drakewalker04, @rookie-ramsey, @jlynn12273, @thepinknymph @dr-brianna-casey-valentine, @a-i-n-a-a-s-h 

  Enjoy! <3

-------------

Ethan’s legs dragged behind him as he walked back to the hospital. He didn’t expect to see his Dad that day, let alone for him to meet Claire. The idea terrified him, and he wasn’t even sure why.

Maybe because you talk about her all the time with him and if she finds out, she’ll see right through your bullshit of a barrier.

Deep down he knew that he shouldn’t want to run to her and tell her everything. He shouldn’t want to get closer to her again. Oh, who was he kidding, he couldn’t even fool himself. He was far too gone with her, he could try all he wanted to get away from her, but it wouldn’t change anything. It was futile, and after Claire left him alone with his father, he could see it in his eyes too.

The artificial lighting of the hospital greeted him upon entering, his feet carrying him to his office, where he knew she most likely was. The blinds were up, allowing him to see through the glass walls. That’s how his eyes found her, slumped over the table, deep in the article she was reading. Piles of books were a medical fortress around her, letting through just enough light from the windows to illuminate the pages she was focusing on.

It was his office. He shouldn’t be afraid to walk into his own office. Yet, here he was, hesitating, his hand itching to knock, to announce himself, to let her know that he was there. In another universe, he would stroll in there, take a seat next to her and stroke her hand while she studies. In the universe he lived in, all he could do was just get inside and ask her to walk with him to their patient.

Her head shot up and back towards him, her eyes growing wide with what he could only guess could be happiness. Happiness to see him? She closed the book she was reading with a sigh, shrugging her shoulders helplessly. A soft line on her forehead appeared, the one he knew was there when she was getting frustrated. The familiar itch to smooth it out returned to his fingers.

“Come on, let’s see how Lamar’s doing.” Ethan’s lips curved upwards slightly when she joined him by his side, a fraction of her body’s heat reaching his skin, warming him up pleasantly.

Their walk was silent, at least on the outside. In his head, he thought of every possible way he could either stop himself from wanting her or find a way to have her. This was exactly what he meant when he said they couldn’t be together. Exactly what he meant when his brain kept screaming at him that Clarissa Herondale was dangerous. She was addictive, at least to him she was.

He let her enter the room first, walking behind her. Maybe that was why he registered that something wasn’t right with a second or two of delay. The bed was empty, but their patient couldn’t have just disappeared into thin air, could he?

“Ethan… in his condition, Lamar’s a danger to himself. We’ve gotta find him.” Claire’s voice got steadier as she spoke, her posture got straighter and her whole being became more confident. With mutual agreement in their eyes, they broke into a sprint, passing the halls as carefully and as quickly as he could. He heard his voice calling out for security when one of the nurses screamed, grabbing their attention.

“Up there!”

Claire’s head snaps upwards almost at the same time as his. High above them, on the forth floor, he can make out a shape of a person, climbing the railing. A cold shiver ran down Ethan’s spine as the reality set in.

“That fall will kill him! Dammit, come on!” he cursed loudly, calling out for Claire, but she was already running, taking three steps at the time, racing with time and her own body. He didn’t waste another second, following her, at least one floor behind her.

“Lamar, please… what are you doing?! You’ll get hurt!” Liz pleaded with her husband, her hand extended towards him. He grinned, shaking his head at her.

“What are you talking about? We’ve done this a thousand times!” his eyes shift to Claire, who was fast approaching him, then smiles even wider. “Alex! Come on, you’re not a chicken, are you?”

“I’m not chicken. You’re the one who’s chicken. I found a much cooler place to jump.” She tried to keep her voice level, tried not to give away how scared for him she was.

“Seriously? Where?” he asked, curious, then threw one leg over the railing. A heavy feeling in Claire’s chest began to dissipate.  

“Come on, it’s this way. I’ll show you.” speaking slowly, she extended her hand towards him with a flicker of panic in her voice.

“Alright, fine. But it better be as good as you say.”

He took her hand and pulled, probably expecting to be dragged over the banister, towards safety. What he didn’t consider was how physics worked. A result was worse. So, so much worse. Claire’s hand, instead of helping Lamar get back onto the stairs, got pulled by him towards the railing. The velocity and the rapidness of the move yanked her forward, causing her to stumble over the banister.

With what seemed to her like the last of her energy, she grabbed the ledge of the glass screen with her second hand and hung on. She wasn’t an idiot; she knew that looking down right now, especially given the fact that she was afraid of heights, would cause her to faint and fall. So instead, she focused on the glass beneath her skin and the depth of her breaths, muttering in her head how it was all going to be alright.

Her panic didn’t allow her to hear Liz screaming when she saw the doctor fall over the banister. Didn’t allow her to see Lamar’s confusion when security pulled him away, as gently as they could in the situation he caused. And she certainly couldn’t hear the cry of absolute horror that escaped Ethan’s lips when he saw her disappear from his field of vision.

“Claire!” he exclaimed, moving up the stairs faster than ever before in his life. His muscles protested, his lungs screamed, but none of that mattered at that point. If he didn’t get to her soon, she would fall and die.

Or maybe she was already dead, and he just didn’t let himself admit that.

Regardless, he stopped next to a shaken Liz, then looked down into the atrium. His eyes met her green ones, full of pain and fear. His chest felt tighter, his breaths getting shallower, causing him to get lightheaded. He knew the signs of a panic attack when he saw one, and he knew that he was beginning to have one right this moment.

His hands grabbed her arms and pulled, desperate to get her back into his arms, back to safety. Back to where he knew he could protect her. As soon as she was on the good side of the railing, he fell onto the floor, Claire in his arms, and he felt like he could breathe again.  

“Dr. Herondale- I- I’m so s-sorry I d-don’t know how-“ Liz jumped to their side, sobbing and shaking, unable to control her emotions. Claire leaned away from Ethan, grasping Liz’s hand tightly.

“Don’t worry about it, we’re all fine. Do you think you can answer a few questions for me?” she spoke clearly, much to calmly for Ethan’s liking. When Liz nodded, she turned towards her fully, focusing on her. “Who’s Alex?”

“I have no idea…” Liz breathed deeply, still shakily, but she was visibly less panicked. Claire patted her hand sympathetically, then stood up slowly. Ethan immediately followed, keeping himself close to her.

“I… think I might know what’s wrong with him.” she muttered, walking away without another glance at the place that could have been the last thing she ever saw.

Ethan ran after her, catching up to her in the middle of the stairs. He touched her elbow delicately, making her stop in her tracks to look at him. He didn’t have to say anything, his pleading eyes were all she needed to know. Nodding gently, she wrapped her hand around his arm and allowed him to escort her back to his office for a moment of peace.

June and Baz were there when they arrived, but one glance at Ethan’s distraught expression and they both left, without so much as a word spoken. Claire walked over to the couch and sat down, her teeth chewing her bottom lip with passion. He couldn’t tell if it was a sign of her discomfort, her anxiety or the signal that the reality finally caught up to her. It definitely meant something else in literally any other circumstance than this. He’s seen her to it before, countless of times. When she was focused, when she was happy, when she was just fine, when she was intrigued. When she seemed to be falling for him.

Out of all of them, that one stuck in your head, didn’t it, Ramsey?

Something wasn’t adding up for him. It might have been the initial shock of the situation that didn’t let go yet, that prevented her from breaking down. Or maybe she was even stronger than he thought she was, and she would just get over it. From his perspective, he was sure of one thing.

He wouldn’t get over it.

Ethan could count on the fingers of his one hand the times in which he was terrified. He could still see it when he closed his eyes, the moment he realized that his Mother wasn’t coming home. The sheer pain in his Dad’s eyes, the emptiness of the house when they came back home and all her things were gone. He wished he could say that he was over it, but the truth was, he didn’t think it was possible for him to ever forget that feeling.

The moment he realized something was wrong with Naveen. The look on his face when he begged him not to say anything to anyone. The sharp pain, like a stab to his chest, at the mere thought of losing another parent. And the moment he realized he couldn’t help him. The moment he realized he would be alone once again, abandoned, but not in the same way.

The moment he knew that Dolores’s life was in danger. He didn’t have many friends, and even the ones he had seemed to be taken away from him, one by one. The sting in his eyes when he realized that she was dead, really gone, forever. The pain he felt when he saw little Ethan, alone in the big, cold world, without the person that would give it to him on a silver platter.

The desperation he felt when he heard of Claire’s hearing. She wasn’t a person he planned on getting close to. Looking back at it, he didn’t give himself a chance to back out of this, he never even stopped to think what that would mean for both of them, and when he finally did hit the brakes, it was already too late. He remembered being furious with Harper for forbidding him from testifying for Claire, but now he was realizing that she knew how he felt months before he did. She always was the smart one.

And now this. Possibly the worst fifty seconds of his life. He was pretty sure his heart stopped when he saw her get thrown over the railing, and then went into cardiac arrest when he reached her and saw her there. Helpless, tired and scared. He would never forget the look in her eyes, and how it morphed into one of calmness and security when she knew that he was there.

How was she so goddamn calm?

She was staring off, her gaze locked on the wall, like she wasn’t even there. He felt as though he could walk up to her and try to touch her, and his hand would pass right through her. Despite all that, he decided to not join her on the couch just yet. He needed a moment to sort through his own thoughts or they would overwhelm him.

3…2…1…

The first sign of tears approaching was the stinging sensation in the back of his eyes. His lower lip trembled, his vision got blurry, but despite all of that, he still tried to maintain the last pieces of his composure. Walking over to her, after all, he sat down, their bodies lining up with one another, the brushes of heat flowing between them. He felt a rush of electricity pass from her to him, or maybe it was from him to her, he wasn’t sure. He needed to stop thinking about what just happened, or he would lose it.

Too late.

The first tear trickled down his cheek, silently, easy to overlook, easy to forget it was even there. Second and third ones were louder, bolder. They demanded attention. Landing on the smooth skin on her hand with a sound that no one would ever hear, they accomplished what they wanted. Almost instantly, Claire’s hands ran to her face, wiping furiously the tears that were simply not there. Confused, and maybe a bit scared of what she would see when she looked at him, she slowly trailed her gaze up his chest, along the column of his neck, until she reached his face. A quiet gasp slipped past her lips when she saw how many trails of wetness were visible on his features, and how many more were being made or were about to be made. With a choked whisper of his name, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him down so he lied down with his head on her lap.

It wasn’t right. He was the one that was supposed to be comforting her, not the other way around. But here he was, sobbing into the fabric of her pants, unable to stop the flow of feelings and emotions once they started.

“I almost lost you.” he managed to mutter without suffocating on his limited supply of oxygen in his lungs, but the words were like a punch to the gut for her. Up until this point, she didn’t think about it that way.

She could have died. She could have fallen from the fourth floor and be nothing more than a bloody corpse on the crisp white floor of the Edenbrook atrium. And Ethan would have to look it all in the eye and accept the new reality. And they would never get a chance to see where that ever so present feeling they got when they were near would lead them. She would never tell him how much she needs him.

He felt something hit his cheek. Then again, and again. When he turned to look up at her, he realized that the reality finally caught up to her. She was looking down at him with the most complex stare he’s ever seen, so intense that it made him sit up. His hand slowly rose to her cheek, wiping the tears away from her skin, tracing small patterns there. His other hand rested on her knee, an anchor of sorts, something that would keep him grounded, come what may.

Her movements were very much similar to his, but seemed more wanting, filled with more need. Need to touch, need to feel, need to have him close. One hand on the back of his neck, another on his side. And they held onto each other like drowning people held onto their lifelines.

Their forehead touched, softly at first, neither expecting the contact, causing them to stumble backwards for a split second before leaning back in. The peaceful comfort, the quietness of the room and a sense of stability, even if only momentarily, was enough to bring the calm after the storm has passed.

“I could have died. Without telling you-“ she whispered, her tone desperate and urgent, before she bit her tongue, closing her eyes in defeat. There it was. Again.

That goddamn barrier of yours, Ramsey. You’re going to trip and die because of it one of those days.

Ethan was never sure how it happened, but it seemed as though it all followed the same path, every time they’ve been there. His every coherent thought leaves him as soon as he gets close to her, and then they come back, right as he is about to let himself get exactly what he knows would make him happy. Deep, deep down, he knew that she was what he wanted, what he needed, but his rational thoughts were closer to the surface, and he didn’t even have the chance to entertain the idea properly. Not when he was with her, at least.

Screw the barrier.

He leaned towards her, pulling her into him at the same time. Their lips pressed against one another, barely touching, testing the waters. They didn’t have much time, and they probably shouldn’t be kissing in the office which had glass walls and where the blinds were up, but at that exact moment, he was beyond caring about all of that.

He kissed her. Really kissed her. Poured all of his pent-up emotions and feelings into it, hoping and praying that she would get them. She did. And she reciprocated them in earnest. Even if they couldn’t act on them anytime soon, they always had this moment. Right here, right now.

[stuckonvenus]

𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 » Ellie & Becca

 Ｊｕｌｙ ３１ｓｔ， １９９８

The saying goes as such: the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb... or whatever. Honestly I have only ever applied this proverb to my relationship with my sister whenever we weren’t in mortal peril. While I have plenty of friends and acquaintances who I’ve shared battlefields with (i.e. the morning after a party), that never made me any closer to them in a real crisis. I would say about seventy-five percent of the time that the blood is thicker than the water, and the remaining twenty-five percent is when the water isn’t necessarily thicker, but more pressurized. That’s the only time in our lives when we’ve ever come together as sisters.

Well, this is the twenty five percent, and never has the feeling of being sucked and trapped against a fissure at the bottom of the Challenger Deep been more realized than now. It doesn’t help that my bladder is about to implode and leak the citrus-flavored toxic waste I’ve consumed in rapid succession over the past half hour into my visceral fat and contaminate all my vital organs. 

I waddle awkwardly through the narrow doorway of Page One and slam my tiny palm onto the countertop. A bookkeeper who I can recognize as my lab partner from sophomore year chemistry pokes his nose out from the novel he’s immersed in. Moby Dick. Jesus, who reads school assigned books after graduation?

“Hey, Drew-Drew,” I greet him, a lopsided grin fitted on my lips as he brushes his hair out of his eyes and offers me a smile in return. He has a lot more charisma than I remember. I think his eyes have gotten bigger and bluer, too. It reminds me of the water’s surface I’m staring up at from the very bottom of the ocean. “Where’s Becky at?”

Drew dog-ears his page — which is kind of disgusting to me, do they not sell bookmarks in this busted ass joint? — and he points toward the graphic novel section. “Over there, we just got Spider-Man #76, she’s stocking up.”

“... Didn’t #76 come out in January? Of last year?” I ask him. He opens his mouth so he can answer but I stop him with a raised hand. “No time. You’re lookin’ good, Drew-Drew, considerably less like a delicious pepperoni pizza. Keep it up with the Oxy Pads.” I say before pushing away from the counter and venturing off to my destination.

Indeed, my older sister is crouched down and rustling with a display, slightly disgruntled by the symmetry of the copies of Spider-Man she’s stocking. I don’t really have any witty remarks as a smooth enough introduction, so I settle with, “Need help?”

She whips around and I can almost hear the crack in her spinal cord from the velocity. “Lily?” she half-whispers. I forget that I haven’t seen her since late May, and also that I swore I’d never see her again.

“In the flesh,” I confirm and do a curtsey, which threatens my full bladder. I really need to piss soon or else I’ll die a terribly death in the shittiest bookstore on the eastern seaboard. “Do you have a sec? It’s 9-1-1.”

Becca’s expression shifts from awe and minor annoyance to something resembling concern as she pushes herself off her knees. “What is it?” she asks me, crossing her arms over her chest as a last resort defense mechanism. 

I don’t hesitate to hold up the plastic Walgreens bag I’ve carted with me for two blocks. She recognizes the items inside and her eyes go all moony and her jaw slacks a bit. I jerk my brows up expectantly and she assumes the position of utter bewilderment.

“Do you have a place I can empty the biohazardous contents of my bladder? It’s about to necrotize,” I hiss at her. She reaches down, digs in her pocket, unearths a bronze key and walks ahead of me at full speed. I have to waddle after her like a newly hatched penguin chick. It would be more humiliating if over half the population of Eden were literate, but alas...

Becca jams the keys into the lock and just about bodychecks the door so we can enter the rectangular bathroom. It’s cramped and the lighting resembles something out of a Hitchcock film, but who the fuck am I to be picky about where I take the most important whizz of my life?

I place the bag on the counter and take out the three empty full-sized cans of Surge I used to fuel my bladder before picking up the grossest thing I have ever held: a pregnancy test. I keep it in my grasp for a few passing beats, nearly crushing the box underneath my iron-tight grip before man-handling it open and tearing out the plastic stick that will determine my fate.

“This is by far the most unholy fortune telling experience ever,” I decide to joke as I witness my sister cower in the corner. You’d think by the looks of it she were the one whose life was about to change forever. “You think if I shake it a genie will come out and grant me three wishes?”

“... Only if it’s negative, as a gift,” Becca chimes in at last. “Otherwise not even God can save you.”

I let out an involuntary snort, because while my reflexes register this as a funny joke, I am actually scared shitless.

I stare at the porcelain toilet bowl. I feel sicker now looking at it than when I’ve genuinely been at risk for vomiting up my lunch. I could still do that, I’ve been puking like a bulimic for weeks now. The thought is almost comforting. Almost. I bite the bullet instead and yank my pants down, my boy pants, which I normally wear as a boy when I’ve got slightly wider hips and more junk to hide and taller legs to protect with denim fabric. Fuck me.

“I just... Hold it and piss, right?” I ask her, as if she’s gone through this before. I know for a fact she hasn’t, or else this wouldn’t be our first time. I’m surprised it’s our first time, actually, thinking that karma would’ve caught up with me a long time ago. 

“Just don’t get any on your hand.” Becca replies. Very helpful, I think, but rather than respond verbally I give a sigh of defeat and do what needs to be done. When my bladder is emptied an eternity later, I pull up my oversized pants and briefly grieve my dick before I place the test on the counter.

I glance over my shoulder at Becca, “It’s seasoned. Just gotta let it marinate.”

“Gross.” she says with a scrunched up nose.

I turn around and slide down the wall, an action she mimics a couple seconds later. I stare ahead, up at the light that’s screwed into a 70s pendant-shaped fixture, and pass the silence by making them flicker. I do this as a distraction from the materializing tension between us. Normally, this doesn’t happen, but then again our peril has only involved either extreme intoxication, pedos on AOL (during high school), or something about her and Gabriel’s arguments, which felt like walking through Reactor 4 in Chernobyl.

She’s the first one to say something.

“Whose is it? ... If it’s a thing,” she wonders, and as I look over at her I notice that her eyebrows are knitted together and her mouth is fixed downward. “... Please don’t tell me Topher’s.”

I chuckle at the idea. “I think if it were a thing and Topher’s, it’d have grown like a xenomorph baby and ripped itself out of my stomach by now,” I tell her. “I’d deserve that kind of karma for getting knocked up by him.”

“Xenomorph?” she says, and I open my mouth to offer an explanation before she finishes, “Alien. Right.”

“... Yeah, exactly,” I nod along. How in the hell did she remember that? We only ever sat through Alien and Aliens once, and I could’ve sworn she was too preoccupied reading a magazine to actually notice what was happening on screen. 

I also notice that she’s wearing my favorite striped turtleneck. Stone cold bitch.

Some things never change, huh?

Shit, I think I might cry.

This is why we’re siblings, I think, so I can hate her for wearing my favorite turtleneck while sitting by her side as we await Satan’s final decision on the state of my cursed uterus.

Tears prickle my vision but I blink them away. 

“Whose is it, then?” she wonders again. I visibly tense. This is probably where our unspoken, once-in-a-blue-moon loyalties end. How do you tell your sister that her ex-boyfriend is the reason you’re sitting in the dingy bathroom of her workplace with a piss-riddled stick inches away?

In the end, I don’t have to say anything at all. We look at each other simultaneously and she reads my expression with ease. Her features soften and I can see a glint of hurt in her eyes, and I expect ripples of betrayal to make themselves known across the rest of her body soon enough. But those ripples never come. The water I thought was loosening from around me doesn’t make a goddamn move. 

I’m still at the bottom of the Deep, but she’s with me now.

Her hand grips mine. Tight. I can feel our pulses match up in our paralleling wrists.

“I think it’s been enough time.” I say eventually. She doesn’t release my hand. Our shared warmth creates a comfortable friction between us. “... Will you hate me after this?”

Becca squeezes my hand. A heart beat jumps out from her touch to mine. “I think I’ve hated you enough for one summer.”

A smile flickers on the corner of my lips and I slowly depart my hand from hers. My palm is slick with sweat but I don’t mind. I stand up and feel my equilibrium struggle to steady itself before I’m ready to approach the counter. The test is still there, so I know this wasn’t an abstract fever dream I’ve had after discovering so much eerily similar history.

I’m not a fucking coward. I’m looking this shit straight on, no matter what. Do you think I’m afraid of a sign? Totally not. I lean over and stare down, my gaze idling at the base before finally fixating on the panel.

+

Holy shitstickers.

“... Becca?” I call out, my voice half gone from unknown forces. She perks up and I see her reflection in the mirror with widened eyes. “Do you have five bucks? I’m gonna need more Surge.”

[toemuncher666]

Sanguine (Akuma Kan):

Personality - He’s extremely shy and timid yet heroic at heart. He finds it hard to talk to people and be the center of attention but if the situation calls for it…he’ll attempt to save people no matter what.

Looks - He shares his father’s height so he’s naturally tall. He also shares his father’s hair and muscular build but he is much slimmer than his father and doesn’t quite have his father’s bulk.

Quirk - Bloodletting

Properties - The quirk allows Akuma to manipulate his own blood. The blood can shoot from his skin like a bullet and can even explode when shot with enough velocity. He can also create blood tendrils that act like tentacles and can be used to fight but also rescue people. His blood allows for a quick healing cycle since it has to rip through his skin. His blood can also harden to create powerful shields and body armor. He can also create clones through his blood…and can travel via liquefying into blood and sprouting up where he intends.

Drawbacks - Too much exertion of blood means his body isn’t getting enough circulation…so he can easily succumb to limbs falling asleep, massive migraines, queasiness, potential black outs, and blood rushes temporarily giving him vision impairment…and blood cannot be withdrawn from his body for over 10 minutes without risking cardiac arrest. His quirk also requires for a lot of liquid ingestion to regenerate lost blood.

Venus: (Sakura Nishiya):

Personality - Sakura is incredibly sweet often to her own detriment. She often puts other people’s feelings before hers, forgetting about her own problems. Sakura is also scarily intelligent when it comes to strategy in fighting.

Looks - Sakura boasts long green hair with flower growths seemingly sprouting from her scalp. She’s also pretty tall and has a muscular build.

Quirk - Mother Nature

Properties - Mother Nature allows for Sakura to manipulate plants. She can cause the plants to grow to extreme sizes and bend to her will. Her quirk allows for her to forcefully evolve the plants allowing for them to release pheromones or grow tangible vines for her to control

Drawbacks - Her quirk is only powerful during the day while the plants get sunlight…at night, her powers are severely limited beyond being able to just move the plants. Her quirk also requires her to stay hydrated…because the quality of the plants is directly tied to her health. The quirk also only works within viable soil that can properly host a plant.

Hex: (Uno Tatsuma):

Personality - Uno is very boisterous and confident in his abilities to the point where he can become pretty cocky and lose sight of his goal. Despite his cockiness, he is a good person and is very loving towards his friends and family.

Looks - Uno is considered very handsome and boasts deep purple hair and doughy purple eyes. He’s considerably tall and muscular and has sharp features.

Quirk - Bad Luck

Properties - Bad Luck allows for Uno to create black energy orbs from his hand. These orbs can be shot out and cause a variety of effects. The orbs are slightly explosive when they make physical impact with something…but that’s not the star of the show with this quirk. The main feature of this quirk is that on impact, it can cause a foe to suffer serious bad luck. When the orbs hit…they can cause a foe to trip and fall, suffer rapid onset narcolepsy, set off a chain of events that somehow leads an anvil falling on the foes’ head etc. etc.

Drawbacks - The level of bad luck isn’t consistent and is sometimes unreliable so it requires multiple orbs to be thrown…but the orbs directly rely on UNO’s molecular makeup of his hands. So when orbs are thrown in excess…they begin to make his hands and arms very brittle

Skinwalker (Amaya Gima):

Personality - Amaya is very gentle and kind. She often puts on the front of someone who doesn’t care…but once you get to know her, she’s truly a sweet person.

Looks - Amaya has long black hair. She’s average height and has pretty dark brown eyes.

Quirk - Beast Body

Properties - This quirk allows Amaya to change the anatomy of her physical body. All she has to do is think of an animal…and her body begins to shift into the creature.

Drawbacks - The quirk hurts every time Amaya performs it. The quirk also takes awhile for her to shift to an animal and shift back.

Psi (Kaneki Usagiyama):

Personality - Kaneki is incredibly reserved and cold. He doesn’t talk very much but when he does…it’s often demeaning. Kaneki views himself as more important than his peers…he’s also very intelligent and skilled in battle.

Looks - Kaneki sports dark blue hair. He’s average height but with a fit build. His eyes are also blue but when using his quirk…his hair and eyes begin to glow neon pink.

Quirk - Psychokinesis

Properties - Psychokinesis allows Kaneki to extort his brain beyond its limits…allowing him to use a strong form of telekinesis that can crush anything in its path. Psychokinesis allows telepathy as well. But one of the biggest boasts for this powerful skill…is that it can create deadly psionic blasts that can disintegrate anything they touch.

Drawbacks - when Psychokinesis is exerted for long periods of time…it starts to over exert his brain and cause massive headaches that severely slow down his abilities

Wormhole (Aimi Fujioka):

Personality - Aimi is incredibly shy, often resulting in her being unable to talk to anyone but her close friends. Despite her shyness…she is incredibly determined…and nothing will get in the way of her becoming a pro hero.

Looks - Aimi has short pink hair. She is also considerably short and has big doughy pink eyes.

Quirk - Teleportation

Properties - When Aimi envisions a specific place and touches her fingers together…she can cause a dimensional rip that she can teleport through. When the rip is paired with another rip…she can simply walk through it like an open door…but when the rip is alone, it sucks things in like a black hole.

Drawbacks - The quirk cannot work if Aimi hasn’t seen the area she wants the rip to appear. The rip can also only stay open for a maximum of 10 seconds.

Vortex (Arakan Ahane):

Personality - Arakan is incredibly nice but very ditzy and naive. Arakan has no problem complimenting people but often finds himself forgetting everything…sometimes even forgetting how to spell his own name.

Looks - Arakan has fluffy green hair and big green eyes. He’s pretty fit and has an average height.

Quirk - Time Jump

Properties - Time Jump allows Arakan to jump a few seconds into the future. When Arakan snaps his fingers…his quirk shoots him through a few seconds in his future. This allows Arakan to be very agile, dodging attacks and “jumping” well into high places most people wouldn’t be able to reach. When Arakan first jumps and right after, it causes electricity to shoot through the air…so getting close to him before a jump could result in a small electrical shock.

Drawbacks - The quirk has a 5 second cool down and when not aimed precisely…Arakan could end up getting stuck in walls or floors leaving him open to attack.

Aquarias (Chinami Aikawa):

Personality - Chinami is incredibly intelligent and nice. She often scores 100% on all of her written tests and you can leave it to her to develop a battle plan. However, due to her parents’ strictness on grades…it left Chinami very uncertain and personally insecure with her own skills.

Looks - Chinami has very long pale blue hair. She also has a slim fit figure with an above average height.

Quirk - Flood

Properties - Flood allows Chinami to telekinetically control any surrounding moisture or liquid. This can allow Chinami to cause giant destructive tsunamis or her favorite move from a cartoon she watches…giant water hands to crush her opponents and water wings to fly. Chinami’s ability also allows for more subtle moves…such as creating bubbles.

Drawbacks - Chinami’s quirk solely relies on the accessibility of nearby liquids or the amount of moisture in the air…without a good amount of either, her quirk is rendered semi-useless.

Whirlwind (Daichi Bushida):

Personality - Daichi is incredibly cocky often to his own detriment. He lacks the ability to recognize his own weaknesses and is often regarded as kind of an asshole. But his lack of outward recognition of his weaknesses often results in him pushing himself past his limits to prove his worth.

Looks - Daichi sports groomed black hair. He has sharp dark eyes and is quite tall and muscular.

Quirk - Cyclone

Properties - Cyclone allows Daichi to create whirlwinds from his hands. These whirlwinds can be anywhere from small controlled gusts that he can shoot at you…all the way to a giant tornado capable of mass destruction.

Drawbacks - too much wind power from his quirk takes a toll on his hand…he often ends up spraining his hand from the sheer wind power he can create.

Atomic (Hoshi Bushida):

Personality - Hoshi is similar to her brother in that she’s competitive and pushes herself past her limits. But unlike her brother, she knows her flaws and she has a strong sense of humility. This allows her to be emotionally mature unlike her brother…and it keeps her down to earth and quite intelligent.

Looks - Hoshi has long black hair often seen tied in a ponytail. She’s viewed as being incredibly pretty and she’s tall with a fit build.

Quirk - Disassemble

Properties - When Hoshi touches something…she can disassemble it on an atomic level…even living things. This allows Hoshi to completely remove an entire wall…or if need be…an entire foe.

Drawbacks - the disassembled object or person will reassemble unharmed anywhere between 10-20 minutes later and the quirk also requires her to touch the object to disassemble it.

Puppet Master (Joben Takao):

Personality - Joben is incredibly self-centered to where he might actually literally be in love with himself. Joben is also a strict neat freak.

Looks - Joben is considered incredibly handsome and he has crimson red hair with sharp facial features. He’s considerably tall and muscular.

Quirk - Possessor

Properties - Possessor allows Joben to temporarily possess someone’s body after he’s touched or been touched by someone. While possessing someone, he can use their quirks and has complete control over their body

Drawbacks - the possession only lasts a maximum of 5 minutes. The quirk also leave’s Joben’s real body out of commission and open for attacks

Static Shock (Kana Ryujin):

Personality - Kana is a total bimbo who completely forgets everything. Despite her absent mindedness…she’s very kind and outgoing.

Looks - Kana is pretty short with long pink hair tied in a ponytail. She has round dark eyes full of spirit and vigor.

Quirk - Lightning Rod

Properties - Lightning Rod allows Kana to shoot high voltage electricity out of her arms. Her quirk allows her to either shoot little shocks or full on thunder storms out of her arms.

Drawbacks - Kana’s not safe from the electricity itself…every time she activates her quirk, she shocks herself too.

Lion (Kazuhiko Yamaguchi):

Personality - Kazuhiko is incredibly intelligent and reserved. He often finds himself acing his tests…and he loves to fulfill his duty of class President.

Looks - Kazuhiko is incredibly tall and muscular. He blonde slicked back hair and glasses. Kazuhiko is well groomed and handsome and he also has a lion’s tail

Quirk - Cat Man

Properties - Kazuhiko can use the energy from food…to gain extreme muscle mass, grow claws, gain night vision, have enhanced senses, enhanced agility, and a mighty roar

Drawbacks - the quirk only lasts for as long as there’s food in his stomach…but the quirk absorbs the energy from the food…allowing for his powers to only be useful for mere moments. The enhanced senses can also be negated with bright lights in his eyes, foul smells, and extremely loud noises.

Octo (Kichi Calamari):

Personality - Kichi is awkward, adorable, and incredibly shy. Despite her shyness, she’s also scarily intelligent.

Looks - Kichi has a mutant type quirk. She has long orange-ish red-ish hair. She’s pretty short and has beady eyes.

Quirk - Octopus

Properties - Octopus is a mutant type quirk…meaning it’s always on her. Her quirk means she has eight slimy tentacles attached to her back, each with a hooked suction cup. Her quirk also explains why she’s incredibly intelligent. She can also secrete a slippery mucus from her skin. Her quirk also allows her to shoot ink from her mouth to blind foes.

Drawbacks - like an octopus…she needs to constantly stay hydrated…less she face drying out

Tremor (Kitaro Ryujin):

Personality - Kitaro is just like his sister in that he has no idea what’s going on ever…but he’s happy doing it.

Looks - Kitaro is described as being pretty handsome with an average height, muscular build, and spiky brown hair.

Quirk - Bulldoze

Properties - When Kitaro touches the ground…he can cause an immense seismic wave that causes a massive earthquake

Drawbacks - The quirk only works on solid ground…so sand, air, and water are unaffected by his quirk…grass also reduces the strength of the earthquake

Magnet (Leiko Fukumoto):

Personality - Leiko is pretty arrogant, but her arrogance is backed up with her high intelligence and great combat skills. Despite her arrogance, she’s pretty funny and somewhat laid back

Looks - She boasts long beautiful silver hair. She’s also pretty tall and muscular with solid steel colored eyes.

Quirk - Magnetic Pull

Properties - Her quirk allows her to telekinetically control metals. Her powers can let her lift semi trucks and even most buildings and launch them at you. She’s also known to quickly make protective shields out of surrounding metals.

Drawbacks - the strength of her magnetic pull solely revolves around the amount of iron in her body…when she has an iron deficiency…her quirk is rendered useless.

Forgemaster (Osamu Saito):

Personality - Osamu has a very protective and commanding personality. He often finds himself taking charge and protecting those he cares for. He also idolizes his pro hero cousin Momo Yaoyorozu and wishes to be just like her.

Looks - Osamu boasts light purple hair and soft facial features. He’s of an average height…but considerably fit.

Quirk - Weapon Hands

Properties - Osamu can turn his hand into any weapon as long as he knows exactly what the weapon is made of. His range can be from an entire cannon…to a simple knife.

Drawbacks - He must know the exact materials of the weapon…and the quirk draws upon energy from his body…so too much shifting to different weapons easily wears him out

Dopplëganger (Shina Saito):

Personality - Shina is incredibly nice and funny…but deep down, she’s insecure. She feels that she won’t live up to her cousin or her brother and she suffers from a severe identity crisis cause she feels she can’t even live up to herself.

Looks - Shina is viewed as being really pretty with long black hair. She’s kinda short and has a slim body type.

Quirk - Cloner

Properties - when she touches someone she can turn herself into them for around 6.5 minutes. Her quirk allows her to use their quirk as well.

Drawbacks - she’s only limited to 6.5 minutes per person and only one person at a time

Anti-Matter (Taishiro Tachi):

Personality - Taishiro is extremely confident but never arrogant. He’s also incredibly nice and out spoken about his ambitions and ideas

Looks - Taishiro is average height with a slim build. He has light blue hair and purple eyes filled with determination

Quirk - Light Constructs

Properties - his quirk allows him to create quite literally anything out of light…from a protective shield all the way to a functioning tank

Drawbacks - he must know exactly how his creation works or it’ll turn out faulty…his quirk also requires light so it cannot work in the dark

Gamma Ray (Yasuko Sugimoto):

Personality - she acts kinda like a big sister…she’s there for everyone when they need a shoulder to cry on. This comes from her feeling like other people’s problems are her fault…so she tries to fix them.

Looks - Yasuko has blonde hair in a side ponytail. She’s pretty tall and slim and has soft facial features.

Quirk - Gamma

Properties - when Yasuko claps her hands together…a giant destructive laser shoots from them with incredible force

Drawbacks - the laser is so bright it can temporarily blind her

[iatheia]

EDA reviews Part 5 - books 38-46

Previous part 1, 2, 3 & 4

38) Casualties of War - a lovely story. In form and in function it is pretty much identical to the previous story, and even reveals pretty much the same info verbatim. The plot is similarly nothing outstanding, from ~5 minutes in you can tell pretty much exactly how it is going to turn out. That said, it has a much better atmosphere than the Burning, and Doctor’s characterization is also much stronger. Nice and relaxing, if a bit gory at times, and veering off towards supernatural by the end. 8/10

39) The Turing Test - Wow, these stories keep getting better and better! It is overwhelming and exuberant. Only a handful of books have even attempted to get anywhere near close into the Doctor’s psyche as this one has. Moreover, it has multiple narrators, and all three have a very different relationship with the Doctor, you get into the different facets of his persona, multiplicity of his character. You have a dashing and breathless romantic whose mere presence sweeps you off your feet, a reckless hero, an enigma, at the same time, there is a rather selfish and cruel streak as well. He is a manipulator, someone who knows more than he should and willing to use this knowledge to achieve his aims, willing to play people against each other and show a side of himself that they would be most accepting to see. It is never to the degree of Seven, this behavior is all Eight through and through, the core of his characters never sways, it’s just viewed through a different lens. The previous novels have established these facets, but more on accident, due to lack of consistency between different writers, picking one and going with it. But this is the first one I feel they were actually explored in full, though, certainly, there will be other stories to tackle this in the future as well (Caerdroia in particular comes to mind). An outstanding story through and through. 10/10

40) Endgame - Hot off the heels of the previous one, another fun story - or, at the very least, something that would have been a gem if it had managed to sustain the energy it had at the beginning. Doctor’s claustrophobia and depression were very poignant, and, as much as I loved Stranded already, it does make me look at that story in a new light with a newer appreciation. And, on top of that - this book is funny, the Doctor evading spy agents with ease is the comedy of errors. That said, in the second half there is too much runamock it’s a bit repetitive, not very well organized, they needlessly cross the ocean so many times, the situation at a given location is resolved the second the Doctor shows up on a scene, and it all ends in deus ex machina. The authors note says that the original draft was submitted unfinished, and boy does it show. Still, I had fun with it. 8/10

41) Father Time - It is hard not to notice though that some of the novels come in pairs (or trios). The Burning and the Casualties of War had a lot of overlap. Turning Test and Endgame were both based on political intrigue. And now, Endgame and Father Time, both feature some mysterious entity that know the Doctor from before, with him not knowing who they are. They are even called similarly, “The Players” and “The Hunters”. When these overlaps are so close to one another, it does rather stick out. This ark is not the first time this happened, obviously, there have been a number of stories before that makes you pause and go “wait, you’ve just done this in the previous book, too”. It’s probably more to do with how quickly the books are released one after another, so as the writers discuss some ideas, they end up being in several places....

That said, the first third of the book had me singing its praises. After going through the five stages of grief, and battling against the depression of the previous novel, the Doctor is finally reaching acceptance of his situation, and possibly nurturing hope for the future. It’s exactly the type of a fluffy story I have a weakness for. But then... you have a time skip, which gets all the pacing torn into shreds. Not only the conclusion of the first part is too abrupt, everything falling into pieces as if by accident, but also, none of the things that happened in the first part (or most of the characters that were introduced) matter for part two. It turns into a chess match play by numbers, moving characters across the board almost without any transition in service of “plot”, without much of consideration for their head space, keeping everyone rather ooc. The change in visuals is very abrupt - it’s hard to accept the Doctor as a millionaire business consultant living in a grand mansion, new family situation or not. It’s not just at odds with his bohemian persona, it also begs a question, if he is so famous, what do the UNIT and Torchwood are doing about it? And also, *sigh*. You have a sixteen year old girl, who, in the previous chapter, just been ten. And you decide to spend the next two chapters on little else than musing how “she hasn’t been interested in sex, even though she is SO HOT”, only to decide that she is interested now, actually. It comes across more than a little fetishistic, and the story continues to follow her around with the male gaze. I’m not here to follow sexual exploits of minors - not in a Doctor Who novel. It is utterly unnecessary, doesn’t add anything of value to the plot, not character driven, and made me lose pretty much all of the good will I had from the first part of the story (and I had a lot of it, because the start of it was basically perfect). In the third part, it just turns into a discount Taken story, somehow managing to lose any cohesiveness and suspension of disbelief, and fizzles out in the end. 4/10

Amnesia watch: #7. It’s a bait and switch - the Doctor was just pretending, but I’m counting it anyway.

42) Escape Velocity - I wonder, how much sponsorship did various fast food places paid for this novel.... 

And we are back with Fitz. I didn’t really say it before, but it was really rather a dick move leaving the Doctor all alone for over a century. I mean, it worked, narratively speaking (more on that later), but, still, in an option between traveling through space & time BUT leaving them alone for that long, without any idea who they are, without any network of support, letting them slowly go mad, only being there for the fun bits, versus staying with them to help them through it all, you are kind of a bad friend. Sure, Compassion was in the driver’s seat, but Fitz didn’t exactly protest all that much, did he? And why 20th century earth? If the conditions for Doctor’s maroonment was that he had to stay somewhere for over 100 years while the TARDIS repaired itself, then any other technologically advanced era that didn’t have two world wars would have sufficed? And, psst, Doctor, your adopted kid has a space armada. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind giving you one ship that would allow you at least space travel, you didn’t have to spend last 11 years on Earth - you could have went traveling, TARIS in tow on that ship, and only checked in at the deadline.

Also, I get it, memory loss is a traumatic experience, and the Doctor isn’t human, and there is a sense of wrongness. But, he has lived on Earth for over 100 years. In that time he had more memories and experiences than any human alive. After a while, this entire thing of “I don’t know who I am” should start wearing a bit thin, don’t you think?

This rant aside, the book is a bit play by numbers. A lot of unnecessary runaround, traveling from London to Brussels and back several times for no particular reason. A rather boring “aliens invading earth” plot that left me checked out for a vast majority of it. Nothing bad about it, but nothing stands out about the plot either. But, it did have several heartfelt emotional scenes - the long awaited reunion, seeing TARDIS interior again, the finale. They were fairly brief, and it’s a bit of a pity they weren’t savored for a bit longer, instead letting the plot get in the way, but the little that was there was nice. 7/10

43) EarthWorld - I was hoping to enjoy this book a bit more than I ended up, I usually am quite fond of Rayner’s works, but I guess it is one of her first books. It’s a bit monotone, landing on the side of quirky, whether it was suited for a scene or not. Also dwelling on the past quite a bit, invoking the imagery of Unearthly Child, War Games, Greatest Show in the Galaxy in a rapid succession, for no specific reason, and then dwelling for quite a long time on several previous novels in a not entirely organic way. Instead of using this as an opportunity so start afresh now that we’re finally back in the TARDIS, it feels like it is focused more than ever on recapping how they got here, especially as the previous novel offered a way out by letting Fitz forget most of the previous “ark”. There were a lot of lovely character moments - but some of it did feel overly gratuitous. Still, it’s a decent book, even if it doesn’t quite reach full marks 8/10.

44) Vanishing Point - Easily the best Steve Cole novel of the ones I’ve ever read and/or listened to. This is the fresh start to the team adventures that I was hoping for. The alien world is interesting, with great worldbuilding (which is actually kind of rare in the novels). A lot of exciting imagery. The characters are a joy to behold. Not just the trio, but the secondary characters too. The first half of the book is basically perfect. It... kind of fizzles out in the second half, never really delivering on its set up in an entirely satisfying way.

A big part of the difficulty of suspending disbelief, though, was Fitz’s leg. I twisted my ankle once. I could barely walk for several days afterwards (so it having happen at a beginning of a trip was Awful), it took months for it to fully heal, and even now it feels more wobbly than the other one. And a colleague of mine ended up getting a special boot, because she keeps twisting her ankle (always the same one). Fitz had twisted his ankle, and then he was shot in the leg. And he is running about mountains and waterfalls almost immediately. 8/10

45) Eater of Wasps - You have to give it to Baxendale, he has a very particular style. Everything described so masterfully you couldn’t help but imagining every single detail, like painting a picture before you. Even though a significant portion of it is body horror that is described exactly as lovingly as the British countryside. Never before has the title been this appropriate. Very careful in setting up the conflict and tension between the protagonists. 10/10

46) The Year of Intelligent Tigers - This story is just nice. Another one with incredible visuals and incredible feelings behind it, exuberant and overwhelming, like a hurricane. The ending is particularly strong. This is peak Eight - a force of nature, alien and unknowable, and yet, you can’t help but being swept off your feet. Stories like this one is exactly why he is the platonic ideal of who the Doctor should be.

Overall impressions so far: This was like a breath of fresh air. The “stuck on Earth all on his own” ark was not only beautifully executed, but it was also badly needed. The last time I was complaining that few novels actually did anything with Eight - he would react to the plot, but never really be affected by anything. And at the heart of it was the issue that the writers, through trial and error, did come to a consensus about who he should be, but rarely took time to actually get into his head - they started out somewhat flat-footedly, and then got swept up in other things. Here, though, they were forced to slow down and focus his undivided attention just on him, what makes him tick if you break him down to the barest essentials - so even after reuniting with the TARDIS and the companions, his portrayal is all the stronger as a result. Rather than merely reacting to the world at large, he is now an active participant.

The companions are great. There is nothing particularly special being given to Fitz to chew upon, but his presence is always welcome, especially with him being as mellow as he has been back in Autumn Mist. What is it about the Doctor that attracts so many companions with an acute case of praise kink, I wonder? Anji is also interesting, and I love seeing what’s being done with her. She slots in perfectly, delivering so sorely missed snark Compassion had in her pre-Shadow of Avalon outings, all the while having a rather unique relationship with the Doctor - acknowledging his eldritch horror moments, being one of the few who does stand up to him. Especially after the last couple of books, I’m curious to see where this goes and how it continues to build.

The books themselves are a significant step up to what was there before, which got pretty joyless for a short while, alternating between mediocre to awful. In this batch, tough? Sure, there are some weaker offerings, but even there there is at least one stand-out scene that makes the book. Even if the plot isn’t exactly the most revolutionary thing in the world, it is being made up with solid character work. Honestly, for any new readers I would recommend just starting with #37 Burning and going from there - at least so far.

[spaceexp]

MAXI J1820+070: Black Hole Outburst Caught on Video

NASA - Chandra X-ray Observatory patch. June 1, 2020 Astronomers have caught a black hole hurling hot material into space at close to the speed of light. This flare-up was captured in a new movie from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Animation Credits: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Université de Paris/M. Espinasse et al.; Optical/IR:PanSTARRS. The black hole and its companion star make up a system called MAXI J1820+070, located in our Galaxy about 10,000 light years from Earth. The black hole in MAXI J1820+070 has a mass about eight times that of the Sun, identifying it as a so-called stellar-mass black hole, formed by the destruction of a massive star. (This is in contrast to supermassive black holes that contain millions or billions of times the Sun's mass.) The companion star orbiting the black hole has about half the mass of the Sun. The black hole's strong gravity pulls material away from the companion star into an X-ray emitting disk surrounding the black hole. While some of the hot gas in the disk will cross the "event horizon" (the point of no return) and fall into the black hole, some of it is instead blasted away from the black hole in a pair of short beams of material, or jets. These jets are pointed in opposite directions, launched from outside the event horizon along magnetic field lines. The new footage of this black hole's behavior is based on four observations obtained with Chandra in November 2018 and February, May, and June of 2019, and reported in a paper led by Mathilde Espinasse of the Université de Paris. The main panel of the graphic is a large optical and infrared image of the Milky Way galaxy from the PanSTARRS optical telescope in Hawaii, with the location of MAXI J1820+070 above the plane of the galaxy marked by a cross. The inset shows a movie that cycles through the four Chandra observations, where "day 0" corresponds to the first observation on November 13th, 2018, about four months after the jet's launch. MAXI J1820+070 is the bright X-ray source in the middle of the image and sources of X-rays can be seen moving away from the black hole in jets to the north and south. MAXI J1820+070 is a point source of X-rays, although it appears to be larger than a point source because it is much brighter than the jet sources. The southern jet is too faint to be detected in the May and June 2019 observations. Just how fast are the jets of material moving away from the black hole? From Earth's perspective, it looks as if the northern jet is moving at 60% the speed of light, while the southern one is traveling at an impossible-sounding 160% of light speed! This is an example of superluminal motion, a phenomenon that occurs when something travels towards us near the speed of light, along a direction close to our line of sight. This means the object travels almost as quickly towards us as the light it generates, giving the illusion that the jet's motion is more rapid than the speed of light. In the case of MAXI J1820+070, the southern jet is pointing towards us and the northern jet is pointing away from us, so the southern jet appears to be moving faster than the northern one. The actual velocity of the particles in both jets is greater than 80% of the speed of light.

Image Credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss

Only two other examples of such high-speed expulsions have been seen in X-rays from stellar-mass black holes. MAXI J1820+070 has also been observed at radio wavelengths by a team led by Joe Bright from the University of Oxford, who previously reported the detection of superluminal motion of compact sources based on radio data alone that extended from the launch of the jets on July 7, 2018 to the end of 2018. Because the Chandra observations approximately doubled the length of time the jets were followed, a combined analysis of the radio data and the new Chandra data by Espinasse and her team gave more information about the jets. This included evidence that the jets are decelerating as they travel away from the black hole. Most of the energy in the jets is not converted into radiation, but is instead released when particles in the jets interact with surrounding material. These interactions might be the cause of the jets' deceleration. When the jets collide with surrounding material in interstellar space, shock waves — akin to the sonic booms caused by supersonic aircraft — occur. This process generates particle energies that are higher than that of the Large Hadron Collider. The researchers estimate that about 400 million billion pounds of material was blown away from the black hole in these two jets launched in July 2018. This amount of mass is comparable to what could be accumulated on the disk around the black hole in the space of a few hours, and is equivalent to about a thousand Halley's Comets or about 500 million times the mass of the Empire State Building. Studies of MAXI J1820+070 and similar systems promise to teach us more about the jets produced by stellar-mass black holes and how they release their energy once their jets interact with their surroundings.

Chandra X-ray Observatory. Animation Credits: NASA/CXC

Radio observations conducted with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array and the MeerKAT array were also used to study MAXI J1820+070's jets. A paper describing these results is published in the latest edition of The Astrophysical Journal Letters and is available online. The authors of the paper are Mathilde Espinasse and Stéphane Corbel (Université de Paris, Paris, France), Philip Kaaret (University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa), Evangelia Tremou (Université de Paris , Paris, France), Giulia Migliori (Institute of Radio Astronomy of Bologna, Bologna, Italy), Richard M. Plotkin (University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada), Joe Bright (University of Oxford, Oxford, UK), John Tomsick (University of California, Berkeley, California), Anastasios Tzioumis (Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO, Epping, Australia), Rob Fender (University of Oxford, Oxford, UK), Jerome A. Orosz (San Diego State University, San Diego, California), Elena Gallo (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan), Jeroen Homan (Eureka Scientific, Oakland, California), Peter G. Jonker (Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands), James C. A. Miller-Jones (Curtin University, Perth, Australia), David M. Russell (New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE), and Sara Motta (University of Oxford, Oxford, UK). NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge and Burlington, Massachusetts. Read more from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory: https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2020/maxij1820/ For more Chandra images, multimedia and related materials, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/chandra Image (mentioned), Animations (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Lee Mohon/Marshall Space Flight Center/Molly Porter/Chandra X-ray Center/Megan Watzke. Greetings, Orbiter.ch Full article

[cutegirlmayra]

Commission Receipt: SonicFanJ’s Sonic Ring Gate

Commission: Sonic Ring Bond: Sonic and The Bond of The Ring Gates Ch. 1

@sonicfanj​ Commission for Sonic AU Story

Time: about 2 months or so.

Review: @sonicfanj​ : You (Cutegirlmayra) were extremely open and easy to work with, allowing me to form the world the story takes place in as naturally as working with you so that way the story would be cohesive and work. Any time you had questions you had no problem presenting them promptly and concisely so I could answer them just as easily so you could work your magic on the story and it is everything I could hope for as it embraced my versions of the characters and highlighted the titular Ring Bond. I really appreciate the way you worked my AU and have allowed me so many possibilities for endless stories. Thank you so much for all of your hard work on this story!

Paid Amount: 50$ and the overall scale of the story was about 105 pages.

Product Preview: With permission from @sonicfanj​, here is a draft of the product.

Sonic and the Bond of the Ring Gates

By: Cutegirlmayra

For Sonicfanj

There's a faint chill in this wind… One that usually calls to explorers from the east to the west, south to the north, to come and await adventure down these rounded hills sprayed with painted green grass like fine, long hairs protruding from the fertile land. The checkerboard walks of natural browns and tans create trails in this constantly changing world. There are natural ramps like cliffs that slide upwards towards raised platforms of ground, leading to high-standing loop-de-loops and down into tunneled caverns deep. Winding dirt pathways of untold perils and exciting thrills await any young spirit with plenty of moxie and taste for the unknown. With fast velocities, one may even clear a whole new area in a matter of moments. Thus, the straight path connects all, and yet, only the gates allow true explorers to trail-blaze through these natural beauties and wonders. The trees sway endlessly in this paradise, where flowers twirl like windmills, and water sprays up and falls in cascades of sparkling dew from the ocean beneath. There is another beautiful mystery hidden here in this wonderland of sun and spring… powerful energy that appears randomly throughout every zone and act as limitless sources of untapped potential. Glistening in beams of circular gold, and appearing as though light in a matter of seconds, are the unfathomable Rings. Spontaneously igniting into existence like rayed balls of glory, these rings either are created within rows or scattered upon the icy tipped mountains and river valleys with flowers that bloom as though never touched by mortal, gloved hands.

Until today, that is…

The ever-blue sky wanes only slightly as big, fluffy clouds shadow what appears to be a pink hedgehog. This young girl is known to this world as the adventurer Rosy the Rascal and her charming persona as a speed-loving, dare-devil that constantly chases this suddenly brisk wind.

She seems to be enjoying a nap before the wind tickles her hide and sways her quills back with its cold, lingering touch. She ruffles her nose, sneezes, and blinks her eyes open a moment.

Her long lashes seem weighed down before the morning dew lightly falls from them. It dips into the tall grass as she begins to wake from a pleasantly restful slumber.

"H-huh? Did another gate appear?" Her voice is soft but high-pitched, cheery but also slightly bored as she wipes her eyes and yawns, getting up to look around.

"Woah! It's broken off already?" she exclaimed, her mouth growing big in her amazement as she spoke these words to herself. She got up, dusting off her white leotard, and careful to make sure she acquired no grass-stains. She had recently washed the last remaining stains off under the gently flowing waterfalls she had ventured to previously and was silently hoping the pure white of her flexible cloth would remain clean from her last efforts to maintain its pretty, clean color.

"It was so sunny and bright a moment ago… did we drift towards colder climates?" She had hoped to sunbathe long enough to dry herself and her clothes, but it seemed that wasn't going to be the case anymore. Rosy placed a hand over her eyes to block the light sprinkles of rain forming above as whitish-grey clouds began covering more and more of the sky. "Huh… I thought Tails and Zooey would have called to let me know if I was drifting too far while out and about… I wonder…" She pulled out a device to check her location but found a few messages lingering on the light bluish-green screen instead.

"Opps!" she stuck out her tongue, realizing she slept through a constant barrage of messages she had failed to receive while sleeping. "Typical me!" she waved it off with a roll of her wrist. Her graceful side kicked in then and she extended her leg, almost as though enjoying a ballerina's stretch while scolding herself with a playful tease. "I should really keep up with that…"

Before she decided to jump into the stressful messages, she refused to do anything but enjoy waking up and taking in the sights again, especially so soon after waking up. "Don't want to spoil my mood." She chimed and ran to loosen the rest of her tension off. Traveling at a leisurely speed, wanting to warm up after a chilly awakening, she began to read and skim the lines of messages that mostly began with: Where are you? Have you seen Sonic yet? How's the new speed drills coming along? Careful adventuring. Give me a call once in a while!

It was a sweet reminder of how many friends she had made since joining Checkpoint and sharing that infamous Ring Bond with Sonic The Hedgehog.

"W-woah!" she stumbled slightly in her red looped shoes that resembled slippers. The wetted grass began to make her supersonic speed seem relatively faulty. She had wanted to master it better, but with all this sliding, she decided to take it at a slower pace. She puffed up her cheek in annoyance as she stuck to sliding more than running, zig-zagging to remain safe from falling on her face at these speeds. "Ohhhh! One day, I'll learn to make my speed perfect! Just like Sonic's!"

Speaking his name only gave her warmth in her cheeks, and she just had to mention his name aloud again, lifting her head up towards the sprinkling rain skyward. "How does Sonic do it? Is there an ideal terrain for him? Ohh, Sonic~" she daydreamed a moment, remembering him and his aloof attitude, confident smirk, and raised eyebrow at her attempt to embrace her idolized hero.

She placed her wobbling hands that were once balancing her up by her heated cheeks, swooning at the idea of seeing her longtime crush again before suddenly feeling something pound the ground and cause her to pull backwards as though being sucked back. "Ahh!"

Her feet scampered in pigeon-toed shambles as she desperately tried to get a grip on the ground with her heels.

But it was no use…

She dropped on her bottom, the wetness making it uncomfortable as she leaned up and rubbed her behind lightly, looking around in slight pain at her immediate predicament. She was exhausted almost entirely in a matter of seconds, "What's going on..? I was just fine a moment ago…" Judging her knowledge of physics, she wondered why she fell backwards if she was propelling her feet forward at such rapid speeds… Even if she slipped, she should have rolled forward onto her face or hit her chin; she shouldn't have fallen backwards as though being caught up in a tug-o-war.

She looked herself over, but everything seemed fine besides her apparent tiredness. "What was that just now? An earthquake? Oooh… My body aches as though I haven't slept at all! That's no fun." She rubbed her head and then adjusted her three quills that acted like bangs on her forehead carefully back into place. She crawled up to get her arms under herself and tried pushing off the ground again.

She got back up on her feet but the entire mass of land she was scaling suddenly began to crumble and break apart.

She tumbled down again, the earth seeming to get ripped apart and sections of it being thrown as though pulled somewhere into the ocean.

"Wha-ha-ha!" In her dizzy confusion, she was able to grip her fingernails into the rising earth, but it crumbled seconds later and dropped down beneath her. She immediately flailed back, kicking her feet as the ground began to part as though chipping off just in front of her, and the winds gushed water back as though magnetizing the whole of the shifting landmass.

"Is this a seismic anomaly?" Rosy was well aware of her world, which would have new lands shift along the crust and form new adventures for her and her friends to explore. Not only that, but much like the mysterious rings that would randomly form into creation, whole land masses could blip in and out of existence as well. Now she worried the clock was ticking, was this land about to disappear from under her feet? But this wasn't like anything she had experienced before. The land wasn't just moving, and it didn't appear to be colliding with anything either. It certainly wouldn't have waited that long to form into sparkling material that would have been absorbed by the world and used to make more rings and new lands to explore... Would that mean she'd get wet all over again?

The land was being sucked into something… something she couldn't identify quite yet, which made her worry greatly.

Her eyes grew big and glossy with panic, but then… comforting words clung to her heart.

"Just keep your feet on the ground, and you'll accomplish anything." Sonic had spoken these words to her when the ring had jolted her with power during the unique transfer of a Ring Bond. She visualized the spinning balls that lit up around her and Sonic when he shared his incredibly personal speed with her.

She had never felt so close to someone before… his hand opposite of her own upon the ring, and the way their eyes locked onto one another's souls for a moment… as though they both knew this encounter was fate.

"My feet…" she looked at her squabbling body, panicking at the falling earth crumbling around her. She glared in determination and twisted herself around, spinning her feet to match Sonic's figure 8 movement but sadly, she wasn't experienced enough to master some of his techniques just yet. She relied on her expert balance to keep herself somewhat straight and let herself rip forward and dash in a blink of an eye. The earth began to decay almost instantly behind her wake, more and more of its once glorious landscape now being torn asunder and thrust back in an arched fall to the ocean below.

She wasn't fast enough to create a sonic boom, but by collecting enough rings to propel herself forward, she was able to gain just enough power to make a diving jump across the other side. Speeding with reckless abandonment towards the ocean, she took one final glance behind her to see the whole of the land crumble and spiral down towards something unknown to her.

Having jumped in the air, she was still full of momentum and spun slightly as she glided through the raging storm. For a brief moment, she thought she saw something black swallowing the land from below the surface of the water… But she couldn't be certain.

"What is that thing..?" She lightly breathed out, before looking to see she was heading straight into the rushing water of an enraged sea. "Oh no! Heeellppp!" Her eyes finally released the fearful tears she had held back for so long, knowing she was stuck in the air like a flightless pebble about to crash and drown in a continuous, hazardous sea.

How many times had she looked upon the ocean with appreciation and delight? Only to now be deathly afraid of its rapid waters dragging her into the unknown vortex and sucking her down into the depths of its black hole?

Her angle was leading her straight into the harsh flow of tide where the land had been whisked away and disappeared below. Did the darkness expand? Was it sucking the ocean just as it did the land she was once resting peacefully on? Before she felt herself loosing all hope, she gripped her hands together over the communication device. "S-Sonic… Tails… Anybody-!"

Suddenly, something golden and shiny spun itself open into a ring of brilliantly shining light.

"Rooosssy!" A familiar voice tore her from her horror as she looked to see her loving fox friend fly out of the Ring Gate. With his hands outstretched, he expertly grabbed her and aerially maneuvered himself from crashing into the ocean with her.

The water barely skimmed his fur as he pulled up from the dive, "Got'cha!" he rejoiced, flying up into the air and trying to dodge the cold winds blowing him back down. "It's like it's sucking me in too!" Tails gritted his teeth, holding Rosy close before the winds knocked him back and he had to extend his reach on her.

The dragging force was enough to make his twirling tails feel like they were being pulled from Tails, and he had to keep twirling them or they'd surely be sucked into the whirlpool forming below.

His arms dangled as he struggled to keep his head up, fighting the dragging winds that threatened to pull them into the twisting blackness under the sea…

"Tails!" Rosy shouted out, "What's going on!?" She clung to him as best she could, but his grip weakened and she slipped. Instinctively, she grabbed his hands, and he nervously looked down to her, his eyes squinting at the strain this was taking on his small body.

"Didn't you get our messages?! Zooey said-!" Before he could finish, he noticed the rings that randomly formed where there should have been land. But since there wasn't anything left, they drifted through the air before falling into the pull of the strange, monstrous entity. Then something strange happened…

The closer they got to the mysterious darkness, the duller their gleaming, astronomical shine became. The substance looked as though trapping them in like distant sparkling stars being coated in its sinister hue. The radiant rings, even in all their brightness, were like speckled lights being dipped in its murkiness. And then… The rings blipped out of existence into the darkness, imploding in on themselves like rays in a black hole.

"The rings…" Rosy looked horrified as Tails continued to struggle in the air like a leaf hanging on desperately to a branch during a hurricane.

His body swayed left and right vigorously, "I…Grr, can't fight for… Raah-! Much longer..!" his grunts and strains led Rosy to assume he wouldn't be able to hold onto her much longer either. It wouldn't be long now till the inevitable happened, and they too would be turned into lights flickering out of all known existence in that swallowing dark galaxy below.

He tried to pull Amy up more towards him, but failed twice and was thrust down two steps closer to their demise.

He looked behind him, breathing heavily as he felt like something was about to rip his twin tails off from the powerful force dragging him towards the endless spinning cycle of oblivion. "It's not fading away at all!" Tails cried out, as though thinking it might just blip away like much of the world's energy when it's expended. This seemed to be otherworldly…

"Tails…" Rosy softly let out, turning to her long time friend as one of his hands slipped and now, only a mere set of hands held the two together from certain destruction. Worried once again for her life and her friend, she desperately wanted to cling onto the hopeful belief that Tails's strength would be enough to save them both. "Don't give up, Tails!" She called out, "Tap into Sonic's power! Remember, he called you a hero too!"

Tails squinted his eyes shut, remembering that heroic day he had fought all alone using Sonic's powers to defeat the sky pirates, Battle Kukku's armada, and the praise he received from him and the others at Checkpoint.

"I… I can't use it for this." He admitted, feeling the hopelessness restricting him. "I don't have any ground under my feet!" He appeared to have heard Sonic's advice similarly to how Rosy remembered it too.

"Then spin dash, Tails!" she reached into her quills and threw out a ring, storing items there as most hedgehogs store their things within their hair. It rapidly was pulled back in the whiplash, however, and they shot back with it. "Y'ahh!" she flailed a moment, but Tails—even in his terror of losing his grip and his friend—held on with pain-staking conviction. Though, momentarily fearing the worst, he was able to fly back and grab her and twist themselves back towards the falling Ring Gate. "Spin, Tails! Like your life depends on it!"

He felt the rain sprinkle against his eyes and fur, and with every amount of strength left in his being, he let Rosy fall to his tails. He grabbed her as she screamed a moment spun himself to give some power to his throw, tossing her towards the opening portal. She flung into the portal, reaching back for him, "Tails, nooo!"

Successfully, he had shot her through. He began to be thrown backwards towards the dark, spiraling abyss. Tumbling, he unclenched his jaw to see the terrible tornado of water forming beneath the ocean's surface like a cork being unplugged in a bathtub. The water rippled upwards as though imploding on itself, creating a funnel that sucked everything inside itself… only to disappear into nothingness. Fighting through the panic, Tails whipped himself into a tight ball as his twin tails hurled around his body. He was still falling back, the Ring Gate opened in front of him like a giant's mouth encasing him, also being sucked down and flopping forward towards the entrance of the strange fountain-top effect the water and substance had created.

Falling into the figurative 'eye of the storm' Tails finally released himself like a sling-shot into the ring gate, yo-yoing a moment as the vortex tried to suck them both back out of the Ring Gate. But the Ring Gate began to wane and soon… shut in a ball of light as Tails and Amy landed to the ground, exhausted and spent, and feeling their power almost ripped out of them for some odd reason…

"What... ha… ha… was that?" Rosy struggled to get her strength back, even enough so to get up and loop an arm around her best friend. She flopped over on his body, simply thankful she had not lost her trusted companion. "Also… Don't scare me… ha, ha… like that again." Rosy fell back to the ground and panted, "I thought you… ha… ha… sacrifice yourself for me… hah… hah…" Her eyelids drooped up and down with her breathing, but she was just so glad to have Tails on the other side of the Ring Gate, not knowing what had happened to it.

Tails, forcing one eye open, also gasped in what looked like determination to explain things. He laid on his stomach as Rosy flopped onto his back, "I … hah, went to investigate… Hah, a reading that Zooey and I found… The X-Tornado," he licked his lips, feeling his mouth dry for some reason now. "C-couldn't handle winds with these speeds… hah, hah, ahh… and you weren't answering." He pushed himself up, at last, and let her slip off of him.

He turned to look at her as her stomach bounced up and down in her breathing, her mouth open wide and her head fully drawn back to let in as much open air as possible.

Patting her with his tails lightly, he smiled fondly to her, "Anyways… Long time-," He wiped his mouth with his arm, "No see, Rosy." He seemed relieved to know she was safe now too.

"Readings..?" She looked up through the gaps in his rising and falling tails. They had been teleported to another bright and sunny land, but for how long would it remain this way?

Sensing Rosy was going to panic again, Tails tried to help keep her calm and wiggled the tip of his tail towards her nose. He chuckled as she giggled at the tickling touch, "Hahah! Stop it~" she cutely squealed in delight, covering her face and rolling over, kicking out her legs.

"Sweet as usual." Tails complimented, finally having some air back in his lungs. "You gave us all quite a scare… I'm glad I left when I did. Zooey had trouble pin-pointing your location… We almost didn't know if the Ring Gate was going to appear where it needed to in time."

"I thought… Whew," Rosy got up, but felt a little light-headed when she did so, gripping her head a second to regain herself. "That Ring power couldn't pin-point precisely?"

"We're working on figuring more stuff out. Time will tell." He shook himself free of the water residue and sighed, "That was technically a prototype."

"What!?" Amazed she was saved by happen-stance, Rosy got up and left her mouth wide-open in front of Tails.

He smiled kindly to her and nodded, "Don't worry, I would have risked everything to make sure you were okay."

She closed her mouth as it trembled, tears still forming on the sides of her eyes. "T-Tai-Tails…" She was overwhelmed by his friendship and jumped to embrace him. "You're the best!"

"Haha! H-hey, you are too." He patted her head, a little awkwardly, before helping her to move off of him. "We should report back to Zooey. She must be furious with us…"

"Oh yeah… I was supposed to be gathering data for her on the new land created but…" Rosy cut herself off.

They both turned to look at where the Ring Gate had once hovered… saving their lives.

"…Do you think Sonic and Mighty are okay?" she tilted her head towards Tails, letting her head rest slightly on his shoulder.

Like a doting brother, he leaned his own head against hers, looking quite unsure. "They'll be okay. They're more experienced at this than we are… I'm sure we'll find them soon."

The day had only just begun…

-Around the same time, but on another continent of Sonic's World-

Sonic trail-blazed through the sunny, fertile lands with a relatively relaxed sense of adventure. The beautiful, nature-filled wonders of his broken world were enough to satisfy the legendary hedgehog's need for change, excitement, and awe. The rings he gathered helped fuel him forward as his touch would have them transform into balls of light that he'd absorb to keep him running for so long. Nothing meant more to Sonic then racing freely across these dew-sprinkled meadows and spinning through the forest littered with old Eggman traps he loved to explode.

One after another, explosions skyrocketed into the air, sending Sonic into a zigzagging escape. Finally, the proclaimed hero stopped quite a distance away on some far-off hill to look back over his shoulder and tip his toe up at his accomplishment.

It was a life, one he made on his own, and would protect no matter what.

He felt cocky, rubbing a finger under his nose in his glee before gasping at a piece of the forest suddenly lighting on fire from the aftermath. Usually, his turbulence was enough to lash the flames out behind him, putting all threats to the environment out of Sonic's mind. With such great winds whipping behind Sonic, he could easily enjoy himself taking out Eggman's leftover scrap metal or traps without a worry or care in the world. But now the explosions were threatening what Sonic loved to protect the most, the natural plant life suddenly was engulfed in the blast he must have missed. "Not on my watch." He frowned deeply, narrowing his eyes as he bent himself down, bringing a fist up by the side of his cheek as he burst back through the forest. This time, the wake of his wind was physically manifested as though an arrowed, rippling wave of winds and a sonic boom that pushed the forest back and broke the flames from devouring their innocent and beautiful victims.

Sonic skidded to a halt and turned to look back, seeing a small piece of flame still lingering,… he walked over and scuffed it out with his foot, kicking some dirt over the burn it left behind and nodding with a smile.

He also looked over in pity for a flower that's stem had wilted slightly under the heated pressure, and tenderly used his fingers to rub the stem upright again, before sticking a twig next to it, helping it remain upright by tying the two together with some knots made of grass blades.

The flower's petals seemed to almost twirl a notch as though saying thank you with a wave.

He lovingly placed a finger on one of the rectangular petals, decorated as though sketched with a pencil, and then flicked it to start spinning again.

Once it did, he nodded at a job well down and dusted off his hands. Whik Whik Whik.

"That should do it." He smirked, "Now… Why would Eggman leave random traps for adventures to fall into? What is that mad mind thinking?" He put a hand to his chin and pouted, "I better warn Checkpoint about this… huh?"

He blinked as he heard a Ring Gate spinning open behind him.

He turned as though prepared for whatever may come, but his face showed of innocent curiosity.

"And you're sure he's pinpointed here this time?" A familiar sound, before Mighty the Armadillo stepped out of the ring and grinned to Sonic. "Speak of-! So it is!" he hopped a little to get his last foot out of the portal, a funny little gesture before the ring closed and he stood in front of Sonic.

"Long time no see." He greeted, extended his hand.

Sonic smirked too, extending his hand.

However, as Mighty went to reach for it, Sonic swiped it back, "Ha! Don't think I'll fall for that again!"

"W-what again?" Mighty made a slight sneer, not liking how rude Sonic was being all of a sudden.

"Last time we shook hands, you nearly crushed me! This time, I'll just pat your back." He winked and stood closer, patting his back in his goofy way.

Mighty sighed, "And I see you've been occupied by dangers, again." Mighty looked at the burnt forest, but Sonic just waved it off, removing his arm from around Mighty's shoulder in brotherly salutations.

"Ah, pay no mind to that. Eggman's still out there, you know." He began to walk off, but Mighty held out a hand to him.

"Hang on, Sonic! I've got some news to tell ya!"

"Aren't you usually the one who disappears and bathes in nature?" Sonic shrugged, not sure why he was so persistent in him hanging around. He raised an eyebrow, "What's got you so jumpy all of a sudden?" He was used to Mighty being rather relaxed and polite, this was a new side of him… He wasn't a big fan of 'worrying expressions'.

"It's forest-bathing!" Mighty argued, "And I love nature just as much as you do! But this is a crisis!"

Sonic folded his arms and pivoted slightly back to Mighty, "Well, get on with it. I don't like dilly-dallying."

Mighty took a breath in to relax himself, "Well, I don't like being pushed either…" He continued after relaxing his nerves a moment. He gestured out a hand to Sonic, "Have you heard about Zooey's readings lately?"

Sonic remained cool, as usual. "I don't really call in very much." He admitted, nonchalantly.

"That's not good." Mighty shook his head, then looked up back at Sonic. "Cause neither had I."

Sonic put a finger in his ear, itching around it and looking disinterested in the small talk.

"As you may be aware, the Ring Bond we made is still active. So I-"

Sonic turned his head and stuck a hand out, "If all this is going to be about things I don't want to hear then-"

"Dang it, Sonic! Let me get my message across!" Mighty stomped forward, asserting himself as Sonic pouted his lips and looked at him as though his intimidation had little to no effect on him.

"Then skip the theatrics and get on with it. Is everyone okay?" Now Sonic's smart-alecky, punk attitude changed as he straightened himself up, creating a neutral ground with him and Mighty as he was curious as to what was riling the young armadillo up.

Mighty spoke about the large islands getting blown up out of the sea, throwing the world's shifting plates out of proportion, and splitting everything up into pieces that eventually were swallowed by some dark mass got Sonic's attention real quick.

"-And so Zooey has instructed me that Tails was sent to learn more, but he hasn't gotten back yet… I was then sent to find him, but you know how unpredictable Ring Gates are. They ended up sending me to you, instead of Tails." He sighed again, putting his hands to his hip and shaking his head, looking a little upset by the turn of events. "I accepted it as soon as I saw you, but now I'm really worried… Where could he be? Why didn't he report in?"

Sonic thought a moment. Though he didn't want to admit it, he was a tad bit concerned too. He knew he had shared a Ring Bond with Tails before, so he hoped that was enough to keep him situated. But what if his power really didn't wane after awhile? Was everyone running around with his speed and unique skills?!

He didn't want to think about it, looking down and surmising the idea of denying the need to ever mention it again.

"We've had some good times together, Mighty… you may be unaware of this, too… but Tails has my spin-dash ability. He should be able to handle himself." He gave a masking thumbs-up, "Besides, he's usually off with that Rosy girl. She's tough too. Oughta be, if she wants to stay an adventurer." He relaxed a little bit too, trying to not let Mighty's nerves affect his usually chill ones too.

"Oh, that's a good point! Rosy's not reporting in either!" Mighty's anxiety seemed to spike just then. "I'm worried about them. They're kinda young for this exploring stuff."

"Old enough to joke about old times with though." Sonic was trying to not show how fidgety he had become. He didn't like hanging around for so long, even if it was good company… but it was more than that.

Tails? Rosy? They were both missing? It wasn't unusual for a pair of explorers to get lost and find their way back through a wild Ring Gate,… but with what Sonic just heard about the anomalies…

He couldn't help but get antsy in his feet.

"I haven't seen them since the Ring Bond…" He admitted, biting down on the word as he really didn't want to talk about it.

"What? Rosy got a Ring Bond with you too!?" Amazed, Mighty ducked his head down to try and look at Sonic's expression. "I assumed... S-since she was a hedgehog..."

Sweat dripped slightly down the side of Sonic's face, feeling awkwardly scrutinized for what he felt was no reason.

He put a hand out in front of himself and turned more to the side, frowning. "Nosy much? You'll duel my own nose at this rate!" he joked, but was slightly annoyed by all the foul news. "Besides, you should have recognized my own power in her by now." He tried to change the subject, but couldn't think of anything to say, so just kept looking away, "Makes you sound a bit oblivious, pal."

"Hmmm... I vaguely recall..." Mighty looked away, a bit shaken by what Sonic implied but realized he probably just didn't think much of it. "Well, anyway, at least I know they have something to protect themselves... If Rosy and Tails are out there… with all this havoc going on…" Mighty looked down, gritting his teeth. "Even Knuckles is MIA…"

"Knuckles, too?" Now Sonic fully engaged himself in the conversation, walking more over to his side, "You mean… He's not on Angel Island?"

"No one's been able to successfully make a Ring Gate appear at Angel Island! We don't even know if it's hovering around anymore." Mighty tensed up, but Sonic placed a hand on his shoulder.

The two looked at one another, a moment of understanding, and immediately, Sonic calmed Mighty down.

"We'll find them." He stated firmly, like the natural born hero he was. He looked out towards the land he had momentarily been cruising on. "What was Tails's last location? And Rosy's?"

"That's the thing… Where Rosy was… and where Tails was sent too… it doesn't exist anymore." Mighty's face shifted to grief, and that's when Sonic's eyes grew a bit wider.

"They'll make it."

Mighty's head shot up and turned to Sonic.

"…Tails is pretty smart, he wouldn't let himself get caught up in all that." Sonic's face seemed hidden by a sudden shadow that came from a fluffy cloud above. The winds were changing… blowing a little more chiller than before against Sonic's and Mighty's face.

"And you know that rascal," Sonic spun around with a confident smirk on his face, not letting fear dictate his path. "She'll never change." He winked and gave his friend a thumbs up. "It's a new adventure! Let's find our pals!"

"Y-yeah!" Getting pumped from Sonic's contagious and hopeful spirit, he went to give him a fist pump but knocked Sonic back as he skidded against the forest floor.

It was quite comical because Sonic's face shifted from the brave, inspiring, and heroic friend to the now wide-eyed, naïve and confused look of someone who's been punched several feet to the side.

"Sorry!" Mighty cried out, "I can't always control my strength!"

"Darn, Mighty…" Sonic rubbed his shoulder, looking a bit hurt from that but smiling nevertheless. "How many boulders do you lift a day?"

Mighty snickered at the joke before slyly opening one eye to tease him right back, "You mean break in half?"

The two laugh a moment, mostly to take the edge off their clearly concerned feelings towards their lost friends.

After a moment, Mighty looks to the flower that Sonic helped upright and kneels down by it, also placing a hand out to feel the light wind it carried from its gentle twirling.

"… Still… I'm worried about them. I can't help it." His eyes drooped a little as Sonic rotated his shoulder a bit to get the pain out. He stopped just behind his friend, also watching the flower.

"They've proven to be strong, Mighty. Without any of ours, or Checkpoint's, support." Sonic tried to remain optimistic but also level-headed; he didn't want to see Mighty so downhearted.

"I know that." Mighty sighed out, letting his hand drop to the ground as he rubbed the light vegetation it had springing out from it. "But support is always nice to keep around."

Sonic scratched his head a moment, thinking back to his many adventures with the two…

Although he had barely known them, they were close to his heart. He just didn't like admitting it or openly talking about it.

Patting the air comfortingly, he decided to opt for comedy again. "Come on, Mighty. You're being too serious! Let's just go already and find them! I bet they're just playing around like usual. Maybe even taking out some baddies while they're at!" He tried to show they didn't need to worry so much about the unknown, but Mighty still seemed to be in deep thought.

"Inevitably… we may run into that mysterious vortex… or they may have already!" He shook his fist and looked at it, growing angry. "If anything happened to them-! I would blame myself." He closed his eyes. "I'm a lot stronger than they are… if I can't protect them, I'll never forgive myself."

"…You care very deeply about your friends and this world, Mighty… but don't forget!" Sonic sped up to stand behind the flower, making sure Mighty saw him too. "I do, too!" He pointed a thumb back at himself and grinned charismatically. "If I offer you my hand, will you not crush it?" He offered the hand again to him.

Mighty's eyes softened before he nodded fiercely, turning his eyes into a tough devotion and determination to find them all safe and sound.

He placed his hand carefully into Sonic's and Sonic helped him up to his feet.

The flower lightly blew in the wind between them…

"I know you don't like hearing it, Sonic… But being with you again… I feel your powers still resonating in me. We're still not sure how this all works, but I feel your nature and the things you stand for help trigger it."

Sonic rolled his eyes, frowning, and choosing not to respond to that.

They took off, racing through the land before a powerful force trips Sonic backwards, his rings suddenly flying out like balls of light and turning into their proper forms again.

"Whaa! What happened?!" Mighty called out, still holding Sonic's hand before reaching up for the rings. If he let go, he knew Sonic would take off without him, besides, Sonic was the quickest way to finding anyone! With that speed, where could he not go to look?

The ring he reached for tilted and flew off as the winds began to grow stronger.

Sonic, amazed a moment that he just lost all his rings, looked out into the meadow beyond, and put a hand up to look further out into the distance.

Dark storm clouds…

Cold winds…

Raging waves splashing high up from way into the distance where the land ended…

"It's like they're being drawn somewhere…" Mighty mentioned, not noticing what Sonic was looking at, and watching the rings fly off. He moved his head in their direction, watching before gasping at the scene Sonic was studying.

"I haven't seen nature move this fast before…" Sonic gritted his teeth, "Everything is magnetizing into that one central location… Is it Eggman?"

"I-I don't think so." Mighty stepped forward, letting Sonic's hand go as a Ring formed between them and they quickly caught it.

Looking to one another, Mighty reached out and grabbed another Ring, the sky being full of them flying off towards the direction beyond.

They tapped the rings to create the balls of light that had once made their Ring Bond, but this time, it simply connected them to each other.

"Just in case…" Mighty warned, and with a warrior's spirit, gave Sonic one final look.

Sonic agreed with a nod, but turned his frown towards the ring…

He didn't like sharing so much… but he figured, for now, he needed to get used to it.

Mighty held a device up to his mouth, "Checkpoint? Yeah… It's Mighty, Zooey… I know Tails advised against this, but… Send in the Biplane. I'm requesting the X-Tornado."

"Oh no! Don't think you're leaving me out of this! Oh… O-Oh dear, I hope that wasn't super pushy or rude…" Zooey's voice came through the mic, and both Sonic and Mighty smiled nervously to her contradicting nature. "B-but I'm going to pick you up, anyways!"

Sonic looked to Mighty, "Kinda persistent on joining the cause, eh?"

"She's been itching to get out here ever since Tails disappeared…" He hinted at, but Sonic didn't seem to understand the implied meaning. He turned his head, unsure what Mighty was getting at.

"And?"

Mighty just sighed again, not sure how to explain it to Sonic. "She misses everyone."

"A worry-wart too, huh?" Sonic kid and nudged Mighty, who smiled compassionately back towards him.

"Just be safe, Zooey. We'll wait for you to pick us up here."

"Roger that! I'll be right there! Ohh… Come on, Ring Gate! Work for me, you can't be 50-50 all the time!" the mic shut off as the two boys had sweat drop awkwardly from the sides of their faces.

"Whelp, it's a real rescue mission, now." Mighty put the device away after sending her their location, but Sonic shook his head.

"It's not a rescue team if there's no one to rescue." He leaned a bit forward, as though implying that Rosy and Tails may just be fine.

Mighty straightened up his back, then turned back to the storm clouds ahead. "Yeah… Maybe."

The ground shook suddenly and the two tried to keep their balance, the Ring Bond between them holding them stable as Sonic looked to see the ground start breaking off and being hurled down beyond the horizon.

'The Sea..?' he thought to himself. "Mighty, I think you better tell me everything about Zooey and Tails's research into this thing!" his voice's tone blared his urgency.

"R-right! Not much is known about it, it's like a black hole but it's not!"

"Not?"

The ground began to tremor even more violently, and the two reached down to grip it, bending to a knee.

The vibrations traveled all throughout their body, and finally, Mighty had just enough sense to continue.

"According to Zooey's theory… it may be the opposite of a Ring Gate!"

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Sonic, fighting the effects of the aftershock, still couldn't quite get a hold of himself.

"It means-!" Mighty looked to see the crumbling earth getting closer to them. "Run!" he yanked the ring in his hand back, sending the force down through the floating line of lights before pulling Sonic up and to his feet, tossing him to land.

When he did so, he reeled his legs into a figure-8 and dashed as soon as his feet—like spinning tires—hit the ground.

They raced away from the pulling effects… but Sonic's feet soon were back in the air, and the two hovered suspended till the force of the winds tried to suck them towards the falling earth.

"Ahhh!"

Bursting into existence, a bright circle looped out into space as a star-shaped x-tornado jetted into Sonic and Mighty's way. "Hold on!" A voice called out as it spun itself to avoid collision and turned swiftly, with great precision, to catch Mighty and Sonic as they were flown back.

"Offph!" the two slammed into one of the star-point wings.

Gripping on, they smiled as they saw Zooey through the slightly tinted plane's cockpit, winking to them cheerily. "I hate missing a cue!"

"That was fast, and that's saying something coming from me," Sonic smirked before looking back down as the plane arched its turn to get out of the suction itself.

"I took a chance getting here. It really wasn't easy, but I figured I had to act fast. Besides, Tails and I were already making a backup plan to find Sonic if all went south." Suddenly, the wind pushed the X-Tornado back. "Ah!" Zooey reflexed and groped for the turbo-engines, but she was now pinned back by the G-force.

Mighty and Sonic couldn't move either, getting pressed against the wing, they grunted out sounds of discomfort as they were also being squished.

She squinted an eye open and tried to take stunted breaths, then gathering all her strength to grip the horizontal 'T' shaped stick and pulled it out.

The engines roared as power began to be stored directly into their dual-units.

Shakily placing her other hand on the one gripping the lever, she pushed it back with all her might, "I won't… give uuuupp!"

Her cry went well with the sudden explosion that skyrocketed the X-Tornado out from being wobbly sucked into the dark vortex, and the three managed to break from its pull and fly high into the atmosphere.

Zooey wasn't one for strength, however, and as Mighty and Sonic began to lose their grip in their exhaustion as well… she slumped back in her chair.

The Plane began to slowly glide into a dive… before a signal caught it and began to auto-pilot the plane towards a new Ring Gate.

The plane's main computer showed: NEW PILOT ACTIVATED. DIRECTIVE – ANGEL ISLAND.

-Back with Tails and Rosy-

"Just don't look down!" Tails gripped the side of what looked to be an island's remains as the rest of the neighboring land was completely enveloped into the black ocean…

Rosy peeked from having her arms tightly secured around the pointed cliff pillar, looking back towards the sea. "What is that? Why would it destroy such beautiful islands?"

"I don't know… but look!" Tails pointed and the winds began to blow gentler. "It's like it's charging up… That seems almost-" His eyes scanned the skies before an epiphany hit him. "Like a machine!" he dove down towards the sea, scaling just inches above the cliff they were previously holding onto.

"Tails! W-wait for me!" Unable to get her footing right, Rosy stumbled a bit and looked down in a bit of fright at the towering height of where she was standing… face-up, hugging a cliff's peak. "Ohhh… Just my luck. Every time something cool is happening, I'm always in the rut of things… TAAAILLLSS!" she cried out again as Tails finally spun up and gave her a slight pout.

"If you keep complaining all the time, Sonic will never see you as a true adventurer." He scolded, waiting for her to figure out her own way down.

"Oh! How rude!" Rosy stuck out her tongue at him. "Besides, it's not like all of us have genetically awesome tails!"

"Nope! That's just my luck!" He winked in a bit of a gloat, mimicking Sonic by rubbing his pointer finger underneath his nose and turning his head away and up high. After his kid, he offered her his hands, "Come on, then. I'll help you down. Don't let go, okay?"

"Em-hmm. Thank you." Rosy, happy he wasn't really going to strand her there, jumped into his arms as he gently hovered down again to the water's surface.

"Woah…" Rosy looked to see the sea seemed bottomless now… "Did it… swallow the land below the sea too?"

"It looks like it ate everything, even below sea-level." Tails confirmed, also trying to see through the murkiness of the deep blue. But as he got too close, Amy's nose dipped into the water and she flailed.

"Oh! Sorry about that!" Tails pulled up instantly, but Rosy gave him a grumpy glare, her white leotard dripping with cold water.

"Are you sure it's wise to go straight to its epicenter?" Rosy questioned as he finally made his way to where the soft swirling tide began to shift on towards the next land in its path. The suction wasn't as strong anymore, and it did seem to be floating on…

"Hmm… Ah! Do you see that! Swirling in the mist there!" Tails saw a glimmer of hollow blackness like a hoop turning on an axis. "It's spinning so fast… but I can see it kinda looping into an oval and reverting back to a circle… Like a-!"

The two immediately shouted out together, "Ring!", "Ring?" Rosy tilted her head.

"But I've only heard of gold rings." Rosy admitted, "Then, of course, that Dark Ring Eggman tried to make."

"Of course!" Tails exclaimed, lifting Rosy and himself higher above the device. "It failed!"

"Well, yeah. But what does that have to do with it?" Rosy didn't like being kept out of his head, so she waited a bit more patiently to hear what else he was thinking of. "A ring for your thoughts, Tails? I wouldn't mind being in the know too, okay?" she innocently asked, but seemed to be suffering in annoyance, and Tails could certainly hear it in her undertone.

He sighed, "Sorry, what I mean is… I think Eggman's failed experiment might have been tossed aside but is now functioning in a new capacity… aside from Eggman's original influence…"

"But how does that make it able to make islands completely vanish?" Rosy lifted her arms up and wide, showing the magnitude of its new power.

"Hmm… Maybe… The Dark Ring was meant to be a foil to the Rings connection with the Master Emerald, which gives unlimited power to whoever has the bond with it… right?" Tails was piecing things together while also carefully studying the moving sea below him. He wanted to be safe and careful, but all he could see was his own reflections and Rosy's… The black ring must have moved on. "I'm wondering if this thing creates anti-matter…"

"You can't create what's there," Rosy argued, blinking up to him with a bit of a child's furrow, as though wanting to understand but finding some holes in his thinking.

"Em-hmm. Good point." Tails nodded, "So maybe it destroys matter already existent, leaving nothing but a void behind…"

"But wouldn't that mean it's destroying the sea continuously?"

"Not continuously, no." Tails flew a bit more after it, not wanting to lose sight of it. If he could track it, then they might have a way to study it and turn the strange device off. "You can't spontaneously create matter, but you might be able to randomly destroy it. I have a theory, it's a bit of a long-shot, but it might be slowly destroying the sea… but the molecules would take forever… that's why the wind and everything rushes so fast… it even destroys the atmosphere around it."

"But what about the storm clouds?"

"Ring energy is still a big mystery, maybe… Maybe this whole planet has secrets to its life force, and this thing is tapping directly into it and killing it as fast as it can… though this world has so much in it, its probably unable to take it down in one big gulp." Tails gulped then, fearing his own words. "That means we have some time but… the more we hesitate, the worst things get. And you can't bring matter from nothingness…"

"T-Tails…"

Tails could feel Rosy shivering slightly in his arms, and quickly fumbled to try and make the situation less dire. He had been careful in watching the experimental Dark Ring's movements, but unwisely inconsiderate of how desperately serious his words were… he had frightened her and left her without hope to return the world the way it used to be. "D-don't worry, Rosy! I-I-I have another theory that could help, too!"

Rosy sweetly turned her head back to him, her eyes shining with a will to find hope, even in this dark realization…

Tails felt the weight of that stare on him… and even if he wasn't sure this was accurate, took a deep breath and gave her a stern look of faith. "The Master Emerald… it's the source of power and Chaos energy in this world. If Sonic is the only one with a Ring Bond to it… he may be able to cast limitless stocks of energy into the world. He could save it, canceling out the effects of the Dark Ring if we could just figure out how to stop it… otherwise… it may be an endless yin vs. yang…" Tails looked a bit worried again, but Rosy had enough to believe in now.

He looked on, not daring to look back and feel disappointed in himself if he failed to spark some light of hope in her. But without realizing it, he had given her just enough to remain cheery and optimistic.

"Yeah! The answer is Sonic and his amazing Ring Bonds!" Rosy bundled up her fists and looked encouragingly towards the horizon of Angel Island. "Ah! That's Knuckles's island!" She exclaimed, "It's heading there already!?"

"What?" Tails squinted his eyes to try and see that far. "How can you see that? It can't be Angel Island."

"It's an island and it's floating, give me that much." Rosy folded her arms, muttering coldly as she didn't like the fact that Tails kept doubting her at times. In fact, all the boys tended to contradict her, but she knew what she meant and what she meant to do!

"We've got to warn the others! Maybe Checkpoint can help!" She pulled out a ring and tossed it in the air, "Come on! Help has to-!" immediately, the X-Tornado drifted through the ring at high speeds and arrowed itself into the sea…

After a moment of shock from Rosy and Tails's end, the X-Tornado lifted up and floated in a soft drift towards the island…

The main dashboard read: OBJECTIVE ACHIEVED. LOCATED IDENTITY: TAILS. PILOT: ZOOEY'S DIRECT PRIORITY SUCCESSFUL. RELOCATING… RELOCATING… NEW OBJECTIVE: SAFE BASE LOCATION. CLOSEST LANDMASS: ANGEL ISLAND.

It's thrusters suddenly engaged and it's nose shot up as it was blown through the water towards the island.

"Waahhh!" Rosy and Tails quickly flew away from the gushing water and followed the plane. "Wait! Stop! Come back!" they hollered after it.

"Is that..?" Rosy's eyes suddenly shook as she saw Sonic and Mighty drifting up from the sea, unconscious. "Tails! Stop! Turn back!"

"But my plane…" Tails whined, not wanting to abandon it but then feeling Rosy's hands grab at his face to turn his gaze back towards their floating friends. "Ah! Sonic! And Mighty too!? Then… Who's flying the plane?!"

"No time for that!" Rosy kicked and was immediately released from Tails's grasp.

"No! Rosy!" he watched her crash into the water, quite a drop but she broke half the fall by using a wobbly Sonic Spin-dash and skidded across the ocean's surface like a thrown flat stone.

The water was dragging Sonic and Mighty's bodies gently towards the Dark Ring, and with great effort, she treaded the water to reach them.

She spat out the salty water and grabbed both Mighty and Sonic, flipping them over her shoulders to give them something to float onto. "They won't wake up!" She cried out to Tails, who hurriedly scooped Sonic up from the water, then turned back to Rosy, "I can't hold more than one…"

"The island is still so far away…" She looked back at the long stretch of sea and the tedious riptide the failed Dark Ring had created. "…Hmph!" Puffing up a side of her cheek, she made her decision and wasn't going to back down from it.

She gripped Mighty's arms around her neck and began to swim.

"R-Rosy..? What are you doing?" Tails asked, still holding a limp Sonic down in his grasp, like a bee trying to carry a grape.

He followed after her, watching her spit out water some more and continue to fight the pull. She didn't answer him, and that's when he realized what impossible feat she was trying to do.

"You can't be serious!" he called out, but no answer. He flew down beside her, "Rosy, even with Sonic's super speed, you can't move that well with it, and especially in water… It makes his speed sluggish and only wears you out. I'm sure we'll find a different solution…" Tails waned in his words, realizing that this was probably the only thing they could do at this point. He couldn't carry more than one at a time, and by the time he reached Angel Island and back, Rosy and Mighty could be pulled into the mutated, defective Dark Ring and gone forever.

Again, with silent resolve, Rosy kicked her feet into a spinning figure-eight, not backing down in her convictions even for one second.

'Sonic always taught us, as long as you have ground under your feet, you can run!' she thought to herself, her vision going blurry as she tried to steady her movements. The ocean was freezing, and even with her boundless energy, her body couldn't quite keep up with her spirited moxie. She was moving in an 'S' formation, making it hard to steer her fast-moving feet accurately within the sea. Mighty's body was now held by one of her arms, and in order to keep him upright, she had to push herself down in contrast.

Her legs were up and down, unable to get enough lift to speed off like a motorboat, which is what she wanted… but also not enough to keep her upright and not drown in trying to keep Mighty afloat.

"Rosy…" Tails watched on in brotherly concern. "You can do it, Rosy! Fight on!" he cheered, realizing that was the only thing he could do at this point.

Rosy got her first real gasp for air and then fell straight back under the waves. She could feel the pull from the Dark Ring's vortex, but at least it wasn't as strong as when it was full on devouring a shifting island!

'I don't have ground under me… but I sure do have something else!' She felt her lungs squeeze in need of another breath… But she held it in, closing her eyes and trying to get her feet to propel her out of the sea… She pictured it, skating across the sea! If she just…

'I have…An unshakable will!'

In Tails's hands, Sonic's heart—his core—began to slightly radiate with ring energy. In Rosy's core and heart, his ring energy transferred through glowing lights all throughout her body. Like a bubbling of fizzy soda, they soared through her and her legs began to move more accordingly with the rest of her body. No more clumsiness, for a split second, she had more power and control over Sonic's speed than ever before!

She came out like a comet from the water, racing across its surface and holding Mighty from the front now.

"Woah!" Tails's mouth was completely agape, amazed by her rocketing form shooting in a jagged wave through the blue and straight towards Angel Island.

'This… feeling-!' Rosy's eyes shone with love at the high-speed exhilaration. 'I remember this feeling..!' she felt her quills move with the winds, the fun of her wet feet almost gliding over the surface. 'It's Sonic's freedom! I feel it! I've known it before!' She cried out a 'Yahoo!' and continued to make her way speedily towards the floating Island.

"Race you there, Tails!"

"Hey, no fair! I can't use Sonic's speed with my tails!" Tails joked but was truly happy for his friend. 'She's been trying so hard to harness his ability… I'm proud of her.' He looked down at Sonic, 'But… I bet he'll be a little taken aback she can still use so much of his powers.' Tails gave a half-tilted smile, knowing Sonic was even hesitant to share a Ring Bond with himself.

Tails shook his head, 'We'll cross that bridge when we get there… and if this… I don't know, leftover black hole, ruined ring experiment thingy keeps making a black hole the size of a puny ring or worse, bigger than a ring gate-!' Tails's eyes shrunk with his anxiety and overthinking, but tried to focus himself on Angel Island again, realizing he was sinking down towards the water with his negative thoughts, 'N-Nevermind that! Tails, focus! I'm not sure how Eggman created it… but apparently, he once fused it with Metal Sonic… that destroyed not only him but created some kind of catalyst for the Black Ring to become a real threat! It's slow-moving now… considering the size and power of our planet, but if it keeps pulling and trapping all the ring energy within it… who knows what could happen!'

"Tails!" Rosy waved to him as she had grabbed onto one of the hanging vines from the island's bottom rocks. "Taaailllsss!" She waved it more vigorously, her limitless cheer having never ceased, even while trying to swim through the dangerous riptides of the sea.

"Rosy… I can't let anyone down!" He narrowed his eyes, "I have to stay alert and sharp, I'm sure Sonic will think of something too! I'm not the only one here… I don't have to be the guy with all the answers…" He began to speak out loud, as Sonic's eyes slowly blinked open, weakly coming to. "If that ring continues its course, me and Rosy's Ring Bond with Sonic might disappear too… All energy could vanish, including life as we know it! We can't let that happen! A-although, I don't know how life and the rings tend to coincide, but that doesn't mean we can just sit here and do nothing!" He flipped his watch on, and Sonic watched groggily and wearily as Tails held him up and against his chest to try and reach it. "This is Tails to Checkpoint! We've located what appears to be an Anti-Matter Ring! It's the byproduct of Eggman's failed Dark Ring experiment and Metal Sonic's Ring Bond! At least, that's the idea I could come up with on the fly… anyway… Still! We need back up, we need anyone that we can get! This whole world's existence-and its powerful life sources-are at stake here!"

Unknown to Tails… This radio transmission was intercepted at an island far away from their current peril…

In a mountain carved with a big, angular nose and humongous mustache…

Sat a tyrant with glee springing from ear to ear…

"Reeallly~?"

With his hands intertwined together, a surprised Eggman wiggled his mustache at this new discovery. "I accidentally created an Anti-Matter Ring? Now, who would have imagined that!" He jumped from his chair, sinisterly rubbing his pointer finger and thumb against his long facial hair. "Why, I did, of course!"

He jumped with his long legs like a skip over to his machines, bounding with his egg-shape body jumbling awkwardly towards a keyboard. Typing fast, he pulled up different sea-faring charts and finally found the abnormality.

"Wha..?!" His mustache deflated as he lifted his frantic hands up from the keys, "I did that..? I mean, of course, I did that… but that!?" He zoomed in on the areas that used to have landmasses floating around in their normal shifting climates… but now…

"Oh, dear… Look at all that empty space…" More and more locations showed up, with the past images in a square beside it and flashing in broken, dotted lines to show that the land didn't exist anymore.

Then… a cruel smile formed upon the big egg-shaped villain's cheeks. A grin that could only mean one thing…

A truly rotten plan.

"I'm pleased to bits! Thrilled!" He spun around and rushed to the garbage can, diving in and digging around to pull out odd and in things before finally-!

"Ah-ha!" he brought out Metal Sonic. "By this point, I should really stop attempting to throw you out." He tossed the hulking husk to the ground and rushed over to another pile of metal scraps, shoving them away to reveal some containers with egg-shaped robots shadowed inside…

"Hehehe… hohoho…! With all this, I'll be able to build my Eggman Empire right above the now nonexistent islands! I'll forge a completely metal world out of the one the… what did that blasted fox call it..? Oh, yes! The Black Ring, cleared for me! HAHAHA!"

It was the possibility a villain dreams about, hopes for, and desperately wishes on a star to receive…

Then, during his wondrously evil boastings… which he honestly didn't deserve… His computers fired out a siren's wail and red flashed a warning across every light source.

"Hmm? What's this?" Eggman, slightly worried, turned around to see what was wrong. "And I was in the middle of my happy gloating too!" He stomped over to the computer and began to type things out, but warnings continued to spread across the screen.

"…Oh… That's…" His glasses shone with the red light as the words read out their error.

WARNING! WARNING! IMPLOSION IMMINENT. EVACUATE WORLD.

Eggman scratched under his chin, "Hmm… With the rings power always fluctuating on itself, and the world constantly moving and creating more of this strange occurrence of limitless power… if the Anti-Matter Ring is randomly alternating the normal range of these power levels… Then the delicate balance of this world will begin to falter and ultimately fail. So? What's that got to do with me?" Eggman shrugged, wondering why the computer was flipping out.

WARNING! WARNING! UNKNOWN POWER RELEASE IMMINENT. CATASTROPHIC UPHEAVAL OF POWER. WARNING! EVACUATE WORLD.

"Ah? A explosion? Oh, couldn't you just speak in plain English, if you please~" Eggman gestured to the computer, then clicked a button rather skillfully with his finger.

YOU IGNORANT SACK OF YOKE, WARNING! GET OFF THE PLANET! ENERGY EXPULSION WILL RESULT IN PLANET WIDE RECONSTRUCTION. ENERGY WILL IMPLODE ON ITSELF. SUPERNOVA. RUN, YOU FAT EGGFACED MASTER, RUN! ALL MORTAL BEINGS FEAR! FLEE! IMMINENT MEANS NOW!

"Hmm… A little too plain." Eggman made a side frown and then quickly blocked the computer's pop-up warning. "If the energy does expel into the world, the perfect way to stop it is to seal its power into something else for the time being… Can't just launch it into space, so why not have something contain its magnificent properties?" He held out a hand towards Metal Sonic… "And who better to harness the power of a planet than a machine that has already wielded such great power before? However… this will be like nothing any living thing or immortal machine has ever experienced before! What a fitting way to finally triumph over Sonic The Hedgehog..! Once,… and for all!"

But it wasn't just Metal Sonic Eggman was referring too... he began his diabolical schemes, starting up his laboratory and beginning a devious work on a few other Egg-shaped masterpieces...

-Angel Island-

"They're still out cold..." Rosy, tenderly attending to the two unconscious heroes, placed some warmed cloths over Mighty and Sonic's foreheads. Sweetly, she sat by their heads and waited patiently for Tails as he continued to fiddle with his wrist device.

"Grr... It's still acting funny! It's like, something else is receiving the signal!" Tails seemed very much absorbed in his device, but next to him lay Zooey, who was also sleeping after getting knocked out.

The X-Tornado biplane had successfully landed on Angel Island, beating both Rosy and Tails to the finish line. It was banged up just enough to show some wear and tear, but overall, it was still in fighting shape.

Tails was trying to boost his signal through the plane's communication channels, but again, nothing seemed to respond.

Rosy sighed, seeing Tails so caught up in fixing his tools that she gently moved Sonic's head to the tip of her knees. Humming what sounded like a peppy tune, she lightly stroked his quills on the side of his face.

He began to squirm a bit, and her eyes lit up like fireworks at seeing him fidget. "T-Tails! Tails, he's-!" She leaned up a bit, seeing his eyes squint slightly and looked to Tails once again, her tail wagging in excitement but stilling once she noticed Tails still wrapped up in his own task.

"Ohh... Well, Sonic-! Ah..." She reverted her attention to Sonic, but he softly turned his head and seemed to fall back into his slumber.

Once again, she pouted and sighed, leaning back down. "Guess you guys had a big adventure without us..." She dipped her head, "I always miss out on the fun!" she puffed up her cheek in defiance but then quickly shook it away, shaking her head to match her inner emotions. "That's alright, Sonic! Fate brought us together again! Rest as much as you want, and I'll protect everyone while you regain your strength!" she felt the weakness in her arms, the heaviness of her own eyelids, but ignored it almost completely.

She had swam a long way, only to then climb up the vines enough to sit on an overly large root beneath the floating earth. Tails quickly came down after dropping Sonic off next to the X-Tornado, which had skyrocketed up and landed near a patch of dirt and grass, just outside the forested path towards the Master Emerald.

She knew she wouldn't last long without sleep either... but that Black Ring Vortex wasn't going to rest, coming at an ever-steady pace towards the island, slowly sucking the life out of the sea and world as they knew it.

She patted her cheeks to try and scold the sleep away, as Tails finally did make his way back over to her.

"I can't understand it... No matter how much I fiddle with it, the signal is strong but still isn't passing through." He shook his squarish board as though hoping it would magically hit some circuits together and make the signal reach Checkpoint.

"Don't fret, Tails. That doesn't solve any of the world's greatest mysteries." Sweetly, Rosy tried to calm him down. Her smile never left her, and the gentleness in her eyes did help him take some breaths to relax.

"Thanks, Rosy. I'm just not used to... well, not fixing things!" He admitted, scratching the back of his head. "I just wish I could help..."

"Maybe we could make a Ring Bond!" Rosy jumped up suddenly, and the surprise of her uppity nature made Tails step back a bit.

"Wah!? For what reason?" He genuinely was always startled by Rosy's can-do spirit. It never failed to amaze him.

"Maybe with our combined powers, we could overcome the bad ring!" She bundled her fists together, eager to give it a try.

Sonic squirmed a bit again, his eyes squinting open in annoyance at being woken up by such loud conversations...

"It's absorbing ring power and everything connected, I guess, through it, Rosy..." Tails scratched the back of his head again, gesturing the reason he didn't think it would work, but gently trying to let the girl down. "Besides... What power could we lend each other?"

Rosy pounced up to Tails and grabbed his two hands, "Hope." she stared intently into his eyes.

Sonic blinked a bit and looked casually over to Rosy, seeing her from behind. He just appeared to want to listen... nothing more.

"Rosy..." Tails was touched by that but also felt it a bit optimistic. "Em. Okay, I'll give it a go." He nodded, "Can't hurt, right? Might as well try what we can, while we can!"

"Yeah!" Rosy nodded enthusiastically, as the two took out one ring for each other in their possession.

They closed their eyes as they held it out, and the rings seemed to glimmer and form into one ring that seemed larger than normal. Their hands, as though unchanged, we're now gripping two sides of the ring's curve. "Ready?" Tails opened his eyes, smiling to her reassuringly. "Now, if this doesn't work... don't be too disappointed in me, okay?" He gave her a friendly wink, hoping to soothe any frustrations she may have if her plan did fail. Which... he half-wondered if it would.

"Em!" Excited, Rosy felt the twinkling rays of the interconnected spirals around them, but as it started to fuse, it seemed to dim and fade away.

"Ah! What's wrong?" Rosy looked around at the balls of light twinkling away and drifting down... all in one direction.

"I knew it. It's not how this works." Tails sighed, "I guess only Sonic really understood that element..."

"They're all... gathering down there..." Rosy peeked at their direction, just slightly over the cliff as the twinkling lights fell below the surface of the water... disappearing into its depths... "The ring... must be getting closer..."

Tails sucked in a hesitant breath, not wanting to look. "I'm worried, Rosy. What if we lose our special connection to-" he paused himself, looking to Sonic as Sonic had re-closed his eyes a moment, feigning being asleep.

"Ah! T-that can't happen!" Rosy let go of the ring, afraid by what Tails may be implying. What if her unique bond with her adored hero, Sonic, was severed forever? The world she loved...

As her weary body begins to fail her fluttering heart, her steps falter near the edge of the floating island...

Her eyes shrink as she feels something pull her down and a few pieces of crumbling rock give way under her feet.

"Ah! Roooosssyyy!" Tails tried to swing the ring, thinking that she's still attached but realizes the ring has reverted back to normal. 'Oh no!' he dives to reach her.

A blue blur suddenly crosses his vision, and he's pulled back by the light as he blinks and puts an arm up over his face.

When he lowers it, he gasps as Sonic is holding Rosy back to the floating island, his hand outstretched and grasping her wrist, as the rest of her seems to be angled towards falling.

"S...Sonic..." She's pulled rather quickly up to him then, as he slings the arm around her waist and wiggles his iconic finger up by his face.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you not to play around the edges?" his cool demeanor quickly sweeps her up in hearts that-in her vision, anyway...- fly out and dangle all around her.

"My hero~" she bundles her hands up by her face and dreamily watch him gently place her back. He waits a moment with his hands out, making sure she has her balance again on both feet and then turns to Tails.

"You two sure like to make a racket. What's this about a Black Ring?" he placed the back of his wrist leisurely against his hip, keeping up appearances, as always, effortlessly around these two doting hero wannabes.

"Oh boy, do we have the world to tell you..." Tails excitedly approached, but also quickly checked on Rosy. They hugged, and he continued as Rosy set her hand on his shoulder to continually comfort Tails that she was well. "Eggman's experimental ring he used with Metal Sonic, and possibly against you, I'd imagine... well, it started what I'm calling a Black Ring! A dark mass, like a black hole, is sucking everything the rings are apart of!" Tails got animated in his explanation, moving his arms out wide and flinging them in front of himself to demonstrate just how big this whole thing was.

"Everything connected to the rings, you say?" Sonic felt a tinge of concern, having already felt something as Tails and Rosy were attempting to make a Ring Bond with one another. "It's a bit rash to assume, but this Black Ring seems to be attracting a lot of attention. And it's more purple than black, from the looks of it..?" Sonic folded his arms, gesturing over the edge to reveal the ocean's typical blue had turned into a mass of purple, seeping up as though trying to hook the vines of the island...

"Oh wow, he's right!" Rosy exclaims as Tails quickly flies just a bit down to check it out.

"It's sucking the vines down! At this rate, if it reaches the roots, it'll pull the island down to it! The rocks will crumble away too!" Tails shouts from below, then rises back up to the gang. "Mighty and Zooey are still out, what do we do, Sonic?" fear was plaguing him, but he just didn't want to be the sole one thinking a plan through.

"You two were using my power again, right?" Sonic ducked his head, not liking to mention it.

It startled the two, worried they had done something wrong, and apologetically looked down at the ground.

"It... It never faded away." Tails admitted but knew that was something Sonic probably didn't want to hear. "B-but-!" He chimed up again, standing just a little bit taller now and being bold. "You're powers saved our lives, Sonic! Even without you there, we felt you in spirit!"

"Yeah! He's telling the truth, Sonic!" Rosy also piped up, not wanting her dear friend to stand alone.

Seeing the two again... seeing how much they've grown and truly become more than the simple adventurers he once met... He smiled, having seen so much potential in them and finally witnessing its fruition.

"I'm glad you're both safe." He closed his eyes and remembered the first time he met them, such hero worship he received from the two.

He reopened his eyes to see the confident explorers now before him, heroes in their own right, worried they were letting him down.

He didn't like thinking his power was being drained, but the overwhelming sensation of thinking his power could protect them even if he wasn't there..? It was enough to comfort him and leave him with great pride for his unique talents and gifts.

He unfolded his arms and gave them a signature wink and thumbs up, grinning widely. "Enough excuses, just don't let my power go lame!"

The two's faces lit up with joy, and they nodded in agreement, "You're so cool, Sonic!" They said in unison, and he flicked his long nose with his finger, soaking in the praise.

"Well... I don't like to argue, so... I'll have to take your word for that." He gave each a light pat on the head, as they turned to each other and placed their hands on their heads, gleefully fanboying and fangirling at the approving touch.

Sonic just rolled his eyes, hearing them laugh one to another. 'I may have said that... but I still feel a bit grumpy about it.' he looked down towards the purple ocean spot... stained with the Black Ring's influence trying to suck the island down. 'That thing looks like it's got a mind of its own... How do I combat it? It's not like I can swim.' he sighed to himself, "If we pull that ring out of the water... what would happen to the air?" He looked back to Tails, who stopped celebrating meeting his lifelong hero again with Rosy and quickly addressed him again, right away.

"I-I'm not sure... but if it manifested its enormous powers that me and Rosy saw again... I'd imagine it would be like a vacuum in the sky!" He seemed to think that worse than a whirlpool or hurricane.

"Hmm..." Sonic looked away, 'If that thing takes away my power... would Super Sonic even be enough to fight it?' he tried thinking it through, before turning to Tails and Rosy. "Listen, you two. I need all the power I can get with this thing around. So no more using my power. That thing drains ring energy and practically everything else, right? Leave my abilities to me then. I'll find a way to stop it."

He bent himself forward a bit as though trying to keep some authority, but Rosy and Tails both looked heartbroken at his statement.

They looked at one another and nodded in unison, then turned sternly to him. "We should all work together!" Tails stated.

"Yeah, you can't just leave us behind again! We're highly skilled adventurers now too!" Rosy squished her knees together in defiance, wiggling her body around to and fro to show her frustration with that statement. "We promise we'll always make your speed look cooler than anything else! Just let us help you!"

Now, with that stated, before Sonic could think of a good comeback to set some lines down, Mighty leaned up and gripped his head. The warm cloth falling into his lap as he looked at it curiously, "H-huh?" he searched around and found Sonic instructing the two.

Automatically thinking Sonic was probably in the right, he got up and stretched his arm by rotating the aches out of it, and came over to support. "I didn't really hear much of what you guys were talking about, but..."

"Mighty!" the two gave him open smiles, but then he took a teacher's stance and they knew they were about to get scolded again.

"He's not gonna be on our side... is he?" Rosy pouted, sad that he immediately sided with Sonic.

"They still just see us as kids." Tails sighed, his twin tails flowing downward to a halt.

"We understand you're both strong now, but maybe not experienced enough to handle all this world can throw at you. Circumstances be as they are, we were worried what trouble you two might have gotten yourself into." He folded his arms as Sonic nodded, but then made fun of Mighty by making a face that made the upset Rosy and Tails suddenly hide their snickering.

"We've got to prove ourselves again, Rosy!" Tails turned to her, whispering as he looked pumped to try. "They don't know what we've done or been through, I'm sure we can be useful to them if they just see what we can do!"

"Yeah!" Rosy raised her fists in the air, closing her eyes as her tail flicked with the starting of an engine.

Once the engine finally revved up, so did her tail and her excitement as she looked up to see the X-Tornado coming alive again.

"No time to waste scolding them, then." Zooey, from the cockpit, waved at the gang from her heightened seat. "Let them defend their right to explore this strange phenomenon... after all, they were probably in the crossfire of the ... what was it again? Black Ring as well?"

"An Anti-Matter device... Zooey, you believe in us!" Tails's eyes twinkled with appreciation just like Amy's thrilled anticipation to get out there already and help.

"Looks like I'll need the Chaos Emeralds." Sonic looked over to Mighty, cocky as ever with his expression, "Which means a certain Guardian I know will be dropping in any minute now..."

Just then- everything shifted.

"Wo-woah!" the island began to turn on its axis, causing the gang and even the X-Tornado to slide with the new shifting angle.

"What's going on!?" Zooey cried out, falling from the cockpit and hitting the plane hard as she tumbled off.

"Zooey!" Tails quickly flew up and grabbed her, helping her down as the Plane toppled over and rolled.

"I got it!" Mighty, sticking his feet hard into the turning ground, lifted both hands up to catch the plane's wing and stop it from fully falling over. The entire plane was over the ground, suspended in the air as Mighty caught it and tried to fight the force of the wind to bring it back down. The sheer size of the plane versus Mighty was a feat to behold and impressed both Rosy and Tails too.

"Thank you, Tails. I-I didn't mean to be a bother, but I hope borrowing your plane and setting a new priority in it wasn't too much for a worried friend..." Zooey held on tight to Tails, as he blushed a second and nervously began to stutter on his words.

"N-No, no problem!" he fidgeted a moment with her in his arms, but as soon as they laid down to grip the ground, his two tails helped give her sliding feet a place to situate themselves. "It's my fault for not calling you sooner!"

"Nonsense! If you two were caught up in this awful thing... Ohh, I'm just glad you're both alright!" she suddenly shouted over the increasing wind as the gang cried out when the Island fully turned to reveal the ocean below...

Like a foreboding, purple shadow over the sea... the Black Ring began to rise from its depths and bring a swirling, scaling cylinder wall of water with it. It continued to try and pull Angel Island down to itself, but although tilted, it still wasn't being flown down from its spot.

"The Master Emerald!" Zooey cried out, "It's keeping us above it!"

"But will it move on? Or just get stronger?!" Mighty called up to them, placing the plane down but struggling to keep there. It kept wanting to fly up and be thrown into the now tinted dark purple mass.

"We can't... give... up!" Sonic strained against the powerful wind whipping at his back quills, getting up and staring down the Black Ring from it's sucking mouth, trying to pull everything into it.

"This is my home... and it's not going anywhere!" Sonic formed a fist with his hand and jumped.

"NOOO!" everyone watched in horror as Sonic began to be pulled towards the spinning ring, growing in size again as it once did before.

"You can't just sucker-punch a black hole!" Tails cried out, terrified that he'd lose his hero.

Rosy's eyes were then full of tears, watching Sonic jump towards such a scary fate, "Soooniicc!"

"GRAAHHH!" A blast of red with a cowboy hat suddenly leaped up and joined Sonic in the air. Sonic looked over, shocked.

"Knuckles!"

"Hit it on its side! I'll knock it off with you!"

The echidna let out a battle cry of sorts and Sonic and him punched the ring out of the water vortex at the same time.

A 'ding'ing noise reflected the impact as the Black Ring was flung out and the water fell back to its surface, the Island regained its axis as Mighty cried out, "Hold on!" and helped the three back towards the X-Tornado's cockpit.

They hid behind it for now as the plane remained on its side, useless for the time being.

As Sonic and Knuckles drifted down from their swings, they noticed the flipping ring halt and begin to suck upwards, dragging the clouds down to it.

"Grr... This thing doesn't quit!" Knuckles spun around and grabbed Sonic mid-air, gliding back to his island...

"Knuckles, I need the-!"

"Not gonna happen, punk!"

The two landed where the others were, and Knuckles tossed Sonic away from him.

"Knuckles... you've seen what that thing can do, right? We have to stop it!" Sonic threw up a fist to show his mind wasn't going to be changed. "You have to help us! The whole world's at stake!"

"Hmph, sounds like another bogus scheme for taking my emeralds!" Knuckles folded his arms.

"Look at the sky!" Mighty gestured quite boldly back to the Black Ring, sucking everything down into it's spinning, gaping mouth. "If we don't do something now, all could be lost!"

"This world..." Zooey lightly touched the ground, a serene sorrow upon her face. "Doesn't a guardian stand to protect? Can't he look past the oath of sole purpose and see that this world needs his power? I know... umm... I'm aware that you're only in charge of your precious, ancestral island but-!" She tried to stand up, holding a delicate hand to her tender heart. "Please, Knuckles! We need the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald to help us stand and fight!"

Knuckles didn't seem happy about her pleading, but a softness came over his stubbornness, beating it out as he couldn't stand glossy eyes from someone needing his help. "Grr... I don't like someone threatening my island... I'll need an explanation before I can just hand over the power of the emeralds to you adventurers again." He gestured to Sonic, still bitter that he had to use them beforehand for other, similar reasons.

"So, you have to understand what the deal is then, before getting your haughty knuckles dirty?" Sonic folded his arms, not liking Knuckles's hesitancy. "That could merit the requirements of a coward who doesn't like to share." He scolded, wagging his infamous finger out towards him, mockingly.

"What did you say!?" Knuckles jammed his head up towards Sonic, but Sonic just leaned forward to push back, unafraid.

"Zooey, go on and tell him what he needs to know," Sonic smirked, seeing that Knuckles was more motivated to listen and do the right thing now.

Rosy picked up on the tension and hid her face slightly behind her bundled fists, looking between Knuckles and Sonic, "L-Let's not fight with each other..." She didn't like the contention between her friends, especially with her beloved Sonic.

Tails noticed Sonic was egging Knuckles on through a tactic of urgency, but he was surprised how well it was really working for him. "Sonic's pretty smart, Rosy." He lightly put a hand on her shoulder, getting her attention off their boyish brutishness and turning her sights to his tender eyes. "Knuckles needs a reason and Sonic's giving him a big reason to listen in on why he should help, you know?"

Rosy's slight worry over the two boys fighting seemed to be comforted and soothed over as she nodded understandingly, trusting Tails's explanation. "Okay, as long as we're all still friends just trying to help the world out."

"Right!" Tails encouraged her, seeing her smile return was more than enough for him to look back at Zooey and give her the same support to speak up too. He indirectly helped her concerns as well, as she nodded sweetly to him and stood up, holding onto the sideways plane as a shield from the winds above.

"We received disturbing readings that showed the energy levels were being manipulated in irregular intervals from their normal, sustainable and stable, fluctuation. Upon further investigation, Tails and Rosy discovered a polar-vortex drawing all matter of energy into nonexistence. This constant suction, crafted from the unfortunate leftovers of Eggman's contraption, the failed Dark Ring, caused a catastrophic anomaly where all of nature's natural resources are being destroyed continuously before they can regenerate fast enough to cancel out the polarities abnormality adequately-" She was losing him, his eyes were spinning around and around his head, before he finally closed his eyes and hit his two mitten hands to the side of his head.

"All I understood was the word-EGGMAN. So he's behind this again!" He swung his fist out, "That no-good, backstabbing, thieving liar!" he gruffed out.

Zooey put a finger up to her mouth, "Um..." She thought it rude to interrupt her but realized he wasn't getting it and looked to Tails. He smiled and nodded, and she decided to speak more in layman's terms. "Technically speaking... oh, how do I put this... It's storing ring energy and converting it into a type of... of... Anti-Ring matter!" She sprung her arms out, showing the magnitude of her predictions. "If it continues-no, when it gets done, it could either implode into a brand new, glamorous ring gate going who knows where into the universe and destroying this planet in the process, creating the most destructive ring gate the galaxy has ever had to witness! Or... simply explode and leave nothing within the realm of our known universe left..." She got gloomy then, a fake smile creeping up in muted fear on the side of her twitching cheek. She looked down, "If what I'm saying is right... then it's breaking down the individual molecules of the ring energy... all energy consists of it... and if it isn't channeled out... then it will blast through all things, breaking them down till it destroys them even to an atomic level!" she closed her eyes, squinting against the Armageddon she is suggesting. "We'll all... this world... the friends and adventures through this natural wonder of a world we've come to love... will cease to have even a sliver of itself left... It'll all be gone... forever." She fell back to her knees, having Mighty and Tails catch her and stare at her pitiful state as she began to realize the horrible consequences if this Ring isn't stopped.

"Explode?!" Sonic and Knuckles said in unison, looking to each other with shock... before it quickly changed to a serious tone.

"Alright then." Knuckles nodded, "So... the power would release itself into... uh... into..?" He looked back at her for help.

She put a hand up to her aching head, unable to fathom that kind of end. "Into an unknown form that could potentially endanger all life as we know it here... and everywhere near its radius of impact."

"We can't let that happen!" Tails took her hand that was against her head, surprising her as he held it reassuringly.

She gazed up at him, her eyes shining at his strong, believing determination. "Tails..." she lightly spoke, as though breathlessly swooning over the fox boy.

Rosy sees the ring, humming its awful tune in the air and gets up, walking around the plane as her quills move rapidly in the spiraling winds.

Sonic watches her and holds out a hand a moment, but hesitates as she walks by him and Knuckles. She looks at the flowers on Angel Island, the land springing with all kinds of life, like wispy strands of flexible colors that drift in her sights, the details on them all unique and original, the beautiful wonders of how things come to be.

As though on cue, a ring randomly manifested by her and she lightly reached out to grab it, but it was blown like a leaf into the winds and so were the petals of those beautiful flowers with their stunning colors and dances all blown out of their peaceful lives to be converted to a dark power within the foreign ring, sucking everything from everyone.

She hugged herself, realizing that her fear was turning to anger, and not liking the feeling...

"This world... is so beautiful... who would want to end it all!?" She spun around, her tears dropping from her eyes at last, but instead of flowing down, they flew up just like the petals from their flowers. They turned and spun into the dark ring, taking even her powerful emotions it seemed and metaphorically turning it against her.

She turns to Mighty, pleading, "We have to let as many necessary hands help in preserving this unique way of life!" She turned to Tails, "We've gotta ask Checkpoint for everyone to help! No matter what imaginary rank they're at! Even the most inexperienced explorer can lend a helping hand!" She moved to Zooey, "We have to fight... we have to keep this world alive. It's too beautiful and wonderful to give up on!" She turned with her eyes narrowed now to Knuckles, "Anything is possible!" she then looked tenderly to Sonic, as though asking him to declare her truth too. "So long as your feet are on the ground... and your will is unbreakable."

Sonic admired her a moment and then nodded at the strange sense of powerful beauty she portrayed in her stance and words. He nodded to her, giving her that recognition she always wanted from him. "You two sure have grown up." he complimented and gave her a wink and thumbs up. "Welcome aboard the S.S. We can do it! Let's save the world!"

Her expression slowly formed into a cute, excitable open grin. "Yeah!" She cheered, not needing to hold herself for comfort anymore; but instead, she raised her arm high with a fist of hope towards the ring. "Let's punch the ring out of this world!"

Sonic snickered a moment, thinking that funny before looking back to Knuckles, "More than enough of a reason for ya, bud?"

Knuckles nodded, "Yeah, more than enough." He smirked right back. "What do we need to do?"

"Finally! You agree for once!" Sonic joked, shrugging a little comically before turning to Zooey, "I like anyone with the same passion and free-spirit as I treasure. So maybe... it is about time to let Checkpoint help out... at least this once." He winked, being a bit arrogant again but in a silly, rubbing it in their face, kind of way.

Rosy, believing the comment was directed mostly to her, blushed and watched the team prepare to set out with their new plan...

She turned to look at the Dark Ring, "We'll end this nightmare... and Sonic and us... We'll figure out a way to defeat you!" She formed sturdy fists and held them by her sides, turning boldly to the ring, directly ahead and above her like a shadowed halo...

The wind beat against her quills... first left... then right... as though challenging her newfound stance. But like the rooted flowers it was ripping their petals from, she did not waver in her angry, narrowed eyes towards its fiendish self...

She was going to stop it. No matter what!

As some of the gang stayed behind to call Checkpoint and let them know what was going on and get some backup ready, Knuckles, Sonic, and Rosy headed towards the Master Emerald.

"Tell me why we brought the pipsqueak instead of Mighty along..?" Knuckles looked back from ahead of the group, but Sonic glared him down.

"She has a right to be here and do as she pleases like the rest of us. Besides, I have a feeling saying 'no' to her wouldn't end well..." He muttered the last part as he looked behind him and joined Knuckles's gaze at her peppy walk with them.

Following the two leaders, she hummed a tune and swung her arms gently out like she was on a tightrope, just enjoying the sun and the fact that everyone was going to save the world together!

She also didn't like feeling helpless or alone, so now that her number one hero, Sonic, had seen her true heart's desire to also save this planet and galaxy from devastation, she was overjoyed with that acceptance!

He didn't see her as a little girl anymore or as an amateur adventurer. She was finally an equal to them all!

Sonic and Knuckles sweat-dropped at her sudden attitude change, looking ahead but keeping their eyes back at her. How could she be so cheery after all they heard and saw? It was puzzling to them... just as it has always been for Tails.

However, coming up to the Master Emerald's shrine, where the Chaos Emeralds are usually positioned upon pillars around it... Eggman had already been connecting their powers into a device that resembled a ray-gun. "Whohoho! Look who just so happens to always show up at the most crucial of times!" Eggman laughed, but there was clearly some animosity there when he saw Sonic among the three.

"Eggman!?" Sonic stepped back a moment, surprised to see him. "What are you doing here? Oh no, do you really think you can take one of your all-time blunders and try and say it was your 'greatest plan all along' or something like that?" he air-quoted with doing the bunny-ear gesture with his hands.

"Hmph, taking a second look at your experiment and finding some success in it is nothing to be ashamed of, Sonic." He stuck his nose in the air and turned to the side, as though not wanting to answer Sonic and his idiocy. "For your information, I have discovered something useful with that 'Black Ring' as you call it. And now, thanks to your little distraction for its guardian... I now possess the power of the Master Emerald and it's seven servers! Whohoho!" he gestured out to his device, though not understanding the secret of the ring bond, he was still aware of how power transferred from one object to another.

Therefore, Eggman had connected through a stream of electricity the seven Chaos Emeralds and placed a spiraling gun's barrel with an electro-ball at its tip upon the Master Emerald, charging it up with Chaos power to shoot bullets that spun out into rings, almost like donut holes that rotate out like a pizza with a hole at its center. The Black Ring immediately sucked the formed chaos rings into itself and began to get bigger and bigger.

The X-Tornado's monitor flashed with a warning, showing the Black Ring now had enough power to wipe-out the cosmos.

"What is going on!? It's power levels just spiked!" Zooey pressed her hands into her cheeks, panicking. "By my previous calculations, turning the ring up towards the sky should have slowed down its progression but now-!" her eyes shook in fright as Tails put an arm around her, then turned to Mighty.

"What do we do? Checkpoint is too concerned about opening ring gates so close to the Black Ring, so our reinforcements won't be here for a while! Mighty!" he gripped his arm but Mighty looked just as shaken and taken aback as Zooey did...

"Mighty..." Tails looked back at the monitor. "No, I can't let it end like this!" He let go of both of them and began to type furiously upon the keyboard of the monitor. "I won't give up! I love this world and everyone on it! I won't let things go down like this if there was anything I could do about it! I'd never forgive myself if I just stood around fretting!" he clicked an engage button and suddenly the X-Tornado, now on its right side, began to turn on and get its jets going.

"Out of the way!" Tails grabbed both Zooey and Mighty and pushed them down as the dashboard of the X-Tornado read: NEW PRIORITY ENGAGED. PUSH POWER SOURCE OUT OF KNOWN ORBIT AS FAR AS POSSIBLE.

Zooey looked up back to the monitor as Tails began to get up, she climbed into the cockpit, getting a better look but Tails pulled her down just as she saw ''as far as possible'. "Tails, what did you do?!"

"Zooey, get down from there!" he called out, then turned to Mighty as he held her, making sure she wouldn't try that again. "Mighty, I need you to fling the X-Tornado to have its tip hit the side of the ring. I'm gonna have it propel it out of our solar system!" He said this with absolute authority and confidence, something Mighty wasn't used to in the little fox boy.

"Tails... are you sure? Don't you love that plane?" Mighty seemed hesitant, knowing Tails spent many nights working to upgrade it regularly for his adventures and rescue missions at Checkpoint's HQ.

"...It's what has to be done." Tails looked down, as Zooey felt sorry for him and hugged him back, amazed by his self-sacrifice but admiring his bravery in a last stand.

Back with Sonic, "What are you doing!?" Sonic cried out as they moved back after seeing the Black Ring get bigger.

"Super juicing the darn thing, of course~" Eggman rubbed the tip of his mustache with his thumb and pointer finger, gloating already at his ingenious plan. "Once this thing reaches its supernova, I'll have enough power to make immortal machines! Ones you simply can't just 'blow up to smithereens! Not without some severe consequences, of course." Eggman cooed as he puckered his lips, thinking himself witty of making a super machine that if destroyed, the explosion would likely take out that sector of the planet. "Aren't I a stinker?" He teased.

"Yeah, a real rotten egg. Don't you care for your own life?" Sonic spat out.

"Oh, but of course, I have some reservations on some drifting planets in case this whole thing becomes a bust." Eggman shrugged, then pointed behind him as if that was where the random drifting planets he was talking about were. "Not to worry, I'm sure you'll all be long gone in atomic ash and dust by the time I'm safely stowed away there."

"We have to stop that gun!" Rosy, without so much as a plan, charged with her Sonic speed towards the gun.

"Wait, Rosy, Grr!" Sonic took off after her, 'She's using my power!'

"Oh? Hoping to stop me, are we?" Eggman lowered the gun remotely and it began shooting the rings at Rosy.

"Look out!" Sonic, having a lot more expertise with his speed, was easily able to speed up and hook Rosy from the side, tumbling away from the ring beams as the whole of Angel Island pulsated from the ground with glowing, gold power.

"Haha! Now to swing this whole island into the Black Ring's pie hole. Eat up, Blacky! Daddy's back, and he's got the main course right here..." He extended his hand out as an Eggman airship floated beneath the island, completely out of sight from the Sonic team as they were diligently working on a solution on top of it. "Farewell, Sonic. I'll take the power it releases and make a whole new world out of it."

"That's an idealistic's dream!" Sonic seemed to curse the word out, "You'll destroy us all!"

"Well, not me. Fire!" Eggman laughed as his airship began to fire from the bottom of the Island, trying to split it up so it would float easier up to the Black Ring.

"Whhaa! What is that!?" Tails cried out as the earth shook under him.

"We're being attacked?! An ambush?" Zooey looked at her Checkpoint watch to see a massive object below the Island. "At this rate, 13% of the island will be blown off and blasted into the Black Ring!"

"Who would do such a thing!?" Tails exclaimed, "Do they realize what will happen if-!?"

Mighty reared the plane up onto his shoulders, "This isn't the time to talk and speculate anymore! I'm tired of watching that thing eat everything I hold dear... RAHHH-RAAH-RAHH-RAHHH!" like an Olympic thrower, Mighty spun on the shaking earth to get enough momentum into his swing. The winds were working for and against him at the same time, but with his incredible strength, he had the entirety of the X-Tornado flinging in the air and finally launched it like a massive javelin. "Like a game of darts!" He cried out, fist-pumping the air as the tip of the plane seemed to be headed directly into the line of the ring-like Robin Hood's arrow piercing the bullseye. It was an incredible shot! One that looked prime to hit the ring like a needle and push it out and away from the planet's atmosphere.

But they underestimated Eggman.

Who was underestimating Knuckles.

"Like heck I would allow you to steal my emeralds for your stupid gaaaaain!" Knuckles leaped into the air and took Eggman off-guard, punching him straight into the line of the Black Ring.

"OHHHH! NOOO!" Eggman couldn't stop himself from flipping over and over again in the air, causing his Egg Mobile to be unable to pull away from the Black Ring's vortex.

The ring shrank as a result of not getting the chaos rings pulsed into its core anymore, but was still just big enough to pull Eggman in.

"SAVE ME!" He cried out as Metal Sonic burst from the bushes, zooming into the Black Ring as well.

"Woah, where'd he come from?" Sonic looked around, helping Rosy to sit up straight, "Was that his plan? Super juice the faker?"

"Ah! Sonic look!" Rosy clung to him and pointed to the X-Tornado, shooting through the sky and the same vibrating noise of being hit echoing from the Black Ring as it was shot through each layer of the atmosphere into the galaxy.

Suddenly, the whole cast felt their power being depleted...

"Kn-Knuckles..." Sonic fell further onto his knees and reached for the Emeralds.

He pulled out a ring he had been storing, and tried to connect the chained ball of lights from the ring he had summoned to string into each of the Chaos Emeralds, and finally, the Master Emerald.

The Ring Bond caused the Ray Gun to spark and get slashed through, exploding it as the energy was released like shining dust blasting and then twinkling as it dissolved back into the atmosphere.

"You stay here." Sonic looked down at Rosy, who nodded, "It's risky to save Eggman now but... Be safe." She let him begin to crawl as his power was being sapped from him and all his friends.

All over the world, power seemed unequal and there didn't seem to be enough to sustain the life forces thereon...

He gripped his stomach, and watched as Knuckles, floating down from his launched hit, seemed to resolve his differences with Sonic and punch the Master Emerald to bounce up into the air. "DOOO ITTT!" Knuckles shouted out.

The balls of light strung all around the Master Emerald, phasing through it before sending out a huge connection line to Sonic's original ring.

Power coursed through him, and he flexed his arms out to the sides of him, letting it excel his limits into Super Sonic!

In a flash of yellow, Rosy blinked her eyes and uncovered them, gasping in delight as Sonic took off after the X-Tornado and Black Ring.

"Yay! Alright! You can do it, Soooniicc!" She cheered from the ground as her voice faded quickly away while the force of the atmosphere's created a fire around Super Sonic's form. One layer... the second... finally blasting through the third and onward towards reaching out for the Black Ring.

The X-Tornado was now suspended in space, flickering before finally losing all power as it took everything to not break apart by breaking the sound barrier and the planet's forces.

Super Sonic pushed the plane back towards the amazing planet, letting it have a chance to be salvaged later. "Thanks buddy, you did good." He seemed to be saying that to Tails but spoke to the Plane.

He turned determined towards the Black Ring. "Endless power..." He started charging himself up, "Meet limitless destruction!" he blasted Chaos energy around the surface of the Black Ring, and then dived into its black hole...

Inside, he saw Metal Sonic struggling to pull Eggman out from its core, the inside was like a purple, sparkling vortex where energies couldn't escape... but with one hole leading out, the whole thing was starting to have multiple combustions.

"Oh, oh!" Eggman, seeming to snap out of unconsciousness, noticed that his life force was slowly leaking out of him and then being returned to him as the power began to respond to the Chaos power destroying the Black Ring's entrapment from the outside. "Quick! Metal! Absorb its power!" He kicked and struggled, trying to turn the robot's attention away from preserving his life and towards gaining ultimate power.

Metal Sonic's red eyes shifted quickly back, but his stomach jet remained in full power.

"You silly old man, don't you value anything!?" Super Sonic folded his arms and shook his head. "I'm going to have Chaos energy pull all this power out little by little, that way, no explosion needs to happen."

"Like I'll let you do that..." Eggman sneered, thrusting a ring gate out from his hand. Suddenly, those husks of metal eggs drifted into the power still being destroyed by the Black Ring, instead now, the deactivated robots were absorbing the mass of energy, and slowly... their eye lights turned intimidatingly on. "HAHAHA!" Eggman continued to laugh and kick his legs out. "You're too late!"

"What did you do!?" Super Sonic looked on in amazement, seeing the lights explode and flicker out... then the whole of the ring blow up light. "You're going to have it implode!"

"Right into my inventions!" Eggman hit Metal Sonic. "Now, be a good little mock-up hedgehog and eat your fill too! WHOO!" he was let go and fell through the portal. "Come on, you precious pretties, you! Stop dawdling and get in here already!" he seemed like a doting creator before an annoyed overlord not wanting to waste another second. "Let's let the ring finally take Sonic out with it!"

"Oh no!" Super Sonic felt himself getting pulled in as Metal Sonic looked to a now, perfectly fine Eggman sitting in his base through the window of the Ring Gate, to then a struggling Sonic.

Not allowing this perfect, opportune moment to go to waste, he kicked Super Sonic down into the imploding explosion about to occur and followed the other Egg-shaped robots into the portal, only turning around once to watch Super Sonic's frame be flung into the core of the Black Ring...

He finally entered in as the Ring Gate spun shut.

Super Sonic's gloved hand reached for salvation... but with his powers being drained along with his life force... he slowly fell back... the purple absorbing him until...

The explosion had been significantly lessened thanks to Eggman's machines absorbing the combusting power of endless, limitless energy... taking half the power it needed to where the explosion didn't reach the planet...

The team looked horrified, seeing the explosion in the air and huddling together, expecting the worst.

Rosy covered her mouth, not wanting to accept what this could mean-Failure.

"Sonic... Oh no,... Please, I know you'll save us." Tears began to string in blobby lines by her eyes as Tails pulled her into the desperate embrace with his tail, his eyes also glossy, fearing the end.

Mighty went to shield, putting his arms over his friends and squinting his eyes tenderly shut, worried for his family of friends.

Mighty was suddenly jolted out of his thoughts as his eyes opened to an unexpected touch, seeing Knuckles standing next to him and over the others just like him. He only gave Mighty a side-glance, before also putting his arms over the team.

Two mighty guardians, hoping to provide some sense of security and hope.

Knuckles, as though a hero's fate, closed his eyes and waited to brace for the incoming doom...

But it never came.

The team held their ground, Rosy crying in their ears and Tails's tears finally streaming down before Zooey looked up in amazement.

"Look!" she pointed, as the team opened their eyes and turned their heads skyward, in hope and faith that the tone of her voice meant a miracle.

While the X-Tornado was falling back to the planet, it's engine flared to life with its monitor reading: OVERRIDE PROGRAMMING INITIATED. FORMER PILOT: SONIC. DIRECTIVE: PROTECT ALL CHECKPOINT ADVENTURERS.

The X-Tornado blasted through the still gaping wide Black Ring, just moments before the devastating explosion. Due to Super Sonic's chaos energy, the ring continually drained and broke down the power; however, due to its limitless properties, Sonic's life force was barred from being touched and sucked dry.

His old, faithful machine that he gave to Tails still held some of its old programming, and dived into the mass of explosions and purple Anti-Matter, swerving to blast out with Super Sonic clinging onto its wing, face hidden and head down in exhaustion. He wasn't able to flee the pull, but with the last of the X-Tornado's power, and the last sliver of consciousness he had left, he softly spoke out, reaching a hand towards the planet he saw in the distance of space through the hole of the Black Ring.

"Chaos..!" He felt the light exploding behind him rapidly, and soon engulf him as his eyes, head, and hands fell to the plane's wing. "Control..."

Zooey had seen a flash of light far below the explosion in space and noticed Super Sonic and the X-Tornado on a straight dive down through the air.

"It's Sonic! He's alive!" She cheered.

"He's saved us!" Tails burst into excitement, standing up again from his crouching hold on the two girls.

Knuckles and Mighty also leaned up, smiling proudly as Mighty flexed an arm out and hit its base, "Knew he could do it!" and Knuckles punching the air in enthusiasm.

"That's the last time Egghead tries to mess with my island!" He practically roared out, causing the team to laugh and celebrate together.

But Super Sonic faded and his grip on the wing loosened, drifting into unconsciousness.

"AH!" The gang all turned back from celebrating at Rosy's cry, "He's not waking up!"

"Sonic!" Knuckles suddenly cried out.

"Oh no!" Mighty followed suit, also leaning out to try and squint his eyes through the lingering light of the many explosions in the air to see him hurdling down with fire burning around him and the destroyed, burning up plane.

Within their shock, Zooey began to loudly mourn, "How are we going to help him!?" She curled over and pulled her hands towards her chest, crying out her distress.

"Tails, can you reach him from here?!" Rosy turned to Tails, who narrowed his eyes and ran towards the edge of the island, whipping his tails into their famous twirling patterns.

"Only one way to find out! I've gotta try!" He sped off the island like a turbine launching from a runway. His hands formed fist as he dove through the sky, hoping to make it to Sonic before it was too late.

-Back at Eggman's mustached mountain base-

"I've done it! Oh-ho-ho, I've really done it! Magnificent!" Jumping from one side of the base to another, examining his brand new toys...

Their red eyes watched him like an animated Pogo Stick as he moved so wildly, rubbing his hands before throwing them in the air. "It's ingenious! It's beautiful madness! Haha! With these new robots at my disposal, containing in them the energies found so naturally throughout this world that I could-as of yet-not find a way to successfully harness now each have the power to supersede not only Sonic but all of Checkpoint! Oh! It's... Well, it's all I've ever wanted!" He wiped a tear away from slipping under his glasses. "Now it's time, my sensational inventions! Go! Reek havoc on this world! And once they realize that by trying to destroy one of you, that the entire half of that globe's landmass is also thereby destroyed, they'll have no choice but to turn themselves in and be roboticized into my army, forcing the world to bow to their new, supreme emperor! WHAHAHAAHA!" Eggman's boisterous laughter caused the other machines to bounce as though trying to mimic his actions.

Metal Sonic looked at his master and then his metallic claws, stretching them out as balls of light began to spin and twist around his fingers as though fairies dancing through barbed wire.

He glared and caught the energy in his hand... he hated life force, but he charged his stomach engine and revved it up, forming a huge ball of light in his center as little balls of connecting light linked and swam towards it.

"Hmm? Testing your new abilities, are we, Metal?" Eggman turned back around, bouncing his own big stomach over to the strange new power. He ducked his head down to the side of it, amazed, before curling the sides of his mouth into an evil grin. "So many possibilities... Just don't screw it up again." His glasses shone with his power before leaning to his full, straightened height and putting his arms behind him, smiling intimidatingly down at Metal Sonic in a tyrant's threat.

His glasses now shone with the red of Metal Sonic's ready eyes.

"Good. Go forth, My Hard Boiled Heavies!" He turned around and dramatically pointed his finger out towards the caverns that created the two eyes and nostrils of his mountain. "And conquer this world, or fail, and destroy it once and for all! HAHAHAHA!"

-A barely intact Angel Island-

Tails, still so far off from where Sonic is about to crash into the sea, sees him slowly sink below his sights, at the water's horizon line. "No! I'm not going to make it!" his eyes water once again, ducking his head. "I knew it! I'm useless without my technologies! It's all my fault... I couldn't do anything to stop this..."

As he fell into despair, a horn's billowing low note crashed through his eardrum as he immediately looked up with shock.

"Checkpoint! They just barely made it!" He exclaimed as ships floated in a steady line over the horizon he was heading towards. The X-Tornado soon crashed next to the fleet, causing a wave to turn some of them a bit but they wouldn't be dissuaded from their objective of reaching Angel Island for support.

Tails rubbed his eyes with his hand as they reflected the shining sunlit water's surface over the sea. "We did it. We all did it, together."

A few of Checkpoint's members saw Tails and waved to him, hoping he'd land on one of their sailing crafts and rest.

He nodded eagerly and with deep, sincere thankfulness in his heart, landed and like a child, falling to his butt, and bawling his eyes out in front of them. Many asked if he was okay but he just nodded through his wails of gratitude.

Once everyone reached Angel Island, they pulled some of the earth from below the surface up and let the Master Emerald's energy pull it up and repair the broken, floating island.

Knuckles was a little spooked by how many people were now on and surrounding the island, uneasy as he tried to avoid some and keep others away from the altar containing the Chaos Emeralds.

His loud voice carried and soon he got a reputation as a hothead, but Checkpoint seemed fond of the overly protective echidna, even having a few try and befriend him. The unusual contact with people left Knuckles a bit overwhelmed, but he couldn't say no to such kind treats as grapes and other goodies from their line of provisions.

It only took a few days for Zooey and Tails to form a research community and begin to ask about what Sonic had seen. Strange, new robots with rumors flying around from other Checkpoint bases about robots with extraordinary strength and endurance. "Apparently, their powers aren't like anything we've ever seen in a Dr. Eggman robot." one member stated and pulled up some printed out charts. "These are the readings they sent us. They don't make sense. How can a tin-can contain so much ring power?"

"The rings and their gates are still a mystery to us." An elderly member stated, leaning heavily on his cane with both his hands and a huge hunch on his back. "We need to be cautious. Sounds a lot like what Sonic described to us." He turned to Zooey. "What do you suggest, my dear." He pulled a bit on his long, thin white beard, but it was clear he was wobbly from losing one grip on his cane.

"Hmmm..." Zooey tried to think reasonably, "W-well, if it's no trouble, I think our first priority is pulling up more land from below the sea and using the Master Emerald's power to create new landmasses."

Tails sadly shook his head, "No good, The island floats but doesn't move. Besides, if we defeat these new, supercharged robots, then their power will return to the atmosphere, and hopefully, renew the planet's lost power."

"There is a disturbance in nature. It may need more time to recover. A quick bandage to its surface isn't going to help." The elder intercepted the conversation again, bringing all eyes and attention back to him. He stabilized his shaky body by returning his once stroking hand back to his cane, "No offense, dear girl, you are very smart. But I believe Tails is wise in his reasoning."

"That won't do either way, though." the first member that spoke shook their head in response, "If these readings are accurate, one good punch and the explosion could have catastrophic results. They carry enough power to explode a good portion of a sector of the planet!"

The research community looked discouraged, their ears turning down as no solution seemed plausible at the moment.

Then Rosy stood up, "Cheer up, everyone!" she was holding plates of small ice cream bars. "We'll find a way, we always save the day!" She began passing the tray around and letting everyone take one.

"T-Thanks, Amy." One stated.

"Hehe! I go by Rosy, mostly." She blushed, before looking to Tails. "Is Sonic still getting restless while on this Island?"

"A new Ring Gate hasn't appeared here in a while... without them, he's kinda stuck here, and isn't happy about it." Tails sighed, worried for the adventurous hero.

"Is he still recovering?" She turned to Zooey, who smiled sweetly.

"I believe he's fully able, now." She gestured a hand out to her as she spoke, and Rosy happily handed her an ice cream bar.

"Okay! I'll see if he wants an ice cream bar!" Her tail wagged in sweet excitement at spending some 'quality time' with her admired blue blur. She took off as the research community once again sighed.

"She's too good for this world." One bit into his bar.

"Nah, she's too innocent." Another muttered, licking the sides of the bar that were melting.

"...No," the elder spoke up, looking at the ice cream bar and holding it up to the sun, "She's just what we need." And lightly licked a little of its tip, "Oh! Cold!" the group all laughed.

Rosy rushed over the hills with Sonic's super speed, but remembering his last caution about them, slowed down after finding him. She fixed her quills and front three bangs then took a deep breath and pulled down her white leotard.

Walking over to him, she noticed his face was towards the expanse of the sea... though she couldn't see his face, his arms were folded and quills gently blowing in the wind.

She swooned at the sight of such a wonderful hedgehog in what looked to be an amazingly beautiful and serene setting. 'He's so cool!' she thought sweetly to herself, swooning.

She hid her face slightly by raising the tray, pointing her feet inward, pigeon-toe like and shuffled them a moment, nervous on how she was going to approach him.

'Big smile! He'll love that!' she encouraged herself and shook her head of all other insecurities that may creep into her heart, and off she went!

"Hello, my darling, Sonic!" She cutely spoke up, but Sonic just turned to look over his shoulder at her.

"Oh, it's you." He looked down at the ice cream bars. "One of those for me?"

"Ohh!" She puffed up her cheek, holding the tray down in a mild tantrum at his response, "Who else addresses you in this way!?"

He lowered his eyelids and rolled his eyes a moment, sweat-dropping. "Is it for me or isn't it for me?"

"Hmph, it's for the one who saved the planet!" she presented it but he lifted up his hand.

"Think I'll pass then." He turned back to the view, placing his hands on his hips. "Eggman did that, even if it was by consequence of stealing the Black Ring's power buildup. It still wasn't me who did anything remarkable or noteworthy..."

Rosy bent her eyes, "Ohh..." She looked down a second, not sure how to turn that into a positive. "W-well!" She leaned up on her tippi-toes, "You-you, you totally got information for Checkpoint and the research community! Without knowing about those new robots, we may have been pretty in the dark there..." she felt the significance of her words fading as he continued to face away from her. "Ohh... Sonic?"

"...Even then, I only ended up giving more power to the Black Ring through Chaos Energy." he lowered his head slightly, but turned to her with a smile, "Say, can the ice cream bar be for after I kick ol'Egghead's butt?" he gave her a confident thumbs up.

"Em!" She nodded excitedly, seeing his spirit wasn't that dampened like she thought. "Have one then!" she held them up to his face again.

"W-wha? But I haven't saved anything yet." he blinked in surprise.

"Hehe! Take it as a way of saying you absolutely will!" She handed him one and he accepted it, although reluctant.

"You never change." He smiled, "but those robots are dangerous, I'm gonna head out soon to stop them." He began to take a bite, before his eyes shone like stars at their taste, and ate the treat as Rosy closed her eyes and smiled.

"How is it?" she giggled.

"Good, why?" Sonic looked back to her, mumbling as the food was already sticking out of his mouth, wiggling as he spoke.

"Because I made it, silly!" She laughed.

"Woah... you did this?" In disbelief, he took the treat out to look at it from all sides, then smirked. "Not bad, kid!"

"It's Rosy!" She stuck out her tongue at him and he chuckled back at her playfulness.

"Alright, suit yourself, rascal." And finished the treat, sucking the remaining chocolate and vanilla off his gloved fingers.

"Now... how to locate those robots..." He seemed to be in deep thought again, "We don't have a plane, and those Ring Gates aren't forming as often as they used too with all this energy drained out of the world... so how?"

Rosy held the tray down and also looked a bit disheartened, "Hmm..." She couldn't think of anything. "I know some people who are good thinkers!" She chimed up, "O-oh, not saying we're not good thinkers or anything! It's just... Tails and Zooey are really, reaallly good at it!" she stressed, making Sonic laugh.

"You've got a point. Let's try and regroup with the others." He gave her a thumbs-up, "And get back to saving the world!"

"Yeah!" She cheered, lifting a fist in the air, "And maybe on the way, you can teach me more about how to use your power!"

"H-huh?" He flinched a little as she took off, and he could feel in his heart his power activating now that she was so close. It was like the feeling of a Ring Bond... "H-hey, kid! Wait! I'll carry ya back!" he took off after her, a strange discomfort in seeing someone else using his supersonic speeds...

But she wobbled anyway, "W-woah!" and began to tumble again and curled up for safety.

"Uh-oh." He took off and caught her like a bouncy ball. "Not so easy, is it?" He smiled but also sighed in relief. 'At least she can't use it for long... or too well, for that matter.' He set her down and she uncurled. "Now look here." He put his hands on his hips, "What'd I say about using my power?"

"Make it look cool?" She whined a little, embarrassed as she sat on the ground that she couldn't impress her hero.

As though sensing that, Sonic's expression turned a bit more tender and he shook off the feeling. "Ehh... Nevermind, come on. I'll teach you a trick or two..." He extended his hand to her.

"Ah! Really?!" She burst up and took his hand, wiggling her tail as she came up close to rub her cheek against his hand. "You're the best, Sonic! My hero, for sure! Well, and Tails's, and Checkpoint's... the whole world's! But... um... could you... spare a moment to be just with me? Sometimes? I'll make us a picnic!"

He panicked and his feet shuffled under him, making sounds of discomfort before finally conceding. "If I ever have time, Rosy. Now come on, this is too much-ah!" He was pulled into a hug.

"You're a real hero, Sonic! I'll marry you someday!" She nuzzled cutely into his cheek as a faint bead of sweat dripped from the side of his face.

"H-hey now... let me go..." he looked uncomfortable... but his mouth seemed to fight against forming a frown... or a smile at her affections.

-Elsewhere, on Angel Island-

"How have you been, Zooey?" Tails walked slowly up behind Zooey, who was pouring over some research notes that had just been sent in, surrounding herself in her computers and fax machines. "You look a little worn out..."

"Ohhh, Tails, now is not a good time to be fretting about me... ohh..." Every time a new paper came out of the machine, her ears would sink lower and her gentle cries of hopelessness would increase. "I-I-I'll be fine. Has Rosy found Sonic yet?"

"She's pretty good at it. We all are." Tails sat down next to her, seeing her pull out another paper being sent in and watching with sorrow as the look on her face lessened in liveliness. "We tend to run into him a lot..."

"Ohhh..." She whined softly again, and as the machine flared to life once more, reached for the new paper but this time Tails couldn't bear to see her face wallow in such misery again.

His tail flopped over the paper that came out, causing her hand to pause in its route to secure it as her eyes blinked in surprise at the action.

They followed the line of his body up to his eyes as he had them closed, smiling the best he could and bouncing his shoulders a moment as though non-verbally apologizing, but he really did want to brighten her mood.

"You work so hard, Zooey... maybe let me help a bit more too." He didn't want to open his eyes and see if she'd stubbornly tell him she had to get back to work, he couldn't handle that kind of rejection from her...

But instead, delicate hands cupped the sides of his face, moving their fingers through his white, protruding fox fluff and making him open his eyes with a blush.

"You're so kind to me, Tails... I don't know what'd I do without you."

The two's heads are so close together now... that Tails ducks his own a bit in a dip, shyly.

"A-any time..." He nervously states.

Zooey smiles, moving closer to his head, "Oh, Tails..." she seems to really appreciate his efforts, and for a moment, he looks surprised. They had grown close, but was it okay for him to assume this close..?

He didn't fight her approach, but just silently watched to see... how close... she'd...

A large gust of wind moved Zooey's forehead from lightly touching his own, and knocked the two down to their sides. The papers flew up everywhere in the turbulence.

"Is the Black Ring back!?" Zooey worriedly shouted out over the rushing, powerful wind.

"No, it can't be that!" Tails cried out, then gasped as he turned his prone body around to see Metal Sonic menacingly hanging over him, A Hardboiled Heavy also to the side of him. Her hands moved as though preparing a magic trick, and then with the same power as that of the rings, brought forth a black ghostly vortex of sparkling lights.

"Ah! It's the Black Ring's stored energy!" Tails was amazed to see it so well utilized, it wasn't causing a black hole, but instead was fueling this new robot's power.

She tipped her hat to the fox boy, as though rewarding him for guessing right, then dipped into her hat, and pulled out a jerboa or weasel looking creature with a similar cowboy hat to Knuckles.

He flopped out, his one shiny fang glistening before jumping up and pulling out a popgun, "Now you listen here! What'd you do with my Marvelous Queen?" He seemed to be referring to his beloved aerobike.

Metal Sonic, mimicking Sonic's usual antics, folded his arms and floated in the air with his feet together, then wagged a scolding, mockful finger towards Fang.

"What!? You can't expect to just pop me out and not give me my stuff back!" he fired two corks that the Heavy Magician used her hat to have it disappear into its void, then put it back on. "Grr... I got half wolf in me, you know... I'll give you a feisty fight!" He went to adjust his hat when he noticed Tails. "The boy..?" He seemed to recognize him before his eyes lit up with money signs. "The girl..!" he looked around him. "Ehem, I'll have to chop you up and sell your parts later... I've got a treasure tracker to find..." He suddenly took off but tripped a few times trying to escape and finally booked his way away.

Metal Sonic looked to Heavy Magician, who immediately flew off and stopped Fang in his pursuit to then point him to the others.

"Say that again?" He looked back at Tails and Zooey, who were not sure what was going on. "Oh? I take care of these pipsqueaks and get my Marvelous Queen back? Sounds fair." He dipped his hat, smirking. "I'm all for fair deals..." He held up his popgun, then shot the hat off of Heavy Magician. "Like I will do anyone else's dirty work!" He leaped to grab it, skidding across the ground and rummaged inside of it.

"Quick!" Tails called out, not remembering Fang at all and taking Zooey's hand. "We have to fight!"

"F-fight!?" Zooey wasn't used to that and so when he began to fly and swing her around, she was equally unsure. "Wo-woah-woah-woah!" she flung so fast that Metal Sonic and Heavy Magician were whacked back a bit by the force in Tails's spin with Zooey's foot hitting them away.

"Heh, there you are!" Fang pulled out his aerobike and got quickly on it. "Later, losers! I've got another sap that's supposed to do me some favors!" he took off, gesturing back a sly peace sign that he flicked off as a wave goodbye.

Knuckles, helping Mighty create some makeshift huts and places for the new Checkpoint guests, was arguing with him about not making Angel Island a new Checkpoint base when they saw Fang scoot quickly by on his aerobike.

"Woah, who was that?" Mighty was intrigued but Knuckles just dipped his head and growled.

"Who cares? As long as he's not messing up my island... and stay on topic!" He shouted back but Mighty didn't engage such ruthless banter. He was a peaceful armadillo and found Knuckles's constant hostility exhausting.

"No, I don't recognize him. Something's off." He held up a hand to Knuckles, not wanting to create more friction with him as he passed and watched Fang drive off in a cloud of dust. "Where did he come from..?" He trailed off as his eyes glanced towards where a large explosion of fire seemed to catch the trees and blaze them with light.

"Eggman!?" Knuckles cried out as many Checkpoint explorers scurried back in fright and others rose to the occasion.

"Let's go!" Mighty rushed towards it head-on, soon followed by many more adventurers running alongside him. "Tails and Zooey are back there!"

With another powerful swing, Tails tried to fling Zooey again who was beginning to get some confidence in this tactic, readying her legs back to kick them out but Metal Sonic grabbed her leg mid-air and glared.

"Uh-oh..." Tails sweated nervously as Metal Sonic rotated them around at breakneck speeds and sent them flying.

He wanted to find Sonic... and Sonic would always appear when there is danger to his friends...

Knuckles and Mighty jumped into the fray with others, but with Metal Sonic's new power-up, he withdrew slightly into a curl and began to charge Black Ring power, letting it out to blast through their forces and leave them drained of power while in the Black Ring's influence.

Surrounded by the black dome of Anti-Matter destruction, they fell to their knees and tried to actively fight to remain standing. One by one... they fell until Metal Sonic sucked the Black Ring's power back inside himself.

His eyes blared through the darkness as it dissipated back inside him and he turned towards the Master Emerald's alter...

"We... Can't lose... grr... ah." Knuckles, still striving to move, reached out towards Metal Sonic... and collapsed.

"We can't detain that... we can't even fight it... urk..." Tails also followed suit as the Heavy Magician shook its head from Fang's last move, and grabbed its hat, placing it back on with a plop!

"We can't lure them together... ahhh... but we also can't destroy them while on the planet... we're... we're... doomed..." Zooey also lost consciousness then, not sure how to resolve these unanswered questions.

The world looked lost...

-Back with Teaching Speed Maneuver Lessons-

"Your thin shoes are skidding everywhere. They're too slippery." Sonic, running while glancing at Rosy's feet, seemed worried as she kept trying to reach higher speeds but would slip and tumble constantly. "Your feet are also pigeon-toed. Try and keep them straight. Dig into the earth, it's not like your hurting it."

He was finally coming to terms with lending his power out. He could feel the Ring Bond when she used it, however, it didn't feel like it did when chaos energy was draining from him. This felt shared, as though he wasn't losing anything. 'Maybe helping her isn't so bad.' He thought to himself, reaching his arms down to her as he saw her once again sliding.

She reached forward and took his arms, then smiled as her feet began to dig into the ground, holding a better form.

"There ya go!" Her excitement rubbed off on him, and he began to grin wider as well. "You're doing it, kid!"

"Rosy!" she hollered up, still upset he wouldn't call her that.

"Whatever, keep digging!" he chuckled lightly.

"Ohh!" She sped up then, wanting to show him.

"Woah!" He was moving backwards, so he turned himself around and got behind her, keeping her steady by having his hands on her waist. "You're actually doing it pretty well now..." He kept his eyes on her feet's positioning, seeing them slightly turn from his legendary figure-8 back to her feet moving fast. "...Rosy..."

She was so fixated on impressing him that she closed her eyes and ducked her head, holding a fist in front of her and another fist back and straining every muscle to move more than it ever had before.

However, she felt Sonic's hands on her hips and opened her eyes. With them both moving so fast, she couldn't help but feel his hands were secure, although sliding gently against her shirt. Her face then turned red as he looked around to her, "What's wrong? You can go fast, I know you can. Just focus."

But her eyes were dazzled by his own, and the moment so precious and romantic to her that she covered her face, her feet fell out of position, and she tripped him up on her tumble down.

"Wah-Ahhh!" the two rolled along the ground before Sonic caught her just before the cliff ended again. "Rosy!" he called out as she kept her hands bundled up by her face, and he gripped her white leotard to stop her from fully rolling off.

When she peeked open, she gasped behind her and scrambled into his hold.

"Phew." He sighed, "Guess we accidentally ran straight through the island."

She breathed a little irregularly, and to Sonic's mind, he thought she was scared.

In truth, Rosy's heart had never raced so much in her life. It was so much fun learning from Sonic, but it was also strangely intimate how kind he was in trying to safely teach her his craft. She couldn't tell why he had hesitated so much before but figured it was because Sonic still saw her as a child adventurer.

Maybe now... he finally saw her as an equal... as a future spouse?

Her daydreams got the better of her and she giggled to herself, her breath returning to her and her feet kicking out in her giddy fantasies of romantic runs through the saved world...

Thinking this odd, Sonic got up, helping her up too. "It's dangerous, Rosy. If you don't get a hold of my powers, I won't feel comfortable letting you use them like this..." He wanted to comfort her, but he was also worried about her absentmindedness. He looked over the cliff, "You've gotta be more aware of your surroundings..."

"You tumbled too." She cooed, but he just looked at her funny, wondering why she was acting strangely all of a sudden.

"That's because I was directly behind you. I guess I'll hold you like this from now on." He re-positioned himself—one hand holding her own and the other her waist, "Wait, our legs might get tangled up if I try that..."

Rosy swooned but when he went to look at what she was doing, she reverted back to standing straight and upright.

He raised an eyebrow, but let her go and tried to think, "Hmm... Maybe traditional is just the way to go?" he put a finger to his chin as Rosy imagined church bells.

"Yeah, I like traditional~" she chimed, sighing into her dreams of grandeur.

"Okay, if you agree." Without another tick on the clock, he scooped her up bridal style. "Guess the lessons can wait. It's easier this way, anyway."

"Oh, Sonic!" her eyes lit up with hearts, but he couldn't tell why she was so happy all of a sudden.

"Uhh... weren't you begging me to teach you a moment ago?" He just looked at her funny and then rolled his eyes, "Girls. They're so weird."

Rosy just smiled at that, "Boys are the weird ones! You said you don't want me to use your powers, but then you said look cool while using them if we must. Now you're saying to just let you carry me~" she placed her hands on the sides of her face and demurely looked away, blushing. "Someone can't make up their mind, huh?"

'Rascal!' Sonic immediately grew embarrassed and annoyed at her play on his words. "You-!" he then sighed, not wanting to get so flustered, "Ah, whatever."

"You've been saying that a lot lately." Amy delicately blinked her long lashes his way.

"I don't mind the company... so long as you can keep up." He looked away from her, but she could tell there was an honest truth to that, and it made her glad and encouraged to keep striving to race along by his side...

"You must be so lonely... being so fast... that no one seems able to keep up." She tilted her head to him, and he looked away.

"Why am I still holding you like this again?" He spat out, and she giggled.

"...You know something? I think you're secretly happy you shared a Ring Bond with us."

His confidence seemed to crack. His facade crumbled slightly and he looked down, worried she saw right through him.

"That way, we can all travel in your amazing winds... You'll never have to be alone again, if you share your power with others, then they can protect and have fun in this amazing world we call home." She looked around the place, then to the Master Emerald's shrine far off in the distance. It's emerald shine never ceasing to entrance her. "Isn't that nice?" she smiled up to Sonic.

He looked back at her with slightly narrowed eyes, "I don't like to be analyzed like one of Zooey's research data prints." He seemed to be pouting, and that made her laugh even more. "But I think you're sadly right, Rosy." He sighed, "I think... maybe the Ring Bond isn't gonna go away." He looked over the cliff, "And that means... I'll be running into you guys often."

"Or tumbling behind us!" She mocked a little, and he gave her a disappointed look, as though unamused by her teasing. She giggled at his reaction, and he just shook his head again. "But that's okay... because... I never wanted it to end, anyway... I don't want any bond with you to end."

Sonic's eyes opened a bit more from his playful squinting at her rascal antics before looking more seriously to her.

Their eyes relaxed to look at one another more honestly now, without judgments, images to keep in mind, or even seniority.

It was just... a soul. A freedom bound soul that wanted what was best for the world and their lives and wanted... to share that with someone.

"We may have only trained for a little bit but..." she looked down, feeling the shift of the moment as she really felt his eyes fully on her and her words now. "I... I like you the way you are, Sonic. That's why I want to use your power for the good of the world and be someone who you can trust remaining by your side... even when it gets dangerous, I want you to know that we're all here for you, as your friends."

Sonic feels something quake in his soul. He's been so alone for so long... hearing those words... felt like a relief and weight off of his shoulders.

"Let us rescue this world with you, see it with you, enjoy its beauty with you... please?" she sweetly tilted her head.

"...You are a rascal." He moved his mouth to the clear other side of her, turning his head to resist her charms, but keeping a sideways glance her way. "You think pretty words are all you need to win my friendship over?"

"I... was kinda hoping to win something more." She closed her eyes and blushed.

"...Huh?" He seemed genuinely confused by that statement.

Right after it clicked for him what she was implying, and looking about to counter that with some rude remark, Metal Sonic burst from the foliage of Angel Island's jungle-like paradise and swiped towards Sonic.

"Sonic, look out!" Rosy had just opened her eyes back up to notice Metal Sonic behind him, spooking Sonic as she climbed up and let her head take the brunt of the swiped claw hit.

"Rosy!" he cried out, racing away from Metal Sonic and looking back over his shoulder to see him. "Where'd he come from!? Where are the others?" He looked back to Rosy, knocked out in his arms.

It was the first time Sonic had felt this way since first rescuing Rosy from Metal Sonic...

"ROOOSSYYY!" He shot through Angel Island like a blue bolt of lightning, the Chaos Emeralds shaking in their spots as they began to sense Sonic connecting to them through a Ring Bond with the Master Emerald again. His emotional outburst kept him moving at incredible speeds but Metal Sonic was supercharged this time, and zoomed right up next to him, swinging his leg out to trip him up. "RAhh!" Sonic, still enraged, jumped to slam a fist into Metal Sonic, hoping to knock him back like usual...

But this was not a normal fight, The impact sent a sonic boom throughout the area, while Metal Sonic's head did move back, he resisted the force of the hit enough to slowly push against Sonic's fist, leaving him amazed.

"Oh... right, you're super-juiced up!" Sonic growled in response, "Guess that means everything I'm going to do is gonna be doubled back, is that it!? Tinhead!?"

Sonic threw Rosy up in the air, spinning himself into a ball as it tore through the grass below him. He wound-up for another striking blow, "Try and predict this!" he shot through, hoping to slice him completely in half but Metal Sonic burst the Anti-Matter dome out from his being as Sonic phased through it.

His spinning slowed and he uncurled, still trying to hit him but fell to the ground.

The Black Ring's power sucked at his energy, but he couldn't let Rosy hit the ground without catching her first.

Pushing against it, he summoned his strength and sent a punch at Metal Sonic, knocking him back and having the power sucked back inside him—perhaps to defend himself, as Sonic finally got the gravity of being drained off of his shoulders and raced to catch Rosy again, rushing off.

"Better to retreat now and find a safe location for you." He looked down at Rosy, worried...

In the wind of their chase, the roar of an aerobike leaped over a hill into view and crashed next to Sonic. Sonic expertly dodged but while doing so, the aerobike rolled and slammed into Metal Sonic, pushing him further into the jungle and finally off route of Sonic.

However, while all this occurred, Heavy Magician had snuck it's way to the Master Emerald...

"Excellent! Now, with the power of the Master Emerald and the Chaos Emeralds all within my Hardboiled Heavies Black Ring dimension, I'll have the power to take over more than this pathetic world, but the entirety of space itself! Wha-hahaha!" Eggman's voice broke through a speaker on Heavy Magician, as she floated up to the Master Emerald, looming over it with its waving hands in a spooky manner.

However, as though the Master Emerald was sensing Sonic's emotions, it blasted out an electric pulse that began to short circuit Heavy Magician... but its void of Anti-Matter began to leak...

"Oh no... This is an outrage!" Eggman pounded his fist into his console, seeing on his screens that Heavy Magician was being overwhelmed by the unlimited power of chaos energy, furious that it was so much power that not even the Anti-Matter void created by the Black Ring could absorb it enough. At this point... The Master Emerald was winning.

"Grr... If I can't have my all-out war with Checkpoint and Sonic, then so be it!" he hadn't anticipated their rebellion being so tactically well-plotted out... Now, his Heavies were being attacked by more than just Sonic's forces, but by all the adventurers of the world.

News got out fast, and on multiple screens, Eggman could see Heavy Rider and bounding over their traps and flipping through the air on Jimmy, her trusted Motorbug, swinging her spiked ball and chain before the Master Emerald's pulse traveled through the dimension of the Black Ring's energy and effected her as well.

Then there was Heavy Gunner, flying high but also hitting with a whiplash of his powerful cannon before the Master Emerald's power also shocked him a moment.

"Noo..!" Eggman gripped his mustache down, tapping his legs repeatedly on the ground as he worriedly looked to see Heavy King throw out his scepter to prepare a powerful move before Checkpoint swarmed him as he began to malfunction, right before his true victorious moment.

Eggman began to pretend to bite his nails in anxiety as Heavy Shinobi, missing his asteron ninja stars as he also arched back with it.

"Could it be..? Did the Master Emerald initiate a Ring Bond with the Black Ring to destroy it!?" Eggman stepped back, leaning on whatever he could find as metal pieces fell back from him bracing himself. They tonk'ed and tink'ed against the ground as he began to breathe heavily. "That's impossible, the Master Emerald doesn't have a will of its own! Unless..." he put a finger up to his chin, tapping it rapidly as a thought began to come to mind. "SOOONNIICCC!" he roared through his angry epiphany. "Fine, if the Master Emerald is acting vicariously through Sonic's will... then I have no choice..." Looking over the inventions he was so proud of, he seemed to look at the failing struggle, not sure why his most brilliant scheme could so easily go up in ruin.

Checkpoint.

It was all their fault.

He growled, thinking to himself as he walked towards the console, one last ho-ray to end it all.

"I'll just take them all down in one, fatal swing!" Eggman lifted his pointer finger up to the detonation button, took one last look at what he ultimately felt was the all-win situation for him, but then shrugged, not really that attached, and smirked widely as he clicked it down.

The whole base blasted into red alerts and an escape rocket lifted up from the ground as Eggman rubbed his hands together, "Goodbye, once and for all... To you, Checkpoint..." He gave a slight, comical wave as he opened the hatch to the Rocket. "And to that blasted hedgehog!" he slammed it behind him once boarding in.

Mighty began to blink his eyes as what appeared to be a spiraling ring gate forming before him. "H-huh?"

He was amazed to see a yellow blob come out of it through his hazy, just barely coming to vision. The little guy reached out a hand to him, seeming cheery. "Need a lift?"

Knuckles and the rest of the adventurers were just awakening as well as he spoke, "I need to get this last Ring Gate we've helped the planet forge to Sonic before the rest of Eggman's robots blow up too."

"The rest?!" Mighty's eyes suddenly shot open, he tried to get up as quickly as he could, but the loss of his power took a heavy burden. "Ugh... how long were we out?"

"Ehem." The little yellow boy wagged his hand that was still outstretched to help him around.

"Oh... Sorry." Mighty took it and got the needed help he needed up. "Name's Mighty. What section are you from?"

"Gone." The boy looked a disheartened saying that. "When the Robots all blew up, there was nothing left of the land. We only had a few moments to prepare and evacuate. They're going off one at a time so-" He looked around, "Do... Do you all not know!?" His sudden expression changed to a bit of panic. "Quick! You all need to get out of here and on your boats, stat!" he pulled Mighty along with him, stretching out his arms to reveal skin attached that acted like wings as he glided up and down the hills, heading to their Island base.

Knuckles, by this time, had awoken and shook his head. "Wait... what?" He didn't seem to grasp all that the little flying squirrel had said.

The adventurers woke up in fright, hearing they needed to leave immediately to their ships, they quickly scattered in panic.

"Uh oh, someone's got to look after these people!" Knuckles gritted his teeth and forced himself to his feet. "I know you're all trying to gather back your strength... but don't forget your courage!" He held up his fist, and others began to turn to him. "Alright, let's bring people down a group at a time. But nothing's happening to my island without my say so! And I say-!" There was a great blast throughout the island...

The explosions were swift and without mercy as many of Checkpoint's bases fell one after another...

But many spread the news, and adventurers prepared and evacuated as many as they could before the terrible blasts from the Heavies' Black Ring combustions.

However, on Angel Island... no one was ready for what was to come.

The wide-expanding void sucked the island's core and the Master Emerald and seven servers fell through the air.

But before all this... Sonic was still trying to save one part of the world at a time...

Starting with her.

Sonic turned to Fang, seeing him point his fake revolver at him, "Now, hand over the pretty, and we'll talk like civilized men."

"Trouble just constantly follows ya, without delay, don't it, Rosy?" He looked down at her, realizing only now that escape wasn't an option to get her to safety. "This has nothing to do with Rosy, can't we just fight? Man to machine to... weasel thing?"

"Darn it!" Fang slammed his foot down a few times, "Nack the weasel was a cover-name! Why can't anyone get that!?"

In his momentary tantrum, he looked to see Metal Sonic getting back up, holding its head and cricking its neck back into place, then glaring ahead at them.

"Ghrr... I don't have much time. Give up the girl or face the consequences!" He then looked behind them, "Is that..?" His eyes lit up, "The biggest treasure I've ever seen!"

Spotting the Master Emerald's brilliant light and pulse into the air, he didn't see the robot it had unknowingly attacked...

"Why, she's just a magnetic for money!" Fang was completely distracted.

Sonic sighed, "Don't you both know it's rude to bully little girls?" Sonic gently placed her down.

"What do you want with Amy Rose, anyway?" Sonic, taking on a whole new persona as he got up from setting her gently down, rose his eyes in annoyance and fierce justice. He was done playing games... it was time to get serious.

The Master Emerald seemed to reflect that, as Heavy Magician tried her best to push through the Chaos Energy pushing her back, and feeling the Black Ring's power struggling to contain so much energy and not having enough time to break it down properly...

"Forget the tracker, she did her part! Woo-hoo! I'm rich!" He gripped his hat, taking off towards the emeralds but Metal Sonic just dashed in front of him, still upset that he rammed him with his aerobike. "Yee... uh-oh." he seemed to grow cowardly suddenly, trying to smooth talk his way out of this one. "Haha... Cunning, no? But don't you think that hedgehog is a far bigger threat at getting those pretty gems than me?"

He gestured a thumb back to Sonic, who looked over his shoulder, wondering what Metal Sonic would do first...

"If I have to fight you both to keep this world safe, I will." Sonic remained poised and ready for battle.

He was only waiting for it to start...

Metal Sonic looked back to Sonic, then bypassed Fang to take him on.

"Excellent." Fang smirked, seeing them go at it and sneaked on over to Rosy, "You've got quite a crowd with this Checkpoint posse, but you're still just a whiny, useful little daydreamin' girl! Thankfully, that means easily manipulated, and that's going to make me rich!" he grabbed her as quickly as he could, hoisted her up like a rag-doll, and began to rush off behind the battlefield that Metal Sonic and Sonic had created.

Ramming their heads together, it was almost scene-by-scene compared to their first encounter, but this time, Sonic was distracted. He noticed Fang trying to make off with Rosy and had to push against Metal Sonic to get closer. "Not on my watch, buddy!" He bent his eyes and summoned every bit of power in him to move Metal Sonic back. Metal Sonic, at first, was prideful and wanted to prove his energy boost was enough to defeat him... but as his thrusters pushed off with explosive might, Sonic kept like a steady missile and shoved him all the way back to where Fang was. "HAAA!"

"Hehe! Two birds with one- Huh?" Fang's eyes went small as his mouth dropped and he cried out in horror as Metal Sonic was thrown by Sonic's might into Fang, and Rosy was flung into the air.

The two collided but Sonic jumped to grab Rosy, carrying her like before and sticking his tongue out to Fang, "I don't think the lady wanted to go with you, pal!"

"Grr... I ain't beat yet!" Fang held out his popgun, "If I can't use her, no one will!" He shot as Metal Sonic, now ticked at this interference, grabbed his neck. "Gwak!"

"Woah!" Sonic turned and let the shot whack off his shoulder, "That has more of a punch than I thought..."

Rosy was finally stirring after the swing in Sonic's arms, and when she saw Fang, she gasped.

She remembered him fondly and seeing as Metal Sonic was choking him...

She didn't hesitate, "Sonic..!" She tried to find her voice again, begging, but it was still hoarse. She lifted a wobbly finger towards him.

However, Sonic wasn't focusing on that and seeing Fang began to falter in Metal Sonic's grip, she pushed out of Sonic's arms.

"Rosy!" he cried out, but she began to spin, as though trying to master a Spin-dash. "That's... not possible." he felt his power again, "I never shared that with her..."

She was learning it through his speed, and although not a master at it, wiggling the path as she released it, she was still able to jam in-between Fang and Metal Sonic, forcing him to release Fang to dodge her.

"You're hearts a little too kind there..." Fang rubbed his hurt neck, panting as he looked back to Rosy, uncurling and plopping down on the ground as though that was all she had left to give.

"It's... emulating... Sonic's then... right?" She weakly opened her eyes to Fang, smiling...

That act of love broke Fang a moment, he frowned and looked away from her, shaken by her tenderness towards him.

"I used you... I was kidnapping you..." He gripped the ground, "Why are you still... so kind?" He put an arm over his eyes, but she just blinked in innocent naiveness.

As though fed up with interruptions, Metal Sonic opened a portal and threw Fang into it. "Ah!" Rosy dived and grabbed him through the ring gate that Metal Sonic had created, but this one was much like Heavy Magician's, and looking to see the boats beneath the rocking waves, she gently swung him onto one, seeing other groups boarding as well.

"W... Why is Checkpoint fleeing the island..?" She blinked in surprise, then looked up from the ring to see a wide void beginning to spread.

"Ah! Soooniiccc!" She pulled her head out of the Ring Gate, turning to him, "It's-!"

The void began to spread over them, and immediately Rosy felt the ground beneath her all but disintegrate. It was so much more powerful than before, but being living beings, it took longer for the Black Ring's draining to fully break them down.

In that second, as she felt herself suspended in air, Sonic was suddenly surrounded by the balls of light. They formed into rings, small gates emerged from them that brought forth the seven chaos emeralds... but the Master Emerald had already plunged into the sea... sinking deep below its waves... as the Island became no more...

All the Hardboiled Heavies had now self-destructed, releasing the Black Ring's power. But Metal Sonic, resisting the void, took in the power and sucked it into his existing Black Ring power stored in himself.

It saved lives... but that wasn't his intent.

His eyes blazed red towards Sonic, a final battle as Sonic burst into Super Sonic and went to grab Rosy. "Amy!" He called out, surprising her as she hadn't heard her real, true name be used in so long.

It was full of something, his words conveyed a feeling she had never heard from his lips before as she reached out to grab him.

Metal Sonic, seeming to understand that complex vocal structure as well, reached instead for Rosy and had absorbed by then the full amount of the Black Ring's blast.

The rest of Checkpoint fell to the water, saved by the rings that fell around them from the Master Emerald's pulsing power. They were able to safely make it to the boats, but many were more injured than others.

As Knuckles glided to and from the boats to rescue others in the water, he looked to see the sky blank of everything but Metal Sonic and Super Sonic... He closed his eyes once his job was done and let the wind calm his own raging spirit... then dived down into the water, prepared to drown if that's what it took to recover the Master Emerald again...

"No!" Tails cried out, holding Zooey as he was trying to fly them to a nearby boat. "Knuckles... we needed his leadership."

"He finally learned to accept us, even over his precious island duties." Zooey's heart went out to him, "He must be suffering so much..."

"We all are." She looked to see that Tails was handing her off to Mighty, who placed her down with the others on the ship. "But that doesn't change the current situation. Knuckles has done more than enough for a couple of strangers like us. What we really need to do now, is get this Ring Gate to Sonic." Mighty gestured over to the squirrel, who bowed as if charming royalty.

"I'm Ray! I've been sent as a messenger!" He chimed, though his spirits were really not placed well with all that was happening.

"Ray?" Zooey seemed confused, "Wait... you're the one that was faxing me all those papers!"

"Oh? So you're Zooey! Nice to meet ya!" he scratched behind his head, "Now, where is this fearsome Sonic?" He held up the ring and pointed to it, small and normal looking but it had been so long since the gang had seen one since the Black Ring's toll on the planet's energy.

"Is that..?" She was amazed to see it twinkling in the harsh sunlight.

"Yep! We were able to gather enough of the planet's energy, but it's truly the last. We're hoping Sonic will know how to properly use it-AH!" The boat was suddenly rocked as Super Sonic and Metal Sonic crashed into the ocean, kicking and punching, though a robot had an advantage if it didn't need to breathe...

"What was that!?" Mighty cried out, not seeing the blurs as it was too fast for his slow reaction. He looked over the side of the boat and gasped, seeing a massive mound of water heading straight towards them. "Brace yourselves!" he ducked and held on to two younger kids, hoping to protect them as the large Checkpoint ships were able to be pushed back but stay afloat, while the smaller ones toppled over and began to swim towards the nearest larger ship.

The whole of the world was like one big orb of water now... if Sonic didn't save the planet, there wouldn't be anything left of a planet!

Sonic felt the time-crunch of being under the water for so long, but looking to Rosy, worried she wasn't handling the fast-paced battle as well as he was.

He had to figure out a way to get Metal Sonic to back off and forfeit Rosy... that's when he saw Knuckles swimming up from the bottom of the ocean, having the Master Emerald held by one arm and being held up by his shoulder. It was a slow movement... too slow.

Sonic couldn't fight against Metal Sonic's sharp engine bursting through the water, and one punch in that thing would tear up his hand for sure...

So he did the next best thing.

Seeing an air bubble next to him, he shoved Metal Sonic with a powerful kick into it, seeing Rosy gasp desperately and able to take in the oxygen while Sonic propelled himself towards Knuckles.

All of Checkpoint cheered when Sonic emerged from the water with Knuckles and The Master Emerald. "Metal me! You want a real battle!? I'll let you try and absorb the Master Emerald's power in exchange for my friend!"

They all gasped, some even shrieked in protest at what he was suggesting before Knuckles coughed in absolute shock.

"OVER MY DEAD-Ahhh..!" Sonic dropped him on a boat, then spun the water into a whirlpool that pushed the other ships away from their battle.

Metal Sonic, having heard this under the water, didn't want to lose his tactical advantage... knowing Sonic couldn't swim without his super form to help him fly through the water.

Looking to Rosy, who was pounding against him in the water, he decided that Eggman must have blown up the others and left him with all their residual power.

If he could absorb the Master Emerald and utilize the released Black Ring's power—knowing the planet would try and absorb its power back first—he may get enough power to fully take Sonic and the rest of Eggman's enemies down in one powerful, cosmic showdown...

What evil doppelganger could refuse?

A spray of water, like a massive geyser, blew out from beneath as the Checkpoint ships all watched while Metal Sonic held out Rosy to block any counteractions. If they even dared fire or try a counter-strike, Rosy would be caught in the crossfire... a literal shield for him to break the surface of the water successfully without being targeted or tricked.

Checkpoint had to stand down... and worriedly looked to Sonic, confused on his reasoning. He wouldn't actually give up the Master Emerald's power to an Eggman robot... would he?

Forced to fly back, Super Sonic waited for the deal to be made... His friend for the Master Emerald. It was a deal that could either seal the fate of his planet, dooming everyone to an apocalypse,... or bring about something Sonic hoped would renew harmony and the planet's power.

Just one thing to do...

He waited as Metal Sonic held Rosy up as she gasped for air and then struggled all the more, gasping between her duel back-quills with one clawed-hand and having her flail on her back.

"This meanie robot won't leave me alone!" She coughed out, straining and kicking like a turtle on it's back in his hand.

He shifted his body robotically, turning with a clank twist of his torso, and holding out his hand for Sonic to deliver up the Master Emerald... it seems the plan was working.

"Yo, Mr. Sonic!" A voice called, as Sonic looked to Ray cupping a hand by the side of his mouth to project, and winked to reveal the small ring gate in his hand, unactivated yet, and using his squirrel flap on his arms to hide it from Metal Sonic's view.

However, Metal Sonic looked through the skin to see it, glaring and turning to Sonic.

He opened the void...

"Ahh..!" Rosy felt her strength being pulled, and that's when Sonic bent over, feeling that Metal Sonic was directly trying to suck out her Ring Bond with him.

"M-Metal... Stop it..." Super Sonic squinted, feeling the bond begin to fade as Rosy tried to use his super speed.

"N-no!" She didn't want to lose that bond with her hero, more than anything, it meant the world to her to be connected to him in this way, in any way! "I won't... let you steal... what we have!" She curled up into another ball, shredding Metal Sonic's hand as he tried to keep a grip on her.

Through the void, she homing-attacked out and uncurled to Sonic, hitting a backlash on Metal Sonic as his hand whammed into his face and the void expanded in his anger to suck her power and ring bond dry.

Checkpoint, once again, fell to their knees at its power.

Sonic reached out and grabbed her, holding her close as his Super form began to falter. Holding her close, the two felt their Ring Bond... slowly... begin to...

"No." Sonic's eyes closed and he felt the Master Emerald's bond still alive and active from its core, responding to his emotions. With the swelling of his heart, he opened his eyes and quickly took in the gravity of the situation. Checkpoint... Mighty, Zooey, Tails, Knuckles... he saw everyone in pain.

He couldn't stand it, he looked at last to Rosy, seeing tears in her eyes.

"I... I don't want to lose... my very special bond... with you." She admitted through her tears. She gripped his shoulders, not wanting to lose hope.

Rings formed around the Master Emerald as little balls of light connected them like dots to the rings. The Chaos Emeralds emerged from the small rings, and all connected to the Master Emerald.

Sonic held out his hand and Ray smiled, tossing the ring to Mighty who threw it through the air, "You've got one chance! Make it count!" he called out encouragingly, but also, it was the truly the last hope.

Sonic caught the ring as Metal Sonic stood in place. He had witnessed the powerful rings blip out of existence before inside of the Black Ring's power and didn't feel the least bit threatened at their 'last stand' display. He just threw the ball of darkness above his head, the purple matter like a misty threat to reality, and Super Sonic tightened his hold on the ring, holding it up to have the Master Emerald link with him again.

"Sonic..." Rosy's eyes shined in the brilliance of the light that radiated the ring bond between him and the Master Emerald renewing.

Sonic now had the connection he needed to the Black Ring's power... and super juicing the unlimited power of chaos energy into Sonic, who in return, charged the Ring in his hand and threw it open into the air, turning it into...

"A chaos ring?" Tails's eyes were amazed, "He's created a ring that burst energy!"

Zooey's mouth dropped, her hand moving her over her mouth before stepping back and swinging it down, "That's... the exact opposite of the Anti-Matter dimension... it's like a... a..."

"A world of light." Rosy reached up to the ring, feeling her Ring Bond grow exponentially then.

Super Sonic smirked to Metal Sonic, "Time to end this." he tossed Rosy down to where he saw Mighty, "Keep her safe for me, will ya?"

"On it!" Mighty jumped up and grabbed her, about to crash into the water before Ray swooped down and offered him his tail, "Hold on! Yikes!" he felt the pain of the grip on his poor little tail but fought through it and flew back to the ship, rubbing his bum a moment and kissing his tail that felt like it would have been ripped off.

Tails embraced Rosy, glad she was okay, but she looked back to Super Sonic, wondering what he was planning to do now.

"As much as I hate to admit it, that dimension can only be destroyed with power, and that power struggle ends here." Super Sonic spun into a ball in the air, and to match him, Metal Sonic spun into a similar form, the Black Ring's aura sucking the residual power from the Heavies that the planet couldn't retain in time, and formed a large orb around Metal Sonic's frame... descending back over him after getting powered up.

The ultimate showdown... of light versus darkness.

Which was stronger? The power to sever and break apart bonds... or the power to make them?

Now would decide... the fate of the world.

Super Sonic took all his might and shot towards Metal Sonic, pushing him into the Ring Gate. After entering, Metal Sonic clashed with Super Sonic, absorbing his power but unable to thrash it back, and Sonic never ceasing in his power.

Metal Sonic uncurled to noticed his surroundings... chaos. Untouched, unpolluted, the power of the world... the rings not yet formed.

He grasped to absorb their power but by doing so, the Black Ring began to shrink...

With so much power, it was gulping down too much and couldn't contain it all...

Metal Sonic's eye-lights read out 'WARNING, SUPERNOVA' and Super Sonic uncurled with a grin, cocky as ever.

"I was wondering Metal Sonic... you've always wanted to form a Ring Bond with me, right?" He reached up his hand and opened the Ring Gate further, this time, creating millions all over the world. "I think the Black Ring can only release its pent-up energy through explosion, imploding on itself and coughing up all its power back to the planet! And in order to do that, I need you to give it up!" He threw out a ring that spun out with a bead of lights, and Metal Sonic reflexed to grab it, as was his programming when something was thrown at him.

His eyes scanned the ring, then looked to Super Sonic.

"We can really find out... who's the true hero now." Super Sonic had no fear in his eyes, but if this backfired... if Metal Sonic gained the power of Super form, he could feed the Black Ring forever... never having its power outweighed...

"Time to see how this thing works!" The power of Ring Bonds were still greatly experimental, but Sonic knew, he knew what he felt with Tails... Rosy... and Mighty...

It was more than just power he shared.

As the Ring Bonds began to form, Super Sonic felt the Black Ring eating at the dots of light connecting them, and soon felt the power of the Black Ring in himself.

Metal Sonic gripped the ring, hoping for the power to finally best Sonic... but what he didn't realize... was that there was no relationship between him and Sonic, and therefore...

"Ha! Fooled ya, Tincan!" Super Sonic, now having a connection directly to the source of the remaining Black Ring's power, shot into Metal Sonic, grabbing his shoulders and throwing him into the Black Ring Void. "Robots can fry up with too much power, and you hate me!" He cried out, feeling the Black Ring take them in and begin to self-implode with all the power it couldn't contain.

Metal Sonic's systems began to burn up, electricity sparked wildly like lightning as Super Sonic's power couldn't be retained either... he had no system that could hold such emotions and feelings.

The explosion sprayed molecular dust into the atmosphere,... Sonic had used the Black Ring's power to turn the raw energy into atom-leveled material that the planet could use to heal from.

Instantly, land formed again, rising from the planet's core as molten lava accelerated its process and Checkpoint held on as earthquakes formed new mountains, breaking off to drift in the sea and tectonic plates rotated the ever-shifting masses of earth around as the dust of chaos energy landed to the ground, sprinkling it and having grass and trees spring out spontaneously from its power.

Everyone marveled as some ships were pushed into the air and below them, new land arose as they cheered, jumping off the ships and looking at the new flowers and rings that burst into existence in abundance.

It was a true renewal of harmony at its finest; Superpowered from Sonic's use of breaking down the power just enough so that it would be easy for the planet to digest utilize it without waiting for billions of years to go by...

But the Ring Gates he had formed began to softly, one by one... spin into themselves and disappear...

Tails, Mighty, Knuckles, and Rosy all looked into the sky, scanning for their hero, walking along the new earth, and having a silent prayer in their hearts that this wasn't the end of their adventures with Sonic the Hedgehog.

"Quick, you two!" Mighty pointed dramatically back at them, spooking them in their intense search for Super Sonic in the skies. "Try and use his super speed!"

Tails spin-dashed and Rosy, having a super-charged Ring Bond with Sonic now, due to her close proximity to him when he had formed the renewed bond with the Master Emerald, ran as best she could and also spun and dashed in her curled ball form.

But though they retained his powers,... he was nowhere to be found.

"Sonic..." Rosy uncurled, sitting on the ground and beginning to cry as she looked at the beautiful new grass, the fresh smells of nature, and the gentle blowing wind against her face. It was as though the world was taking a sigh of relief, peacefully returning to life, but even better than before. "Sonic... if you live... if you live then-! Then, I'll-!" She sniffed, before bursting into tears, throwing her head back, and having her hands in balled fist by her eyes. "I'll marry you-ou-ou, Wha-haha-haaa! Sooniiicc!"

The others lowered their heads, even Knuckles took off his soaking wet hat to pay some respects.

A foot gently landed beside the young girl... and a ray of light shone through the newly made clouds and bright blue sky...

"Amy Rose... why are you crying?"

The voice was sweet but also full of tender joy as Rosy wiped her eyes and looked up. "S...Sonic!" She jumped into his arms, and his super form faded to bring back his royal blue and a kind smile.

He held her back and then winked to the others, "Miss me?"

They all cheered, rushing over as Knuckles slapped his knee with his cowboy hat and rushed to him as well.

On another island, Fang pfft'd at the happy moment, watching it quite a while away with a grumpy expression, folding his arms as a butterfly flew by him and landed on his nose. "GET OUTTA HERE!" he hollered, "I hate happy endings! Pah-tooie!" he spat out and waved his arms about, then pulled out his popgun and raced after it, "Blasted thing! I'll show you to try and leave on a good note, come 'ere!" he fired a few rounds of corks at it but it flew spiritedly off into the new world...

A whole new world to explore with brand new continents and Eggman hard-banking back to the planet..? Oh yes, the young explorers had plenty of new adventures to discover now! And wonderful new bonds, along with the true powers of the ring gates, were sure to bring about new journeys and uncharted voyages! Zooey was thankful everyone was alright, but even more excited for the unlimited possibilities to come!

And the new, hidden dangers of this world... were soon to come to pass as well.

END.

[constantlyirksome]

Schitt’s Creek 6x08 Review: I’m sad and everything hurts.

Things in Schitt’s Creek are, as Moira would say, shooting forward at a rapid velocity, as everyone in the Rose family barrels ahead with their plans for the future, this episode felt like we really were entering the endgame for the series, with new hotels, a wedding, and a breakup lead us to the show's finale. This review is going to talk about the three storylines from least to most emotionally devastating so stay tuned.

Johnny and Moira had it the easiest this week, officially opening Rosebud Motel 2.0, a glamorous if slightly dated motel that makes the original look pretty crappy, and Moira thinks this too! Wanting more from her life, experiencing the highs of The Crows press, she wants to live a little more luxuriously. Honestly by season six I expected them to at least move into a shitty house by now so I think Moira AT least deserves this little glow up. I still believe she is one of the characters who continue to picture her future OUTSIDE of Schitt’s Creek. They were of course foiled by the Schitt’s, hoping to use the new hotel as a shag pad, driving the Rose’s out in disgust. I think this is just a little taste of how Moira may start to act towards the end of the season.

Meanwhile, David, with the help of his lovely life partner, is grappling with living larger than is possible given their income and where they live. I believe David will stay in town, based on Patrick’s words. In regards to their wedding, David again shoots a little far. He gives his groom to be a terrible fake tan, which sounds funny, and it is (“I look like a cheese puff,”) but it also sort of follows the pattern of David not fully listening to Patrick. He’s not a bad partner, by far, David has grown so, so much with Patrick, but he still has some of his mother’s self-absorption. It’s like he is trying to become more and more comfortable within this life he’s created, but he still longs to be “a rich person who has just woken up after fainting on a dusty couch.” I truly believe he can learn to be happy with less, and however the wedding turns out, I think it’ll be very indicative of where David and Patrick are headed to in their lives.

Speaking of growth, Alexis (without a doubt the winner of the shows “Most Improved” award) makes a devastating but incredibly smart decision that will ultimately be a good thing. When gorgeous, sun-kissed, ripped Ted returns for the weekend from the Galapagos (sp?) you know something is about to go down. Although they are a perfect couple there has been some foreshadowing that their relationship is in trouble. I could have never been prepared for the emotional devastation caused by Annie Murphy and Dustin Milligan would inflict with their final scene at the diner. They know their aspirations are huge and don’t match, they can’t be in the same place and truly be happy. The cliché “if you love something, let it go,” is apt here. In order for Alexis to become independent and renowned as a publicist, she needs to focus, to let go of all the romantic stories and adventures that make up “A Little Bit Alexis”. I hope hope hope Ted and Alexis find each other again in the future because they are so perfect, and like Ted don’t believe they’ll ever find a better match.